Indulgences

[Brother Gregory]

I play the character of a monk. I was given a set of Indulgences. I wondering if any other monk characters have used these and if so how they have gone about handing them out?

Any help or ideas would be great.

Brother Gregory

[Merlin the Elder]

In reality, they would often be sold. Strange things, those indulgences (coming from an ex-Catholic... I don't know if my old indulgences are transferable ... likely not, since I'm now Druid and/or Atheist, depending on mood.)

The concept may or may not be understood by non-Catholics. I would imagine the most effective way would be to use them in a humourous way. I'm quite a few years removed from The Mother Church, but I think the concept of Purgatory has been scrapped, which was where indulgences would be redeemed...kind of like Green Stamps. I may be wrong about the Purgatory thing, but I thought I had heard that somewhere... 

[Meagan]

Limbo has been scrapped, but purgatory is still there.

The closest thing I have seen to indulgences at faire is Hey Nunny Nunny calling "1$, one free sin."

[Bob of the Lake]

Limbo has been scrapped, but purgatory is still there.

The closest thing I have seen to indulgences at faire is Hey Nunny Nunny calling "1$, one free sin."

lol! Never thought of my tips to HNN being indulgences! If they are, then I think my afterlife is pretty secure! 

[Jay Byrd]

Even after ya'll have said I still don't know what indulgences are, and I was raised catholic.  I guess I wasn't paying much attention.  Maybe that's why I'm a shamanistic/wiccan/pagan sort of wandering soul.

Jay Byrd

Hey Bob Almost time

[Merlin the Elder]

Limbo has been scrapped, but purgatory is still there.

The closest thing I have seen to indulgences at faire is Hey Nunny Nunny calling "1$, one free sin."

Yeah...you're right, Meagan.  I've been churchless for a while and have lost track.

"Hey Nunnie, Nunnie" is such great fun, especially for ex and current Catholics...there are a few inside jokes in their act. If you ain't had your knuckles cracked by a nun with a steel ruler, you ain't lived! 

[GirlChris]

An indulgence is basically a "get out of penance free" card. If you were granted an indulgence, after confession you would not have to do penance such as saying a certain number of prayers, etc. You could get one by making a donation to the church- essentially buying it.

Originally, they were granted by priests, but an odd little profession popped up- the pardoner. This was a person who was not necessarily a priest, and may not have had any affiliation with the church, but sold pardons anyway.

The way you give them out would depend on your character. Are you a faithful monk? Then you might give them out to people who are going to certain shows where you know they'll need all the help they can get. Are you a drunken monk? See if you can try and convince a patron to part with their beer for an indulgence.

You might not actually give any out- people may not want to take them or trade them. Think of them more as a prop then as something you need to get rid of.

[groomporter]

"For every coin that in the coffer rings -a soul from purgatory springs" was an actual period slogan said to have been used for selling indulgences.

I played Padre Peter the Parish Pardoner one year at MNRF. I used a period style font to print out a few fake indulgences on parchment paper as props and made a simple leather "brief case" with a shoulder strap to carry them in. I also had some business cards printed as mini indulgences that I could give out to patrons or participants. I would occasionally flirt with winsome wenches and offer to trade for "services rendered"

Image from Wikipedia:

Rough translation:
I, brother Jeronimus Munghofer of the Order of St. Benedict, confessor and penitencer of the monastery and chapel of St. Mary the Virgin consecrated in the diocese of Constance,
recognize the penitences made by
Brothers Johann and Oswald Burgi
and that they have visited the said place and chapel, and submitted their petition according to the form of the Church, and I, by the authority granted to me by the Holy See, absolve them of their penance, and in witness thereof I have granted them these letters and sealed them according to custom. In the year 1521, on the nineteenth day of December.


One thing I noticed was while playing clergy I got more sexually harassed than I ever did wearing a kilt. It was as if people were trying to play "shock the priest" (That was when I was still 30-something however) of course that open up the need to save their soul and for a price I could help with that... or if I didn't have time to "play" with them I would give them one of the business card "indulgences" and say something like "Here, you're going to need this later..."

[groomporter]

I may have to check my files to see if I have the rest of this

To the tune of Barrett's Privateers:

Oh the year was 1578
How I wish I was in the vatican now
When a Papal bull came to my door
go out among the rich and poor
God bless them all, I was told
to save their sins, but not their gold
I absolve their sins -quell their fears
I'm the last of Pope Leo's pardoneers...