Transcript Christianity and Medieval Civilization

II. Christianity and Medieval Civilization
A. The Papal Monarchy
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The Catholic Church controlled
land in central Italy called The
Papal States
Controlling this territory kept
Popes involved in worldly/
political matters
Many church officials were
vassals to nobles and had to serve
them
Because of this, nobles often
interfered in the selection of
church officials
Lay investiture: the practice of
lay (secular) rules choosing
church officials
B. Reform of the Papacy
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11th century Church leaders realized
allowing lay people to choose church
leaders was a problem
In 1073, Pope Gregory VII decided to
end lay investiture
King Henry IV of Germany opposed
Gregory’s plan because, without lay
investiture, he would lose control over
the nobles; this conflict became known
as the Investiture Controversy
The controversy wasn’t resolved until
1122 and the Concordat of Worms,
which was a compromise between the
Church and the German king
C. The Church Supreme
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During 12th century, popes increased
the power of the church
In the 13th century, Pope Innocent
III brought the Catholic Church to
the height of its power
As God’s representative on Earth, the
pope claimed to have power over all
European affairs and used different
ways to control people
Interdict: an order from the pope
that forbids priests to give the
sacraments to a group of people. The
goal was for the people to pressure
their ruler to obey the pope so they
could receive church blessings again
. New Religious Orders
1. In the 11th and 12th centuries,
people became more religious
and many joined monasteries or
convents
2. Franciscan Monks: founded
by St. Francis of Assisi. Unlike
other monks, they lived in the
world and traveled around
preaching and teaching
3. Dominican Monks: founded
by Dominic de Guzman, who
wanted to rid the church of
heresy (disagreeing with
church teachings)
E. The Inquisition
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A church “court” created to find and punish heretics
People who were accused of being heretics were tortured until they
confessed
Throughout the centuries, the Inquisition became more gruesome and
corrupt
Many innocent people were tortured and put to death because they
disagreed with the church
The Inquisition