Download Chapter 8: Collapse, Corruption, and Reform in Europe

Chapter 8:
Collapse, Corruption, and Reform in Europe
In 814 Charlemagne’s reign ended and it took with it a balance of power between the Western and Papal States that would not
return again until several decades later.
The papacy after the death of Charlemagne became a strategic office to hold. Therefore, the leaders of the Church, the Roman
Nobles, and the Holy Roman Emperors were in deep, and often complicated struggles to gain full control of the papacy.
Despite the power struggles that were looming among the papacy, reforms made their way back into history leaving such an
impact that they would go down in their history as the most important ecclesiastical reformations since the earliest days of
Christianity.
Part I: The Carolingian World Collapses:
Upon Charlemagne’s death, his son, Louis the Pious took the throne.
Despite the success that his father had as an emperor, Louis the
Pious lacked the leadership necessary to continue the success experienced
by his father. Louis the Pious, instead, made one of the biggest mistakes that
any Emperor could have made; he divided up the Empire among his sons while he was on his deathbed.
The Treaty of Verdun (843):
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This treaty, created by Louis sons, divided up the empire into a Western kingdom, Eastern Kingdom and a
Middle Kingdom.
The end result of this division was a divided Empire.
Corruption of the Papal Office:
- All the corruptions and difficulties experienced by the papacy at this time were the
direct result of foreign invasions and domestic hardships.
- During this period, the papacy saw more corruption among its popes than any other
time in its long and complicated history.
- Most of the popes at this time either lacked the leadership skills to resist the emperor
of Rome or were just too corrupt to even try. The lack of leadership skills led to short
papacies marked with bizarre circumstances. Some popes were even murdered, others
took the power that they had as pope and used it excessively.
One such abuse of power occurred when Pope Formosus’ body was exhumed and placed on trial by Pope Stephen IV. After a
priest was forced to testify, the Pope Formosus was found guilty. Pope Stephen then removed three of his fingers (the ones used
in blessing) and stripped him of his papal garb. The body was then thrown to a mob that then proceeded to lynch the body and
throw it into the Tiberius River. Coincidentally, an earthquake occurred immediately after the trial that almost destroyed Lateran
Basilica. Some later stated that this was a sign from God about the horrible treatment of a dead pope.
Why was a deceased pope placed on trial?
Pope Formosus was placed on trial for not being worthy to be in the position of
a pope. In his early priestly days, Pope Formosus was sent to Bulgaria as a
diplomat. While there, he sided with the king against Pope John. Because he
sided with the king and not the pope, Formosus was excommunicated and all
of his priestly duties were revoked. A few years later, however, he was allowed
back into the Church after the papacy found no reason to keep him out of the Church.
Yet, the trial that he was placed on was based on the accusation that he was not allowed
to be pope and that everything he did while he was excommunicated was not valid.
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Another Pope Out of Control:
Pope John XII is another example of a Pope that overstepped his bounds as the leader of the papacy. Pope John engaged in
simony –the selling of spiritual benefits and ecclesiastical positions for temporal gain. Young boys under Pope John were also
given bishop positions as favors to their wealthy fathers.
The Rise of Feudalism:
After the empire was broken down into about 50 duchies –or territories –concerns arouse in
regards to protecting the land that was being occupied. In response to this, smaller communities
formed around towns and monasteries so the people could be better controlled. Castles and
other fortifications were built around the smaller communities to provide and even greater
means of protection to the people and town.
What resulted from this arrangement was feudalism –a contractual system between a king and
his vassals and the remainder of his population. Lords only protected vassals if they paid them
by labor or services. Of course, with any new political system, the Church became very much
involved…resulting in more problems that continually haunts the Church to even to this day.
Feudalism and the Church:
After the fall of the Carolingians, the Church lost many of its lands. However, some of the land that remained was either
defended by the Church or by the dukes and lords that happened to control the area in which the Church’s land sat. Either way,
feudalism increased, as did the interaction between Church and secular leaders.
With the feudal system nepotism –the appointment of family members to important positions –and simony greatly increased.
Lords and other political figures had taken it upon themselves to become the heads of the Church. The bishops and other local
Church leaders were enjoying a considerable increase in income. They also were allowed to marry and have children. Many of
the married Bishops and Cardinals gave their own sons the title that they held!
Part II Cluny and Monastic Reform:
It seems that whenever there is trouble in the Church there is usually a reform just at its
back heels. Amongst all the chaos a reform sprung up in Cluny ( a monastery located just
West of the Rhone River in France) that emphasized both the ideal of a universal Church
within a political framework and the inherent dignity of the human person.
The Founding:
The reforms began in Cluny after William the Pious donated land in 909/910 to the Church. William the Pious donated this land
with the intention that a new monastery would be founded.
St. Berno was the first abbot of the new monastery in Cluny who, together with twelve other
companions, developed a renewed commitment to the Benedictine Rule. With this new
commitment, Cluny gained the reputation as being a center of saintliness in troubled times.
After the death of Berno, the monastery was taken over by St. Odo. Yet, the rich tradition of the
Benedictine rules and the new reforms remained the same.
One major difference that between this new monastery and other monasteries was that at the time the Cluny monastery had only
one abbot –Cluny. Other monasteries at this time had one abbot above each individual monastery. Thus, with the monasteries
unified under one abbot in Cluny, they were kept under close watch and were deterred away from abuse and other scandals that
plagued other monasteries that were individualized.
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Cluniac Spirituality:
The Monks at Cluny:
The Monks at Cluny differed from the Benedictine Monks …
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Reinstituting a strict adherence to Benedictine rule
Placed a greater emphasis upon the spiritual life of the individual monk
Reinstating the Divine Office –or idea that a community of holy men was built on the holiness of each member
Decreasing manual labor so as to allow time for reflection
Furthermore, at Cluny many treaties were written on the spiritual life that aided the monks in removing the obstacles barring
them fro perfection in their interior lives.
The Influence of the Cluniac Monks:
It only took one hundred years for the Cluniac monks to become one of the most powerful forces within the Church. By the year
1100 over ten thousand monks that lived under the Cluniac rule housed over one thousand four hundred fifty houses.
Not only were monastic communities taken by this reform, but more and more bishops and secular rulers also took up the
Cluniac teachings. Pope Benedict VII even granted Cluny freedom from all authority of kings and bishops, which freed Cluny
from the troublesome feudalism that plagued most of the monasteries at this time. Furthermore, many of Cluny’s Monks became
leaders within the Church.
Part IV The Lay Investiture Controversies:
The lay investiture controversies resulted from the complex intermingling
of the Church and the State in each other’s affairs. Thus, to simplify the
overall question that was being proposed would to simply ask, “who
should appoint bishops, secular or religious leaders?
Pope St. Gregory VII:
It was no other than a Cluniac Monk, Hidlebrand, who would face the lay investiture
controversy head on.
After the death of Pope Alexander II, according to tradition, the crow at the pope’s funeral
began shouting Hidelbrand’s name. Thus, he was anointed as Pope Gregory VII.
The Dictatus Papae:
It was only a year into his papacy that Pope Gregory issued a decree, Dictatus Papae. In it, he asserted that the pope possessed
specific powers bestowed by God that rested on him alone. These powers include:
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The power to convene and ratify a council
To define tenets of faith
To appoint, transfer, and remove bishops from office
To dispose temporal rulers
Furthermore, anyone who practiced simony was excluded from the Church’s hierarchy and lost his authority of government.
And any priest caught in the act of fornication would be stripped of his ability to say the Mass.
In addition to his decrees, Gregory sought to codify the law of the Church –the canon law.
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Part V The Cistercians and Carthusians:
The Cistercians: St. Robert of Molesme founded the white monks, or Cistercians. They were
essentially a group of monks that adhered to the Benedictine rule, however they emphasized
simplicity of life.
St. Bernard of Clairvaux: Under St. Bernard’s leadership, the Cistercians grew dramatically. At Clairvaux, the monastery
was bare; the walls were plain and beds consisted of small planks of wood. St. Bernard is most notable for his studies on
Scripture as well as emphasizing the Divine life communicated to the world in the person of Jesus Christ. Furthermore, St.
Bernard counseled bishops and popes, yet was too humble to ever accept the position himself.
The Carthusians: St. Bruno founded this group of monks. Similar to the Desert Fathers desire to live away from all
distractions, St. Bruno and group of his companions set out to live as hermits. They founded a monastic order that established an
oasis of peace and prayer outside the busy developing cities in the medieval world.
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