Nomos AG
Auction 25 20 Nov 2022
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ITALY. Papal States. Gregory IX ( Ugolino di Conti), 1227-1241. Seal or Bulla (Lead, 40 mm, 57.85 g, 12 h), Rome. S PA S PE Nimbate facing heads of St. Paul, bald and with a long, linear beard, on the left and St. Peter, with curly hair and beard composed of pellets, on the right; between them, Latin cross on a long staff and base; all within a circular, dotted border . Rev. GRE/GORIVS•/ PP• VIIII• in three lines, all within a circular, dotted border. Serafini 1-5. Struck on a broad flan, and with the remnants of a yellow and red cord. Light scrapes and marks, otherwise, good very fine.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
This is a perfect example of a papal seal (or bulla) of the type first issued by Gregory VII (1073-1085) and continued, with almost no changes, until the later 1400s. It bears the the facing heads of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and Pope's name on its reverse. The style of those heads was that of the 11th century.
Gregory IX was an active proponent of the doctrine of Papal Supremacy and was particularly concerned with the fight against heresy. This resulted in his proclamation of a Crusade against the Stedinger peasantry in the area of Bremen in 1233; his foundation of the Papal Inquisition (also in 1233); his proclamation of the Decretals of 1234, which included the decision to enshrine "the perpetual servitude of the Jews" into canon law; and, in 1239, his decision that all copies of the Talmud be confiscated. This decree seems only to have been strictly observed in the France of Louis IX, with the result that, following the Disputation of Paris of 1240 between the Franciscan Nicholas Donin and four Rabbis, approximately 10,000 manuscripts of the Talmud were burnt in June 1242.
From the Dr. Pelc Dens Sapientiae Collection, USA.
This is a perfect example of a papal seal (or bulla) of the type first issued by Gregory VII (1073-1085) and continued, with almost no changes, until the later 1400s. It bears the the facing heads of Sts. Paul and Peter on the obverse and Pope's name on its reverse. The style of those heads was that of the 11th century.
Gregory IX was an active proponent of the doctrine of Papal Supremacy and was particularly concerned with the fight against heresy. This resulted in his proclamation of a Crusade against the Stedinger peasantry in the area of Bremen in 1233; his foundation of the Papal Inquisition (also in 1233); his proclamation of the Decretals of 1234, which included the decision to enshrine "the perpetual servitude of the Jews" into canon law; and, in 1239, his decision that all copies of the Talmud be confiscated. This decree seems only to have been strictly observed in the France of Louis IX, with the result that, following the Disputation of Paris of 1240 between the Franciscan Nicholas Donin and four Rabbis, approximately 10,000 manuscripts of the Talmud were burnt in June 1242.