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What indulgences and protections did Pope Innocent III offer to Crusaders?
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Innocent III
Innocent III, fresco in the Abbey of San Benedetto, Subiaco, Italy.
To encourage participation in his Crusading projects, Pope Innocent III offered Crusaders specific spiritual and legal benefits:
- Indulgences: Innocent III granted Crusaders "full remission of sins," known as a plenary indulgence, as an inducement to participate in the reclamation of the Holy Land. He also extended these full Crusader indulgences and privileges to those who participated in the Albigensian Crusade against heretics in southern France.12
- Papal Protection: The pope formally took Crusaders under his protection, a measure intended to safeguard their interests while they were away on military expeditions.1
In addition to these offerings, Innocent III actively supported the financing of these expeditions by imposing a tax on clerical incomes to help fund the military efforts. While he encouraged the use of money to support the Crusades—sometimes allowing for the commutation of vows into monetary offerings for charitable enterprises—he remained deeply committed to the goal of reconquering Jerusalem.132