Source of Information. " 199 



and partly on paper, and are preserved in the secret archives of 

 the Holy See, at the Vatican palace. 



" In these registers almost all the letters issued by the popes 

 were recorded before being sent to their destinations. They 

 contain, also, the petitions received, and offer, therefore, original 

 and most important materials for th^ histories of all nations. 



" The collection now begins with Pope Innocent III (1198- 

 1216). All the portion of it prior to that date was lost or de- 

 stroyed in the commencement of the thirteenth century. What 

 remains is classified as follows : 



A. The Vatican registers, over 2,000 volumes, 1198-1600. 



B. The Avignon registers, about 350 volumes, 1316-1417. 



• C. The Lateran registers, about 2,300 volumes, 1417-1831. 



D. The registers of the Requests, about 7,400 volumes, 1352- 

 1831. 



" It must cause a peculiar satisfaction to Leo XIII that one 

 of the early results of his enlightened liberality in opening the 

 secret archives is, as shown by these letters, to make accessible 

 to all proofs that, l)y whomsoever represented, the papacy has 

 always been faithful to the divine mission which it claims for 

 itself; that whenever discoveries of, till then, unknown coun- 

 tries have been announced it at once has made provision for 

 the preaching of the gospel and the introduction of Christianity 

 among the people of such countries. 



" The papers, of which the fac-similes are here shown, may be 

 divided into four groups, viz : 



" Those which relate to the bishopric of Gardar, Greenland ; 



" Those which relate to the line of demarcation ; 



" Those which relate to the sending of missionaries to America ; 



"Those in which Pope Julius II recommends Bartholomew 

 and Diego Columbus. 



" J . Documents Concerning the Blihoprlc of Gardar, Greenlcuid. 



" Greenland certainly is the part of the new world which was 

 first brought into relation with the old. This was done through 

 the Northmen of Norway and Iceland. It was by their means 

 that Christianity was first carried to America and there gave 

 occasion for the documents in question. 



" According to Adam, of Bremen (died about 1076), and the 

 sagas, NorAvegians first reached the American coast at the end 



