Age of Faith

1
Age of Faith

• a.k.a. Middle Ages, a.k.a. Dark Ages,
• a.k.a. Medieval Times, a.k.a. would you like to
  discuss religion with me in my cozy basement
  dont mind the iron spikes period

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Age of Faith is

• Roman Catholic (very very few exceptions)
• Parallel to feudal system
• Each Manor has one Church
• Site for mass, town meetings, festivals, markets
• Each Town (when they emerge) has a cathedral
• called pillars of the earth (took centuries to
  construct)

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Acts of the Faithful (Christians)

• Fridays (avoid meats)
• Sundays (at least) Mass (to be reminded of life
  after death)
• Holidays celebrate the lives of heroes, saints,
  messiah
• Seven Sacraments
• Baptism (joining church in infancy)
• Eucharist (communion)
• Confirmation (confirming belief at adulthood
  age 13)
• Matrimony (marriage)
• Penance (confession)
• Holy Orders (becoming a priest)
• Extreme Unction (holy healing exorcism)

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Church in the Middle Ages Summary

• What Role did the church play in the life of
  common people in the middle ages?

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HIERARCHY

• Pope is unquestioned leader of the church
• he has all the answers
• Only one who can appoint lower orders
• Yet it was simple and dedicated monks and priests
  who made sure Catholic beliefs reached the
  "unwashed" masses on a daily basis. These
  soldiers of the church met needs of the people in
  misery, in death, or in crisis and belonged to
  religious orders like Franciscans, Jesuits and
  Dominicans.

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Jobs of the Faithful

• Priests
• recorded births,
• performed marriages
• conducted burials.
• communicated the beliefs to the masses
• All Christians
• Existance of God was an accepted fact
• Achieve Salvation
• Follow Rules of the Church
• Perform Good Works
• Live a moral life
• Alternative to Salvation
• (damnation)

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Jobs of the Faithful Friars Monks and Nuns

• Monks and Nuns
• ran schools and hospitals.
• provided food and shelter for travelers.
• Benedictine Rule (540 CE) celibacy, labor,
  study, poverty
• Friars
• Friars came to where the people were
• convert heretics (not like the inquisitors)
• feed the hungry
• aid the sick and poor
• teach the unlearned
• Religious Orders
• Dominicans -- emphasized study (SCHOOLS)
• Franciscans Mendicants (St. Francis of Assisi)
  Treated all creatures as if they were spiritual
  brothers (HOSPITALS)

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Power of the Church

• Bishops
• operated courts ruling on matters such as
  marriage, divorce and wills.
• All Christians were partly governed by Church
  (canon law)!
• Tithes -- collections of money from Christians to
  be used by Church -- used to provide for sick and
  poor.
• Any King who quarreled with the Pope might
  suffer
• EXCOMMUNICATION, being kicked out of the church
• INTERDICTION, where no church ceremonies could be
  performed on the offending ruler's land.
• Officials removed from office.

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Church in the Middle Ages Summary

• What Roles did people in the middle ages play as
  members of the church?
• Or
• What was evidence of the Church's great wealth
  and influence?

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War Against Heresy(Inquisition)

• INQUISITION a branch of the church dedicated to
  the war against heresy.
• find and judge heretics.
• HERETIC person suspected of disagreeing with the
  church
• questioned and/or tortured.
• almost impossible for a person to prove his
  innocence.
• Pope Innocent IV's papal bull Ad exstirpanda of
  1252, which authorized and regulated the use of
  torture in investigating heresy.
• In some cases, whole villages suspected of
  heretics were slaughtered.

11

• In Capitol Hill testimony, CIA director Michael
  Hayden finally confirmed reports that have been
  swirling for years from a variety of on- and
  off-the-record sources. Hayden admitted that
  Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubayda and Abd
  al-Rahim al-Nashiri were subjected to the
  interrogation technique to gain information on a
  "belief that additional catastrophic attacks
  against the homeland were imminent." He was quick
  to add, though, that "the CIA has not used
  waterboarding for almost five years."
• For those who don't already know, waterboarding
  -- used at least since the Spanish Inquisition --
  involves strapping a person to a surface,
  covering his face with cloth and pouring water on
  the face to simulate the sensation of drowning.
  While it can be performed without injury to the
  prisoner, the risk of harm or even death is
  always there. In addition, the long-lasting
  effects -- both physical and psychological -- can
  haunt a person for the rest of his or her life.
• The United States has a history of regarding
  waterboarding as a crime, and in the past has
  prosecuted war criminals for using it
  (particularly during World War II). However,
  according to a Newsweek magazine story in 2004,
  the Bush administration in 2002 found
  waterboarding acceptable for prisoners such as
  Mohammed, the alleged planner of the Sept. 11
  attacks, and al-Nashiri, the mastermind behind
  the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen

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War Against Outside Faiths(Crusades)

• Like other rulers in the Middle Ages, popes
  thought of themselves as warriors.
• 8 invasions of the Holy Land (1096-1291)
• Initially to Defend Byzantium
• Fight to Hold Jerusalem
• Crusaders were told it was a sure way to gain
  salvation

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Catholic Wars Summary

• What was similar about the wars the Catholic
  church fought? What was the motivation behind
  the atrocities committed?

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Reforms in the Church

• Monks of Cluny (910CE)
• No personal wealth
• Live simply
• Church Decree (1059CE) All popes must be chosen
  by cardinals
• Not local kings / lords (no longer a position you
  could buy - SIMONY)
• Pope Gregory VII Decree (1073CE)
• Priests may not marry!
• End of SIMONY the buying of church offices
• End of Lay Investiture
• Who should select church officials? Pope or
  King?
• Pope Gregory VII King Henry IV (of Germany)
  argue about this
• Gregory excommunicates and Interdicts Henry
• They fight about this until their deaths the
  investiture controversy
• Concord of Worms (1122CE)
• Solves Invesiture controversy
• King gives land to bishops
• Pope gives title to bishops

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Reforms Summary

• Churches became rich and often corrupt during the
  early Middle Ages. Many religious leaders lost
  sight of carrying out their religious duties.
• What important reforms were taken, and how would
  that change life for a common person?