Download Revival, Recovery, Reform, and Expansion: The High Middle Ages

Revival, Recovery, Reform, and Expansion: The High Middle Ages
(c. 1000 – 1300)
Reform of the Papacy
By 1000, the Catholic Church (the one and only Christian church at this time) was
experiencing some problems with corruption and needed reforming. These
Problems included: materialism (some church officials were wealthy, though they swore
and oath of poverty), simony (some church officials purchased their job in the church),
poor leadership (some church officials were immoral-they didn’t practice what they
preached), and Nicolaites (some church officials were married, even though they had
sworn an oath of celibacy).
Pope Leo IX (r. 1049-1054) issued decrees against simony and Nicolaites, but offered no
solution to either problem.
Pope Nicholas II (r. 1058-1061) created a new group of priests called, cardinals, to elect a
pope from a pool of qualified applicants. This practice ended simony at the papal level
forever. Popes are still elected by cardinals to this day.
Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-1085) believed that papal authority was supreme. In other
words, he believed that no king was more powerful than the pope.
In 1075, Pope Gregory VII outlawed lay investiture; before 1075, kings in Europe had
been allowed to select men for appointment to religious offices. Pope Gregory desired
more control over the church and wanted only truly devout men in the church. He didn’t
want kings appointing their irreligious friends to important positions within the church.
What results is the so-called, “Gregorian Revolution.” In the “Gregorian Revolution,”
the papacy (Gregory VII) fights the Holy Roman Empire (Henry IV (r. 1056-1106)) over
the issue of lay investiture.
The Holy Roman Emperor, Henry IV, made inflammatory remarks about Pope Gregory
for which he was excommunicated (cut off from the church) in 1076. He begged for
forgiveness in 1077 (Henry went to the pope’s winter palace in Canossa, Italy, where he
stood in the snow for three days and begged for forgiveness) and the excommunication
was lifted. The two cooperated for awhile but soon argued over the issue of lay
investiture. In 1080, Henry was excommunicated again. Henry invaded Rome and exiled
Gregory. In 1085, Gregory died. Henry was still excommunicated at the pope’s death.
The issue of lay investiture was “solved” in 1122 at the Concordat of Worms, where a
panel of religious and political leaders agreed that kings could no longer appoint church
officials, but they could veto a pope’s nominees for a church position within their own
kingdom. (For more info. see page 176 in the text.)
The Crusades 1096-1270 (See pages 177-181.)
There were eight papally approved Crusades between 1096 and 1270. Each of the eight
crusades was called by a pope. The word crusade literally means to take up the cross. The
Crusades REQUIRED professional soldiers (called knights) to journey to the Middle East
to wage holy war against the Muslims who controlled Jerusalem. Average Christians
throughout Europe fought in the Crusades, too.
Pope Urban II (r. 1088-1099) is the originator of the Crusades and the Papal curia (an
administrative body to oversee the church). In Clermont, France, on November 27, 1095,
Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade because as he said, “God wills it.”
Purposes of the Crusades:
1. To take the Holy Land of Jerusalem from the Muslims
2. To heal the 1054 Schism (See Preservation of
GrecoRoman culture in the “Making of Europe” notes.)
3. To rid the church of heretical sects, like the
Albigensians. The church allowed crusaders to kill
anyone who challenged the accepted teachings of the
church.
4. To launch violent attacks, called pogroms, against Jews.
Christians of the time believed Jews to be the murderers
of Christ and some resented the debts they owed to
Jewish bankers.
5. To rid society of troublesome knights, who tended to
rape and pillage when they were bored. The crusades
gave knights something to do!
6. To gain opportunities for crusaders; some crusaders
acquired land and wealth in the Middle East; some went
for the excitement and adventure (before the crusades,
few people had ventured more than 25 miles from their
birthplace; some went on crusade to be granted an
indulgence or official forgiveness of sin.
The First Crusade (1096-1099) resulted in the capture of feudal crusader states: Edessa,
Tripoli, Jerusalem, and Antioch. Crusaders gained all this territory in the Middle East
from the Muslims for Europe’s use but lost all of it by 1291 to the Muslims. The 2nd-8th
Crusades would not succeed in all their goals. Only the first crusade accomplished all 6
of the purposes listed above.
Third Crusade (1189-1192) was called by the church because in 1187 Saladin, the
Muslim sultan, captured Jerusalem. Christian crusaders were led on this expedition by
three of Europe’s greatest political leaders:
Frederick Barbarossa, Holy Roman Emperor (r.1152-1190), Philip Augustus, King of
France (r.1180-1223) and Richard the Lionhearted, King of England (r. 1189-1199).
Results of Third Crusade: Jerusalem captured by Europe, treaty with Saladin, Richard
held for ransom on his return trip to England.
Fourth Crusade (1202-1204) called for by Pope Innocent III (r. 1198-1216) ***high point
of papal power*** No pope in the Middle Ages was more powerful than Innocent III.
Innocent III forced Philip Augustus (see above) to take back his wife, chose Frederick
Barbarossa’s replacement (Frederick II), and forced King John of England to take a man
he did not want as the Archbishop of Canterbury. He also called for the Fourth Crusade,
which is a good example of how poorly organized and funded the fourth through eighth
crusades were. During the fourth crusade, for money, the crusaders attacked two
Christian areas: Zara and Constantinople. (For more info., see page 181.)
Overall results of the Crusades: schism permanent, bitterness between Christians &
Muslims, commerce between Middle East and Europe, and “opportunities” for women to
open inns for crusaders, to prostitute themselves to knights, and to manage their manors
or homes while their husbands were off on crusade.