Rise of Islam- In 610, Muhammad had a revelation that he was the next and last prophet, and Islam was born. Christians and Jews do not accept Muhammad as a prophet.

- Islam united the Arabs and spread extremely quickly. All of Northern Africa, Persia, Spain, and much of the Byzantine Empire became Muslim-ruled by 750.

- Resolved in 787, an iconoclast debate turned violent…many said that the spread of Islam was punishment for continuing to break the second commandment (making idols of God).

- As a result, the power and influence of the Byzantine Empire weakened. In Europe, the only unifying thing in the West now is the Catholic Church.

- The Byzantines would continue to be significant as a civilization through the middle ages, but would steadily decline until only Constantinople remained. In 1453, Constantinople itself was conquered by the Ottoman Turks (Muslims), and that would be the end of the Byzantine Empire. Moscow, Russia would become the “Third Rome” after Constantinople fell.

Holy Roman Empire

- The Church allied with the Franks (Germany/France), and this would set up an ongoing struggle between Church vs. state power.

- Pepin was made king of the Franks by the pope after Pepin conquered north/central Italy and gave lands to the pope, which would last until 1870.

- Charlemagne was crowned “Emperor of the Romans” on Christmas, 800. The Byzantines were outraged since now there were 2 Christian emperors.

- Charlemagne spread Christianity through much of Europe through 20 years of warfare.

- Otto the Great (r. 962-973) was the first Holy Roman Emperor. The Holy Roman Empire would include Italy, and Central Europe/Germany (it was not very unified for much of its history), and would last until the early 1800s.

- By the year 1000, all of the Vikings became Christian, which effectively stopped all other major religions taking place in Europe.

The Dark Century- The time around the 900s = “Dark Century” for the Church. Lots of corruption plagued the Church.

- Pope Formosus (r. 891-896) was dug up from the dead, put on trial, found guilty, had 3 fingers taken off (blessing fingers) and the corpse was thrown into the Tiber River (corpse grabbed by monk).

- Cardinals became like a senate for the pope. Starting in 1059 they selected the next pope.

Investiture Controversy

- The investiture controversy (1075-1122) was a contest between the Church and kings over control of appointments of church officials.

- Pope Gregory VII (r. 1073-85) had a dispute with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Henry was excommunicated, trekked to the pope’s winter residence in Canossa, and begged for forgiveness for three days. Gregory finally forgave him.

- Later, Gregory would excommunicate Henry again for violating their agreement, Rome would be sieged, and Gregory would have to flee Rome. Rome was plundered for three days but was liberated by the Normans. Gregory died in exile and never forgave Henry.

East/West SchismEast/West Schism: In 1054, the pope and the patriarch of Constantinople excommunicated each other. This was the first major split in Christianity.

- Disagreements included: whether the pope is the authority or not (still #1 hurdle), progressive alienation of cultures, and some theological differences.

- Catholicism: more psychological, disciplinary, and ethical issues. Guilt, atonement, confession, forgiveness, sacraments, Church order are all more “Catholic.”

- The Crusades (off and on from 1095-1272), were a united Christian effort to take back the Holy Land. Still, this failed to bring both sides together again. Some say that both sides were too greedy for power, others say that the sack of Constantinople in 1204 (city sacked by Christian crusaders who were later excommunicated) sealed the schism’s fate for good.

THE CRUSADES

Fight for the Holy Land- Jerusalem is an important Holy City for Jews, Christians, and Muslims. This land area is referred to as "The Holy Land."

- Muslims conquered this area from the Byzantine Empire in 636 A.D. Later, the Seljuk Turks (also Muslims) took the territory, and furthermore banned all Jewish and Christian religious rights in Jerusalem.

- Once this news was spread to Europe, Pope Urban II called for a "Crusade" to take back the Holy Land for Christians in 1095 A.D. Also, the Byzantines were under constant attack by the more powerful Muslims and needed help.

Pope Urban II’s Reasons for the First

Crusade(Council of Clermont, Nov. 27,

1095 A.D.)

1) It was a Christian's duty to regain the Holy Land.

2) The Church wanted to further influence/control the Eastern Orthodox Church, and expand his power. This motive has been hotly debated over the years.

3) The pope saw this as a way to have the knights fight for something worthwhile (as opposed to each other).

Reasons why Knights Fought in the

Crusades

1) Christian obligation to fight.

2) Gain wealth/land (especially knights who did not inherit an estate).

3) Adventure.

4) Way to be cleansed of previous sins (forgiveness promised on First Crusade!)

THE PEOPLE'S CRUSADE(a.k.a. The Peasants’

Crusade, 1096)- Peter the Hermit was a preacher who crisscrossed the French countryside on his donkey, convincing many people to come to the Holy Land. By 1096 A.D., five divisions of commoners embarked to the Holy Land.

- The peasants arrived hungry, tired, and aimless in Constantinople in July 1096. The Byzantine Emperor, wanting to get rid of them, sent them into Turkey. Sadly, almost all of the peasants were killed by the Muslim Turks, and their bodies were piled up to rot as a warning to future Crusaders.

FIRST CRUSADE (1095-1099); Battle in Antioch- In 1096, the knights of Europe set out for the Holy Land.

- In 1099, the Crusaders of Europe won an important battle in the city of Antioch.

- When the Crusaders conquered the city, they were quickly surrounded by Muslims.

- Things were desperate: the Crusaders were cut off from food, water, and were under constant siege...at that point, a knight "found" the lance that pierced Jesus' side on the cross, and the knights viewed it as a sign from God. The knights rallied and broke the siege.

Jerusalem Captured, 1099

- After Antioch (and after other battles), the Crusaders marched on Jerusalem. The Turks had been fighting the Egyptians for decades over this city, so at the moment they were weaker than normal militarily.

- Once they took the city, the knights went on a rampage and murdered tens of thousands (70,000 estimated) of innocent people - mostly Muslims - to "cleanse" the city of non-Christians. A thriving city was mostly destroyed.

- Despite all this, the Christian Europeans had won the first Crusade in 1099 A.D., and set up three outposts in Antioch, Tripoli, and Edessa.

THE SECOND CRUSADE (1147-1149)- The Crusaders' territory was constantly under attack after the First Crusade contested. As a result, Europeans built huge fortifications for protection.

- Despite this, the Muslims re-captured Edessa in 1144. As a result, the Second Crusade was proclaimed.

- There was an attempt to take Damascus, but it failed. The Europeans went home in defeat.

Saladin

- Saladin is known as a heroic and brilliant leader for the Muslims during the time of the second and third Crusades.

- He is from present-day Iraq with Kurdish ancestry. He was a devout Sunni Muslim.

- In 1185, he declared a jihad (can be translated to a Muslim Holy War) to win the Holy Land back for the Muslims, and did it in 1187.

- Saladin was very realistic and chivalrous. After the Third Crusade, he opened up Jerusalem to Christians again and was respected by both sides.

THE THIRD CRUSADE (1189-1192 A.D.)

- The fall of Jerusalem shocked Europe. It is said that Pope Urban III died of shock.

- The king of England - Richard the Lionhearted, King of France - Philip II, and the Holy Roman Emperor- Frederick Barbarossa, created new taxes (nicknamed the "Saladin tithe") to help finance the future crusade.

- On his march, Fredrick accidentally drowned in a river and died. Most of the Germans went home as a result.

- Richard and Philip joined forces and took the important city of Acre in 1191. They were constantly bickering.

- After the siege, Philip left for France. Richard tried to take Jerusalem 4 times, but failed each time to Saladin.

- At one point, Richard offered his sister to marry Saladin's brother to create a neutral Jerusalem, but it never worked out because Richard's sister refused to take part in the plan. Later, Richard was kidnapped for 2 years, and an enormous tax was collected to free him (his mother, Eleanor of Aquitaine helped).

- Richard died in 1199 by a crossbow bolt (he was in a hurry and not wearing armor).

- Richard, despite enjoying a positive historical reputation, in fact offered to sell England, bankrupted its economy, built a huge castle after being ransomed (taken in 6 years by the French), never won a Crusade, and could not speak English.

Eleanor of Aquitaine, mother of English kings Richard and John, and

married both a French king and later the English king.

Her court was very pro-chivalry and encouraged

courtly love.

THE FOURTH CRUSADE (1202-1204 A.D.)

- The Fourth Crusade was a disaster, and it would be the final straw in the separation between the Christian East and West.

- Troops were told they were going to Jerusalem, but instead they were going to Egypt. Once this secret got out, 2/3 of the troops deserted, and they were so broke they could not pay to sail from Venice to the Holy Land.

- Instead, the Crusaders took over Zadar in Hungary - a Christian kingdom - for money! Enrico Dandolo, blind and in his nineties, was the matron, and he wanted to use it to trade with Egypt, Venice's most profitable trade partner. Pope Innocent III excommunicated the 12,000 Crusaders.

- Next, the Crusaders were bribed to remove the Byzantine emperor (another Christian) on behalf of the son of the deposed Byzantine emperor. They did the job, but were not paid as promised, so they ended up taking over and looting Constantinople! This divided Eastern and Western Christians for good, and gave Venice control of trade in that area, 3/8 of Constantinople, and 3/8 of the Byzantine Empire. They lost control of this in 1261.

CRUSADES in EUROPE

Albigensian Crusade (a.k.a. Cathar Crusade; 1209-1229) was in France to defeat the Cathar sect who believed that the spirit world was good and the earthly world as evil. Tens of thousands were killed, and the sect was stamped out.

The Reconquista (711-1492) drove Islam out of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain, Portugal) to reconquer it for Christians.

- Spain finally drove out all Muslims in 1492, and also kicked all Jews out the same year. Ironically, for much of this time in most of Spain, it was very tolerant to all religions, much more so than in the rest of Europe.

THE CHILDREN'S CRUSADE (1212 A.D.)

TRADITIONAL/LEGEND VERSION:

- Thousands of children in France and Germany, who believed their piety and innocence would be enough to take over Jerusalem, marched there in 1212.

- Many died crossing the Alps and had a dreadful time getting to Italy, which is where they planned to cross the Mediterranean (they thought the sea would part for them to get to Jerusalem).

- Dishonest merchants instead put the children on ships that sailed to North Africa, and the children were all sold into slavery.

MODERN INSIGHT/SPECULATION:

- There were 2 movements: one in Germany and one in France.

- The Germans were led by a shepherd named Nicolas, and some now think that the children dispersed when the Mediterranean Sea did not part for them, and experienced a variety of fates.

- The French group was led by a 12 year-old boy Cloyes who claimed to have a letter from Jesus that was for the King of France. King Philip II ordered the crowd to go home.

- Many now think that the group consisted of adults and young adults, not children. There is a question of whether the "children" part of the story was really slang for "peasants."

THE FIFTH CRUSADE

(1217-1221 A.D.)- Again, the plan was to capture Egypt and then Jerusalem.

- After an early victory in Damietta, Egypt, the Crusaders suffered greatly from the heat and lots of Muslim resistance. Also the Holy Roman Emperor, Frederick II, promised knights, but they did not show up.

- Instead of fighting longer, the Crusaders signed an 8 year truce. They were supposed to get the true cross back, but they did not get it because the Muslims “lost” it.

THE SIXTH CRUSADE (1228-1229 A.D.)

- In an effort to regain his pride for not helping out as he promised, Frederick II single-handedly set out with his troops to the Holy Land in 1227. On the way, he got sick, so he had to delay his attack.

- When Pope Gregory IX heard this, he excommunicated Frederick.

- Despite this, Frederick set off again in 1228. Gregory proclaimed that no Christian should help Frederick, so Frederick lost all support.

- Amazingly, Frederick negotiated with the Muslims won control of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, and Nazareth. The pope still refused to accept the treaty!

- Frederick crowned himself king of Jerusalem in 1229 with only a few of his loyal men. When he left, the city was taken over again by the Muslims in 1244.

THE SEVENTH CRUSADE (1248-1254 A.D.)

- Again, an Egypt-first plan was drawn to re-take the Holy Land.

- Disastrously, the Crusaders' leader, Saint Louis IX of France, was captured in Egypt in 1250. Louis IX paid a huge sum of money (approx. the entire yearly revenue of France) for his ransom in exchange for freedom. After this the French king sailed back home.

- By now, the Mongols were defeated in some key areas by the Muslims. Emboldened, Muslims attempted to systematically wipe-out all of the Christians in the area.

- King Louis IX again invaded, this time he went to Tunisia first. His campaign failed - he thought he had an ally in Tunisia but he did not. During this time, King Louis and his troops got ill and died.

- Louis ignored his advisors and attacked during very hot weather.

THE EIGHTH CRUSADE (1270 A.D.)

THE NINTH CRUSADE

(1271-1272 A.D.)- The Ninth Crusade, sometimes lumped with the Eighth Crusade, was the last Crusade, and most of the Crusading spirit by this time was gone.

- The goal was to team up with Louis IX and conquer Acre, but since Louis IX went to Tunis instead and died, by the time Prince Edward of England showed up it was over.

- Later, the French pulled out of the campaign, yet in 1271 Prince (later King) Edward went to Acre anyway with a small amount of troops (around 1,000). He eventually met up with a few more small allies.

- Edward's support was not enough to make much of a difference, and the Crusaders were forced to give up their attempt in 1272. About a month later, Prince Edward became King Edward I of England, and was known as "Longshanks" because of his height (6'2'').

The Significance of the Crusades- Overall, the Muslims dominated the Crusades despite European knights uniting for a common cause.

- The Crusades further united the Muslims and gave them confidence. They left a bad impression of Europeans.

- The end of the Crusades foreshadowed a lessening of the power of the Church and the rise of countries/secular power in Europe.

- Trade benefited: European and Middle Eastern traders set up several new trading areas.

- Medieval Europe learned much from the Muslim world: cleanliness, medicine, universities, translated ancient texts, and military improvements all were learned from the Muslim world.

- The Europeans were still much more divided than Muslims in terms of politics and religion.

Medieval Papacy Dominates

- The papacy during Medieval Europe was very powerful – by its end the Church owned more land and had more money than any single European country, and all Europeans were Catholic Christians.

- Pope Innocent III (r.1198-1216) was arguably the most powerful pope (and person in Europe) during this time. He called for Crusades both in the Holy Land and within Europe to stamp out heretics, was anti-Judaism, and even excommunicated King John of England at one point.

- Despite being brilliant, Innocent III’s Church was also filled with corruption, greed, and nepotism.

The Church was fully “Romanized” at this time (Kung):Centralization: pope = absolute monarchLegalization: Canon Law (Christian law) = centered on popePoliticization: sinful people subservient to pope, including kingsMilitarization: Holy Wars (Crusades, others) were foughtClericalization: clergy = organized, also celibate/forbidden to marry since 1139

St. Thomas AquinasThomas Aquinas (1225-1274) a Dominican and theological professor, was one of the most significant Christian thinkers of the era, and many of his beliefs became widely accepted.

- Believed that nature should be studied so we can understand the mind of God. It meant that science is not necessarily against religion.

- Believed that faith trumps reason, and also the scripture should be taken literally. Also supported the papacy.

- Believed that women were “failed men” and increased scorn for women resulted.

- Believed that everything has a cause so there must be One Big Cause of Everything – hence “God”

Medieval Christianity (1/2)

- By the High Middle Ages, the Church became the largest landowner in Europe. Each town’s church was often the tallest building, and its bells signaled the time as well as when to meet.

- There was an ongoing struggle between the Church and the heads of state (i.e. king). Canon law vs. secular law…often Canon law was seen as superior.

- Seven sacraments were required to go to heaven: baptism, communion, confirmation, marriage, penance, last rites, Holy Orders were all performed by priests who were usually paid for their services.

- Fridays were for fasting, Sundays were the Sabbath (prayer and rest day). There were about 100 Christian holidays on the calendar, and in some places people went to mass every day.

- 10% tithe = Church tax, still common today

- Marianism, a cult of the Virgin Mary, climaxed in the 1000s and 1100s. Some saw her as queen of heaven, and a champion for the poor/downtrodden people in the world.

Medieval Christianity (2/2)

- Many believed that Judgment Day would occur in 1033 (in the Bible it refers to Satan being locked up for 1,000 years). Thousands made the pilgrimage to Jerusalem and were confused when nothing happened.

- In the 1230s, Pope Gregory IX created “Inquisitors.” These men answered only to the pope and could find and punish heretics. Torture (okay after 1252), secret testimonies, denial of legal counsel, etc. were all used as methods in inquisitions.

- Jews suffered at times. Many saw their diaspora as God’s punishment. Some Jews were bankers who practiced usury (loans with interest) which was considered a sin for Christians, and this led to accusations of greed. In 1215, many Jews had to wear yellow labels. France and England expelled all Jews in 1290, Spain in 1492, and many other places expelled them as well. Jews were almost always in the minority, which hurt their political power.

- Muslims were not as prominent in Europe (except notably in Spain for a time), but Muhammad was viewed as a fraud and often as a pervert.

- Despite its problems, the Church provided direction in life, chivalry, art, cathedrals (including the Notre Dame in Paris), festivals, education (monopoly until universities began in Europe in the 1200s), and did a lot of good for a lot of people.

Corruption in Monasteries

- Corruption increased in the later Middle Ages, and in an indirect way it helped give rise to more nunneries, who were usually more honest.

- Simony (bribes for clergy positions) and bribes, were problems. In the 1000s a Gregorian Reform Movement attempted to stop it but was not totally successful.

- The pilgrimage business was big; sacred relics and sites attracted people. Eventually you could pay the church “if you could have gone” and advertisements awarding days of free-pardons, etc. were advertised to attract pilgrims!

- Other examples of corruption in monasteries: living in “hospitals” so each monk could have a fireplace in his room, using a sign language to talk over dinner since speaking was not allowed at meals, huge alcohol and meat consumption, some churchmen even took part in brothels

Crisis in the 1300s - Overall, the Church remained powerful throughout the 1300s but went through a lot of problems.

Avignon Papacy (a.k.a. Avignon Papacy, 1309-1378): In 1303, Pope Boniface VIII was arrested and imprisoned by the French king! This was a huge statement of state vs. Church power. The successor pope was enthroned in Lyons, France (not Rome), and then moved to Avignon. During this time, the popes were dependent on the French king, lots of corruption.

- Universities and a rising middle class both helped in the opposition of papal authority. Partially as a reaction to this, papal infallibility (pope is never wrong) was declared in the early 1300s but taken away in 1324. It was later introduced in 1870 and is still the rule of the Church.

The Great Schism (a.k.a. Western Schism or Papal Schism, 1378-1418) was a dispute about who was the real pope – now 2 people claimed to be the pope (Avignon vs. Rome)! At one point 3 claimed to be pope. Finally, one pope (Rome) was declared the real pope.

- The Black Death (1348-50) killed about 1/3 of Europe, including a disproportionately large amount of people in the clergy (2/3 died; clergy helped sick and gave last rites, etc.). The Church remained wealthy in power, money, and land, but was short on people, and this led to corruption in its aftermath. The Avignon pope was surrounded by fire (thought the disease was due to bad air), so he lived.