The Papal Curia and Albania in the Later Middle Ages

THE PAPAL CURIA AND ALBANIA
IN THE LATER MIDDLE AGES
Etleva Lala
During the fourteenth century, especially, numerous papal letters were addressed
to the archbishopric of Antibari (Bar in Serbianffivar in Albanian) and
its dioceses1, to the archbishopric of Dyrrachium or Durazzo (Drac in Serbian!Durri:!s
in Albanian) and its bishopric􀃒, as well as to other bishoprics in the
area, such as Prisriana (Prizren in Kosova), Scopia (Scopia in Macedonian/Skoplje
in Serbian/Shkup in Albanian), Achrid (Ohrid in Macedonian/Ohri
in Albanian), and Bothroto (Butrinti in Albanian). The question of whether they
were in any way Albanian or Albania3 in the Middle Ages is not the focus oftbis
paper, and should not draw the attention of the reader. The important fact for
this study is that they lay at the borders of Western Christianity, in, or directly
connected with, the political structure of tbe Regnum A/baniae, a Catbolic kingdom
bordering tbe Byzantine Orthodox kingdoms in tbe Balkans. The question
1 Dulcinium (Ulcinj in Serbian/Ulqin in Albanian), Scodra or Scutari (Skadar in Serbian/
Shkodra in Albanian), Dagno (Danja in Albanian), Alessio (Lezha in Albanian), Polati
(Pulti in Albanian), Sappa (Sapa in Albanian), Sarda (Shurdhah in Albanian), Satti (Svaö in
Serbianl Shasi in Albanian).
2 Avlona (Vlora in Albanian), Balezo (Baleci in Albanian), Tzernic (<;:ermenikl! in Albanian),
Stephaniaka (Stefaniakl! in Albanian), Cunavia (Kunavia in Albanian), Croya (Kruja in Albanian),
Wregu (Vregu in Albanian).
3 Opinions differ about what Albania was in the Middle Ages. Oliver Jens Schmitt, Das
Venezianische Albanien (Munich: R. Oldenbourg, 2001), 47, holds to the Statement of
Sirnon Fitzsimons (Symon Semeonis) of 1322 that Albania was sirnply a geographical region,
although the latter was more complete in his opinion because he also attributes to this
geographical region a partiewar language: Albanya est provincia inter Sc/avonai m et Romanyam,
per se linguam habens. DuceWer connects the term Albania with its inhabitants
rather than with the gcographical spread in bis dcfinition: „From the Elcvcnth Century onward,
a compact Albanian nucleus, known henceforth as Arbanon, extended between the
central valleys of the Shkumbin and Devoll, which morcover did not exclude thc existence
of Albanian communities all thc way to tbe seacoast, especially in the areas surrounding
Dyrrachion, as weil as in northwcstern Macedonia, where the Hellenie in.fluence bad always
becn supcrficial, and Slavic invasions bad definitely not lcd to the disappearance of
all prcexistent elements.“ See Alain Ducellier, „Genesis and Failure of the Albanian State
in the XIV and XV Centuries“, in Studies on Kosova, ed. Arshi Pipa and Sami Repishti
(New York: Columbia University Press, 1984), 4.
89
to be elaborated in tbis survey is whether the political structure of the Regnum
Albaniae meant anytbing important for Catholic religiosity in these territories at
the borders of the Bastern Church and, if yes, what it meant.
The term Regnum Albaniae appears for the first time in 1267, in the
Treaty of Viterbo, between Charles I 􀀅ou and the Latin emperor of Byzantium,
Baldwin li, to attack the Balkans. The term was registered only in the
chancellery of Anjou. Dejure, Regnum Albaniae was proclaimed in 1 272, when
Charles I of Anjou made known his election as its legitimate king.5 Charles I
Anjou presented the regnum as a natural descendent of the Principatum Albaniae,
6 but the Albanian medievalist P!llumb Xhufi argued that there was no his-
4 The Treaty of Viterbo (May 27, 1267) became the comerstone of Angevin bostility towards
the Palaiologoi in the following decades. According to the treaty, Cbarles would provide
2,000 cavalry to fight for Baldwin; in exchange, the king would be given one third of the
conquered territory, besides suzerainty over Achaea. See Ludwig Tbal16czy, Konstantin
JireCek, Milan von Suftlay, Acta et Diplomata res Albaniae Mediae Aetatis Illustrantia,
vol. 1 (Vienna: Holzbausen, 1913, reprint: Tirana and Pristine: DPA and Ekskluzive, 2002)
(benceforth AA) I , n. 253, Pellumb Xhufi, „Shqiptaret perballe Anzhuineve (1267-1285)“
(The Albanians Facing Anjou), Studime Historiire ( 1987), 205 (benceforth Xhufi, „Shqi􀃙
taref‘).
s February 21, 1272 (AA 1, n. 268). According to the Angevin document, the Albanian „bishops,
contes, barones, soldiers and the citizens“ elected and accepted Charles I Anjou as
their king. See also Donald Nicol, The Despotale of Epiros 1267-1479: A Gontribution to
the History ojGreece in the Middle Ages (Cambridge: Carnbridge University Press, 1984),
15; Gennaro Maria Monti, Mezzogiomo d’1talia nel medioevo: Studi Storici (Bari: Laterza,
1930), 80; Historia e popullit shqiptar (The History ofthe Albanian people) (Tirana: Toena
2002), 204; John Deno Geanakoplos, Byzantine East and Latin West: Two Worlds of
Christendom in Middle Ages and Renaissance. Studies in Ecclesiastical and Cultural History
(Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1966), 234. Ducellier interprets this fact as an expression of
desire for the independence of the Albanians of Durres: „Les Albanais de Durazzo, en
mettant Charles d’Anjou a Ia tete de ce royaume d’Albanie, entendaient, tout en s’assurant
de leur autonoTDie theorique, ne pas renoncer a Ia forme oligarchique qui regissait leur citeEtat
et ses environs.“ See Allain Ducellier, La Far;ade maritime de L ‚Albanie au Moyen
Age, Durazzo et Valona du Xle au XVe siecle (Thessaloniki: Institute for Balkan Studies,
1981), 263 (henceforth Ducellier, La Far;ade maritime). For more about Charles I Anjou
and bis dynasty, see Andreas K.iesewetter, Die Anfonge der Regierung König Karls Il. von
Anjau (1278-1295): das Königreich Neapel, die Grafschaft Provence und der Mitte/meerraum
zu Ausgang des 13. Jahrhunderts, Historische Studien, 451 (Husum: Matthiesen,
1999) (benceforth K.iesewetter, Die Anfonge). 6 Prni cipatum Albaniae appeared in the historical source at the end ofthe twelfth century. At
the beginning of the thirteenth century, in February 1208, Pope Innocent IIl addressed a
Ietter to Demetrius (nobili viro Demetrio, Arbanensi principl); see AA I, n. 133; the principate
bad started to function as a political entity and bad also begun to expand in the north as
weil as in the south. According to Stoian Novakovic, the term „Arbanon“ extended in the
north, in the province of Pulati, as early as during the suzerainty of Archont Progon, wbo
was the Albanian noble proclairning the principatum Albaniae; see Stoian Novakovic,
Spomenici zalconski, sropskich drzava srednega veka (Belgrade, 1912), 384. During the
reign of Demetrius, the toponym „Arbanon“ was also extended to the southem territories of
90
torical basis for such a representation, since the two political structures did not
have any continuation, neither in the purpose for which they came into being nor
in their function nor in the way they were received by the locals. That is why he
called the Regnum Albaniae an Angevin invention.7
According to the studies of Francesco Carabellese, the Regnum Albaniae
of Charles I Anjou extended from the mountains of Accroceraunt (from Avlona
in the south at the mouth of Drini River) to Lissus in the north, with undetermined
borders in the hinterland.8 Charles I Anjou bad projected this regnum as
the core of a whole empire, to be reached step by step with the help of crusades
and campaigns.9 Proclaiming hirnself king of a fraction of the Balkan territories,
although this section was very small, he wanted to legitimize in advance bis suzerainty
over the peninsula and, ifpossible, over the whole Byzantine Empire.10
About the functioning of the Angevin Regnum Albaniae, Ducellier concluded
that it was a „structure politique arti:ficiene . . . reRime d’occupation
militaire, tout y a ete fait par la guerre et pOur la guerre“, I and K.iesseweter
called it a „fantome“ which could not expand its borders beyond the city walls
of Durres.12 Nevertheless, it was a kingdom, un royaume dsi tinct de royaume de
Naples,13 and as a such it had its own means and organs of government, wbicb
were located mainly in Durres, the capital of the kingdom. It bad also its governmental
organs, such as the general captain wbo, in other words, was a viceking;
14 the capitaneus et vicarius generalsi ; „the marescallus in partibus Alba-
Chunavia and Cernick up to the valley ofthe Shkumbin River; see Georgii Acropolitae Opera,
vol. 14, ed. Augustus Reisenberg (Leipzig: Teubner, 1903), 28.
7 Xhufi, „Shqiptarl!t“, 204.
8 Francesco Carabellese, Carlo d’Angio nei rapporti politici e commerciali con Venezia e
l’Oriente: Documenti e Monografie {Bari, 1911), 45 (hereafter Carabellese, Carlo). See
also Gennaro Maria Monti, Ricerche sul Dominio Angioina in Albania, Studi Albanesi,
vo1s. 5-6 (Rome: Istituto per 1’Europa Orientale, 1935-1936), 1-22; idem, Mezzogiomo
d’ltalia, 80-81.
9 Durres was thought to be the main base of Charles I Anjou for his expeditions against Constantinople.
With regard to his oriental policy see George Yver, Le Commerce et les Marchands
dans I ‚Italie meridionale au XIIIe et au XJVe siecle, Bibliotheque des Ecoles Fran
􀃭ises d‘ Athenes et de Rome, 88 (Paris: Librairie des Ecoles Fran􀃮aises d‘ Athenes et de
Rome, 1903), 9-23; Gennaro Maria Monti, Da Carlo I a Roberto di Angio: Ricerche e
documenti (Trani: Vecchi e C., 1936); Unart Boehm, „De Kartingis imperator Karo1us,
princeps et monarcha totius Europae. Zur Orientpolitik Karls I. von Anjou“, Historisches
Jahrbuch der Görres-Gesellschaft 88 (1968), 1-35; Peter Herde, Karl l von Anjou {Berlin:
W. Kohlhammer, ). 979); see also Silvano Borsari, „La politica Bizantina di Carlo 1 d’Angiö
10 da1 1266 al l271 „, Archivio Storico per le provincie Napoletane 74 (1955), 319.
11 Ducellier, La Fa�;ade maritime, 262.
Ibidem.
12 Kiesewetter, Die Anfonge, 69.
13 Ducellier, La Fa�;ade maritime, 262.
14 Ducellier, La Fa�;ade maritime, 264.
91
niae, who commanded the anny etc.“15 Thus, functional or artificial, with or
without a king, the royal status of the kingdom could not be erased once had
been was proclaimed and recognized.
Although the Regnum Albaniae was officially proclaimed in 1272, its frrst
mention in the papal chancellery dates from 1 3 17, in a document in which Pope
John XXII asked Guillelmo de Montegrano, the bishop of Cunavia in the archbishopric
of Durres in the Regnum Albaniae, to present hirnself at the papal curia
within twenty days ( Guillelmo de Montegrano episcopo Cunaviensis de Archiepiscopatu
Duraseno in Regno Albaniae … ut infra viginti dierum spatium
post citationem huiusmodi se coram nobis personaliter representer).16 The other
papal letters in which Regnum Albaniae is mentioned, dating from 1 3 1 7 to 1 320,
show the papal concem for the Catholics of the Regnum Albaniae, who were
being persecuted by Serbian schismatics that had occupied the territories of the
Regnum. 17 This concern gave birth to serious preparations for a Christian crusade
against the Serbs in 1 3 1 9, in which the Albanian nobles would have played
the basic role.
On June 17, 13 19, Pope John XXII sent letters to the Albanian nobles encouraging
them to resist the Serbian occupation and the mistreatment of the
Catholics in Albanian territories (sub gravi tirannide illius regis per:fidi Raseie
nedum scismatici et religionis christiane totaliter inimici).18 He addressed them
in groups according to their geographical location. One letter was for the
Musaka family, which had its possessions in the south of present day Albania.
The papal letter was addressed to Mentulo Musatio comiti Clissaniae, to Andrea
Musatio Regni Albaniae marescallo, and to Theodoro Musatio, prothosevas-
1S The first was probably Guillaume Bernard, who later became general captain, AA I, n. 290.
He was succeeded by Philippe d‘ Artulla (Ervilla) (see Carabellese, Carlo, 72) and then by
Geoffroy de Polisy, (ibidem, 104), who for some months was replaced by Jacques de Campagnol
due to illness. After the I280s, no more marescalls are mentioned (Ducellier, La
16 Fa9ade maritime, 265).
ASV, Reg. Aven., 2, fol. 183r; ASV, Reg. Vat., 63, fol. 363v. This docurnent is also mentioned
inAA I, n. 633, and also given as a regestum in Guillaume Mollat, Jean XXII (1316-
1334). Lettre.s commune.s (Paris: Boccard, 1921-I947), n. 525I (hereafter Mollat, Jean
XXII). lt is edited by Louis Guerard, Documents pontiftcaux sur Ia Gascogne, vol. I (Paris:
H. Champion, 1896), n. 14 (hereafter Guerard, Documents ).
17 Dum ad personam venerabilem .fratrem nostrum Andream episcopum Croiensem, qui ab
ecc/e.sia sua, per Urosium regem Rasciae schismaticum occupata, exulare compellitur,
ASV, Reg. Aven., 8, fol. 70, ep. 96; ASV, Reg. Val., 67, fol. 26, ep .. J6; ed. Aloysius L.
Tautu, Acta Joannis XXII (1 317-1334) e registris vaticanis aliisque fonfibus (Rome: Typis
Polyglottis Vaticanis, 1952), n. 4 (hereafter Tautu, Acta Joannis), mentioned as a regestum
18 by Mollat, Jean XXII, n. 5629.
ASV, Reg. Aven., 2, fol. 183r; ASV, Reg. Vat., 63, fol. 363v; mentioned in AA 1, n. 633,
also given as a regestum in Mollat, Jean XXII, n. 5251, edited by Guerard, Documents 1, n.
14.
92
tori.19 Another Ietter was addressed to the nobles of middle and northem Albania:
to Guil/enno Eieniste prothosevastoni, Guillenno Aranite protholegaturo,
Ca/oiohanni Eieniste comiti, Pauio Materango ceterisque baronibus regni Aibanie.
10 A third Ietter was sent to Ealdisiao Conome Dioc/ee et maritime Albanie
comiti,11 whose possessions are understood to have defined the territorial
extension of the Regnum Albaniae in the north.
In the official textbook of the history of Albania, these papal bulls are interpreted
as if the Albanian nobles wanted to abandon the Byzantine rite and
embrace the Catholic rite in order to also be separated ecclesiastically from the
Serbs.22 Nevertheless, this was not the case, at least not until one comes across a
document in which the Albanian nobles directly or indirectly asked for this.
Pope John XXII addressed them as dilectis .filiis and such an intitulatio could
never be made to non-Catholics.23 Such a description, as a devoted Catholic,
may even be attributed to Ladislav,24 who is often believed to have been a Slav
of the Eastem rite?5 The starting point of such a mistake has been bis name,26
forgetting that Dioclea, where bis possessions were, bad been under the direct
influence of Helena, the Catholic French princess and wife of the Serbian King,
Stephen I Uro􀂤,27 who oversaw intense Catholic activity in these regions28 and
19 ASV, Reg. Vat., 109, fol. 140r, ep. 571; it is also given inAA 1, n. 648, and also in Tautu,
Acta Joannis, n. 22a; Augustin Tbeiner, Vetera monumenta historica Hungariam sacram
illustrantia maximam parlern nondum edita ex tabularis Vaticanis (hencefortb Tbeiner,
Mon. Hung.) 1 (Rome: Typis Vaticanis, 1852), n. 1264; Daniele Farlati, Illyricum Sacrum,
vol. 7 (Venice: Sebastiano Coleti, 1817), 64B (hereafter Daniele Far1ati, Illyricum Sacrum);
a fragment is given by Caesare Baronio, Oderleus Raynaldi and Giacomo Ladercbi, Annales
Ecclesiastici (hencefortb Baronio et al., Ann. Eccl.) vol. 18 (Paris and Freiburg 1887, in
20 the years 1318 and 1335; Theiner, Mon. Hung. 15, 178.
ASV, Reg. Vat., 109, fol. 140r-140v, ep. 572, (secret Ietter). lt is partly given by Ann. Eccl.
1318 and 1335, 178; and Daniele Farlati, Illyricum Sacrum 7, 63; it is fully edited in
Tbeiner, Mon. Hung. 1, n. 1264; and also in AA 1, n. 649.
21
ASV, Reg. Vat. , 109, fol. 140v, ep. 573.
22 Selim Islarni and K.. Frashl!ri, Histori e Shqiperisi!, vol. 1 (Tirana: Universiteti shteteror,
1959), 273.
23 Thomas Frenz, Papsturkunden des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit (Stuttgart: Franz Steiner,
2000), 44-46.
2-4 ASV, Reg. Vat. , 109, fol. 140v, ep. 573.
25 Claudine Delacroix-Besnier, „Les Ordres mendiants et l’expansion de l’Eglise latine dans
les Balkans“, in Alle fronfiere del/a Cristianita. I frati Mendicanti e l’evangelizz azione tra
‚200 e ‚300. Atti del XXVII I Convegno intemazionale, Assisi, 12-14 ottobre 2000 (Spoleto:
26 Centro Italiano di studi sull’alto Medievo, 2001), 245; AA 1, n. 650, comment ofSufflay.
Jire􀄘k’s metbad of basing h.is study of ethnic relations mainly on the interpretation of personal
names has been taken too seriously. On the basis ofthe personal names, facts cannot
be created to prove ethnicity, especially as regards the Albanian and Slavic personal names,
wh.ich are all h.idden under the Latin writing elements.
27 When Stephen Dragutin, who reigned for only a short time alone, divided bis reign into
three parts among bis sons and bis wife, Helena, she received the territories at the coast of
the Adriatic, from Dubrovnik to Shkoder, and these regions were for a lang time known as
the territories of domina regina mater. In the hinterland, she received Plava (near Gucia) in
93
bad a vivid correspondence with the papacy regarding issues of faitb?9 The papacy
was allowed to direct activities in these territories during her lifetime, but
since the Catholic element was strong, it certainly also bad continuing influence
after her death. In the context of the preparations for a crusade against the
schismatics, Pope John XXII might have considered these territories as active
for the issue and that is why it should be no wonder that a ‚Slav’30 from the Diaclean
region was considered a dilectus filius and one of the leading political
forces of the Regnum Albaniae, which was first of all a Catholic kingdom.
Politically seen, Pope John XXII addressing the Albanian nobles and not.
the king of the Regnum Albaniae himseli’1 indicates bis interest in direct and
effective diplomatic relations with the leaders of these territories. Grouping
them and addressing them in this way may show his attempt to create unity
among the local authorities, a Catholic stranghold in this threatened region.
From the papal side the instructor viva vocis of this unity was an Albanian
bishop, Andreas Croensis,32 who bimself bad suffered persecution by the Serbian
schismatics. In other words, it might also be asserted that Pope J ohn XXII
wanted to strengthen the local identity of this Catholic kingdom, which was to
become a strong papal weapon in the Balkans. Even if Ladistaus were a Slav,
this is not a counter-argument for the statement, because Regnum Albaniae was
the northem Lim and the castle of Bmjac in the uper part of the Ibri. In this way, Helena
bad all of Dioclea under her dominion. See K.onstantin JireCek, Geschichte der Serben.
Erster Band bis 1371 (Gotha: Friedrich Andreas Perthes A.-G., 1 9 1 1 , reprint Amsterdam.:
28 AdolfM. Hakkert, 1967) (hereafter Jire􀂶ek, Geschichte der Serben).
Helena, who is praised for her eloquence, her good spirits, generosity, religious life, and her
good behaviour, was very active in building and founding religious institutions. According
to Barleti, she renewed Drishti and other towns in Dioclea, destroyed by the Mongoi invasion,
founded Catholic churches and monasteries in Kotor, Bar, Ulcinj, Shkoder; and in the
binterland sbe founded the Serbian monastery of Gradac, on the lber (Jir􀂷ek, Geschichte
der Serben, 3 1 8-319, 328).
29 On March 23, 1291, Pope Niebolas IV praised Helena, the Queen ofSerbia and Rascia, because
through Marino, the archbishop of Bar, she bad made known to the pope that she
would take care for the conversion even of the emperor of the Bulgarians to the Catholic
rite. See ASV, Reg. Vat., 46, fol. 14r-17v.
30 Whether Ladistaus was a Slav should not be determined only by bis name. The kings of
Hungary were often called Ladislaus, and they were certainly not Slavs.
31 Pope John XXII addressed Philip ofTarent: Dilecto filio nobili viro Philippo clarae memoriae
regis Siciliaefilio, principi Tarentino, and did not address him as the King ofthe Regnum
Albaniae. ASV, Reg. Vat. , 109, fol. 162v, ep. 671 (Litt. Secr.); AA 1 , n. 648; Theiner,
Mon. Hung. 1 , n. 1263; Tautu, ActaJoannis, n. 22.
32 Konrad Eubel, Hierarchia Catholica Medii Aevi sive Summorum PontifiCUm S.R.E. Cardinalium,
Ecclesiarum Antistitum Series ab anno 1198 usque ad annum 1431 perducta e
documentis tabularii praesertim vaticani, I (Münster: Regensberg 1898), 216: Andreas
Croensis is mentioned only in 1 3 1 8 and 1320. Giorgio Fedalto, La Chiesa Latina in Oriente,
vol. 2 (Verona: Mazziana, 1976), 103, is more detailed when giving the years (June 6,
1318 and July 16, 1320), but he offers no other details.
94
not a kingdom based on ethnicity but on religion, specifically the Catholic religion.
Not only politically, but also religiously, the territories of the Regnum Albaniae
were continuously threatened by the expansion of the Bastern rite. This
was strongly supported by the political powers of the Byzantine Empire or other
states such as the Serbian kingdom, wbich, being merged at expense of the Byzantine
Empire, strictly followed the Byzantine rite.33
Serbian rule, wbich from the beginning of the fourteenth century bad
started to expand over almost the whole Balkans, violently imposed the Bastern
rite on the population. This tendency reached its peak with King Stephen Du􀂄an.
who in December 1 348 proclaimed bimself „Emperor of the Serbs and the
Greeks“. In bis widespread kingdom, the Latin rite was called Latin heresy and
as such it was also recorded in bis codex of laws, the Zakonik, wbich was promoted
in Scopia in May 1349.34 This was a normative apparatus to be applied
not only in the Serbian kingdom, but also in the occupied territories of Macedonia,
Thesalia, Epirus, and Albania. Fersecutions of the Catholics, wbich became
legitimate through this codex,35 were recorded in the papal letters and also
by different travelers.36 Religious persecution ofthe Catholic population in these
territories, such as confiscation of property, expulsion, physical mutilation, and
the death penalty, was massive after the year 1 349.
After having pushed bis boundaries into Greece and having assumed the
title „Emperor of the Serbs and the Greeks,“ Stephen Du􀂅an was meditating on
the conquest of Constantinople, but under the flag of the Western Christian
33 Jirel!ek, Geschichte der Serben, 328.
34 For this study, I have used tbe translation of E>urica Krstic, ed., Dushan ’s Code: the XIV
Century Code of Serbian Tsar Stephan Dushan I the Bistritza Transcript, 2″d ed. (Belgrade:
Vajat, 1997) (hereafter Dushan ’s Code).
35 Dushan ’s Code: „Article 6: And conceming tbe Latin heresy: Christians who have tumed to
tbe use of unleavened bread shall retum to tbe Christian observance. If any fail to obey and
do not return to Christian Orthodoxy, Iet him be punished as is written in tbe Code of tbe
Holy Fathers.
Article 7: And the great church shall appoint head priests in all market towns to reclaim
from tbe Latin heresy tbose Christians who have turned to tbe Latin faith, and to give tbem
spiritual instructions, so that each one oftbem retums to Christianity.
Article 8: And if a Latin priest be found to have converted a Christian to tbe Latin faitb, Iet
him be punished according to the Law ofthe Holy Fatbers.
Article 9: And if a half-believer be found to be married to a Christian woman, Iet him be
baptized into Christianity if he desires it. But if he refuse to be baptized, Iet his wife and
cbildren be taken from him, and Iet a part of his house be allotted to them, and Iet hirn be
driven forth.
Article 10: And ifany heretic be found to live among the Christians, Iet him be branded on
the face and driven forth, and whoever shall harbour him, Iet him too be branded.
Article 83: And whoso utters a heretical word, if be be noble Iet him pay 1 00 perpers, and if
he be a commoner, let him pay 12 perpers and be beaten with sticks.“
36 Pi!llumb Xhufi, „Albanian Heretics in the Serbian Medieval Kingdom“, in Kristaq Prifti,
ed., The Troth on Kosova (Tirana: Encyclopedia publishing house, 1993), 48-54.
95
army, which he hirnself wanted to Iead with the blessings of the papacy. The
situation was quite favorable for bis strategy: on March 2, 1354, Suleiman, son
of the poweroll Emir Orkhan, bad taken Gallipoli. Byzantium turned to Rome
for help, playing again on the question of church union, for which the papacy
bad fought so hard. Stephen Du􀂴an made use of these circumstances, and addressed
hirnself to the papacy for conversion to the Catholic rite.
In the 1350s, the papal curia sent Iegates to Regna Rasciae, Albaniae, et
Sclavoniae, to accomplish what Stephen Du􀂴an bad requested and to instruct the
converts, if this were going to become true. Letters about the Iegation of December
1354 are addressed to Stephen Dman,37 to Helena, the Queen of the
Serbs,38 to the Serbian patriarch Joanichi,39 to Ludwig, the King of Hungary,40 to
the secular powers nobilibus viris universis principibus commitibus et Baronibus
Servie, Sclavonie ac Albaniae,41 and to the religious authorities of these territories.
42 The conversion never took place because ofthe death of Stephen Dman.
Regnum Albaniae, although no Ionger playing an important role as such,
since it bad become quite weak under Serbian rule, was still addressed as a Regnum
by the papal curia, and this m.ight have made the Albanian nobles remember
their political status and its importance. As an indirect result, after the death
37 ASV, Reg. Vat., 236, fol. 222v; ASV, Reg. Vat., 2448, fol. 125r, ep. 288; also edited by
Pierre Gasnault, lnnocent VI (1352-1362). Lettres Secretes et Curlales (Paris: 8occard,
1959), n. 1249 (hereafter Gasnault, Lettres Secretes).
38 ASV, Reg. Val., 236, fol. 224v; ASV, Reg. Vat., 2448, fol. 37r, ep. 76. Gasnault, Lettres
Secretes, n. 1250.
39 ASV, Reg. Vat., 236 fol. 225r-226r.; ASV, Reg. Vat., 2448, fol. 36r, ep. 75; ASV, Reg. Vat.,
244C, fol. 80r, ep. 2 1 1 ; A1oysius L. Tautu, Acta Innocenti VI (1352-1362) e regestis vaticanis
aliisque fontibus (Rome: Typis Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae, 1961 ), n. 30;
Augustin Theiner, Vetera Monumenta Slavorum Meridionalium Historiam 1/lustranlia
(henceforth: Theiner, Mon. Slav.) 2 (reprint Osnabrück: Zeller, 1968), n. 22; Luke Wadding,
Annales Ordinis Minorum seu trium Ordinum a S. Francsi co inslitutorum (Roma:
8emabö, 1731-1745), vol. 8, a. 1 354, 1-5, 108- 1 15 (hereafter Wadding, Annales Minorum);
Györgyi Fejer, Codex Diplomaticvs Hungariae, Ecclesiasticvs ac civilis (Buda: Typogr.
Regiae Universitatis Ungaricae, 1829-1844), vol. 9, vol. 7, n. 81; Gasnault, Lettres
Secretes, n. 1251.
40 ASV, Reg. Val., 244C, fol. 76r-v; ASV, Reg. Vat., 236, fol. 238v. Gasnault, Lettres Secretes,
n. 1248.
41 ASV, Reg. Aven., 127, fol. 32r-v; ASV, Reg. Val., 227, fol. 4v-5r, ep. 12. Gasnault, Lettres
Secretes, n. 1259.
42 ASV, Reg. Vat., 236, fol. 230r-v; ASV, Reg. Vat., 2448, fol. 36v; ASV, Reg. Vat., 227, fol.
Sr, ep. 15; ASV, Reg. Vat., 236, fol. 229r-v. Gasnault, Leltres Secretes, n. 1253: Ven. fratribus
– Archiepiscopis et episcopis et dileclis filiis electis ahbatibus et aliis ecclesiarum et
monasleriorum prelatis et clericis ac personis ecclesiasticis secularibus et regularibus
Capitulis quoque ac convenlibus ecclesiarum el monasteriorum ipsorum dictarum Benedicti
et Augustini necnon Cuniacensi, praemonstaensi, cisterciensi ac aliorum ordinum
necnon Hospitalis sancli Johannis Jerusalemi sartcte Marie Theotonicorum et Calatanensis
magistris prioribus et preceptoribus universis et singulis per Regna Rassie et Serviae ac
Albaniae constitatur gratiam et comunionem apostolice sedis hobentibus salulem etc.
96
of Stephen Du􀁺an there was a massive conversion of scbismatics in partibus Albaniae.
43 It started with tbe conversion of the zupans of Zeta, the brothers Balsha,
in 1 369,44 and it continued in the whole area.
The flourishing of Catholicism on the borders of the Eastem rite was not
without intemal problems of discipline, wbich seem to have been known in the
whole area which bordered the Bastern rite, as some of the papal letters show.
For instance, on March 3 1 , 1304, Pope Benedict XI wrote to the prior of the
Dominicans in Hungary, pointing out some of the main problems, wbich presented
the state ofbeing ad confines in the southeast of Catholic Europe:
Dilecto filio priori provinciali .fratrum Predicatorum in Ungaria.
Cum sicut nobis extitit intimatum, nonnulli .fratres tui ordinis sint
filii sacerdotum /atinorum, quos patres ipsorum ex matrimonio ab
eis contracto ante susceptionem sacrorum ordinum secundum ritum
Grecorum in sacerdotio genuerunt, discretioni tue, de cuius circumspectione
fiduciam gerimus in Domino specialem, dispensandi
auetoritote nostra cum duobus ex esi defectum huiusmodi patientibus,
quibus ad hoc propria merita repereris suffragari, quod eodem
non obstante defectu ad administrationes, prelaturas et officia
predicti dumtaxat ordinis, citra tarnen officium provincialis prioris
ejusdem ordinis, assumi licite valeant, plenam concedimus tenore
presentium facultatem. Datum Rome apud Sancum Petrum, 11
kaiendas aprilis, anno primo:s
The geographical affinity of the people using the Bastern rite in these territories
led to the canon law being ignored or deformed among the Catholics of the region.
Secundum ritum Graecorum was not only the marriage of a priest and bis
illegitimate children, but the direct result of this was also that these illegitimate
cbildren received ecclesiastical offices. There were many other errors, which
needed to be addressed by the papacy in these parts, and the papal curia started a
whole campaign against the errors. The Hungarian Dominicans and later also the
Minorites became the Ieaders of this campaign against errors which originated
from the affinity to the Eastem rite. The inquisition instituted by Pope Niebolas
IV’6 and Pope Boniface VIIT’7 in provinciis Serbiae, Rasciae, Dalmatiae, Croatiae,
Bosnae, et 1striae nec non in archiepiscopatibus Duracensi, Antibarensi,
43 ASV, Reg. Vat. , 250, fol. 142r, 155r; Aloysius L. Tautu, Acta PP. Urbani V (1362-1 370) e
regestis vaticanis aliisque fontibus. (Rome: Typis Pontificiae Universitatis Gregorianae
1964), n. 212, n. 212b (hereafter Tautu, Acta Urbani V).
44 ASV, lnstr. Mzsc., 2526.
4s ASV, Reg. Vat., 51, fol. 1 54r, ep. 664, ed. Cb. Grandjean, Le registre de Benoit XI (Paris:
Bibliotbeque des Ecoles Francaises d‘ Atbenes et de Rome, 1905), n. 832.
46 Tbeiner, Mon. Hung. 1 , n. 6 1 1 , n. 610.
47 Tbeiner, Mon. Hung. 1, n. 614.
97
Ragusino, Spalatensi ac Iadrensi et eorum dioecesibus was put under the Supervision
ofthe prior ofthe Dominicans in Hungary.48
In other letters, one receives a clearer description of the activities that the
Dominicans and Minorites were supposed to conduct in these territories. Pope
Clement V’9 and John XXII50 addressed the Minorites and Dominicans to m.issionize
the terras Sarracenorum, paganorum, Graecorum, Bulgarorum, Cumanorum,
lberorum, Alanorum, Gazarorum, Gothorum, Zichorum, Rutenorum,
Jacobitarum, Meclitarum a/iarumque non credentium nationum Orientis,
granting them the authority to communicate with the locals non obstante si
aliqui sunt excommunicatione ligati. The Minorites and the Dominicans were
also granted the authority to baptise, to grant the confirmation ofthe sacraments,
and the faculty to absolve and to give dispensations for every kind of irregularity,
such as to those clerics who bad received the ecclesiastical offices without
reaching their mature age, or without being proper (ydoneus) according to canon
law; to those who bad been married in a prohibited blood affinity or with schismatics,
or bad been living together with the latter; to those who bad murdered
ecclesiastics, bad used violence upon clerics, or were excommunicated for other
different reasons like apostasy, simony, etc.
The Dominicans and Minorites certainly also conducted their m.issionary
activity in the territories of Albania, although this is not explicitly said in the
papal letters. It is obvious that the enumeration of the territories into which the
Minorites and Dominicans were sent as missionaries started with Saracens,
Greeks and Bulgarians, and their territories included the direct borders of Regnum
Albaniae, and parts of the Albanian territories themselves, such as the Orthodox
autocephaly of Ohrid. Even the Latin archbishopric of Durr!s, which
was the core of the Regnum Albaniae, was freely considered oriental, because it
depended on the Latin Patriarchate of Constantinople51 and was thus either the
base for or aim of m.issionary activities. Thus, seen from the ecclesiastical viewpoint,
although Regnum Albaniae was completely Catholic it included two archbishoprics
which were dependent on different patriarchates: the archbishopric of
48 ASV, Reg. Vat. , 82, fol. 4r, ep. 13; Theiner, Mon. Hung. I, n. 787; Mollat, Jean XXII, n. 29,
662; Tautu, Acta Johannis, n. 9 1 .
49 Wadding, Annales Minorom 6 , 1 1 0 ; Konrad Eubel, Bullarium Franciscanum 5 (Rome:
Typis sacrae congregationis de propagnada fide, 1898), n. 84 (hereafter Eubel, Bullar.
Francisc.); Tautu, Acta Clementis V (1303-1314) e regestis vaticanis aliisque fontibus
(Rome: Typis polyglottis vaticanis, 1955), n. 17.
50 ASV, Reg. Aven., 10, fol. 448r; ASV, Reg. Vat., 67, fol. 31 9v, ep. 62; Baronio et al., Ann.
Eccl., n. 7; Tbomas Ripoll, Bullarium Ordinis Praedicatorom 2 (Rome: Mainard, 1730),
136; Mollat, Jean XX/1, n. 8 1 86, n. 46, 791; Tautu, Acta Johannis, n. 14 (October 23, 1321);
ASV, Reg. Aven., 17, fo1. 337r; ASV, Reg. Vat. , 73, fol. 4v, ep. 24; Eubel, Bullar. Francisc.
5, n. 35-37, 84; Mollat, Jean XXll, n. 16,102; Tautu, Acta Johannis, n. 48.
51 Michael Le Quien, Oriens christianus in quatuor patriarchatus digestus; quo exhibentur
Ecclesiae, Patriarchae, caeterique praesu/es totius orientis, vol. 2 (Paris, 1740), 240-255;
Giorgio Fedalto, La Chiesa Latina in Oriente, vol. 2: Hierarchia Latina Oriens (Verona:
Mazziana, 1964), 276-277.
98
Dyrracbium or Durazzo witb its bishoprics dependent on tbe Patriarchate of
Constantinople and tbe archbisbopric of Antibari witb its bisboprics dependent
on tbe Patriarchate of Aquila.
To retum to tbe general problems oftbe area as lying at tbe borders oftbe
Eastern rite, mirrored in tbe religious life inside the Regnum Albaniae and its
surroundings, it is wortb mentioning some of tbe main encountered cases to see
how problems were handled. In January 1347, Pope Clement VI addressed a
Ietter to Antonio, tbe bishop of Dulcinj who, being bom of a marriage legitimate
according to tbe Eastem rite (ex legitimo tarnen matrimonio, secundum ritum
OrientaUs Ecc/esiae, cui vicini sunt, geniti) was accepted by tbe Benedictine
Order, and even confirmed as abbot, after having received an apostolic dispensation
by Pope Clement VI. 52
A supplication Ietter of tbe archbishop of Antibari from September 9,
136353 shows a variety of cases which needed papal dispensation. One of tbese
cases was certainly regarding promotion: sons of scbismatic priests (about 25 of
tbem) wbo bad received an ecclesiastical office in tbe Catbolic hierarcby (in sua
provincia sint multi filii presbyterorum ad sacerdotium promoti) needed papal
dispensation from tbeir defectibus nata/ium.54 Anotber case was tbe usage of
violence against clerics and canonicals. Tbis violence must bave been quite
fierce, since tbe papal nuncios and Iegates did not absolve tbem (quod impositas
et co//ectas Legatorum et Nuntiorum Sedis Apostolicae non solverunt).55 Because
of tbe mixture of rites and population in tbe province of Antibari (propter
diversas nationes schismaticas ac a/iorum ac partia/itates terrarum), tbere were
often also cases conceming consanguinity (multi sunt qui pro pace contrahenda
vicissim matrimonium contraherunt in quarto consanguinitatsi seu affinitatis
gradu), whicb also needed papal dispensation once the couples bad converted to
tbe Catholic rite.56 As a matter of fact, the cases of matrimonial irregularity,
namely those of fourtb degree consanguinity relationsbips, were so numerous
tbat Pope Urban V granted tbe archbishop of Antibari the faculty to absolve
such marriages whenever they appeared.57 Two main reasons for tbis phenomenon
are given in the same Ietter: because of the multitude of scbismatics in the
province and because of war among tbe powerful believers (marriages served as
a means to set peace and friendship among them).58 The dispensation for such
52ASV, Reg. Vat. , 174, fol. 336r, ep. 1004; Theiner, Mon. S/av. 1 , n. 287; AA 2, n. 28; Tautu,
Acta Clementis VI (1342-1352) e regestis vaticanis a/iisque fontibus (Rome: Typis polyglottis
vaticanis, 1960), n. 1 1 8 (hereafter Tautu, Acta Clementis VI).
53 ASV, Reg. Suppl., 40, fol. 141r. Tautu, Acta Urbani V, n. 42.
s•Ibidem. ss
Ibidem.
56 Ibidem.
57 ASV, Reg. Vat., 252, fol. 148v, ep. 546; Tautu, Acta Urbani V, n. 43.
58 Ibidem: Cum itaque sicut exhibita nobis tua periculo continebat in provincia tua Antibarensi
nonulli viri et mulieres exi stant, qui non ignorantes se quarto consanguinitatis vel
afnfi itatis gradu fore coniunctos, propter multitudinem schismaticorum ibdi em existentium
99
marriages was to be given, independently of actual guilt (non ignorantes se
quarto consanguinitatis vel affinitatis gradufore coniunctos).
The impossibility of distinguishing between Catholics and schismatics,
especially in cases concerning the visitation of holy places, ‚forced‘ the papal
curia to give indulgences to all of them alike. Thus, for instance, the church of
St. Stephen in Shkodra seems to have been visited by Catholics and schismatics
alike (Ecclesia cathedralis beati Stephani protomartyrsi de Scutaro apud cathoIicos
et schismaticos in magno honore et reverentia habeatur),59 because the
bishop of Shkodra asked Pope Clement VI for indulgences for each of them and
the indulgences were granted (Fiat in festis Sancti Stephani de uno anno et una
quadragena; in aliis de centum diebus. R).60
• • •
In sum, it may be concluded that the religious situation along the southeastem
Adriatic coast changed a great deal after the installation of the Angevin
dynasty in these territories, and especially after the proclamation of the Regnum
Albaniae. Since the spread and consolidation of the Catholic faith lacked the
supporting political framework up to then, the Regnum A/baniae promoted by
the Angevins was a good ground for the spread and flourishing of the Roman
Catholic rite in these parts on the borders of Eastem Christianity. The Regnum
A/baniae was thus more than a political structure; for the papacy it was the
secular arm responsible for the implementation of Catholicism in the local population,
and a basis for outreach to the Balkans.
The political impact of the French dynasty and the French popes61 in the
region brought the so-called „Third Period of the Albanian Diocesan F ormation“,
62 which, as a matter of fact, bad started with the fall ofConstantinople but
et partialitatis gentium illarum partium necnon guerras inibi inter fideles vigentes, pro
pace contrahenda inter eorum consanguineos et amicos, per verba de presenti matrimonium
invicem contraxerunt et ex eis sobo/es procrearunt, Nos in hac parte tuis supplicationibus
inclinati, Fratemitati Tuae absolvendi hac vice auetoritote nostra iuxta formam
Ecclesiae sex insimul matrimonium contraxerunt et de quibus tibi videbitur quod conscientiam,
eis tarnen prius separatis ad tempus de quo videbitur currisse noscuntur, si hoc humiliter
petierint, iniunctis eis inter alia nec committentibus praebeant consi/ium, auxilium
vel favorem et paenitentia salutari et aliis quae de iure fuerinf iniungenda et dem um cum
venit, non obstante, matrimonia de novo insimul contrahere ef in ex eis susceptam et suscipiendam
legitimam decemendi, plenam et /iberam concedimus tenore praeseentium facultatem.
s9 ASV, Reg. Suplp ., 13, fol. 25v; Tautu, Acta Clementis VI, n. 1 17. 60
61 Ibidem
One of the main goa1s of the French popes was the propagation of Christianity and its
spread in the Orient; see Ludovico Pastor, Storia dei Papi dalla fine de/ medio evo, 1
62 (R􀁸 ome: Desclee e C. Editori, 1925), 66. ufflay distinguished three periods of the forrnation of bishoprics in Albania: Primäre
Bishaftsitze were those which came into being during the third and fourth centuries until
100
was not very obvious until the end of the thirteenth century. The process of diocesan
formation begun to arise with the proclamation of the Regnum Albaniae,
and it reached its end more or less at the time when the Great Schism started and
the area of the Avignon papacy finished. The emergence of new Catholic dioceses
and the transformation of Byzantine-Orthodox sees into Latin Catholic
ones was characteristic for this period. Catholicism spread in all the territories of
the southeastern Adriatic coast, although just for a short time. The Regnum Albaniae
offered a political structure for the Catholic religion and served the papal
curia as a vessel in which the religious feelings could best be shaped. lt was a
period of strong differentiation, which after a short term of quietness was followed
by the Ottoman suppression and, as its direct result, by the impoverishment
and contraction ofthe bishoprics.63
602. Besides Dyrrachion, they included Doclea, Sarda, Scodra, Lissus, Scampa, A.mantia,
Appolonia, Byllis, Aulona, and perhaps Ulcinium. The secundäre Schicht (until 1250) was
characterized by new and metamorphisierte bishoprics, exemplified by Stephaniaka, Arbanum,
Kruja, Antibari, Drivasto, Suacium, etc. The third period started around the end of
the forth crusade and Iasted approximately until the year 1 370. See Millan von Sufilay,
“Die Kirchenzustände im vortürkischen Albanien, Die orthodoxe Durchbruchzone im katholischen
Damme“, in Illyrisch-albanische Forschungen, 2 vol. (Munich: von Duncken
andHumlot, 1916), 188-282.
63 Ibidem, 209.
1 0 1
The Long Arm ofPapal Authority
Edited by
Gerhard Jaritz, Torstein J.ergensen. Kirsi Salonen
MEDIUM AEVUM QUOTIDIANUM
SONDERBAND XIV
Gedruckt mit Unterstützung der Kulturabteilung
des Amtes der Niederösterreichischen Landesregierung
nlederösterreicll kuHur
CEU MEDIEV ALIA 8
TheLongArm
of Papal Authority
Late Medieval Christian Peripheries
and Their Communication
with the Holy See
Edited by
Gerhard Jaritz, Torstein J0rgensen, K.irsi Salonen
Bergen · Budapest · Krems
2004
Copy Editor: Judith Rasson
Cover lliustration: Pope Pius II, Hartmann Scbedel, World Cbronicle (Nuremberg, 1493), fol. 250
Joint Publlcation by:
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ISBN 82-997026-0-7
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T ABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations related to the collections of the Vatican Secret Archives . . ….. … 7
Preface . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . . . . . 8
Piroska Nagy, Peripheries in Question in Late Medieval Christendom . . ….. .. . 11
Kirsi Salonen, The Penitentiary under Pope Pius TI. The Supplications
and Their Provenance . . . . . . … . . . . . . . .. … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Torstein Jergensen, At the Edge ofthe World: The Supplications
from the Norwegian Province of Nidaros . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . …. . . … . … 29
K.irsi Salonen, The Supplications from the Province of Uppsala.
Main Trends and Developments . . . .. . .. . . . . . … . . . . . . . . . . . . . … . . . . . . .. . . . . 42
Irene Fumeaux, Pre-Reformation Scottish Marriage Cases
in the Archives of the Papal Penitentiary . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Jadranka Neralic, Central Europe and the Late Medieval Papal Chancery . . … 71
Etleva Lala, The Papal Curia and Albania in the Later Middle Ages . …. . . . . . . . 89
Piroska N agy and Kirsi Salonen, East-Central Europe
and the Penitentiary (1458-1484) ……………………………………. 102
Lucie Dolezalova, „But if you marry me“: Reflections
on the Hussite Movement in the Penitentiary (1438-1483) ………….. 113
Ana Marinkovic, Socia1 and Territorial Endogamy
in the R.agusan Republic: Matrimonial Dispenses
during the Pontificates ofPaul li and Sixtus IV (1464-1484) ……….. 126
Gastone Saletnich and Wolfgang Müller, Rodolfo Gonzaga (1452-1495):
News on a Celebrity Murder Case . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . 145
5
Blanka Szegbyovä, Church and Secular Courts in Upper Hungary
(Fourteenth to Sixteenth Century) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . 151
Ludwig Schmugge, Penitentiary Documents
from Outside the Penitentiary . . . . . . . . . . … . . . . . . .. . .. .. . . .. .. : …………… 161
Gerhard Jaritz, Patternsand Levels ofPeriphery? ………………………….. 170
List of Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . .. . . . . .. .. . . . . . . 173
6
ABBREVIATIONS RELATED TO TBE COLLECTIONS OF THE
V ATICAN SECRET ARCHIVES
ASV = Archivio Segreto Vaticano
Arm. = Armadio
Congr. Vescovi e Regolari, Visita Ap. = Congrega zione dei Vescovi e Regolari,
Visita Apostolica
Instr. Mise. = Instrumenta Miscellanea
Penitenzieria Ap., Reg. Matrim. et Div. = Penitenzieria Apostolica, Registra
Matrimonialium et Diversorum
Reg. Vat. = Registra Vaticana
Reg. Lat. = Registra Lateranensia
Reg. Suppl. = Registra Supplicationum
Reg. Aven. = Registra Avenionensia
RPG = Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum
7
PREFACE
The present publication contains selected papers from two international
conferences: the first was held at the Centre for Medieval Studies, University of
Bergen (Norway), in October, 20031 and the second at the Department of Medieval
Studies, Centrat European University, Budapest (Hungary), in January,
2004.2 The purpose of these meetings was to gather researchers interested in the
history and significance of the papal curia and, in particular, the Apostolic Penitentiary,
in the later Middle Ages. The main emphasis was placed on a comparative
approach and on the role of peripheral areas of Western Christendom in
their communication with the Holy See.
There are various kinds of centre-and-periphery hierarchies.3 There are
geographic, social, economic, and cultural peripheries and centres.“ The generat
textbooks … address materials from the geographical and social peripheries of
privileged cultures only as adjuncts to their central narrative …. The history of
Scandinavia and Eastern Europe become excursus to a central narrative.'“‚
However, conceming the communication of the Holy See with various areas
of Christendom in the Middle Ag es, the irnpact of ‚peripheries‘ has attracted
a new interest in recent years. Since the opening of the archives of the Apostolic
Penitentiary to researchers in 1983 relatively few scholars have exploited the
sources, but recently their number has increased. Most of them have studied the
supplications to the Penitentiary of petitioners from their own home countries
and edited material on a national basis. The German Historical Institute, under
the leadership of Ludwig Schmugge, has already published several volumes of
entries concerning German-speaking territories. Also, the Norwegian and Icelandic
material has recently been released by Torstein Jßi’gensen and Gastone
Saletnich. Sirnilar enterprises are in process in several other countries: Poland,
Denmark, Sweden and Finland, England and Wales. The examination of territo-
1 „The Lote Middle Ages and the Penitentiary Texts: Centre and Periphery in Europe in the
Pre-Refonnation Era.“
2 „Ad Confines. The Papal Curia and the Eastern and Northern Peripheries of Christendom
in the Later Middle Ages(l41h
– 151h c.).“
3 For this and the following, see Teofilo F. Ruiz, „Center and Periphery in the Teaching of
Medieval History,“ in Medieval Cultures in Contact, ed. Richard F. Gyug (New York:
Fordham University Press, 2003), 252.
4 Ibidem, 248.
8
ries on the geographic peripheries in their relation to Rome has been a main focus
in these studies.
The archival material of the Penitentiary and the communication of the
papal curia with the various regions of late medieval Europe should, however,
not be studied only on national Ievels. There is an increasing need for such
studies to be supplemented by comparative searcbes for differences and analogies
in how Christians from different corners of Europc used the papal offices
and were treated by them. It is well known that even though the regulations of
canon law were in theory the same for everyone, regional differences in interpreting
and applying them emerged in the Late Middle Ages. The need to turn to
the papal authority in matters of canon law varied depending on the role of local
bishops and the presence or absence of papal Iegates or collectors, who often
bad the power to deal with similar matters in partibus. Also, people in the
centml territories of Christendom bad different opportunities for turning to the
papal curia with their requests than those living on the peripheries of the
Christian world.
Questions like these played the central role in the discussions of the two
conferences noted above. In this book we will render an overview of the present
status of this new field of research. As an introduction, Piroska Nagy deals with
the question of how to apply centre-periphery models to a comparative analysis
of the sources. Kirsi Salonen uses the Penitentiary registers from the period of
Pope Pius II to analyse the supplications, their provenance, and the role of peripheries.
Two peripheral parts of late medieval Europe and their significance concerning
the communication with the Holy See represent the main part of the
publication: Northem Europe and East Central Europe. Comparative analyses of
Scandinavian and Scottish source material from the Penitentiary Registers are
made by Torstein Jsrgensen, Kirsi Salonen, and lrene Fumeaux. The studies on
East Central Europe are introduced by an inquiry concerning the general importance
of the area for the papal curia (Jadranka Neralic), and an overview of the
communication of the Holy See with Albania (Etleva Lala). Piroska Nagy and
Kirsi Salonen offer a quantitative analysis of East Central Europe and the Penitentiary
(1458-1484), followed by contributions on individual territories, such
as the Czech Iands (Lucie Dolezalova) and Dalmatia (Ana Marinkovic). The
contribution by Gastone Saletnich and Wolfgang Müller indicates that in any
studies of the roJe of peripheries one must not neglect the more central areas.
Blanca Szeghyova and Ludwig Schrnugge show that local archives and their
contents are an indispensable additional source for comparative analyses.
Many friends and colleagues have helped in preparing this book for print.
We are pleased to thank the personnet of the Penitenzieria Apostolica, especially
Padre Ubaldo Todeschini, for reading the manuscript and suggesting useful corrections.
We are also much obliged to the skilled staff of the Sala di Studio in
the Vatican Archives, who patiently brought us volume after volume of the reg-
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isters and helped with other problems. Judith Rasson from Central European
University deserves our gratitude for copyediting our text.
Finally, we wish to thank the academic institutions which in a more direct
way have promoted this project: the Centre for Medieval Studies at the
University of Bergen, the Department of Medieval Studies at the Central
European University in Budapest, the Institut filr Realienkunde of the Austrian
Academy of Seiences and the Academy of Finland, and the Department of History
at the University ofTampere.
Bergen, Budapest, and Tampere, November 2004
Gerhard Jaritz, Torstein Jergensen, Kirsi Salonen
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