Chapter 25: The Church

1. Chapter 25: The Church Section 1: Catholic Influence Section 2: Attempts at Reform Section 3: Learning Section 4: The Crusades

2. Section 1: Catholic Influence and the Role of the Church • Spiritual: • Religion was a central part of life for medieval people from baptism, to marriage, to death. • To become a king, vassal, or knight, a man had to take part in a religious ceremony. • Most holidays were in honor of saints or religious events. • On Fridays, people obeyed rules to not eat meat. • On Sundays, people went to church for mass, held by a parish priest.

3. Role of the Church • Secular: • In addition to being the social center of the village, the Roman Catholic Church had economic power and political power. • The Church was the largest landholder, gained wealth through tithing and had its own laws and courts which frequently clashed with the King’s authority. • Some parish priests ran schools and hospitals. • Monks and nuns provided shelter and food. • Priests recorded births, performed baptisms, marriages, and conducted burials.

4. Political Life • With kings/nobles, the Church helped govern western Europe. • As major landowners, high Church leaders were both lords and vassals of other lords. Many appointed by kings/nobles. • Church officials advised kings/nobles; kept records for kings who could not read or write. • Parish priests: selected by local nobles and told to tell the people to obey the king, nobles, and other government officials. • The Church told people to obey the king’s laws unless they violated Canon Law, or laws of the Church. • People were told that if they violated Church law they could be excommunicated, or lost their membership in the Church. This also resulted in losing political rights.

5. The Inquisition • Despite its power, the Church faced heresy, an opinion or belief that contradicts established religious teaching. • Council of Bishops set up the Inquisition, or Church court, to end heresy and punish offenders. • Those suspected of heresy could confess or face a trial. Many were imprisoned, tortured, fined, or put to death based on the seriousness of their heresy.

6. Section 2, Attempts at Reform • Church members gave tithes, or 10% of their income. • The Church became very wealthy, leading to abuses of power. • Wealthy nobles gave huge sums of money to build/maintain monasteries/churches. • When wealthy bishops died their estates were taken by nobles and sold for money or favors, resulting in men who were not very religious holding high Church posts. • By the 900s/1000s, many began to return the Church to Christian ideals.

7. The Monks of Cluny • To fight corruption, devout, or deeply religious people took action; nobles founded monasteries that strictly followed the Benedictine Rule. • Most important was Cluny in eastern France. • Monks lived simple lives in prayer. • Recognized only the authority of the Pope and said the Church, not king’s or nobles could appoint Church leaders. • In time, monasteries connected with Cluny spread throughout Europe.

8. Pope Gregory VII • He continued reforms started by Cluny Monks. • Becomes a powerful political and religious leader. • Creates Church courts of justice and government offices. • Rules from Rome with a group of bishops known as the College of Cardinals.

9. Pope Gregory VII (continued) • Two major goals were to rid Church of control by kings and nobles and to increase power of Popes over Church officials. • He removed Church officials who bought/sold Church positions. • He forbade Bishops and priests from marrying. • He said Pope was above kings/nobles and was the only one who could appoint Church officials, and could remove government officials who did not obey him. • Some kings viewed this as an attack on their power and resisted his changes.

10. Friars, Poor Preachers who practice their faith • In early 1200s, friars began reforms. • Since they sold all their belongings when becoming friars, they depended on gifts of food and money from people. • Friars different from monks. Did not marry and followed strict monastic rules. • They did not shut themselves away from others, but rather lived in towns to help people and bring Christianity to the people.

11. Two Orders, or groups of Friars • Franciscans- founded in 1200 by Francis of Assisi, son of a rich Italian merchant. • Known for cheerfulness and knowledge that God would take care of them. • Deep respect for nature and believed it was a gift of God that should be respected. • Dominican Order- started in 1216 by a Spanish monk named Dominic. • Lived a life of poverty. • Studied languages so they could preach everywhere. • Actions kept people loyal to the Church.

12. Section 3: Learning • Cathedral Schools: • Parish Clergy created schools in cathedrals, or churches headed by bishops. • Their first goal was to train the sons of nobles for service in the Church. • Not all sons wanted a life in the Church so they trained students to be government workers, lawyers, and teachers. • Taught grammar, rhetoric, logic, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, and music. • Students paid to attend. Books were few and costly, so students memorized the teacher’s class.

13. Universities: • Those who desired better teachers and more subjects to learn, formed unions, or groups of people joined together for a common cause. • These unions became known as universities, or groups of teachers and students devoted to learning. • By the 1200s, they were spread throughout Europe. • Run by Chancellor, a high Church official. • Well organized classes, with fixed times, on various subjects taught by qualified lecturers at least 21 years old who studied their subject for 6 years. • Students from all over Europe came to universities and lived in boarding homes until special buildings (dormitories) were build by rich sponsors. • Strict codes of conduct were enforced.

14. Medieval Universities

15. Oxford University

16. Thomas Aquinas • Famous Middle Age scholar and writer who believed that faith and reason were gifts of God. • He saw no conflict between the two and tried to bring them together. • Wrote a book called Summa Theologica, or A Summary of Religious Thought. • His teachings were later accepted by the Church.

17. SECTION 4: The Crusades Fearing Muslim conquest, the emperor of the Byzantine Empire asks the pope for military help. In 1071, SeljuqTurks gain control of Palestine (Jerusalem and its Christian Shrines) and threaten Constantinople. Thousands of Europeans take up the cause. Hoping the Eastern Orthodox Church would unite with the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Urban asks European lords to free the Holy Lands from the Turks. The Crusades Call to War: Why the Crusades, series of Holy Wars, took place. These wars last for about 200 years.

18. Pope Urban II: Preaching a Crusade • Pope told nobles to stop fighting among themselves and fight the Turks. • Suggested that Palestine had more fertile land than Europe and that Knights could live in comfort there. • Promised those that went on a Crusade that they would be free of debt/taxes, and sins. • Soldiers told to have shields and tunics with a red cross to show obedience to God.

19. The Holy Land  Jerusalem (Why it was “Holy”) Judaism: spiritual homeland of the Jews. Also the sight of the Western Wall, which was the last remaining part of King Solomon's Temple. Christianity: Jesus spent a lot of time there spreading the word of God. Islam: the home of the Dome or the Rock, Where it is believed that Muhammad ascended into heaven.

20. The Peasants Crusade • Pope Urban spent 9 months journeying throughout Europe calling for a Crusade. • People felt it was their duty to win back the Holy Land. • Nobles hoped to gain fame and fortune in Palestine. • Peasants wanted to escape from their hard work on the land.

21. While Urban II waited for the nobles to plan the Crusade, peasants became impatient and formed their own armies (1st Crusade). • In 1096, peasants from France and Germany marched through Europe. • They attacked farmers, looted cottages, burned wheat fields and massacred, or killed, all the Jews they could find. • Frightened villagers often poisoned wells and attacked crusader camps to keep them away. • When they reached Constantinople, they had lost one third their number, were hungry, and attacked people in the streets. • To get the westerners out of his cities, the emperor gave them ships/supplies and sent them to Asia Minor to fight the Turks where they were almost completely wiped out.

23. The Nobles’ Crusade • In 1097, the nobles started their Crusade. • The great lords led the armies. • Took their vassals, wives, children, clerks, cooks, and blacksmiths. • Each lord provided battle gear, wagons, supplies, and horses. • Nobles often had to sell land, borrow money, or sell jewelry to cover costs. Many of their lands were taken by their kings. • 30,000 crusaders arrived in Asia Minor and defeated the Turks. • Moving into the Syrian desert, they died from heat or starvation. • Those surviving marched to Palestine, conquering Syrian cities along the way. • In 1099, the 12,000 survivors reached the Holy City and killed Turks, Jews, and Christians alike and looted it of all its wealth.

24. The Kingdom Beyond the Sea • After Jerusalem was conquered, many lost their religious enthusiasm. • Many returned home, those remaining set up four feudal kingdoms in Palestine called Outremer, or “the kingdom beyond the sea.” • Took over estates of rich Turkish/Arab Muslims and divided it among themselves and their best knights. • Arab peasants worked the land, and many became their advisors. • Crusaders learned to change their clothing, eating, and living habits to adjust to their new environment. • Arabs respected Crusader Bravery and many Crusaders realized how advanced Muslim scholars were. • Some continued to fight among themselves, die in battle against the Turks, or leave for Europe.

25. Saladin and the Crusade of Kings • Muslim military leader named Saladin unites Muslims in the Near East and Egypt and declares war on Crusaders in Palestine. • Well organized army led by leaders called emirs; known for their honesty and compassion. • Emirs were shocked by the greed and cruelty of Christian soldiers. • When Saladin conquered Jerusalem, the crusaders were impressed when he refused to slaughter all the captives.

26. After Saladin’s victory, the Church called for another crusade, known as the Crusade of Kings. • Led by 3 powerful kings: Richard I of England, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of Germany, and Philip II Augustus of France. • Frederick died in Asia Minor, many of his troops returned to Germany without seeing battle. • Richard and Philip hated each other and argued constantly. After taking a few Palestine coastal cities, Philip went home. • Richard, known for his bravery (called “the Lionheart”) fought for 3 years and never defeated Saladin. • Signed a truce with Saladin that allowed Muslims and Christians to visit Jerusalem in peace and safety.

27. The Loss of an Ideal • In 1202, Pope Innocent III called for another crusade. • Crusaders took a water route from Venice to Palestine instead of the land route. • Made a deal with the Venetians for ships and supplies in return for a share of the loot in conquered lands. • Conquered Constantinople instead of Palestine; destroyed many priceless works of art and valuable manuscripts. • Action caused many Europeans to lose respect for the crusades. • Several unsuccessful crusades were fought in the 1200s. • Saddest was the Children’s Crusade. One was led by a French boy named Stephen of Cloyes; another came from Germany. • Most died along the way or were sold into slavery by the ship captains that transported them. • In 1291, the Muslims took over the city of Acre, the last Christian stronghold, and won the Crusades.

29. Effects of the Crusades • Byzantines were so angry by actions of Western Europeans that the split between Eastern and Western Christianity became permanent. • Byzantine Empire was so weakened that it was easily attacked by the Turks. • Feudalism in Europe began to decline. Kings took land from nobles fighting in Palestine. • Christianity began to lose its power over kings/nobles. • Europeans began to become interested in learning; demanded luxuries from the East such as spices, sugar, lemons, rugs, tapestries, and richly woven cloth. • To meet demands, European merchants opened new trade routes, resulting in new and larger towns and cities; effectively ended feudalism.

30. The Crusades in a “nutshell” • 1095-1291 • Jerusalem – the Holy Land of Judaism, Christianity & Islam. • The Crusades • Christians wanted to reclaim the land from Islam. • Holy War between Christians & Muslims. • Results • Only the 1st Crusade was successful. • Saladin – Muslim ruler who took back the Holy Land. • After 200 years of fighting, Christians lost. • Long Term Effects • Expanded contact with the outside world. • Increased trade, knowledge, and exploration. • Ended feudalism. • Increased hatred between religions. • Loss of Crusades leads to a loss in the Pope’s power.