Chapter 12: Crusades and Culture in the Middle Ages

Section 1: Medieval Christianity

Papal Monarchy Catholic Church reached its height of its political power in the 13th century under Pope Innocent III The Church became a dominant and forceful presence in Europe Pope gained control of territories in central Italy known as the Papal States Church was involved in the feudal system Chief officials of the church, such as bishops and abbots, held their offices as grants from nobles

Reform of the Papacy 11th century: church leaders realized the need to be free from the lords’ interference in the appointment of church officials When an individual became a church official in the Middle Ages, he was given a ring and a staff- objects that symbolized spiritual authority Secular rulers usually chose nominees to church offices; known as lay investiture Pope Gregory VII fought this practice The pope believed that people should be only chosen by God to reform the Church Pope Gregory VII came into conflict with Henry IV- Holy Roman Emperor who believed the kings should appoint church officials 1075- Pope Gregory issued a decree forbidding secular rulers from giving away church jobs Decree called Concordat of Worms

The Church Supreme Under Pope Innocent III (13th century)- Catholic Church reached its height of political power Pope Innocent III believed in papal supremacy Pope Innocent III used the interdict- forbade giving sacraments of the Church to the people Goal: Cause the people under interdiction who were deprived of the comforts of religion to exert pressure against their ruler so the Church would have more power

New Religious Orders The number of women who joined the religious houses grew dramatically Most nuns were from the landed aristocracy Hildegard of Bingen- important contributor to the body of music known as Gregorian Chant- originally a job exclusively for men

Franciscans and Dominicans Founded by Francis of Assisi Imprisoned during local war- had a series of dramatic spiritual experiences Abandoned all worldly good to live and preach in poverty Followers took vows of absolute poverty Undertook missionary work Dominicans: Founded by a Spanish priest Dominic de Guzman Wanted to defend the church teachings from heresy- denial of basic Church doctrines

The Inquisition Church called a court to deal with heretics, known as the Inquisition Those who confessed to heresy performed public penance and received punishment such as flogging

Religion in the High Middle Ages Catholic Church of the High Middle Ages was a crucial part of ordinary people’s lives from birth to death Sacraments were central to the religion Ordinary people venerated saints Many also prayed to relics- bones or other objects connected with saints Many believed it was necessary to go on a pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem

Section 2: The Crusades

The Crusades 11th and 12th centuries- European Christians carried out a series of military expeditions to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims

The Early Crusades Crusades began with the Byzantine emperor Alexius I who asked for help against fighting the Seljuk Turks Seljuk Turks- Muslims who had taken control of Asia Minor Rallied European warriors and sent them to Jerusalem and the Holy Land Council of Clermont-1095- Pope Urban II asked Christians to take up their weapons and join in a holy war Pope said all who die will have immediate forgiveness of sins

The Early Crusades Knights were motivated by religious fervor Many saw a chance to gain wealth Crusaders depended on Italian port cities for supplies 1187- Jerusalem fell to the Muslims under Saladin Sultan of Egypt and leader of Muslims Saladin permitted Christian pilgrims access to Jerusalem

The Later Crusades After Saladin’s death, Pope Innocent III initiated the 4th Crusades The Crusading army became involved in the fight over the Byzantine throne 1204: Crusaders sacked Constantinople, it is no longer a great Mediterranean power Ottoman Turks conquered it in 1453

Crusades Impact Widespread attacks on the Jews Jews became the subject of libels, attacks and expulsions Led to the breakdown of feudalism Kings strengthened their power Trade provided a new source of wealth Nation-states emerged including Spain, England, and France

Section 3: Culture of the Middle Ages

Architecture 11th and 12th centuries witnessed a dramatic building of church in Europe Cathedrals were primarily built in the Romanesque style Cathedrals had a long, round, and arched vault ceiling made of ceiling Extremely heavy; couldn’t add in windows- very dark on the inside Gothic style- appeared in the 12th centuries Ribbed vaults, pointed arches Could make them taller Flying buttress Stained glass windows

Romanesque

Gothic

Flying Buttress

Universities First university appeared in Bologna, Italy Students were only men University of Paris was the first northern European university; then Oxford opened By 1500- Europe had 80 universities Students began their studies with grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, music, astronomy Students earned a doctor of law, medicine, or theology Scholasticism- a medieval philosophical and theological system that tried to reconcile faith and reason Thomas Aquinas- Summa Theologica

Vernacular Literature Latin was the universal language of medieval civilization 12th century- new literature was being written in the vernacular- language of everyday speech in a particular region

Section 4: The Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages Medieval European society reached its high point in the 1200s Black Death spreads in the 1300s Great Schism rocked Christianity Hundred Years’ War began

The Black Death The Black Death is also known as the Bubonic Plague Spread by black rats infested with fleas carrying a deadly bacteria Black Death followed trade routes Plague spread to France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Germany The disease killed around 1/3 of the population of 75 million people

The Black Death Crowded trade cities were hit the hardest, around 50-60% of people died in those areas People didn’t know what caused the plague, had many theories Many blamed Jewish people Also thought God was punishing them for their sins

Consequences of the Black Death Trade declined Shortage of workers Rise of the price of labor Falling food prices

Decline of Church Power Popes reached the height of their power in 1200s 1300s- Church encountered a series of problems

Popes of Avignon European kings began to reject papal claims of supremacy by the 1200s Struggle between Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV Philip claimed the right to tax clergy Boniface argued that taxing the clergy required the pope’s consent Philip rejected pope’s position and sent French forces to Italy to bring Boniface back to France for trial Boniface escapes Philip elected a frenchmen, Clement V as pope in 1305 Clement resided in Avignon, France From 1305-1377- pope resided in Avignon Pope Gregory XI returned the papacy to Rome in 1377

The Great Schism Pope Gregory XI died soon after his return to Rome Elected Pope Urban VI 5 months later- French cardinals declared the election invalid and chose a Frenchmen as their pope Urban remained in Rome, there would be two popes 1378-1417- Great Schism divided Europe France supported the pope in Avignon, England and its allies supported pope in Rome Both pope’s denounced each other as the antichrist Schism ended in 1417 in Switzerland

Hundred Years’ War Began over an issue with Gascony, France England possessed it, France wanted the land King Edward III of England was the duke of Gascony King Philip VI of France seized the duchy in 1337- Edward declared war on Philip- began the Hundred Years’ War England had foot soldiers; France had armed cavarlymen England began to win Joan of Arc- a Frenchwoman who was a peasant, brought the military through a major battle and won. England thought that was outrageous, brought her to England, found her guilt of witchcraft and she was burned at the stake

Political Recovery France Hundred Years’ War left France exhausted War helped to develop a strong degree of French national feeling toward a common enemy Louis XI ruled from 1461-1483 Strengthened the use of the taille- direct tax usually on land or property Consolidated power and promoted industry and commerce

Political Recovery England Cost of Hundred Years’ War and loss of manpower strained the economy Civil issues: War of the Roses- Nobles fought to control the monarchy Henry VII abolished private armies of nobility

Political Recovery Spain Christian rulers fought to regain their lands from the Muslims Ferdinand and Isabella believed that religious unity was necessary for political unity- pursued a strict conformity to Catholicism 1492- took drastic steps to expel from Spain all Jews who did not convert