Materiae Diversae / Rerum Variarum
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Archive of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Piazza del Sant’Uffizio 11, 00193 Rome
Contact information: phone number
0039 0669895945
0039 0669895945
0039 0669895945
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archive@cfaith.va
Reference number
ACDF, S.O. Materiae Diversae / Rerum Variarum
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Different Miscellany
Title (official language of the state)
Materiae Diversae / Rerum Variarum
Language of title
lat
Creator / accumulator
Congregazione del Sant’Ufficio dell’Inquisizione
Date(s)
1599/1938
Language(s)
eng
ita
lat
Extent
253 storage units
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
This series is part of the Dubia subfonds, which is part of the Res Doctrinales subfonds of the Archivum Sancti Officii Romani (Archive of the Roman Holy Office). It is composed of miscellaneous documents concerning doctrinal and jurisdictional questions. Between 1599 and 1869, it was called Materiae Diversae. From 1870 to 1882, it was known as both Materiae Diversae and Rerum Variarum. After 1882, the series was simply named as Rerum Variarum. Among the units included in this series, it is possible to find various information and records related to the Jewish communities in the Italian peninsula, as well as international issues related to the Jewish emancipation in the 19th century.
Archival history
The Rerum Variarum series is part of the Res Doctrinalia section, which was formed starting from the second half of the 18th century. Then, the ancient series that composed the archive of the Roman Holy Office were dismantled and reassembled according to doctrinal criteria rather than procedural criteria, as was the case previously.
Administrative / Biographical history
The history of the Roman Inquisition and its archive begins with the appointment by Paul III of a commission of cardinals, which took place on July 21, 1542 with the Bull "Licet ab initio". This congregation was intended to defend the Church from heresies, to maintain the integrity of the faith and to identify and condemn errors and false teachings. When Paul IV died in 1559, the Roman people sacked and burnt the first seat of the Inquisition, located in via di Ripetta, causing the loss of much of the original documentation.
In 1566, Pius V established the seat of the congregation and its archive in the current palace. Initially, the archiving of the documentation was determined by the procedural activity carried out by the congregation. In the second half of the 18th century, a reorganisation by subject was undertaken, separating the criminal issues from the doctrinal ones and creating the series that still compose the archive today. During the 19th century, the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was subject to various movements and suffered considerable dispersions. With the union of Rome to the French Empire in 1809, it was transported to Paris by order of Napoleon. For the return of the archives to Rome in 1816, the Apostolic Delegate was mandated to destroy the parts of the documentation not strictly essential to administrative activity.
The criminal series were almost entirely burnt and only a few important trials were saved. During the Roman Republic of 1849, the complex of documents underwent further transfers and losses and only in 1868 the part of the documentation necessary for the current administration was relocated to the palace of the Holy Office, while the oldest closed series remained stored in the Apostolic Palace until 1901. Then, this archival material was recovered and rearranged, forming the so-called Stanza Storica. This has remained the main structure of this archive to the present day. The Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was open for consultation by scholars in 1998.
In 1566, Pius V established the seat of the congregation and its archive in the current palace. Initially, the archiving of the documentation was determined by the procedural activity carried out by the congregation. In the second half of the 18th century, a reorganisation by subject was undertaken, separating the criminal issues from the doctrinal ones and creating the series that still compose the archive today. During the 19th century, the Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was subject to various movements and suffered considerable dispersions. With the union of Rome to the French Empire in 1809, it was transported to Paris by order of Napoleon. For the return of the archives to Rome in 1816, the Apostolic Delegate was mandated to destroy the parts of the documentation not strictly essential to administrative activity.
The criminal series were almost entirely burnt and only a few important trials were saved. During the Roman Republic of 1849, the complex of documents underwent further transfers and losses and only in 1868 the part of the documentation necessary for the current administration was relocated to the palace of the Holy Office, while the oldest closed series remained stored in the Apostolic Palace until 1901. Then, this archival material was recovered and rearranged, forming the so-called Stanza Storica. This has remained the main structure of this archive to the present day. The Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede was open for consultation by scholars in 1998.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Finding aids
Index: 1. Materiae Diversae 1599-1867; 2. Rerum Variarum 1867-1895; 3. Rerum Variarium 1815-1907.
"Inventario generale Shades 6 Ecclesia" (Software for Historical Archives Description – Ecclesia) only available in the reading room
Author of the description
Andrea Cicerchia, 2021
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio della Congregazione per la Dottrina della Fede | Collections (official language of the state) |