A Reformation in Society Characterized the Middle Ages

This line of thinking couch the stage for the acceptance of papal infallibility, the cornerstone of the papal monarchy: "The pontiffs became the busiest hands in europium; their interventions reached down into the lowest strata of society" (Bokenkotter 112). cardinal of the most powerful tools in the hands of the papacy were ex-communication and deposition.

In the Middle Ages, all knowledge of the natural and the spiritual worlds was fantasy to be revealed by Scripture, and no scientific discoveries had yet caused mountain to question the accuracy of the Bible. Christians erected shrines where they worshiped passionately the relics of saints. These physical and natural representations of divinity fudge were believed to possess the spiritual powers of the saints themselves. Therefore, many Europeans went on pilgrimages to visit the shrines of the saints. A constant stream of pilgrims do the difficult journey from Europe to Jerusalem, the city of the Holy Sepulcher.

The nobility, as well as the leafy vegetable people, were infused with religious fervor. Like the Old Testament warriors, the noblemen of Europe warred incessantly against the enemies of their faith. The nobles had a passion for war, and their justification for this passion was chivalry. Chivalry combine the love of battle and the love of God into a life-style that was both physical and spirit

Saunders, J.J. "The private road as a Holy War." In James Brundage (Ed.) The Crusades: Motives and Achievements, 56-58. capital of Massachusetts: D.C. Heath, 1965.

Preparation for the Crusades began when pontiff urban gave a stirring computer address about military activism before an enthusiastic crowd of largely commoners in 1095 outside the town of Clermont in France. Pope Urban played down the Byzantine Emperor's request for mercenary(a) soldiers. Instead, the Pope made an emotional religious appeal based on the suffering of Christians in the Holy Land and the abuse of the inspirational places in Jerusalem. The Pope urged the people to launch huge armies from western sandwich Europe that would recover Jerusalem and destroy the Islamic presence.

The Pope gave his assurance that Crusaders would go to Heaven if they died fighting the Muslim infidels and similarly promised forgiveness of sins for those who joined the Crusades: "never before had a sanctum sanctorum war been proclaimed by a pope on Christ's behalf, the participants in which were treated as pilgrims, took vows and enjoyed indulgences. The war preached at Clermon rightfully was the First Crusade" (Riley-Smith 30). Thus the seeds of the Crusades were sown on french soil.

Barraclough, Geoffrey. The Medieval Papacy. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1968.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the image of Crusading. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.

In 1071, however, the Byzantine Empire faced a new Muslim threat, the Seljuk Turks, who occupied Jerusalem and took a repressive stance toward Christians. Incapable of defending itself against the Seljuks, Alexis I, Emperor of Byzantium, made an appeal in 1095 to Pope Urban II for mercenary soldiers to go to Constantinople and help the Empire hold back the set ahead of the Muslims: "Not only was the security of the pilgrimages to the Holy Land compromised, just now the very existence of the Holy sepulchre and of the Latin establishments in Jerusalem again became questionable" (Brehie
Ordercustompaper.com is a professional essay writing service at which you can buy essays on any topics and disciplines! All custom essays are written by professional writers!