Rome Collection of Manuscripts

The Rome Collection of Manuscripts comprises 53 volumes dealing primarily with papal politics and diplomacy. The documents are mainly fair copies and range in date from the 15th through the 18th centuries. The topic of the collection is, broadly speaking, Italy of the 16th and 17th centuries. The majority of the volumes contain relatively integrated items, but nearly a dozen volumes comprise highly diverse materials in both manuscript and printed form. The uniformity of the vellum bindings and spine numbering as well as the relatively small number of hands that can be differentiated indicate that this collection was commissioned and used by a single party or a specific group who dealt in internal and foreign Vatican affairs.

The Rome Collection of Manuscripts is comprised of Ms1200 through Ms1252 of Codex Manuscripts Collection. The University of Chicago Library purchased 50 volumes of the Rome Collection from John F. Fleming in New York in November 1971. Mr. Fleming subsequently presented the Library with three additional codices, now Ms1226, Ms1227, and Ms1249, as a gift. These 53 volumes represent a vast source of detailed information for scholars interested in the political, social, and religious history of the Italian Renaissance.

Overview of the Rome Collection

Part I. Materials on Diplomacy

Section 1. Relazioni of Venetian Ambassadors: Ms1200 through Ms1206

Section 2. Papal Relations with Foreign States: Ms1207 through Ms1227

Part II. Materials on Internal Roman and Church Affairs

Section 1. Conclaves: Ms1228 through Ms1232

Section 2. City of Rome: Ms1233 through Ms1235

Section 3. Biography: Ms1236 through Ms1238

Section 4. Ecclesiastical Affairs: Ms1239 through Ms1244

Part III. Miscellaneous Materials

Ms1245 through Ms1252