Age of Faith Outline Notes and Paragraph Prompt I.

The members of the Church were organized into ranks: A. Parish Priest imbue in parishioners the importance of the sacraments, it is the only way to salvation in the Medieval Catholic World.

B. Bishops and Archbishops

Pope II. Secular and Regular Clergy, what is the difference?

III. Monasticism, what social and economic role did it play?

IV. Roles of the Church in Medieval Europe: A. Scholastic

B. Political

1. Example: Henry IVs argument with Gregory VII over power 2. Example: Innocent III and Papal Power, how does he see himself? C. Economic D. Social V. How do the problems of the Church reflect their secular (non-religious) involvement in the affairs of Europe?

Prompt: Using the information above, write a paragraph answering the following question: Support the statement that the Middle Ages in Europe was an age of faith. Be sure to follow all directions for good paragraph construction. Submit through turnitin.com.

Age of Faith Anatole G. Mazour. World History: People and Nations, HBJ. 1987 The Church Had Many Roles in the Middle Ages Central governments in medieval Europe were weak or did not exist at all. Therefore, the church performed many of the responsibilities of modern governments. In one way or another, the church touched the lives of most medieval people. The Church Hierarchy Members of the clergy were organized in ranks according to their power and responsibilities. The levels of this hierarchy (HY uh rahr kee), starting at the bottom, were as follows: (1) The parish priest. The parish priest, usually of peasant origin, had little formal education. He served the people in his parish, the smallest division of the church. The poorest clergy member, the priest could hardly be distinguished from the peasants among whom he lived. Though at the bottom of the hierarchy, the priest was in one sense the church's most important officer, for he administered five of the seven sacraments. The sacraments consisted of special ceremonies at which the participants received the direct favor, or grace, of God to help them ward off the consequences of sin. By the 1100s leaders of the church recognized seven ceremonies as sacramentsbaptism, Holy Eucharist (communion), confirmation (admission to church membership), penance (acts showing repentance for sins}, ordination (holy orders), matrimony, and extreme unction (the anointing of the dying). The parish priest conducted church services in his parish and administered all the sacraments except confirmation and ordination. He supervised the moral and religious instruction of his people and the moral life of the community. Often, however, the beliefs of villagers were as much pagan and superstitious as they were Christian. For example, the villagers sometimes relied on local "wise women" and "cunning men" for spiritual help. (2) The bishop. A number of parishes made up a diocese (DY -uh suhs), which the bishop managed. The cathedral church, or official church of the bishop, was located in the most important city of the diocese. (Cathedra is the Latin word for the bishop's throne, or chair.) The king or great nobles usually controlled the selection of a bishop. Bishops, frequently chosen for their family connections and political power, were often feudal lords or vassals who had vassals themselves. (3)The archbishop. An archbishop managed a diocese and had all the powers of a bishop. In addition, he exercised some authority over the other dioceses and bishops in his province, which consisted of several dioceses. An archbishop could summon provincial councils of the clergy to decide questions of church belief and policy. (4) The pope and his curia. The pope had a group of counselors, called the curia, to advise him. Cardinals, the most important members of the curia, advised the pope on legal and spiritual matters. Beginning in 1059 the cardinals elected the new pope. Only in the church, hierarchy could a commoner rise in the world. It did not happen often, but a man of great ability, regardless of birth, might rise to great heights in the church. For example, Callistus I was originally a slave of a Christian master in Rome. He was later freed, and in time he became a bishop. From about 217 to 222 he served as pope. Monasticism The medieval church was much like a present-day government. Everyone became a member, just as we become citizens. Priests, bishops, and the pope belonged to what was called the secular clergy. They lived in saeculo, a Latin phrase meaning "in the world," or "among ordinary people." They administered the sacraments and preached the gospel. A second group of church people, called regular clergy because they lived according to a strict rule, or regula, was the monasticsmonks and nuns. Monks and nuns believed that one of the best ways to live a perfect Christian life was to withdraw from the world and its temptations and serve God through prayer, fasting, and self-denial. At first each monk lived alone. Later, monks gathered in religious communities called monasteries and nuns lived in convents. The way of life in monasteries and convents was called monasticism. Monasticism lacked organization and direction until the early 500s. About that time Benedict, a young Roman noble, became disgusted with worldly corruption and left Rome to become a hermit. In time his reputation for holiness attracted so many followers that he established a monastery at Monte Cassino in central Italy. Benedict drew up a set of standards to regulate the lives of the monks. Monasteries throughout Europe adopted this set of standards, called the Benedictine Rule.

According to the Benedictine Rule, a monk could own absolutely nothing. Everything he used or wore belonged to the community of monks. The abbot, the elected bead of the community, controlled and distributed all property. The monks promised to obey the abbot in all things. Monks spent several hours every day in prayer, but they were also expected to work. The abbot assigned each monk certain tasks in and around the monastery. Monasteries fulfilled the intellectual and charitable needs of medieval society, Monks were often the most learned scholars of the time, and the monastery libraries were the main preservers of the literature of ancient civilizations and the early church. Several monasteries also ran schools to train the clergy. Over the years monasteries became very rich. As an act of piety, a noble might leave his land to a monastery. Or a monastery might receive a large gift in return for accepting a young man as a monk. There were fewer convents than monasteries, and the convents were not as rich as monasteries. Like the monasteries, however, convents usually gave some of their wealth to the needy in nearby communities. Monks and nuns often cared for the sick, fed the hungry, and clothed the poor. Some monks left the monasteries to become missionaries, a practice that existed long before the time of Benedict. St. Patrick in Ireland and St. Augustine in England were among those who did important missionary work. Christianity in Ireland and England Christianity arrived in Ireland in the 400s. St Patrick, the best known missionary, began his work there in 432. Several monastic schools provided the basis of an advanced culture that lasted from about 500 to about 800. Missionaries and teachers from Irish schools went to all parts of the British Isles and to the royal families on the continent of Europe. During this time Ireland became the greatest center and preserver of ancient and Christian culture in Western Europe. About 600 Pope Gregory I sent missionaries to England. Led by a monk named Augustine, the missionaries converted many people. Soon all England accepted Christianity. Augustine, made the first archbishop of Canterbury, eventually became known as St. Augustine of Canterbury. Canterbury became the center of the Christian Church in England. The Church and Medieval Life Both the secular and the regular clergy played a leading part in medieval institutions and in life. The church sought the most intelligent people among all classes to become members of the clergy. During the early Middle Ages, church leaders were almost the only educated people in Europe. Since printing was unknown in the early Middle Ages, all books had to be copied by hand. Monks did most of this work. To relieve the tedious work of copying and to beautify the texts, the monks often added small paintings at the beginning of a page or in the margins. The gold leaf and brilliant colors they used brightened the pages so much that such works ate called illuminated manuscripts. These manuscripts were the finest artistic works produced during the early Middle Ages.

Political role The church also became a political force during the Middle Ages. In the Papal States, the pope was both the political and spiritual ruler. Many popes claimed supreme political power for the church. They decreed that all monarchs in Europe had to obey the pope. Church leaders also held positions of power as feudal lords and as advisers to kings and nobles. The church preached that people should obey the laws of kings unless these laws conflicted with church laws. The church had its own code of law, called canon law, and its own courts where members of the clergy were tried. The church enforced its laws by using excommunication and interdict. Excommunication cut an individual off from the church. He or she could not receive the sacraments or be buried in sacred ground. All Christians had to avoid the excommunicated person, and the state treated him or her like a criminal. An excommunicated person was thought to be surely damned after death. To punish an entire region, the church issued an interdict. No religious services could be held in the region, and only the sacraments of baptism and extreme unction could be administered. Everyone who lived in the region was in danger of eternal damnation. As do present-day national governments, the church in the Middle Ages had the power of taxation. Through the parish priest, the church collected the tithe, or one-tenth of a person's income, from all Christians. In England and Scandinavia, the church collected "Peter's Pence," a tax of one penny a year on every household. The church also received fines collected by its courts and fees charged for the performance of ceremonies such as baptism and marriage. Finally, the church received vast income from church-owned lands. In the early 1200s, when the church reached the peak of its power, it had a larger income than all the kings of Europe combined. Economic life The moral ideas of the church affected all economic life. The church opposed people gaining wealth by exploiting others. It insisted that labor was in keeping with the dignity of free people. Monks were leaders in agriculture. They developed new ways of raising crops, breeding cattle, and cultivating fruit. They cleared forests, drained swamps, and built dikes and roads to increase the amount of land that could be farmed. Monasteries carried on widespread trading activities. They owned their own pack animals, ships, markets, and warehouses. Their trade routes were carefully mapped. Social role The church considered the family a sacred institution. It forbade divorce and took responsibility for all widows and orphans. It also took complete charge of all social work, such as relief for the poor. To relieve the sick and distressed, the church established hospitals, orphanages, and poorhouses. Special religious orders provided hospital care, care of lepers, burial of the poor and general charity. Problems of the Church At the peak of its power, the church faced several problems. (1) Lay investiture. The tremendous wealth of the church created a problem, especially after church leaders became feudal lords and vassals. Nobles often rewarded their loyal friends or relatives by appointing them bishops and abbots, a procedure known as lay investiture. No one questioned a king's or a noble's right to grant a bishop or an abbot a fief and to have him becomes a vassal. The church, however, did object to kings and nobles naming bishops and abbots. Church leaders firmly believed that only a church member could grant spiritual authority to another member of the church. In the case of a bishop, a ring and crosier, or staff, symbolized this authority. A king or lord who granted a new bishop his fiefs often insisted on giving him his ring and crosier as well. (2) Worldly lives of the clergy. Some members of the clergy lived in luxury. People criticized them because they seemed more interested in wealth than in holy living. (3) Simony In feudal times people often paid to get positions in the church, a practice called simony (SY muh -nee). The purchaser expected to make money through his position, either from church income or by charging high fees for performing religious services. (4) Heresy. The church did not permit anyone to question the basic principles, or doctrines, that served as the foundation of the Christian religion. People who denied the truth of these principles or . preached unauthorized doctrines were considered heretics, or unbelievers, guilty of the unpardonable sin of heresy, which brought eternal damnation. Heresy threatened the church itself, as treason does a modern government.

Attempts at church reform were made by many church leaders and lay rulers who tried to solve church problems through various measures. Two religious groups, or orders, established in the 1200s dedicated themselves to reform. They were the Franciscans, founded by St. Francis of Assisi in 1209, and the Dominicans, founded by St. Dominic in 1216. Members of both of these religious orders lived and preached among the people instead of secluding themselves in monasteries as members of most other religious orders did. In the mid-1200s the pope ordered the Dominicans to seek out heretics and to eliminate heresy. During this search, known as the Inquisition, anyone suspected of heresy could be cried in secret and tortured in order to force a confession. Heretics who confessed they had been wrong were required to perform a penance. The Inquisition condemned heretics who did not reform and turned them over to the civil government to be punished, usually by burning at the stake. The church thought these severe penalties were necessary to save the souls of heretics and to prevent the spread of heresy throughout Christendom. Popes and Emperors Clashed over Germany and Italy Although people throughout Europe recognized the spiritual authority of the church, many conflicts arose over the church's temporal authority, or its role in worldly affairs. The greatest threat to the power of the medieval popes came from the German rulers of the revived Holy Roman Empire. The Holy Roman Empire (HRE) Part of Italy had belonged to Charlemagne's empire, After Charlemagne's death in 814, Italy fell into a state of feudal anarchy. Several of Charlemagne's descendants held the title of "Emperor of the Romans" or "Holy Roman Emperor," without really ruling Italy. Later no one had even the title. The pope ruled the Papal States. The Byzantine Empire held some parts of Italy. Muslims held the island of Sicily and often invaded the Italian mainland. In Germany the great feudal lords elected Otto I, known as Otto the Great, as king in 936. A powerful and forceful ruler, he might have developed a strong kingdom in Germany, like that of the Capetians in France, had he not been more interested in Italy. Otto seized some territory in northern Italy. Then Pope John XII begged Otto's help in his struggle with the Roman nobles. Otto supported the pope, who crowned him "Emperor of the Romans" in 962. Otto later made his own secretary pope, and for the next 40 years, German kings chose the popes. Although Otto's title was the same as that given Charlemagne 162 years earlier, he ruled a much smaller areajust Germany and northern Italy. This empire, called the Holy Roman Empire, was a shadowy sort of empire, but it lasted, in name at least, for centuries. It established a unique relationship between Germany and Italy that continued for more than 800 years, to the great harm of both regions. The power of the Holy Roman Emperors reached a high point under Emperor Henry III, who reigned from 1039 to 1056. Like Charlemagne, Henry regarded the church as a branch of the royal government that should do what the emperor expected. During Henry's reign three different men claimed to be pope. Henry III deposed all three of these claimants and had a German "elected" to the papacy. He also chose the next three popes. Struggle with the Papacy Henry III's son, Emperor Henry IV, was only six years old when his father died. Powerful nobles in Germany took advantage of Henry's youth and reestablished their feudal powers. At the same time, the church increased its powers. After Henry IV became old enough to rule, Gregory VII, one of the great medieval church leaders, became pope. The new pope sought to restore the papacy to power. He believed that as God's representative he had supreme power not only over the church but also over all temporal rulers and their subjects. As pope, Gregory used the most terrible punishments of the churchexcommunication and interdictin his conflicts with emperors, kings, and nobles. Gregory's greatest struggle was with Henry IV. The struggle between Gregory VII and Henry IV concerned the issue of lay investiture. Henry IV insisted that he had the right to appoint bishops within the Holy Roman Empire. Gregory disagreed and excommunicated the emperor. He released all of Henry's subjects from their oaths of allegiance and urged them to elect another emperor. Fearing rebellion, Henry decided to appeal to the pope for mercy. During the bitter winter of 1077, he set off to meet the pope at the castle of Canossa, high in the mountains of northern Italy. At great risk Henry and his attendants reached the rugged Alpine summit. The most dangerous part of the journey, however, was the descent down the ice-covered jagged peaks. Cautiously the travelers slipped and

slid a few feet at a time. The queen and her attendants sat on makeshift slides made of oxen skins, as guides directed their descent. Some horses were also placed on makeshift slides, and others were dragged across the ice and through crevices to the mountain base. When Gregory learned that Henry had defied the cruel weather to make his treacherous journey, he ordered him to come to the castle at Canossa. When Henry arrived, he laid his royal regalia down and stood humbly, barefoot and dressed as a pilgrim, waiting for the pope's invitation to enter the castle. For three days Henry suffered the piercing chill of the freezing weather. On the fourth day, he was admitted to the castle. He agreed to several conditions of his forgiveness, and Gregory absolved his excommunication. The struggle over lay investiture, however, continued during the reign of Henry's son. Finally, in 1132 at the German city of Worms (VAWRMS), an assembly of church leaders, nobles, and representatives of" the Holy Roman Emperor reached an agreement known as the Concordat of Worms. The emperor agreed to grant only lands and secular powers to church officials. The church officials should elect bishops and grant them their spiritual powers. The emperor promised not to try to influence the elections. Even though the Concordat of Worms established the popes as spiritual leaders, the bitter struggle between popes and emperors did not end. The emperors still meddled in Italian politics and continued to threaten the popes' rule in the Papal States. The popes therefore opposed all attempts of the Holy Roman Emperors to rule any part of Italy. Frederick Barbarossa Frederick I, called Frederick Barbarossa (meaning "Frederick of the Red Beard"), ruled Germany from 1152 to 1190. Like the emperors who preceded him, Frederick could have made a determined effort to unite the empire, but he was more interested in Italy. The rich city-states of Lombardy in northern ItalyBologna, Parma, Padua, Verona, and Milan had become increasingly independent trade centers. Each city-state had a wealthy merchant class. Frederick knew that if he could capture these rich city-states he would be a very rich ruler. So he sent representatives to take over the governments in the cities, When Milan refused to receive his representative, Frederick captured the city, destroyed it, and drove out its people. (mwahahahahahahahah) The other Lombard city-states, aided by the pope, united to form the Lombard League. They raised an army and defeated Frederick in 1176. According to the peace settlement, the cities recognized Frederick as overlord in return for his agreement that they could govern themselves. Innocent III and Papal Power Innocent III, who was pope from 1198 to 1216, led the papacy to the height of its prestige and power. A learned and intelligent man, Innocent wrote books about law, theology, and Christian discipline. He was also a skillful diplomat and one of the greatest political leaders in all church history. Innocent III made even more sweeping claims and enforced them more successfully on behalf of papal power than had Gregory VII. Innocent III believed himself supreme over the clergy and all temporal rulers. To Innocent, emperors and kings were merely servants of the church. Thus Innocent claimed the right to settle all political and religious problems. No person or group could do more than advise him. Innocent intervened in disputes throughout Europe and made free use of his powers of excommunication and interdict. In a quarrel with King John, Innocent placed England under interdict. To have the interdict lifted, John had to become the pope's vassal and pay money every year to Rome. Innocent dominated all of Italy. In Germany he overthrew two kings and put his own choices on the throne. Innocent III dominated almost all of Europe because of his seemingly superhuman ability and energy. Even so, he was successful partly because conditions in Europe were favorable to his claims and activities. Later popes were less skillful, and circumstances were less favorable. Thus they did not attain the power or influence that Innocent had possessed. Nevertheless, Germany and Italy never united. The Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II attempted to unite the two areas in the early 1200s. Like earlier emperors, however, Frederick failed. The attempts to unite Germany and Italy not only failed but also prevented either country from being united. Germany remained a jumble of independent cities and feudal states over which the emperor had little authority. Italy was fragmented too, with the Lombard cities in the north, the Papal States in the central region, and the Kingdom of Sicily in the south. Neither Germany nor Italy became a unified nation until the 1800s.