The 1416 Indulgence for the Franciscan Friary in Ashmiany: Context and Text
The 1416 Indulgence for the Franciscan Friary in Ashmiany: Context and Text

Summary/Abstract: This article contains the edition of the newly found letter of indulgence that was granted by three Roman Cardinals: Francesco Lando, Antonio Pancera, and Francesco Zabarella, for the no-longer extant Franciscan friary in Ashmiany in present-day Belarus. It was issued on 16 January 1416 during the Council of Constance, sede vacante. The text of this indulgence has been preserved as a copy in the collection of documents of the above-mentioned friary that was compiled in the early seventeenth century (now kept at Vilnius University Library, Manuscript Department, F. 114–13). For the time being, this text represents one of the earliest known indulgences related to a specific religious house in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and thus makes part and parcel of the meagre fund of primary sources illuminating the first steps in the process of Christianization of post-conversion Lithuania. This indulgence may also serve as a clue allowing us to expand the circle of the known participants from Lithuania at the Council of Constance by including Friars Minor, whose scope of service for the Grand Dukes of Lithuania still awaits a more thorough investigation.

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