Dating back to a scheme by Ludwig Quidde, director of the Prussian Historical Institute from 1890 to 1892 and later on Nobel peace laureate, the Repertorium Germanicum comprises each German repertory from all Vatican register series and Cameral holdings, from the Great Schism (1378) to the Reformation (1517) To date, work has progressed until 1484. The RG is useful not only in ecclesiastical, local and territorial German history, but is also a valuable source for social, economic and educational history. Written in Latin, the regestae are arranged, as far as possible, according to the name of the petente (petitioner), be that a clergyman, a nun, a lay person or an institution (convent, monastery, city council etc.). The database introduces translation guides on the system of abbreviations, which has been created for the purpose.

The opening of the Penitentiary Archives, the supreme authority on the matter, in the 1980ies gave way to the 1992 creation of the Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum (RPG) collection, lead by Prof. Dr. Ludwig Schmugge. The Penitentiary had the right to grant dispense and absolution. The RPG lists the full text of all supplics directed to the Penitentiary, relating to people, churches and places in the German Empire. Filling approximately 150 volumes, the Penitentiary’s Supplics Registers date from 1410 until the disbanding of the medieval office by Pius V in 1559. Contrary to the Repertorium Germanicum, the RPG keeps the manuscripts’ succession of registrations. In addition to the content shared with the RG, for the time from 1431 to 1492, the RPG offers a profound insight into the believers’ conflicted conscience in the Late Middle Ages.