Regesta - From The 13th Century

From The 13th Century

From Pope Innocent III onward the manuscript volumes of the papal Regesta still exist in the Vatican Archives.

The Regesta of the 13th century are beautifully written parchment volumes. Yet the most of these in their present form have been made from older volumes. How these older volumes, the real original Regesta, were planned cannot be decided. From the 14th century onward, registry volumes of paper were used for the entering of the copies. However, when the popes returned from Avignon to Rome, these paper Regesta were left at Avignon, and copies of them were made in parchment registry volumes that were brought to Rome. At a later era, the original Regesta volumes were also brought to the Vatican Archives so that there are two series in existence for the Avignon epoch of the 14th century. From the 14th century onwards the volumes of the Regesta were generally made of paper. Numerous investigations have been made by various scholars as to the arrangement of the volumes of the Regesta, the rules or customs observed in the entering of the separate pieces, as to the question of whether the draft or the finished letter was copied, and as to many other matters in diplomatics, without reaching very certain results. In the 13th century the letters were divided into "Litteræ communes" and "Litteræ de curia" or "Curiales", the latter dealing mostly with affairs of general importance. At a later date other headings (litteræ secretæ, litteræ de beneficiis) were also introduced. Besides the regular Regesta of the papal letters made in the papal chancery, there were similar Regesta of the papal letters executed since the 14th century in the Apostolic Camera. From about the middle of the 14th century the registers of petitions were also preserved, in which were entered, not the papal documents, but the memorials to the pope, in reply to which the papal documents were issued.