Abstract
Descrizione principale
(01)
Inglese
(eng)
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This paper offers a fresh appraisal of the problems of the existence, location and contents of the papal library, and the
associated problems of Roman script and Roman book production in the early Middle Ages. The palaeographical and codicological
features of books from Rome, and books possibly produced in Rome, between the sixth and the ninth centuries, are reconsidered
in the light of current scholarship. This includes a discussion of the possible loss of Roman books originally written on
papyrus, and of books in both Latin and Greek. The current archaeological evidence relating to a Lateran library and its location
is considered. The implications of the evidence relating to the papal scrinium, archive and library are discussed, with particular
reference to the proceedings of the Lateran Council of 649. It is argued that these records actually provide important evidence
for the contents and use of the Lateran library in the early Middle Ages. The paper proposes that the papal library had a
crucial function as well as a symbolic role in the early Middle Ages as a repository of orthodox and authoritative texts.
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