Church Power and Corruption

Emma Hoskins Zoë Wheeler

Period 5

Age of FaithBackground info.

• Another term for the Middle ages and the most important• Faith and religion played extremely

important roles during the middle ages.• Power of faith was so strong that it

functioned like a government • Dominated all aspects of life

Age of FaithEffect of Religion

• Christians taught that faith was divine grace, granted only to those who would fortify it.

• People began listening to the Pope before the Emperor, because he had a connection with god.

• Also listened to church leaders over political rulers

• Faith was the most dominant force.

• Catholics viewed the era as harmonious and productive

Influence of the Church

• Roman Catholic Church• Daily Life was based around the

church• Controlled political and economic

aspects• Usually was the biggest building

in town and at the center of the town

• Collected taxes from people within the town

• Often used as town halls.• Faith and religion in the middle

ages had absolute power and basically absolute rule

Influence of the ChurchClergy of the church

• Priests- weren’t rich like bishops.• Generally head of the church• Cared for spiritual life of

people• relieved men and women of

their sins through confessions

• Bishops- acted like judges• Both in civil and criminal

matter

Influence of ChurchOver Society

• Controlled peoples beliefs

• Not lead by the King but the Pope• King couldn’t tell anyone from

the church what to do

• Church owned many large areas of farmland• Peasants workers grew crops• Taxed by church, had to give

one 10% of produce to the church and Tithe

CorruptionSimony

• Simony was the practice of giving or obtaining an appointment to a church office for money.

• Also the exchange of spiritual for temporal things is considered simony• Pope Julius II declared having

practiced simony during his elections

• “Sin of Simon”

• Selling church offices to unqualified men

CORRUPTIONPriests become illiterate and

unable to lead religious ceremonies

Bishops led lives of luxuryLived in palaces wore jewel-encrusted gold

robes

Found ways to pay for luxuriesCharged to see holy relicsSold indulgences

Corruption of Church• Led to many doubts

and questioning of authority

Crimes tried by fellow churchmen resulted in lenient verdict

• The church told its people that pilgrimages to sites of relics and holy places were suitable ways to repent for their sins.

CORRUPTION-CELIBACY

• Celibacy: members of the clergy were required to be unmarried

• Popes married

• Fathered and raised children

• Priests and nuns in spite of taking vows of chastity engaged in sexual relationships

CorruptionIndulgence

• Indulgence: Full or partial dismissal of a sin

• Earned through confession and granted by a Catholic Church• Being sold instead of earned

• Commissaries sought to extract the maximum amount of $ for each indulgence

• The professional “pardoners” collected their donations by selling indulgences in order to get $

WORKS CITED

• http://www.the-orb.net/non_spec/missteps/ch11.html

• http://cyberscally.com/

• http://michael-streich.suite101.com/medieval-church-corruption-a173579

•  http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE49&iPin=EMW0496&SingleRecord=True

• http://michael-streich.suite101.com/medieval-church-corruption-a173579 

• http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&gbv=2&spell=1&q=cache:eQboJM7aMF4J:http://www.enotes.com/topics/middle-ages+%22age+of+faith%22+background+info&ct=clnk

Works Cited

• http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?hl=en&gbv=2&spell=1&q=cache:eQboJM7aMF4J:http://www.enotes.com/topics/middle-ages+%22age+of+faith%22+background+info&ct=clnk

• http://ezinearticles.com/?Corruption-of-the-Church-in-the-Middle-Ages&id=969734

• http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/198631/middle_ages_the_age_of_faith_pg2.html?cat=37

• http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold/CH.Arnold.RMT.1.html

Works Cited

• http://thirdmill.org/newfiles/jac_arnold/CH.Arnold.RMT.1.html

• http://www.google.com/search?q=simony+in+the+middle+ages&btnG=Search&hl=en&gbv=2&prmd=ivnsb&ei=2ljVTpmtHoXLsQLnmJz9Dg&sa=N