The application of the Roman-canonical process to the canonization of saints is certainly a proof of the medieval versatility of this new ordo iudicii. At the same time, it placed the judgment on holiness – reserved to the popes since 1234 – within the public Roman ecclesiastical justice: from this point of view the canonization of saints became an expression of the papal iurisdictio and corresponded to a “matter of power”. This helps to put into context the uncompleted negotium for the sanctity of the minorite Ambrogio da Massa, begun by Pope Gregory IX in 1240, when the relationship between the Comune of Orvieto and the Apostolic See was going through difficulties. After describing the sanctity trial for Ambrogio and his worship in Orvieto, the author analyzes some diplomatic and textual features of the rotulus kept in Orvieto (Sezione di Archivio di Stato, Diplomatico comunale, R 3) and concludes that this roll most likely contains the “originalia” penned during the trial sessions by Rainerius Guidonis, the notary appointed by the papal commissarii to record the local inquisitio. Furthermore, the author detects one reason that contributed to the failure of the canonization. In the letter Grata nobis admodum (1250), Pope Innocent IV, in order to motivate the refusal of the procedural acts in the papal curia, stated that the acts were affected by a defectum solemnitatis. This means that the public notary Rainerius Guidonis was not acknoledged by the Pope, which implied the invalidity of the documents he drafted outside Orvieto. The circumstance is somehow remarkable, as in those same years the bishop Raniero of Orvieto (1228-1248) – the most prominent member of the inquisitory committee, as well as member of a family of judges and notaries – appointed a notary of the apostolic see, and not a “local” one, for ecclesiastical and juridical actions against the counts of Rotacastello. Probably the bishop of Orvieto himself was not so intersted in the canonization of Ambrogio.
"Originalia penes scriptores remaneant". Il processo orvietano per la canonizzazione di Ambrogio da Massa (1240-1241)
PACIOCCO, Roberto
2017-01-01
Abstract
The application of the Roman-canonical process to the canonization of saints is certainly a proof of the medieval versatility of this new ordo iudicii. At the same time, it placed the judgment on holiness – reserved to the popes since 1234 – within the public Roman ecclesiastical justice: from this point of view the canonization of saints became an expression of the papal iurisdictio and corresponded to a “matter of power”. This helps to put into context the uncompleted negotium for the sanctity of the minorite Ambrogio da Massa, begun by Pope Gregory IX in 1240, when the relationship between the Comune of Orvieto and the Apostolic See was going through difficulties. After describing the sanctity trial for Ambrogio and his worship in Orvieto, the author analyzes some diplomatic and textual features of the rotulus kept in Orvieto (Sezione di Archivio di Stato, Diplomatico comunale, R 3) and concludes that this roll most likely contains the “originalia” penned during the trial sessions by Rainerius Guidonis, the notary appointed by the papal commissarii to record the local inquisitio. Furthermore, the author detects one reason that contributed to the failure of the canonization. In the letter Grata nobis admodum (1250), Pope Innocent IV, in order to motivate the refusal of the procedural acts in the papal curia, stated that the acts were affected by a defectum solemnitatis. This means that the public notary Rainerius Guidonis was not acknoledged by the Pope, which implied the invalidity of the documents he drafted outside Orvieto. The circumstance is somehow remarkable, as in those same years the bishop Raniero of Orvieto (1228-1248) – the most prominent member of the inquisitory committee, as well as member of a family of judges and notaries – appointed a notary of the apostolic see, and not a “local” one, for ecclesiastical and juridical actions against the counts of Rotacastello. Probably the bishop of Orvieto himself was not so intersted in the canonization of Ambrogio.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
