The Late Middle Ages

1
The Late Middle Ages

• Public Turmoil, Personal Piety

2
Introduction

• Overview of time period (1300 1500)
• The Hundred Years War between France and England
  raged on
• The Papacy declined into corruption (multiple
  popes at one point)
• Individual religious practices flourished among
  common people
• Europe was ravaged by the Black Death (Bubonic
  Plague)

3
Black Death

• Arrived in Europe in 1347
• Brought to Italy and North Africa on merchant
  ships from the east (fleas most likely infected
  rats on board)
• In only a few years, one third of Europes
  population died

4
Popes in Political Turmoil

• After Innocent III, popes were not as strong or
  authoritative
• The Hundred Years War weakened the papacy
• France and England were both Catholic countries
• This reality caused people to focus more on
  national identity instead of Catholic identity

5
The Avignon papacy

• Pope asserted supremacy over the French kings
  decision to tax French clergy
• French king angry and sent troops to Rome in 1303
  to arrest the pope
• The king had long been trying to make the French
  church a national church instead of one loyal to
  the pope
• The pope was saved by the people of Rome, but
  died a month later

6
The Avignon Papacy

• In 1305 a Frenchman was elected pope by the
  college of cardinals (Pope Clement V)
• Clement V was highly influenced by the French
  king
• In 1309 Clement V moved the papal headquarters to
  Avignon (southern France)
• He then appointed several French cardinals
• He also changed several Church policies to please
  the French king

7
The Avignon Papacy

• Clement V died of cancer and his successor (also
  French) decided to make Avignon the permanent
  papal headquarters
• In all, seven French popes lived in Avignon from
  1309 to 1377
• The popes were heavily influenced by French kings
  
• They lived very luxurious and often corrupt
  lifestyles
• Some Christians believed that the Black Death was
  a punishment by God for the corrupt papacy

8
Why not Avignon?

• Christians (particularly outside of France)
  believed that the pope should be in Rome for
  several reasons
• The first pope (Peter) was the bishop of Rome
• During the Hundred Years War it was not wise to
  have the pope side with one country (France)
• Living away from the Papal States, the popes
  could not collect usual revenues from the
  territory, so often found corrupt ways to gain
  money

9
The Avignon Papacy

• Gregory the XI was the seventh Avignon pope, and
  he had been thinking about Rome for several years
• In 1376 he was visited by Catherine of Siena
  (member of the Dominican lay order)
• Catherine told the pope of a message from God to
  return to Rome
• In 1377 Pope Gregory XI brought the papacy back
  to Rome

10
Catherine of Siena

• Though Catherine is famous for influencing
  Gregory XI to move back to Rome, she is
  significant for other reasons too
• She lived a contemplative life in her teens
• At 21 years old she became active in serving
  Sienas poor population
• She became know for holiness and was often asked
  to mediate disputes between the city-state of
  Florence and the Pope
• She authored a book on her mystical experiences
  and on prayer
• She did all of this at a time when women did not
  have real rights!

11
Papal Schism

• Pope Urban VI follwed Pope Gregory XI in 1378 (he
  was Italian)
• He was a compromise candidate (the cardinals
  would probably have elected another French pope,
  but feared the people of Rome)
• Urban VI was hot-tempered and did not get along
  well with the cardinals
• French Cardinals decided that Urban VI was not
  the real pope because he was elected out of fear
• The elected a new French pope who moved back to
  Avignon
• So now there are two popes!!

12
Papal Schism

• At one point a group of cardinals tried to solve
  the problem by electing a third pope (FYI
  adding one more pope to the mix did not solve
  anything)
• The schism continued for about thirty years
• Finally the holy Roman Emperor called a general
  council where Martin V was elected in 1417 and
  this ended the schism