SCRINIARII. - From the Latin scrinium (= casket), which properly denoted a cabinet in which precious objects and documents were kept, and later came to mean “office” and “archive”; hence certain officials of the Roman imperial Chancery and of the offices of provincial administration, particularly those in charge of the archive, were called s.
The pontifical Chancery (v.) too, at least from the 8th to the 11th century, had its s., who often combined this title with that of notarii; they wrote the documents and perhaps also served as archivists.
In certain cities, e.g., in Rome, the title of s. was used alongside others (tabelliones, curiales, etc.) to designate the notaries (v.) who drew up private documents.
BIBL.: H. Breslau, Handbuch der Urkundenlehre, I. 2a ed., Lipsia 1912, p. 206; C. Paoli, Diplomatica, nuova ed. aggiornata da G. C. Bascapé, Firenze 1942, pp. 82 e 94. For the pontifical s. up to the year 1099, V. L. Santifaller, Saggio di un elenco di funzionari della Cancell. pontif., ecc., in Bull. dell'Ist. st. II. per il medioevo e Arch. muratoriano, 56 (1940). Giulio Battelli