Registers of Innocent III. 15th volume (1212/1213)

Die Register Innocenz` III. 15. Band, 15. Pontifikatsjahr, 1212/1213. Texte und Indices. Bearbeitet von Andrea Sommerlechner gemeinsam mit Christoph Egger, Othmar Hageneder, Rainer Murauer, Martin Schaller, Herwig Weigl (Publikationen des Historischen Instituts beim Österreichischen Kulturforum in Rom, II. Abt., 1. Reihe, 15. Bd.). The register of pope Innocent III (11981216) from the years 1212/13 is containing 242 letters sent by the pope to recipients all over Europe and in the Middle East. The church organisation of the Latin Empire of Constantinople is a dominant concern. Special attention is paid as well to the war against the Muslims in Spain, the effort to start a new crusade to the Holy Land, and the fight against heresy in Southern France. Other letters are dealing with political and ecclesiastical issues from Southern Italy to Scandinavia, matrimonial matters and property questions, privileges and confirmations of rights and possessions of bishoprics and monasteries, matters concerning the episcopate and litigation within the Church, such as contested elections or disciplinary problems, and a variety of decisions offering insights in major and minor problems of the church and the people around 1200. The volume is offering a reliable print of the letters, ample historical comments, and identifies textual parallels to the Bible, ecclesiastical and Roman law, theological, liturgical and classical writings, and the insertion of several of the letters in ecclesiastical law. In the introduction, the manuscript and the editory principles are described, and several indices help to access the contents.