Dresden Butterbrief
The so-called Dresden Butterbrief is a letter from Pope Innocent VIII (1484–1492) to the Saxon Elector from 1491 .
Background and content
The Stollen cake made in the Middle Ages was a lent pastry. These baked goods consisted only of flour , yeast and water . Other ingredients such as oats and rapeseed oil also gave the stollen pastries a tranquil taste.
The Saxon nobility applied to their prince to repeal the waiver of butter during Lent , which was required by the Roman Catholic Church until 1486 . Elector Ernst of Saxony (1441–1486) and his brother Albrecht the Brave (1443–1500) turned to Pope Innocent VIII with a petition . After the Pope's decree at that time, butter was allowed to be added to the Dresden Christmas stollen . The papal butter letter is archived in the Schwyz State Archives .