31 Line Indulgence
Indulgences were printed and sold by the Roman Catholic Church as a way to reduce or avoid punishment for sin. These Indulgences could be purchased as a “get out of jail free card" for individual sin and were printed with blanks to address them to specific individuals when purchased.
Copies of 31 Line Indulgences are the oldest surviving European Dated documents created with movable metal type. They also serve as an important historic example of the growing corruption in the Catholic Church leading up to the Protestant Reformation. The ability for wealthy individuals to repeatedly “but their way out of sin” as well as the commercialization of the church was one of the main critiques of Martin Luthers Ninty-five Theses.
The widespread sale of Indulgences was only possible because of the development of movable metal type and the printing press.
