Indulgences for prayers for the dead in the diocese of Lincoln in the early fourteenth-century (An assessment of pre-Reformation religious life in England)

The role of indulgences in pre-Reformation English religion remains incompl etely studies. Centered on material contained in the Lincoln episcopal regi sters dating from c.1290 to c.1340, granting indulgences for prayers for th e souls of named people and often specifying their burial locations, this a rticle argues that their place in medieval spirituality and charitable acti vity has been underappreciated. Examining the mechanisms and implications o f the Lincoln records, it suggests that under-recording of actions consider ed normal and routine, rather than lack of popularity, lies behind the fail ure to give indulgences their due place in assessment of English medieval r eligious life.