The Indulgence Huckster

(1500s)

Johann Tetzel was a monk with a mission. He was to oversee the sale of indulgences--promises of divine forgiveness for the living and deceased loved ones--in the German regions of Madgeburg and Halberstadt. The revenue from the sales would finance a new holy war against the Turks in Germany, solve the personal financial problems of young Albert of Brandenburg, and provide Pope Leo X with cash to build the new basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. Leo also wanted money to fight the Urbino war, transform the Vatican into a work of art, and meet the incidental expenses of a court four times as big as the emperor's.

Tetzel met these needs using the marvelous new printing press, whereby indulgence slips could be mass-produced and delivered door to door. This efficiency eliminated the need for long and costly journeys to sacred shrines. Success was further assured by Tetzel's skill at reducing the highly complex doctrine on indulgences to a simple formula:

As soon as the coin in the coffer rings,

The soul from purgatory springs.

The money poured in, but a few believers gave their little slips of paper to the 34-year-old doctor of theology at Wittenberg University, Martin Luther, seeking his comment on the validity of this way of salvation. His response: The 95 Theses.

Tetzel counter-attacked with his own theses. However, even Pope Leo had to agree that the doctrine of indulgences had been grossly oversimplified. Tetzel was castigated and sidelined as a force in the recruitment of ecclesiastical venture capital.