Jeremy Norman’sHistoryofInformation.com Exploring the History of Information and Media through Timelines
Jeremy Norman’s
A: Lyon, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France, B: Perugia, Umbria, Italy, C: Cluny, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, France, D: Assisi, Umbria, Italy, E: Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France
Minature from Vincent of Beauvais, Le Miroir Historial (Vol. IV). Pope Innocent IV sends Dominicans and Franciscans out to the Tartars. Paris, Master of the Cité des Dames (illuminator); c. 1400-1410. BnF
". . .during the Middle Ages, particularly after Innocent IV (1243-1254), the popes moved around a great deal. In 1245, Innocent IV is known to have taken a part of the archives with him to the Council of Lyon, after which the records remained for a while stored in the monastery at Cluny. Benedict XI (1303-1304) had the archives placed in Perugia. Clement V (1305-1314) then had the archives placed in Assisi where they remained until 1339, when Benedict XII (1334-1342) had them sent to Avignon.
"The archives remained in Avignon during the time of the Great Schism. Once the difficulties were resolved, Martin V (1427-1431) had the records transported by boat and wagon to Rome, where they were temporarily housed in S. Maria Sopra Minerva then established in his family palace (Colonna) in central Rome. Though important historical records were returned to Rome at this time, including the Vatican Registers, the Avignon material, the paper registers known as the Avignon Registers, were not incorporated into the ASV until 1783" (Blouin, Jr., Vatican Archives: An Inventory and Guide. . . [1998] xviii).
