Byzantine and mediaeval European legal decrees
Imperial chrysobull ofAlexios III of Trebizond , 1374 The gold seal of theGolden Bull of 1356 issued by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV TheGolden Bull of 1242 byBéla IV to inhabitants ofZagreb inCroatia Agolden bull orchrysobull was adecree issued byByzantine emperors and monarchs in Europe during theMiddle Ages andRenaissance .
A golden bull was adecree issued byByzantine Emperors . It was later used by monarchs in Europe during theMiddle Ages andRenaissance , most notably by theHoly Roman Emperors .
For nearly eight hundred years, they were issued unilaterally, without obligations on the part of the other party or parties. However, this eventually proved disadvantageous as the Byzantines sought to restrain the efforts of foreign powers to undermine the empire. During the 12th century, the Byzantines began to insert into golden bulls sworn statements of the obligations of their negotiating partners.[citation needed
The term was originally coined for the goldenseal (abulla aureachrysobullos logos , or chrysobulls, in the Byzantine Empire (χρυσός,chrysos , beingGreek forgold ).[ 1]
Notable golden bulls [ edit ] Notable golden bulls include:
The Golden Bull of 1082 , issued byAlexios I Komnenos to grantVenice merchants with free trading rights, exempt from tax, throughout theByzantine Empire in return for their defense of theAdriatic Sea against theNormans .[ 2] The Golden Bull of 1136, issued byPope Innocent II , more commonly known as theBull of Gniezno TheGolden Bull of Sicily , issued in 1212 byFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor TheGolden Bull of 1213 , issued byFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor TheGolden Bull of 1213 , issued by the papacy to recognize its agreement withJohn Lackland (more commonly known asKing John of England ) TheGolden Bull of 1214 , issued byFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor to cede all German territories north of the riversElbe andElde to KingValdemar the Victorious ofDenmark TheGolden Bull of Berne , supposedly issued by Frederick II in 1218, but now considered a forgery TheGolden Bull of 1222 , issued by KingAndrew II of Hungary to confirm the rights of nobility and forced on him in much the same wayKing John of England was made to signMagna Carta TheGolden Bull of 1224 (theGoldener Freibrief ) issued by Andrew to grant certain rights to theSaxon inhabitants of Transylvania TheGolden Bull of Rimini (1226), issued byFrederick II, Holy Roman Emperor TheGolden Bull of 1242 issued by KingBéla IV to proclaim afree royal city for the inhabitants ofGradec (part ofZagreb ) andSamobor inCroatia , during theMongol invasion of Europe .[ 3] [ 4] TheGolden Bull of 1267 , issued by King Béla IV of Hungary TheGolden Bull of 1348 , issued byKing Charles I ofBohemia , laterHoly Roman Emperor as Charles IV, to confer privileges and immunities onCharles University established byPope Clement VI inPrague ,one of the oldest universities in the world TheGolden Bull of 1356 (one of the most famous golden bulls), issued byHoly Roman Emperor Charles IV for promulgation at theDiet of Nuremberg , to define (and to last more than four hundred years) the constitutional structure of theHoly Roman Empire TheGolden Bull of 1702 , issued byLeopold I, Holy Roman Emperor to establish theAkademia Leopoldina in theSilesian capital ofBreslau (present name:Wrocław ), the futureUniversity of Breslau (Universitas Vratislatensis ) 
