Main Ideas:
Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms
9. Gregory I has broadened the authority of the papacy (pope’s office), beyond its spiritual role by making the papacy a secular (power involved in politics).
Gregory used church revenues to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor. He also negotiated peace treaties with invaders such as the Lombards. He strengthened the vision of Christendom by fanning out of Rome to the most distant churches. The new idea of having a churchly kingdom, ruled by a pope, would be a central theme of the Middle Ages. Meanwhile, secular rulers expanded their political kingdoms.
10. Charles Martel extended the Franks’ reign to the north, south, and east. He defeated Muslim raiders from Spain at the Battle of Tours and it was highly significant for Christian Europeans. This victory has made him a Christian hero and has become the most powerful person in the Frankish kingdom.
11. In Charlemagne’s gratitude of crushing an unruly mob that had attacked the pope, Pope Leo III crowned him emperor. He had claimed the political right to confer the title “Roman Emperor” on a European king. This event signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.
Feudalism in Europe
12. From about 800 to 1,000, invasions destroyed the Carolingian Empire. Muslim invaders from the south seized Sicily and raided Italy. In 846, they sacked Rome, and later on Magyar invaders struck from the east. Like the earlier Huns and Avars they terrorized Germany and Italy. And from the north came the fearsome Vikings.
The Essay on Called By Pope Council Church Faith
St Alexander, bishop of Alexandria, called the Council of Nice a to deal with some of the heresies of the time, such as Arianism and Novatianism. This council lasted 2 months and twelve days, and had 318 bishops in attendance. The benefits from this council were important to reaffirming the faith. It stated that all people could be forgiven of their sins, no matter how bad the sin is, as long as ...
13. Under feudalism, in exchange for military protection and other services, a lord, or landowner, granted land called a fief. The person receiving a fief was called a vassal.
14. The manor system rested on a set of rights and obligations between a lord and his serfs. The lord provided the serfs with housing, farmland, and protection from bandits. In return, serfs tended the lord’s lands, cared for his animals, and performed other tasks to maintain the estate. Peasant women shared in the farm work with their husbands. All peasants whether free or serf owned the lord certain duties. These included at least a few days of labor each week and a certain portion of their grain.
The Age of Chivalry
15. At a very young age, sons of nobles would begin training for knighthood and learn the code of chivalry. The boy would be sent off to the castle of another lord, as a page, he waited on his hosts and began to practice fighting skills. After the page reached the rank of the squire, a squire acted as a servant to a knight. Around the age 21, a squire became a full-fledged knight. After being dubbed a night, most young men traveled for a year or two. They gain experience fighting in local wars and take part in tournament battles.
16. The common subjects of a Troubadours’ songs are short versed songs about the joys and sorrows of romantic love. A Troubadour might sing about love’s disappointments or songs told of lovesick knights who adored ladies they would probably never win.
17. Women played an important role in the lives of both noble and peasant families under the feudal society. Women were also as powerless just as most men were and had the added burden of being thought inferior to men. Noblewomen could inherit an estate from her husband, play a key role in defending castles, but had limited lives in reality. Peasant women performed endless labor around the home and often in the fields, bore children, and practical household skills from their mother at an early age, unlike daughters in rich households who were educated by tutors. Females in peasant families were poor and powerless, yet the economic contribution they made was essential to survival of the peasant household.
The Essay on Why Did Henry VIII Create The Church Of England?
In this essay I am going to try and find out why King Henry VIII created the Church of England. In 1532 he broke with papal authority and announced himself head of the church in England, in 1533 the Church of England was created and in 1535 monasteries were closed. There are many arguments to do with economics, power, popularity, religion and finally succession and his personal life. Henry did not ...
The Power of the Church
18. Gelasius’s two-sword theory is “there are two powers by which this world is chiefly ruled: the sacred authority of the priesthood and the authority of kings.” He suggested an analogy to solve such conflicts: God had created two symbolic swords, one was religious and the other was political. The pope held a spiritual sword and the emperor wielded a political one. He thought that the pope should bow to the emperor in political matters and in return the emperor should bow down to the pope in religious matters. If each ruler kept the authority in his own realm, the two leaders could share a power in harmony.
19. Otto I was the most effective ruler of medieval Germany because he was crowned as king in 936, followed the policies of his hero; Charlemagne, formed a close alliance with the church, sought help from the clergy, built up his power base by gaining the support of the bishops and abbots (the heads of monasteries), dominated the Church in Germany, used his power to defeat German princes, and following in Charlemagne’s footsteps also invaded Italy on the pope’s behalf. The German – Italian empire Otto created was later known as the Holy Roman Empire after the name the Roman Empire of the German Nation.
20. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated Henry and afterwards, German bishops and princes sided with the pope. To save his throne, Henry tried to win the Pope’s forgiveness. The Pope was obligated to forgive any sinner who begged so humbly, but still Gregory kept Henry waiting in the snow for three days before ending his excommunication. Their meeting actually solved nothing, the pope had humiliated Henry, and yet, Henry felt triumphant and rushed home to punish rebellious nobles.
Critical Thinking:
Power and Authority
The ownership of land became an increasing source of power for feudal lords because the more land they have, the more villagers will settle and the more work and progress would be made around the manors. The more land lord’s had, the more defense and the larger the armies they made, in addition to a higher chance of winning a battle over new territory.
5. Synthesizing:
Religious and Ethical Systems
The generalizations about the relationship between politics and religion in the Middle Ages are weak, ignorant, and unsupportive towards each other. They disagreed on the boundaries of either realm and competed for power. Power was mostly based on status for religion and it occupied center stage.
The Essay on Images of Power and Authority in Art
Art has been used to portray figures of power and authority many times in history. Different cultures have different ways of portraying the image to have power and authority. One example of using art to portray images of power and authority is the Victory Stele of Naram-Sin. This was made to commemorate King Naram-Sin for his defeat of Lullubi. The King stands alone at the top, taller than ...
