Church Reform and the
Crusades
Objectives:
1.
Explain the spiritual revival and Church reforms that
began in the 11th century.
2.
Describe the Gothic cathedrals of the 12th century.
3. Summarize the causes of the Crusades and analyze
the effects of the Crusades.
The Age of Faith
 Problems in the Church

In the 11th century, Church reformers were
most distressed about three main issues:



Many village priests married and had families
Simony – Practice of bishops selling positions in the Church
Using the practice of lay investiture, kings appointed church
bishops
 Church reformers believed the church alone could appoint bishops
 Reform and Church Organization
 Popes enforced laws against simony and the marriage
of priests
 Church was restructured to resemble a kingdom, with
the pope at its head
 Church collected taxes
The Age of Faith
 New Religious Orders

Friars – Church disciples that traveled the land spreading
the word of God

Francis of Assisi – Founded the Franciscan order of friars
 Treated all living things as spiritual equals
 Cathedrals – Cities of God

Cathedrals – Large churches built in city areas


Viewed as the representation of the City of God
A New Style of Church Architecture

Gothic (1100’s) – Architectural style characterized by tall
ornate spires and large stained glass windows
 Design was meant to inspire worshipers with the magnificence of
God
The Crusades
 Age of Faith Inspires Wars of Conquest

In 1093, Pope Urban II issued a call for a “holy war” to
recover the control of the Holy Land of Jerusalem

Over the next 300 years, a number of Crusades with this goal
were launched
 Goals of the Crusades

The Crusades had economic, social, and political goals as
well as religious motives

Muslims controlled Palestine and threatened Constantinople
 Pope wanted to reclaim Palestine and reunite Christendom, which
had split into Eastern and Western branches in 1054


Way to get rid of quarrelsome knights. Younger sons, who didn’t
get inheritance, looking for land and position in society.
Merchants profited by making cash loans to finance the journey
 Hoped to win control of key trade routes to Asia from Muslim
traders
The Crusades
 The First and Second Crusades
 1st- Pope Urban’s call for the Crusade received
strong support

Those who died on Crusade were assured of a place in
heaven
 Red Cross

1st- Crusaders captured Jerusalem in 1099

Land was carved up into four federal Crusader states
 Each state was ruled by a European noble

2nd- In 1187, Jerusalem was reclaimed by Muslim
leader Saladin
 The Third Crusade
 Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims


Led by the King of England, Richard the Lion-Hearted
Truce (1192) – Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control,
but Christian pilgrims could freely visit holy places
The Crusading Spirit Dwindles
 The Children's Crusade (1212)

Thousands of children under the age of 18 set out to
conquer Jerusalem

Most failed to even reach the Holy Land
 A Spanish Crusade

In Spain, Muslims (called Moors) controlled most of the
country until the 1100’s

The Reconquista – Long effort by the Spanish to drive the
Muslims out of Spain
 Succeeded in 1492

The Inquisition – A court held by the church to suppress
heresy
 Heretics – People whose beliefs differed from those of the

Church
Persons suspected of heresy might be questioned for
weeks or even tortured
 Suspects that confessed were burned at the stake
The Effects of the Crusades
 Expansion of Trade
 Trade between Europe and Southwest Asia expanded
 Discovery of new goods
 Decline of the Papacy
 The failure of later Crusades weakened to power of the
pope
 The Crusades weakened the feudal nobility and
increased the power of kings
 Legacy of the Crusades
 The intolerance and prejudice displayed by Christians
in the Holy Land left behind a legacy of bitterness and
hatred
 This legacy continues to the present