The indulgence letter for the monastery of Kostanjevica (1347, November 6)

Abstract

The present article offers an art-historical analysis of the indulgence letter issued in Avignon on 6 November 1347 for the monastery of Kostanjevica in present-day Slovenia. It is believed that a workshop responsible for writing and decorating indulgence letters was organized in Avignon after the Popes moved there from Rome, and several iconographic and stylistic affinities speak in favour of the Kostanjevica charter being decorated precisely in this work environment. The Avignon workshop supposedly expanded in the 1340s, which presumably led to the division of labour within the workshop, meaning that one charter’s decoration could be the result of a joint effort. The present article discusses possible evidence to corroborate or reject this statement in the case of the Kostanjevica indulgence letter.

Keywords

• Kostanjevica
• indulgence letter
• illuminated charter
• decorated charter
• Avignon
• workshop