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indulgencewas clearly established as “an extrasacramental
remission, granted by the church, of the temporal penalty
due to sins already pardoned.” In the pardon of a sin, the
guilt of such an offense to God was removed by a confes-
sion with proper repentance and clerical absolution. A
temporal penalty, however, persisted and had to be paid
in this world or in a then newly conceived place called
PURGATORY. An indulgence diminished this burden or
obligation to undergo suffering.
PRINCIPLES OF INDULGENCESThe principle of indulgences was based on the idea of a
stored-up treasure of merit and was part of the church. It
was accumulated by merits of Christ, the Virgin MARY,
and the saints. A member of the church could draw upon
this accumulation for, in an exchange, the merits col-
lected there for helping in the remission of punishments
due the sins of others or one’s self. The granting of indul-
gences was restricted to the pope as the self-proclaimed
trustee of this, the church’s treasure. The pope could del-
egate this role to other high clerics such as cardinals or
bishops. Though the indulgence was granted by the
church, the sinner remitted his fault before God.
Indulgences were based on practices of penitence or
expiatory works done in a quantitative way such as fasts,
prayers, almsgiving, and bodily mortifications according
to the gravity and nature of the fault. In the 11th and
12th centuries, general remissions of such dues were
developed and granted for most sins. These partial boons
took place on the occasion of the consecrations of a
church, the constructions of an abbey, during PILGRIM-
AGES, or the translations or displays and movements of
RELICS. Soon plenary indulgences that pardoned all faults
and remitted entire penalties were granted by the pope.
With the need to promote and finance the Crusades, the
13th century saw a massive growth in the use of the ple-
nary indulgences. Such obtaining of plenary indulgences
became so lucrative that the papacy tried to control them
by requiring that they be proclaimed only by papal or
episcopal letters that were only obtained by a fee or a
share of the take.
LATER MIDDLE AGEIn the 14th century, the number of indulgences being
granted exploded. Requests addressed to the pope from
always needy monasteries, churches, confraternities,
bishops, and princes grew almost exponentially. The
granting of such indulgences was still linked with the
promotion of a cult devoted to a particular saint, the cele-
bration of feasts, or the organization of pilgrimages or
other such endeavors. The celebration of a HOLY YEARor
Jubilee involving a trip to the churches of Rome was
based on obtaining a plenary indulgence. On the occa-
sion of the first, propagated by Pope BONIFACEVIII in
1300, thousands of the faithful flocked to Rome greatly
enriching papal coffers and those of the tourist industry
in the city. The frequency of jubilees increased in the
course of the 14th century and the financial aspect fur-
ther overpowered the spiritual and pastoral aspects. In
the later Middle Ages the idea that even the dead could
become the beneficiaries of indulgences became popular.
One could make a donation in some form and earn remit-
tance for souls suffering punishment in PURGATORY. The
papacy vainly made some halfhearted effort to stem the
abuses of the sale of such indulgences, but their growth
continued barely unabated, damaging the reputation of
the papacy and the church in the eyes of many of the
laity.
Further reading:Henry Charles Lea, A History of
Auricular Confession and Indulgences in the Latin Church, 3
vols. (Philadelphia: Lea Brothers, 1896); Alexis Henri
Marie Lépicier, Cardinal, Indulgences, Their Origin,
Nature, and Development(London: K. Paul, Trench, Trüb-
ner, 1895); William Edward Lunt, Financial Relations of
the Papacy with England, 2 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.:
Mediaeval Academy of America, 1939–62); Maureen Pur-
cell, Papal Crusading Policy: The Chief Instruments of
Papal Crusading Policy and Crusade to the Holy Land from
the Final Loss of Jerusalem to the Fall of Acre, 1244–1291
(Leiden: Brill, 1975).infancy SeeCHILDREN AND CHILDHOOD.infanticide SeeCHILDREN AND CHILDHOOD.ink SeePALEOGRAPHY.Innocent III, Pope (Lothar of Segni, Lothario dei
Conti de Comitibus)(1160–1216)canon lawyer, pro-
moter of the Fourth Crusade
Born in 1160, the son of Trasimund, count of Segni, and
Clarissa of Scotti, Lothar of Segni studied THEOLOGYat
PARISand LAWat BOLOGNA. At about the age of 30 he
attained the rank of CARDINALdeacon. He owed his eleva-
tion to the cardinalate to his uncle, Pope Clement III (r.
1182–91), but he was already well recognized for his out-
standing ability and energy.THE PAPACY
After the pontificate of Pope Celestine III (r. 1191–98),
Lothar was chosen pope by his fellow cardinals on Jan-
uary 8, 1198. The new pope was faced with two principal
tasks: to combat the rise of HERESY, then a serious threat
to the unity of the church, and to restore the political for-
tunes and prestige of the PAPACYin ITA LY. Despite his
youth at the time of his election, Innocent was described
as having a commanding presence, a dynamic personality,
and remarkable rhetorical gifts that he could fully and
ably use to defend the papal office and its pretentions.
The most enduring achievements of his pontificate were