Flagellant confraternities

Okay, so there are some groups of people called flagellant confraternities. They believe that they can show how much they love God by punishing their own bodies. They do this by hitting themselves with whips and other tools that hurt them. They say that they do this to show God how sorry they are for their sins and to ask for forgiveness.

These flagellant confraternities started a long time ago, in the middle of the 13th century. They first appeared in Italy, but soon they started to spread to other countries too. They became quite popular during times when there were plagues and other awful diseases that killed lots of people.

Now, you might be thinking, "why would someone want to hurt themselves on purpose?". Well, these people believed that they could gain forgiveness for their sins by hurting themselves. They thought that if they showed how much pain they could take, God would hear their prayers and save them from harm.

The flagellant confraternities had their own special clothes, which were usually black robes with hoods that covered their faces. They would walk around in big groups, whipping themselves and shouting prayers. Sometimes they would walk barefoot, even in the snow or on hot stones. They thought that if they suffered enough, God would listen to them and stop the spread of the disease or war.

People who saw them were often very scared or confused. Many thought that the flagellants were crazy or dangerous. Some even thought that they were doing things that were against God's will. But for the flagellants themselves, it was a deeply meaningful and spiritual experience.

Eventually, the flagellant confraternities stopped being popular. People started to question their beliefs and methods. They also realized that self-harm wasn't the right way to gain forgiveness from God. But even though these groups aren't around today, their legacy lives on. We still have people who believe in hurting themselves to show devotion, even if their methods are a bit different.