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Dear George and others interested in the dissemination of papal bulls --

As far as I understand from the breviaries I've tracked down, Boniface's
canonization bull for Saint Louis was used, it seems, only in mendicant
volumes made in Italy.  It is the exception rather than the rule for
Louis' feast day.  In the overwhelming majority of cases another text was
used that was probably written in Paris quite possibly at the royal
court. One might, I suppose, posit two different centers of dissemination
-- the curia and the french royal court -- and thus the readings which
make it into breviaries might reflect geographical and/or political
proximity to either center. As per Stan Metheny's suggestion to me, in 
a private communication on this subject, the very adoption of the
feast of such a politicized saint was in many instance politically
loaded. Just a hypothesis. But I'd still like to know how it is that say,
friar x at Santa Maria Novella in Florence (to take one instance) got a
hold of this text, whether it was from another breviary or whether it was
from the bull itself. Towit, I might add that with respect to whether the
bull was composed or understood as a hagiographical vita, in 1477 Boninus
Mombritus includes it as his vita for Louis in his printed Vita
Sanctorum. Seemed vita-enough to him, at least by the end of the 14th
century.

thanks for your interest George. Do you really want a conference on this?
celia



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