Since it’s founding, the Catholic Church, and particularly the Papacy, have had many rises, peaks and falls. There have been many events and people who have contributed to the increase or decrease in the Church’s authority and stature throughout its history. For example, Charlemagne, Pope Innocent III, and The Black Death have all had major shifting effects on the Papacy and its power and status. An example of the rise of the Papacy took place during the reign of Charlemagne. Charlemagne was known for his devotion to the Catholic Church and his many military victories. He had a massive impact on increasing the Papacy’s power and status by conquering many pagan tribes and lands and then spreading Christianity throughout …show more content…
Pope Innocent III was elected pope in 1198, in a unanimous decision, and was considered the most important pope of the Middle Ages. He had a vision for the church and moved the papacy in new directions as well as launched new crusades against Egyptians. Pope Innocent III was very eager to take back Jerusalem, the Holy Land that was under Muslim control and attacks. He also understood that the pope’s power depended on having the acceptance of the people. “In his inaugural sermon he spoke of the papacy’s position in human history and God’s will for man. The successor of St. Peter is the Vicar of Christ; he has been established as mediator between God and man, below God but beyond man; less than God but more than man; who shall judge all and be judge by no one.”[3] Innocent was the first pope to describe himself as Christ’s vicar on earth. This was a way for him to place himself in a powerful position and tell lay people and other members of the clergy that they were not allowed to judge …show more content…
While Charlemagne was responsible for the rise of the papacy, and Pope Innocent III caused it to peak, the Black Plague (also known as the Black Death and the bubonic plague) caused a dramatic fall in the power of the papacy and the Catholic Church. The Black Plague began in Asia and caused the deaths of one third of the European population. We know now that the Black Plague resulted from the spread of a bacterium (Yersinia Pestis) that was carried by fleas on rats. These fleas eventually spread to people, causing the death of millions. The Plague tore societies apart and had many effects including weakening the Catholic Church. Since people had no idea what was causing this disease, many began to think God was punishing them. Others turned to the church and thought that if they prayed hard enough and asked for forgiveness of their sins, that God would heal them. When more and more people became infected and died, many Catholics lost their faith in God. Another reason the plague weakened the Church was that many bishops, priests, and deacons were dying and there weren’t enough clergymen left to perform the sacraments. Because the clergy could not cure or explain the plague people lost hope and fear and hysteria set in all over Europe. As a result of the Black Plague the Catholic Church lost a great deal
Faith in religion had fallen because the prayers of the people were not answered. The people even thought that it was god whom had unleashed this deadly disease. One piece of evidence that I used stated,” Some felt that the wrath of God was descending upon man, and so fought the plague with player (Document 6).” Another piece of evidence stated,” Faith in religion decreased after the plague, both because of the death of so many of the clergy and because of the failure of prayer to prevent sickness and death (Document 6).”
Pope Urban II was sought by Alexius Comnenus, a Byzantine Emperor who wanted the papacy to help his army hold off the advancing Seljuk Turks in Asia Minor. The reason for Alexius Comnenus contacting the pope rather than another emperor or monarch wasn’t just the fact they were secular, but because the pope would have more power to persuade the people. The Gregorian movement in 1050-80 was ultimately was responsible for the new instilled power of the papacy’s position over nonreligious rulers. The pope agreed to aid the Byzantine emperor, but he also had his own agenda when it came to the military advances and the new power of his position. The papacy did not intend to only help the Byzantine Empire but to further save all of Christendom from being overrun.
While expanding his empire across Europe, Charlemagne did remember that he was indeed a Christian, and converted many of the tribes he conquered, to Christianity. However, when 4,500 Saxons resisted, they were slaughtered ("Charlemagne"). But, for better or for worse, by 1000 AD Christianity had spread like wildfire throughout most of Europe, and the Catholic Church, who had crowned our friend Charlemagne the Emperor, had risen to power. Meanwhile, the Seljuk Turks had taken Jerusalem and were threatening Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire (“Crusades”). Near the end of the eleventh century, Emperor Alexius wrote a letter to Pope Urban the II that called for the assistance of his fellow Christians in West (“Crusades”). And, Pope Urban, was more than happy to assemble an army for such a worthy cause, and he also hoped that it might improve the relations between the two
People were living better and society was becoming a bit more organized and the pope at the time, Pope Clement VI, held much of the power in Europe. The kings of Europe did not hold much of the power because the feudal system was spread across Europe. The people of Europe had some hatred between each other because of their difference in religion. The Crusades, a series of Catholic, European wars against Muslims in the Middle East, had recently ended in 1291 and it left behind a hatred. The Catholics had become so pumped up that they killed many innocent Jews on the way to war, causing trouble between the two religious groups. The Black Plague, also known as the Black Death, was a quickly spreading epidemic that took Europe by storm. The bacteria that caused the Plague was called Yersin bacillus which existed in fleas and was carried through Europe by
One of the groups that suffered the most was the Christian Church. It lasts prestige, spiritual authority, and leadership over the people. The church promised cures, treatment, and an explanation for the plague. They said it was God's will, but the reason for this awful punishment was unknown. People wanted answers, but the priests and bishops didn't have anything to say. The people abandoned their Christian duties and fled. People prayed to God and begged for forgiveness. After the plague ended, angry and frustrated villagers started to revolt against the church, this caused the churches to be abandoned.
In 1346, the second and most devastating case of Bubonic plague erupted. (Janis 1) This specific case of plague originated in Kaffa, a cathedral town on the Crimean Coast and spread to China then quickly westward to India. Soon traders from India sailed to Europe and infected almost the entire continent. (Ziegler 121) This case was the most famous because of the large number of deaths affiliated with its outbreak. An estimated twenty five million people, one third of Europe’s population, perished during the plague’s four years of existence. (Janis 1) Government, trade, and commerce in Europe almost came to a halt. The Black Death caused the depopulation of about 1,000 villages in England. (Janis 2) In one case, in Alexandria, Egypt, the first two weeks of the plague 100-200 people died each day. Soon after, as many as 2,000 people died each day and the number increased each week. During this time, the Roman Catholic Church lost some influence on its people.
The Bubonic Plague or the Black Death is till known today as one of the worst disasters to ever happen not just in Europe, but in the entire world. At the time before the plague, Europe’s population was about four hundred million people. After the four years of the Black Death, Europe was down to about three hundred and fifty million people. This plague was absolutely devastating to all of Europe. It was especially bad in Mediterranean Europe, Spain, Italy, and the South of France. It was said to have killed about 75% to 80% of the population. It had its least dramatic effects in Germany and England only killing off 20% of their population, which is still an incredible number.
Clement was a French born pope with close ties to Philip IV. It is easy to deduce that he was the first pope to take up residency in Avignon. Despite being often asked to take up residency in Rome, he refused to leave his home of France. According to The Story of Christianity Vol. 1 by Gonzalez, Clement was the only pope during the Avignon Papacy to elect the most French cardinals. All but of his cardinals were of French descent. By electing almost all French cardinals he was proving to the King of France where his allegiance was and where the papacy should continue. His allegiance towards France did not stop there. As stated above Philip IV had many trials and tribulations with past popes not defending his rule. Clement V did not defend himself again the King as did he predecessors. Clement was weak in leadership. Often when disobeying the ideas of King Philip IV, he was shamed into changing his decisions. An example of his weakness would be his overthrowing of the bulls put into effect by Pope Boniface III. As touched upon above, King Philip IV once had tensions with King Edward I of England. According to Lectures for a Medieval Survey by Nelson, Boniface had issued the bull Clericis laicos. This made it illegal to any member of clergy to support either of the Kings. Later he issued the bull Unam Sanctam, which gave the papacy supreme power. It was this bull that led to his council in Rome to discuss King Philip.
Sweeping through Western Europe during the fourteenth century, the Bubonic Plague wiped out nearly one third of the population and did not regard: status, age or even gender. All of this occurred as a result of a single fleabite. Bubonic Plague also known as Black Death started in Asia and traveled to Europe by ships. The Plague was thought to be spread by the dominating empire during this time, the Mongolian Empire, along the Silk Road. The Bubonic Plague was an infectious disease spread by fleas living on rats, which can be easily, be attached to traveler to be later spread to a city or region. Many factors like depopulation, decreasing trade, and huge shifts in migrations occurred during the Bubonic Plague. During Bubonic Plague there were also many different beliefs and concerns, which include fear, exploitation, religious and supernatural superstition, and a change of response from the fifteenth to eighteen century.
The Black Plague, perhaps one of the worst epidemics in history, swept its evil across Europe in the middle of the 14th century, killing an estimated 20 million people. This major population shift, along with other disasters occurring at the time, such as famine and an already existing economic recession, plunged Europe into a dark period of complete turmoil. Anarchy, psychological breakdowns, and the dissipation of church power were some of the results. As time passed, however, society managed to find new ground and began its long path of recovery. The plague, as catastrophic as it was to medieval Europe, had just as many positive effects that came with this recovery as it did negative effects prior. An end to feudalism, increased wages and innovation, the idea of separation of church and state, and an attention to hygiene and medicine are only some of the positive things that came after the plague. It could also be argued that the plague had a significant impact on the start of the Renaissance.
Throughout the time of the Middle Ages the Roman Catholic Church served as one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval Europe, the Church served as a significant force in the arts, crafts and culture of Europe. The Church had a ranking structure (hierarchy) that was in many ways almost identical to the Feudal System, this showed that the Church had much power in those times then they do today and showed the influence that the Church had in those times. The power and the influence of the Church in those times were mainly roo...
This affected more than just Europe, it really hurt countries in the Middle East and China. The Black Death was spread by the Mongols and passed into Europe through black rats and fleas. Ships were known to arrive in Europe with many dead bodies and only rats living. Symptoms of the Black Death included puss filled abscesses that ended up turning your whole body black. It is believed that after receiving symptoms of the deadly disease people would only survive a few days. It was feared that the entire population would be wiped out by this devastating plague. People of this age believed the plague had meaning and was related to God, there were different perceptions of why the Bubonic plague happened, although some believed God caused it, others strongly believed that it was not possible for God to commit an act that would cause so many issues to the world and its society. The population that survived the Black Death were traumatized by the events and also affected negatively economically. An effect of the plague was a shortage of labor which caused a shortage of supply and increase in demand of workers and laborers. The whole of Europe had changed because of this event and things such as revolts. Protests, and up rise started to occur in cities all over Europe. The Black Death changed the attitudes and thinking of the people of Europe
In the western half of the once great Roman Empire, Rome, along with the surrounding territories, fell to barbarians. The barbarians, primarily from Germanic tribes, had no system of government by which the people should live. In other words, each village and people-group were left to fend for themselves in terms of both rule as well as protection; however, the church never faltered or fell away while the barbarians took control. In light of this fact, the church began to grow in power and stability. With people flocking to the churches and monasteries for help and protection, the power began being transferred to the bishop rather than to a king/political ruler. This bishop was the Archbishop of Rome.
First, there were the ordinary believers, the citizens of the kingdom who followed the Christian faith. Then there was the clergy, the members who devoted their lives to the church. Each group of the clergy was assigned specific functions by the clergy nobles to help run the Church competently. Amongst all the clergy associates, the Pope was at the top, he had the equivalent if not more power than the ruling monarch and was in charge of all political affairs and administered the clergy. He was able to dictate political laws and even comment on the monarch’s decisions.
Perhaps no other event was as influential to the rise of papacy in Rome as the decline of the Roman empire. With the decline of the empire, the church became the last refuge of stability. Without the protection of the empire, Rome was subject to poverty, disrepair, and attack from enemies.1 The rise of the papacy was a response to this situation. It was further cemented by the leadership of such men as Leo I and Gregory I, the latter sometimes referred to as the father of the medieval papacy.2 Finally, the granting of lands and authority to the bishop of Rome greatly increased the power of the Roman church.3