Manuscript Broadside

Alexander III (ca. 1100–1181).
[Papal bull]. Quotiens illud a nobis.
Ferentino, Italy, notarized 11 January 1174. (BRMS 3)

A broadside is a document that consists of a single handwritten or printed surface that is not intended to be folded as a codex or rolled into a scroll. The exhibited manuscript broadside is a papal bull that was issued in 1174 by Pope Alexander III to confirm the privileges and domains of the Benedictine Abbey of St. Peter at Méobecq, France. Writing on a single large piece of parchment, the scribe set off the formal preamble in majestic elongated letters. A circular papal rota, the pope’s name, a monogram of the papal farewell “Bene valete” and the signatures of eleven cardinals appear below the main text. The broadside’s last line includes the dated notarization signed by Gratianus, a papal official who authenticated the bull at Ferentino, near Rome. The bottom edge of the bull has a turned-up flap. This reinforced the parchment so that the wax seal (bulla, now missing) could be attached with laces.