A ''rotulus'' (plural ''rotuli'') or ''rotula'' (pl. ''rotulae'') is often referred to as a "vertical roll," is a long and narrow strip of writing material, historically

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, '' Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'') can also refer to a ...

parchment Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals—primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum is a finer quality parchment made from the skins of ...

, that is wound around a wooden axle or rod. Rotuli are unwound vertically so that the writing runs parallel to the rod, unlike the other kind of roll, called a "

scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...

", whose writing runs perpendicular to the rod in multiple columns.

Historical Use

Specific legal records in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

, from which is still derived the title of the judicial functionary denominated the "

Master of the Rolls The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the President of the Court of Appeal (England and Wales)#Civil Division, Civil Division of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales a ...

", and the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

. Rotuli also have been used as

Liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

manuscripts, e.g., those used for

chant A chant (from French ', from Latin ', "to sing") is the iterative speaking or singing of words or sounds, often primarily on one or two main pitches called reciting tones. Chants may range from a simple melody involving a limited set of notes ...

ing the ''

Exultet The ''Exsultet'' (spelled in pre-1920 editions of the Roman Missal as ''Exultet''), also known as the Easter Proclamation (), is a lengthy sung proclamation delivered before the paschal candle, ideally by a deacon, during the Easter Vigil in the R ...

''. Additionally,

mortuary roll A mortuary roll (Latin: ''rotulus mortuorum'') was a rotulus, sometimes of prodigious length, at the head of which was entered the notification of the death of a specific religious or group of religious. A special messenger, denominated a ''breviato ...

s, i.e., documents memorializing the names of all the deceased members of a

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

or other institution, which were banded together and circulated so that they could mutually pray for the repose of each other's decedents.

References

;Attribution *{{Catholic, wstitle=Rotuli The entry cites: **

Léopold Victor Delisle Léopold Victor Delisle (24 October 1826, Valognes (Manche) – 21 July 1910, Chantilly, Oise) was a French bibliophile and historian. Biography Early life He was taken on as a young man by the antiquarian and historian of architecture, Charles ...

, ''Rouleaux des morts du IX au XV siecle'' (Paris, 1866); **____, in Bibl. de l'ecole des Chartes, series II, vol. III; ''Sur l'usage de prier pour les morts''; **Thurston, ''A Mediaeval Mortuary-card'' in ''

The Month ''The Month'' was a monthly review, published from 1864 to 2001, which, for almost all of its history, was owned by the English Province of the Society of Jesus and was edited by its members. History ''The Month'', founded and edited by Frances ...

'' (London, Dec., 1896); **Nichols in Mem. Archaeolog. Institute (Norwich, 1847); **Molinier, ''Obituaires français au moyen-âge'' (Paris, 1886); **Ebner, ''Gebetsverbruderungen'' (Freiburg, 1891); **Wattenbach, ''Schriftwesen im Mittelalter'' (3rd ed., Leipzig), 150-74. Documents Manuscripts

Historical Use

See also

References