The cost of salvation. The religious donations of the canons of the cathedral of Angers (mid-twelfth-early sixteenth century)
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Like any other church at the end of the Middle Ages, the cathedral of Angers underwent a significant increase in the demand for mass services – endless when it came to salvation procedures – either embodied by a simple anniversary, or by chantries, which implied a regular service (monthly, weekly, or even daily for the wealthiest individuals). This article deals with a problem that has been largely avoided by the historiography of death. This relates not to the religious meaning or the spiritual significance of these foundations but rather their economic dimension and the financial arrangements that underpin them, all of which were meant to guarantee their perpetuity until the Last Judgement. After presenting the fairly large corpus of sources (handwritten obituaries, wills…), this study successively brings up the financial conditions surrounding the establishment of anniversaries and chantries by recognizing the consequences of the progressive monetization of the economy in the late Middle Ages.
Réseaux sociaux