From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Byzantine and mediaeval European legal decrees
Imperial chrysobull of
Alexios III of Trebizond , 1374
The gold seal of the
Golden Bull of 1356 issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
The
Golden Bull of 1242 by
Béla IV to inhabitants of
Zagreb in
Croatia
A golden bull or chrysobull was a
decree issued by
Byzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during the
Middle Ages and
Renaissance .
Description
A golden bull was a
decree issued by
Byzantine Emperors . It was later used by monarchs in Europe during the
Middle Ages and
Renaissance , most notably by the
Holy Roman Emperors .
For nearly eight hundred years, they were issued unilaterally, without obligations on the part of the other party or parties. However, this eventually proved disadvantageous as the Byzantines sought to restrain the efforts of foreign powers to undermine the empire. During the 12th century, the Byzantines began to insert into golden bulls sworn statements of the obligations of their negotiating partners.[
citation needed ]
Etymology
The term was originally coined for the golden
seal (a
bulla aurea ), attached to the decree, but came to be applied to the entire decree. Such decrees were known as golden bulls in western Europe and chrysobullos logos , or chrysobulls, in the Byzantine Empire (χρυσός, chrysos , being
Greek for
gold ).
[1]
Notable golden bulls
Notable golden bulls include:
The Golden Bull of 1082 , issued by
Alexios I Komnenos to grant
Venice merchants with free trading rights, exempt from tax, throughout the
Byzantine Empire in return for their defense of the
Adriatic Sea against the
Normans .
[2]
The Golden Bull of 1136, issued by
Pope Innocent II , more commonly known as the
Bull of Gniezno
The
Golden Bull of Sicily , issued in 1212 by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
The
Golden Bull of 1213 , issued by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
The
Golden Bull of 1213 , issued by the papacy to recognize its agreement with
John Lackland (more commonly known as
King John of England )
The
Golden Bull of 1214 , issued by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to cede all German territories north of the rivers
Elbe and
Elde to King
Valdemar the Victorious of
Denmark
The
Golden Bull of Berne , supposedly issued by Frederick II in 1218, but now considered a forgery
The
Golden Bull of 1222 , issued by King
Andrew II of Hungary to confirm the rights of nobility and forced on him in much the same way
King John of England was made to sign
Magna Carta
The
Golden Bull of 1224 (the Goldener Freibrief ) issued by Andrew to grant certain rights to the
Saxon inhabitants of Transylvania
The
Golden Bull of Rimini (1226), issued by
Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
The
Golden Bull of 1242 issued by King
Béla IV to proclaim a
free royal city for the inhabitants of
Gradec (part of
Zagreb ) and
Samobor in
Croatia , during the
Mongol invasion of Europe .
[3]
[4]
The
Golden Bull of 1267 , issued by King Béla IV of Hungary
The
Golden Bull of 1348 , issued by
King
Charles I of
Bohemia , later
Holy Roman Emperor as Charles IV, to confer privileges and immunities on
Charles University established by
Pope Clement VI in
Prague ,
one of the oldest universities in the world
The
Golden Bull of 1356 (one of the most famous golden bulls), issued by
Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV for promulgation at the
Diet of Nuremberg , to define (and to last more than four hundred years) the constitutional structure of the
Holy Roman Empire
The
Golden Bull of 1702 , issued by
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor to establish the Akademia Leopoldina in the
Silesian capital of
Breslau (present name:
Wrocław ), the future
University of Breslau (Universitas Vratislatensis )
See also
References
External links