The Price of Salvation
Abstract
This chapter rests on documents of the Western Christian controversy of 1515 to 1517 and on the Church's later responses, and it does not speak for any other tradition. It concerns institutions and money and judges no doctrine. Leo X's bull of 31 March 1515 opened an eight-year indulgence for St. Peter's in the provinces of Mainz and Magdeburg. Albert of Brandenburg held the commissionership and owed the Fugger bank, in Schulte's total, 29,000 Rhenish gulden, and the commissioners' order of 28 May 1517 gave Jakob Fugger one of the keys to the chests. Albert's Instructio Summaria set contributions by rank and, in the Latin of Kidd's excerpt, said that confession was not required for the confessional letter. Luther's letter and theses of 31 October 1517 object to the instruction and to the use of the money. Aloys Schulte's archival study corrects two popular claims: the proposal came through the papal Datary, and the preachers could not have enriched themselves from the chests. The Council of Trent abolished questors in 1562 and "evil gains" in 1563, and Pius V revoked questing indulgences in 1567. No cited source establishes the final yield or the sums actually paid.
1.1 The bull of 1515
Pope Leo X's bull Sacrosanctis Salvatoris et Redemptoris nostri of 31 March 1515 opened an eight-year indulgence for the rebuilding of St. Peter's in the provinces of Mainz and Magdeburg and the Brandenburg lands. It named Archbishop Albert of Brandenburg and the guardian of the Observant Franciscans at Mainz as commissioners and granted plenary remission of sins in return for alms put into the chests, tied in the text to confession and absolution by a chosen confessor.
The grants in the bull include a choice of confessor with extended faculties, commutation of vows, and composition for ill-gotten goods, usury, simony and matrimonial impediments when a sum is paid into the chests. The text authorizes the commissioners to set and tax the sum required for the indulgence, and to suspend other indulgences for up to the eight years.
Evidence: Exhibit 401
Mechanism: The middleman
The Latin text of the bull is in Schulte's transcription (Die Fugger in Rom, 1904, Urkunden Nr. 84, from Registrum Vaticanum 1196, fols. 60 to 64v).
The narrative says that the means of the pope and the Holy See do not suffice for the rebuilding begun by Julius II, and that the help of the faithful must be sought. The bull appeals to the faithful of Mainz, Magdeburg and the lands of the Brandenburg margraves to extend a helping hand to the building. The transcription ties the plenary remission to confession and absolution by a chosen confessor, as well as to the alms put in the chests.
The bull does not say who receives Albert's half of the proceeds. That allocation appears in the petition that preceded the bull.
Exhibit 401 · Papal bull
Bull Sacrosanctis Salvatoris et Redemptoris nostri (St. Peter's indulgence for the provinces of Mainz and Magdeburg)
Appeals to the faithful of Mainz and Magdeburg to contribute to the rebuilding of St. Peter's, names Albert of Mainz and the Observant Franciscan guardian as commissioners for eight years, and grants plenary remission, a confessional letter, and dispensations in return for alms put in chests. Text read in Schulte, Die Fugger in Rom (1904), Urkunden Nr. 84, transcribed from Reg. Vat. 1196 fols. 60-64v; first printed in Kohler, Dokumente zum Ablassstreit (1934), pp. 83-93.
- Source
- Pope Leo X
- Date
- 31 March 1515
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.2 The petition and the 10,000 ducats
According to Aloys Schulte's German translation of the Vatican documents, the envoys' petition of 1 August 1514 offered Leo X 10,000 ducats and asked that half the proceeds go to St. Peter's and half to Albert and the churches of Mainz, Magdeburg and Halberstadt. The motu proprio of 15 April 1515 records that Albert paid the 10,000 ducats and that no revocation or competing plenary indulgence would be allowed for eight years.
Schulte reads the motu proprio as showing that the pope himself, not the Apostolic Chamber, received the 10,000 ducats. The motu proprio omits the formal allocation of the second half to Albert, and Albert obtained a papal brief dated 14 February 1516 to secure it (Schulte, pp. 132 to 133).
Evidence: Exhibit 403, Exhibit 402
Mechanism: The middleman
Schulte gives the petition of 1 August 1514 in German. It asks for the indulgence for Mainz, Magdeburg and the Brandenburg territories for eight years, with the commissioners' powers of Julius II's indulgence in Livonia. It asks that half the alms and proceeds, after charges, go to the St. Peter's building and half to the archbishop and the churches of Mainz, Magdeburg and Halberstadt.
The petition states that the archbishop will pay 10,000 camera ducats immediately, as a voluntary payment, on condition that the sum is not deducted from the pope's half. It asks the pope to promise no revocation and no other plenary indulgence, even for St. Peter's, in those provinces for eight years. The motu proprio of 15 April 1515, addressed to the camerlengo and the chamber, records the grant, the division of the proceeds, the payment of the 10,000 ducats into the pope's hands and the promise of non-revocation.
Both documents are known only through Schulte's German. Every term and figure in this section is Schulte's. Schulte states that the envoys wanted the largest possible yield, which accounts for the eight years and the extent of the territory (p. 120).
Exhibit 403 · Petition to the pope
Petition (Supplik) of the Brandenburg envoys for an indulgence for Mainz and Magdeburg
Asks for an eight-year indulgence for St. Peter's in the provinces of Mainz and Magdeburg, with half the proceeds to the building and half to the archbishop and the churches of Mainz, Magdeburg and Halberstadt, a payment of 10,000 ducats not deductible from the pope's half, and a guarantee against competing plenary indulgences.
- Source
- Envoys of Albert of Brandenburg to the Roman Curia
- Date
- 1 August 1514
- Grade
- Reported
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
Exhibit 402 · Papal motu proprio
Motu proprio to the Apostolic Chamber on the Mainz-Magdeburg indulgence
Records that the archbishop had granted an indulgence of eight years for St. Peter's, that half the proceeds after charges go to the building, that the archbishop had paid 10,000 ducats into the pope's hands, and that the indulgence will not be revoked or suspended and no other plenary indulgence published for eight years. The text is Schulte's German translation (Die Fugger in Rom, 1904, pp. 125-126; Urkunden Nr. 85).
- Source
- Pope Leo X
- Date
- 15 April 1515
- Grade
- Reported
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Vat.; Schulte Urkunden Nr. 85).
1.3 The loan for the confirmation fees
A debt bond of 15 May 1514, printed by Schulte, records that Albert of Brandenburg owed Jakob Fugger about 21,000 ducats de camera, at 100 ducats to 140 gulden, plus 500 gulden for exchange, which Schulte reports was for the fees for confirming Albert's election as archbishop of Mainz. The bond sets the first instalment at St. James's day (25 July) and the second at Michaelmas (29 September) 1514. Schulte gives the total as 29,000 Rhenish gulden and glosses the second date as 29 October.
Schulte reports that the Fugger factor in Rome paid out the money to Albert's envoys. The bond sets the first instalment at "Jacobi apostoli" (25 July 1514) and the second at "Michahelis" (29 September), and Schulte's narrative glosses the second date as 29 October (p. 104). Schulte gives the Fugger's gain as the 500 gulden plus any interest on default (pp. 104 to 105).
Evidence: Exhibit 404
Mechanism: The middleman
The bond is a debt of the archbishop for the fees that the Roman curia charged for confirming his election. Schulte reports that Albert said he found pledged debts of 120,000 gulden on the archbishopric at his accession. An earlier archbishop of Mainz, Uriel von Gemmingen, had borrowed 21,000 gulden from the Fugger for the fees of the pallium, and Schulte reports that the pallium tax fell on the archbishop's subjects (pp. 100 to 103).
Schulte also describes the Fugger bank as a remitter of indulgence money to Rome. Before 1514, he reports, the curia took one third of the receipts of other German indulgences. In one example, the Constance indulgence, the Fugger received 200 gulden in costs against a papal third of 3,554 gulden (pp. 135 to 136).
The bond gives a rate of 100 ducats to 140 gulden. At that rate 21,000 ducats are 29,400 gulden, and with the 500 gulden for exchange the sum is 29,900. Schulte states the total as 29,000, a rounded figure.
Exhibit 404 · Debt bond
Albert of Brandenburg's debt bond to Jakob Fugger for the Mainz confirmation fees
auf Jacobi apostoli schirstkunfftig vnnd den anderen vbrigen teyl auf Michahelis nechstuolgend nach data dits briues
Debt bond of Albert of Brandenburg to Jakob Fugger, 15 May 1514, as printed by Schulte (Die Fugger in Rom, 1904, Urkunden Nr. 54, p. 94). It covers about 21,000 ducats de camera at 100 ducats = 140 gulden, plus 500 gulden for exchange; Schulte reports it was for the fees for confirming the Mainz election. The text sets one instalment at Jacobi apostoli (25 July) and the other at Michahelis (Michaelmas, 29 September) 1514. Schulte's narrative (pp. 104-105) gives the total as 29,000 Rhenish gulden, a rounded figure (21,000 x 1.4 = 29,400 before the 500), and glosses the second date as 29 October.
- Source
- Albert of Brandenburg; Fugger bank
- Date
- 15 May 1514
- Quoted from
- Schulte, Die Fugger in Rom, Urkunden Nr. 54, p. 94 (page image checked)
- Grade
- Reported
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
- Note
- Printed text of the bond in Schulte's Urkunden.
1.4 The chests and the Fugger key
Schulte reports that the commissioners' order of 28 May 1517 gave Jakob Fugger one of the keys to the indulgence chests and directed that, after costs, one half of the contents go to the Fugger as the papal share and the other half to the Fugger in payment of Albert's debt.
According to the order, as Schulte reports it from Gudenus's Codex diplomaticus, the chests were opened before a notary and witnesses. Schulte lists openings at Frankfurt, where three keys were used, at Schwabach on 29 May 1518, which held 53 gulden, and at Salzwedel on 9 June 1518, which held 120 gulden (pp. 143 to 144).
Evidence: Exhibit 405, Exhibit 406
Mechanism: The middleman
The chest order sets out two parts. The first gives the Fugger one of the keys to the chests. The second directs the money to the Fugger in two halves, the papal share and the payment of the debt Albert owed the bank. The order is known only through Schulte.
Schulte reports two further arrangements. On 28 October 1515 the Mainz chancellor agreed with Emperor Maximilian that the indulgence would be allowed in imperial territory for three years, with 1,000 gulden a year paid to the imperial court for a church in Innsbruck (p. 130). Tetzel and his subordinates received together more than 300 gulden a month (p. 150).
The three chest openings show the contents of single chests. Schulte's account gives no total for the whole indulgence.
Exhibit 405 · Order
Commissioners' order of 28 May 1517 giving Jakob Fugger a key to each indulgence chest
Schulte reports, from Gudenus, Codex diplomaticus 4, pp. 587 ff., that the commissioners ordered chests opened before a notary and witnesses, with Fugger holding one key; after costs, one half went to the Fugger as the papal share and the other half to the Fugger in payment of the archbishop's debt. Die Fugger in Rom (1904), pp. 143-144.
- Source
- Papal commissioners for Mainz-Magdeburg
- Date
- 28 May 1517
- Grade
- Reported
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.5 A scale of contributions by rank
Albert's Instructio Summaria set a contribution by rank: at least 25 Rhenish gulden for kings, queens, archbishops, bishops and other great princes, 10 for abbots, counts and wealthy nobles, down to half a florin for others. It told those without money to supply their contribution by prayer and fasting.
The scale is printed in Latin in Kidd's Documents Illustrative of the Continental Reformation (1911, No. 6, pp. 13 to 17), taken from Gerdes's Monumenta of 1744. The Latin for the top rank is "solvant saltem florenos aureos Rhenenses viginti quinque", which means that they should pay at least 25 Rhenish gold gulden. Kidd's excerpt uses ellipses.
Evidence: Exhibit 400
Mechanism: The middleman
| Rank | Contribution |
|---|---|
| Kings, queens and their children, archbishops, bishops and other great princes | at least 25 |
| Abbots, counts, barons and wealthy nobles, per person | 10 |
| Lesser prelates and nobles with a yearly income of 500 gulden | 6 |
| Citizens and merchants earning 200 gulden | 3 |
| Artisans with their own income and household | 1 |
| Others | half a florin |
| Those without money | prayer and fasting |
For those without money the Instructio says "precibus ieiuniis suam contributionem suppleant", that they supply their contribution by prayers and fasting. It gives as the reason that "regnum enim coelorum non plus divitibus quam pauperibus patere debet", which says that the kingdom of heaven ought to lie open no more to the rich than to the poor.
The Instructio also tells confessors to ask each penitent how much in money or other temporal goods the penitent would give to go without the plenary remission and its faculties. The Latin gives the purpose: "ut postea possint ipsos facilius ad contribuendum inducere", so that the confessors can more easily bring them to contribute.
Exhibit 400 · Instruction to commissioners
Instructio Summaria ad sub-commissarios (Albert of Mainz's instruction to indulgence preachers and confessors)
Declaramus etiam quod pro dictis duabus gratiis principalibus consequendis non est opus confiteri, seu ecclesias aut altaria visitare, sed duntaxat confessionale redimere
Sets out four principal graces of the St. Peter's indulgence, a graded scale of contributions from 25 Rhenish gulden (kings, bishops, princes) down to half a florin or prayer and fasting for those without money, and a confessional letter priced at one quarter of a Rhenish florin. Excerpted in Latin in Kidd, Documents Illustrative of the Continental Reformation (Oxford, 1911), No. 6, pp. 13-17, from Gerdes (1744). Kidd's text uses ellipses; the full text should be read in Gerdes or Kohler, Dokumente zum Ablassstreit (1934).
- Source
- Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz and Magdeburg, and the Guardian of the Mainz Observant Franciscans (papal commissioners)
- Date
- 1517
- Quoted from
- Kidd 1911, No. 6, p. 16 (checked against page image)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/cu31924029236458
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.6 Confession and the confessional letter
In the excerpt printed by Kidd, the Instructio Summaria declares that to obtain the two principal graces it names it was not necessary to confess or visit churches, only to redeem the confessional letter, which cost a quarter of a Rhenish gulden in addition to the ordinary tax. It also stated that those contributing for souls in purgatory need not be contrite or confessed.
The Latin reads "Declaramus etiam quod pro dictis duabus gratiis principalibus consequendis non est opus confiteri, seu ecclesias aut altaria visitare, sed duntaxat confessionale redimere" (Kidd, p. 16, checked against the page image). On souls in purgatory the Latin reads "Nec opus est quod contribuentes pro animabus in capsam sint corde contriti et ore confessi". The Instructio gives the reason that the grace rests on the charity in which the dead person died and on the contribution of the living.
Evidence: Exhibit 400
Mechanism: The middleman
Kidd's excerpt omits passages marked by ellipses. The first sentence, as the excerpt prints it, applies to the two graces obtained through the confessional letter.
Kidd also prints sermon texts that he attributes to Tetzel. Catholic historians dispute that attribution, and none of the sermon wording is used here.
1.7 Luther's letter to Albert
Martin Luther wrote to Albert on 31 October 1517 that indulgences for St. Peter's were circulating under Albert's name. He reported that the Instruction to the Commissaries issued under that name said contrition was not necessary for those who bought souls out of purgatory or bought confessionalia, and asked Albert to withdraw it.
Luther wrote in the letter: "Papal indulgences for the building of St. Peter's are circulating under your most distinguished name". He also wrote that the Instruction to the Commissaries was issued under Albert's name "(doubtless without your knowledge and consent)", and asked Albert to "do away entirely with that treatise and impose upon the preachers of pardons another form of preaching".
Evidence: Exhibit 399
Luther separates what he has heard from what he reports. He writes that he does not bring accusation against "the outcries of the preachers, which I have not heard", and that he grieves over "the wholly false impressions which the people have conceived from them". One of those impressions was that people who had bought letters of indulgence were sure of their salvation.
Luther also reports that the Instruction says one of the chief graces is the gift by which man is reconciled to God, and that contrition is not necessary in those who purchase souls out of purgatory or buy confessionalia. The Instructio excerpt in section 1.6 contains the matching statement about contrition for souls in purgatory. The translation is from Works of Martin Luther (Holman, 1915), vol. 1, as transcribed by Wikisource.
Exhibit 399 · Letter
Luther's letter to Archbishop Albert of Mainz
Papal indulgences for the building of St. Peter's are circulating under your most distinguished name
Luther tells Albert that indulgences for St. Peter's circulate under his name, reports what the people believe about them, quotes the Instruction to the Commissaries issued under Albert's name, and asks him to withdraw that instruction. English translation in Works of Martin Luther (Holman, 1915), vol. 1, pp. 39-42 (Wikisource transcription).
- Source
- Martin Luther
- Date
- 31 October 1517
- Quoted from
- Letter to Albrecht, para. 2 (Holman ed., vol. 1)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Works_of_Martin_Luther,_with_introductions_and_notes/Volume_1/Disputation_on_Indulgences
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.8 The money in the Ninety-Five Theses
The Ninety-Five Theses of 31 October 1517 raise money questions: why the pope's wealth does not build St. Peter's (thesis 86), that giving to the poor does better than buying pardons (theses 43 and 45), that the pope, if he knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, would rather see St. Peter's go to ashes than have it built with the flesh of his sheep (50), and that the treasures of indulgences are nets to catch the riches of men (66).
Thesis 86 asks why the pope should not build St. Peter's "with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers". Thesis 43 says "he who gives to the poor or lends to the needy does a better work than buying pardons". Thesis 66 says "The treasures of the indulgences are nets with which they now fish for the riches of men".
Evidence: Exhibit 398
Thesis 45 says that a man who passes a person in need and gives his money for pardons "purchases not the indulgences of the pope, but the indignation of God". Thesis 50 says that if the pope knew the exactions of the pardon-preachers, "he would rather that St. Peter's church should go to ashes, than that it should be built up with the skin, flesh and bones of his sheep". Thesis 51 says it would be the pope's wish to give of his own money to those from whom certain hawkers of pardons cajole money.
The theses also set limits on the objection. Thesis 38 says that "the remission and participation [in the blessings of the Church] which are granted by the pope are in no way to be despised". Thesis 47 says that "the buying of pardons is a matter of free will, and not of commandment". The theses are propositions for academic disputation, and the quotations here follow the 1915 Jacobs and Spaeth translation.
Exhibit 398 · Academic disputation (theses)
Disputation of Doctor Martin Luther on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences (the Ninety-Five Theses)
Why does not the pope, whose wealth is to-day greater than the riches of the richest, build just this one church of St. Peter with his own money, rather than with the money of poor believers?
Ninety-five propositions for academic debate. Theses 27-28, 42-51, 56-57, 66-67 and 82-86 address money: the sale of pardons, the poor, the preachers and the pope's wealth. English translation by Jacobs and Spaeth, Works of Martin Luther (Philadelphia: A. J. Holman, 1915), vol. 1, pp. 29-38.
- Source
- Martin Luther, University of Wittenberg
- Date
- 31 October 1517
- Quoted from
- Thesis 86 (Holman/Jacobs-Spaeth transl., 1915, vol. 1, pp. 29-38)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/274/pg274.txt
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.9 Who received the money
Schulte's 1904 archival study concluded that the proposal for the St. Peter's indulgence reached Albert's envoys through the papal Datary and did not originate with Albert, that the procedure of chests opened under a notary with Fugger's key left the preachers no opportunity to enrich themselves, and that the venture was a poor business for Albert.
Schulte, who worked from Vatican and Magdeburg records, rejects the view that Albert proposed the indulgence and the 10,000 ducats (pp. 120 to 121). He reports that the envoys disliked the project at first. On the preachers, he writes that the chests were opened long after the preaching ended, with a notary and the Fugger key, and that apart from riding money and messenger fees the preachers' expenses were negligible (p. 160).
Evidence: Exhibit 406
Schulte's reading removes two claims from the account. He holds that Albert did not originate the scheme, and that the Datary proposed it to Albert's envoys through an intermediary. He states that the intermediary may have been a Fugger agent, which he calls unproven. Schulte also states that Tetzel's personal innocence of the charges is probable, and cites the Catholic historian Paulus as having rebutted them (p. 160).
As Schulte reports the documents, the pope received the 10,000 ducats and the papal half. The Fugger bank received the second half in payment of Albert's debt, and costs for its remittances, as in the Constance example. The commissioners' staff received pay and expenses, including the more than 300 gulden a month that Schulte reports for Tetzel and his subordinates.
Schulte judges the Mainz and Magdeburg indulgence a poor business for Albert, even in commercial terms (p. 150). The documents behind that judgment are the bond, the petition, the motu proprio and the chest order, each of which is registered as reported.
Exhibit 406 · Scholarly monograph with document appendix
Die Fugger in Rom, 1495-1523, mit Studien zur Geschichte des kirchlichen Finanzwesens jener Zeit
Archival study of the Fugger bank's papal business. Shows from Vatican and Magdeburg records that the indulgence proposal came through the papal Datary, not from Albert; gives the 10,000-ducat composition, the half-and-half division, the Fugger loan and the Fugger's role as papal remitter; finds that the preachers could not have enriched themselves under the instruction; and judges the venture a poor business for Albert.
- Source
- Aloys Schulte (Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot)
- Date
- 1904
- Grade
- Peer-reviewed
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/diefuggerinrom1400schuuoft
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.10 The Church abolishes the gains
The Council of Trent abolished questors of alms on 16 July 1562 and decreed on 4 December 1563 that all evil gains in obtaining indulgences be wholly abolished. Pius V's constitution Etsi dominici gregis of 8 February 1567 revoked indulgences carrying a questing faculty, including those for St. Peter's, and forbade questing and the appointment of questors without papal license.
Session 21 states that the questors' name and use be "henceforth utterly abolished", and that the ordinaries collect alms "without their receiving any remuneration whatsoever". The 1563 decree retains the use of indulgences and condemns with anathema those who call them useless. Pius V's constitution complains that "multi quaestores ex eisdem indulgentiis lucrum temporalem tantum quaerentes" acted in the name of the fabric of St. Peter's.
Evidence: Exhibit 407, Exhibit 408, Exhibit 409
The decree of 16 July 1562 gives as its reason "the wicked abuses of questors of alms" and "the great scandal and complaint of all the faithful". It orders the ordinaries of each place, with two members of the chapter, to publish indulgences and gather the alms. The decree of 4 December 1563 uses the Latin "pravos quaestus", which Schaff translates as "evil gains", and orders all of them wholly abolished.
Etsi dominici gregis of 8 February 1567 revokes, cancels and annuls all indulgences, including perpetual ones, for the fabric of St. Peter's and for other named and unnamed institutions that carry a questing faculty. It forbids anyone, even a cardinal, to quest or to appoint questors without special papal license. It revokes indulgences that carry a questing faculty, and its text does not revoke every indulgence that involves alms. The text is in the Taurinensis edition of the Bullarium Romanum, vol. 7, pp. 535 to 537.
These measures came after the break of 1517.
Exhibit 407 · Conciliar decree
Council of Trent, Session 21, Decree on Reformation, chapter 9 (abolition of questors of alms)
their name and use be henceforth utterly abolished
Abolishes the name and use of questors of alms throughout Christendom and orders indulgences published by the ordinaries, aided by two chapter members who collect alms without remuneration. Waterworth translation (London: Dolman, 1848), via Hanover Historical Texts Project.
- Source
- Council of Trent
- Date
- 16 July 1562
- Quoted from
- Session 21, Decree of reformation, ch. 9 (Waterworth 1848)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://history.hanover.edu/texts/trent/ct21.html
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
Exhibit 408 · Conciliar decree
Council of Trent, Session 25, Decree concerning indulgences
ordains generally by this decree, that all evil gains for the obtaining thereof,—whence, a most prolific cause of abuses amongst the Christian people has been derived,—be wholly abolished
Retains the use of indulgences and condemns those who call them useless. Orders that all 'evil gains' (pravos quaestus) connected with obtaining indulgences be wholly abolished, and bishops to report other abuses to the provincial synod and the pope. Latin: 'pravos quaestus omnes pro his consequendis, unde plurima in Christiano populo abusuum causa fluxit, omnino abolendos esse.' The English phrase is 'evil gains', not 'evil traffic'.
- Source
- Council of Trent
- Date
- 4 December 1563
- Quoted from
- Session 25, Decree concerning indulgences (Schaff, Creeds of Christendom, vol. 2, Latin with English)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/creeds2.v.i.i.xiii.html
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
Exhibit 409 · Papal constitution
Constitution Etsi dominici gregis (revocation of indulgences carrying a questing faculty; prohibition of questing and appointment of questors)
multi quaestores ex eisdem indulgentiis lucrum temporalem tantum quaerentes
Records many complaints that questors sought temporal gain from indulgences granted to the fabric of St. Peter's and to other hospitals and churches. Revokes, cancels and annuls all indulgences, including perpetual ones, for the fabric of St. Peter's and other named and unnamed institutions that carry a questing faculty, and forbids anyone, of any rank, to quest or appoint questors without special papal licence. Bullarium Romanum, Taurinensis ed., vol. 7, pp. 535-537, constitution XLV. The brief's title 'Quam plenum' is a different constitution; see Quam plenum exhibit.
- Source
- Pope Pius V
- Date
- 8 February 1567
- Quoted from
- Bullarium Romanum (Taurinensis) vol. 7, p. 535, sec. 1 (checked against page image)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/bullarumdiplomat07cath
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.11 The Church's definition and a Catholic critic
The Catechism of the Catholic Church, no. 1471, defines the term: "An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven". No. 1473 states: "The forgiveness of sin and restoration of communion with God entail the remission of the eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment of sin remains." Nos. 1471 to 1479 contain no reference to payment.
The official position
The Catechism, no. 1471, defines an indulgence as a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, gained by a faithful Christian "duly disposed" under prescribed conditions through the Church.
What the record shows
The Instructio Summaria of 1517, in Kidd's excerpt, says that no one needs to confess to obtain two of the principal graces, only to redeem the confessional letter, and that those giving for souls in purgatory need not be contrite or confessed. The bull, in Schulte's transcription, ties the remission to confession and absolution. Both statements are in the documents.
Desiderius Erasmus, a Catholic priest and humanist, ridiculed the pardon trade in 1511, six years before the theses. In In Praise of Folly he asks "What shall I say of such as cry up and maintain the cheat of pardons and indulgences?" and says that a highwayman, a plundering soldier or a bribe-taking judge can pay some of his unjust gains and count his gravest sins atoned for. The Gutenberg text is an English translation whose translator the file does not name.
Pius V's Quam plenum of 2 January 1569 is a separate act. It concerns Spanish prelates who sold letters under which, for a fixed payment, the holder could choose any confessor and receive absolution in reserved cases, with a table of prices posted in churches. The pope abolished the letters and imposed suspension on the prelates and excommunication on lesser persons.
Exhibit 411 · Catechism
Catechism of the Catholic Church, nos. 1471-1479 (Indulgences)
An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven
States the Church's current teaching: an indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, gained under prescribed conditions through the Church. Nos. 1472-1473 distinguish eternal from temporal punishment and say forgiveness of guilt does not require an indulgence. No. 1478 says the Church wants to spur the faithful to works of devotion, penance and charity. Footnote 81 cites Paul VI, Indulgentiarum doctrina, norm 1.
- Source
- Catholic Church (Libreria Editrice Vaticana)
- Date
- 1992 (1997 typical edition)
- Quoted from
- CCC no. 1471
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P4G.HTM
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
Exhibit 412 · Satirical essay
In Praise of Folly (passage on pardons and indulgences)
What shall I say of such as cry up and maintain the cheat of pardons and indulgences?
A Catholic humanist and priest ridicules those who maintain pardons and indulgences and who compute a soul's time in purgatory by the number of pardons purchased, and says a highwayman, plundering soldier or bribe-taking judge can pay part of his gains and count his sins atoned for. Gutenberg ebook 30201, English translation (translator not stated in the file; verify against the Wilson 1668 or another named edition before citing).
- Source
- Desiderius Erasmus
- Date
- 1511
- Quoted from
- Gutenberg #30201, section on superstitions (Folly's speech)
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/30201/pg30201.txt
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
Exhibit 410 · Papal constitution
Constitution Quam plenum (abolition of letters sold by Spanish prelates granting confessors and indulgences for a price)
Addresses prelates in Spain who published letters under which, for a fixed payment, the holder could choose any confessor, receive absolution in reserved cases and indulgences, and which a table posted in churches priced. The pope abolishes those letters and indices and imposes suspension on prelates and excommunication on lesser persons. Bullarium Romanum (Taurinensis) vol. 7, constitution CXXII, repeated as CLI (1570). It concerns confessional letters in Spain, and is not the general 1567 revocation.
- Source
- Pope Pius V
- Date
- 2 January 1569
- Grade
- Primary record
- Document
- https://archive.org/details/bullarumdiplomat07cath
- Accessed
- 2026-11-09
- Cited by
- Findings citing this exhibit
1.12 Questions the sources leave open
No cited source establishes the final yield of the Mainz and Magdeburg indulgence or the sums actually paid to the papal treasury, to Albert and to the Fugger. Schulte's own statement that it was a poor business for Albert gives no total, and the three chest openings in section 1.4 are single chests. According to Schulte, Albert asked Rome on 13 December 1517 for a list of what each place had yielded and what had been given to the Fugger (pp. 149 to 150). The list was not found.
The bull is known through Schulte's transcription and the Instructio through Kidd's excerpt. The petition, the motu proprio, the bond and the chest order are known only through Schulte.
Thesis 86 asks why the pope does not use his own wealth, and the bull says the means of the pope and the Holy See do not suffice. The documents cited cover no Orthodox, Eastern or other non-Latin tradition.
Key findings
- Leo X's bull of 31 March 1515 opened an eight-year St. Peter's indulgence in Mainz and Magdeburg and named Albert of Brandenburg a commissioner (1.1).
- The petition offered 10,000 ducats and asked that half the proceeds go to the archbishop and the churches of Mainz, Magdeburg and Halberstadt, and the motu proprio records the payment (1.2).
- Schulte puts the bond Albert owed Jakob Fugger for his confirmation fees at 29,000 Rhenish gulden (1.3).
- The chest order of 28 May 1517 gave the Fugger one of the keys to the chests and both halves of the proceeds (1.4).
- The Instructio Summaria set contributions from 25 Rhenish gulden down to prayer and fasting (1.5).
- The Instructio says confession was not required for the confessional letter, or for those giving for souls in purgatory (1.6).
- Luther asked Albert on 31 October 1517 to withdraw the Instruction to the Commissaries (1.7).
- The Ninety-Five Theses ask why the pope's wealth does not build St. Peter's (1.8).
- Schulte found that the proposal came through the papal Datary and that the preachers could not have taken the proceeds (1.9).
- Trent abolished questors and evil gains, and Pius V revoked questing indulgences in 1567 (1.10).