History A-Level
penance
What penance means in History A-Level, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definition of penance
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain penance in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
An act promoted by the papal reform movement as a way to remit sins, with armed pilgrimage serving as a means of satisfying it.
Topics that use penance
- Reasons for the crusades, 1095–1192 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)
Related terms
- Bernard of Clairvaux
- Byzantine security and the appeal for Western aid
- Papal political authority and ambition
- Violence, disorder and the redirection of warfare
- just war
- plenary indulgence
- The Investiture Contest and papal–imperial relations
Using penance in the exam
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