Wynkyn de Worde Papal Indulgence
Title
Wynkyn de Worde Papal Indulgence
Description
Printed in Westminster in 1497, this papal indulgence was issued for the pilgrim shrine of St. James, Compostela in Spain. Throughout the late medieval age, indulgences such as this would have been paid through the Church as part of a process of penance and remission from the temporal punishments of sins.
Just as empires accumulated great wealth during the Age of Discovery, so too did their churches. The evolution of Europe’s economy necessitated the adoption of common currency methods, facilitating more universal exchanges of goods and services and allowing money to become a common language throughout European empires. Much like the Church, the authority of the banknote was an unquestioned reality of early modern European life. So long as money was legitimate in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, churchgoers held that even grave sins could be absolved through one of these simple monetary exchanges. These exchanges did not, however, go unchallenged. Indulgences such as this would become a central critique of Martin Luther’s famous 95 Theses, as he accused the Church of commercializing the process of penance. Although Luther fundamentally challenged the foundations of the papacy, we will later see the Church continue to extend its wealth and influence throughout Europe’s growing global hegemony.
Just as empires accumulated great wealth during the Age of Discovery, so too did their churches. The evolution of Europe’s economy necessitated the adoption of common currency methods, facilitating more universal exchanges of goods and services and allowing money to become a common language throughout European empires. Much like the Church, the authority of the banknote was an unquestioned reality of early modern European life. So long as money was legitimate in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, churchgoers held that even grave sins could be absolved through one of these simple monetary exchanges. These exchanges did not, however, go unchallenged. Indulgences such as this would become a central critique of Martin Luther’s famous 95 Theses, as he accused the Church of commercializing the process of penance. Although Luther fundamentally challenged the foundations of the papacy, we will later see the Church continue to extend its wealth and influence throughout Europe’s growing global hegemony.
Creator
Wynken de Worde
Source
Wynken de Worde. Wynkyn de Worde Papal Indulgence, 1497. Printed Sheet, University of Edinburgh.https://www.europeana.eu/portal/en/record/9200261/BibliographicResource_3000058482938.html?q=Wynkyn+de+Worde+Papal+Indulgence
Date
c. 1497
Contributor
Zach Irvin
Rights
CC BY Free Re-use
Citation
Wynken de Worde, “Wynkyn de Worde Papal Indulgence,” HIST 139 - Early Modern Europe, accessed July 20, 2025, https://earlymoderneurope.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/26.