5311100 Christian Flagellants; Illustration from the Nuremberg Chronicle. 1493.; (add.info.: In the 13th century, a group of Roman Catholics, known as the Flagellants, took self-mortification to extremes. In the following century, the group was condemned as a cult, because the established church had no control over the practice other than excommunication.[citation needed] Flagellation was also practiced during the Black Plague as a means to purify oneself of sin and thus prevent contracting the disease.); Universal History Archive/UIG.