The Vatican Palace, as a Scientific Institute

Regarded from the point of view of scientific productivity, the Vatican is the

busiest scientific workshop in Rome. Scientific materials of the highest order and

in astonishing abundance are stored up in the palace, access to them is easily

obtained, and the conditions for work are most favourable. Apart from the most

modern scientific theories, for which of course the Vatican treasures offer no

materials, information on all branches of human knowledge may be found there.

The sources which the Vatican affords for the history of the sciences have

heretofore suffered from a great, and to some extent absolute, neglect. This

remark applies with special force to philosophy, theology, history, literature,

philology in all its branches, jurisprudence, geography, ethnology, and art, for all

of which categories the most important materials are to be found here.

(Concerning the manner of handling these sources, see INSTITUTES, ROMAN

HISTORICAL.) Despite the depressed financial position of the Curia, the pope

annually increases his appropriations for the cultivation of science within the

walls of the Vatican; this offers clear testimony as to the attitude of the Church

towards scientific pursuits. Over this research she exercises only remote

supervision; the investigator is at perfect liberty to pursue his studies, all facilities

and guidance being given him. One need only recall the names of Bethmann,

Munch, Mommsen, Duchesne, Kehr, Lämmer, Sickel, Pastor, and dozens of

others, turn to their works, and learn their views, to be convinced of the scientific

liberality of the Vatican; (Cf; Walsh, "The Popes and Science. The History of the

Papal Relations to Science during the Middle Ages and Down to our Time", New

York, 1911.)

A. THE VATICAN ARCHIVES

(1) The Contents of the Archives

It was only natural that the Church from the first centuries of her existence

should devote great care to the collection of all important documents and to

preserving them in the manner then customary. There is very little information to

be found concerning the manner and extent of these archival collections, since

the documentary treasures of early Christianity have been lost. Extensive

remains of documents antedating the thirteenth century no longer exist, and of

the papal registers of the preceding period we retain only scanty, though

valuable, remnants [cf. the interesting and comprehensive work of Wilhelm Peitz,

"Das Original-register Gregors VII im Vatikanischen Archiv (Reg. Vat. 2) nebst

Beiträgen zur Kenntnis der Original-register Innocenz' III. und Honorius' III. (Reg.

Vat. 4-11)", Vienna, 1911 (Sitzungsberichte)].

The existence of the Vatican secret archives really began with Innocent III (1198),

so that it possesses the documents of seven centuries. The abundance of the

materials requires, in view of the prime importance of the institutions, a special,

though quite summary treatment. A fairly reliable estimate of the arranged

documents -- an appraisal of their value can be only provisionally attempted as

yet -- has established the fact that there are in round numbers 60,000 volumes,

cassettes, and bundles. In the cassettes are frequently many dozens of separate

documents; in the bundles of Acts from 100 to 200 letters with their enclosures

are occasionally found; while the huge folio volumes of the registers of the

fourteenth century contain as many as 2000 documents and even more. It is thus

impossible to furnish even an approximately accurate estimate of the number of

letters, reports, documents, protocols, minutes, etc. in every stage of

preparation, which are contained in the secret archives. Were there not every

guidance to this vast collection of valuable materials scholars would find their

task of research almost impossible. However, in the working-room of the

assistant archivist is a whole library of Indices (681 in number), which have been

compiled during the last 300 years for the convenience of the administration and,

in individual cases, for the use of scholars. In 1901 a guide to this labyrinth of

Indexes was issued under the title, "Inventarium indicum in secretiori Archivo

Vaticano unica serie existentium". Gisbert Brom (Guide aux Archives du

Vatican, 2nd ed., revised and augmented, Rome, 1911) also gives excellent

notes on the contents of the various divisions of the Indices. Besides many

others, Johannes de Pretis (1712-27), his brother Petrus Donninus de Pretis

(1727-40), and Josephus Garampi (1749-72) did especially important work on the

Indices. Garampi and his assistants wrote out 1,500,000 labels, which (pasted

into 124 huge folio volumes) form an inexhaustible mine. Felix Contelori

(1626-44), in addition to work on the Indices, arranged and copied the most

imperilled documents of the archives. By the recent publication of his

"Manuductio ad Vaticani Archivi Regesta", Gregorio Palmieri, O.S.B., has

supplied a very useful help to the study of the "Regesta". The Indices are

alphabetical or chronological repertories, which must be regarded exclusively as

pure administrative helps, not as aids to scholarly investigation (see Brom, op.

cit., 7-14).

Passing over the Guardaroba and Biblioteca Segreta, "which have none other

than a nominal existence", and the still uninvestigated portions of the Archivi dei

Memoriali, del Buon Governo, and dell' Uditore SSmo., the following are the chief

groups of the archival materials:

(a) Archivio Segreto;

(b) Archive of Avignon;

(c) Archive of the Apostolic Chamber;

(d) Archive of Sant' Angelo;

(e) Archive of the Dataria;

(f) Consistorial Archive;

(g) Archive of the Secretariate of State;

(h) Various Collections.

(a) Archivio Segreto

The whole archive is called Archivio Segreto, from the name of its oldest portion,

which, however, retains its specific name. It contains seventy-four armari, or

presses, in which are:

the volumes of the Vatican Registers (Armar. 1-28);

the "Diversa Cameralia" (29-30) and "Collectoria cameræ apostolicæ"

(57);

the Registers of Transcripts (31-37, 46-49, 52-54, 59-61);

the Register of Briefs (38-45);

the Indices (50-51, 56, 58);

the "Tridentina et Diversa Germaniæ" (62-64);

the "Introitus et Exitus Cameræ" (65-74);

the "Instrumenta Miscellanea".

(b) Archive of Avignon

The archival materials, collected by the Avignon obedience during

the Avignon exile (1305-76) and the time of the Schism, together

with the administrative acts of the County of Venaissin, form the

Archive of Avignon, which was gradually (the last portion in 1783)

transferred to Rome. The series of the "Introitus et Exitus" found in

this section, of the "Obligationes et Solutiones" and of the

"Collectoriæ Cameræ", together with the "Diversa Cameralia" and

the "Introitus et Exitus" of the Archivo Segreto form to-day the

Archive of the Apostolic Chamber.

(c) Archive of the Apostolic Chamber

The four chief portions of this archive have just been mentioned.

These are by no means four complete series of volumes; on the

contrary, very important and extensive portions of this archive are

bound up with the volumes of the Avignon Registers, while other

documents must be sought in other places. Consequently, the

making of an exact inventory of all cameral acts is urgently called for.

In the section "Obligationes et Solutiones" some of the volumes

belong to the Apostolic Chamber and some to the Chamber of the

College of Cardinals.

(d) Archive of Sant'Angelo

Sixtus IV, Leo X, and Clement VIII are the founders of this archive,

since it was their opinion that the most important documents and

titles of possession of the Roman Curia would be best preserved in

Sant'Angelo, as the strongest bulwark of Rome. In 1798 the contents

of the archive were transferred to the Vatican, where they received

special quarters under the name of "Archivio di Castello", and are

still kept separate. In the capsul and fasces of this archive a great

variety of things are treated.

(e) Archive of the Dataria

The three great sections of this archive contain:

(i) the Register of Petitions (Register Supplicationum), which begin

with 1342;

(ii) the Lateran Register of Bulls, which contains the Bulls sent out by

the Dataria between 1389 and 1823;

(iii) the Briefs the Datania, a name which is not quite exact. These

Briefs, as distinguished from those mentioned above (a, 4), were

issued in answer to petitions.

(f) Consistorial Archive

Such of the archival materials as are found in the secret archives

(the other portions are in the archives of the Consistorial

Congregation in the library) consist of the "Acta Camerarii"

(1489-1600), "Acta Cancellarii" (1517-64), "Acta Miscellanea"

(1409-1692), and "Acta Consistorialia" (1592-1668; 1746-49).

(g) Archive of the Secretariate of State

Despite the great gaps to be found in this section, this archive

possesses the greatest importance for the political and

ecclesiastico-civil history of modern times. It includes the following

subdivisions:

(i) Nunciatures and Legations -- Germania (1515-1809), -- Francia

(1517-1809), -- Spagna (1563-1796), -- Polonia (1567-1783), --

Portogallo (1535-1809), -- Inghilterra (1565-1689; 1702-04), --

Genova (1572-84; 1593-1604), -- Venezia (1532-34; 1561, 1562,

1566-1798), -- Napoli (1570-1809), -- Colonia (1575-1799), --

Monaco di Baviera (1786-1808), -- Paci, that is negotiations for

various treaties (1628-1715), -- Svizzera (1532-1803), -- Firenze

(1572-1809), -- Savoia (1586-1796), -- Avignone (1564-1789), --

Fiandra (1553-1796; to which section also belong five bundles of

letters embracing the years 1800-09 and 1814 and 1815), -- Malta

(1572-1792), -- Bologna (1553-1791), -- Ferrara (1597-1740), --

Romagna (1597-1740), -- Urbino (1664-1740), -- Diversi, that is

copies of letters and other things, all of which refer to the sixteenth

and seventeenth centuries. From this list one may see both the

richness and the great importance of this division.

(ii) Letters of Cardinals. -- This contains the correspondence

between the Secretariate of State and the various cardinals for the

period from 1523 to 1803. Here are thus contained both the minutes

of the letters dispatched and the originals of letters received from

the cardinals. There are, besides, in this collection numerous letters

from princes, legates, bishops, etc.

(iii) Letters of bishops and prelates. -- The letters of the bishops and

prelates contain not only ecclesiastico-political but also purely

political information, so that they possess a high value for profane

history. The original letters and the minutes of the answers

dispatched extend from 1515 to 1797.

(iv) Letters of princes and titled persons. -- Many distinguished

personages (including bishops and prelates) are found among the

writers of this collection of letters, which contains a large series of

volumes with answers. The division extends over the years

1513-1815, and has been as yet little availed of.

(v) Letters of private individuals. -- Most of the documents of this

collection emante from the pens of those who, while in

communication with the Curia, do not belong to the above-named

categories. To a great extent the writers are private people. There

are, however, some letters from bishops, prelates, and nobles,

which should have been included elsewhere. The letters extend from

1519 to 1803.

(vi) Letters of military men. -- Here are collected all the documents

connected with the history of the Curial wars between 1572 and

1713.

(vii) Varia Miscellanea (not to be confounded with other Vatican

Miscellanea). -- Besides numerous volumes containing transcripts

of Acts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there are here

collected all those documents which could not well be included in the

other divisions: instructions, travelling experiences, concordats

tractates of all kinds, diaries of conclaves, etc. The whole collection

is of great importance.

(h) Various Collections

The "Varia Miscellanea" have absorbed the Biblioteca Ceva as well

as the chief portion of the Biblioteca Ciampini. The Biblioteca

Spada, in so far as it is yet in the archives, was embodied in the

nunciature of France. The following, however, remain independent

collections:

Biblioteca Pio, manuscripts of Cardinal Pio Carlo di Savoia,

purchased by Benedict XIV in 1753. They should consist of

428 volumes, but many are missing.

Biblioteca Carpegna the library of manuscripts of Cardinal

Gaspare Carpegna, which originally consisted of 229

volumes. The scientific interest of these volumes is not very

great.

Biblioteca Bolognetti, consisting mainly of copies of

documents of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This

belonged to the Bolognetti-Cenci family, which assigned it to

the Vatican archives in 1810.

Biblioteca Ronconi, a small collection of twenty manuscripts,

which belonged to a former official of the archives.

Papers of Cardinal Garampi, the 251 bundles of Acts

belonging to the effects of Cardinal Garampi and containing

partly originals and partly copies of documents pertaining to

his diplomatic activity in Poland and Germany.

Manuscripts of G. B. Gonfalonieri, eighty-nine volumes which

belonged to the former custodians of the Archive of

Sant'Angelo, and, while relating mainly to Spain and Portugal,

have also some importance for the nunciature of Cologne.

"Registro Dandini", the diplomatic correspondence of

Cardinal Dandini for the years 1541-59 in six volumes.

(viii) "De caritate S. Sedis Apostolicæ erga Gallos", forty-two

volumes and eighteen bundles detailing the help given by the

Holy See to the French emigrants during the Revolution.

Buon Governo, a huge archive of the old Congregation del

Buon Governo, which was entrusted with the economic

administration of the Papal States from 1592. The archive

was transferred to the Vatican in 1870, fills sixteen rooms, and

has a special custodian.

"Avvisi" a series of 124 volumes, extending over the period

1605-1707 and composed of the manuscript journals and

newspapers of the seventeenth century.

Farnesiane papers, twenty bundles of documents which

disappeared in some unknown manner from the Neapolitan

Carte Farnesiane, and were purchased and placed in this

archive by Leo XIII in 1890. They do not contain any politically

important papers.

Borghese Archive. -- The huge Borghese Archive may be

termed "an integral portion of the Segretaria di Stato during

the pontificates of Clement VIII, Leo XI, and Paul V". Leo XIII

acquired this great archive in 1892. With the aid of the

inventories of the Vatican Archives and the Vatican Library

some guidance as to the 2000 volumes may be obtained.

"Bolle e Bandi". -- In addition to the two other series of this

kind which stand in the "Varia Miscellanea" there is this third,

which extends from 1525 to 1854. The printing on the title

pages possesses a high value for the history of culture.

"Varia Diplomata" includes all the archives of orders and

monasteries to be found in the Secret Archives. Some are of

exceptional interest and prime importance. As many of the

archives are not yet arranged, they are not yet generally

accessible.

(2) Statistics

The estimate of 60,000 volumes, cassettes, and bundles of Acts,

contained in the archives, does not include such huge collections as

that of the Buon Governo and other smaller collections. The following

list, giving the number of volumes arranged according to the

collections, conveys an idea of the extent of the archives:

Volumes of Vatican Registers. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,048

Transcripts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   968

Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,654

Tridentinum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   154

Diversa Germaniæ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    34

Volumes of Avignon Registers. . . . . . . . . . . .   394

Introitus et Exitus Cameræ. . . . . . . . . . . . .   608

Obligationes et Solutiones. . . . . . . . . . . . .   100

Collectoriæ Cameræ. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   509

Diversa Cameralia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   253

Supplicationes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,011

Lateran Volumes of Registers. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,161

Dataria Briefs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   850

Acta Consistorialia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   114

Nunciatures:-

a. Germania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   709

b. Francia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   615

c. Spagna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   439

d. Polonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   382

e. Portogallo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   204

f. Inghilterra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    18

g. Genova . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    10

h. Venezia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   360

i. Napoli . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   411

k. Colonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   297

l. Monaco di Baviera. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    49

m. Paci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    60

n. Svizzera . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   322

o. Firenze. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   185

p. Savoia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   281

q. Avignone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   344

r. Fiandra. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   194

s. Malta. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   165

t. Bologna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   317

u. Ferrara. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   104

v. Romagna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    76

w. Urbino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    42

Letters of cardinals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   189

Letters of bishops and prelates . . . . . . . . . .   380

Letters of princes and titled persons . . . . . . .   277

Letters of private individuals. . . . . . . . . . .   315

Letters of military men . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    79

Varia Miscellanea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,051

Biblioteca Pio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   300

"      Carpegna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   200

"      Bolognetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   340

"      Ronconi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    20

Garampi papers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   251

Gonfalonieri manuscripts. . . . . . . . . . . . . .    89

Registro Dandini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     6

De caritate S. Sedis erga Gallos. . . . . . . . . .    60

Avvisi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   124

Farnesiane papers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    20

Borghese archive. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000

Bolle e Bandi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    80

The above-named collections thus include in the aggregate 35,000

volumes in round numbers. Of loose parchment and paper

documents, letters, and similar papers there are 120,000 -- a fairly

trustworthy estimate. Consequently, although the collections already

accessible by no means reach the expectations which have been

entertained regarding the extent of the archives, it is yet evident that

the supply of materials is extraordinarily great. A great proportion of

the volumes are in the largest folio form and of unusual thickness.

The contents of the volumes are of great importance, inasmuch as

the questions treated are of vast interest. All these considerations

render the Secret Archives of the Curia by far the most important

archives in the world. Other collections not mentioned by Brom have

been acquired in recent times. From the Santini effects 200

volumes of Acts of the Datania were purchased in 1909. On 13

April, 1910, a number of parchment documents were acquired from

a family in Terni. The historically famous scheme of Curial reform

from the pen of Cardinal Sala (under Pius VII) came into the

possession of the archives on 18 June, 1910. On 15 December,

1910, the Holy Father presented three volumes which are registered

under Malta 124 A, 124 B, and Arm. II, vol. 178. On the same date a

certain Santarelli donated five volumes treating of the College of

Writers of Briefs, and on 25 February, 1911, all the papers of

Cardinal Mattei passed into the possession of the archives. In

conclusion, it must be remarked that the Registers of Briefs,

mentioned above (a, iv), have not passed definitively into the

possession of the archives, but have only been deposited there;

while the Indices, without which the use of the former is scarcely

possible, have been again withdrawn. Those engaged in research

must, therefore, apply to the archivist of Briefs, one of the officials in

the Secretariate of State.

(3) The Administration of the Archives

The scientific management of the archives is entrusted to a cardinal

with the title of archivist of the Vatican Secret Archives. All

economical questions, such as the salaries of the officials and the

expenditure necessary from time to time, are referred to the

Prefecture of the Apostolic Palaces. The archives have, therefore,

no regular budget for expenditure. The practical administration is

entrusted to the assistant archivist, who issues all instructions to the

other officials. He is assisted by a secretary, who, besides fulfilling

other duties, supplies information concerning research work and

other scientific qu sita. Five writers (scriptores) are engaged on the

making of inventories and the superintendence of all transcripts to

be dispatched to scholars dwelling outside Rome. To these officials

is also entrusted the administration of certain important sections of

the archives. The work-room is placed under the charge of two

custodians (custodes), of whom one is the director of the Scuola

Paleografica of the archives. Of the five bidelli, or servants, one is

capo sala, that is, it is his special task to register the number of the

manuscript required, to deliver it to the student, and to receive it

back at the conclusion of the period of study. For the repair and

rebinding of injured volumes and the restoration of documents two

ristauratori have been appointed. A special clerk is employed

exclusively with the pasting on of the number labels and with the

pagination of all the codices which previously were without page or

folio numbers. Finally, there is a porter who watches over the

entrance door in the Torre dei Quattro Venti.

Besides the work-room, the office of the assistant archivist, and the

old work-room, fifty rooms (including a large number of very

extensive halls) are under the charge of the administration. The sixty

places (usually all occupied) in the work-room can be increased to

eighty to accommodate an unusually large body of investigators. In

exceptional cases, women are permitted to study in the archives.

The working year extends from 1 October to 27 June. During the

working year 1909-10, 6018 application forms for volumes were

received; during the year 1910-11 only 4800. The difference is due

to the fact that since October, 1910, it has been allowed to apply for

two or even three successive manuscripts on the same form -- a

privilege which was not previously allowed. The last inventory was

made in July, 1910.

(4) History

Concerning the earliest attempts to create archives in the Vatican,

the reader is referred to the work of the present writer on the

Camera Collegii Cardinalium (1898), which treats also of the

creation of an archive of the Sacred College. In the years 1611-13

Paul V had the present archive buildings constructed by the cardinal

librarian, Bartolomeo Cesi; these are situated at the western narrow

side of the Salone Sistino, the hall of state built by Sixtus for the

library. The same pontiff devoted large sums to the perfecting and

repair of the materials. This Secret Archive of the Vatican was from

the very beginning regarded as an administrative institution for the

facilitation of Curial affairs. Consequently, it was so planned as to

answer the needs it was intended to fill. When subsequently, during

the heated literary warfare against the Protestant innovations, it

became necessary to make the collected treasures accessible to

the great historians of that age, it lost nothing of its original

character. In his work, "Costituzione deli' archivio Vaticano e suo

primo indice sotto il Pontificato di Paolo V, manoscritto inedito di

Michele Lonigo" (Rome, 1887), Gasparolo gives an accurate

description of the collections deposited in the archives at its

foundation. Since that time the following important collections have

been added: the Archive of the Secretary of State in 1660; Archive

of Avignon, of which the last portion was added in 1783; Archive of

Sant' Angelo, 1798; Archive of the Congregazione del Buon

Governo, 1870; Archive of the Dataria, 1892; Borghese Archive,

1893; Archive of Memorials 1905; Archive "dell' Uditore

Santissimo", 1906; Consistorial Archive, 1907; and the Archive of

Briefs, 1909 (cf. Marini, "Memorie istoriche degli Archivi della Santa

Sede', 1825). (Concerning the opening of the secret archives see

INSTITUTES, ROMAN HISTORICAL.)

By Motu Proprio of 1 May, 1894 (Fin dal principio), Leo XIII founded

in the Vatican Archives an institute for palæography and

diplomatics, his Decree being published on 15 May in a letter to

Cardinal Hergenrother, the learned archivist of the Church ("Leonis

papæ XIII allocutiones, epistolæ, etc.", Bruges, 1887, 76). In the

"Studi e documenti di storia e di diritto", VI (1885), 106-08, the text

of the "Ordinamenti per la Scuola di paleografia presso l'archivio

Pontificio Vaticano" may be found. The first professor was Isidoro

Carini, whose successor is (1912) Angelo Melampo. Lectures are

delvered thrice weekly from November to June, and students who

successfully compete in the written and oral examinations receive a

diploma in archival research and diplomatics (cf. Carini, "Prolusione

al corso di paleografia e critica storica, inaugurato nella pontificia

scuola Vaticana il 16 Marzo, 1885", Rome, 1885; "Argomenti di

Paleografia e Critica Storica trattati nella Pontificia Scuola Vaticana

ne' tre corsi del 1885, 1886, 1887", Rome, 1888). For the extensive

works of organization, the activity of the leading archivists in the

preparation of the Indices, the nature and contents of the many

hundreds of Indices, the reader is referred to Brom, op. cit.

(5) Apart from the secret archives

There are in the Vatican Palace other archives, which may be

divided into ecclesiastical, juridical, ecelesiastico-political, and

purely administrative archives, according to the bodies to which they

belong. Most important historically is that of the Apostolic

penitentiary; the older collections, of which until recently scholars

knew nothing, are kept in the Vatican. The large archive of the Sacra

Rota Romana, which is of fundamental importance for juridical

questions and the history of jurisprudence, is accommodated in a

small annex in the Vatican Gardens, adjacent to the entrance to the

museum. All the collections of the archive of the Secretariate of

State antedating 1860 are included in the secret archives; later

papers are preserved in a special archive on the third story of the

palace, where is also the archive of the Congregation for

Extraordinary Ecclesiastical Affairs. This archive admits no

investigator, and questions on particular points addressed to it by

scholars have failed to receive pertinent answers. As may be

deduced from the already published earlier Acts of the archive of the

Papal Ceremoniare, the volumes of this archive contain very

interesting information. The extremely valuable archive of the

Cappella Sistina, the papal choir, is deposited in the Vatican

Library, though only in the character of a loan. Special archives are

possessed by the administrations of the majordomo, the maestro di

camera, the master of the sacred palace, the administrations of the

Peterspence, the Elemosineria, the Computesteria, the Floreria, the

maestro di casa, the three corps of guards, and the gendarmes.

Other archives are too unimportant for mention here. There is at

present some thought of gradually uniting with the secret archives

the most important of the above collections and other ecclesiastical

archives existing in Rome outside the Vatican.

B. THE VATICAN LIBRARY

The Vatican Library is the first among the great libraries of the world

in the importance of its materials, but in the number of its

manuscripts a few libraries surpass it, and in the number of printed

books it is surpassed by many. This condition but accords with its

historical development: the Vatican was founded as a manuscript

library, has always been regarded as such, and is to-day

administered as such by those in charge. The printed books which

have been acquired, either through inheritance, or gift or by

purchase, are intended solely to facilitate and promote the study of

the manuscripts. This fact must be borne in mind to understand the

attitude of the administration of the library. (Consult Barbier de

Montault, "La Bibliothèque Vaticane et ses annexes", Rome, 1867.

A number of essays on the library are contained in: "Al Sommo

Pontefice Leone XIII. Omaggio giubilare della Biblioteca Vaticana",

Rome, 1889; "Nel Giubileo Episcopate di Leone XIII. Omaggio della

Biblioteca Vaticana", Rome, 1893. The former contains the

pertinent literature.)

(1) The Manuscripts

The whole fund of manuscripts may be divided into closed

(historical) and open collections. The former are collections which

came to the library complete, and are administered as one entity.

As no additional manuscripts from the same sources can henceforth

be obtained, these collections form a unit with a numerus clausus.

The open collections are those to which are added new acquisitions

made by the library (either separately or a few together), which do

not form a complete collection in themselves. Separated according

to the languages of the manuscripts, there are sixteen open, and

thirty-six closed, divisions; the open all bear the name of "Codices

Vaticani", while the closed are known according to their origin.

Scientific access to these treasures is facilitated by the Indices,

concerning which we shall speak below. The following details,

based on information supplied by Father Ehrle, S.J., prefect of the

library, are the most accurate that have ever been given of the

Vatican collections. The figures for the open collections represent

the state of the library on 1 December, 1911; owing to the

acquisition of new manuscripts, these figures are gradually

increasing, especially those for the first two categories-Latini and

Græci.

Vaticani Latini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,150

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2,330

"    Hebraici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    599

"    Syraici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    472

"    Arabici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    935

"    Turcici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     80

"    Persiani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     83

"    Coptici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     93

"    Æthiopici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     77

"    Slavi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     23

"    Rumanici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      1

"    Georgiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      2

"    Armeni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     14

"    Indiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     39

"    Sinici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     20

"    Samaritani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      3

Burghesiani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    381

Notai d'Orange . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    377

Palatini Latini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2,017

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    432

Urbinates Latini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  1,767

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    165

"    Hebraici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    128

Reginæ Latini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  2,103

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    190

"    Pii II Græci. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     55

Ottoboniani Latini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .  3,394

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    472

Capponiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    288

Barberini Latini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,000

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    590

"    Orientales. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    160

Borgiani Latini. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    760

"    Græci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     26

"    Syriaci . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    169

"    Coptici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    132

"    Hebraici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     18

"    Arabici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    276

"    Persiani. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     21

"    Turcici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     77

"    Armeni. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     90

"    Indiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     31

"    Tonsinici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     22

"    Sinici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .    521

"    Illyrici. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     22

"    Æthiopici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     33

"    Georgiani . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .     16

"    Hibernici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      2

"    Islandici . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      1

"    Slavi . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .      1

The total of the collections reaches 40,658 manuscripts, to which

must be added between 8000 and 10,000 manuscripts in the two

Barberini archives, and still awaiting detailed examination and

arrangement. There are, therefore in the Vatican Library some

50,000 manuscripts; the first sixteen sections are the

above-mentioned open collections; the others are all closed. The

collection of Manuscripta Zeladiana was given to Toledo, while the

printed books of the same collection remained in the Vatican

Library. The Codices Vaticani in various languages are traceable to

the old collections of the library of the fifteenth century or to the

growth of the library; to this collection new departments have been

gradually added.

(2) Printed Books

No exact calculation of the number of printed books has been yet

undertaken. Estimates conscientiously made yield the following

figures:

Bibliotheca Leonina (consultation library) . . . 60-70,000

"      Barberini (closed department). . . . 25-30,000

"      Palatina (closed department) . . . . 10-12,000

"      Zeladiana (closed department). . . .  4--5,000

"      Mai (closed department). . . . . . . 25-30,000

Prima Raccolta (closed department) . . . . . . . 10-11,000

Raccolta Generale. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .   200,000

The total of printed books is thus in round numbers 350,000, which

may be said to constitute a very considerable library. The

Consultation Library is, as its name suggests, composed of works

which immediately promote or facilitate the study of the manuscripts.

The Prima Raccolta is the collection of books which was formed in

the Vatican between 1620 and 1630; in the Raccolta Generale are

gathered all the works (arranged according to the various branches

of knowledge) which have been secured by the Vatican at any

period or will hereafter be secured, provided that they do not

specially pertain to the Consultation Library. The name of the other

collections are quickly explained: Barberini, because it emanated

from the princely house of that name; Palatina, because it came to

Rome from the Heidelberg library of the Elector Palatine (Palatinus

elector); Zeladiana, because it belonged to the effects of Cardinal

Zelada; Mai, part of the effects of Cardinal Mai. Among all these

books are found a larger percentage of rarities than is usual in

comprehensive libraries.

(3) The Accommodation of the Manuscripts and Books

The manuscripts are accommodated in their old, low-sized, painted

wooden cases, which are distributed along the walls of the halls of

the library. When removed from the cases the greatest care is

necessary lest anything should be lost. As there are various ways in

which damage might be done to the manuscripts, the library

administration has prevailed on the Prefect of the Apostolic Palaces

to establish eight fire-proof magazines into which they may be

transferred. For these magazines have been utilized a portion of the

old reading room, the room of the cardinal librarian, and two other

rooms. This alteration was made possible only by the removal of the

Vatican Printing Office into new quarters. As the halls of the printing

office lay below the old reading-room, and right beside the rooms in

which the Bibliotheca Barberini has been accommodated, these

halls were easily annexed to the library. The new reading-room was

then established on the ground floor, and fitted with a water-power

elevator for the transferring of manuscripts from the magazines

situated immediately overhead; this afforded greater security and

convenience, the manuscripts being more promptly procured. All

these innovations were of great importance for the promotion of

studies. The reading-room is convenient to the Consultation Library,

and contains almost twice as many desks as the old reading-room.

All the work in the new magazines was completed at the beginning

of 1912, and the transference of the manuscripts begun. The two

Barberini Archives now stand on the third floor of the new

magazines. In consequence of this reconstruction work, the printed

books will be arranged as follows: Among the smaller rooms of the

former printing office is a cabinet for the Prefect of the Library, a hall

for the Bibliotheca Mai and other rooms in which the Heidelberg

books (Palatini) and portions of the Raccolta Generale are to be

accommodated. Two halls will be devoted to the Biblioteca

Barberini, a book collection of very high value. In the hall of the

Consultation Library with its two antechambers will be placed, in

addition to the Consultation Library proper, the Autori Classici and

the two departments of biography and history (the Collezioni

Generali). To the old presses for the manuscripts in the state-halls of

the library, now vacated, will be transferred the collections on canon

and civil law, the works on art and its history, and the remainder of

the Raccolta Generale, in so far as it is not accommodated in the

old printing offices.

(4) Inventories and Catalogues

Inventories and Catalogues which are essential for the guidance of

the reader, are available for both manuscripts and printed books.

They are either in manuscript or printed. Those for the manuscripts

consist of 170 volumes of manuscript and 17 volumes of printed

inventories. The preparation of the Latin inventories was begun in

1594. All the inventories are in the reading-room ; catalogues for the

printed books are to be found partly in the reading-room, and partly

in the Consultation Library.

The preparation of manuscript catalogues for special divisions of

the manuscripts was begun at an early date. All of these are still

retained in their manuscript form; their printing was commenced as

early as the seventeenth century. For example, Anastasius Kirscher

published a catalogue of the Coptica Vaticana in his "Prodromo

Coptico" (1636); in the years 1675-93 appeared a detailed

catalogue of the Hebraica by Giulio Bartolocci, in 1747 the

catalogue of the Capponiana, and in 1821 that of the Cicognara

collection. Apart from these and similar publications, there are in the

reading-room fifteen volumes of printed inventories of manuscripts:

(1) Mai, "Catalogus codicum Bibliothecæ Vaticanæ (Orientalia)"

(1831). (2-4) Assemani S.E. and J.S., "Bibliothecæ apostolicæ

Vaticanæ Codicum Manuscriptorum Catalogus": I, "Codices Ebraici

et Samaritani" (1756); II, III, "Codices chaldaici sive syriaci" (1758,

1759). (5) Stevenson (sen.), "Codices Palatini græci" (1885). (Cf.

Syllburgius, "Catalogus librorum manuscriptorum græcorum in

Bibliotheca Palatina Electorali" in "Monumenta pietatis et literaria

virorum . . . illustrium selecta", Frankfort-on-the-Main, 1702.)

"Codices græci Reginæ Sueciæ et Pii II" (1888). (6) Feron and

Battaglini, "Codices Ottoboniani græci" (1893). (7) Stornajolo,

"Codices Urbinates græci" (1895). (8) Stevenson (jun.), "Codices

Palatini latini", I (1886). (9) Salvo-Cozzo, "Codici Capponiani"

(1897). (10) Vatasso and Franchi de' Cavalieri, "Codices Vaticani

latini", I (codd. 1-678), 1902. (11-12) Stornajolo, "Codices Urbinates

latini", I (1902), codd. 1-500; II (1912), 500-1000. (13-15) Marucchi,

"Monumenta papyracea ægyptia" (1891). "Monumenta papyracea

latina" (1895). "Il grande papiro egicio della Biblioteca Vaticana"

(1889).

There are in addition six special catalogues, not compiled by the

officials of the library: (1) Poncelet "Catalogus Codicum

hagiographicorum latinorum" (1910). (2) "Hagiographi Bollandiani

et Franchi de' Cavalieri, Pius. Catalogus codicum

hagiographicorum græcorum" (1899). (3) Ehreneberger, "Libri

liturgici manuscripti" (1897). (4) Forcella, "Catalogo dei manoscritti

riguardanti la storia di Roma, che si conservano nella Biblioteca

Vaticana" (4 vols., Rome, 1879-85). (5) Bertini, "Codici Vaticani

riguardanti la Storia Nobiliare" (Rome, 1906). (6) Crispo-Moncada,

"I Codici Arabi, nuovo fondo della Biblioteca Vaticana" (Palermo,

1900).

The volumes by Stevenson on the Codices Palatini have been

revised by de Rossi, who prefixed his renowned treatise: "De

Origine, Historia, Indicibus Scrinii et Bibliothecæ Sedis Apostolicæ

Commentatio", pp. cxxxii (cf. also de Rossi, "La Biblioteca della

Santa Sede Apostolica ed i Cataloghi dei suoi manoscritti", 1884).

Four other inventories on the Codices latini, Urbinates græci, and

Vaticani græci are in the press. A further volume on the Vaticani

latini and one on the Borgiani arabici are also in preparation. For

the books of the consultation library there is an exhaustive card

catalogue according to the system of Staderini. For the collections

of the Prima Raccolta there are seven folio volumes of Indices, and

for these two volumes of inventories. A manuscript catalogue of the

incunabula ("Editiones Sæculi XV Bibliothecæ Vaticanæ", in large

folio), in three volumes with appendix, also stands in the consultation

library. Of the exceedingly valuable Miscellanea bequeathed by de

Rossi there is a bulky manuscript inventory of 1898 and an

alphabetical index. The Biblioteca Barberini has its old excellent

catalogue in imperial folio, ten of the volumes being accessible to

the public. For the other departments there are also catalogues,

ee.g. twenty volumes for the Raccolta Generale, a catalogue of the

Zeladiana in Cod. Vat. Lat. 9198, etc., which upon request is placed

at the disposal of scholars in exceptional cases. Among the printed

catalogues of books is that of Enrico Stevenson, Jun., "Inventario

dei libri stampati Palatino-Vaticani" (1886-91). The authorities of

the Vatican Library are preparing (1912) a "Catalogo dei cataloghi

mss. della Biblioteca Vaticana", which will be of high scientific and

practical interest. It will show that as early as the sixteenth century

the Vatican Library possessed catalogues of such perfection that

we admire them even to-day.

All readers who wish to use only printed literature are carefully

excluded from the library. In view of the exclusively manuscript

character of the Vatican as a scientific institution, this is readily

comprehensible. The accommodations of the Vatican Library are

entirely inadequate to meet the demands of the general public in

search of printed books. Should the Vatican Library thus lose its

unique position, the other large libraries of Rome instituted for the

consultation of printed books, would suffer. Furthermore, the present

conditions have been sanctioned by the past, and have been fully

tested by experience. (Consult Ehrle, "Zur Gesch. der

Katalogisierung der Vaticana" in "Historisches Jahrbuch der

Görres-Gesellschaft", 1890, 718-27.)

(5) Manuscript-repairing and Bookbinding Department

The Vatican has always possessed a bookbinding department, and

also a department for renovating manuscripts as well as the skill of

the period allowed. In the last decades special chemico-scientific

attention has been devoted to the preservation and freshening of

faded parchment manuscripts as well as to the preservation of

paper manuscripts whose existence is wholly or partially threatened

by a corroding ink. One of the most successful library boards in

these investigations is that of the Vatican, which has since 1896

extensively employed every discovery that contributed to the

preservation of its manuscript treasures. At the proposal of the

prefect of the Vaticana an international conference to consider the

question of the preservation of manuscripts assembled at St. Gall in

the summer of 1898, and its consultations were attended with the

greatest success (cf. Posee, "Handschriften-Konservierung. nach

den Verhandlungen der St. Gallener Internationalen Konferenz zur

Erhaltung und Ausbesserung alter Handschriften von 1898, sowie

der Dresdener Konferenz deutscher Archivare von 1899", Dresden,

1899). A series of model restorations were made in the Vatican

repair-shop, not only of its own valuable manuscripts, but also those

of ecclesiastical possession elsewhere. In his "Note upon the

Present State of the Vercelli Gospel" in the "Second Report of the

Revision of the Vulgate" (Rome, 1911, pp. 20 sqq.), Abbot Gasquet

describes a particularly difficult work of this kind. Besides these

works, which are performed by specially trained and careful

workers, the binding of the manuscripts is also undertaken, the arms

of the reigning pope and of the present cardinal librarian being

placed on the binding. The coats of arms are omitted from the

covers of printed books. A fire, which broke out in this shop some

years ago, caused little damage, but it led to the introduction

throughout the whole library of mechanical appliances against fire. In

this respect the Vatican surpasses every other library.

(6) The Publications of the Vatican Library

The administration of the Vatican Library makes it its aim, since the

fundamental reorganization of the whole institution by the prefect,

Father Ehrle, S.J. (who resigned his place voluntarily to Father Ratti

of Milan in 1912), to employ officials with a view to their own literary

productions. This policy, which in a comparatively short time has

produced splendid results, has made possible six great

undertakings of fundamental importance for science. The first

collection bears the title: "Codices e Vaticanis selecti, phototypice

expressi, jussu Pii Papæ X, consilio et opera procuratorum

Bibliothecæ Vaticanæ. Series major". This work deals with the most

important and beautiful manuscripts of the Vatican; by phototype

reproduction, these become accessible to persons unable to visit

Rome. Eleven volumes of this collection have appeared: (1)

"Fragmenta et Picturæ Vergilianæ codicis Vaticani 3225" (60

francs; edition exhausted); (2) "Picturæ, Ornamenta, complura

scripturæ Specimina codicis Vaticani 3867, qui codex Vergilii

Romanus audit" (100 francs; edition exhausted); (3) "Miniature del

Pontificale Ottoboniano: codex Vat. Ottobon. 501" (25 francs); (4)

"Bibliorum SS. Græcorum codex Vaticanus 1209 (codex B) Pars

prima: Vetus Testamentum", I, 1-394 (230 francs); II, 395-944 (320

francs); III, 945-1234 (150 francs); "Pars altera: Novum

Testamentum" (170 francs); the scientific introduction to this work

will appear in 1912; (5) "Il Rotulo di Giosue, codex Vatic. Palat.

graecus 431" (160 francs); (6) "L'originale del Canzoniere di F.

Petrarca, codex Vatic. 3195" (100 francs); (7) "Frontonis

aliorumque fragmenta, quæ codice vaticano 5750 rescripto

comprehenduntur" (300 francs); (8) "Il menologio greco dell'

imperatore Basilio II (976-1025), cod. Vatic. græcus 1613" (400

francs); (9) "Cassii Dionis Cocceiani Historiarum Romanorum lib.

LXXIX, LXXX, quæ supersunt, cod. Vatic. græc. 1288. Præfatus est

Pius Franchi de' Cavaliere" (50 francs); (10) "Le Miniature della

Topografia Cristiana di Cosma Indicopleuste, cod. Vatic. græc.

699. Con introduzione di Msgr. Cosimo Stornajolo" (120 francs);

(11) "I disegni di Giuliano da Sangallo: Codex Vatic. Barber. lat.

4424. Con introduzione del Prof. Dott. C. Hulsen" (400 francs).

Three volumes are already in the press and to be issued during

1912: (1) "Paleo-grafia Musicale Vaticana. Con introduzione di M.

Bannister M.A."; (2) "Ciceronis Liber 'De Republica' rescriptus.

Cod. Vatic. 5757"; (3) "Terentii Com diæ picturis illustratæ. Cod.

Vatic. 3868".

With this Series major is associated as a second undertaking the

Series minor, of which the following two volumes have appeared:

(1) "Miniature delle Omilie di Giacomo Monaco (cod. Vatic. Urbin.

græc. 1162) e dell' Evangelario Greco urbinate (cod. Vatic. Urbin.

græc. 2). Con breve prefazione e sommaria descrizione di Msgr.

Cosimo Stornajolo" (40 francs); (2) "Pagine scelte di due codici

appartenenti alla Badia di S. Maria di Coupar-Angus in Scozia. Con

una breve descrizione di H.M. Bannister M.A. Contributo alla storia

della scrittura insulare" (5 francs). Of the third undertaking, the

"Collezione Paleografica Vaticana", a single fascicle has appeared:

"Le Miniature della Bibbia: Codex Vatic. Regin. græc. 1 e del

Saltario: Codex Vatic. Palat. graec. 381" (55 francs). The fourth

collection is called "Collezioni Archeologiche, Artistiche e

Numismatiche dei Palazzi Apostolici, pubblicate per ordine di Sua

Santità, a cura della Biblioteca Vaticana, dei Musei e delle Gallerie

Pontificie". For this work the collaboration of the officials not alone

of the library, but also of the museums and galleries, has been

requisitioned. Four volumes have already appeared: (1) "Gli avori

dei Musei Profano e Sacro della Biblioteca Vaticana, pubblicati per

cura della medesima, con introduzione del Barone Rodolfo Kanzler"

(edition exhausted); (2) "Le Nozze Aldobrandine, i paesaggi con

scene dell' Odissea e le altre pitture murali antiche conservate nella

Biblioteca Vaticana e nèi Musei Pontifici. Con introduzione del

Comm. B. Nogara" (250 francs); (3) "Le Monete e le Bolle Plumbee

Pontificale del Medagliere Vaticano, descritte ed illustrate dal Cav.

C. Serafini. Tome I (615-1572)" (80 francs), with introduction by Le

Grelle, "Saggio di storia delle collezioni numismatiche Vaticane";

(4) "I Mosaici antiehi conservati nei Palazzi Pontifici del Vaticano e

del Laterno. Con introduzione del Comm. B. Nogara" (200 francs).

In the press are (1) Nogara and Pinza, "La Tomba Regolini Galassi

e gli altri materiali coevi dei Museo Gregoriano-Etrusco. Voll. 4 (3 di

testo ed. 1 di tavole)"; (2) Nogara, "I vasi antichi del Museo Etrusco

e della Biblioteca Vaticana".

The fifth collection, "Le Piante Maggiori di Roma nel Secolo XVI e

XVII, riprodotte in fototipia a cura della Biblioteca Vaticana. Con

introduzione di Francesco Ehrle, S.J.", is the result of the personal

research of the prefect of the Vatican. It embraces six numbers and

two supplements: (1) "Roma al tempo di Giulio III. La Lianta di

Roma di Leonardo Bufalini del 1551, riprodotta per la prima volta

dalla stampa originale" (20 francs); (2) "Roma prima di Sisto V. La

Lianta di Roma Du Pérac-Lafréry del 1577. Contributo alla storia

del commercio delle stampe a Roma nel secolo XVI e XVlI" (15

francs); (3) "Roma al tempo di Urbano VIII (1623-1644). La Pianta

di Roma Maggi-Maupin-Losi, di quaranta fogli, riprodotta da uno

dei tre esemplari completi, fin adesso conosciuti" (in the press); (4)

"Roma al tempo di Paolo V (1605-1621). La Pianta di Antonio

Tempesta del 1606" (in preparation); (5) "Roma al tempo di Urbano

VIII (1632-1644). La Pianta di Roma pubblicata da Goert van

Schayck (Gottifredo Scaichi) nel 1630" (in preparation); (6) "Roma

al tempo di Innocenzo XI (1676-1689). La Pianta di Roma di

Giovanni Battista Falda del 1676" (in preparation). Supplements:

(1) "La grande Veduta Maggi-Mascardi (1615) dei Tempio e del

Palazzo Vaticano, stampata coi nomi originali. Con introduzione di

Francesco Ehrle" (to appear shortly); (2) "La Pianta della

Campagna Romana del 1547, in sei fogli, riprodotta in fototipia

della copia Vaticana, unica finora. Con introduzione di Tommaso

Ashby" (in preparation).

As the last and most comprehensive, and furthermore, on account of

the smaller expense in preparation, the most accessible, collection

is the "Studi e Testi". The twenty-three fascicles which have already

appeared contain either the results of systematic research among

the Vatican manuscripts with a definite purpose, or shavings and

parings which fall from the work-table while more important works

are being accomplished. From the following arrangement of the

works according to authors this twofold distinction becomes

apparent. Marco Vatasso has published fascicles 1, 2, 4, 10, 14,

16, 17, 18, and 20: (1) "Antonio Flaminio e le principali poesie dell'

autografo Vaticano 2870"; (2) "Le due Bibbie di Bovino, ora codici

Vaticani latini 10510, 10511, e le loro note storiche"; (3) "Aneddoti

in dialet to romanesco del secolo XIV, tratti dal codice Vatic. 7654";

(4) "Per la storia del dramma sacro in Italia"; (5) "Del Petrarca e di

alcuni suoi amici"; (6) "Initia Patrum aliorumque scriptorum

ecclesiasticorum ex Mignei Patrologia et ex compluribus aliis libris

conlecta" (2 vols.); (7) "Frammenti d'un Livio del quinto secolo

recentemente scoperti: Codice Vaticano latino 10696"; (8) "I codici

Petrarchesehi della Biblioteca Vaticana". Pio Franchi de' Cavalieri

published fascicles 3, 6, 8, 9, 19, and 22: (1) "La Passio SS.

Mariani et Jacobi"; (2) "I Martiri di S. Teodoto di Ancisa e di S.

Ariadne di Prinnesso con un' appendice sul testo originale del

Martirio di S. Eleutherio"; (3) "Note agiografiche: a. Ancora del

martirio di S. Ariadne; b. Gli Atti di S. Giustino"; (4) "Nuove Note

agiografiche: c. Il testo originale del martirio di Agape, Irene e

Chione; d. Gli Atti di S. Crispina. e. I Martiri della Massa Candida. f.

Di una probabile fonte della leggenda dei SS. Giovanni e Paolo";

(5) "Hagiographica: a. Osservazioni sulle leggende dei SS. Martiri

Mena e Trifone. b. Della legenda di S. Pancrazio Romano. c. Intorno

ad alcune reminiscenze classiche nelle leggende agiografiche del

secolo IV"; (6) "Note agiografiche, fascicolo terzo".

Giovanni Mercati published the fascicles 5, 7, 11, 12, and 15: (1)

"Note di letteratura biblica e cristiana antica"; (2) "Antiche reliquie

ambrosiano-romane, con un excursus sui frammenti dogmatici

ariani del Mai"; (3) "Varia Sacra: Fasc. 1. a. Anonymi Chiliastæ in

Matthæum Fragmenta. b. Alcuni supplementi agli scritti dei Dottori

Cappadoci e di S. Cirillo Alessandrino"; (4) a. "Un frammento delle

ipotiposi di Clemente Alessandrino. b. Paralipomena Ambrosiana

con alcuni appunti sulle benedizioni del Cereo pasquale"; (5)

"Opuscoli inediti del Beato Cardinal Giuseppe Tommasi tratti in

luce". Enrico Carusi published fascicle 21: "Dispacci e lettere di

Giacomo Gherardi, nunzio Pontificio a Firenze e Milano

1487-1490". Eugene Tisserant published fascicle 23: "Codex

Zugninensis rescriptus Veteris Testamenti. Texte grec des

manuscrits Vatican Syriaque 162 et. Mus. Brit." Additionel 14665,

édité avec introduction et notes. Of the published fascicles there still

remains: "Catalogo sommario della Esposizione Gregoriana aperta

nella Biblioteca Vaticana dal 7 all' 11 Aprile, 1904, a cura della

Direzione della medesima Biblioteca. Ediz. seconda." In the press

is: Mercati and Ferrini, "Basilicorum paratitla". The following are in

preparation: (1) Mercati, "Psalmorum hexaplorum reliquiæ e codice

rescripto Ambrosiano"; (2) Vatasso, "Cronache Forlivesi di Maestro

Giovanni de Pedrino (1411-1464). Una versione in dialetto del

secolo XIV delle Armonie evangeliche d'Ammonio"; (3) Carusi,

"Diario di Fiorenza dall'anno 1482, di Giusto d'Anghiari"; (4)

Nogara, "Il libro XXXII della Storia d'Italia di Flavio Biondo dai

codici Vatic. 1940-1946". All these collections may advantageously

be used as works of reference on the Vatican Libary. The Vatican

stands at the head of the world's libraries in its number of scientific

publications, despite its comparatively small staff and insufficient

funds.

(7) The Administration of the Vatican Library

Since the time of Marcello Cervini, the first cardinal who was named

(1548) librarian of the Apostolic Library, this official has borne the

honorary title of Protettore della Biblioteca Vaticana. In him is

vested in general the supreme direction of the library, which he

represents in all questions and under all circumstances relating to

the library as a whole or to the administration in general. Under him

there is, for the technical and scientific management of the library, a

prefect -- formerly there were two -- who has to decide all questions

referring to the ordinary administration and to issue such instructions

as these questions may demand. The position of assistant librarian,

revived by Leo XIII, is at present vacant. For the chief language or

groups of languages represented in the Vatican manuscripts there

are six ordinary and five honorary scriptores, to whom is entrusted

the scientific cultivation of the departments committed to them. Thus,

including the prefect, there are twelve scientific general officials. For

the collections connected with the library, ee.g. the Cabinet of Coins

and Medals (Il Medagliere) and the Christian Museum (Museo

Sacro), there are four directors, whose duty is the scientific

supervision of their collections. Under the supervision of one of the

scriptores, six assistants discharge all the duties connected with the

printed books, besides superintending special portions of the

library. The prefect is assisted by a secretary, who has in addition

the duty of keeping the accounts. Seven bidelli (library attendants)

bring the manuscripts and books to the readers, transfer the

departments to their new quarters when a change has been

determined on, and keep everything in order in the Consultation

Library. In the repair-shop and book-bindery four men are

permanently employed.

The salaries of the officials are exceedingly modest. No official, not

even the prefect, receives more than fifty dollars a month. The title of

"Scriptor of the Vatican Library" has been held by such men as

Giovanni de Rossi, Mariano Rampolla del Tindaro, Stevenson, and

many others, and is to-day borne by such world-famous scholars as

Mercati, Franchi de' Cavalieri, Vatasso, etc. The annual budget of

the library is the ridiculously small sum of 6000 dollars. On

extraordinary occasions great loans have been secured -- e.g.,

$100,000 when the Barberini Library was purchased. During his

term of office, Father Ehrle raised the budget to about 7000 dollars

by obtaining contributions from his friends and acquaintances. In all

financial questions the library is subordinate to the Prefecture of the

Apostolic Palaces. The archives of the library contain no acts

extending back beyond the time of the first cardinal librarian; more

recent administrative acts are, however, complete. In earlier times

all manuscripts whose publication was adjudged untimely,

dangerous, likely to cause misunderstandings etc., were marked on

the back with a small black cross. When such a codex was asked

for, the prefect decided whether or not it should be delivered to the

particular scholar. This custom led to distinctions not always of a

very agreeable kind, and was entirely discontinued by Father Ehrle,

so that any scholar can procure without further ceremony any

manuscript which he desires. In the case of the exceptionally

valuable codices or those which have to be handled with special

care, the readers must observe all the directions which the prefect

has found it necessary to impose.

The administration shows the greatest complaisance in its dealings

with scholars, and admits outside the regular four-hour period of

study those whose time is very limited. The same rule applies to

Thursday, which is a free day, and to the holidays proper. The library

is open from 1 October to 27 June -- in winter from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.,

and in summer from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. On all Thursdays, feasts,

certain memorial days, the holidays of Christmas, the Carnival, and

Easter, and on some other occasions, it is closed. The library

ordinances issued by Sixtus V are carved in marble at the entrance.

These have received timely alterations in the "Chirographa" of

Clement XII, Benedict XIV, and Clement XIII, as well as in the

Decree "Ex audientia Sanctissimi" of Pius IX; in particular, a

number of the holidays which proved especially burdensome to

strangers have been abolished. By Motu Proprio of 9 September,

1878, Leo XIII made further alterations, among others the revival of

the office of assistant librarian. Finally, on 21 March, 1885, the same

pontiff issued a new "Regolamento della Biblioteca Vaticana"

together with a "Calendario per l'apertura e per lo studio e servizio

della B. Vaticana". After these regulations had remained in force for

a three years' trial, they were revised and raised to a permanent law

by Motu Proprio of 1 October, 1888, which is still binding.

(8) The Collections connected with the Library

The exhibition in the library halls of the costly presents received by

the popes in the course of the last hundred years from emperors,

kings, princes, and rich private persons, has converted some of

these halls into a museum, which, while possessing great attraction

for strangers and decorating the rooms, is without any real scientific

value. Countless other objects, however, have been collected for

scientific reasons. A beginning was made by Benedict XIV

(1740-58), when in 1744 he bought the magnificent collection of old

Christian glasses belonging to Cardinal Gaspare Carpegna and

transferred them to the library. This collection forms the basis of the

celebrated Museo Cristiano. Next comes the Vettori collection of

gems, the second great acquisition of the same pontiff. During the

nineteenth century this museum grew to such an extent, owing to the

excavations in the catacombs, that the largest pieces (such as the

sarcophagi, the inscriptions, mosaics etc.) had to be transferred to

the Lateran, where a second Museo Cristiano of greater importance

has been established.

The remaining most valuable objects of the lesser arts of gold,

silver, bronze, enamel, glass, bone, ivory, lead, etc., form an

unrivalled collection of its kind. The well-known medallion with the

heads of Sts. Peter and Paul, the golden pectoral cross found on the

Campo Verano (to which de Rossi has devoted a special

monograph), the triptych of Penicaud of Limoges, and many other

objects belong to the chief glories of this museum. Baron Kanzler

has published an édition de luxe on the collection of ivory carvings.

The above-named Vettori was the first custodian of this collection,

which was later placed immediately under the prefect of the library.

Under Leo XIII Giovanni Battista de Rossi was named prefect of the

museum, an honour intended only for him. To-day the directors of

this division are again subordinate to the prefect of the library.

The Medagliere or numismatic collection was opened in 1555 under

Marcellus II. Clement XII (1730-40) added many objects to the

collection, but Benedict XIV (1740-48) became its great benefactor,

by acquiring the incomparable Albani collection. This glorious

cabinet of coins is described by Venuti in his "Antiqua Numismata

maximi moduli ex Museo Cardinalis Albani in Vaticanam

Bibliothecam translata" (2 vols., Rome, 1739-44). The acquisition of

the Carpegna and Scilla collections also falls into this period. Many

of the objects were sold by the French or -- a fact which could not be

detected in individual cases -- were secretly incorporated in the

Paris collection, so that the Medagliere returned to Rome greatly

diminished. Pius VII resumed the task of collecting, and the

department was continually increased, the Ranchi collection being

recently added (1901) at the expense of 64,000 lire ($12,800). After

the discarding of valuable duplicates, for which 32,000 lire was

obtained, the Medagliere stands again at the grand total of 70,000

pieces. Among its most celebrated exhibits are the uninjured s

grave and the oldest papal coins. The custodian Serafini has

recently issued the first volume of the scientific description of this

collection.

The objects of pagan art in gold, silver, amber, etc., which came to

the Holy See with the Museo Carpegna, the carved stones,

enamels, glasses, carved ivories, figurines, etc., and the small

bronze busts and tablets were accommodated by Pius VI in

magnificent cases at the end of the long manuscript gallery at the

entrance to the museum. Such was the foundation of the Pagan

Museum, which to-day stands under the direction of Commendatore

Nogara, and to which other Cimelia were later added. The

department is subordinate to the prefecture of the library.

Connected with this department (although not in the same hall) is the

collection of ancient pagan frescoes begun by Pius VII when he

purchased the Aldobrandini "Marriage". Under Gregory XVI and

Pius IX further frescoes, obtained from the walls of the old Roman

houses, were added. The hall in which these pieces are exhibited

was painted by Guido Reni. Beside them are the brick stamps

(classified and bequeathed by Marini), a kind of factory mark

impressed by the ancients on the bricks, which is of the highest

importance for the chronology of classical buildings. Here were also

the 33 majolica plates which Leo XIII had conveyed from Castel

Gandolfo to Rome, but which are now in the Appartamento Borgia.

Concerning the Aldobrandini "Marriage" and analogous objects

Nogara has published an édition de luxe.

The hall for the Latin papyrus documents, richly fitted with costly

marbles, was magnificently painted by Raphael Mengs. Here are

collected more documents belonging to the period 444 to 854 than

are contained in any other collection in the world. The collection was

begun by Paul V, continued by Clement XII and Benedict XIV, while

the costly decorations were completed by Pius VII. In each of the

twenty-four receptacles in the walls are from one to three papyrus

fragments. Besides the monumental work of Gaetano Marinis,

"Papyri diplomatici", Marucchi has recently treated the "Monumenta

papyracea latina." The Cabinet of Drawings and Engravings

contains originals by Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Mantegna, and

many other woodcuts and steel engravings, extending back to the

time of Albrecht Dürer. This is a small but excellent collection. In the

former Chapel of Pius V were once preserved the addresses

received by Pius IX, Leo XIII, and Pius X from all the countries of the

world. Begun in 1867, the collection was recently transferred to the

Casino di Pio IV in the Vatican Gardens when this hall had to be

used for the special purposes of the library, but still remains under

the direction of the prefect of the library. In similar manner the

pre-Raphaelite paintings of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries

and a number of Byzantine tablets, which were accommodated in

special halls of the library, have been transferred to the

picture-gallery.

(9) History of the Library

Like every great church, that of Rome found it necessary from the

beginning to form a collection of archival materials and books. This

was of the greatest importance for the transaction of business, for

the scientific pursuit of theology, for reference etc. Owing to the

frequent change of the Curial headquarters, the wars and sieges of

Rome, and numerous other vicissitudes, the collections of this kind

have suffered great damage. The fate of the old papal library has

been the subject of many inquiries, of which the most scholarly is

that of de Rossi (referred to above) and the most extensive that of

Ehrle ("Die Frangipani und der Untergang des Archivs und der

Bibliothek der Päpste am Anfang des 13. Jahrhunderts" in

"Mélanges offerts a M. Emile Chatelain . . . par ses élèves et ses

amis 15 avril 1910", Paris, 1910). The following may be also

consulted: Zanelli, "La Biblioteca Vaticana della sua origine fino al

presente" (Rome, 1857), and Faucon, "La Librairie des Papes

d'Avignon, sa formation, sa composition, ses catalogues

(1316-1420)" (Paris, 1887). For the new acquisitions made down to

the present day the only reliable source is Carini, "La Biblioteca

Vaticana proprietà della Santa Sede Memoria Storica" (Rome,

1892). (Cf. Crispo Moncada, "La Biblioteca Vaticana e Monsignor

Isidoro Carini", Palermo, 1895.) What were the book treasures of

the Holy See at the end of the thirteenth century, whence they came,

how a new library was formed at Avignon, and how this library

attained its greatest extent under Clement VI, may be learned from

the above works, as may also the fate of these collections.

Martin V restored the seat of the Curia to Rome, and, both by

exercising the right of spoil (see JUS SPOLI) and also by

purchases, laid the foundation of a library, which was extended and

enriched by Eugene IV. Under the latter pontiff the library contained

340 manuscripts, of which traces are still found in the "Fondo antico

Vaticano". But the great humanist pope, Nicholas V (1447-55), was

the true founder of the Vaticana, which may be regarded as the

fourth papal library. This pontiff acquired the remains of the imperial

library of Constantinople which had been scattered by the Turks,

and was able to bequeath at this death 824 codices, of which a

large number can be pointed out in the Vaticana to-day. The

succeeding popes added smaller collections, and Sixtus IV gave a

permanent basis to the library by the construction of its glorious

halls. On the ground floor of the palace in the Cortile del Papagallo

and under the Appartamento Borgia he had four halls painted by

Melozzo da Forli and his pupil Ghirlandajo, with coloured windows

by Hermannus Teutonicus. In three of these halls stood work tables,

to which (as was then customary) the manuscripts were fastened

with chains, while in the fourth were twelve chest-like receptacles

and five presses filled with codices; the furniture of inlaid wood

adorns to-day the Appartamento Borgia. The pope purchased the

library of Gaspare da Sant'Angelo in 1482, employed numerous

copyists, and encouraged his librarian Platina (appointed in 1475)

to restore the Vaticana to its former position of renown. The library

had a public division for the Latin and Greek languages, and a

private section (afterwards transferred to Sant' Angelo), in which the

documentary treasures of the Roman Church were preserved.

Under Sixtus the collection grew to 2527 codices, of which 770

were Greek and 1757 Latin. (Cf. Fabre, "La Vaticana de Sixte IV" in

"Mélanges d'archéol. et d'hist.", XV.)

The great growth of the Libreria Palatina, as it was called,

continued, and under Innocent VIII it included 3650 manuscripts and

printed works. Besides other acquisitions, Alexander VI secured

forty Bobbio codices from Tommaso Inghirami; Julius II added new

rooms to the four halls to provide sufficient space for the collection.

Leo X donated to the library his own Greek codices (cf. Heiberg,

"Les premiers manuscrits grecs de la Bibliothèque Papale",

Copenhagen, 1892), so that under him the library contained 4070

books and manuscripts -- a number unexampled at that time. The

first cardinal librarian and protector of the library, which office had

previously been managed only by prelates, was Marcello Cervini,

who was appointed in 1548. Cardinal Cervini (afterwards Marcellus

II) presented to the library more than 240 codices and many books;

about 250 others were added before the reign of Gregory XIII

(1572-85), who conceived the plan of a new library building. This