Transcript Christianity in the Middle Ages

Christianity in the Middle Ages
The Church
• Religion was an
important part of
people’s lives
• They thought God
controlled their lives
• Most people could not
read and services were
in Latin
• Priests helped people to
lead a good life free of
sin
• There were several
solutions for making
sure you got into
Heaven
How could you get to Heaven?
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Confess your sins
Attend mass
Pay the priest in Tithes
Go on a pilgrimage
Go on a crusade
Buy pardons
Leave money for prayers after you die
Priests in the Middle Ages
I am unmarried and I have
devoted my life to God. I
am able to forgive you for
your sins.
Edmund of Eynesham, 1190
Records of the Bishop of Hereford, 1397
They say the vicar puts his animals to
pasture in the churchyard. He is living
with a woman and he cannot read and
write so he cannot look after the
parishioners’ souls.
The acts of the priests have greatly
offended God. Priests are polluted
by every kind of sin. They never
think of using the money of the
church to help the poor, but stuff
their own money bags.
Pilgrimages
And wandering travellers tread new
shores, strange strands,
Seek out far shrines, renowned in many
lands,
And specially from every shire's end
Of England to Canterbury they wend
The holy blessed martyr there to seek,
Who has brought health to them when
they were sick.
And palmeres for to seken straunge
strondes
To ferne halwes, kowthe in sondry londes;
And specially from every shires ende
Of Engelond, to Caunterbury they wende,
The hooly blisful martir for to seke
That hem hath holpen, whan that they
were seeke.
The Crusades
•The Crusades were a series of military campaigns against
the Muslims of the Middle East.
•In 1076, the Muslims had captured Jerusalem. There was no
more important place on Earth for a true Christian which is
why Christians called Jerusalem the "City of God".
•However, Jerusalem was also extremely important for the
Muslims as Muhammad, the founder of the Muslim faith,
had been there and there was great joy in the Muslim world
when Jerusalem was captured.
•Therefore the Christian fought to get Jerusalem back while
the Muslims fought to keep Jerusalem. These wars were to
last nearly 200 years
The First Crusade : 1096
to 1099
The Second Crusade :
1147 to 1149
The Third Crusade :
1189 to 1192
The Fourth Crusade :
1201 to 1204
The Fifth Crusade : 1218
to 1221
The Sixth Crusade :
1228 to 1229
The Seventh Crusade :
1248 to 1254
The Eighth Crusade :
1270
Dealing with Heretics
• The first heretical movements originated in the newly
urbanized areas such as southern France and northern
Italy.
• They were mass movements on a scale the Church had
never seen before, and the response was one of
elimination for some, such as the Cathars, and the
acceptance and integration of others, such as St. Francis,
the son of an urban merchant who renounced money.
• The Cathars (based in South-West France) believed the
material world was evil and only the spiritual was good.
• Waldo formed the Waldensians and preached his ideas of
simplicity and poverty and condemned papal excesses
and Catholic dogmas.
Tasks
1. Look at the map of the crusades. Was winning
back control of Jerusalem the only aim?
2. Read through the events on the cards and put
them into chronological order.
3. Decide on the different themes represented by
the colours.
4. Make a timeline which includes the most
important religious events in the 13th century.