The History of the Church : The Medieval Church - Main Themes
Authority Discerning the Faith Christendom & the
Wider World Monasticism
The Medieval Church (500-1500) : Timeline
500 AD Clovis, King of the Franks, baptised
536 AD Belisarius recaptures Rome
563 AD St Columba founds Iona monastery
711 AD Moors invade Spain 800 AD Charlemagne crowned
Holy Roman Emperor by Pope 990 AD Orthodox Church
founded in Russia
1054 schism between Eastern & Western Churches
1096 AD First Crusade 1209 AD St Francis founds
Franciscans 1347-52 AD The Black
Death 1453 Turks capture
Constantinople 1454 AD Gutenberg Bible 1492 Moors defeated in Spain
1. Authority : Rome Rome was sacked in :
390 by the Gauls 410 by the Visigoths 455 by the Vandals 546 by the Ostrogoths 846 by the Arabs 1084 by the Normans 1527 by mutinous troops of
Charles V
1. Authority : The Papacy 537-752 : “Byzantine Papacy” 752-904 : Frankish influence 904-1048 : Roman Families &
multiple Popes 1048-1257 : Popes v Emperors. 1257-1377 : Avignon etc 1378-1417 : Western Schism :
multiple popes 1417-1534 : Renaissance Papacy
1. Authority : Pope Gregory the Great (590-604)
First monk to become Pope Pastoral : ate with 12 poor people every
day Reformed the Church Strongly encouraged Missions (eg sent
Augustine to England) : adopting native customs
Gregorian Chant “The care of the whole Church has been
committed to the Blessed Peter, Prince of the Apostles.”
1. Authority : Charlemagne (742-814) Gave “The Donation of
Pepin” (2/3rds Italy) to the Papacy in 774.
Crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo lll in 800
“My task is to defend the Church of Christ and your’s ( Pope Leo ll) is to raise your hands to God like Moses to ensure the victory of our arms.”
1. Authority : Pope Innocent lll (1198 – 1216 )
Claimed supremacy over Kings : “We are the successor of the Prince of the Apostles but we are not his Vicar – not the Vicar of any man or Apostle but the Vicar of Jesus Christ Himself.”
“The Pope is lower than God but higher than man. He is the one who judges all and is judged by no one.”
Reformed Canon Law Increasingly International Church : 500+
bishops attended Second Lateran Council in 1139
1. Authority : Church – State Conflicts Pope Gregory Vll (1073-85) : Church
should have ultimate authority eg to depose kings, judge disputes.
Investiture controversy: Pope Gregory Vll excommunicates & deposes Emperor Henry IV . Resolved in Concordat of Worms 1122
King Henry ll & Thomas Becket : Royal submission before St Thomas’ tomb in 1174
2. Discerning the Faith : Church Councils
Council Outcome
Constantinople ll (553) Confirmed first 4 Councils & condemned Nestorianism
Constantinople lll (680-681) Defined 2 Wills in Christ ending Monothelitism
Nicaea ll (787) Regulated veneration of holy images / icons
Constantinople IV (869) Condemned Photius & supported clerical celibacy
Lateran l (1123) Abolished right of lay investiture & confirmed clerical celibacy
Lateran ll (1139) Crusade against Islam
2. Discerning the Faith : Church Councils
Council Outcome
Lateran lll (1179) Condemned Albigenses & Waldenses & decress on reforming morals
Lateran IV (1215) Transubstantiation / Annual penance & communion. High point of papal power
Lyons l (1245) Excommunicated Frederic ll & new crusade under St Louis
Lyons ll (1274) Attempt at reuniting with Eastern Church
Vienne (1311-13) Suppressed Knights Templars etc
2. Discerning the Faith : St Thomas Aquinas (1225 – 1274)
Dominican who rejected Archbishopric of Naples to write his Summa Theologica
Nicknamed “the Dumb Ox” Reconciled Aristotle & Christianity Sets out objections to Christianity
& best responses Declared a Saint in 1323 & Doctor
of the Church in 1567
2. Discerning the Faith : St Thomas Aquinas : Key Teachings
The goal of human existence is union & eternal fellowship with God through the beatific Vision after death
We can deduce the existence of God & His attributes through reason but certain specifics require Revelation eg the Incarnation & the Trinity
Salvation is a gift from God which involves us loving what God loves & this provides the impetus to lead a moral life
A Just War requires a just purpose, proper authority & peace as its central motive
2. Discerning the Faith : Cathedrals Cathedral : cathedra (seat, of a
bishop) A hymn to the glory of God ; the
Christian Soul’s progress towards salvation
Often oriented East / West towards the rising sun symbolising the Risen Christ
Generally in shape of the Cross : the vertical Nave = the ship of life
St John Lateran, Rome
Plan of Salisbury Cathedral
2. Discerning the Faith : The Great Schism July 16, 1054: East-West Schism or
the Great Schism : issues of “filioque” clause, authority of Pope, cultural & language differences , married clergy, iconoclasm etc
Mutual excommunication. Sack of Constantinople in 1204
(Fourth Crusade) 1965 Pope Paul Vl & Patriarch
Athenagoruas l “regret the offensive words & actions on both sides, the sentences of excommunication” & hoped for full communion.
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Spread of Christianity
By 1200
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Eastern Orthodox Church
Focused on Hagia Sophia ; by 612 – 80 priests & 150 deacons
977 : Prince Vladimir of Kiev investigated best religion for Russia & chose Eastern Othodox. “We did not know whether we were in heaven or on earth. We only know there is God present among men & their service is the best of all.”
Collapse of Byzantine Empire 1453 – Moscow seen as the “Third Rome”.
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Medieval Shrines
Rome : St Peter and St Paul R. Assisi : St Francis A. Santiago de Compostela : St James
the Great S. Guadalupe : Image of Virgin G. Canterbury : St Thomas Becket C. Le Mont-Saint-Michel : St Michael
M. Tours : St Martin T. St Antoine l'Abbaye : St Anthony
A. St Maximin : St Mary Magdalene
M. Vézelay : St Mary Magdalene V. Cologne : The 3 Kings K.
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Spread of Islam
Mohammed (570 -632) Qur’an : (“That which is to be recited”) : “ The Oneness of
God” 638: Christian Jerusalem and Syria conquered by Muslims. 642: Egypt falls to the Muslims, then the rest of North
Africa. 711: Muslim armies invade Spain. 732: Muslim advance into Western Europe halted by
Charles Martel at Poitiers, France. 1492 : Moors defeated in Spain
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Spread of Islam
3. Christendom & the Wider World : The Crusades
“Deus lo Volt” Pope Urban ll calls for “the Peace of God” (Holy War) to deliver Jerusalem from Islam
“If any man sets out to free the Church of God at Jerusalem out of pure devotion & not out of love for glory or gain, the journey shall be accounted a complete penance on his part.”
3. Christendom & the Wider World : The Crusades
First Crusade1096 – 1099 : The People's Crusade - Freeing the Holy Lands. Most successful Crusade.
Second Crusade1144 -1155 Attack on Damascus. Third Crusade 1187 -1192 : Richard the Lionheart
of England, Philip II of France, and Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I. Saladin retakes most of the Holy land but allows access to Jerusalem.
Fourth Crusade1202 -1204 : Sack of Constantinople
The Children's Crusade1212 : French peasant boy, Stephen of Cloyes ?
3. Christendom & the Wider World : The Crusades
Fifth Crusade1217 – 1221 : St Francis of Assisi & Franciscans as Custodians
Sixth Crusade1228 – 1229: Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II - Control of Jerusalem until 1244.
Seventh Crusade1248 – 1254 : Louis IX of France. Defeat.
Eighth Crusade1270 Led by Louis IX. Defeat. Ninth Crusade1271 – 1272 : Prince Edward (later
Edward I ). Defeat.
3. Christendom & the Wider World : Effects of the Crusades
Slowed advance of Islam Weakened Byzantine Empire Increased trade with east Improved shipbuilding Growth of Italian banking Stimulated missions in Iran, C Asia &
China Franciscans as Caretakers in Palestine 1-3 million died
3. Christendom & the Wider World : The Black Death (1347-52)
Spread from Central Asia by rats’ fleas (bacterium Yersinia Pestis)
25 million died – 30-60% of population of Europe. 150 years to recover.
Many priests, monks died : Mass often unavailable. Impact on quality of clergy.
No great loss of faith : churches, shrines built by grateful survivors
Scapegoats sought eg Jews (“well poisoners”)
“I wait among the dead for death to come” (John Clynn, Irish Franciscan)
4. Monasticism St Anthony of Egypt (251-356) : first type
of monasticism : “athletes of Christ” St Benedict (480-543) of Nursia’s Rule
( 73 Chapters) set standard for West Emphasis on poverty, chastity & obedience
with regular congregate meals, standard dress & “ moderate” life of work, sleep & prayer
Abbot was in charge but had to consult the body of monks & obey the Rule
The monasteries became very wealthy : in 1066 , 35 monasteries controlled 1/6th total revenue of England
4. Monasticism : Religious Orders Order Founder Habit Nature
1. Benedictines St Benedict c529
Black Study & communal living
2. Cistercians St Bernard c1115
White Strict poverty
3. Trappists De Rance 1664 White Silence, vegetarianism
4. Augustinians Pope Innocent c1244
Black Work with the poor
5. Franciscans St Francis c 1210
Brown Poverty
4. Monasticism : Religious Orders Order Founder Habit Nature
6. Dominicans St Dominic 1216
White / black cloak
Mendicants
7. Jesuits St Ignatius 1540 Black / high collar
Missionaries
8. Carmelites St Berthold c 1150
Brown / white mantle
Contemplative
9. Ursulines St Angela c 1537
Black Teaching
10. Capuchins Matteo di Bassi c 1525
Hooded habit Austerity, poverty
4. Monasticism : Notable Women Abbess Hilda of Whitby (614-80) St Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) :
Doctor of the Church, Composer St Catherine of Sienna (1347-1380) :
Doctor of the Church St Teresa of Avila (1515-82) :
Carmelite theologian & Mystic Julian of Norwich (1342-1416) :
Anchoress, Mystic, Writer
Hildegaard of Bingen
4. Monasticism : Religious Orders Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, France
4. Monasticism : A Medieval Monastery
1 Abbot or Prior's house 2 Almonry 3 Bakehouse 5 Buttery (storage) 8 Cemetary 9 Chapels 10 Chapter House 11 Church 12 Cloister 14 Dormitory 15 Farm 17 Fraterhouse or "refectory“ 20 Guest Houses 21 Infirmary
22 Kitchen 23 Lay brothers’ dormitory 24 Library
4. Monasticism : Daily Life Prayer & Worship Washing and cooking Raising supplies of vegetables and grain Reaping, Sowing, Ploughing, Binding and Thatching,
Haymaking and Threshing Producing wine, ale and honey Providing medical care Providing education Copying manuscripts of classical authors Providing hospitality for pilgrims
4. Monasticism : Daily Life Matins : 2 am Lauds : 5am Prime : 6am Terce : 9 am Sext : noon Nones : 3 pm Vespers : 4 - 5pm Compline : recited before
retiring 6pm
4. Monasticism : Habits A tunic, tied around the waist
with a cloth or leather belt A scapula : a long wide piece of
woollen cloth worn over the shoulders with an opening for the head
A cowl / hood Hair shirt (optional) A cross upon a chain around the
neck
The Medieval Church : Quiz 1. Who was the first monk to
become Pope? 2. When was the Schism
between East & West? 3. Which Pope said the Pope
is “lower then God but higher than man”?
4. What was the name of St Thomas Aquinas’ great work?
5. What time was Compline?
1. Gregory the Great (590-604)
2. 1054
3. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216)
4. The Summa Theologica
5. About 6pm – and then to bed!