The High Middle Ages

continued

Those who pray: The Clergy

The clergy was considered the highest in the hierarchy of humans because they stood “closest to God.”

The Catholic Church in the High Middle Ages

The Catholic Church was very important to the lives of medieval people.

Monks were considered “heroes” and were supposed to live a life of poverty, chastity, and obedience.

The bishop of Rome (the pope) was the head of the Catholic Church and was becoming more powerful.

Church vs. State(Powerful Popes Began to Rule the Medieval

World)

Winner of the conflicts between state and church came out to be the Church.

Pope Innocent III, the most powerful pope ever.

He controlled not only the Church, but also secular politics.

Christians on the March: The Crusades (1095-1291)

Crusades were a series of wars undertaken by European Christians between the 11th and 14th cent. to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims.

The Crusades - EventsThe Crusades - Events Invasion of Constantinople by the Seljuk Invasion of Constantinople by the Seljuk

Turks.Turks.

Pope Urban’sPope Urban’s call for a Crusade (1095) call for a Crusade (1095)

First crusade recaptured Jerusalem (1099)First crusade recaptured Jerusalem (1099)

Subsequent CrusadesSubsequent Crusades

– Richard the Lionheart (3Richard the Lionheart (3rdrd Crusade) Crusade)– Disastrous 4Disastrous 4thth Crusade sacked Constantinople Crusade sacked Constantinople

The Crusades: a massive failureThe Crusades: a massive failure

Criticism of the Church As the Church became more powerful and the

Crusades more crazy, heresies began to emerge and the Church fought back.

Excommunication – exclusion from the Church as a penalty for refusing to obey Church laws.

The Inquisition - tribunal of the Roman Catholic Church established for the investigation of heresy and punishment of the heretics.

The Revival of Towns and The Revival of Towns and TradeTrade

The High Middle Ages saw an increase The High Middle Ages saw an increase in trade and commerce, resulting in in trade and commerce, resulting in the creation of new towns or the the creation of new towns or the expansion of the old ones.expansion of the old ones.

A new class emerged: A new class emerged: townspeopletownspeople, , who were outside the traditional 3-who were outside the traditional 3-tiered order of medieval society. tiered order of medieval society.

Medieval Towns: Guilds Guilds were something like

medieval trade unions.

Each craft had its own guild (e.g. Blacksmiths, artists, bakers, and etc.)

Guilds protected craftsmen, regulated commerce, and set prices.

The Widening Web of TradeThe Widening Web of Trade Connected to the Connected to the

wealth accumulated wealth accumulated as more food was as more food was produced, trade produced, trade increased in the increased in the High Middle Ages. High Middle Ages.

Fairs were frequently Fairs were frequently held that attracted held that attracted traders from all over traders from all over Europe.Europe.

Medieval Universities

Scholasticism – combining faith and reason.

In the 12th cent., Bologna and Paris become centers of a new educational movement called “universitas.”

These guilds of students were ancestors of modern universities.

Scholasticism: St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)

Thomas Aquinas attempted to reconcile faith with reason and the works of Aristotle with Holy Scripture.

Wrote Summa Theologica