SECOND – FOURTH CRUSADES, THE ALBIGENSIAN HERESY & THE PAPAL INQUISITION CHAPTER 8: THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES

THE HOLY CRUSADES: Most historians agree that there were a total of 9 “Official” Holy Crusades between the years 1096 and Of these 9, the first 4 are considered the most important, or the “Major Crusades.” Also, there were a variety of other minor Crusades during this time period; some had been given the Papal blessing and some had not. The most tragic of these non- approved Crusades was the doomed Children’s Crusade of 1212, when 30,000 children left France and Germany to free the Holy Land through love and not violence. None of them made it there.

THE FOUR MAJOR CRUSADES FIRST CRUSADE: Commissioned by Pope Urban II SECOND CRUSADE: Commissioned by Pope Eugene III THIRD CRUSADE: Commissioned by King Henry II of England, King Richard I of England, King Phillip II of France and Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa FOURTH CRUSADE: Commissioned by Pope Innocent III

THE SECOND CRUSADE: Was initiated a few decades after the first Crusade, after some of the territory won by the Christians in the First Crusade was re-conquered by the Muslims. Remember – the First Crusade was the ONLY successful Crusade for the Christians. The Second Crusade failed horribly! Before too long, the Muslims had recaptured Jerusalem and all the other lands taken by the knights in the First Crusades.

THE THIRD CRUSADE: Launched under the joint leadership of King Henry II of England (after his death, England was led by King Richard I “the Lionhearted”), King Phillip II of France and Holy Roman Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa. The Crusaders recovered a tiny strip of of the coast of Palestine, but suffered horrible and devastating casualties, many of which were caused by disease and by fighting among the Christian knights themselves. Most of the Christian knights who went on this Crusade did so out of personal reasons, not necessarily religious conviction.

THE FOURTH CRUSADE: This Crusade was a disaster waiting to happen. Pope Innocent III rallied a few French nobles to undertake this Crusade. The Crusaders decided to take the Mediterranean Sea route as opposed to going overland. In order to raise the necessary funds to pay for their trip, the knights stopped in Constantinople, which was not under Muslim control, on their way to the Holy Land. They were looking to earn a great deal of money by regaining the throne of the Byzantine Emperor, who had been overthrown by a rival faction.

THE FOURTH CRUSADE: The Crusaders landed in Constantinople and after 3 days of attacks, they took the city, looted and pillaged it. They broke into churches and destroyed or stole many valuable and priceless shrines. Why did this happen? Because the Western and Eastern churches had already become so separated, and as a result, the Crusaders took it to the most extreme by vandalizing the most beautiful Christian city in the world.

THE AFTERMATH OF THE FOURTH CRUSADE The Crusaders under Pope Innocent III were completely out of control. They even went to so far as to establish a Latin (Western) kingdom around Constantinople. IMPORTANT: Even though future leaders of the Byzantine (Eastern) Church would seek reunion with the Latin (Western) Church, the people of the Eastern Church themselves would not forget what their fellow Christians had done to their families, homes and churches during the Fourth Crusade. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT: The split that occurred in 1054 between East and West (the Great Schism) was now permanent and irrevocable. Christianity was now forever split into 2.

DID ANY GOOD COME OUT OF THIS? Believe it or not, some good did come from all of the Crusades: 1.It opened Europe to the Far East, specifically China, which would provide Europe with both the Black Death (plague) of the 1300s, and gunpowder. 2.Brought back all sorts of new goods and inventions. 3.Through contacts with Muslim scholars, Europeans learned of advances in architecture, astronomy, math and science. 4.The Crusaders also returned with the great works of Greek Philosophers. 5.Eventually, all of this would lead to the Renaissance, which began around 1325.

THE ALBIGENSIAN HERESY: The Albigensians were a heretical Christian sect from the south of France. They believed that all material things, including the human body, were bad. Among the Albigensians were a strict minority group called “the Perfect Ones”. Why in the south of France? In that part of Europe, many of the clergy and the monks in monasteries were actually rich, living an easy life and neglecting the preaching of the Gospel.

THE ALBIGENSIAN HERESY: The Albigensians took the renewed revival toward poverty, simplicity and self- denial to new extremes. They taught that marriage, as well as the body was evil. Some taught that the proper way to be freed from life, which was itself evil, was to commit suicide. Some mainstream priests and bishops bought into this philosophy and took over several local churches.

THE ALBIGENSIAN HERESY: Prior to the 1200s, the Church basically left the Albigensians alone; essentially ignoring them altogether. In 1209, Pope Innocent III sought to use reason and logic, and positive living examples, to prove that the Church was not full of materialism and corruption. But, that failed when an Albigensian killed a representative of the Pope. Pope Innocent III called for a military Crusade against the them, which didn’t work. It just drove the Albigensians underground.

THE ROOTS OF THE INQUISITION During the Middle Ages, heresy was treated as a great evil. Most people believed that heresy would destroy their civilization and lead to an eternity of damnation in Hell. Since Christianity was the only legal and official religion in Europe, any sort of heresy was seen as a threat to the stability of a kingdom or state. Therefore, anyone who disrupted the relationship between church and state was seen as a traitor, and had to be immediately dealt with and punished. Heresy wasn’t just a sin, it was treason!

THE ROOTS OF THE INQUISITION Prior to the year 1150, all heretics were dealt with by civil authorities representing the state, and were usually tortured and then put to death by being burned at the stake. After 1150, bishops could run their own inquisitions, and then they would turn the guilty over to the civil authorities for their punishment. In 1232, the Papal Inquisition was begun in Rome by Pope Gregory IX. The goal was simple: to find out who the heretics were and to “persuade” them to give up their heresy.

THE PAPAL INQUISTION Here’s how an Inquisition (which comes from the word “inquiry,” meaning essentially to investigate) usually worked: Church officials would come into a town a hold a local hearing (an Inquisition). The heretics would come in, confess, receive their penance (which could be anything from praying to fasting, to paying a fine to being flogged), and that would usually be it. However, the public was also allowed to report on ANYONE they suspected of being a heretic. All it took was two witnesses to make a charge, and the names of the witnesses were always kept secret.

THE PAPAL INQUISITION What would happen if the accused refused to renounce their beliefs or admit to their heresy? They would get severely punished, sometimes life in prison, sometimes death by burning at the stake. The sentence was always made publicly, as was the execution of the condemned. There were cases where an execution would be held up for almost a year in hopes that the accused would have a change of heart. However, that practice would soon be non- existent.