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EUH2001 The Dismal 14th Century 12/07/2007
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War, Heresy, Plagues & Extras
Crises of Late Medieval Europe
Division within the church
persecution of heretics
the hundred years war
the black death
peasant uprisings
invasions from the east
o 1Mongols
o ottoman Turks
Background on the development in the church in the 13th
century
The Medieval Search for Religious Harmony
The Churchs Mission of Reform
o Innocent III
first pope trained in the universities
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strengthened the authority of the office
o 4th Lateran Council [1215]
attempted to regulate every aspect of
Christian life
stipulated that Christians are to attend
mass and confess at least once a year
doctrine of transubstantiation
the wine and bread taken at
communion are the physical
incarnation of blood and body of
Christ
the church had the right to investigate
marriages and their legality
to strengthened the legal authority of
the church and in case a child was
born out of wedlock
they required for all Jews to wear an item
to identify them as a Jew
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they did not set a specific guideline,
based on region by region basis
the nobles liked it because they could
charge so they would not have to
wear the items
o Suppression of Heretics
It not only was a crime against the church
but also against the secular government
the pope also had an army, just not large
enough to attack other kingdoms, just to
enforce their doctrines
o The Inquisition
o Lay Piety
Friars, townspeople, tertiary
Friars are there to help the poor
Tertiary were lay people that took the
monastic life. They were religious, but
were not part of the clergy
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Piety of Women
Stay at home, take care of the family
nobles and wealthy women entered
convents
Cultural Harmonies
o Scholasticism
Empiricism & Faith
Thomas Aquinas [1225 1274]
scholar
John Duns Scotus [1266 1308]
truth only came from the intervention
of the divine
they called themselves scholars
they were looking for a combination and
spiritual and empirical powers
they wanted to create harmony and new
authority for the Pope
o New Artistic Syntheses
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Literature
Dante Alighieri
Published the divine trilogy
o Very lengthy poem on his
journeys through hell,
purgatory and heaven
o incorporated historical
figures and from his lifetime
Gothic Architecture
High arches designed to lead people
into knowledge
stained glass with saints
community efforts in financing,
design and construction
The Politics of Control
Weakening of the Empire
o Frederick II
conflict between him and the Pope
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as emperor he needed to maintain his
kingdom and the Pope wanted to expand
the Papal states
Innocent III wanted to separate from
Frederick II
the emperor was able to use the
churchs office as his own ruling
bureaucracy
Constitutions of Melfi [1231]
pulls jurisdiction from the church
back to the empires people
Statute in Favor of the Princes [1232]
virtual independence of the German
Kingdoms under his rule, in exchange
for his recognition of the Italian rule
The Pope excommunicates Frederick II,
they call a crusade against him
(unsuccessful)
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o Blowback
some people fight back on both fronts
o Holy Roman Empire
Frederick II is no longer a strong emperor
he has no heirs
Rudolf [Hapsburg, Swabia, 1273]
takes the title of Holy Roman Empire
elected by the rest of the princes of
the empire
consolidates power over the rule of
Swabia
the emperor is an honorary title and
the title is elected by the princes of
the German states
Charles IV & the Golden Bull [1356]
declares the holy roman empire and
its electoral system as official
o Kings and Representation
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Over 500 years does not become its own
country
Loosely co-coordinated kingdoms and
principalities for 500 years
Louis VIIII establishes its court
and the Parliament is being established at
this time as well
Weakening of the Papacy
o The secular rulers did not tax the clergy before
the 12th century
o
Philip IV (French) and Edward I (English) tax
the church and do not have to submit to any
other institution, be it the church or anyone
else
o Taxing the Clergy
National Sovereignty
The Pope Boniface VIII threatens to
excommunicate the Kings
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Both respond in similar ways
Edward I declares if they do not pay
taxes then they are not under the
protection of its law
also publicly burns the Popes
letter of excommunication
as a part of propaganda he
distributes a forged letter that
not only excommunicates the
King but also says that the
people of England are under the
rule of the Pope
he tries (successfully) to garner
hate against the Papacy
Philip IV
Embargoes all payments to
Rome
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calls a meeting of French nobles
to gather their support as King
and his authority of him over
that of the Pope
he declares the Pope is a heretic
and a trader to France
o In 1302
The Pope issues Unam Sanctum
it says you cant have salvation
unless you are under the Popes
authority
follow the Pope or go to hell
largely ignored
Philip claiming that the pope is a
heretic and sends mercenaries
southwest of Rome in Anagni [1303]
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the plan was to grab the pope
and have him stand in trial for
heresy and treason
they can't get a hold of him, the
townspeople protect him
o the pope is relatively safe
This is the first time that a secular
power not only took arms against the
pope but also denied the authority of
the pope and got away with it
Philip IV has a lot of support, the
nobles want to tax the clergy as well
huge humiliation for the papacy
o By 1305
Cardinals across Europe are deeply
divided
Also the Pope dies of natural causes
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the cardinals are afraid of secular
power
in order to appease the French and
English king they appoint a French
archbishop that has royal ties with
the English nobility
Rome becomes a dangerous seat for
the papacy
the church moves the capital to
Avignon. Close to France with very
close ties to it
Between 1305 1378
The next 5 popes are French
Papacy in Crisis
Avignon Papacy [1305 1378]
o French cardinals dominate the church and
most church officials are French
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o the church allows the king of France to use
funding raised through the ties of the church
to finance Frances wars
o in practicality, despite the clear leaning
toward France, the papacy is not just a vassal
of the French king. They do go against the
French king from time to time
o However, overwhelmingly people think they
church is just a vassal of the French kingdom
o the Christians do not like the French rule of the
papacy
o the city of Avignon becomes a symbol of
corruption
crowded with merchants, prostitution
industry, thriving industry of astrologers
who are not in line with church doctrine
there are 43 banking houses in Avignon
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o people see it as corrupt and in bed with the
king of France
Papal Authority
o The pope is still very powerful and proficient in
collecting money
o The pope has its own army
Most of the time in Italy, but still under his
command
o Profitable Doctrines
Purgatory
Intermediary between heaven and
hell
not damned, but youll get to heaven
sooner or later
Indulgences
Jesus Christ and all the saints have a
surplus of merit, a surplus of
salvation
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It acts as a treasury
if you donate enough money the
treasury will pay out to you for
your own salvation
this is an active system
they have their own people meeting
with nobles
kind of like salesman pitching the
system of salvation
Benefices Conflict
o
Church offices become a point of conflict
o the offices were also solicited
o specially a problem within the German
Kingdoms
o this reduces local influence in the church
o papal tax collectors are prevented from
collecting on an office that is essentially
empty
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o the German kingdoms get together and come
out with the Statue of Provisors
forbids offices in absentia
money will not go to offices that are
empty
o Edward III of England makes the election of
papal authority to the Bishops in England.
Criticism
o Catherine of Siena
A greatly influential spiritual leader at her
time
given to raptures and trances, described
Avignon as a city in distress and urged the
papacy to return to Rome
o William of Ockman & Nominalism
Church power derived from the covenant
of the faithful
nominalism
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he believed that truth was only
derived from the spiritual absolvation
o Patriarch & Babylonian captivity
The church was gathering and spending
too much money, living a lavish life while
to giving enough to the people
o French and Scandinavians supported the pope,
however, not the English
o William of Ockman and Catherine of Siena
They are not heretics
They want change but they dont dispute
its authority
Extra Popes, Angry Councils & Heretics
Gregory XI Returns to Rome [1377 1378]
o Lure of a crusade
o Byzantium appeals for help against the
ottoman Turks from the pope
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The consensus is that if there is going to
be another crusade, it should be launched
from Rome
A greater symbolic power to combine
European powers
o Papal states
Growing agitation between the papal
states
The pope believes if he stays in Avignon
then the papal states might become
independent from the church
o Threat of Schism
He is afraid that they will appoint their
own bishops
The Great Schism
o He dies shortly after coming to Rome
o The cardinals, majority of whom are French,
have to pick a new pope
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They convene in Rome to chose a new
pope and fearing a return to Avignon the
Romans stand outside the Vatican
chanting Romano lo volemo! (We want a
roman) however, theyll settle for an
Italian
They chose an Italian bishop, Urban VI
o Urban VI
The cardinals regret the decision
11 of the 16 cardinals choosing the Pope
are French
they are hoping to chose an Italian and
still move back to Avignon
urban VI says no
he also says that cardinals are corrupt
the practice of collecting money from
a place that they are not even at.
The cardinals retreat
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13 retreat to a town outside of Rome
where they conclude that the election
of urban VI was not legitimate
the pressure of the mob nullifies the
election
they elect their own pope Clement VII
(Aug. 1378)
Clement VII
They return to Avignon and now
Europe has two popes
Europe at Sixes and Sevens
o Europe is divided, some go for urban VI and
some for clement VII
Pisa [1409]
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o The cardinals and nobles from both sides of
the divide are disconcerted enough by the fact
that there are two popes and religious divide
that they take it upon themselves to meet at
Pisa in 1409
o This is a revolutionary event
New pope used to be chose when the
pope dies
This is the first time that a pope is elected
while there is a living pope. Two in fact
The idea is to create one pope and nullify
the other two
o They come with this however from church law
A sitting pope can be deposed on account
of heresy and corruption
And that ultimate authority rests upon the
church as a whole
o They elect pope John XXIII
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Now there are three popes
A lot people do not take much seriousness
to the new pope or the convention at Pisa
They dont believe they have the
authority to create a new pope
Some people DO take the council of Pisa
seriously and the new pope but is not
widespread as they had hoped
o The authority of the church has been
weakened by this
People do not believe the church can
direct itself anymore
Conciliar Movement
o In 1415 the holy roman emperor calls for a
council of bishops and nobles to reform church
doctrine and elect a new pope that will finally
end this mess
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o At the council of Constance they come up with
Haec Sancta
The council itself is now under the
authority of Jesus Christ and therefore
have authority over the pope
They order john xxiii to resign
They then deposed the other two popes
and elect the pope Martin V
They believe that this type of councils
should meet over and over and direct the
church from time to time
o The conciliar movement fails at directing the
church from then on, however, they do stop
the schism
Heresy
o This allows for everybody to come together
o Three groups of heretics (major groups)
The Free Spirits
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They are called Beghards and
Beguins
They stressed the direct contact of
god in the individual which not only
rejects the sacrament of the church
but declares a quality among men
and women
They set up communal sites for men
and women worked, preached and
rejected the church and did not
submit to its authority together
There were rumors of orgies and free
love and all sorts of sexual
perversions
The church acted to stamp out this
movement by moving bibles which
they had translated to French and
burning some free spirits at the stake
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John Wycliffe and the Lollards
This is in England
He was appalled at the corruption of
the church
The sale of indulgences
Not only rejected the authority of the
church but proposed that the state
should direct the church
Bishops in England dismiss him
of his position as a monk and a
professor of theology
He lives the rest of his life in
exile
His followers are called the Lollards
Hussites Revolt (shortly before of the
council at Constance)
Jan Hus was powerful theologist
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He was excommunicated by john
XXIII in 1410
But he is still active in preaching
and gains a following
In 1415 he is invited to
Constance and guaranteed safe
passage and safety once he
arrives
o This is false
o He believes he is going to
Constance for an important
theological debate
o He walks into a trap and
burned at the stake
When words comes back of his death
his followers openly revolt
They demanded greater freedom
from the church
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They demanded that they could
take wine (only the priest could
do so at this time)
They also asked that priests
should be punished by secular
courts for corruption
During the revolt Ziska led an army to
a hill and lived together and fought
together
They are able to hold off all the attacks
mounted against them then in 1433 a
council convenes in Switzerland
The council negotiates a truce with
the Hussites
They give in to the Hussites demands
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