Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum. Catalogue of people, churches and landmarks of the Kingdom of Germany mentioned in petitions to the Apostolic Penitentiary

directed by Ludwig Schmugge

The "Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum" is a collection of Latin entries taken from the registers of petitions directed to the Apostolic Penitentiary, the supreme body of the Curia Romana, covering the period between the papacies of Eugene IV (1431–1447) and Adrian VI (1522–1523). The petitions, made available in print for the first time, offer a wealth of previously unknown material which gives a picture of the ecclesiastical and regional, social and family history of German-speaking Europe. The data of the first eight volumes can also be accessed on the "RG online" database.

It was only in 1987 that the Vatican Apostolic Archive made petitions directed to the pope by men and women of every age and social class available for research purposes. In 1992 the scientific committee of the German Historical Institute decided to establish the "Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum", a parallel collection to the "Repertorium Germanicum". These documents broaden our knowledge of the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, because they relate to petitioners, of whom there is hardly ever mention in their homeland, and their concerns and difficulties. These are “episodes in their lives, in truth genuine life stories, real tales from the late Middle Ages" (Arnold Esch).

Project duration: 1992–2017