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Flagellant
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===Spread in the 14th century=== [[File:Nuremberg chronicles - Flagellants (CCXVr).jpg|thumb|300px|Woodcut of flagellants ([[Nuremberg Chronicle]], 1493)]] [[File:LAER Pieter van The Flagellants.jpg|thumb|300px|right|''The flagellants'' by [[Pieter van Laer]]]] The first recorded incident was in Central Italy in [[Perugia]], in 1259, the year after severe crop damage and famine throughout Europe. From [[Perugia]] the phenomenon seemed to spread across [[Northern Italy]] and into Austria. Other incidents are recorded in 1296, 1333-34 (the Doves), notably at the time of the [[Black Death]] (1349), and 1399. The practice peaked during the Black Death. Spontaneously Flagellant groups arose across [[Northern Europe|Northern]] and [[Central Europe]] in 1349, including in England.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Lewis-Stempel|first1=John|title=England : the autobiography : 2,000 years of English history by those who saw it happen|date=2006|publisher=Penguin|location=London|isbn=9780141019956|page=76|quote="Flagellants Come To London, Michaelmas 1349. Robert of Avesbury."}}</ref> Initially the [[Catholic Church]] tolerated the Flagellants and individual monks, friars and priests joined in the early movements. By the 14th century, the Church was less tolerant and the rapid spread of the movement was alarming. [[Pope Clement VI|Clement VI]] officially condemned them in a [[papal bull|bull]] of October 20, 1349 and instructed Church leaders to suppress the Flagellants.{{sfn|Aberth|2010|p=144}} This position was reinforced in 1372 by [[Pope Gregory XI|Gregory XI]] who associated the Flagellants with other heretical groups, notably the [[Beghards]],{{sfn|Schmidt|2017|p=500}} and instructed inquisitors to eradicate them.{{sfn|Lea|1922|p=393}} They were accused of heresies including doubting the need for the sacraments, denying ordinary ecclesiastical jurisdiction and claiming to work [[miracle]]s.{{sfn|Cohn|1970|p=138}} In 1392, a sect of Flagellants and Beghards, consisting of peasants, were found throughout Swabia and Wurzburg.{{sfn|Lea|1922|p=395}} The papal inquisitor imposed the penance of preaching and joining a crusade against the Ottoman Turks.{{sfn|Lea|1922|p=395}} The [[Inquisition]] was active against any revival of the movement in the 15th century, but action against the flagellants was often taken by the local princes. In 1414, 80β90 followers of [[Konrad Schmid]] were burned in [[Thuringia]], in Germany, even though they had recanted.{{sfn|Cohn|1970|p=142}} Three hundred were burnt in one day in 1416, also in Thuringia.{{sfn|Cohn|1970|p=142}} Other trials where the accused were condemned as Flagellants were recorded as late as the 1480s.{{sfn|Cohn|1970|p=147}} The practice of flagellation within the bounds of the Catholic Church continued as an accepted form of [[penance]]. Rulers like [[Catherine de' Medici]] and France's [[Henry III of France|King Henry III]] supported Flagellants but [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] banned them. Flagellant orders like ''Hermanos Penitentes'' (Spanish 'Penitential Brothers') also appeared in colonial [[Spanish America]], even against the specific orders of Church authorities. ====In Italy==== The first recorded cases of mass popular flagellation occurred in [[Perugia]], in 1259. The prime cause of the Perugia episode is unclear, but it followed an outbreak of an epidemic<!-- which? --> and chroniclers report how [[mania]] spread throughout almost all the people of the city. Thousands of citizens gathered in great processions, singing and with crosses and banners, they marched throughout the city whipping themselves. It is reported that surprising acts of [[Charity (virtue)|charity]] and repentance accompanied the marchers. However, one chronicler noted that anyone who did not join in the flagellation was accused of being in league with the [[devil]]. They also killed [[Jew]]s and priests who opposed them. [[Marvin Harris]]<ref name="Harris">[[Marvin Harris]], ''Cows, Pigs, Wars and Witches'', Chapter 10 <!-- page 197 out of 235 in my translated edition. -->.</ref> links them to the Messianic preaching of [[Gioacchino da Fiore]]. Similar processions occurred across [[Northern Italy]], with groups of up to 10,000 strong processing in [[Modena]], [[Bologna]], [[Reggio Emilia|Reggio]] and [[Parma]]. Although certain city authorities refused the Flagellant processions entry. A similar movement arose again in 1399, again in [[Northern Italy]] in the form of the [[White Penitents]] or ''Bianchi'' movement. This rising is said to have been started by a peasant who saw a vision. The movement became known as the ''laudesi'' from their constant hymn singing. At its peak, a group of over 15,000 adherents gathered in [[Modena]] and marched to Rome, but the movement rapidly faded when one of its leaders was burned at the stake by order of [[Boniface IX]]. ====In Germany and the Low Countries ==== {{Further|Black Death in the Holy Roman Empire#Low Countries}} The German and Low Countries movement, the Brothers of the Cross, is particularly well documented - they wore white robes and marched across Germany in 33.5 day campaigns (each day referred to a year of [[Jesus]]'s earthly life) of [[penance]], only stopping in any one place for no more than a day. They established their camps in fields near towns and held their rituals twice a day. The ritual began with the reading of a letter, claimed to have been delivered by an [[angel]] and justifying the Flagellants' activities. Next, the followers would fall to their knees and scourge themselves, gesturing with their free hands to indicate their sin and striking themselves rhythmically to songs, known as ''[[Geisslerlieder]]'', until blood flowed. Sometimes the blood was soaked up in rags and treated as a holy [[relic]]. Originally members were required to receive permission to join from their spouses and to prove that they could pay for their food. However, some towns began to notice that sometimes Flagellants brought plague to towns where it had not yet surfaced. Therefore, later they were denied entry. They responded with increased physical penance.{{Citation needed|date=October 2017}}
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