ROLE OF THE CHURCH

System of Organization Christianity had become the main religion of the Roman Empire – Spread to other parts of Europe – Christianity appealed to many during the medieval times since many people’s lives were filled with suffering and hardship and Christianity offered them the promise of a happy afterlife – Christendom = a Christian society that included most of western Europe The Church developed a system of organization – Priest was the head of a local community called a parish

– Bishop – in charge of a group of parishes, area of authority called a bishopric or dioceses – Archbishop – watches over a group of bishoprics – The pope was the head of the entire Roman Catholic Church – formerly the Bishop of Rome – Monk – a man who separates himself from everyday life to dedicate himself entirely to God, lives in a monastery run by an abbot Spent lots of time in prayer and physical labor, took a vow of poverty The most common form of monasticism was Benedictine Order

Monasteries became centers of learning – Monks copied Christian and Latin manuscripts in writing rooms – Helped to educate people Monks worked to spread Christianity throughout Europe – Called missionaries = people sent out to carry a religious message Monasteries also were centers of wealth as kings and nobles donated money or gifts in exchange for prayers said on their behalf – Women who dedicated themselves to God were called nuns and lived in convents

Rise of Papal Power Popes became increasingly involved in politics due to their control of the Papal States – Region in central Italy under the control of the Pope – More interested in the secular world rather than spiritual duties The first pope to really increase the power of the papacy was Pope Leo IX – His reforms brought him into conflict with political leaders – Kings resented his interference in their kingdoms – Besides kings, the patriarch, or bishop, of Constantinople rejected Leo’s authority

In response, Pope Leo excommunicated the patriarch – Excommunicate = to cast out of the Church This led to a split: those who agreed with Pope Leo were Roman Catholics and those who sided with the patriarch were called Orthodox The issue of investiture also brought conflict – Investiture = awarding a church office – Lay investiture = the practice by which secular rulers appoint nominees to church offices Pope against this, he feels that only the Church should appoint clergy and run its own affairs Also believed that the pope’s authority extended over all rulers

If secular rulers did not accept this, then the pope would remove them – Investiture Controversy – conflict between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor IV over who had the right to choose bishops Henry responded that the pope had no authority over him Pope Gregory responded by excommunicating Henry and calling on the nobles of Germany to replace him A later pope and emperor finally reached a compromise – local clergy would choose bishops, but their choices could be vetoed by secular rulers

Pope Innocent III strengthened papal power and believed that the pope was the supreme judge and ruler of European affairs – Used the interdict to exercise his powers An interdict forbids priests to give the sacraments (Christian rites) to a particular group of people – A pope used an interdict against a country whose ruler has disobeyed him – People under interdiction lost the comforts and blessings of religion – They exerted pressure on their ruler to follow the pope’s wishes – Could also excommunicate someone – no longer a part of the Church

Heresy and The Inquisition Heresy = denial of basic Church doctrines, or beliefs that opposed the official teachings of the Church – People who committed heresy were called heretics and were usually burned at the stake The Inquisition was a court created by the Catholic Church to find and try heretics – Special judges to eliminate heretics and heresy – Used torture and heretics who converted to Catholicism were freed, while others were killed – The Spanish Inquisition was the most brutal and was still operating in the 1800s The two groups it went after the most were Jews and Muslims

Popular Religion Piety had greatly increased in Europe around 1000 – Piety = a person’s level of devotion to religion Sacraments of the Catholic Church were very important to ordinary people – Made people dependent on the clergy, who were the only people who could give sacraments Venerating the saints was also important – Would pray to them – Worshipped and bought relics, because they thought relics could produce miracles such as healing or help you get to heaven – Relics = are bones of saints or objects connected with saints – Many Christians also believed that a pilgrimage to a holy shrine produced a spiritual benefit

Decline of Church Power Roman Catholic popes reached the height of their power in the 13 th century European kings grew unwilling to accept papal claims of supremacy over both religious and secular matters – King Philip IV of France claimed he had the right to tax the clergy, but Pope Boniface VIII said that the clergy would need the pope’s consent to pay taxes – King Philip refused this position and sent troops to bring Boniface to France for trial – The pope escaped, but soon died from shock

King Philip engineered to have a Frenchman, Clement V, elected pope – This new pope established himself in the French city of Avignon, no Rome, and the popes lived there from 1305 to 1377 (called the Babylonian Captivity) – This didn’t seem proper, so Pope Gregory XI returned to Rome When he died, the citizens of Rome told the cardinals to elect an Italian pope or face the consequences – they elected Urban VI – However, a group of French cardinals declared the election invalid and chose a Frenchman as pope and this pope went to Avignon – There were now 2 popes

– This was called the Great Schism of the Church and lasted from 1378 to 1417, dividing Europe religiously and damaging the Church – Each pope denounced the other as the Antichrist and people’s faith in the papacy was shaken Another pope was elected to help fix things, but that didn’t work and now there were 3 popes – Finally in 1417 a new pope was elected who was acceptable to everyone This led to a call for the end to the clergy’s corruption and the papacy’s excessive power – By the early 1400s the pope could no longer assert supremacy over the state

The Crusades From the 11 th to 13 th centuries, European Christians went on the Crusades – The Crusades were a series of military campaigns to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims who were known as infidels (non-believers) – The goal of each Crusade was to take Jerusalem and the surrounding area away from the Muslims Many Christians believed that Jesus would only come again once Christians held Jerusalem The Muslims also considered Jerusalem holy The First Crusade started when Muslim Turks attacked the Byzantine Empire

– The Byzantine Emperor asked for help and Pope Urban II responded by urging Christians to take up arms in a holy war (1095) Slogan: “God wills it!” – Two groups set out for the Crusade Peasant Crusaders – slaughtered entire Jewish communities on the way to Jerusalem – Most died quickly when they did reach the Holy Land Trained knights – even they were still unprepared for the hardship – Three years after heading out, the Crusaders finally reached Jerusalem

Captured Jerusalem and killed most of its inhabitants – Set up four Latin Crusader states that were surrounded by Muslims and were intended to be strongholds against future Muslim aggression Second Crusade – A few years later the Muslims began to recapture lands – The Second Crusade is organized after one of the Latin Crusader states falls to the Muslims – The Crusade was launched in 1147 and included King Louis VII of France and his wife Eleanor of Aquitaine – It was a complete failure – took no lands from Muslims

Third Crusade – A new leader emerges among the Muslims – Salah ad-Din, whom the Europeans call Saladin His goal was to recapture the Holy Land In 1187 he captured Jerusalem – Due to this, the Third Crusade is launched and three strong leaders set out together: King Richard of England, King Philip Augustus of France, and Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany Only Richard made it to and fought in the Holy Land – Richard and Saladin fought fiercely against each other and although Richard won several battles, he was not able to take Jerusalem

– Richard instead negotiates an agreement with Saladin for Christian pilgrims to be allowed to go into Jerusalem and he returns home Fourth Crusade – Started by Pope Innocent III after Saladin dies Crusaders set out again to recapture Jerusalem in 1201 – The Crusaders found that they could not afford to pay the Venetians, who were supposed to take them to the Holy Land In place of payment, the Crusaders attacked a city held by the Christian king of Hungary for the Venetians

The pope was furious and excommunicated them all for attacking a Christian city – The Crusaders continued on towards the Holy Land, but ended up attacking Constantinople instead Children’s Crusade – Nicholas of Cologne brings thousands of children to the pope, saying that God has inspired him to lead the children to the Holy Land The pope sends them home – At the same time, seven ships carrying 20,000 French children sails for the Holy Land Two ships sink and the other five ships reach North Africa, where the rest of the children were sold into slavery

Effects of the Crusades – There were nine Crusades launched from 1096 to 1291 – the First Crusade was the only successful one – The Crusades increased trade and some Italian cities benefitted economically – Lots of money and manpower spent on the Crusades – Led to the deaths of many knights and nobles Kings gained power as they took over unoccupied lands – Brought knowledge of Muslim culture to Europe – Began to view all non-Christians as enemies Undertaking holy wars against Muslims while the “murderers of Christ” ran free at home

Massacres of Jews became a feature of medieval European life, anti-Semitism increases Anti-Semitism = hostility towards Jews – Breeds centuries of mistrust between Christians and Muslims

CrusadeReason For People Involved Result First Second Third Fourth Children’s