1. Ch. 10.1: Role of the Catholic Church
EQ: What role does the Catholic Church have in the lives and politics of the people and Monarchies of Medieval Europe?

2. Power of the Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church and European monarchies gained power as Middle Ages progressed
Efficient organization of Catholic church gave it enormous influence in almost all aspects of everyday life

3. Organization of the Catholic Church
All clergy (“workers” in the church) had a rank:

4. The Pope Supreme head of the Roman Catholic Church Bishop of Rome
Highest ranking clergy member within the church
Pope Francis
266th Pope -Current
Pope Gregory VII
Pope Leo III

5. Cardinals Assisted the Pope Appointed by the Pope
Helped watch over the clergy below him

6. Bishops
Governed areas called dioceses from/with great cathedrals

7. Priests Served local communities called parishes
Each parish had its own church building with a Priest

8. Monks and Nuns (Monastic Orders)
Lived in isolated communities, grew own food
Monastic Orders learned to read Latin and copied, translated, and preserved ancient and religious texts

10. FYI: Why might working for the church be attractive to non-nobles?
Working for the church might be attractive to non-nobles because you are able to advance your station and move up the ranks based on merit.

11. Power of the Church
Church had great wealth, and large influence in European politics, making it more powerful than any individual monarch
Papacy’s authority often greater than a kings
European monarchs often built strong relationships with Church because the Church had such a huge influence over so many people in Europe

12. Political System (Worldly) Religious System (Spiritual) GOD
No opportunity for advancement
GOD
King
Titled Nobility
Craftsmen, Merchants Free Peasants
Serfs
Men of War
Men of Prayer
Religious system offers more opportunity for advancement making it attractive to non-nobles & 3rd+ born sons
Order was determined by God
Order was determined by God
Pope
Religious Nobility
Monks & Priests
Believers & Lay People
Men of Work
3 Groups of People – Men of Work, Men of War, & Men of Prayer

13. Kings want an “inside” man
During 800’s Kings appointed people to become Bishops and Cardinals
Kings wouldn’t always put religious men in these positions
King’s choices were sometimes greedy and immoral
This created many problems in the Church, and led to increased corruption in Catholic Church

14. Popes Oppose Lay Investiture
Monarchs having the power to appoint church officials was called lay investiture
Popes opposed, or were against, lay investiture
Popes believed that it gave Monarchs too much power and control over the Church

15. Pope Gregory VII
One pope, Gregory VII, became angry that kings were allowed to hire people for church positions
Pope felt he should be only one to appoint people in the Church
Pope Gregory decided to pass a church law declaring kings had no right to appoint any one into the church!

16. Henry IV Fights Back!
King Henry IV, did not believe pope could tell him what to do
Henry wrote letter to Pope Gregory telling him that a monarch’s power was independent from the pope’s authority and he didn’t have to listen to the pope!

17. Pope Gregory Reacts
Pope Gregory became angry with King Henry IV, decided to excommunicate him from church
When pope excommunicated someone from church that was pope’s way of telling them they could not get into Heaven
Excommunication also meant that king no longer could tell his subjects, or people, what to do!

18. Henry Fights Back, Again!
King Henry tried to get help from friends and nobles to back him up and stand up against pope.
Nobody wanted to make the pope angry so Henry was on his own.
Finally Henry gave up. He went to Rome and begged the pope to forgive him.
Pope Gregory created a treaty called the Concordat of Worms saying that ONLY the pope could select church leaders

19. Check Point:
The church had to power to excommunicate. What does this mean?
Excommunication means not allowing someone to become a member of the church. Because the church was central to your spiritual and social life, it was a harsh punishment - like removing someone from society.

20. Check Point:
How would the church’s power of excommunication affect the way people lived their lives?
Through excommunication, people were removed of their hope for salvation along with being shunned in society. This serves as both spiritual and social control by the church over the people.

21. Catholic Church’s Role in Education
Schools established at cathedrals, which eventually became the first universities in Europe
(Oxford University in England: Founded 1096 or 1100s)
Instructors taught students Latin
Church worked to preserve Latin and religious texts
Muslim scholars had preserved and interpreted ancient Greek texts and were now being translated into Latin by Church scholars giving Europeans access to ancient Greek works

22. Thomas Aquinas
Italian scholar Thomas Aquinas studied writings of Greek philosopher, Aristotle
Aquinas argued that classical philosophy could exist in harmony with Christian faith
Published work that is now considered a historical landmark showing that Greek philosophy could be combined with Christian values and ideas

23. Interesting Facts:

26. Flying Buttresses
Domes and arches exert a horizontal component of force on their supports. So to build big ones, you have to counter that component. Big cathedrals have either very thick walls or big external piers pressing their sides toward the middle; these are called buttresses. A flying buttress is a buttress with a large section missing to reduce weight without compromising strength too much.
The introduction of the flying buttress enabled builders to both make the walls of cathedrals much higher and to install large stained glass windows in the walls

31. Summary Answer the EQ questions by completing a 6-9 sentence summary!
Remember PROVE your answer using DETAILED FACTS and EDUCATED opinions!
The EQ was: What role does the Catholic Church play in the lives and politics of the people and Monarchies of Medieval Europe?