Excommunication is the formal process of banning someone from attending church. Excommunication was seen as one of the severest penalties in the middle ages. Persons could be excommunicated for committing any of a number of sins, after which, a church official would formally forbid them from returning to the church …

The seven sacraments are important worldly symbols of ones faith and devotion to the Catholic church. The seven sacraments include baptism, marriage, and penance for ones sins.

Indulgences were granted to persons who committed sins against the Catholic church. Indulgences were granted to allow an individual penance from their sins. All or a portion of the punishment the person would have received in the afterlife is waived in exchange for church contributions or good deeds. The practice …

1100- The Cult of Mary developed in wake of the extreme interest in Jesus that developed in the Middle Ages. Mary, Jesus' human mother, was viewed as an important mediator with her son, and many people were fascinated with her experience and story as the mother of a principal prophet …

1098- 1179 - Hildegard of Bingen was an abbess of a convent at Disibodenberg in Germany. Hildegard wrote down mystical visions that she experienced in three books. Hildegard was an important composer and she contributed greatly in the area of Gregorian chanting.

1098- The Cistercian order of monks evolved because some monks became disenchanted by the lack of strict discipline in the Benedictine orders. Cistercian beliefs spread rapidly. Monks from this order were required to eat a simple diet, wear only a single robe, and eliminate any type of decoration or adornment …