In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Reviewed by:
  • Die Papsturkunden des Hauptstaatsarchivs Dresden, Erster Band: Originale Überlieferung, Teil I: 1104–1303
  • Uta-Renate Blumenthal
Die Papsturkunden des Hauptstaatsarchivs Dresden, Erster Band: Originale Überlieferung, Teil I: 1104–1303. Edited by Tom Graber. [Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae, Dritter Hauptteil: Papsturkunden, Band I.] (Hannover: Hahnsche Buchhandlung. 2009. Pp. lvi, 379. €88, 00. ISBN 978- 3-775-21903-7.)

After a hiatus of more than fifty years in the series Codex diplomaticus Saxoniae, Tom Graber published in 2006 the diplomas of the Cistercian monastery of Altzelle (reviewed by Charles Hilkin, ante, 94 [2008], 557–58). In quick succession a further volume of the Codex is now available, also edited by Graber. It is the first of a new subseries of the Codex diplomaticus Saxoniae that will be devoted to the edition of the originals of all papal records extant in the archives of Saxony and elsewhere (except for the Vatican) if they relate to Saxony. Most of these records are found at Dresden. Eventually the new subseries will comprise nine volumes, including—in addition to papal records (six volumes)—the edition of primary sources found in the Archivio Segreto Vaticano regarding the history of Saxony (vol. 7) as well as general ecclesiastical records pertaining to Saxony (vol. 8) and, finally as vol. 9, calendars in chronological sequence for the entire subseries (p. viii). The present volume edits in an exemplary manner 157 papal diplomas and letters preserved in the Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden (Bestand “Originalurkunden”) from 1104 to 1303. It includes three forgeries, relies in two instances (nos. 154 and 155) on early-modern copies, and reconstitutes on the basis of formularies nine items that were destroyed during World War II. Strictly speaking, these final items cannot be considered originals, but the author is careful to single them out, and the historian is grateful for the additional insights they provide not only concerning the history of Saxon dioceses in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries but especially for what they reveal regarding the diplomatic usages at the papal curia that evolved with dizzying rapidity in this period. The detailed knowledge of these usages is absolutely essential for determining whether records—all of them derived from Empfäengerüeberlieferung—are authentic or not. The extremely careful analysis and illustration of the evolution of papal diplomatics stretching over two centuries is perhaps one of the most remarkable achievements of this publication.

The large variation in the number of papal letters and privileges preserved by the recipients and now deposited in the Hauptstaatsarchiv Dresden is noteworthy. The reign of Pope Innocent IV (1243–54) stands out in this respect. The earliest item, a supposed privilege for the monastery of Pegau dating from the pontificate of Paschal II (1099–1118), is unfortunately a forgery, with a manipulated lead bull naming Paschal III, but otherwise remarkably accurate for the time of Paschal II (+1). The first authentic document among the editions is one of the rare letters (littera cum filo serico) still extant from the pontificate of Pope Honorius II (1124–30), addressed to Margrave Konrad of Meissen dating to 1128 (no. 2). The margrave had [End Page 352] entrusted the collegiate church of Lauterberg to the protection of St. Peter and the Roman See, a donation confirmed by the pope, who stipulated that the canons should follow the rule of St. Augustine in perpetuity with the right to elect their own abbot. Honorius’s brief missive also set an annual fee that was recorded in the Liber Censuum. The text of the letter itself (p. 10) covers not even half of a page, but the editor’s comments, bibliography, and preceding calendar compose another six pages. Not all letters and privileges require an equally demanding set-up as this early, rare record that differs greatly from similar pieces issued a century later (p. 5), but Graber’s methodology is the same for each one of the 157 originals presented. The calendar (Regest or summary) briefly indicates the content of an item and is followed by a precise description of the document itself with a notation concerning the presence or absence of curial annotations. A subsequent list of earlier editions is then followed by references to earlier calendars such...

pdf

Share