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Revival, Recovery,
Reform, and
Expansion
Political Revival
11th Century a new political stability began
 Rulers in France, England, and Germany
worked to reduce private warfare and civil
anarchy
 In the 10th Century Charlemagne’s
descendents continued to hold the royal title
in the West Frankish kingdom
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They did not exercise control over the feudal lords
France
Northern France had strong feudal
elements
 Southern territories used Roman Law
 Five counties dominated northern
France
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Anjou, Blois-Chartres, Brittany, Flanders,
and Normandy
Charles the Simple
West Frankish Ruler
 Not able to remove the Vikings from France
 In 911AD he officially recognized Viking ruler,
Rollo and later gave him more land
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In turn Rollo gave allegiance to Charles and
agreed to hold the region as a barrier against
future Viking attacks
Duke William I
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Descendent of Rollo
Under his control rebellious lords ignored ducal
authority, built private castles, and engaged in private
warfare
Beginning in 1060, he united the Norman nobility
under threat of external aggression from the counts
of Blois and Maine
Defended his frontier with a circle of castles
Made feudalism work as a system of government
Executed vassals who defaulted on their obligations
Carpetian Dynasty
In 987, when the last of the Carolingian rulers
died, nobles assembled to choose a successor
 Hugh Capet was selected
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Soon after his coronation he crowned his son to
ensure succession and prevent disputes after his
death
Saved France from further division
 By hanging onto their lands they laid the
foundation for later political stability
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England
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In 1013 the Danish ruler Swen
Forkbeard invaded England
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His son Canute completed the subjugation
Became King of England from 1016-1035
 After 1030 he became King of Norway as well
 Made England the center of his empire
 Promoted a policy of assimilation and
reconciliation between Anglo-Saxons and
Vikings
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Germany and Italy
King Otto 936-973
Lead the Germans in a crushing defeat on the Hungarians on
the banks of the Lech River
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Selected Aachen as the site of his coronation to symbolize
his intention to continue the tradition of Charlemagne
Relied on the church to halt feudal anarchy
Got financial support and the bulk of his army from
ecclesiastical lands
Coroneted by the Pope in 962
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The Battle of Lechfeld halted the Magyars’ threat to Germany
and made Otto a great hero to the Germans
– Also it demonstrated that Otto was a worthy successor to
Charlemagne
Revived imperial dignity and laid the foundation for what was
later call the Holy Roman Empire
Filled a power vacuum in northern Italy and brought peace
among the great aristocratic families
The Peace of God
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Bishops took action to put a stop to the
rampant attacks against the church
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Church councils formed peace associations
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Groups of men in particular districts who assessed
themselves and used the money to provide armed
protection against thuggish lords
Some churchmen tried to reduce the amount of
warfare by initiating the Truce of God
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They limited the number of days on which fighting was
permitted
– Sundays, Special feast days, and the seasons of Lent and
Advent were to be free of fighting
– If all forbidden days had been observed fighting would
have been permissible on only 80 days of the year
Revival and Reform in the
Christian Church
In the 11th Century monasteries remodeled
themselves under the leadership of the
Burgundian abbey of Cluny
 Pope Gregory VII’s strong assertion of papal
power led to profound changes in serious
conflict with secular authorities
 Cathedrals showed the revival in the church
in the 12th and 13th Centuries
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Monastic Revival
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The Viking, Magyar, and Muslim invaders attacked and
ransacked many monasteries across Europe
Powerful laymen appointed themselves or their relatives as
abbots, took the lands and goods of monasteries, and spent
monastic revenues
Abbots, bishops, and archbishops thus had military
responsibilities that required them to fight with their lords or at
least send contingents of soldiers when called on to do so
The first two abbots of Cluny, Berno and Odo, set very high
standards of religious behavior
Cluny gradually came to stand for clerical celibacy and the
suppression of simony
 Simony- the sale of church offices
Deeply impressed laypeople showered girts
on monasteries with good reputations
 As the monasteries became richer, the
lifestyle of the monks grew increasingly
luxurious
 Soon fresh demands for reform were heard,
and the result was the founding of new
religious orders in the late 11th and early 12th
Centuries
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The Cistercians
In 1098 a group of monks left the rich abbey of
Molesmes in Burgundy and founded a new house in
the swampy forest of Citeaux
 Planned to avoid all involvement with secular feudal
society
 Accepted only uncultivated lands far from regular
habitation
 Refused all gifts of mills, serfs, tithes, and ovens
 Early Cistercians avoided elaborate liturgy and
ceremony and kept chants simple
 Refused to allow the presence of powerful laypeople
in their monasteries
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In 1112 a 23 yr old nobleman named Bernard joined
the community at Citeaux
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3 yrs later he was appointed founding abbot of Clairvaux in
Champagne
He attacked the theological views of Peter Abelard
He intervened in the disputed papal election of 1130
Drafted a constitution for the Knights Templars
Preached the 2nd Crusade
Unavoidably, Cistercian success frought wealth and
wealth brought power
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By the later 12th century economic prosperity and political
power had begun to compromise the original Cistercian
ideals
Mendicant Friars
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Pope Innocent III 1198-1216
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13th century pope who presided over the papacy
at its highest level of influence
Sanctioned the establishment of two new orders
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The Dominicans and the Franciscans
– The members of both were called friars
– Worked among needy people, especially those living in
towns, rather than isolating themselves
 It was said that “their world was their cloister”
– To finance their good deeds they went about begging for
alms
 This caused people to refer to them as mendicants, or
beggars
– Preached and defended the teachings of the Church and
fought heresy wherever they encountered it
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Thomas Aquinas
Dominican theologian
 His teachings are still considered the definitive
statement of Roman Catholicism
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Dominicans
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Founded in 1216 by Saint Dominic
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Felt the way to fight heresy was to return to the
simple ways of the apostles
Gained fame by joining the crusade against the
Albigensian heresy
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Albigensian were centered in southern France
– Believed the world was a battleground for the forces of
good and evil
– Church = Evil, because of its wealth and power
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Order of the Friar Preachers became the
official name of the Dominicans
Franciscans
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Francis
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Son of a wealthy merchant from Assisi
Dreamed of becoming a knight but was captured during his
first military venture
Had a dream in which he was directed to repair several
ruined churches near the city
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Then pledged himself to a life of poverty and to helping the
poor and the sick
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To demonstrate the teachings of Jesus
Soon a small group of like-minded people joined him
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Without permission used fathers money to do repairs and was
flogged and imprisoned
The Order of Friars Minor was sanctioned by Pope Innocent III
Impressed Clare, a young noble woman
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She renounces her inheritance
She founded an order of nuns called the Poor Clares
Reform of the Papacy
In the 10th the papacy provided little
leadership to the Christian peoples of western
Europe
 Popes were appointed to advance the political
ambitions of their families
 Pope John XII was appointed pope by his
powerful father when he was only 18
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He concentrated on expanding papal territories
At the local parish level, in the 10th and 11th
centuries, many priests were married
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These priests were called Nicolaites
The Controversy over Lay
Investiture
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In 1075 Pope Gregory held a council at Rome
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Published decrees against nicolaitism, simony, and
lay investiture
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Clerics who accepted investiture from laymen were to be
deposed
Laymen who invested clerics were to be
excommunicated
– The church’s penalty of excommunication relied for its
effectiveness on public opinion
– Henry IV in the Empire, William the Conqueror in England,
and Philip I in France protested
Why did the issue of lay investiture
provoke the wrath of the Kings?
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Kings appointed monks and clerics as
their administrators
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Rulers used church offices, bishoprics, and
abbacies as the financial means with which
to support royal governments
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The revenues of a diocese or monastery
supplied the incomes for royal officials and their
staffs
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The strongest reaction came from Germany
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Gregory accused Henry of lack of respect for the papacy and
insisted that disobedience to the pope was disobedience to
God
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In 1076 many of the German bishops who had been invested
by Henry withdrew their allegiance from the pope
– Gregory replied by excommunicating them and suspending
Henry from the kingship
– The Christmas season of 1076 witnessed an ironic situation
in Germany; the Clergy supported the emperor and the
nobility supported the pope
Henry outwitted Gregory
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According to legend, Henry stood for 3 days in the snow
seeking forgiveness
As a priest, Gregory was obliged to grant absolution and to
readmit the emperor to the Christian community
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In 1080 Gregory VII again excommunicated
and deposed the emperor; in return, Henry
invaded Italy, captured Rome, and controlled
the city when Gregory died in 1085
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Gregory’s successors encouraged Henry’s sons to
revolt against their father
In 1122, at a conference held at Worms, the
issue was settled by a compromise
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Bishops were to be chosen according to canon law
in the presence of the emperor or his delegate
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This allowed emperors an effective veto over
ecclesiastical appointments
The Papacy in the High
Middle Ages
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Pope Urban II laid the foundations for the
papal monarchy by reorganizing the central
government of the Roman church, the
chancery, and papal finances
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He recognized the college of cardinals as a definite
consultative body
These agencies combined with the papal chapel
constituted the curia Romana
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Curia Romana – the papal court, the papacy’s
administrative bureaucracy and its court of law
The Roman curia had its greatest impact as a
court of law
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As the highest ecclesiastical tribunal, it formulated canon
law for all of Christiandom