ABSTRACT
Charlotte A. Stanford's study is the first to comprehensively analyze the unpublished Book of Donors manuscript and show the types and patterns of gifts made to the cathedral. It compares these gift entries with those in earlier obituary records kept by the cathedral canons, other medieval obituary notices kept by parish churches and convents in Strasbourg. The Book of Donors was part of a wide-ranging system of commemoration practiced in every late medieval church establishment. The facts about the records of Strasbourg's other contemporary religious institutions shed light on the reason why this was so. That the citizens of Strasbourg were divided in their feelings and that traditional Catholic devotion lingered long within their churches is clear. In 1323 the widow Margaret paid the Dominican convent of Strasbourg to celebrate anniversaries for her parents, but her deed of gift clearly states that if friars failed to celebrate services as agreed, then money would go to the cathedral fabric.
