Image: Papal bulla of Pope Innocent VII (FindID 602224)

Description: English: A medieval lead Papal bulla of Pope Innocent VII, 1404-1406 AD. The obverse of the bulla contains the legend */InnO/CEnTIVS/PP.VII within a border of pellets, PP standing for 'Pastor Pastorum' or 'Shepherd of Shepherds'. On the reverse can be seen depictions of Saints Peter and Paul beneath an inscription reading SPASPE (an abbreviation standing for St. Paul and St. Peter). St. Paul is seen on the left of the seal looking right, with a long pointed beard, while St. Peter is on the right facing left and has a rounded face with beard and hair formed of pellets. Both faces are contained within beaded borders and separated from one another by a crozier. Like the obverse type, the reverse has a border of pellets. This example measures 36.37mm in diameter, 5.66mm in thickness, and weighs 45.65g. Papal bullae such as this would have acted as seals on official Papal documents to authenticate their provenance and authority.
Title: Papal bulla of Pope Innocent VII
Credit: https://finds.org.uk/database/ajax/download/id/458118 Catalog: https://finds.org.uk/database/images/image/id/458118 Artefact: https://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/record/id/602224
Author: Suffolk County Council, Andrew Brown, 2014-02-24 18:03:39
Permission: Attribution-ShareAlike License
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0
License: CC BY-SA 2.0
License Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes