Displaying items by tag: ARCHIVUM GENERALE ORDINIS CARMELITARUM

From the Archives and General Library of the Carmelite Order

This year marks two important centenaries for the Carmelite Order. On January 30, 1226, Pope Honorius III issued a bull, in the form of a mandatum, or command, which began with the words Ut vivendi normam: with it, the pontiff commanded the hermits on Mt. Carmel to faithfully observe the Formula of Life, given a few years earlier (between 1206 and 1214) by the Patriarch, Albert of Jerusalem. By observing it and living “in holy penance,” the Carmelites would obtain an indulgence. This was not yet the approval of the Rule, which would only take place on October 1, 1247, with Innocent IV, but a first recognition of the community of Carmelite hermits and their Formula of Life.

A century later, on February 3, 1326, John XXII granted all the privileges already enjoyed by the Franciscans and Dominicans with the constitution Super cathedram. Thus was completed the rather bumpy journey of transforming Carmel into a mendicant order.

From the Archives and General Library of the Carmelite Order

Our archives contain correspondence between Father Luigi Laghi, who was prior general of the Carmelites from 1742 to 1756, and the subprior of Traspontina in Rome, Father Avertano Bevilacqua. This correspondence provides valuable and entertaining information on culinary and medicinal recipes popular in the 18th century, which Laghi was particularly fond of. 

In one of the letters, dated February 12, 1758, Laghi writes from the convent in Forlì, in the province of Romagna-Marche, and asks Bevilacqua to send him a basket containing eighty or one hundred pounds (i.e., 35-45 kg) of macaroni, of the kind usually eaten at the Traspontina monastery, but which are “truly from Naples, and not from Rome!” [AGOC, II Rome (Tr.) 118.1.1., Bevilacqua file, Correspondence received 1958].

At the time, the term “maccheroni” was used to generically define dry durum wheat pasta, without reference to a specific shape (spaghetti, vermicelli, short pasta, hollow pasta, etc.). This product, which became typical of Mediterranean cuisine, was very successful in Bourbon Naples and was exported from the Neapolitan capital throughout pre-unification Italy. The Neapolitans themselves were called “mangiamaccheroni” (macaroni eaters), a nickname that was later extended as a stereotype to Italians who had emigrated abroad. In the 18th century, the streets of Naples were teeming with trattorias and street vendors selling pasta with tomato sauce, which was also eaten on the street as takeaway food, and local producers formed a special guild of “vermicellari” to protect their economic interests.

Father Laghi's request certainly reflects the gluttony of the former general, already famous for his passion for chocolate, but it also testifies to Naples' primacy in the production of dry pasta, especially in terms of quality.

The document is preserved in the ‘S. Maria in Traspontina’ section of the AGOC and has been catalogued in the volume Santa Maria in Traspontina. La vita di una comunità carmelitana attraverso le carte d'archivio. Inventario del fondo, edited by Jacopo De Santis, Rome, Edizioni Carmelitane (Collana Subsidia Archivi Carmelitarum), 2023.

More information about the book is available at edizionicarmelitane.org

From the Carmelite Archives
A gem from the Carmelite Library: an incunabulum from 1495

From the book depository of the General Carmelite Library, an elegant incunabulum printed in Brescia on September 13, 1495, has come to light. It was from the printer and bookseller Bernardino Misinta, active from 1490 to 1509 in Lombardy and Veneto.

The volume contains the Latin translation of the work De anima by the Greek philosopher and Aristotelian commentator Alexander of Aphrodisias (2nd-3rd centuries). The translation was done by the Venetian Girolamo Donati (1456-1511).

The incunabulum – from the Latin incunabulum, meaning in the cradle, to indicate the first books printed in the 15th century – does not yet feature the typical title page that would only appear from 1500 onwards, but an incipit page, very similar to those found in contemporary manuscripts, with a rubricated initial letter, larger in size, on a floral background, executed using the woodcut technique [photo 1]. Accompanying the text is a hand-drawn plant frieze that unfolds on three sides of the page, except for the bottom margin. The three stamps can be seen, including that of the Carmelite Library can be seen at the bottom [photo 1].

As was customary for early printed books, the typeface used (the so-called “Roman type”) reproduces the appearance of the humanistic script used in 15th-century manuscripts.

The influence of handwritten books is also visible inside the volume, where there are blank spaces reserved for decoration, accompanied by “guide letters” corresponding to the major initials of the text, which were to be printed at a later stage [photo 2].

On the last page of the copy is the colophon, which contains information about the printing, such as the name of the printer, the date, and the printer’s location [photo 3].

Finally, since books were stored horizontally at the time, the author's name and the title of the work were added by hand on the lower edge [photo 4].

From the General Archives …

For the fourth consecutive year, we have completed another block of restorations of seals from our collection of parchments. As in previous years, the project was supported by contributions from the CEI's 8xMille fund and was carried out by Dr. Luca Becchetti, custodian of the seals of the Vatican Apostolic Archives.

Here are the before and after of a large round seal in natural wax belonging to King Francis I of France (1515-1547), which was in very poor condition before restoration, with fragments glued back together in a haphazard manner. The seal, now legible again despite the missing parts, shows on the front the effigy of the sovereign seated on the throne, crowned and with the scepter, inside a pavilion with cornflowers; under his feet, the silhouettes of two lions can be seen. On the back, traces of the shield of France can be seen.

The privilege to which it belongs (II Extra/1527.1) is dated Saint Denis, July 7, 1527: it is a royal letter in which the King of France writes to Prior General Niccolò Audet, putting an end to the dispute between him and Stephane Jovency, prior of the Province of Narbonne. When Audet was elected general on May 8, 1524, during the Chapter of Venice, Jovency refused to recognize his authority, causing a rift in the Carmelite Order. A week after the contested election, the prior of Narbonne had convened an anti-chapter in Montpellier, from which he emerged as prior general. Probably only the provinces of southern France participated in that chapter, but the clash between them and the rest of the Order was such as to cause a schism accompanied by excommunications. In fact, Audet had brought the matter before Pope Clement VII, obtaining a bull ordering the French to return to the jurisdiction of the Carmelite Curia in Rome. In turn, Jovency appealed to the King of France in an attempt to have the papal decision suspended, but the Royal Council ruled in favor of Audet, who governed from 1524 to 1562, distinguishing himself as an extraordinary reformer. His generalate was the second longest in the history of the Order, after that of Giovanni Grossi (1411-1430).

From the General Archives …

A Carmelite Incunabulum from 1499

The General Carmelite Library houses a precious incunabulum containing the Constitutiones Fratrum Ordinis Carmelitarum, edited by the Carmelite Giovanni Maria Polucci and printed in Venice on April 29, 1499, by the renowned printer Lucantonio Giunta.

The volume still displays the graphic and book features typical of contemporary manuscripts: on the opening page, in fact, we can see the beginning of the text in red ink, a calligraphic initial letter, a paragraph mark also in red, and the use of typefaces derived from Gothic script. The text is accompanied by an illustrative woodcut depicting the Annunciation [photo 1].

The same skilled woodcut artist is most likely responsible for the image preceding the opening page, which depicts the Vexilum Carmelitarum, supported by two angels, with the exquisitely crafted effigy of the Virgin of Mount Carmel in the center [photo 2].

The volume closes with a rich and detailed colophon providing information on the content, the printer, the place and date of printing [photo 3].

We present one of the earliest examples of animated books, or pop-up books, that we came across while cataloguing our antique collection. It is a cinquecentina, printed in Lyon in 1567, containing the De Sphaera of the astronomer and mathematician Giovanni Sacrobosco (John of Holywood or Holybush), the most widely read treatise on astronomy in the Middle Ages, especially at the universities. The volume contains numerous three-dimensional illustrations depicting the solar system, intended to extend and complete the author's discussion.

In the image, taken from one of the pages of the volume, you can see a reproduction of a lunar revolver, an instrument that allowed the phase, age, and constellation of the moon to be determined. This instrument, composed of several overlapping paper discs, was fixed to the page below by a pin, which allowed each disc to rotate freely around the central axis.

[from: ABiGOC: Archivio e Biblioteca Generali dell’Ordine Carmelitano]

Curiosities of the Archives

The Caricature of Blessed Angelo Paoli

In the Iconographic Collection of the General Archives of the Carmelite Order is a copy of a caricature drawing depicting Carmelite friar Angelo Paoli (1642-1720), who was immortalized in front of the main door of the Roman convent of San Martino ai Monti, where he used to distribute bread and alms to the poor of Rome. Paoli, who was beatified in 2010, was known for his involvement in social work, particularly in assisting the indigent and the sick.

The caricature, the original of which is preserved in the Vatican Library, within the Codex Ottoboniano Latino 3113, was executed in ink by Pietro Leone Ghezzi (1674-1755), a famous Roman painter and caricaturist, who portrayed numerous picturesque characters of Baroque Rome, transmitting to us a visual memory of them.

Blessed Angelo Paoli (1642-1720) was so well respected for his charity work, he was called "Father of the Poor." He operated with the belief that whoever loves God must find Him among the poor. He established a convalescent center in Rome where the poor could recover after leaving the hospital. Devoted to the Cross, he placed the cross inside the Colosseum of Rome. He was beatified in 2010.

(This article first appeared in ABIGOC – 5/2024).

The General Archives and Library of the Carmelite Order on Academia.edu

The General Archives and Library of the Carmelite Order in Rome have recently become part of the Academia portal, with the aim of sharing and disseminating among scholars, both religious and lay, the numerous publications (monographs, essays and articles) that have resulted from the research conducted in the Archives and Library in recent years. The various studies were published by Edizioni Carmelitane, the publishing house of the General Curia of the Carmelite Order and the Institutum Carmelitanum.

The broader purpose was also to make the Carmelite Archives and Library known as not only ecclesiastical but also cultural institutions, including them within the international scientific community for possible future collaborations and projects.

For the time being, the latest works released in the different series of Edizioni Carmelitane have been included, which you can view at the following link: https://independent.academia.edu/ArchivioeBibliotecageneralidellordinecarmelitano

Among the oldest books of the Carmelite General Library in Rome is a wonderful volume from 1528. Coming from Paris, the work is the first printed edition of the Latin tract Summa de haeresibus et earum confutationibus written by Carmelite Guy de Perpignan (1270-1342), also known as Guido Terreni.

The work, dating from the 16th century, contains a very interesting title page. The page is frames with elegante architectural designs. Inside the frame there are, other than the name of the work and the author, the stamp of the Flemish printer Jodocus Badius Ascensius. The picture shows an old printing shop, staffed by three people working on a wooden printing press. The design captures the "tiratore" (puller), in the center, at the moment he operates the bar to press the platen onto the sheet to be printed. The "rullatore" (roller), on the left, is in charge of inking the pages of movable type. The "compositore" (compositor), on the right, is responsible for composing the texts by aligning the movable type, taken from the typographic case, on the composing machine. Also one notes in the foreground are two stacks of paper, one still blank and one already printed.

In addition the note of ownership can be seen on the title page [Photo], also attributed to the 16th century, places the book in the old library at Santa Maria in Traspontina, a stadium generale for the Order. That library was the original home of most of the oldest books now preserved at the Carmelite General Library in CISA.