The Catholic Church in the Middle Ages

Violence, Influence, and Beauty

Why was it so powerful?

1. It owned land2. It was rich-tithes, gifts3. It excommunicated

people4. It could not be

controlled by the King

Benefits from the Church

Provide Education

Give people hope and sense of

security

Help the Poor and Sick

Give structure to society

Cathedrals became very important. Why?•Showed the Church was center of life•Showed the Church was blessed by God•They were built by the community and became a unifying project. •They were beautiful and displayed local art and sculpture•They gave people a place to feel hope and inspiration•They revealed the power and wealth of the Church

How does architecture change in the Middle Ages?

•Style switch from Romanesque to Gothic Style

•The Gothic style occurs as the Church’s power and wealth increases in the High Middle Ages.

•Some people see the Gothic style as a symbol of the Church’s extravagance.

What is the typical shape of many Cathedrals?

Romanesque Style

ArchitectureEarly Middle Ages

•Rounded Arches•Barrel Vaults•Thick Walls•Dark Simple interiors•Small windows

Gothic Style ArchitectureThe High Middle Ages•Pointed Arches•High Narrow Vaults•Thinner Walls•Flying Buttresses•Elaborate, Ornate interiors•Stained Glass Windows

Click icon to add picture

Pointed Arches The Arch bore more of the

weight than the walls Therefore, the walls could

be thinner The roof was higher and

the interior was more open

Q: What is a Flying Buttress?A: A support that connected inner walls to outer towers

Q: Why are they important?A: They support the walls so they can be higher and thinner

Which style is it?

What was on the outside of Gothic

Cathedrals?Gargoyles:Grotesque Monsters

Why? Rain spoutsAND to protect the Church from evil

Ornate Decorations

Q: What was the inside the Cathedral like?A: Tall, open, full of light and color

Images in the Church

The Use of Paintings and Stained Glass

Q: Why were pictures so important?

A: Most people were illiterate so the Church used images to teach about the Bible, the danger of Hell, and the importance of the Saints.

Stained Glass Windows

Thinner walls allowed beautiful windows Colors made from plants, shells, dyes mixed into the

glass Pictures were from Biblical stories or were about

famous leaders and important people from the time

The “Poor Man’s Bible” window at CanterburyCathedral 13th century

A wall sized mural on Chaldon Church in England.

A demon pulling people off the ladder

An angel helping people up the ladder

Evil doers being put into a pot of boiling water

A bridge of spikes for dishonest tradesmen

Review: Cathedrals With your table discuss why Cathedrals were

so important in the Middle Ages

Illuminated Manuscripts

What is an illumination?

•An Embellishment (decoration) added•the pages of a manuscript

•Comes from illuminate which means •to fill with light.

•Letters were covered with Gold Leaf which made them appear to glow.

•Typically the first letter of a page or paragraph

•Surrounded by plants, flowers, or mythical figures

Why were illuminations important?

•Done by Monks and kept in Cathedrals

•Often upon request from the King to show importance of document

•Great beauty and wealth

Relics and Pilgrimages•People travel to see items belonging to Christ or Saints

•(Wood from the Cross, Bones, Hair, Cloth, Crucifix)

•Had Special Powers—Healing, Forgiveness

•Items kept in Churches and Cathedrals

Santiago de Compostela

•Spain•Remains of St. James

CanterburyTomb of Saint Thomas Becket

Cloth soaked in his blood

Results of Pilgrimages•Growth of Cathedrals and Shrines

•Growth of Towns

•Growth of Travel and Tourism

•Growth of Tolerance

The Crusades:1095-1290 2 Centuries of Religious

War

The Byzantine Empire•Eastern Half of the Roman Empire—split in 330AD

•Still prospered until1100 while rest of empire broke into European Countries (Dark Ages)

•Situated between Europe and the Islamic World

•Capital was Constantinople

•Christian but Eastern Orthodox, not Roman Catholic. Therefore, not under control of the Pope

What was the problem for the

Byzantine Empire?

• The Seljuk Turks were invading

• The Turks restricted pilgrimages to the Holy

Land

How do the Crusades Begin?•Byzantines cry HELP!!

•Pope Urban II agrees.

•Why?

Reasons to help the Byzantine Empire

Unite Western Europe in a common cause with the Pope as the leader

The Holy Land and the Byzantine Empire controlled prosperous trade routes

Protect Christendom from the Spread of Islam

Eastern Orthodox Church was a rival of the Catholic Church

How did the Church convince people to go fight for the First

Crusade?

Free from Penance and a sure spot in Heaven

“God Wills It”

Why did people really go?

•Religious Reasons

•To Get Rich

•To See the World

How many Crusades are there?

8•Christians capture Jerusalem in the 1st

•Lose it by the 3rd •Never win anything else

Were the Crusades good or bad?

Bad 1 million Dead Strengthens Religious

Intolerance Speeds the end of the

Islamic Renaissance Black Death

Good Opens trade Returns knowledge and

learning to the West Returns Science and

invention to the West Speeds the beginning of

Europe’s Renaissance

The Inquisition

Process of the Inquisition

2. Trial

4. Punishment

1. Investigation

3. Torture