Church Reform and the Crusades

The Age of Faith• A new age of religious feeling beginning in

the 900s• Problems in the Church– Some priests nearly illiterate, some popes were

of questionable morals, some bishops more interested in roles as feudal lords

– Three main problems• Many priests were married with families (against

Church rulings)• Bishops sold positions within church (simony)• Kings appointing bishops

Reform and Church Organization

• Popes enforced Church laws against marriage and simony

• Church restructured to resemble a kingdom, with pope as head

• Pope formed Curia to develop canon law and act as a court

• Used some money from tithes to provide social services, including hospitals

New Religious Orders

• Early 1200s, friars began travelling to preach to the poor

• New orders were formed– Dominicans, Franciscans, Benedictines

• Women joined orders– Worked to help the sick and poor

Cathedrals – Cities of God

• Larger churches; built in cities• Decorated richly• New style of architecture arose – Gothic• Unlike earlier churches which were heavy and

dark, Gothic cathedrals reached upward (to heaven) with huge stained-glass windows

• Meant to inspire the worshiper with the magnificence of God

The Crusades

• 1093 – Muslim Turks threatening to attack the Holy Land

• Pope Urban II calls for a holy war, or Crusade, to gain control of the Holy Land

• Over the next 300 years, numerous Crusades were launched

Goals of the Crusades• Economic, social, political, and religious goals– Stop Muslim attacks on Constantinople– Reclaim the Holy Land and reunite Eastern and

Western Christendom– Get rid of knights who were constantly fighting each

other, which threatened peace in the kingdoms– Younger sons, who couldn’t inherit their fathers’

lands, sought land, a position in society, or adventure

– Merchants hoped to gain key trade routes to India, Southeast Asia, and China from Muslim traders

First Crusade• Huge turnout of volunteers– Pope said those who died on a Crusade were assured

of a place in heaven

• 1097, three armies of Crusaders gathered outside Constantinople– Not prepared – didn’t know the climate, geography,

or culture of the Holy Land– No particular strategy to capture Jerusalem– Nobles fought among themselves

• An army of 12,000 (only 1/4th of original size captured Jerusalem in 1099

Second Crusade

• 1144 – Muslim Turks recapture Holy Land• Second Crusade launched to retake it• Crusaders were defeated• Jerusalem fell to Muslim leader, Saladin

Third Crusade

• Third Crusade to capture Jerusalem was led by Richard the Lion-Hearted , king of England

• Like Saladin, he was a brilliant warrior• After many battles, both agreed to a truce– Jerusalem remained under Muslim control– Saladin promised that unarmed Christian

pilgrims could freely visit the city’s holy places

The Crusading Spirit Dwindles

• 1204 – Fourth Crusade fails; instead knights looted city of Constantinople

• 1200s – four more crusades all fail to recapture Holy Land

• Religious spirit of Crusades faded• The Children’s Crusade– 1212 – 50,000 unarmed children set out to conquer

Jerusalem– Most died of starvation, drowning, cold, or were sold

into slavery

A Spanish Crusade

• Muslims, called Moors, controlled most of Spain until the 1100s

• The Reconquista was a long effort by the Spanish to drive the Muslims out of Spain

• Finally accomplished in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella, the Spanish monarchs

The Inquisition• Purpose was to unify Spain under Christianity

and increase the power of Ferdinand and Isabella• Inquisition was a court held by Church to get rid

of heretics, people who held beliefs that differed from Church teachings

• Many Jews and Muslims converted to Christianity• Suspected heretics were tortured; if they

confessed, they were burned at the stake• 1492 – all practicing Jews and Muslims were

expelled from Spain

Effects of the Crusades• Trade expanded between Europe and Southeast

Asia– Included spices, fruit, and cloth– Benefitted both Christians and Muslims

• Failure of Crusades lessened power of popes• Weakened feudal nobility and increased power of

kings• Thousands of knights and others died• Left a legacy of hatred between Christians and

Muslims in the Holy Land• Led to increased persecution of Jews in Europe