Download Age of Faith

Patrick Wales & Derek Reitz
Goals:
• Understand the power and corruption
of the Church in the middle ages
• Understand the influence of the Church
Middle Ages
Dates & Summary
Catholic Church (500-1250 AD)
800 AD Pope declares himself ruler of the Holy
Roman Empire
The Catholic Church was corrupt due to its
controlling nature and no tolerance policy of any
other religions or non-secular ruling.
On the Age of Faith
Age of Faith – A synonym for the Middle Ages; this is
due to the power of the Church during this period of
time
What was right?
• Nowadays, Religion is your choice, it’s not a requirement to be
a citizen
• The Church widely accused its people of Heresy; or going
against the Church.
• Often times these accusations were false, and had little
evidence backing them
Simony
Simony – payment to anyone who had received the power of the
Holy Spirit
Materialism in the officials of the Church:
• Simony was used for the personal gain of the Church
• Did not do anything to solve the problem or sin
• Consequently, rich men could do as they pleased, commit sins
that would normally not be allowed, and could then pay off the
Church
Indulgences
Indulgences – at the most basic level; Indulgences are a get out of
jail free card for sins
The Church:
• Sold these and granted them to those who helped the Church
• Although this existed in the past, during the Middle Ages
Indulgences grew rampantly amongst the Church
• Commissionaires (the Church’s personal tax collectors)
extracted the maximum profit from each Indulgence
• All this was to the personal gain of the Church
Influence upon Government
The Catholic Church:
• Had its own laws
• Did not allow any other Religion besides Catholicism
• Had its own land
• Had its own personal tax revenue
Why is this significant?
• It shows how much power the Church had over the
government
How close did the Church come to becoming a Theocracy?
Or did it become one?
800 AD
The Pope declares himself the official ruler of the Holy
Roman Empire
Which pope was the most corrupt?
• Benedict IX - 1032-1044, 1045, 1047-1048
• He was the last of the popes from the Tusculani family
• his violence and debauchery provoked the Romans to
revolt, and he fled for his life
• He then sold the papacy to his godfather
Incompetence
Ignorance of the Clergy
Church officials:
• were unknowledgeable
• positions were obtained through manipulation of politics
Celibacy was outlawed yet…
• They were seen as overly promiscuous; in other words they
were having too much sex
• Seen gambling, drinking, and frequenting taverns
Sources
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Ages
2. http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/middle-agesreligion.htm
3. http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold/CH.
Arnold.RMT.1.html