The pontificate of Alexander vi (1492–1503) remains famous for scandals, including the accusations made against his children Cesare and Lucrezia. It also saw the first voyage of Christopher Columbus, the beginnings of a European presence in the New World, and the outbreak of a war in Italy pitting France against the pope, the king of Spain, Venice and Milan. This latest volume in the Repertorium Poenitentiariae Germanicum series casts light on the more routine work of the Roman Curia during that pontificate, the handling of petitions that reached the Apostolic Penitentiary from Germany. These were typical of the business reaching the Curia from throughout Europe. Alexander's reign is largely, but not completely, represented. The registers for the years 1496 and 1501 do not survive in the Vatican Archives. The Apostolic Penitentiary was the branch of the Roman Curia that granted dispensations and spiritual favours. It also absolved censures incurred for offences reserved to the Holy See. Christians of every status and point of origin could have recourse to Rome on legal matters affecting daily life, like impediments to marriage or the legal consequences of illegitimacy. The graces granted by the Penitentiary, as they applied to German supplicants, fell into certain categories found in the registers of that office. Those categorised as ‘De matrimonialibus’ (concerning marriages) pertained to marital impediments under canon law. These petitions arrived frequently. ‘De diversis formis’ (concerning different forms) was a catch-all category for special favours. ‘De declaratoriis’ (absolution for offences reserved to the Holy. See) included declarations of the nature of specific cases by petitioners. ‘De defectu natalium’ (concerning defect of birth – illegitimacy) and ‘De uberiori’ (permitting promotion of the illegitimate to higher clerical ranks) were also categories of frequent petitions. Petitions ‘De promotis et promovendis’ (concerning those promoted or to be promoted – aimed at removing impediments to priestly ordination), and ‘De confessionalibus’ (concerning confessions – permitting individuals to choose confessors other than their parish priests) were also fairly routine in nature. These graces, except ‘De diversis formis’ and ‘De declaratoriis’, are usually summarised in a shorthand form. They were simply too routine in nature to require much explanation. Researchers will need to consult the ‘Table of dioceses’ and the ‘Table of abbreviations’ to interpret these entries in the registers. Petitions listed as ‘De diversis formis’ and ‘De declaratoriis’ are explained at much greater length, because their contents were not comprehensible without some details. The indexing of these registers in a separate volume is exhaustive. There is little a researcher might want to pursue that cannot be found by consulting them. Although they are challenging to use at first, the volumes of this series are valuable for the study of the Roman Curia in its relationship to the ordinary lives of both clergy and laity throughout the fifteenth and into the sixteenth centuries. The introductory material includes explanations of the categories of petitions, as well as providing the names of officials of the Penitentiary. These include clerics serving as auditor, sigillator, corrector, minor penitentiary, scriptor or procurator. A study of the staffing of the Penitentiary over the course of a century can be built up using these volumes. That, in turn, would cast light on the Curia as a place of employment for those who were neither prelates nor noted scholars.