PERGAMINI (o PERGAMINO) GIACOMOBiblio.com
GRANTING A MARRIAGE DISPENSATION
1597ref. ST12778-0365Rome 1597. 220 x 350 8 5/8 x 13 3/4". Single column 25 lines in a papal chancery hand. Elaborate lettering all across top line of text especially the first initial and at lower right corner. Lower margin with several signatures in ink; verso with brief notes in ink; remains of hemp tie for appended seal which has been cut away. Soft creases from folding four vertical one horizontal a handful of letters obscured apparently intentionally in the first and second lines very minor soiling to recto the verso being the hair side with overall darkening as usual but generally in excellent condition the script being done in a strong hand with intriguing scribal flourishes. This Papal Bull grants a marriage dispensation between Centio Balzani and Margarite Brancazze setting aside the impediment of consanguinity. Like others of its kind the document takes its name from the lead seals called "bullae" that were issued with official documents of the papacy lacking in the present example as a way of ensuring their authenticity. Apart from the very rare Solemn Privilege like Innocent III's famous granting of England in 1214 to his involuntary vassal King John there are three categories of Papal Bulls: Simple Privileges also called Solemn Letters Letters of Grace which confirm privileges and rights but are somewhat smaller and Mandates which are differentiated by their use of hemp ties as opposed to silk as is the case here. An online search finds nothing about the couple named in the bull but the document reveals that they were petitioning for a dispensation because they fell into the third and fourth degrees of consanguinity meaning that they shared at least one common ancestor. Although marrying within four degrees of consanguinity was prohibited by the church it was not uncommon for the Holy See to issue dispensations allowing such marriages to take place--particularly for the privileged classes. Two place names have been erased on this document obscuring both the name of the archbishop to whom the bull is addressed and the residence of Margarite. However we acquired this document along with two similar bulls relating to Naples and it would seem likely that the present item relates to the same city we can see that both obscured names begin with an "N". Pope Clement VIII born Ippolito Aldobrandini 1536-1605 led the Catholic Church from 1592 until his death. He is known for presiding over the final phase of the Counter-Reformation approving the revised Vulgate Bible and mediating peace between France and Spain including the reconciliation of King Henry IV of France with the Catholic Church. unknown
