Middle Ages: Part II

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Middle Ages Part II

• The Late Middle Ages and the
• Catholic Church

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I. The Catholic Church
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A. Spread outside of Roman Empire

• Clovis declares the Catholic Church official
  religion of the Frankish Kingdom (400s - France)
• Angles and Saxons make Christianity official
  religion (500s - England)
• Missionaries
• St. Patrick - Ireland
• St. Augustine

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B. Split in Christian Church

• Rome (Western Europe) and Constantinople (Eastern
  Europe) vie for religious power
• Two points of contention
• Pope in Rome and Bishop in Constantinople both
  claim to have complete authority
• Disagree on Church doctrine
• Church language
• Religious beliefs
• rituals

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• 1054 - Church splits into two distinct parts
• Roman Catholic Church (Rome)
• Greek Orthodox Church (Constantinople)
• Roman Catholic Church is more influential
• Free from political control (emperors control
  Greek church)
• Dominant factor in western Europe in Middle Ages.
• Western Europe gains more importance
  (missionaries)

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C. People of the Church

• Secular Clergy - live/work in the normal world
• Pope - head of the church
• Cardinals - princes of the church usually
  bishops that are appointed to be the popes
  advisors
• Bishops - religious leaders that run individual
  districts called diocese
• Priests - religious leader of the local
  community/church
• Religious Orders - men/women who withdraw from
  normal world
• Men - known as monks or friars live in
  monasteries
• Women - known as nuns live in convents

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• Important religious orders
• Benedictines
• Started by St. Benedict - wrote the Benedictine
  Rule
• Monks devoted to hard work and prayer
• Provided for poor and needy, helped travelers,
  etc.
• Copied manuscripts and preserved classical
  Greek/Roman literature
• Franciscans and Dominicans
• Founded by St. Francis of Assisi and St. Dominic
• Consisted of mendicant (begging) friars that
  traveled around and ministered - Franciscans
  focused on the poor Dominicans focused on the
  upper class.

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D. Activities of the Church

• Religious activities
• Supervising religious needs of people -
  sacraments
• Excommunication
• Uncovering/trying heresy
• Economic activities
• Income - properties, gifts, tithes
• Maintained hospitals
• By 13th century - church owns 30 of land in
  western Europe

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• Cultural activities
• Promoted learning through schools
• Copying ancient books/manuscripts
• Influencing literature and architecture
• Political activities
• Maintained its own courts for cases.
• Truce of God which prohibited warfare on
  certain days
• Claimed supremacy over governments

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Late Middle Ages
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A. Crusades

• Background
• 4 separate missions to the middle east
• Trying to recover the Holy Land of Jerusalem
• Church trying to assert its power over the
  Moslems
• Pope Urban II calls for the first crusade in
  1096
• The Crusades
• First Crusade - (1096) well organized expedition
  caught Moslems off-guard and gained control of
  Jerusalem
• Third Crusade - (1189) crusade fails to recapture
  Jerusalem King Richard is able to negotiate safe
  passage of Christian Pilgrims

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• Effects of the Crusades
• Broadened peoples outlook - reality of world,
  products, people outside of Europe
• Stimulated trade - increased trading, money
  replaced barter, towns begin to grow again,
  middle class develops
• Strengthened Kings and Central Governments -
  weakened nobility, increasing trade
• Weakened Serfdom - some serfs gained freedom by
  participating in crusades, serfs begin to pay for
  land rather than working for nobles, serfs fled
  to growing cities
• Encouraged learning - saw how advanced Moslems
  were

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B. Developing Towns

• Trade centers and middle class
• Middle class develops known as bourgeoisie
• Most important trade center is Italy (Venice,
  Genoa, Pisa, Naples) due to access to
  Mediterranean sea
• Other important regions for trade are Belgium,
  Northern Germany
• Guilds in medieval towns
• Merchant Guilds - association of merchants that
  regulate trade
• Craft Guilds - regulated industry in a town
  (bakers, weavers, tailors, carpenters, etc.)

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C. Cultural Achievements

• Architecture - Romanesque style Gothic style
• Higher Education - Schools and universities
  developed
• Science and Inventions
• Alchemy - developed into chemistry
• Astrology
• Inventors
• Philosophy and Theology
• St. Thomas Aquinas - greatest medieval
  philosopher
• Literature
• Beowolf Song of Roland