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A LITTLE
HISTORICAL
CONTEXT…
Fall of Rome
• No official date
• Sometime during the 5th Century the West collapsed.
• 410 Visigoths attacked Rome. Overthrew the western emperor in
493.
• The last 10 western emperors rarely sat for more than a few years on
the throne before they were deposed by invading barbarians.
• The Roman Empire included pockets of Christianity. As the empire
fell the Church was an institution which provided social order from
the 5th to the 8th centuries as the old order of Roman law fell apart.
• The Barbarians brought their varied laws and customs to different
areas throughout Europe. Many of these laws were primitive and
unjust by today’s standards. The Franks even practice human
sacrifice during this time.
• The guiding light of the Church lit a path through
the “Dark Ages.” This is not to say the Church
“had it all together.” There were still heresies,
confusion regarding the relationship between
Church and State, economic decline, widespread
illiteracy, and lack of communication between
“churches” which caused countless problems.
• The intensity of the early Christian Church began
to wane as Christianity grew and persecution
lessoned. Some Christians mixed the faith with
idol worship. Some even participated in drinking
orgies on feast days of the saints! If games were
held on Sundays, churches were often empty.
• Still, the Holy Spirit, as always, worked through the
mess as the Church continued to grow and solidify.
Church Structure
• With the fall of the Roman Empire, the Church had to adapt herself to
a rapidly changing culture as a force of unity and strength.
• Therefore, the Church’s organization reflected what the people
already knew – the organization of the governing structure and
territorials divisions of Rome.
• The rites of ordination, especially of Bishops, resembled the rites of
coronation of emperors.
• Even the papal clothes mimicked the clothing of the Roman Emperor.
• Christians had assumed that the destiny of Christianity was
intertwined with that of the Roman empire. With the invasion of the
barbarians, this awakened their realization that the Church needed to
adapt to the changing culture.
• This adaption process is done with the work of the Holy Spirit,
especially through the magisterium. Not all traditions from early
times changed, however. Some ancient traditions were kept as a sign
identity particular to the Catholic Church. Some took hundreds of
years to die out because of this.
DARK AGES VIDEO
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2i3rg5V
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THE CRUSADES – A BRIEF HISTORY
Who was Mohammed?
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Arab man born in Mecca around 570.
Orphaned by age 6. Raised by uncle.
Lived along Arabic trade routes
Practiced Paganism, but exposed to Judaism
and Christianity.
Influenced by Nestorian (Gnostic Heresy)
monk.
Married a widow.
Age 30 he retired to a cave and around the
year 612 announced that the archangel
Gabriel had called him to be the herald of
Allah (the Jewish God.) Over a period of time
he wrote down Gabriel’s messages and this
resulted in the Koran (Islamic scriptures.)
Muslims believe they are descendants of
Hagar and Ishmael from the Old Testament.
At first Mohammed tolerated Christians. That
changed as he and his followers became
more militant.
Jihads (holy wars) against the “infidels”
began in 694.
Spread of Islam
• After the fall of Mecca the Jihads were waged along the caravan routes.
Syria and Mesopotamia soon fell.
• Christian lands became the main target as the use of war united the Arab
peoples.
• Within 80 years from Mohammed's death, Islam succeeded in establishing a
strong and lasting empire. It spread from India, to parts of North Africa,
and into southern Spain. Conversions were forced and the religion spread.
• Muslim forces began by defeating the Persians an sacking Jerusalem in 638.
When Jerusalem fell, both the East and the West went into shock.
• This prompted Christians to launch a counterattack to try to retake the Holy
Land during the Crusades.
• After attacking Jerusalem the Muslims spread westwards, sacking Christian
Alexandria in 643.
• This opened the door to North Africa and by 698, all of North Africa was
under Muslim rule. 600 years of North African Christianity, having been
weakened by Nestorian and Monophysite heresy, fell quickly and was
replaced by Islam.
• The Byzantine (Old Roman) Eastern Empire was now reduced to an area not
much larger than Greece.
The Moors
• In 728 Spain fell to the Muslims as well
and remained Islamic for the next 700
years until 1492.
• The Moors is the name given to the
medieval Muslim inhabitants of the
Maghreb, Iberian Peninsula, Sicily, and
Malta.
• In 717 and again in 740 the Moors
invaded Christian Constantinople but
both times were defeated by Emperor.
• After that the Muslims entered France
where they were met in 732 by Frankish
chieftain Charles Martel. The battle of
Tours turned the tide and sent the
Muslims into retreat.
Jerusalem
• When Jerusalem was
captured in 638 by
Muslims, the caliph Umar
cleared the Temple
Mount, the site of the
previous two Jewish
temples, and built a
mosque.
• In 684 the Dome of the
Rock was erected.
Jerusalem is considered
the 3rd holiest city after
Mecca and Medina.
• The only remnant of the
Jewish temple left on the
site is the Wailing Wall.
Feudalism
• After the death of Charlemagne, the Carolingian empire
fragmented into thousands of principalities, counties and
fiefs (landed estates – pronounced FEEFS.)
• An economic system called FEUDALISM arose.
• At first this system was very effective for the prosperity o
the continent and the population expanded.
• As the population grew, those class distinctions widened
and land became scarce. Landowners competed for land,
superiority and lordship. They did this by going to war with
one another.
• The feudal wars of the 10th and 11th centuries cruel, furious
and unjust.
• It became so chaotic that the Church worked to reduce the
violence through by forcing Christian warlords to abide by
the “Peace of God” and the “Truce of God” laws of warfare.
The Seljuk (sell-jook)Turks
• The rise of the Turks during the 11th century
resumed Islamic expansion in the East.
• This time period began a
renewed persecution of
Christian pilgrims in
Jerusalem.
• With the defeat of the
Byzantine army at the
Battle of Manzikert in 1071,
it became clear that the
Turks could launch full scale
expansion of Islam into the
remainder of the Christian
world.
• Christians began to fear
annihilation of something
wasn’t done.
Crusades in Brief
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBim4M
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Military Orders in Brief
• https://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=xvWmjFwgk
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