Although the duty of Abbreviators was originally to make abstracts and abridgments of the apostolic letters, diplomas, etc ., using the legal abbreviations, clauses, and formularies, in course of time, as their office grew in importance they delegated that part of their office to their substitute and confined themselves to overseeing the proper expedition of the apostolic letters.
32.
Tensions with the College of Cardinals came to the fore when in 1466, attempting to eliminate redundant offices, Paul II proceeded to annul the College of Abbreviators, whose function it was to formulate papal documents; a storm of indignation arose, inasmuch as rhetoricians and poets with Roman Academy took on a more religious flavour, turning in part to theology as a means of legitimizing its pursuits.
33.
The Latin inscription makes another reference to the Pope : " Ioannem de Montemirabili hic sepultum, intelligentia apostolicum abbreviatorem, fides referendarium secretum, probitas Sixto IV . Pontefici Maximo familiarem, religio episcopum Vasionensem fecit, quibus perfunctus septuagenarius obiit 4 Junii 1479 . Haec, si consideres, satis admonent . " ( Ioannes de Montemirabilia is buried here, intelligence made him abbreviator apostolic, faith secret referendary, probity the familiar of Pope Sixtus IV ., religion the Bishop of Vaison, died as a septuagenarian on 4 June 1479 . These, if you consider, admonish sufficiently .)
34.
Joan . tit . xiii, " Cum ad Sacrosanctae Romanae Ecclesiae " ) prescribes their work, determines how much they may charge for their labour, fixes a certain tax for an abstract or abridgment of twenty-five words, or their equivalent, 150 letters, forbids them to charge more, even though the abstract goes over twenty-five words but less than fifty words, enacts that the basis of the tax is the labour employed in writing, expediting, etc ., the Bulls, and by no means the emoluments accruing to the recipient of the favour or benefice conferred by the Bull, and declares that whoever shall charge more than the tax fixed by him shall be suspended for six months from office, and upon a second violation of the law, shall be deprived of it altogether, and if the delinquent be an abbreviator, he shall be excommunicated.
