A person who whips themselves as a form of religious penance or self-punishment, historically part of extreme religious movements.
From Latin 'flagellans' (whipping), derived from 'flagellare' (to whip); the practice emerged prominently in medieval Christianity and became organized religious movements in the 13th-15th centuries.
During the Black Plague, flagellant movements gained thousands of followers who publicly whipped themselves to atone for humanity's sins—they actually terrified church authorities so much that the Pope banned them as heretical.
Historical flagellant movements (medieval to early modern) were male-dominated religious sects. Women's participation in self-mortification practices was largely excluded from formal doctrine and historical records, despite evidence of female mystics engaging in similar ascetic practices.
Use 'flagellants' (plural) or specify 'male and female flagellants' when referencing the movement. Acknowledge women's historical participation in ascetic practices.
["ascetic practitioner","self-mortifier","penitent"]
Women mystics like Hildegard of Bingen and Margery Kempe engaged in extreme penitential practices contemporaneously with flagellant movements, yet were systematized out of mainstream historical accounts of the movement.
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