The Apology By Bernard Of Clairvaux

At the beginning of Henry VIII’s reign in 1509, there were over 800 monasteries in England, but by 1540 the majority of these ceased to exist and all that was left of most of them was a ruin. The monasteries were rich and powerful institutions which were loyal to the Pope. From 1536 to 1539, Henry VIII, and his advisor, Thomas Cromwell wanted to close down the monasteries. There were two real reasons why Henry VIII wanted to get rid of the monasteries, firstly because he wanted access to the wealth of the monastery and he wanted the treasures of the land owned by the Church. Secondly Henry VIII

P144 "What should have been the crowning moment of Bernard's whole career had turned out to be the moment of his greatest humiliation." He had tried to elevate himself, to become accepted in a society that shunned him, by using the savage, but it had backfired and therefore the reader can sympathise. Not only had he lost the respect of his peers and fellow Alphas, but also he had lost the respect of someone who was, in many ways, so similar to him. Bernard can be pitied immensely for his ability to sense, see and appreciate things of beauty and as he could value and enjoy his

The Catholic Church during the early 16th Century was rooted throughout Europe. The Church influenced every country and its respective monarchs through the Church’s wealth and power. The Catholic Church placed a tight hold on the general populace with individuals who went against the Church being branded as heretics and excommunicated. The wealth and power of the Church eventually caused the quality of the clergy to deteriorate. Priests became corrupt and subjected to their physical desires. They frequented taverns, gambled and kept mistresses. The reputation of the clergy were horrid as the general populace was relieved that “their priest [kept] a mistress” because it “[secured] their wives from seduction” The knowledge of the clergy degenerated as well as they were no longer required to learn and teach the Holy Scriptures because the Church dictated their actions. The pinnacle of the Church’s corruption was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence was the “extra-sacramental remission of the temporal punishment” sold by priests as a temporary relief from sins. The indulgences were then sold to the general populace for money as the monetization of a priest’s services. Johannes Tetzel was a prominent preacher of indulgences who relied on the money from the sales to subsidize the rebuilding of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome. The corrupt sales did not go unnoticed as Martin Luther, in an effort to stop the corruption of the Church, posted the 95 Theses on the door of a Castle

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.

Voltaire satirizes the clergy as consisting of pleasure-seeking, deceitful individuals masquerading as a holy priesthood. A reason for this behavior is that during this time, the clergy was the only way for younger sons to lead a respectable life. As a result, according to Friar Giroflée “jealousy, discord, and rage inhabit the monastery” and at the end of the day he “wants to smash his head against the dormitory walls and all my colleagues are in the same state” (Voltaire 74). Because many people within the clergy don’t want to be there, many of them engage in corrupt behavior. They engage in romantic relationships despite their vow to be celibate (Voltaire 24) (Voltaire 72). A member of the clergy preys preys on Candide when he is dying in Paris. The clergy member tries to convince Candide to pay a large sum of money to receive absolution for his sins (Voltaire 59-60). Requiring payment in exchange for absolution is corrupt behavior on the part of the Catholic Church.

The significance of religious leaders during this era is evident by the fact that the writer of this poem places the bishop at the beginning of the table. Due to the fact that the “medieval society was a religious society” and that these religious leaders held a special relationship with God, it is no surprise that these individuals held the second highest social class position in the medieval time period (Feudalism and the Three Orders (Overview) 2).

In conclusion, Bernard is interested in pursuing his personal desires, instead of conforming to society because he doesn’t like the way society is and what it is restricting people from.

He is fervently determined to succeed in his contemporary competitive society. In a conversation with his children about Bernard, he enumerates a few

A long history of corruption caused people to view the Catholic Church as a for-profit organization rather than God’s voice on Earth. By the Renaissance, the Catholic Church had already lost much of its power over secular rulers but still held leverage over the masses. This authority naturally paved the way for corruption. The most outrageous form of corruption practiced by the Church was the sale of indulgences. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment still due for a sin that has been sacramentally absolved. One of the ways the Church would generate income was by selling them. The notion started off innocently enough; it stemmed from the idea that punishment for crimes could be converted to payments of money, in essence, a fine (Simon 35). However, it soon spiraled out of control as the Church used indulgences simply to gain money, as when Pope Leo X needed money for the construction of St. Peter’s basilica (Duiker and Spielvogel 429). People began to view salvation as something that could be bought; they could go out and sin on Saturday night, then simply pay for it monetarily Sunday morning. To encourage people to buy more indulgences, the Church even claimed that indulgences could be bought on behalf of those already dead and in purgatory (Sporre 378). This blatant victimization was what spurred Martin Luther to write his Ninety-Five Theses,

St. Bernard was conceived of honorable parentage in Burgundy, France, in the stronghold of Fontaines close Dijon. He entered upon the investigations of religious philosophy and sacred writing. After the passing of his mom, dreading the catches and enticements of the world, he set out to grasp the recently settled and exceptionally severe organization of the Cistercian Request, of which he was bound to wind up the best decoration. He additionally induced his siblings and a few of his companions to take after his illustration. In 1113, St. Bernard, with thirty youthful aristocrats, introduced himself to the blessed Abbot, St. Stephen, at Citeaux. His unchallenged before long, seeing the colossal improvement he had made in the otherworldly life,

greed when the church was built and dressed so lavishly. There were rumors of corrupt

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales was written during a time of societal change, away from the stability of feudalism and towards an individualistic, mercantile economy. Feudalism consisted of a static, rural economy where every member had a duty to serve those above them. They valued the greater good and were not focused on gaining economically for their own personal benefit. An era of change, however, began as events such as the Crusades opened up trading opportunities which would eventually cause a shift in England, as the economy went from being land-based to money-based. A mercantile class was on the rise as well as capitalism. People were no longer driven to work by a sense of personal duty for the common good, but rather for their own social and economic gain. Corruption of the Church during this time as well increased, as church members were affected negatively by this changing economy. Many were driven by greed as well and took on immoral approaches towards their church positions. Vows and church teachings were disregarded as indulgences and materialism became the main focus of many in the clergy. Through his satirical portrayal of his characters in Canterbury Tales, Chaucer explores issues such as the changing economy and corruption of the church in order to expose and criticize the wrongdoings and values of his shifting society caused by the end of feudalism during this time.

In fact, it was such a prevalent problem throughout history that a term was coined for it. Labeled as ‘simony’, it can be plainly defined as when “spiritual goods were given in exchange for favors” (Shaffern 48). This crime “is the most ancient, and probably the most ineradicable of all ecclesiastical abuses” (Dibdin 216). While this notion details contemporary prevalence, it also addresses the archaic existence of the church’s manipulation for monetary gain. Perhaps the most common example of sacred selling, is that of indulgences (Shaffern 48).

Matthew Lewis’s The Monk, published in 1796, depicts the Catholic Church in Madrid as the victim of religious perversion caused by the pride and lust of its leaders. The events of the novel, including the monk Ambrosio’s surrender to temptation, leading to the rape and murder of innocent Antonia, as well as Agnes’s imprisonment by the vain Prioress of St. Clare’s Convent, serve to emphasize the lack of true religious devotion in the city of Madrid. However, despite the shocking events of the novel, the city had already fallen prey to temptation, and had ultimately strayed from the path of the Church long before these new atrocities took place.

The Monastery played a role in supplying priests for the Churches since the monasteries were also theological seminaries for those who wanted to join the priesthood. The medieval monasteries thought priests how to live a holy Christian life and the necessity of purity and humility. The monks were the ones who used to save the church especially when problems arose between the priests and the congregation. . It was also an institution of scrutiny and correction of oneself. The main reason for this was because the monks were highly trusted by the people and people expected them to be like God. Confession of one’s wrongdoing was usually made on a daily basis during prayer time. Monasticism had a positive impact from the political, social, educational and religious point of