Bulla Papalis
In Nomine Domini. Amen.
Innocentius Episcopus, servus servorum Dei, ad perpetuam rei memoriam.
Cum ad apostolicae sedis apicem, licet immeriti, divina dispositione vocati simus, decet nos ea quae ad dignitates temporales et titulos nobilium pertinent, sollicita consideratione perpendere, ut quod recte statuitur in perpetuum firmum et inconcussum perseveret.
Sane, ad nostram pervenit notitiam quod dilectus filius noster, Dux de Fitzartur, ac eius progenitores, titulum illum insignem qui dicitur “Principium Fundamentale et Princeps Fundamenti” ab antiquo tempore detinuerint et possederint, non tanquam dignitatem vanam aut nudam appellationem, sed tanquam ius perpetuum et indelebile ipsi domui et lineae eorum inhaerens.
Quapropter, auctoritate apostolica qua fungimur, declaramus, statuimus, et perpetuo sancimus quod dictus titulus non est mera ornatio verborum, sed significat ac designat ipsum fundamentum juridicum super quo tota domus Fitzarturiana erecta consistit: ita quod is qui hunc titulum gerit, non solum primus inter pares habeatur, sed fundamentum ipsum et principium a quo omnis posterior dignitas, omne feudum, omnis jurisdictio in linea derivatur, sicut aedificium a fundamento suo non separatur sine ruina totius.
Item declaramus quod hic titulus, propter suam naturam fundamentalem, non est titulus accidentalis qui cum persona singulari extinguatur, sed persistit in perpetuum per viam primogeniturae: ita quod, defuncto eo qui titulum tenuit, statim et ipso jure, absque nova investitura requisita, filius primogenitus legitimus eundem titulum induit, non tanquam heres qui novum jus acquirit, sed tanquam continuator eiusdem juridicae personae quae numquam vere moritur, sed de patre in filium, de filio in nepotem, sine intermissione transit.
Statuimus etiam quod nullus alius filius, nullus collateralis, nullus per lineam femineam descendens, possit hunc titulum sibi vindicare, nisi defecerit omnino linea masculina directa, in quo casu sedes apostolica de novo consulenda erit.
Praeterea, ne quis dubitet de vi huius nominis, declaramus quod verba “Principium Fundamentale” non significant principium temporale tantum (id est, “primum in ordine”), sed principium causale et essentiale: hoc est, quod sine isto officio, ipsa domus Fitzarturiana juridice non subsisteret, sicut domus sine fundamento non stat.
Quicumque igitur, cuiuscumque dignitatis, hanc nostram declarationem temerario ausu impugnare praesumpserit, sciat se incursurum esse indignationem omnipotentis Dei et beatorum Petri et Pauli apostolorum eius.
Datum Romae, apud Sanctum Petrum, anno Incarnationis Dominicae MCCXXXV, mense Aprili.
English Translation
Papal Bull
In the name of the Lord. Amen.
Innocent, Bishop, servant of the servants of God, for the perpetual memory of the matter.
Since we have been called, though unworthy, to the summit of the apostolic seat by divine arrangement, it befits us to weigh with careful consideration those things which pertain to temporal dignities and the titles of nobles, so that what is rightly established may remain forever firm and unshaken.
It has come to our notice that our beloved son, the Duke of Fitzartur, and his forebears, have held the notable title called “Foundational Principle and Prince of the Foundation” since ancient times — not as an empty dignity or a bare name, but as a perpetual and indelible right inherent in the house itself and its bloodline.
Wherefore, by the apostolic authority we exercise, we declare, establish, and forever sanctify that the said title is not mere decoration of words, but signifies and designates the actual legal funding upon which the whole House of Fitzartur is built: such that he who bears this title is to be regarded not merely as first among equals, but as the funding-source and founding principle itself, from which every later dignity, every fief, and every jurisdiction in the line derives — just as a building cannot be separated from its foundations without the ruin of the whole.
We likewise declare that this title, on account of its foundational nature, is not an incidental title that is extinguished with a single person, but persists forever by way of primogeniture: such that, upon the death of the one who held the title, immediately and by operation of law itself, without need of new investiture, the legitimate firstborn son puts on the same title — not as an heir acquiring a new right, but as the continuator of the same legal person, which never truly dies, but passes without interruption from father to son, and from son to grandson.
We also establish that no other son, no collateral relative, and no one descending through the female line may claim this title for themselves, unless the direct male line should fail entirely, in which case the apostolic see is to be consulted anew.
Furthermore, lest anyone doubt the force of this name, we declare that the words “Foundational Principle” do not signify a temporal beginning only (that is, “first in order”), but a causal and essential beginning: that is, that without this office the House of Fitzartur would not legally subsist at all, just as a house does not stand without its foundation, or indeed without sufficient funding.
Whoever, therefore, of whatever rank, should presume with rash daring to impugn this our declaration, let him know that he shall incur the indignation of almighty God and of his blessed apostles Peter and Paul.
Given at Rome, at Saint Peter’s, in the year of the Lord’s Incarnation 1235, in the month of April.
Editorial Note (AF Blandy)
The authenticity of this Bull has been disputed since its first appearance in the Fitzartur papers during the early fourteenth century. Those doubting its provenance point to the unusual emphasis placed upon hereditary continuity rather than ecclesiastical privilege. Those accepting its authenticity observe that no forger would have written so tediously. The editors decline to settle the matter.
It is genuine, Arthur. The Pope merely misunderstood the title. V.V.
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