The Middle Ages
Politics and the Church
Church Authority
The Church and Medieval Life
• Political role
– Pope was political and religious leader
– Canon law
• Church law
• Church court was used to maintain power over people
– Excommunication- Entire region could be shut out by church
Monasticism
• Monastic lifestyles
– Monks and nuns withdrew from the world to serve God
• Monasteries & Convents
• The spread of monastic influence
– St. Patrick – Ireland
– St. Augustine – England
Church Power Weakens
• Power shifted from the church to monarchs
– Government felt that church limited trade
– Phillip IV ordered church to pay taxes
– Charged Pope Boniface with:
• Heresy
• Simony- The selling of church positions
• People began to question church practices
The Great Schism
• French Archbishop Clement V was elected Pope
– Did not want to move to Rome, moved church to
Avignon, France
– Seven popes, all French, reigned from Avignon
• Increasingly influenced by French monarchy
• Regarded by Rome as illegitimate popes
• Competition among opposing popes weakened
papal and church authority
– Sometimes there were two or three popes at once
• Council of Constance ended schism
• Church reform
– St. Francis of Assisi – Franciscans
– St. Dominic – Dominicans
• Groups that went out and taught among the people
• Sought out corruption and bad teachings
• Brought about inquisition
– Seek out and punish heretics (those who preached ideas
the church had not approved)
More Problems for the Church
• John Wycliffe
– Priest, Oxford professor
– Did not believe in absolute power of pope, believed that
the Bible should guide the church
– Criticized morality of church leaders
– Criticized church wealth
• Jan Hus
– Criticized abuses within the church
– Burned at the stake
The Frankish Rulers
• Clovis – King of Franks
– Merovingians – successors of Clovis
• Controlled Franks and all of Northern Gaul (France)
• “Christian Kings”
The Frankish Rulers Continued
– Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer)
• Tried to drive Moors out of Spain
– Pépin III (the Short) – son of Charles
• Called on by Pope to fight against Lombards (from
Germania)
– Conquered the land and gave it to the Pope.
– Became known as Papal States
The Frankish Rulers Continued
• Charlemagne
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Ruled 46 years
Wanted to rebuild a “New Rome”
Always at war
Spanish March
• Attempt to drive Moors out of Spain
• No success, but created a buffer zone
– Declared Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III
– United much of Western Europe
• First time since fall of Roman Empire (400 years ago)
• Tied the Franks to Papal Authority
The Decline of the Frankish Empire
• Charlemagne’s death
– Lothair, Charles the Bald, and Louis the German divided the
kingdom
– Invasions by Muslims, Slavs & Magyars contributed to decline
• The Vikings
– Norsemen (Northmen, settled in Scandinavia)
– Ruled by kings and nobles
– Discovered America, Greenland, and Iceland
Anglo-Saxon and Norman
England
• Anglo-Saxon England
– Named for two Germanic tribes
• Anglos and Saxon
• Formed several mini governments on the British
Isles
– Called their districts – shires
– Governed by shire-reeve (Sheriff)
• Danish rule
– Danes gained control of the Isles by 1013
– 1016 King Canute united England, Denmark
and most of Scandinavia
– Anglo-Saxon nobles chose Edward the
Confessor as his replacement
• The Norman (French) Conquest
– Edward the Confessor
• Half Anglo-Saxon, half Norman
• Died without leaving an heir
– William the Conqueror
• Claimed English throne
• Introduced Norman law, language and customs to England
• Blended two cultures
William The Conqueror and His
Successors
• Brought feudal system from Northern
France (Normandy) to England
• Made all English lords vassals of the king
The Conqueror and His
Successors Continued
• Reforms
– Henry I
• Weakened feudal lord’s power
– Henry II
• Allowed vassals to hire mercenaries for military
service
• Trial by jury
The Conqueror and His
Successors Continued
• King John and the Magna Carta
– King John demanded more taxes
• Nobles joined together against king
• Took up arms against throne
• Forced John to sign Magna Carta (Great Charter)
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Protected liberties of nobles
Outlined rights for ordinary people
Had to have consent of Parliament to raise taxes
Trial by jury of peers
Parliament
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House of Lords- Nobles & Clergy
House of Commons- Knights & Burgesses
Could reject taxes
Paved way for modern democracy
The Holy Roman Empire
• Otto I
– Made Germany a strong kingdom
– Wanted to seize Italy
• Helped pope when he had trouble with the Roman Nobles
– Granted emperor status by Pope as a result
– Founded the Holy Roman Empire
• Henry III
– Viewed the church as a branch of the imperial
government
– Removed three men from office claiming to be Pope
• Placed a German in the position
Struggles between the Papacy
and European Rulers
• Pope Gregory and Henry II
– Disagreed regarding lay investiture (king appointing
church positions)
– Henry was ex-communicated
– Gregory later revoked the king’s ex-communication
– Eventually Holy Roman Emperor would become a
figure head
• Pope Innocent III
– Sought to make church power superior to temporal
authority, and succeeded
The Hundred Years’ War
• Actually lasted 116 years
– Edward III of England claimed French throne
– French assembly chose Philip VI of Flanders
– Brought new weapons (longbows, gunpowder, cannon)
– Joan of Arc
• Received visions from God, led thousands of men in victory against
the English.
• Was arrested for heresy by the English and burned at the stake
The War of the Roses
• Fought between the York and Lancaster
families for the throne
• Ended with Henry Tudor taking the throne
(AKA Henry VII)
– Married Elizabeth of York to unite the families
– Founded the Tudor dynasty
Spain
• Ferdinand and Isabella
– Ordered all non-Christians out– Muslims and
Jews
– Strengthened the unification of Spain
– Gave Spain a strong monarchy but weakened
business and trade through discrimination
The Holy Roman Empire
• Germany and Italy
– German princes elected an emperor
– The pope in Italy refused to surrender power
– Habsburg family gained power
• Through marriage and strategic military attacks
enlarged empire
• Eventually became most powerful family in Europe
Art & Science
Language and Literature
• Early vernacular literature
– Everyday language used in songs, literature,
theater
• The flowering of vernacular literature
– Dante Alighieri- Italian writer
• The Divine Comedy
– Seen as one of the greatest works of literature
– Geoffrey Chaucer- English writer
• The Canterbury Tales
– Satire, poked fun at society and clergy
Philosophy and Science
• Philosophy
– Scholasticism brought together faith and reason
• Thomas Aquinas – Dominican Monk
• Science
– Focused on practical use, not theory
– Mathematics and optics
• Studied light – Roger Bacon
– Advances in farming equipment
Architecture
• Roman architecture (Early Middle Ages)
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Rounded arches
Barrel vaults (rounded ceilings)
Domes
Few windows
• Gothic architecture (middle to later Middle Ages)
– Goal was to bring the eyes up, toward heaven, and
make churchgoers feel small
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Pointed arches
Tall spires
High walls
Stained-glass windows