Penitential

Incipit of the Paenitentiale Vinniani

A penitential is a book or set of church rules concerning the Christian sacrament of penance, a "new manner of reconciliation with God"[1] that was first developed by Celtic monks in Ireland in the sixth century AD. It consisted of a list of sins and the appropriate penances prescribed for them, and served as a type of manual for confessors.

  1. ^ Rouche 1987, p. 528.