After Pope Urban II called the people to arms against Infidels, Peter the Hermit, a man who had holy visions, incited a large mob to take up a crusade in eastern Europe. The mob was made up largely of the poor and thus was referred to as a "Peasant's Crusade …

The Albignesians were labeled heretics by Pope Innocent III in 1209. This began a bloody persecution of the people including the destruction of entire cities. Many Albignesian leaders were stripped of their land, and their people were sacrificed by Christian crusaders.

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 …

Although German kings frequently appointed high-ranking clergy to important civic positions, Pope Gregory issued a decree, in 1075, which banned the practice. King Henry IV, 1056- 1106 , who was no stranger to the practice, fiercely opposed the decree since his Investiture of the bishop of Milan, the second most important …