Spanish Indulgence

Innocent VIII (b. 1432, Pope 1484–1492). [Indulgence, in Spanish]. Conoscida cosa sea atodos los que le presente vieren que nuestro muy santo padre Inocencio octavo prorrogo yde nuevo conçedio agora otra vez la santa cruzada. Broadside, printed on vellum.
[Toledo (or Huete?): Alvaro de Castro], 1490. (07047)

This recently discovered vellum broadside is the only known copy of a previously unrecorded Spanish indulgence. Sold in order to grant the remission of sins to the souls of deceased family members, this indulgence also raised money for the “holy crusade” against the Muslim inhabitants of Granada. As stated in the text, one-third of the proceeds went directly to the military campaign. Although the printer Alvaro de Castro normally worked in Huete, it is believed that he published this indulgence in Toledo under the supervision of the Archbishop, just two years prior to the final reconquest of the last Muslim territories in Spain. The signature of the buyer was written in the provided space, while in the lower margin is found the commissary’s autograph endorsement and the remains of the wax seal of the Holy Office.

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Spanish Indulgence