Chapter 12: The Crusades and
Culture
Medieval Christianity
A Papal Monarchy
• What is the Role of the Pope in the Middle Ages?
– Supremacy over Church affairs
– Political control over the Papal States
• What was the role of the feudal system in the Church?
– Nobles would post bishops in their region
– Bishops would then become vassals and give military
service
– Because it was done through nobles and not the church,
bishops usually had little spiritual desires
Reform of the Papacy
• Who was Gregory VIII?
– Elected Pope in 1073 AD
– Felt that God chose him to reform the Church
– Fought against lay investiture
• Secular rulers choosing church officials
– Felt a need of separation between church and state
– Believed the Pope’s power extended over all Christian lands
– Believed Pope had Supreme Rule over all
• They had authority to remove both church officials and secular rulers as well
– Papal Decree: 1075AD
• No secular rulers could elect high ranking clergy
Reform of the Papacy
• Who was Callixtus II?
– Reformed the rules of Gregory VIII
– Concordat of Worms (1122AD)
• The Church elects the Bishops
• Bishops are then required to pay homage to a King as his lord
• Keeps Feudal System around but allows for the Church to have
control of clergy
• Who was Innocent III?
– Pope that claimed Papal Supremacy
• The Church has supreme power over all
• Establishment of Interdicts
– Sacraments were limited to select groups of people
– Idea was to put pressure on rulers to follow Papal rule
Chapter 12: Crusades and
Culture
The Crusades (1095-1204AD)
The Early Crusades
• What were the Crusades?
– Holy wars
– Military conquests attempting to free Jerusalem (Holy City)
– Controlled by the Seljuk Turks (Muslims)
• How did they start?
– Council of Clermont (1095AD)
• Pope Urban II
• Asked Christians to take up weapons
• All crimes committed during Crusades would be forgiven by the
Church
The Early Crusades
• The First Crusade (1096-1099AD)
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Made up mainly of French warriors
Crusade that involved the capturing of multiple cities in the region
1098AD: Captured the City of Antioch
June 1099AD: Captured Jerusalem
• Massacred the residents of Jerusalem in the process
– Result: Divided the region (Asia Minor) into 4 “Crusader States”
• Godfrey de Bouillon was named leader of Jerusalem
The Early Crusades
• The Second Crusade (1145-1149AD)
– Region remains somewhat quiet in the decades following the First
Crusade
– 1145: Seljuk Turks begin their retaliation against the Crusader States
– One by one the kingdoms begin to fall
– Turks led by the military leader Saladin
• Eventually takes over the entire region as ruler
– Louis VII (France) and Conrad III (Germany) enter the Crusade to help
maintain the city of Jerusalem
– Eventually in 1187AD, Jerusalem falls to Saladin
The Later Crusades
• The Third Crusade (1189-1192AD)
– Also known as the “King’s Crusade”
– 3 Kings send forces to the Holy Land
• Frederick Barbarossa (Germany)
• Richard the Lionhearted (England)
• Philip II Augustus (France)
– Was an absolute disaster
– Frederick died during the journey there
– Richard was able to negotiate access to Jerusalem for those going on
pilgrimages
The Later Crusades
• The Fourth Crusade (1202-1204AD)
– Pope Innocent III
• After the death of Saladin, Pope urged warriors to go fight for the
Holy Land
• Warriors from Venice
• Before they went to Jerusalem, the attacked Constantinople
• Ransacked the city
• Led to the Byzantine Empire losing control of all land except for
Constantinople
The Effects of the Crusades
• How did the Crusades change Europe?
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Led to the end of the Feudal System
Gave us the first widespread attack on the Jewish people
Led to the increased prosperity of the Italian port cities
Began to create nations in Europe (Spain, France, England)
Chapter 12: Culture and the
Crusades
Late Middle Ages
The Black Death
• What was going on at the time?
– “Little Ice Age”
• Decrease in average temperatures around the world
• Happened at the end of the 13th century
– Leads to shorter growing seasons and food shortages
– Leads to malnutrition and weakened immune systems
• What was the Black Death?
– Bubonic Plague (Began in 1347)
– Caused by fleas found on black rats (Bacterial Infection)
– Began in Kaffa (Present day Ethiopia)
The Black Death
• How did it spread?
– Plague used the trading routes to spread across Europe
– Began in Southern Europe
– Eventually made its way up to Germany and other regions away from
the Mediterranean
• What were the results?
– Nearly one-third of Europe’s population died (25 million dead)
– Italy was hit the hardest of all
• What were the reactions of the people?
– Anti-Semitism
• People believed God cursed them and therefore blamed the Jews
The Black Death
• What were the consequences of the Black Death?
– Due to the large loss of life, the following areas were affected:
• Major Decline in Trade
• Decline in People working
• Decrease in Prices for food (Why?
• End of the serfs and Feudalism
Decline of Church Power
• The Popes of Avignon (1305-1377AD)
– The decision to move the Papacy from Rome to Avignon (France)
• Creates problem because the Bishop of Rome is Pope
• Why?
• There is a dispute in taxation
• Can Kings tax the clergy?
– King Philip IV says yes
– Pope Boniface says no (Pope is supreme law)
– Pope Gregory XI
• Gets fed up with the whole situation
• Decides to move the Papacy back to Rome
The Great Schism
• What was the Great Schism? (1378-1417AD)
– Time period when there were 2 popes at once
• Urban VI (Italian)- Rome
• Clement VII (French)- Avignon
– All revolves around a battle for power
– Created alliances
• France and Allies (Clement) vs. England and Allies (Urban)
– The tear grew to where a 3rd Pope was elected
– Council of Constance
• Ended the Schism once and for all
• Papacy remained in Rome
• Executed those that spoke out against church issues (John Hus)
The Hundred Years War
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1346-1453
France vs. England
Struggle over land
England had control of Gasony (France) on the mainland
France wanted to take it over
1337: Philip VI (France) took over Gasony
– King Edward III declared war
The Hundred Years War
• Both sides relied on Cavalry (Horseback riders)
• The English also used foot soldiers
• 1346: Battle of Crecy
– The French were unorganized and had no battle plan
– The English took advantage and crushed them
– England’s archers took out most of the French soldiers
• 1415: Battle at Agincourt
– Much of the same as Crecy
– French lost 1,500 noblemen
The Hundred Years War
• Joan of Arc
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17 years old
Had a vision from saint telling her to free France
She joins the war and becomes a turning point for the French army
1430: Captured by the English and charged with witchcraft
• Burned at the stake
– However she rallied the French to victory over the next 20 years
Political Recovery from the Middle
Ages
• France
– After war, sense of nationalism developed
– Louis XI (The Spider)
• Established a taille
– Annual tax on property
– Gave government a steady flow of income
• Expanded France to include Anjou, Provence, and Maine
Political Recovery from the Middle
Ages
• England
– Defeat in war led to instability and the War of the Roses
– Different groups of nobles tried to take throne
– Tudor dynasty established
• Abolished all private armies
• Found favor with many for having a limited number of taxes
• Spain
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Ferdinand and Isabelle
Married 1469 and brought together the 2 dominant cultures in Spain
Established a Catholic dynasty
Expelled all Muslims out of the area