758 THE MIDDLE AGES. A.D. 1294-1517.
of the souls in that sphere. As Thomas Aquinas clearly taught, such souls belong to the jurisdiction of the Church on earth. And, if indulgences may be granted to the living, certainly the benefit may be extended to the intermediate realm, over which the Church also has control.
Sixtus' first bull granting indulgence for the dead was issued 1476 in favor of the church of Saintes. Here was offered to those who paid a certain sum — certam pecuniam — iov the benefit of the building, the privilege of securing a relaxation of the sufferings of the purgatorial dead, parents for their children, friend for friend. The papal deliverance aroused criticism and in a second bull, issued the following year, the pontiff states that such relaxations were offered by virtue of the fulness of authority vested in the pope from above — plenitudo potestatis — to draw upon the fund of merits.^
To the abuse, to which thife doctrine opened the door, was added the popular belief that letters of indulgence gave exemption both from the culpability and penalty of sin. The expression, " full remission of sins," plena or plenissima remissio peccatorum, is found again and again in papal bulls from the famous Portiuncula indulgence, granted by Honorius III. to the Franciscans, to the last hours of the undisputed sway of the pope in the West. It was the merit of the late Dr. Lea to have called attention to this almost overlooked element of the mediaeval indulgence. Catholic authorities of to-day, as Paulus and Beringer, without denying the use of the expression, a poena et culpa, assert that it was not the intent of any genuine papal message to grant forgiveness from the guilt of sin without contrition of heart.^ The expression was in
1 For the text of the bulls, see Lea IIL 585 sqq. and Kbhier, pp. 37-40. A bull ascribed to Calixtus III., 1457, also sanctions indulgences for the dead. It is accepted as genuine by I'aulus. For Gabriel Hiel's acceptance of Sixtus' assertion of power to grant indulgences to the dead, see Kohler, p. 40.
2 Paulus, 97 sq., and Beringer, p. 11, either explain the expression to mean the penalty of guilt, as if it read a poena culpce delicta, or refer it to venial sins. See Vol, V. 1, p. 741. The Jubilee bull of Boniface VIII., 1300, was interpreted by a cardinal to include in its benefits guilt as well as penalty — dwplex indulge.ntia cnlpce videlicet et poence. Kuhler, p. 18 sq., gives the text of the bull. John XXIII. confessed to have often absolved a culpa et poena.
§ 80. THE SALE OP INDULGENCES. 759
current use in tracts and in common talk.i John of Paltz, in his Coelifodina, an elaborate defence of indulgences written towards the close of the 15th century, afhrmed that an indulgence is given by virtue of the power of the keys whereby guilt is remitted and penalty withdrawn. These keys open the fund of the Church to its sons.^ Luther was only expressing the popular view when, writing to Albrecht of Mainz, 1517, he complained that men accepted the letters of indulgence as giving them exemption from all penalty and guilt — hotno per istas indulgentias liber sit ah omni poena et culpa. Not only on the Continent but also in England were such forms of indulgence circulated. For example, Leo X.'s indulgence for the hospital S. Spirito in Rome ran in its English translation, " Holy and great indulgence and pardon of plenary remission a culpa et poena.'" ^ The popular mind did not stop to make the fine distinction between guilt and its punishment and, if it had, it would have been quite satisfied to be made free from the sufferings entailed by sin. If by a papal indulgence a soul in purgatory could be immediately released and given access to heavenly felicity, the question of guilt was of no concern.
Long before the days of Tetzel, Wyclif and Huss had condemned the use of the formula, " from penalty and guilt," as did also John Wessel. In denouncing the bulls of indulgence for those joining in a crusade against Ladislaus, issued 1412, Huss copied Wyclif almost word for word.^ Wyclif fiercely con-
1 It was used by Piers Plowman (see Lea : Sacerd. Celibacy, I. 444) , by Landucci, 1513, r indulgenza di colpa e pena, Badia's ed., p. 341, by Oldecop, 1516, who listened to Tetzel (see his letter in Paulus, p. 39), etc. Oldecop said that those who cast their money into the chest and confessed their sins wei-e " absolved from all their sins and from pain and guilt." For other cases and a general treatment of the subject, see Lea, III. 67-80.
2 Kohler, p. 59.
2 See Maskell : Monum. rit., etc. , III. 372 sqq. These indulgences in England were printed on single sheets perhaps by Wynkyn de Worde. Such an English reprint announced an indulgence of 2560 days granted by Julius II. to all contributing to a crusade against the Saracens and other Christian enemies.
* Niirnb. ed., 1715, vol. I. 212-257 ; Defens. quor. artt. J. Wyclif and the Reply of the Prag. theol. faculty, I. 139-146.