Religious Orders Group of people who live by rules specific to their order Men joined monastic orders were monks while women were nuns Friars were another type of order who traveled from place to place to preach the word of God Franciscans were the most important (Francis of Assisi) Live without property serve as teachers

Catholic Church & Universities Schools were established near the cathedrals Students were generally the sons of European nobles who often became religious or political leader Students were taught Latin and philosophy Scholars interpreted ancient Greek texts into Latin so they could be studied at a university Church kept a close eye on those translations

Thomas Aquinas Mid 1200’s, he began to study the writings of Aristotle Argued that classic philosophy could exist in harmony with Christian faith & natural law Greek philosophy came from God and was about moral behavior Remembered as a great religious scholar

The Crusades Military expeditions from Christian Europe to Palestine between 11th-13th centuries Jerusalem was seen as sacred ground to Muslims, Christians and Jews Feudal princes used success in warfare as a way to gain power Princes eager to go on a crusade Merchants eager to gain trade

Crusades

First Crusade In 1096, Several European armies began to head for Constantinople Once at Constantinople, they planed to attack Palestine Problem, many Crusaders died from not taking enough supplies Many were captured and enslaved Crusaders still pushed on and captured Jerusalem in 1099 Divided the area into 4 states Edessa, Antioch, Tripoli & Jerusalem