Editing Fourth Council of the Lateran (section)

===Records and implementation===
While the proceedings were not officially recorded, unlike in previous councils, evidence of the events have been found in various manuscripts by observers of the council.{{Sfn|Bolton|1995|p=59}} The ''[[Chronica Majora]]'' by [[Matthew Paris]] contains a line drawing of one of the sessions at the council which his abbot [[William of St Albans]] had personally attended.{{Sfn|Bolton|1995|p=60}} An extensive eyewitness account by an anonymous German cleric was copied into a manuscript that was published in 1964, in commemoration of the [[Second Vatican Council]], and is now housed at the [[University of Giessen]].{{Sfn|Bolton|1995|p=53}}

Dissemination of the Canons themselves was often patchy and incomplete, as it relied on handwritten records kept by local bishops, while it is unclear if the Papacy ever provided official copies.{{sfn|Wayno|2018|pp=615-6}} Local adaptations of the Canons could reflect disagreements or differences of priorities, and the incompleteness of the transmission of the canons was recognised as a significant problem by the Papacy.{{sfn|Wayno|2018|p=616}} Implementation of the council's reforms was included within the Canons, with instructions that local councils should be held in order to create plans for their adoption.{{sfn|Wayno|2018|p=619}} Provinces held councils to instruct Bishops to hold local synods, however the evidence suggests that this mechanism did not result in Bishops holding meetings and organising reforms in the manner intended.{{sfn|Wayno|2018|pp=621-2}}