Popes
The Protestant Reformation marked a time of great religious, social and
political upheaval. For the first time in history the Christian church was
permanently shattered. The Reformation originated from a trend in returning to
the biblical days of Christianity and a renewal of morality. Unfortunately the
Catholic religious leaders didn't share in the renewal of morality. The
Renaissance popes were partially responsible for the decline of the
church;however, it was the Church's past history and changing social, political
and economic factors that lead to the Reformation's sucess.
Commercialization of the Holy See was common for most popes, but ,
according to Barbra Tuchman, three of these men took particular advantage of
the practice. Innocent VII is the earliest acknowledged pope during the
Renaissance to have taken liberties with the church's finances. Although he
engaged in the practices of simony and the selling of indulgences, his most
noted mistake was raising donations for a Crusade that never took place. In
1486 Innocent announced a crusade, as well as at the same time declaring a tithe
on all churches, benefices and ecclesiastical persons of all ranks. Military
plans were drawn up but, in the end, no great army ever assembled or departed
from Europe's shores. Instead, in a twist of irony, the Vatican wound up hosting
an infidel in the form of Prince Djem, the sultan's brother. This arrangement
confused the general public and the papal status fell in the eyes of the public.
Papal status was further weakened by Innocent's successor Alexander VI.
Alexander thrived on simony. He acquired the office of pope by buying out his
chief rivals and openly boasted about this feat. Alexander went on to sell a
total of 43 cardinalships, including to his own family. After the murder of his
eldest son, Alexander was inspired in a proposed Bull to try to reform the
church by reducing the incomes of the cardinals as well as mend other wicked
ways; however, provisions caused Alexander to return to normal and he never
issued the Bull. Perhaps if the Church had reformed during Alexander's reign,
Leo X would never have taken office. Leo is most noted for writing to his
brother "God has given us the papacy-let us enjoy it". Leo took this credo to
heart and was considered the most extravagant pope and one of the great spenders
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...tionalism and strong anti-Roman sentiment. This inspired Frederick of
Saxony to welcome Luther into Saxony and inspired other princes, such as Phillip
of Hesse, to tolerate Protestant reformers. Luther urged princes to seize the
Church's property and bring about moral reform in the church. The Church owned
large tracts of land in Germany and German princes realized the opportunity to
gain wealth by breaking from the church. A steady stream of duchies, margravites,
free cities and bishoprics became followers of Luther. The Protestant princes
allied with one another to form the Schmalkaldic League in order to fight the
efforts of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, to return the princes to
Catholicism. The French king, Francis I, supported the Schmalkaldic League in
their resistance against Charles. Although Charles won every battle he couldn't
get rid of Protestantism in Germany.
The Church's past history and Europe's changing political, social and
economic climate contributed more to the Reformation's success than the
Renaissance popes did. Had Luther lived in a different time and a different
area his Reformation would have been cut down like its predecessors.
After the disappointments of the Third Crusade the Christian forces would never again threaten the real bases of Muslim power. From the end of the Third Crusade and on they were only able to gain access to Jerusalem through diplomacy, not arms. In 1199 Innocent III called for another Crusade to recapture Jerusalem. To prepare for this crusade, the ruler of Venice had agreed to transport the French and Flemish Crusaders to the Holy Land. However the crusaders never fought the Muslims because more than half of their men did not show up and they were unable to pay the Venetians. This turned into a bargain with the Venetians and once Innocent III learned of their barging he excommunicated the participants. Then there was the Fourth Crusade which
The periods during the Reformation, Industrial Revolution, and the World at War all experienced religious and church conflicts. During the Renaissance and Reformation (1330 – 1650), the fundamental practices of the church came under fire. The church at this time was the largest and most political body. The pope, himself, was the most recognizable political figure. It was due to this authority that the church and its pope were more interested in political issues and less with the spiritual needs of the people (McGraw-Hill, p. 76). Many of the Roman Catholic Church’s high priests had bought their way into position and had very little religious experience. Often the only members of the community that were literate were the clergy thus adding to their control of the common people.
It is amazing how much political and military supremacy the papacy position gained when the Crusades began. The First Crusade (1096-1099) was a military expedition initiated by Pope Urban the II to regain the Holy Lands in Jerusalem from the Muslim conquest. The Pope gave a speech requesting military action against Muslim takeover to the French people of Clermont. The speech eventually propagated to other nations for further recruitment. Urban’s political and military involvement helped regain the Holy Lands and save the Christian Crusaders souls. His famous speech changed the course of history in part because its dissemination was overly successful, and assembled over 40,000 Crusaders to do the will of God. Why was Pope Urban II so victorious in recruiting people for the First Crusade, and why was his influence so important?
In the year 1095 the First Crusade was just beginning. Pope Urban II called Christians to liberate the Holy Land from Muslim oppressors. He promised indulgences and the gift of eternal life in the Kingdom of Heaven for fighting in the holy war. Those that answered the call were peasants, beggars, the poor looking for riches and the unknown looking for glory. What started out as a pilgrimage to help fellow Christians secure their borders and repel foreign invaders soon became the first of many Holy Wars for the Kingdom of God.
"The Church was in poor shape as well. The popes resided at Avignon, not at Rome, to the scandal of many.
Historian Arnold J. Toynbee said, “Sooner of later, man has always had to decide whether he worships his own power or the power of God.” In regards to the Crusades, the popes in charge chose to worship their own power – yet they got thousands of Europeans to worship the power of God. The Crusades were a series of campaigns in which Europeans tried to take the Holy Land from the Muslims. Pope Urban II headed the First Crusade, which lasted from 1096 to 1099, after he received a request for military aid from Alexios I. Alexios I was the Byzantine ruler, and his empire was facing attacks from the Seljuk Turks. The Crusades soon overtook all aspects of European society, as the promise of salvation and wealth was too great to pass up. 31 years later,
The crusades in the middle ages were a long-lasting series of vigorous wars between Christians and Muslims over the Holy Land, Jerusalem. The crusades lasted for almost two hundred years. They began in 1099 and approximately ended in 1291. (What were the motives, and causes of these gruesome wars?) is the first question one might ask. To properly answer this question, I am about to analyze the first four crusades that had began in 1099 and ended in 1212.
Dante lived in a time of intense political strife and competition over land, resources, and people. Many factions competed for power in the region, including the Holy Roman Emperors, an organization of “german aristocrats who claimed an ancient right to rule Christendom” (Moss, Wilson p. 174), the Papal authorities in Rome, lead by the controversial and power hungry Pope Boniface VIII, and smaller groups in city-states such as Florence, Tuscany and Rome. These groups were often made up of noblemen and other aristocracy in the cities that desired to consolidate local power under a “small, select group” (Moss, Wilson p. 174) that would allow them to exercise their will on the cities’ populace. Another class that emerged in the period was the merchant class, impelled by the increasing move towards urban centers and the lessening control of local feudal lords and vassals, in favor of more overarching rule by kings over a wider area. This rise in consumerism and capitalism lead to a desire for power by the merchant class to “establish a system of rule that would protect their newly acquired wealth.” (Moss, Wilson p. 174)
The First Crusade was established in 1095 in a council of the Church in Clermont. Alexius I Commenus, emperor of Byzantium, wanted to control Asia Minor and Northern Syria after losing to the Turks. He needed more Western troops and looked towards Pope
The people of the middle ages showed their faith in many ways some were through prayer or fasting and others took a more violent approach. The Crusades were a way for men to resolve themselves of their sins according to Pope Urban II. This was also a way for the Crusaders to take back what they believed was stolen from their ancestors and their god. This was not only from the men who went to fight, there were also the elderly, women, and children who felt they needed to go help their faith. This would also make the Muslims who had control over Jerusalem because they believed it was their holy land as well. They on the other side had to protect their faith and pay their own piety. This would also cement the relationship of Christians and Muslims for
the leader was not seen as being strong and in control, the people would not want to put
Definition: The medieval "Crusade" was a holy war. In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade with the goal of restoring Christian access to holy places in Jerusalem.
The First Crusade was called by Pope Urban II in November 1095. Urban made a simple proposal to his people: “Whoever for devotion alone, but not to gain honor or money, goes to Jerusalem to liberate the Church of God can substitute this journey for all penance.” This proposal sounded very appealing to many. There were several motivations behind the Church calling for the Crusades. Some of these motivations helped persuade the knights to take up arms and help reclaim the Holy Land. Urban figured that it was a win win situation. The violent knights could become “good” again. They would be forgiven for all their sins and they would be saved. They could cease their violent lives and instead do something productive, such as help recover the holy
In 1095, Pope Urban II called the first crusade. Happening between 1096 and 1099, the first crusade was both a military expedition and a mass movement of people with the simple goal of reclaiming the Holy Lands taken by the Muslims in their conquests of the Levant. The crusade ended with the capture of Jerusalem in July 1099. However, there has been much debate about whether the First Crusade can be considered an ‘armed pilgrimage’ or whether it has to be considered as a holy war. This view is complicated due to the ways in which the Crusade was presented and how the penitential nature of it changed throughout the course of the Crusade.
This essay gives a brief outline of the major developments in the role of the Papacy between the Early Church and the present day. It will cover four aspects. The development of the papacy as a temporal ruler, Papal elections, the Curia and the development of the ‘mission role’ of the Papacy. It will explore how the papacy changed from being an organisation that had the influence to appoint kings and arrange state borders to one with a billion followers. These followers see the papacy as being responsible for the administration, pastoral and spiritual care of their membership.