Religion and the Crusades in Medieval Europe

Religion & The Role of the Church in Medieval Europe Society of the middle ages consisted of “men of prayer, men of war, and men of work.” –Alfred the Great The church was VERY powerful—it played a role in people’s lives from birth and baptism, to marriage, and to death. Kings were the head of the Feudal power system, but since most kings and nobles were illiterate, the church and members of the clergy were very important advisors to the government It had the power to save or condemn—people could usually secure salvation by paying for it with money or land

Religion & The Role of the Church in Medieval Europe There were many different roles a man could take within the church in medieval Europe. Those roles included: Clergy: a general term for educated members of the religious community Parishioners/Laity: The people who attend church Monks: lived in the church and did hard, physical labor to support the church and parishioners Priests: local fathers and heads of the church or parish; they would conduct the wedding ceremonies, baptisms, and care for the sick

Abbots: slightly higher with a larger jurisdiction; in charge of the abbeys and local parishes Bishops: controlled “diocese” in provinces, made of many larger parishes Archbishops: controlled archdiocese and bishops Cardinals: advisors to the Pope, controlled archbishops Pope: Latin for “father,” head of the church and “God’s voice on Earth”

Visualizing the Hierarchy Pope Cardinal Archbishop Bishop Abbot Priest Monk Parishioners/Laity

Life in an Abbey—The Life of a Monk Monks were the “low men” on the totum pole. They swore oaths of poverty, hard labor, and an abstinence from many pleasures Abbeys were complex places where monks (and some wealthy nobles and lesser nobles) could: Bake goods Brew beers and ferment wines Study scripture Learn to read Learn to write Illuminate texts Care for the ill Teach Sing & Pray

What is an Illumination??? It has nothing to do with light bulbs! Illuminations were decorations and elaborate illustrations monks added to sacred texts. Since there were no copiers, everything had to be handwritten and hand-illustrated.

What would an Abbey Sound Like? Gregorian chant is a melodic and calm kind of music. Monks sing together as one voice, no harmonies, in Latin. Listen….

A Feast for Everyday! As you read Catherine, Called Birdy, you will notice that there is a feast almost every day in honor of a Saint. Oct. 24 th : Feast of Saint Maglorius, who chased a dragon out of Jersey Dec. 5 th : Feast of Saint Crispina, who was shaved bald to humiliate her before she was beheaded March 8 th : Feast of Saint Duthac, who had miraculous powers to cure ale head August 30 th : Feast of Saint Fiacre, a monk who hated women but loved plants Saints were humans who performed miracles in the service of the Christian God. Many of them died as martyrs (murdered because of their beliefs), but some died independently and of mysterious circumstances. Saints were revered as mystics, through whom the Lord worked. People would honor them with gifts, feasts, and even name their children after them. Relics from their lives were highly sought after.

Holy Relics Soon to come in Catherine, Called Birdy, Catherine will discuss the idea of relics. Relics are treasured items that are considered holy because they belonged to or were used by a saint or Jesus. Relics were important artifacts for cathedrals and churches; to make each cathedral and each little church unique, the cathedrals and churches would hunt for and purchase relics. They could be bones, pieces of fabric, or maybe even pieces of the cross.

Holy Relics

The Crusades

What: a land dispute over Jerusalem that turned into a Holy War for the Holy City When: The Crusades lasted about 200 years, from 1095 to Catherine’s time in the 1290’s Where: The city of Jerusalem in the Middle East, where the religion was predominantly Islam. Who: Arab nations vs. Western Europe—specifically, Pope Urban the 2nd asked for European Christians to volunteer to fight—about 30,000 men went Why: In 1095, Arab leaders who occupied Jerusalem closed the city to Christian and Jewish pilgrims, who, until then, were allowed to visit the city and live there as long as they paid taxes.

What Happened? After two years hiking to get to the Holy City (during which men starved, froze, died of disease, and fought with each other), they fought for two months and finally took the city back. Some men stayed, and others went home. It was a short victory, however, because less than 50 years later the Muslims conquered Jerusalem and, in response, Europe waged another crusade. The red cross was a symbol of the European crusaders

More Crusades The Second Crusade lasted from It was not successful. The Third Crusade lasted from It was not successful. The Fourth Crusade lasted from Instead of attacking Jerusalem, the crusaders attacked Constantinople. They stole statues, money, paintings and jewelry. They burned libraries. They destroyed churches. Their excuse was that they needed money to defend Constantinople from the same fate as Jerusalem, as well as to fund the rescue of Jerusalem. The Children's Crusade in 1212 was a terrible tragedy. Many thousands of French and German children died trying to reach Jerusalem. They believed God would help them because they were children. Many died of hunger. Others froze to death. When the survivors reached the Mediterranean Sea, they expected to be given passage to the East. Instead, adult seafarers captured the children and sold them as slaves. Over the next 70 years, there were several other crusade attempts, but they were motivated more by personal gain than by religious purpose. None succeeded. By 1291, 200 years after the first crusade, European leaders lost interest. Western Europe never admitted defeat. They simply stopped asking for new crusaders.