Medieval Christianity
SS.A.2.4.7; SS.B.1.4.4; SS.A.3.4.4
The Papacy & Politics
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Popes begin to gain control of lands in Italy
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Pope’s lands known as Papal States
Popes often dealt with political matters at the expense
of spiritual duties
Popes’ vassals given church titles
Kings and nobles would give fiefs to bishops, known as
lay investitures
Church officials who care more about their Earthly
lords, and secular titles, neglect the holy call of God
and Church
1073: Gregory VII elected pope
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Believes he’s chosen by God to fix Church
Pope Gregory’s Reforms
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Asserted Pope’s roll as leader of Christianity,
including Christian kings
King Henry IV of Germany disagrees since he
had used bishops as vassals, to lessen the power
of Germany’s influential nobles
Pope makes it a sin to accept lay investitures
Henry does it anyway (Investiture Controversy)
Controversy continues until Gregory and new
king agree on Concordat of Worms
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Pope must elect German bishops, then king can
bestow temporal investitures
Pope Gregory VII
Church Supremacy
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Popes after Gregory respect his changes, but
more concerned with gaining power/stability
Innocent III: Pope is supreme judge of Europe
King John forced to accept Archbishop of
Canterbury, against his own wishes
 Forces King Philip Augustus to take back his wife,
and restore her as Queen of France
 Spiritual tools used to exact papal will:
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Interdicts: denial of sacraments
Religious Orders
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New religious enthusiasm engulfs Europe
Cistercian monks, unhappy with lack of
discipline, create new, stricter monastic order
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Many wealthy women join convents
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Only place for women to get education
Francis of Assisi creates Franciscan monastery
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Spend more time preaching to and helping people
Asks people to return to simplicity of early church
Dominic de Guzman finds Dominican order
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To preach against heresy
Francis & Dominic
The Inquisition
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Church needs way to deal with heresy & heretics
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Spiritual court set up called the Inquisition
13th Century Christians believe the only way to
Salvation is through Christ and the Church
Heresy is a crime against God and humanity
 Convicted heretics were made to confess in public,
and be punished (usually by flogging)
 Dominicans become main source of inquisitors
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Church sees using force to save souls from
eternal damnation was right thing to do
The Inquisition
Popular Religion
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Sacraments of Church central to people’s lives
Baptism, Communion, Confession, Confirmation,
Marriage, Holy Orders, Last Rites
 Sacraments means for receiving God’s grace and
salvation; from life to death, church is most
important thing
 Veneration of saints (men and women to copy)
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People ask saints to pray for them to God
 Virgin Mary most highly regarded saint
 Relics: remains of saints, or things that belonged to saints
seen as a link between heaven and Earth
 Pilgrimages to holy sites provide spiritual benefits
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Medieval Art
Write About It:
 In
a five paragraph essay, write about
the reforms made by the Church that
affected the development of medieval
civilization.