medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
> From: "Sandra Lowerre" <[log in to unmask]>
> There is a technical term in German for the medieval gesture of giving money
to a monastery with the idea that the monks then pray for the donor's soul and
say masses to ease his purgatorial tortures etc. These masses could also be
held for deceased loved-ones. The term used in German is "Seelgerät".
> Is there an English technical term for this practice, too?
there probably is a single word for it, but it's too early in the morning for
what's left of my mind to come up with it.
what you are talking about is the "foundation of an anniversary mass", which
is usually recorded in the obituary entry for the person in the institution's
"Book of Life" or Necrology.
this might take the formulaic form of "Obit X, for whose soul his son Y gave
us XX s.", or it may mention specifically that an anniversary was to be
celebrated.
there may also have been a formal charter drawn up which records the act of
founding the anniversary, especially if there was a transfer of property
involved.
if this ever existed, it may have survived and been recorded in the
institution's cartulary, and if this has been published you can see what the
English expression is by consulting that, looking through the various
charters, finding one that records such a transaction and reading the brief
summary of the charter which is above the text itself.
tedious, but, hey, there is no Free Lunch.
c
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