Pope and Emperor rotulus

This scroll-form book is made of a single strip of parchment, extremely rare in the late Middle Ages, and was probably intended for educational purposes. Over six and a half metres long, the scroll shows 214 popes on the top row and 112 emperors on the bottom, in chronological order. The series of popes starts with Jesus Christ and ends with Eugene IV, who served between 1431 and 1437. The first of the emperors portrayed is Julius Caesar, and the line ends at Sigismund. The text refers to the persons depicted, but also mentions famous poets, scholars, heretics and the main events occurring during the reign of the Emperor, such as the Council of Constance. Since Sigismund is portrayed not with a closed imperial crown, but an open lily crown, the rotulus must have been completed before his coronation as emperor in 1433.