But it got attached to the idea of time in purgatory. Do a pious act - Crusades etc. Pay money Development of indulgence hawkers in late middle ages. Indulgences and the Dead. In late 14th century - you could apply indulgence to the dead, as a pious act.
People start buying indulgences for dead relatives.
G. Note on Confessional Boxes Not invented until 16th century by St. Charles Borromeo. But that was not the official Catholic position, at least after the 13th century. The belief that human sin calls forth both guilt and punishment . In other words, without the mercy of God, the structure of the universe demands that human sins deserve punishment. Catholic writers have argued that guilt and punishment are not the same thing.