Other Ecclesiastical Collections in Rome 
203 
interesting portion of the collection. Copies are to be found in almost every 
library of manuscripts, and some, as that of Burchard, have been printed. 
It does not, however, seem probable that any American material is to be found 
in them. Except for the first, that begun by Burchard in 1484, and to a 
smaller extent the following by De Grassis, they are purely formal in char¬ 
acter, simple accounts of the ceremonies of the papal court. 35 There are, how¬ 
ever, in the archives consistorial acts, volumes 393 - 407 , those of Agostino 
Favoriti, 1491-1633; 408 and 409 , those of Cardinal Severino, 1563-1565 and 
1 585- 1 588; and 410 , those of Cardinal Cesarius, 1628-1642. 
MONASTIC ORDERS. 
The various monastic orders played scarcely a less important part in the 
early history of America than in the development of Europe during the Middle 
Ages. As missionaries, explorers, and reporters of primitive life, they were 
almost omnipresent; and few contributions to American history would be 
more welcome than a complete record of their activity. Unfortunately there 
seems to be less material at Rome for such a record than might be supposed. 
The organization of the orders, with the exception of that of the Jesuits, was 
in fact not close. The branches belonging to the various countries were often 
semi-independent, and always had large local powers; while distance and 
danger of communication with America loosened this bond, as all others bind¬ 
ing the people of the two continents. Such Italian monastic provinces, more¬ 
over, as engaged in missionary work in America were interested in Brazil and 
other portions of South America, so that their local records do not fall within 
the subject. 
The monastic archives, also, have suffered more severely than those of the 
central papal administration. In addition to the ordinary buffetings of time, 
there have been the two great cataclysms of 1797 and 1870. The French in¬ 
vasion led in the first place to the collection of a mass of documents from 
various monastic libraries and archives, which ultimately reached the Archivio 
Vaticano, where it exists today as the “ Instrumenta Monastica ”. 36 There was 
also a certain amount of destruction, and much loss through confusion. Many 
were transferred from their usual repositories to places doubtless safe, but, in 
the disturbances of the next eighteen years, forgotten. It is probable that 
such material will be coming to light for many years. 37 
The seizures by the Italian government after 1870 have been confined chiefly 
to convent libraries, and among the collections which it has opened to the public 
is comparatively little archive material. 38 The archives in the possession of 
the several orders from the Napoleonic period to the present day are, in fact, 
extensive and fairly complete, and from them a history of the rapid spread of 
religious organizations through the United States and Canada might be writ¬ 
ten, particularly as the improvement in the means of communication has ren¬ 
dered the bonds between the central monastic administration and the American 
provinces so much more effective. Fear of further seizures, however, has 
retarded the advance of the policy of publicity, and they are so closely guarded 
by their custodians that in many cases even their location is known to but few. 
85 Constant, “ Les Maitres de Ceremonies”, pp. 321-322; II Diario di Leone X. di 
Paride de Grassis (Rome, 1884) ; L. Thuasne, ed., Johannis Burchardi . . . Diarium 
(Paris, 1883, 3 vols.). 
3n See page 98. 
37 Most of this information was gathered from conversations. 
33 See page 218. 
