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A Golden Bull or baal was a golden ornament representing a seal (a bulla aurea or "golden seal" in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
), attached to a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 and Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
.






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Chrysobull of Alexius Iii of Trebizond
A Golden Bull or baal was a golden ornament representing a seal (a bulla aurea or "golden seal" in Latin
Latin

Latin is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Through the Military history of the Roman Empire, Latin spread throughout the Mediterranean and a large part of Europe....
), attached to a decree issued by Byzantine Emperors and later by monarchs in Europe during the Middle Ages
Middle Ages

File:Karl 1 mit papst gelasius gregor1 sacramentar v karl d kahlen.jpgThe Middle Ages of European history are a period in history which lasted for roughly a millennium, commonly dated from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the beginning of the Early Modern Period in the 16th century, marked by the division of Western Christi...
 and Renaissance
Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe....
. The term was originally coined for the golden seal itself 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 (???s??, chrysos, being Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 for gold
Gold

Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and atomic number 79. It is a highly sought-after precious metal, having been used as money, as a store of value, in jewelry, in sculpture, and for ornamentation since the beginning of recorded history....
).

Golden bulls originated in the Byzantine Empire, for which they served as a particularly important diplomatic tool. The empire's official ideology rested on the idea that the Byzantine Emperor was chosen by God to be the ruler of the world's only legitimate empire. The Byzantines were remarkably successful in persuading other states to accept this, presenting golden bulls as acts of imperial grace but using them as de facto treaties without having to admit that foreign powers had any equal standing. They were also a useful means of enabling the empire to maintain the fiction that even humiliating concessions to powerful neighbours were really nothing of the sort.

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.

Other European monarchs adopted golden bulls in imitation of the Byzantines, but used them much more sparingly. The exceptional nature of non-Byzantine golden bulls gave them a much higher profile than either the Byzantine originals or ordinary proclamations. Notable golden bulls included:
Goldene Bulle 1c 480x475
* The Golden Bull of 1136, issued by Pope Innocent II
Pope Innocent II

Pope Innocent II , born Gregorio Papareschi, was pope from 1130 to 1143, and was probably one of the clergy in personal attendance on the antipope Antipope Clement III ....
, more commonly known as the Bull of Gniezno
Bull of Gniezno

The Bull of Gniezno was a papal bull issued on July 7, 1136 by Pope Innocent II. It contains the earliest record of the Polish language....
.

  • The Golden Bull of Sicily
    Golden Bull of Sicily

    The so-called Golden Bull of Sicily was a decree issued by the Holy Roman Empire king and emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in Basel on 26 September 1212 that certified hereditary royal title for Otakar I of Bohemia and his successors and determined the rights and the duties of the Bohemian monarchs ....
    , issued by 1212 by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Frederick II , of the House of Hohenstaufen dynasty, was an Kingdom of Italy pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1213, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Frederick II , of the House of Hohenstaufen dynasty, was an Kingdom of Italy pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1214, issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Frederick II , of the House of Hohenstaufen dynasty, was an Kingdom of Italy pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215....
     ceding all German territories north of the rivers Elbe
    Elbe

    The River Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It originates in the Krkonose Mountains of northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Germany and flowing into the North Sea....
     and Elde
    Elde

    The Elde is a river in northern Germany , a right tributary of the L?cknitz River. Its total length is 220 km. The Elde originates near Altenhof, south of Malchow....
     to King Valdemar the Victorious
    Valdemar II of Denmark

    Valdemar II , called Valdemar the Conqueror or Valdemar the Victorious , was the King of Denmark from November 12, 1202 until his death in 1241....
     of Denmark
    Denmark

    Denmark is a Scandinavian country in northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1222
    Golden Bull of 1222

    The Golden Bull of 1222 was a golden bull, or edict, issued by King Andrew II of Hungary. The law established the rights of Hungary's noblemen, including the right to disobey the King when he acted contrary to law ....
    , issued by King Andrew II of Hungary
    Andrew II of Hungary

    Andrew II the Jerosolimitan , King of Hungary . He was the younger son of King B?la III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych....
    . This confirmed the rights of the nobility; it was forced on him much in the same way that King John of England
    John of England

    John reigned as List of English monarchs from 6 April 1199, until his death. He succeeded to the throne as the younger brother of King Richard I of England, who died without issue....
     was made to sign the Magna Carta
    Magna Carta

    Magna Carta , also called Magna Carta Libertatum , is an Kingdom of England legal charter, originally issued in the year 1215. It was written in Latin....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1224 (the Goldenen Freibrief) was also promulgated by Andrew, granting certain rights to the Saxon inhabitants of Transylvania
    Transylvania

    Transylvania is a historical region in the central part of Romania. Bounded on the east and south by the Carpathian mountains, historical Transylvania extended in the west to the Apuseni Mountains; however, the term frequently encompasses not only Transylvania proper, but also the historical regions of Crisana, Maramures, and Banat....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of Rimini
    Golden Bull of Rimini

    The Golden Bull of Rimini was a Golden Bull issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, at Rimini in March 1226, to confirm the Teutonic Knights' possessions in Prussia ....
     (1226), issued by Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor
    Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor

    Frederick II , of the House of Hohenstaufen dynasty, was an Kingdom of Italy pretender to the title of King of the Romans from 1212 and unopposed holder of that monarchy from 1215....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of Berne
    Golden Charter of Bern

    The Golden Charter of Bern is a medieval charter purporting to have been issued by Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. It establishes the town privileges of Berne , making it an Imperial Free City and, effectively, an Independence state....
    , supposedly also issued by Frederick II in 1218, but now considered a forgery.


  • The Golden Bull of 1267, issued by King Bela IV of Hungary
    Béla IV of Hungary

    B?la IV...
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1348, issued by King
    List of rulers of Bohemia

    This is a list of Monarch of Bohemia. Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia are territories which are or have been considered Czech lands or Lands of the Bohemian Crown ....
     Karel I
    Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

    Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the eleventh king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor.He was the eldest son and heir of John of Bohemia, who died on 26 August 1346, thus Charles inherited the Count of Luxembourg and the King of Bohemia....
     of Bohemia
    Bohemia

    History...
    , later Holy Roman Emperor
    Holy Roman Emperor

    Image:HRR 14Jh.jpgThe Roman of the Emperor's title was a reflection of the translatio imperii principle that regarded the Holy Roman Emperors as the inheritors of the title of Emperor of the Western Roman Empire, a title left unclaimed in the West after the death of Julius Nepos in 480....
     as Charles IV, to establish Charles University in Prague
    Prague

    Prague is the Capital and World's largest cities of the Czech Republic. Its official name is Hlavn? mesto Praha, meaning Prague, the Capital City....
    , one of the oldest universities in the world
    List of oldest universities in continuous operation

    This is a list of the oldest extant universities in the world. To be listed on this page, an educational institution must satisfy the definition of a university at the time of founding; it must have been founded before 1500 or be the oldest university in a region; and it must have been operational without a significant interruption ever sin...
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1356
    Golden Bull of 1356

    The Golden Bull of 1356 was a decree issued by a Reichstag in Nuremberg headed by Emperor Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor that fixed, for a period of more than four hundred years, important aspects of the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire....
     is probably the most famous golden bull, being a decree issued by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV
    Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor

    Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the eleventh king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and Holy Roman Emperor.He was the eldest son and heir of John of Bohemia, who died on 26 August 1346, thus Charles inherited the Count of Luxembourg and the King of Bohemia....
    . Its promulgation at the Diet of Nuremberg
    Diet of Nuremberg

    The Diet of Nuremberg is often called the Imperial Diet at Nuremberg.There were several of them because, according to the Golden Bull of 1356, each Holy Roman Emperor had to hold his first diet in Nuremberg after his election....
     defined, for a period of more than four hundred years, the constitutional structure of the Holy Roman Empire
    Holy Roman Empire

    The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
    .


  • The Golden Bull of 1702, issued by Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor
    Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor

    Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor Habsburg , Holy Roman emperor, King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, was the second son of the emperor Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor and his first wife Maria Anna of Spain....
     to establish the Akademia Leopoldina in the Silesia
    Silesia

    Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in present-day Poland, with parts in the Czech Republic and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas....
    n capital of Breslau (present name: Wroclaw
    Wroclaw

    Wroclaw is the chief city of the historical region of Lower Silesia in south-western Poland, situated on the Oder River river. Over the centuries the city has been part of Kingdom of Poland , Bohemia, Austria, Prussia, and Germany....
    ), the future University of Breslau (Universitas Vratislatensis).


See also

  • Bulla (seal)
    Bulla (seal)

    Bulla , is a lump of clay molded around a cord and stamped with a Stamp seal. When dry, the container cannot be violated without visible damage to the bulla, thereby ensuring the contents remain tamper-proof until they reach their destination....
  • Papal Bull
    Papal bull

    A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....


External links