Liber notarum

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Liber notarum (Eng .: notebook) is the title of the notes that the papal master of ceremonies Johannes Burckard made during his time at the Curia in Rome from 1483 to 1506. This work is of historical importance primarily because it is a contemporary source of numerous events at the court of Popes Innocent VIII , Alexander VI. , Pius III. and Julius II .

The work and its historical significance

Johann Burckard prefaces his notes with the following:

Written by Johannes Burckard of Strasbourg, protonotary of the Holy See, cleric of the papal chapel and master of ceremonies, on all events connected with ceremonies and on a few others that go beyond.

In it, Burckard first describes the process of church ceremonies in great detail - because one of his tasks as the Pope's master of ceremonies was that the liturgical provisions were observed. He recorded which prayers, chants or rites were practiced on which occasions. He was also responsible for regulating all questions relating to protocol, for example when receiving embassies to the Pope or the Curia . Both areas - the liturgy and the diplomatic protocol - were given a much higher priority in the times of the Renaissance , since the popes were not only leaders of the church, but also territorial princes of their own state.

The historical significance of Burckard's work is not limited to the detailed description of the liturgy or protocol practices, since he recorded conversations with his employer, the Pope, as well as all events in the vicinity of the Curia. He maintained contact with cardinals and envoys, but also records rumors and stories circulating in Rome about orgies, debauchery, murder and conspiracies.

In doing so, he helps to paint a lively picture of a renaissance city which - although in a religious sense caput mundi ("head of the world") and thus the linchpin of European politics - a certain light-heartedness and frivolity as well as bluntly displayed pompousness the spiritual princes did not contain.

Burckard's notes contributed to this, for example the reputation of Alexander VI. as a dissolute Renaissance prince. His portrayal of the so-called chestnut banquet on the evening of October 31, 1501 in the apartments of Cesare Borgia in the papal palace is particularly popular.

Doubts about the authenticity and genuineness

Burckard's reports on this matter should, however, be treated with caution. Although the papal master of ceremonies, he did not yet have access to all events, festivals and of course orgies. What Burckard did not experience himself, he has sources report to him, and so he often reports from a second, sometimes even a third hand. If the reports on the conversations with the Popes give a characteristic picture of the moods and whims of the various pontifices, then his descriptions of various debauchery in the Vatican apartments were undoubtedly influenced by the lively imagination of the scribe (and his informants).

As the historian Volker Reinhardt notes, Burckard is only of limited use as evidence for the countless misconduct of the popes:

“Burckard should therefore not be made a key witness for orgies in the Papal Palace. He is hardly wronged to assume that he would have liked to have been there but, in the absence of an invitation, uses his imagination to help himself. But none of this significantly reduces the informative value of his notebook. It is particularly credible when it records inconspicuous events without drawing far-reaching conclusions from them. "

The authenticity of the entire work was first verified by de Roo , later u. a. questioned by Monaldi & Sorti . The reason for this is the lack of any handwritten original texts and the collage-like composition of the various texts, which suggest a later insertion of foreign texts to denounce the Borgia Pope. Moreover, Burckard brings from the Decameron of Giovanni Boccaccio inherited history. However, Burckard's autograph of the Liber notarum still partially exists, even if only for the period from August 1503 to May 1506.

literature

  • Enrico Celani (Ed.): Johannis Burckardi Liber Notarum from anno 1483 usque ad annum 1506. Città di Castello, 1910–1942; in the LA Muratori series (ed.): Rerum italicarum Scriptores Vol. 32, in two volumes.
  • Ludwig Geiger : Alexander VI. and his court. According to the diary of his master of ceremonies Burcardus. Stuttgart: Verlag Robert Lutz approx. 1913. (Contains the German translation of important passages.)

Web links

Remarks

  1. ↑ Volker Reinhardt: Alexander VI. The creepy Pope . CH Beck 2005. p. 75 books.google
  2. ↑ see Oskar Panizza : My defense in the matter of "The Love Council". In addition to the expert report by Dr. MG Conrad and the judgment of the k. District Court Munich I. Schabelitz, Zurich 1895, footnote 3 zeno.org .
  3. ↑ Volker Reinhardt: Alexander VI. The creepy Pope . CH Beck 2005. p. 76 books.google
  4. ↑ Peter de Roo: Material for a History of Pope Alexander VI, his Relatives and his Time , Brügge, Desclée, De Brouwer and Co., 1924, Volume II.
  5. ↑ Review of Burckhard's diary in the appendix (“An Apolog”) by: Monaldi & Sorti: Die Zweifel des Salai (“I dubbi di Salai”), Kindler Verlag, Munich, 2008
  6. ↑ In the appendix of: Monaldi & Sorti: Die Zweifel des Salai ("I dubbi di Salai"), Kindler Verlag, Munich, 2008
  7. ↑ Ludwig Geiger: Alexander VI. and his court (as above under "Literature"), p. 86.