THE PAPAL MONARCHY

Since the 5th c, the popes of the Catholic Church had been supreme over the affairs of the Church

They had also gained control of territories in central Italy that came to be known as the Papal States

This control kept the popes involved in political matters, often at the expense of their spiritual duties

PAPAL REFORMS Secular, or lay, rulers usually

chose nominees to church offices and gave them the symbol of their office, a practice known as lay investiture

Realizing the need to be free from secular interference in the appointment of church officials, Pope Gregory VII decided to fight this practice

Gregory claimed that only by eliminating lay investiture could the Church regain its freedom

By “freedom” he meant the right of the Church to appoint clergy and run its own affairs

THE CHURCH SUPREME During the papacy of Pope Innocent III in the 13th c, the Catholic Church reached the height of its political power

Innocent used the spiritual weapons at his command

His favorite was the interdict – forbids priests from giving the sacraments (Christian rites) of the Church to a particular group of people.

The goal was to cause the people under interdiction, who were deprived of the comforts of religion, to exert pressure against their ruler

THE CULTURE OF THE HIGH MIDDLE AGES

THE RISE OF UNIVERSITIES

THE FIRST UNIVERSITIES The first European university

appeared in Bologna (buh-LOH-nyuh), Italy

A great teacher that taught Roman law attracted students from all over Europe (men) Most were administrators for kings

and princes

Kings, popes, and princes thought it honorable to found new universities

By 1500, there were 80 universities in Europe

UNIVERSITY CURRICULA Students began their studies at

medieval university w/ the traditional liberal arts curriculum Consisted of grammar, rhetoric, logic,

arithmetic, geometry, music, and astronomy

Teaching was down using the lecture method The word “lecture” is derived from

Latin and means “to read” Books were expensive and few

students could afford them, so teachers read from a basic text and then added their explanations

A student could go on to study law, medicine, or theology Theology – the study of religion and God – was the most highly regarded subject of the medieval university

THE BLACK DEATH

Basically this is a nasty bacteria-based epidemic that was spread along trade routes Rats carrying fleas that had the bacterium were the catalyst

The plague spread through trade routes Italian merchant ships (a playground for rats) brought the disease with them from the Black Sea in October 1347

By the end of the year it had spread throughout Italy, France, and Spain

Out of a total European population of 75 million, 38 million died of the plague between 1347-1351 (4 years) That’s 9.5 million per year That’s 182,693 / week Over 26,000 / day That’s over 5 Willis’s / day

ECONOMIC EFFECT The death of so many people in the 14th c led to a decline in trade and shortage of workers this caused a dramatic increase in the cost of labor

DECLINE OF CHURCH POWER

European kings had grown unwilling to accept papal claims of supremacy by the end of the 13th c.

This was evident in the struggles btw Pope Boniface VIII and King Philip IV

Basically, Philip wanted to tax the clergy and Boniface said that they will not be taxed because they are above state

Philip disagreed and sent troops to capture Boniface and bring him to trial Boniface escaped by died soon after the

ordeal from the shock of the experience

Philip made to where a Frenchman was elected Pope and moved the papal offices to Avignon, France. From 1305-1377 popes live in Avignon…

NOT Rome

Eventually the papal offices returned to Rome in 1377 under Pope Gregory XI He died soon after the journey home

THE GREAT SCHISM

After Gregory’ death an Italian was elected Pope

A group of French cardinals declared the election invalid and chose a Frenchman as pope.

This split began what is known as the Great Schism of the Church

This lasted from 1378-1417 The French Pope lived in Avignon, the

Italian Pope lived in Rome The allies of France recognized the French pope

as the head of the Church France’s enemies, mainly England and her

allies, recognized the Italian Pope as head of the Church

Both popes attacked the other and label him as the Antichrist.

This back and forth pestering and name-calling led many people to lose faith in the Church’s authority

The Great Schism ended at a church council in 1417

By the early 1400s, the Church had lost much of its political power

The pope no longer had any hope of asserting supremacy over the state

The papacy and the Church had lost much of their spiritual authority

THE HUNDRED YEARS WAR

1337-1453 Was fought between France and

England Began when the French King Philip VI

tried to invaded a small English territory in France

This caused King Edward III of England to declare war

The English was a few key battles at Crecy and Agincourt

When hope was all but lost, the French monarchy and military rallied behind a young woman named Joan of Arc

Joan of Arc was a deeply religious person who came to believe she had experienced visions from God

She persuaded the French king to allow her to accompany the army to Orleans Here, her faith inspired the French forces

and led to a victory

Seeing her as a threat and rallying point, the English captured Joan and she was turned over to the Inquisition on charges of witchcraft Joan was condemned as a heretic and

sentence to burn at the stake

Eventually the French won the war in 1453 with the help of a new weapon...the cannon

This was made possible by the invention of gunpowder