URI_Research _Magazine_Momentum_Spring_2020_Melissa-McCarthy

Joëlle Rollo-Koster Professor Medieval History

By denying the existence of the evidence by refusing to address the issue or allowing access to the documentation, she says the Church can alter history. Undeterred, Rollo-Koster says she ultimately gets what she’s after: “I know where to find the evidence.” For both academic and historical purposes, people must be persistent and seek access to archives,

BLOCKING ACCESS TO INFORMATION

Joëlle Rollo-Koster, URI professor of medieval history, points out that attempts to limit access or censor information extends beyond the hard sciences. For much of her research, she digs into the Vatican archives: “There have been occasions when I know one register exists on a specific topic, but I have been told that the archives cannot find it or they do not have it,” she says. “That is a different and perhaps more subtle way of blocking research.” As an example of her scholarly work that she believes the Church may feel strongly about, Rollo-Koster describes her investigation into the pillaging of goods belonging to popes when they died, a practice she says was common from the early Middle Ages to the 18th century. Displeased with the Catholic Church’s wealth, people would rob a pope’s possessions upon his death because they felt ownership of the items. “However,” says Rollo-Koster, “the Church did not want me to write about this. They don’t want to talk about it.”

Register of a woman merchant (1532). A merchant record was her/his livelihood, to keep track of items, deposits, credits, debts, etc. If it was stolen there would be no evidence to prove a debt.

Spring | 2020 Page 41