Ablaßkram

Ablaßkram, the sale of indulgences, an ecclesiastical practice which had existed for centuries before Luther, but increased enormously in the late 15th c., degenerating into a mere means of raising revenue. Luther's opposition to the flagrant exploitation of the sale of indulgences, as practised on behalf of the Archbishop of Mainz, resulted in his first step towards his breach with the Papacy (see Theses, 95). The Fastnachtspiel Der Ablaßkrämer by N. Manuel, one of the most outstanding plays of the Reformation, ridicules the misuse of this practice.