LIBER PONTIFICALIS
415
LIBER PONTIFICALIS
chapter of Verona, endinf; also with Conon, but to it was adilc<l afterwards a list of the names of the popes down to Paul I (t 7G7). Tliis 3IS. was published in the fourth volume of Bianchini's collection, but, unfortunately, we have no description of this codex; it was to have been given in the tifth volume, which never appeared (see Kostell, Beschreibung iler Stadt Rum. i, 209, 210), so that it is impossible clearly to establish its relation to the Neapolitan MS. A continuation of this tirst work goes down to Gregory II (from 714), and is to be found in the Codex of the Vatican, No. 52G9, which must be a copy of an older MS. (Schelstrate, ch. v, § 3). Then there is another continuation from the second part of the 8th century, contained in a codex of the Ambrosian Library of Milan (^I. no. 77, 4to), which is of the same date. The biographies close with Stephen III (f 757), and at the end is simply remarked, "xcv Paulus sedit annis x, mensibus ii, diebus v" (Muratori, Rerum Itul. Svriptores, iii, 7). The variations on this MS. are given by ]\Iuratori under the letter A. It belonged originally to the convent of Bobbio. According to a very plausi- ble supposition of Niebuhr, the above-mentioned Nea- liolitan Codex came also from that convent. It will ])rol)ably be possible, when the subject shall have been more thoroughly studied, to trace a connection between the two, and the Liber Fontificalis also. After the mid- dle of the 8th century there appeared several continua- tions, as is shown by the numerous MSS. of them in existence (see, in jNIuratori, B, C, D; and Pertz, who gives notices of several MSS. of the kind). Some of these codices extend down to Nicolas I (f 807), others to Stcplien VI (t 891), which is as far as the so-called LihiT Pimtificulis extends.
If from what we have stated it is concluded that the work dates back as far as tlie 7th century, it is clearly im- possible that the librarian Anastasius should have been its author. He could at best only have continued it. Schelstrate thinks that the biography of Nicolas I can alone be ascribed to him (c. viii, § 10) ; while Ciampini is induced by some peculiarities of the style to consider him also as the author of the four preceding ones (/. c. sect. V, vi). In the present state of the question it is impossible to decide between the two opinions. But it is clearly a mistake to attribute the biographies of Adrian II and Stephen IV to a certain Bibliothecarius GiiUditms, as is generally done (Ciampini names the lil)rariau Zachary, sect, iv, vii, viii). This error orig- inated in an inscription in the Vatican Codex (3702, fol. 90 b-9(j), which, however, states only that a certain Pe- ter Guillermus of Genoa, librarian of the convent of S. .Egidius, wrote this Vatican Codex in the year 1142 (see (iiesebrecht, in X\\e Kieler A llr/em. Moriatsschriff, etc., April, 1852, p. 2G6. 267 ; Monumenta Germaniic, xi, .318).
The sources of the Liber PonHficalis, besides those above mentioned, consist partly in traditions, partly in MS. documents, and remaining monuments, euch as buildings, inscriptions, etc. The collection of canon law of the 7th or 8th centur\% published by Zachary from a codex of Modena, stands in close connection with the Liber PouHjicalis (see Zaccaria, Dissertazioni varie Italiane a storia ecclesiasticn nppnrtenenti, Rom. 1780, vol. ii, diss, iv ; reproduced by Galland, De velitstis ca- nonum coUectionibus dissert ationiim si/Uoffe,'Moi<;unt. 1770, 4to, ii, 679 sq.) ; yet it is not to be considered as one of its sources, but rather appears to have been based on the Liber Pontijicalis. The Liber Pon/ijicalis has be- come particidarly valuable for the correctness of the in- formation since the latter part of the 7th centurj', when tlie Roman archives were regidarly organized, and the contiiuiation of the Liber Pontijicalis could only be in- trusted to the librarians or other members of the clergy having free access to the archives. The Liber Pontiji- calis is especially useful for the history of particular churches, ecclesiastical institutions, the "discipline, etc. Schelstrate names as its first edition Peter Crabbe's Concilien (Cologne, 1538) ; but this is neither complete
nor well connected. It only contains extracts on each pope, like Baronius's Annales and subsecjuent collec- tions of canons, and as the " editio jirinceps," the edi- tion of J. Busiius (Mayence, 1602, 4to) is generally ac- cepted, which is based on a MS. of Marcus Welser, of Augsburg. It was followed by the edition of Hannibal Fabrotti (Par. 1649), for which several codices were con- sulted. Lucas Holstenius prepared another by collating BusLius's with a number of MSS., and, although never published, it was greatly used by Schelstrate and others (see Schelstrate, cap. v, No. 3 sq.). From the hands of Schelstrate the MS. of Holstenius passed into the li- brary of the Vatican in 1734 (see Dudik, Iter Romanuin, pt. i [Vienna, 1855, p. 169]). The next edition was published by Francis Bianchini (Rom. 1718, folio), and this served as a basis for Muratori's, contained in the 3d volume of his Sci-iptores rerum Jtalicarum (1723); Bianchini's work was continued by his nei)hew, Joseph Bianchini (vols, ii-iv, Rom. 1735 ; there was to have been a 5th volume, but it never appeared). There also appeared at Rome an edition by John and Peter Joseph Vignoli (1724, 1752, 1755, 3 vols. 4to). RiJstell recently undertook another for the Monumenta Germanue, while Giesebrecht announced for the same work a continua- tion of the Liber Puntijicalis (see Giesebrecht, Ueber die Quellen d./riiheren Papstc/escli., art. ii in the Kiekr All- gem. Monatsschrift f. WissenschaJ't u. Literutur, April, 1852, p. 257-274).