The influenza of the church and economic factors in the 900s and 1000s indicate that there was a slow revival in the culture and economy of Europe. The church wanted people to live in harmony and peace. For this, the church gave the hint to the people living in the European states during the period of 900s and 1000s to be stable, useful, peaceful, productive, and respectful to other cultures and ethnicities. To do this properly and on time, the church had the authority and prestige because Christianity reached all over the European living areas. In addition to this, the church organized some public services, such as “defense, charity, and civic maintenance.” The main concerns of the Church were violence that negatively affected on economic
Throughout this chaos in Western Europe, there were stabilizing factors. One of the most important factors was religion. In the superstitious society of Western Europe in the late tenth and early eleventh centuries, people often looked to nature to interpret divine signs. Relics were becoming increasingly popular. Sin was a constant concern to these people. A popular way of ridding oneself of all sin was the pilgrimage. In this type of society, it is not very hard to see how the idea of crusading appealed to people from all different social ranks and classes.
The Church was the absolute most predominant foundation in medieval life, its impact invading practically every part of individuals’ lives. Its religious observances often shape to the plan; its customs checked every minute in a person 's life; and its lessons supported standard convictions about morals, the significance of life and existence. Church in Western Europe was recognized as the Roman Catholic Church went from the religion of the Roman Empire to the official religion and the most powerful institution of the Middle Ages. All of Europe had been converted to Christianity by the year 1000. Although this process was peaceful at times but other times it got downright ugly.
Feudalism, during medieval society, was parallel to the existence of the Catholic Church and its influence over the population. Religion permeated all elements of society and the way in which they related to each other. The Church wasn’t only a spiritual power, but a political and economic one and the struggles between the political and religious leaders will be key factors in the development of the medieval world. The church will also be the primary keeper of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and they will accomplish most cultural advancements.
As the tenth century rolled about, the power of the Roman Catholic Church grew steadily stronger, the church had an argument with the normal Kingdom over who should rule supreme out of the Pope or the King, the church believed that the Pope who is the voice of God on Earth should be the ruler of the world while the peasants thought that the King should, the power struggle eventually ended with the Church coming out as the dominant force in the West. The Church passed a law that stated that everyone (mostly peasants) is forced to pay 10% of their income to the Church. The church had the ability to stop any laws that they did not like or make some new laws that benefited them, they were a very powerful group that could manipulate the peasants and knights in any way they liked, in Church there were photos of people being tortured in hell, this intensified the peoples longing for heaven and therefore extended the power and influence of the church. All Christians were expected to attend the mass and, by the 13th century, were expected to take the Eucharist at least once a year.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.
The church began to lose to power because the people were no longer listening to the church, and because of what they learned from the 95 statement thesis written by Martin Luther. The thesis informed people they did not need to pay their way to heaven, pay for someone to get out of Purgatory,or pay to get to heaven (Doc.8). The writing of Luther’s 95 thesis led to the printing press being invented by Gutenberg, with creation of the printing press it allowed the people to read the bible for themselves, which in turn allowed them to think for themselves (Doc.9). With this new knowledge from the bible, people began revolting against the church and the government. This led to wars such as the St. Bartholomew Massacre. The St. Bartholomew Massacre started because Catherine de’ Medici felt threatened by the influence of Huguenot Admiral de Coligny and planned on assassinating him. They were not successful and only wounded Coligny. This caused the Huguenots to become furious which made the Medici nervous, who in turn ordered a massacre of all Huguenots. This led to a religion division. With the chaotic acts of freedom from the people, Europe created the Nation States. The Nation States were made to keep people from acting out against the government and to keep control over the
After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no main dominating force in Europe to enforce laws and protection for the people. The Middle Ages had begun and without the Romans, life became centered around survival. The destabilization caused rates of illiteracy, disease, and deaths to rise dramatically and to remedy the average peasants worry, the feudalism system flourished and required work in exchange for the safety of manors. Yet while there was not a overlooking empire to look towards for authority, the Catholic Church served its role to bring all classes together (Document 6). The Middle Ages will be ultimately known as an age of faith because of the prevalence of violence, power of religion, and the Catholic Church’s preservation of knowledge.
The central Middle Ages was a period of time from the 11th century through the 13th century that was characterized by prosperous economic growth in Europe. The lead of economic growth in Europe was the movements in the Christian communities. Christian movements in the central Middle Ages included Knights Templar, first Crusade, the Franciscans, and pilgrimages. Not only were the movements in the Christian communities made changes in the economy, but they also influenced the challenges against traditional authority. Some challenges of traditional authority were the Dominicans and the Franciscans. Guibert of Nogent’s description of the Revolt in Laon will be examined in this essay. Robert the Monk’s version of Pope Urban II’s speech from 1095
The central Middle Ages started during the 11th century and lasted through the 13th century. The Middle Ages were centuries of prospering growth of change and development that encouraged the economy to thrive in Europe. European Christianity movements were a highlight of the economic expansion in the central Middle Ages. The Christianity movements promoted the challenges of traditional authority was a concern of the central Middle Ages. The First Crusade will be examined in this essay as a source.
Tommy Herod AP World History Mr. Thurman 3 November 2014 Continuities and Changes in Western Europe In Western Europe from 600-1200 there were several continuities such as the continuation of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope had jurisdiction over the clergy and all church property. Another continuity was that Western Europe was divided into small kingdoms and never returned to its original state.
In the wake of the plague, nobleman and religious authority figures struggled to maintain their high place in society as government leaders were unable to find an effective response to the disease, and limiting the allotment of the financial growth of the lower class, preventing them from gaining societal power, as well as increased suspicion concerning the power of the Church. Confusion and suspicion arose among followers of the church when the Church was powerless to stop this devastating diseases supposedly “sent from the heavens” (Petrach 41) . When praying and amending their sins didn’t cure themselves or their loved ones of the frightening disease, people believed that God had abandoned them, shown in these quotes taken directly from the journal of an Italian citizen who contracted the disease. “…and nowhere is there a refuge. No haven beckons in any part of the globe, nor can any hope of longed for salvation be seen. Wherever I turn my frightened eyes, their gaze is troubled by continual funerals: the churches groan encumbered with biers…”(Petrach 27-31). “… it is the wrath of God… the harsh assault of the stars in their perpetually changing conjunctions. This plague-bearing year has borne down on humankind and threatens a tearful slaughter, and the highly charged air encourages death. From his diseased heavenly pole, he looks down, and from there he rains upon the earth diseases and grievous mortality…” (Petrach 34-39). When high ranking church officials, such as
Big changes happened in the past time of life in European history. In the Middle Ages to the Renaissance people start thinking different they had new ideas. They went from praising religion to praising humankind. In the text it states, “during the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church and the Pope were the primary players in Europe.” This is important because it emphasizes that that was the trending topic it was the most important thing to people back then before 1400 until 1700 time period came and it shows who was in charge at that time. However, people move on from religion when the Renaissance came. New invention came like the printing press which causes people to think differently and not always focus on religion and start praising humankind.
In the 1400s, Europe had been left in devastation from the aftermath of the black plague. This had left Europe in major religious, social and economic upheavals. Orphans, theft, intoxication, prostitution, brutality and misuse of powerful by important figures were very common. Education was unavailable to anyone without enough money to pay for it, creating an extremely large gap and social division between the classes. Church services and the bible were spoken and written in Latin, resulting in the majority of the common people being unable to understand the true meaning behind the words. As People were unable to read the bible, the only way to connect with God was through church services. Priests and Monks had several different jobs and often refused to help peasants when they asked for it, generating mistrust between the clergy and lay people.
In the void left by the collapse of the Roman Empire, the bishop of Rome grew even more in both power and prestige beginning in the sixth century and continuing to the reformation in the ninth century. It is the aim of this paper to explain how and why the papacy in Rome became the center of power of the medieval world, the factors contributing to this dominance over Western Europe, and the positive and negative ramifications of the position becoming so powerful. Through this paper you will discover how papacy was able to fill the vacuum of power left by the fall of an empire.
People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.