APPENDIX.
Transcript of 'Indulgence' of Leo X.—the words which are abbreviated in the original being written in full.
Albertus dei et apostolice sedis gratia . sancte Moguntinensis sedis . ac Magdeburgensis ecclesie Archiepiscopus . primas . et sacri Romani imperii in germania archicancellarius . princeps : elector ac administrator Halberstattensis . Marchio Brandenburgensis . Stettinensis . Pomeranie : Cassuborum Sclauorumque dux | Burggrauius . Nurenbergensis Rugieque princeps . Et guardianus fratrum ordinis minorum de obseruantia conuentus Moguntini . Per sanctissimum | dominum nostrum Leonem Papam decimum per prouincias Moguntinensem ac Magdeburgensem ac illarum et Halberstattenses ciuitates et dioceses necnon terras | et loca illustrissimi et illustrium Principum dominorum Marchionum Brandenburgensium temporali dominio mediate uel immediate subiecta nuncii et commissarii : ad infrascripta specialiter deputati . Vniuersis et singulis presentes literas inspecturis Salutem in domino . Notum facimus quod sanctissimus dominus | noster Leo diuina prouidentia Papa decimus modernus : omnibus et singulis utriusque sexus christifidelibus : ad reparacionem fabrice basilice principis apostolorum sancti Petri de vrbe : iuxta ordinationem nostram manus porrigentibus adiutrices : vltra plenissimas indulgentias ac alias gratias et facultates quas christifideles ipsi obtinere possunt : iuxta literarum apostolicarum desuper confectarum continentiam misericorditer etiam in domino indulsit atque concessit : vt idoneum possint | eligere confessorem presbyterum secularem . uel cuiusuis etiam mendicantium ordinis regularem . qui eorum confessione diligenter audita . pro commissis per eligentem | delictis et excessibus : ac peccatis quibuslibet : quantumcumque grauibus et enormibus : etiam in dicte sedi reseruatis casibus : ac censuris ecclesiasticis : etiam ab | homine ad alicuius instantiam latis . de consensu partium etiam ratione interdicti incursis . et quarum absolutio eidem sedi esset specialiter reseruata. Preterquam machinationis in personam summi pontificis : occisionis episcoporum aut aliorum superiorum prelatorum et iniectionis manuum violentarum in illos aut alios prelatos . falsificationis | literarum apostolicarum . delationis armorum et aliorum prohibitorum ad partes infidelium ac sententiarum et censurarum occasione aluminum tulfe[537] apostolice de partibus infidelium ad fideles contra prohibitionem apostolicam delatorum incursarum semel in vita et in mortis articulo quotiens ille imminebit . licet mors tunc non subsequatur | Et in non reseruatis casibus totiens quotiens id petierint plenarie absoluere et eis penitentiam salutarem iniungere . necnon semel in vita et in dicto mortis articulo : plenariam omnium peccatorum indulgentiam et remissionem impendere . Necnon per eos emissa pro tempore uota quecumque (vltramarino : visitationis | liminum apostolorum et sancti Jacobi in compostella : religionis et castitatis votis dumtaxat exceptis) in alia pietatis opera commutare auctoritate apostolica | possit et valeat . Indulsit quoque idem sanctissimus dominus noster prefatos benefactores eorumque parentes defunctos qui cum charitate decesserunt in precibus : | suffragiis : elemosynis : ieiuniis : orationibus : missis : horis canonicis : disciplinis : peregrinationibus : et ceteris omnibus spiritualibus bonis que fiunt : et fieri poterunt in tota vniuersali sacrosancta ecclesia militante : et in omnibus membris eiusdem in perpetuum participes fieri . Et quia deuotus | Philippus Kessel[538] presbyter ad ipsam fabricam et necessariam instaurationem | supradicte basilice principis apostolorum iuxta sanctissimi domini nostri Pape intentionem et nostram ordinationem de bonis suis contribuendo se gratum | exhibuit. In cuius rei signum presentes literas a nobis accepit Ideo eadem auctoritate apostolica nobis commissa : et qua fungimur in hac parte | ipsi quod dictis gratiis et indulgentiis vti et eisdem gaudere possit et valeat per presentes concedimus et largimur. Datum Auguste | sub sigillo per nos ad hec ordinato. Die xv Mensis Aprilis Anno domini M.D.xvij.
Forma absolutionis totiens quotiens in vita.
Misereatur tui &c. Dominus noster Jesus christus per meritum sue passionis te absoluat : auctoritate cuius et apostolica mihi in hac parte commissa: et | tibi concessa ego te absoluo ab omnibus peccatis tuis. In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti Amen.
Forma absolutionis et plenissime remissionis : semel in vita et in mortis articulo.
Misereatur tui &c. Dominus noster Jesus christus per meritum sue passionis te absoluat : et ego auctoritate ipsius et apostolica mihi in hac parte commissa : et tibi | concessa te absoluo . primo ab omni sententia excommunicationis maioris vel minoris si quam incurristi . deinde ab omnibus peccatis tuis : conferendo tibi plenissimam omnium | peccatorum tuorum remissionem remittendo tibi etiam penas purgatorii in quantum se claues sancte matris ecclesie extendunt . In nomine patris et filii et spiritus sancti Amen.
Note.—If one effect produced by the perusal of this often-talked-of document be surprise at the extent of the remissions offered to those who should 'stretch out a helping hand towards the repair of the fabric of the Church of the prince of the apostles, St. Peter of Rome,' another surely is amazement at the seeming incongruity of the exceptions. 'Indulgence' is extended to crimes and excesses and any kind of sin, however 'grave and enormous,' but is withheld not only from 'conspiracy against the person of the Pope, murder of Bishops or other superior prelates, laying violent hands on them or on other prelates, forgery of apostolic letters, exportation of arms and other forbidden goods to heathen parts,' but also from the importation of alum from heathen to Christian parts, contrary to the apostolic prohibition, by which the faithful who wanted alum were required to use only that obtained from Tolfa belonging to the Pope.
Superficially regarded, this last exception is suggestive of a commercial monopoly enforced by the threat of spiritual penalties; and so clearly has it been seen that a damaging significance might readily be attached to it, that the accuracy of the passage has frequently been doubted. M. Audin, who in his Histoire de Martin Luther, vol. i. pp. 429-432, gives a copy of the 'Indulgence,' renders the passage thus: 'occasione aluminum (sic) sanctæ ecclesiæ,' &c. By using the word sic, and by appending the note 'Tiré d'une source protestante par un protestant,' M. Audin would seem to have intended to suggest not merely that he doubted the correctness of the copy to which he had had access, but also that the apparently objectionable features of the document might be attributable to inaccuracy.
But transactions of which the causes are imperfectly understood may give rise to very erroneous opinions; and in this case even the most cursory glance at the state of Europe during the pontificate of Pius II., when the alum-works of Tolfa came into existence, will show that there were grave reasons for treating the importation of alum as a most heinous offence—reasons which might well affect the decrees of the Pope, and which had not lost their importance in the time of Leo X.
Until the discovery that alum could be obtained from the hills near Tolfa, the Italians had been dependent for their supplies of this commodity, which they used in very considerable quantities, upon the Turks, who, it is to be borne in mind, had but a few years previously taken Constantinople, and who were now the scourge and dread of Christendom. The Papal view as to the use to which the discovery should be turned is shown in the following extract from a brief of Pius II.:—
'Item quoniam diebus nostris faciens nobiscum Dominus misericordiam suam de absconditis terræ, uberrimas pretiosi aluminis venas antea nunquam inventas miraculo quodam in montibus nostris, qui in patrimonio B. Petri in Tuscia prope arcem Tolpham sunt patefecit, volens videlicet, ne ultra ex fidelium pecunia Turchorum in eos persecutio cresceret, sed ilia ad defensionem nostram uti possemus, justum et pietati suæ placitum reputantes, fructum omnem, qui antehac ex comportato in Christianitatem transmarino alumine penes impios Turchos in Christianorum exitium erat, modo ad nos in suffragium ecclesiæ catholicæ transeat, præsertim cum alumen nostrum, magistra experientia, virtute perfectius, pretio vilius, numero autem sit adeo abundans, ut usui Christianorum in omnem partem satisfacere possit, ex parte omnipotentis Dei Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus sancti, ac nostra ex hoc sancto tribunali apostolica voce hortamur atque requirimus omnes, et singulos profitentes nomen Christianum, ne posthac alumen a Turchis aliisque infidelibus emant, &c. Dat. Romæ apud S. Petrum anno MCDLXIII. vii. id. Aprilis, pontificatus nostri anno v.' (Raynaldus, 'Annales Ecclesiastici,' tom. 29, p. 376).
In his 'History of Inventions, Discoveries,' &c. (Bohn's Standard Library), Beckmann, who, in treating of Alum, quotes several accounts of the works at Tolfa, says:—'The Pope himself has left us a very minute history of this discovery, and of the circumstances which gave rise to it;' and, alluding to the conflicting statements respecting the discoverer, he adds:—'But as I do not wish to ascribe a falsehood to the Pontiff, I am of opinion that the history of this discovery must have been best known to him. He has not, indeed, established the year with sufficient correctness; but we may conclude from his relation that it must have been 1460 or 1465.[539] The former is the year given by Felician Bussi; and the latter that given in the History of the City of Civita Vecchia.' Beckmann's rendering of the Pope's history, though the account is here and there open to criticism, throws much light on the passage in the Indulgence and is otherwise very interesting. It is in these terms:—'A little before that period came to Rome John di Castro, with whom the Pontiff had been acquainted when he carried on trade at Basle, and was banker to Pope Eugenius. His father, Paul, was a celebrated lawyer of his time, who sat many years in the chair of Padua, and filled all Italy with his decisions; for lawsuits were frequently referred to him, and judges paid great respect to his authority, as he was a man of integrity and sound learning. At his death he left considerable riches, and two sons arrived to the age of manhood, the elder of whom, following the profession of the father, acquired a very extensive knowledge of law. The other, who was a man of genius, and who applied more to study, made himself acquainted with grammar and history; but, being fond of travelling, he resided some time at Constantinople, and acquired much wealth by dyeing cloth made in Italy, which was transported thither and committed to his care, on account of the abundance of alum in that neighborhood. Having by these means an opportunity of seeing daily the manner in which alum was made, and from what stones or earth it was extracted, he soon learned the art. When, by the will of God, that city was taken and plundered about the year 1453, by Mahomet II., Emperor of the Turks, he lost his whole property; but, happy to have escaped the fire and sword of these cruel people, he returned to Italy, after the assumption of Pius II., to whom he was related, and from whom he obtained, as an indemnification for his losses, the office of Commissary-General over all the revenues of the Apostolic Chamber, both within and without the city. While in this situation he was traversing all the hills and mountains, searching the bowels of the earth, leaving no stone or clod unexplored, he at length found some alum-stone in the neighborhood of Tolfa. Old Tolfa is a town belonging to two brothers, subjects of the Church of Rome, and situated at a small distance from Civita Vecchia. Here there are high mountains, retiring inland from the sea, which abound with wood and water. While Castro was examining these, he observed that the grass had a new appearance. Being struck with wonder, and inquiring into the cause, he found that the mountains of Asia, which enrich the Turkish treasury by their alum, were covered with grass of the like kind. Perceiving several white stones, which seemed to be minerals, he bit some of them, and found that they had a saltish taste. This induced him to make some experiments by calcining them, and he at length obtained alum. He repaired therefore to the Pontiff, and addressing him said, "I announce to you a victory over the Turk. He draws yearly from the Christians above three hundred thousand pieces of gold, paid to him for the alum with which we dye wool different colors, because none is found here but a little at the island of Hiscla, formerly called Aenaria, near Puteoli, and in the cave of Vulcan at Lipari, which, being formerly exhausted by the Romans, is now almost destitute of that substance. I have, however, found seven hills so abundant in it, that they would be almost sufficient to supply seven worlds. If you will send for workmen, and cause furnaces to be constructed, and the stones to be calcined, you may furnish alum to all Europe; and that gain which the Turk used to acquire by this article being thrown into your hands will be to him a double loss. Wood and water are both plenty, and you have in the neighborhood the port of Civita Vecchia, where vessels bound to the West may be loaded. You can now make war against the Turk: this mineral will supply you with the sinews of war, that is money, and at the same time deprive the Turk of them." These words of Castro appeared to the Pontiff the ravings of a madman: he considered them as mere dreams, like the predictions of astrologers; and all the cardinals were of the same opinion. Castro, however, though his proposals were often rejected, did not abandon his project, but applied to his Holiness by various persons, in order that experiments might be made in his presence on the stones which he had discovered. The Pontiff employed skilful people, who proved that they really contained alum; but lest some deception might have been practised, others were sent to the place where they had been found, who met with abundance of the like kind. Artists who had been employed in the Turkish mines in Asia were brought from Genoa; and these, having closely examined the nature of the place, declared it to be similar to that of the Asiatic mountains which produce alum; and, shedding tears for joy, they kneeled down three times, worshipping God, and praising his kindness in conferring so valuable a gift on our age. The stones were calcined, and produced alum more beautiful than that of Asia, and superior in quality. Some of it was sent to Venice and to Florence, and, being tried, was found to answer beyond expectation. The Genoese first purchased a quantity of it, to the amount of 20,000 pieces of gold; and Cosmo of Medici for this article laid out afterwards seventy-five thousand. On account of this service, Pius thought Castro worthy of the highest honors and of a statue, which was erected to him in his own country, with this inscription:—"To John di Castro, the Inventor of Alum;" and he received besides a certain share of the profit. Immunities and a share also of the gain were granted to the two brothers, lords of Tolfa, in whose land the aluminous mineral had been found. This accession of wealth to the Church of Rome was made, by the divine blessing, under the Pontificate of Pius II.: and if it escape, as it ought, the hands of tyrants, and be prudently managed, it may increase and afford no small assistance to the Roman Pontiffs in supporting the burdens of the Christian religion—Pii Secundi Comment . rer . memorab . quæ temp . suis contigerunt. Francof. 1614, fol. p. 185'
Dr. Georg Voigt, in his 'Enea Silvio de Piccolomini als Papst Pius der Zweite und sein Zeitalter,' vol. iii. pp. 546-48, says:—
'Ein Glückszufall brachte dem Papste noch eine ganz unerwartete Quelle von Einnahmen. Unter ihm wurden die berühmten Alaungruben von Tolfa entdeckt. Der genannte Giovanni de Castro, ein Mann der rührigsten Industrie, der zu Konstantinopel die Färbung italienischer Zeuge betrieben, bei der Eroberung der Stadt jedoch nichts als sein Leben und seine technischen Kenntnisse davongetragen, war der Finder. Umherschweifend auf dem einsamen culturlosen Waldgebirge, das sich unweit Civita-vecchia mit seinen Ausläufern bis zum Meer erstreckt, stöbernd unter den Steinen, Erden und Pflanzen mit dem eigenthümlichen Antriebe solcher Naturen, bemerkte er zunächst ein Kraut, das er auf den alaunhaltigen Bergen Asiens gesehen, dann weisse Steine, die der salzige Geschmack und gar die Auskochung als Alaun erwies. Freudig eilte er zum Papste und verkündete ihm den Sieg über die Türken, zunächst den Industriellen, da der Orient durch den Alaun jährlich über 300,000 Ducaten von den Christen verdiene. Von anderer Seite wird der Astrolog Domenico di Zaccaria aus Padua wenigstens als Mitentdecker angegeben.[540] Pius indess erwähnt nur de Castro. Er und die Cardinäle hielten die Entdeckung anfangs für eine alchymistische Träumerei. Doch bestätigten Sachverständige, dass das Gestein wirklich Alaun und dass es in jenen Bergen in betriebsfähiger Masse vorhanden sei; das reichliche Wasser der Gegend und der nahe Seehafen begünstigten den Bau. Es wurden Gewerbsleute aus Genua berufen, die einst bei den Türken den asiatischen Alaun behandelt; sie weinten vor Freude, als sie das Mineral erkannten, nach der Abkochung zeigte sich seine Güte: 80 Pfund hatten den Werth von 100 Pfund türkischen Alauns. Proben wurden nach Venedig und Florenz versandt. Genuesische Kaufleute schlossen zuerst einen Ankauf für 20,000 Ducaten ab. Dann Cosimo de' Medici einen für 75,000. Der Papst fasste den Vorsatz, das Geschenk Gottes auch zur Ehre Gottes, zum Türkenkriege zu verwenden; er ermahnte alle Christen, fortan nur von ihm, nicht von den Ungläubigen den Alaun einzukaufen, zumal da der seinige nach der Erfahrung besser und billiger sei.[541] Schon im Jahre 1463 wurde tüchtig in den Gruben von Tolfa gearbeitet, 8,000 Menschen waren dabei beschäftigt: der Finder wie die Besitzer des vorher unfruchtbaren Districtes erhielten eine Quote des Gewinnes, der dem apostolischen Schatze jährlich gegen 100,000 Ducaten einbrachte. In der Wahlcapitulation von 1464 wurden sämmtliche Einkünfte von Alaun für den Türkenkrieg bestimmt.'[542]
From Dr. Voigt's statements that as early as the year 1463, 8,000 men were employed in the alum-works of Tolfa, and that the profit to the apostolic treasury, after the claims of the discoverer and the proprietors had been duly recognized, amounted to 100,000 ducats a year, and from the date of the Pope's Brief quoted above, it would seem that the discovery could scarcely have been made later than 1462, the year assigned to it by Niccolo della Tuccia.
The following extract from R. Harrison's translation of A. von Reumont's 'Lorenzo de' Medici,' carries on somewhat further the history of this famous mine and of its position in regard to the Papal Government:—
'The Pope's affection and confidence were shown in various ways. The Roman depository, i.e., the Receiver's office, was handed over to the Medici, with the permission to choose as their representative Giovanni Tornabuoni, director of the Roman bank. New privileges were also granted to them in connection with their share in the farming of the alum-works of Tolfa. It was an important concession. In the days of Pope Pius II., Giovanni di Castro, son of the famous jurisconsult, Paolo, the principal co-operator in the revision of the Florentine statutes (finished in 1415), discovered alum-deposits in the rock while making geological investigations in the hilly country between Civita Vecchia and the territory of Viterbo, in the vicinity of Tolfa. He instantly perceived the importance of his discovery, which promised to free the West, hitherto poor in this mineral, from a tribute to the distant East, made more inaccessible by the Turkish conquests. In fact the produce soon amounted to 160,000 gold florins; and it is well known what sanguine hopes Pius II., whose eyes were directed towards the East, indulged, that this new source of revenue would aid his enterprises. Genoese houses had employed themselves with the alum-trade till the Medici concluded a contract with the Papal exchequer, which afterwards gave rise to many unpleasant misunderstandings with the financial department.'—(Vol. I. p. 275).
An account of the alum of Tolfa is also given in vol. v. chap. i., of the 'Voyages du P. Labat de l'Ordre des FF. Prescheurs, en Espagne et en Italie;' and in the article 'Alaun,' in the 'Oeconomische Encyclopädie,' by Dr. J. G. Krünitz, which is in part derived from Labat's work.