Gone Medieval – "How to Get to Heaven: Papal Indulgences"

Host: Dr. Eleanor Jennica
Guest: Dr. Felicity Hill (Lecturer in Medieval History, St. Andrews University)
Release Date: February 24, 2026

Overview

This episode explores the complex and often misunderstood history of papal indulgences in medieval Europe. Dr. Eleanor Jennica and returning guest Dr. Felicity Hill untangle the doctrine, economics, evolution, popular practices, controversies, and legacies of indulgences, demystifying their role in medieval religious life and examining the skepticism and confusion they sparked—even long before Martin Luther’s famous revolt. Listeners are guided from the origins of indulgences, through their role in the medieval economy and spirituality, to their ongoing echoes in modern Catholicism.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: Martin Luther and the 95 Theses (03:30–05:00)

• Dr. Jennica provides a dramatic introduction to the 1517 posting of the 95 Theses, highlighting that while Luther's protest against indulgences is widely known, the actual nature and background of indulgences remains obscure, even to many historians.
• Quote:
  “Much in the same way that we might be now... people in the Middle Ages, theologians, the cleverest people in the Middle Ages, were going, how does this work?... And the answer was, but not entirely in a way.”
  — Dr. Jennica (06:25)

2. What is an Indulgence? Definitions & Historical Context (05:40–09:07)

• Basic Definition: Indulgences are remissions of enjoined penance. Not a ‘get out of jail free’ card, but relaxation of earthly or purgatorial penalties after confession and absolution.
• Key Points:
  • Indulgences address the temporal (not eternal) punishment for sins.
  • They can be acquired by confession, works, pilgrimage, or donations (but not by sinning and then simply buying one).
  • They shift from reducing earthly penance to reducing time in purgatory in the late Middle Ages.
• Quote:
  "Often you pay money, but not necessarily pay money to get an indulgence, which kind of buys you out of some of that penance... and then it becomes time out of purgatory."
  — Dr. Jennica (08:30)

3. How Indulgences Worked in Practice (09:10–14:35)

• Means of Acquisition: Attending feasts, going on pilgrimage, donating money, doing good works (e.g., funding students, hospitals, churches).
• Dual Function: Spiritual benefit for the laity and vital fundraising for church projects (bridges, hospitals, grand architecture like St. Peter’s Basilica).
• Economic Language: The Church used concepts like ‘treasury of merit’—a spiritual bank built by Christ and the saints, withdrawn against through indulgences.
• Quote:
  "It's kind of like giving to charity, but then you also get your own benefit... a tax break for your soul."
  — Dr. Felicity Hill (13:13)

4. The Development & Inflation of Indulgences (14:35–19:49)

• Timeline:
  • No indulgences in early Christianity or early Middle Ages.
  • Appear as an innovation in the 11th century, linked to new doctrines like purgatory.
  • After the Crusades, indulgences take off, including 'plenary' (full) indulgences for crusaders.
  • Over time, become available for the dead as well as the living.
  • Late medieval period sees ‘indulgence inflation’—from 40 days to thousands of years.
• Quote:
  "You start getting not just 40 days, but kind of years and years and years, like thousands of years... it became a bit mad, basically."
  — Dr. Jennica (15:38)

5. Indulgences, Purgatory, and Changing Practices (18:00–22:00)

• Purgatory as Opportunity: Most people would spend some time suffering in purgatory. Masses, prayers, and indulgences offered relief.
• From Collective to Individual Piety: Shift from commissioning masses (others pray for you) to personal responsibility (acquire indulgences for oneself).
• Quote:
  “There’s a much stronger emphasis on dealing with it yourself in the later Middle Ages... you might want to do anything you possibly can to get you to the nice place quicker or at all.”
  — Dr. Jennica (18:43)

6. Doubts, Debate, and Power (20:45–25:15)

• Theological Quandaries: Were indulgences telling God what to do? Who had authority to grant them (pope, bishop, parish priest)?
• Never Unquestioned: From inception, theologians and ordinary believers debated their legitimacy, fairness, and mechanisms.
• Implications for Papal Power: As the papacy grew as an institution, so too did the system of indulgences, becoming a critical arm of medieval ‘government’.
• Quote:
  "This is a legal organization... a government."
  — Dr. Hill (23:38)

7. Indulgences and Social Inequality (27:43–30:40)

• Class Issues: Hell frescoes depict the wealthy and powerful suffering; kings and elites had the resources to buy many prayers and indulgences, highlighting social inequality.
• Effectiveness and Certainty: Indulgences provided concrete, up-front spiritual 'receipts', appealing for those wary of relying on heirs or executors after death.
• Quote:
  “Indulgences are maybe a way of... an insurance policy in some ways.”
  — Dr. Jennica (33:29)

8. Abuse & Popular Critique (35:15–39:00)

• The Pardoner: Chaucer’s Pardoner exemplifies both the system’s corruption and popular suspicion a century before Luther.
• Pardoners: Traveling sellers of indulgences often emphasized ease over penitence, peddled fake relics, and stoked public unease.
• Quote:
  “There is this sense that he can just, yeah, wipe away your sin willy nilly. And... that's a real sense of corruption... but it’s not the whole system.”
  — Dr. Jennica (36:22)
• Not Just a Reformation Issue: Lay and clerical skepticism predated Luther by centuries.

9. Indulgences as Popular Practice (41:17–45:00)

• Getting an Indulgence: Could buy from a pardoner, make a pilgrimage, attend key events (e.g., Jubilee year in Rome).
• Political Uses: Monarchs occasionally used indulgences to drum up support and affirm political legitimacy (e.g., Charles IV and succession).
• Quote:
  "My PhD supervisor, Nicholas Vincent, once talked about indulgences as an early form of rent-a-crowd."
  — Dr. Jennica (44:35)

10. Legacy and Modern Practice (49:08–52:25)

• Still Exists: Post-Reformation, the Catholic Church reined in the practice, eliminating abuses but not the doctrine. Modern indulgences remain, especially tied to special years or occasions (e.g., Jubilee, pandemic adjustments).
• Quote:
  "Indulgences still exist... but they've toned it down a lot."
  — Dr. Jennica (50:05)

11. Martin Luther’s Critique (52:50–54:16)

• Not All Critique is New: Luther’s fury was about the loss of true penance and the system’s excesses.
• Quote:
  “He really goes off on one. But there are some core points... we have to make sure we understand how things had become by the time he’s around... his whole thing was polemic.”
  — Dr. Jennica (53:41)

Memorable Quotes

• On Medieval Confusion:
  "Actually, they were also like, wait, what is the deal with these guys?"
  — Dr. Jennica (06:07)
• On the Economic Logic:
  "You can't do both. Personally, I don't really like... you can hate indulgences."
  — Dr. Jennica/Dr. Hill (13:11)
• On Wealth and the Afterlife:
  "They are mainly just making monks pray for you rather than doing anything yourself."
  — Dr. Jennica (29:01)
• On Certainty After Death:
  "There is a sense of kind of a certainty perhaps with indulgences."
  — Dr. Jennica (31:48)
• On the Doctrine's Durability:
  "They haven't actually said we're rejecting this doctrine, but they've toned it down a lot."
  — Dr. Jennica (50:05)
• On Historians’ Conclusions:
  “If you figured it out, write in and let us know.”
  — Dr. Hill (54:41)

Notable & Humorous Moments

• Feast of the Holy Lance and Nail: Indulgences used as “rent-a-crowd” for royal events (44:35).
• Ghost stories: Monks warning heirs about unredeemed parental souls (32:09).
• Boniface VIII’s reluctant Jubilee indulgence: “He only does it because everyone started turning up to Rome against his wishes.” (41:59)

Useful Timestamps

• Definition & Function of Indulgences: 06:06–09:07
• Indulgences and Pilgrimage: 09:10–13:36
• Purgatory and the Evolution of Belief: 14:51–18:16
• Papal Power & Economics: 23:45–24:43
• Abuse and the Pardoner: 35:15–39:00
• Modern Indulgences/Jubilee/ COVID Example: 50:00–52:25
• Luther’s Critique: 53:01–54:16

Conclusion

Indulgences were an extremely nuanced part of medieval spirituality, combining sincere religious anxiety, organizational innovation, and real-world economics. Studied in their full context, indulgences reveal anxieties about salvation, the centralization of papal power, the everyday business of religion, and the persistent creativity of both church and laity. Far from a simple medieval “scam” corrected by the Reformation, indulgences were always complicated, controversial—and, to some extent, still exist in the world today.

"It's incredibly complicated and it depends on where you are and when and who you're talking about. It's great, it's fantastic."
— Dr. Hill (40:49)