The Jubilee Bull of Boniface VIII - Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio
Pope Boniface VIII (ca. 1230–1303) declared the year 1300 to be the first Christian jubilee year with a papal bull titled Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio. In doing so, he recalled a tradition described in the Book of Leviticus, which declared that every fiftieth year would be marked by the freeing of slaves and prisoners, the forgiveness of debts and sins, and that this would cause God’s mercy to be particularly manifest. Inspired by the offer of plenary indulgences, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims made their way to the holy city of Rome and thus began a Catholic tradition that continues to this day.
The Jubilee Bull of Boniface VIII - Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio
Pope Boniface VIII (ca. 1230–1303) was one of the most controversial men to sit on the Throne of St. Peter. He asserted both the spiritual and temporal supremacy of the papacy over the kings of Europe at a time when they in turn were asserting increasingly centralized, national rule in their respective realms. He was resented by Dante Alighieri (ca. 1265–1321), who placed Boniface in the Eighth Circle of Hell with the rest of the simoniacs in his Divine Comedy for his constant schemes to increase papal incomes, and for debasing the papacy through his involvement in worldly politics. This was also a primary issue in Boniface’s ongoing conflict with King Philip IV of France (1268–1314), which eventually led to the Pope’s death after being seized by French forces with the aid of the powerful Giacomo Colonna (1270–1329). Boniface is remembered more positively for proclaiming the year 1300 to be the first Christian “jubilee” year in the papal bull titled Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio, beginning a popular Catholic tradition. Although his bull did not specifically use the word jubilee, chroniclers in Rome and across Europe described the year 1300 as annus jubileus. The pilgrims who came to Rome in unprecedented numbers filled the papal coffers as well, which some speculate was the Boniface’s true aim.
The First Christian Jubilee
Boniface personally authored the bull, which he published on February 22nd, 1300. In it, he offered the complete pardon of all sins for those who made the pilgrimage to Rome, visited St. Peter’s Basilica or the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls at least once per day for a certain period (30 days for Romans, 15 for foreigners), and confessed their sins. The event was of such magnitude that it was also mentioned by Dante in his Divine Comedy. The jubilee tradition is rooted in the Book of Leviticus, which declared that every fiftieth year would be marked by the freeing of slaves and prisoners, the forgiveness of debts and sins, and that this would cause God’s mercy to be particularly manifest. Although the Pope may have declared it to attract pilgrims to Rome to substitute the income that was being denied him by the King of France, it proved to be very popular, attracting ca. 200,000 pilgrims and inspiring successive jubilees that have continued to this day. Boniface and his counsellors are said to have managed the affair well, providing plentiful food at moderate prices to feed the crowds, which sometimes numbered 30,000 in a single day.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Bolla di Bonifacio VIII
Jubiläumsbulle von Bonifazius VIII. - Antiquorum Habet Fida Relatio - Size / Format
- 1 leaf / 42.6 × 55.3 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- 1300
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Script
- Diplomatic minuscule
- Content
- Announcement of the first jubilee of Christianity with papal pendant seal on a silk cord
- Patron
- Pope Boniface VIII
#1 La Bolla di Bonifacio VIII
Language: Italian
#2 Bonifacio VIII. La bolla del primo Anno Santo
Languages: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Russian, Spanish
The commentary comprises translations of the document in the languages listed.
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Aboca Museum
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag für Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Éditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Eos-Verlag
- ET&B
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Helikon
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- ILte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
- Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- J. Thorbecke
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la société de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- Müller & Schindler
- National Library of Wales
- Nova Charta
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Propyläen Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Riehn & Reusch
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de Antropología
- Stainer and Bell
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi Tudomànyegyetem
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Urs Graf
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Xuntanza Editorial
- Zollikofer AG