Purifying the Church CHW3M

Purifying the Church While the English, French and German kings were working out their feudal systems, the Church was undergoing its own changes. The drive for purification – “how can we shield ourselves from political/worldly/heathen influence?” Tragically, this drive led to some horrible things. 3 Stages: Inner cleansing (monsteries, reforms) Authority issues (Church vs. State) Cleansing the Holy Land (the Crusades)

Inner Cleansing 910AD – Benedictine monasteries becoming influenced by wealth/politics – how can we stop this? Hugely successful – Hundreds of Cluny houses pop up around Western Europe Worried about: Land issues (politics) Idleness issues (serfs!) Isolation issues (no control) Solutions: Give Cluny houses their OWN land Stricter worship times Only one abbot for whole order Duke William creates new monastic order: the Cluny order

Inner Cleansing Cluny success led to broader ideas for Church purification New systems for electing church leaders – decisions have to come directly from Rome (not from kings and emperors) Reforms – Clerical celibacy (why?) – Prohibition of simony (purchasing church jobs)

Authority Issues How can we protect our authority from outside/worldly forces? Pope Gregory VII (Spiritual leader of the church) King Henry IV (German) (Secular leader of the land) King Henry turns bishops against Pope Pope excommunicates King (why is this powerful?) King Henry journeys to Italy, begs for forgiveness (in snow) Concordat of Worms (1122) – double investiture (church and state determine own affairs) The Investiture Controversy Who gets to “invest” church leaders with their positions – the King or the Pope?

Authority Issues The Becket affair: What happens to clergy who commit a crime? Henry II (English) Must face royal courts Thomas Becket (Archbishop) Should face only Church courts Big fight: Becket flees 6 years – Becket returns, excommunicates Henry’s friends Henry’s knights murder Becket Henry has to ask pope for forgiveness

(Henry continued to meddle in church affairs for a long time) “Henry, king of the English etc. to his faithful monks of the church of Winchester, greeting. I order you to hold a free election, but, nevertheless, I forbid you to elect anyone except Richard my clerk, the archdeacon of Poitiers.” The Death of Thomas Becket

Cleansing the Holy Land 1095 – Pope Urban II launches the Crusades (“God wills it!”) Complex reasons 1.Muslims had control of Palestine (why is this an issue?) 2.Power and prestige for the Church 3.Outlet for feudal aggression (after futile anti-war rules) 4.Bring the West and East together (after 1054 split)

“So much courage, so little honour...” Emotional enthusiasm went out of control. Horrible things happened under the sign of the cross: 1099 – Jerusalem fell 10,000 men, women, children Muslims beheaded, thrown off buildings (no action was too horrible for Muslims) Demonstrated the depth to which unrestricted warfare could sink “There was so much courage and so little honour, so much devotion and so little understanding. High ideals were besmirched by cruelty and greed, enterprise and endurance by a blind and narrow self-righteousness; and the Holy War itself was nothing more than a long act of intolerance in the name of God...”

Results Several more crusades followed, to rid the Holy Land of the infidels (Chaotic – sacking of Constantinople) Some key results of the crusades: Greater knowledge of, and trade with, the East (luxuries) Much greater power for the Church (prestige, taxing privileges) Criticism and resentment towards the Church (what happened????)