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Medieval Christianity
Chapter 10-2
The Papal Monarchy
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Since the fifth century Popes
had claimed supremacy over
the catholic Church as well as
gained & controlled territory in
central Italy
This territory became known as
the Papal states
This kept the Popes involved in
political affairs, but often at the
expense of spiritual duties
The church was also involved in
the feudal system with church
officials held offices as a result
of grants from nobles
As a result they were expected
to carry out their
responsibilities as vassals
Once again the spiritual aspects
of their positions suffered
Reform of the Papacy
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By the eleventh century the church
realized the need to separate
church officials from the direct
influence of the lords
When a person was selected to
become a member of the church he
was given a ring & a staff that
symbolized spiritual authority
granted by the church
Lay or secular leaders often chose
their own leaders as well, known as
lay investiture
This practice did not go over well
with Pope Gregory VII
Gregory believed that HE was
chosen by God to reform the
Catholic Church
He claimed that the Pope authority
extended over ALL Christians,
including rulers and only by
eliminating lay investiture could the
church regain its independence
Reform of the Papacy
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If the rulers did not accept the
sovereign power of the Pope he
would remove them
Henry IV of Germany disagreed with
the Pope
The German Kings had appointed
high-ranking clerics as their vassals
in order to use them as their
administrators in order to maintain
power over German nobles
In 1075 Gregory issued a decree
that forbade high ranking clerics
from receiving their investiture from
lay leaders
Henry had no intention of obeying
this decree
The struggle became known as the
Investiture Controversy & would
continue until a new Pope & King
would reach an agreement called
the Concordat of Worms
Reform of the Papacy
• Under the agreement a bishop in Germany
was first elected by church officials &
would pay homage to the King as his lord
& the king would then invest in him the
symbols of temporal office
• A representative of the Pope would then
bestow the bishop with the symbols of his
spiritual office
The Church Supreme
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Gregory also attempted to improve
the church’s ability to provide
spiritual guidance to the faithful
Future Popes maintained this ideal
but were more interested in
strengthening Papal power &
building a strong administrative
system
It would be under the reign of pope
Innocent III that the Papacy reached
its height of political power
To achieve this power he used his
spiritual weapons
One such weapon was the use of
the interdict which forbade priests
to give sacraments to certain
groups of people
The goal was to get the people to
put pressure on the ruler to relent
to the will of the Papacy
New Religious Orders
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In the late 1000’s & early 1100’s a
wave of religious enthusiasm swept
across Europe
During this period many new
monasteries sprung up with the
most popular being Cistercian order
This order came into existence
because they were unhappy with
the lack of discipline of the
Benedictine order, this order was
VERY strict
More time was dedicated to prayer
& manual labor as they were very
simplistic
They had one robe, all decorations
of the church were removed, & they
spent more time outside the
monastery spreading their religion
to the people
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux
embodied this spirit more than
anyone
Women in Religious Orders
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During this period the number of
women involved in religious orders
also grew
Convents were established & run by
nuns
Many of those there were
aristocratic women who did not
wish to marry, widowed women, or
those who were unable or unwilling
to find a husband
The most learned women of this
period, especially in Germany, were
found in the convents
One of the most notable was
Hildegard of Bingen
She was the abbess of a religious
house for females & was as
important contributor to a body of
music known as the Georgian
Chant
This is important because she
succeeded in a period that was
almost exclusively dominated by
men
Franciscans and Dominicans
• In the 1200’s two other
religious orders emerged,
the Franciscans &
Dominicans
• The Franciscans were
established by Saint
Francis of Assisi
• Francis abandoned all
worldly goods & material
pursuits to live & preach
in poverty
• His nature soon attracted
others to help & preach to
the poor, sick, & disabled
Franciscans and Dominicans
• The Dominican order was
founded by Dominic de
Guzman
• He wanted to defend the
church against heresy or
the denial of classic
church doctrines by
heretics
• This practically occurred
in southern France where
he believed that the best
way to fight it was by men
who lived in poverty
The Inquisition
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To deal with heretics the church
created the Inquisition or Holy
Office to try the accused
The Dominicans became
especially well known for their
roles as examiners of
suspected heretics
Those that confessed received
a public penance such as
flogging
In 1252 torture was added to
gain confessions
Those who did not confess
were still considered guilty &
were executed as were those
who relapsed
To these people using force to
save their souls from
damnation was the right thing
to do
Religion in the High Middle Ages
• The church played a major in the lives of the people in the High
Middle Ages
• The sacraments were seen as a means of receiving Gods grace &
necessary for salvation
• Saints were very important as well as they could ask for favors, for
those who prayed for them, at the throne of God
• Recognized saints included the apostles, Mary the mother of Jesus,
& numerous local saints who had special significance to the area
• Mary however was the most significant
• Emphasis on religious relics of the saints were very important
especially their bones as they were seen as a link between heaven
& earth
• It was believed that the relics could perform miracles
• Medieval Christians also pilgrimages to holy shrines was also
important & could produce a spiritual benefit