The Medieval Church

1
The Medieval Church

• The Most Stable Authority in Medieval Times

2
Organization of Church
3
The Ultimate Goal

• Everyone went to church
• Catholic Church was the only Christian church in
  Europe
• Only the Church could help people achieve
  salvation
• All people wanted salvation, SO
• Many would leave all their property to Church,
  hoping it would get them into Heaven
• Many would buy pardons or go on pilgrimages

4
Importance of Parish Priests

• After lord of manor, priest most important man in
  village
• Mass was in Latin, the language of the Church
• During Mass, priest described Heaven and Hell
• Since almost no one could speak Latin, or read
  and write, icons, statues and Doom paintings
  helped depict horrors of Hell and joys of Heaven

5
Duties of Parish Priest

• Say Mass in Latin every Sunday
• Perform weddings and baptisms
• Hear confessions
• Bury the dead
• Heal the sick
• Teach children of the wealthy

• Visit villagers to listen and help with problems
• Tend to Church land, including growing and
  harvesting crops and herbs
• Collect tithes
• Keep all village records

6
The Power of the Church

• Only the Church could offer salvation
• Members of Church were usually the only ones who
  could read and write
• Many important government positions were held by
  Bishops and Archbishops
• Had great influence over common people, knights
  and kings

7
Why so much influence?

• The Church owned land
• Owned a great deal of farmland
• Anyone who grew crops on Church land had to give
  10 of all they grew to the Church - Tithe

8
Why so much influence?

• The Church controlled peoples beliefs
• Told people they would either go to Heaven or
  Hell when they died
• Hell was a place of great suffering and the idea
  frightened most people
• Church gave them hope that they at least might go
  to Purgatory instead, if they followed Church
  rules

9
Why so much influence?

• The Church could influence behavior
• Returning knights - difficult time adjusting to
  peace
• Often terrorized villages
• Church could influence their behavior make them
  swear on relics to
• Enforce the Peace of God
• Enforce the Truce of God

10
Why so much influence?

• The Church was rich
• Since people didnt want to go to Hell, they were
  willing to do what the Church suggested, such as
• Attend Church and live a good life
• Go on a pilgrimage
• Buy pardons, called Indulgences
• The Church made a lot of money through people
  trying to buy their way to Heaven

11
Why so much influence?

• The Church was not controlled by the King
• The Church was Roman Catholic and therefore
  controlled by the Pope
• The King could not tell anyone from the Church
  what to do
• Church officials could not be tried in normal
  court
• Could only be tried in Church court
• Church officials were often very lenient on their
  peers

12
Reform of the Papacy

• Since 5th century, Church claimed rule over all
  business of the Church
• Also gained control of territories in Italy
  Papal States
• Also maintained involvement in feudal system
• Secular rulers chose local church officials
  bishops and abbots received the symbols of
  authority from noblemen they were invested with
  a ring and a staff (investiture)
• Pope Gregory VII decided to change this practice

13
The Investiture Controversy

• Gregory claimed he was Gods Vicar on Earth and
  had authority over all Christian world, including
  its rulers
• Church should appoint all church officials
• If rulers refused to accept this change, the Pope
  would remove the rulers
• Henry IV tried to fight this and was
  excommunicated all of his subjects were absolved
  from any allegiance to him

14
Concordat of Worms

• A year later, Henry IV humbled himself before the
  Pope, who removed the excommunication
• However this continued to be a point of
  contention until 1122 Concordat of Worms
• Under this agreement, German bishops elected by
  Church officials
• Then paid homage to German king as his feudal
  lord and invested him with symbols of earthly
  office
• Then a representative of the Pope invested him
  with symbols of his spiritual office

15
New Religious Orders

• Franciscans
• Founded by Francis of Assisi
• Followers took vows of poverty, agreed to reject
  all property, and lived by working and begging
• Very popular with common people, whom they lived
  among and aided
• Undertook missionary work

• Dominicans
• Founded by Dominic de Guzman
• Believed his calling was to drive out heresy
  the denial of basic Church doctrines/policies
• Believed that a new religious order who lived in
  poverty and could preach effectively could best
  attack heresy

16
The Inquisition

• The Church court set up to deal with heresy
• Dominicans became well-known for their part in
  examining people accused of heresy
• At first, those who confessed performed public
  penance and received punishment
• In 1252, Inquisition added torture as a method of
  getting confessions
• Those who didnt confess but were believed guilty
  or those who had done penance and relapsed were
  executed

17
Relics and Pilgrimages

• People believed saints, because of their
  holiness, could advocate for them in heaven
• Relics, the bones of saints or objects connected
  to them with saints, were worshipped because the
  provided a link between the earthly world and God
• Many believed relics could heal people or produce
  miracles

• Many also believed a pilgrimage to a holy shrine
  could produce spiritual benefit
• Greatest shrine was Jerusalem
• Other popular shrines were Rome, Santiago de
  Compostela, and Canterbury
• Pilgrims were to be protected
• Uproar when Jerusalem was taken over by Muslims
  who allegedly prohibited pilgrims from
  completing pilgrimage to Holy Land