Papal bull

A Papal bull is a special kind of patent or charter issued by a pope and named for the seal (bulla) that was appended to the end to authenticate it. Papal bulls were originally issued by the pope for many kinds of communication of a public nature, but after the 15th century, only for the more formal or solemn of occasions. Modern scholars have retroactively used the term "bull" to describe any elaborate papal document issued in the form of a decree or privilege (solemn or simple), and to some less elaborate ones issued in the form of a letter. Popularly, the name is used for any papal document that contains a metal seal.

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Papal bulls have been in use since at least the 6th century, but the term was not first used until around the middle of the 13th century and then only for internal un-official papal record keeping purposes; by the 15th century the term had become official when one of the offices of the Papal chancery was named the "register of bulls" (registrum bullarum).

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Patent: :This article relates to the intellectual property right. A land grant is also called a patent....

Pope: :This entry is about the Catholic Pontiff. For other uses of the word, see Pope (disambiguation)....

Decree: Decree is an order by a head of state or government that has the force of law....

Papal bull related Images and Photos (experimental)

He Burns the Papal Bull in Front of the East Gate of Wittemberg	Martin Luther Burns the Papal Bull at Wittenberg	Martin Luther Burning the Papal Bull	Bull Run
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Raging Bull	Bull Terrier Tea	Sitting Bull	Bull Terrier Socks