One of the weapons in the papal armoury. Sentence of interdict excluded a district, country or person from all privileges and benefits of the Church. In effect, this barred a person from receiving the host in holy communion, or from confession. If the ban was placed on a district, only baptism and extreme unction were permitted. It was imposed upon England in 1207 by Pope Innocent III, during the reign of King John (1199-1216). John's *ex-communication followed in 1209. [< Lat. interdico = to forbid by decree]
Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases. Christopher Coredon with Ann Williams.