A picture of Paul V (1605-1621), founder of the Vatican SecretArchives, kept in the rooms of the «piano nobile» of the Archives building. Image taken from http://asv.vatican.va/en/arch/secret.htmThe title "Secret Archives" really means the "private" archives of the Pope. The term "secret" or "secreta" was used in everyday life to identify people or institutions close to the ruling body, in this case the ruling body being the Pope (from The title, "Vatican secret Archives", http://asv.vatican.va/en/arch/secret.htm, viewed September 2009). Therefore the term "Secret" is not to refer to the archives being something that was kept hidden, rather they were the Pope's personal or private collection of documents related to the running of the church.
That said, the archives only became available for scholars and historians to study from the time of Pope Leo XIII's reign. They are still regarded as being "private" and permission is required to study the documents.
Hi Sylvia
ReplyDeleteLove that image! So richly coloured and so much depth. All of the opulence you would expect from the Vatican collections.
Your posts are coming along well. A couple of suggestions: embedding your URL links as you have done with the Catholic Encyclopaedia, some more images and maybe even a video.
By next term you should have uploaded 5 posts to your blog and be well on your way to putting your research findings together in an organised way.
Remember to read through the webCT content about images, videos and copyright issues to help you with your blogs. There is also some helpful information about organising your research material under the CUSRAD02A link on the homepage.
Regards,
Linda