Download The Church in the Middle Ages

The Church in the Middle
Ages
What was the nature and influence of religion
in the Middle Ages?
What led to the growth of papal power in
Europe?
Why did the Church become powerful and
important in the Middle Ages?
Christian beliefs
Christian Beliefs
• Manorialism, feudalism
encouraged local loyalties
• Christian beliefs brought
people across Europe together
in spiritual community of
Christendom
– Creation of a “churchly
kingdom”
• Religion touched almost every
aspect of Christians’ lives
Why was medieval clergy
influential?
Religious Ceremony
•
Major life events marked by
religious ceremonies
•
Monks acted as peacemakers,
prayed for safety of rulers, armies
•
Church officials served as
teachers, record keepers
– Church leaders, or clergy, usually
the only ones educated and
literate during this time
•
Clergy people’s main connection
to church, had great influence
Christian church had strong influence over daily lives of most
Europeans; clergy were the people's link to the church
Why was medieval clergy
influential?
Growth of the Church
• Around 1000, influence of
church increased
dramatically
• Great upwelling of piety,
level of devotion, in Europe
• Members of Christian
church became more
devout (religious)
• Participation in religious
services increased,
thousands flocked to
monasteries, joined
religious orders
The Pope in the Middle Ages
Popes as Political Figures
•
Pope is head of Roman Catholic
Church and spiritual leader
•
During Middle Ages, they became
powerful political figures
•
Gregory I (590) moves power of
pope into secular (everyday)
world—used Church money to
build roads, help poor, raise
armies
•
Negotiates peace treaties with
invaders like the Lombards
Growth of the Pope’s Power
• 900s-1000s, pope had
little authority
• Considered head of
church, but local bishops
made most important
religious decisions
• Papacy not held in high
regard
• Few popes noted for
religious devotion; most
were nobles concerned
with increasing own
power
• 1049, first of series of
clever, capable popes
dedicated to reforming
papacy came to power,
Leo IX
• Believed that Europe’s
clergy had become
corrupt, wanted to reform
it
• Concerned with simony,
buying and selling of
church offices by bishops
Not only were Europe’s common people inspired by a new sense of
piety, many clergy members sought ways to improve conditions.
Power and Conflict
• Bishops guilty of bad offenses
excommunicated, cast out of
church
• No greater punishment for
Christians in Middle Ages—it
meant they could not be saved
• Leo became more active in
governing church than other
popes in past
– conflict with political, religious
leaders
– Many bishops believed pope
had no authority to tell them
how to act
• One who rejected Leo’s
authority, bishop of
Constantinople
• 1054, Leo excommunicated
bishop, split Christian Church
in two (schism)
• Those who agreed Leo
called Roman Catholics
(WEST)
• Those who sided with
bishop, Eastern Orthodox
(EAST—Byzantine)
In what ways did popes become
stronger in the Middle Ages?
• Pope became head of huge
network of ecclesiastical
courts, heard cases on
religious, moral matters
• Pope also ruled territories, like
Papal States
– Had ability to raise armies to
defend territories
– Several popes hired Normans
to fight wars
– Crusades against Muslims
launched by popes
• The Investiture Controversy
between Pope Gregory VII and
Henry IV of Germany (Holy
Roman Empire)
• eliminated corrupt clergy,
appointed bishops, became
political leaders, built armies,
ruled territory
Main Ideas
• Reform and changes swept through the
Christian Church, one of the most
influential institutions in medieval Europe.
• Popes gained influence over people’s
religious lives, also over European politics