Post-Doc, Medieval Studies
Thesis Title: The Holy Penitentiary and the Albanian Territories in the Late Middle Ages
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Gerhard Jaritz
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About
During the High and Late Middle Ages, until the Turkish occupation spread to the whole of Southeastern Europe, Albanian territories played an important role for the Papal Curia as a Catholic stronghold and outpost in the region. The Holy Penitentiary, as one of the three most important parts of the Papal Curia, continued to have an influence in the lifestyle of the local population even when the Turks had already occupied the land. The absolutions, dispensations, and licenses given to the locals by the Holy Penitentiary concerned not only religious matters like irregularities of the clergy or clerics-to-be, but also more secular matters like marriage, birth, and death, and other social activities of the local population. The documents of the Holy Penitentiary concerning this region give evidence that the local residents had great sensitivity towards the regulations of Canon Law, which can, to a certain degree, be interpreted as a testimony of an existing Catholic lifestyle and culture and a heightened Catholic consciousness in this border region.
