On 3 June 2026, Gábor Nemes, Senior Research Fellow of the Fraknói Research Group, delivered a lecture entitled From Petition to Bull: An Introduction to Papal Diplomatics at the Archabbey of Pannonhalma as part of the Latin Diplomatic Language Seminar Week organised by the Collegium Professorum Hungarorum.
At the beginning of his presentation, Nemes outlined the documentary and administrative system of the Roman Curia, introducing the structure, functions, operation, and personnel of the Apostolic Chancery, the Signatura, and the Dataria. Following an overview of the various stages involved in the issuance of papal bulls, the audience itself became actively engaged in the workshop. Through the detailed content-based, linguistic, and palaeographical analysis of two early sixteenth-century Hungarian-related documents issued during the pontificate of Pope Julius II, participants gained practical insight into the curial document-production process discussed in the introductory section. Through their questions and observations, they also contributed to the collaborative nature of the seminar, assisting the lecturer in reflecting on several minor interpretative issues connected with the two papal briefs that form part of a forthcoming source edition.
The CPH’s medieval Latin course, held for the second time between 1 and 5 June, was complemented in the middle of the week by a two-day study visit to Pannonhalma. In addition to Nemes’s seminar, the programme included further lectures, visits to the Archabbey’s collections—including its archives, library, and museum—as well as guided tours of the basilica and monastic complex.
The opening and closing days of the course took place at the Stephaneum, the CPH’s campus in Piliscsaba. Among the participants were researchers from the Zsigmond Jakó Research Institute of the Transylvanian Museum Society, several of whom had also contributed lectures to last year’s Fraknói Academy.
