Church History
The 14th - 15th Centuries
Article XI
For the Church and the empire, the fateful 14th century spiraled downward from last. The papacy lived lascivious and immoral lives, filled with shameless debauchery of every kind. The popes lived in palaces and carried such powers as to shape policies with kings and royalty. It appeared that the papacy was at its strongest power, yet its lowest ebb; it would, however, only sink further. Sin was rampant within the papacy, kings and lords, and the populace of the people. In addition, indulgences, now given by certificate, were freely given to those in power or those who could pay.
Indulgences
The belief in the cancellation of all temporal punishment Christians owed to God (through the Church) because of sin. It freed them
from having to perform acts of penance that the Church required to show sorrow for certain sins
The Babylonian Captivity
In 1302 A.D. Pope Boniface VIII issued a “bull” entitled “One Holy Church” (Unam Sanctum). This notice claimed that the pope possessed power over ALL of Europe’s kings and that only through the Church (meaning Roman Catholic Church) was there any salvation. The French king, Philip VI, however, disagreed so strongly that he had the pope kidnapped. One month later, the pope was dead. The new successor to the pontiff (Benedict XI) only lasted eight months, and the following 11 months the papal chair remained vacant. Finally a French churchman (given the name of Clement V) took the chair of the papacy. After his coronation, political considerations kept him in France. He ultimately moved the entire papal court to the city of Avignon – a manor on the border of France. A French papacy would remain for the next seven popes, becoming entangled in French political interests. The Vatican, near Rome, stagnated. The population dwindled, older buildings fell apart and conditions, as a whole, went bad. The people called for return of the papacy to the Vatican, but it was ignored. The French dominated the Church during the whole Avignon papacy.
Financial corruption became characteristic of the Church in the 14th century. The next two popes built a wealthy papacy in Avignon from any means feasible. “Annates,” meaning a tenth of all clerical income, along with the full first year’s income from any new office holder was instituted. The pope claimed the house and possessions of any deceased bishop. Income from vacant offices went directly to the pope as well. Also originated was “Peter’s Pence.” One pence, meaning penny, was required from every household throughout most of Europe. This brought in an extreme amount of wealth to the Avignon papacy.
Moral and spiritual maturity considerations were not a requirement for office of the papacy. Its leadership positions were bought and sold openly to the highest bidder. Priests were seldom celibate as before within the Church, and lived depraved lives. The moral structure of the Church had declined to an all time low.
This period of time became known as the Babylonian Captivity, as representative of the ancient Israelites, who after disobedience to God were taken away from their Promised Land for 70 years and exiled to Babylon. That was the same circumstance and time period that seven succeeding generations remained in Avignon.
The beginning of the Hundred Years’ War
In 1337 A.D. King Edward III of England (the nephew of the deceased French King Philip VI) claimed the throne of France. King Edward then invaded France, which brought about war between the two countries. This began the period known as the “Hundred Years’ War.” In the midst of a corrupt Church and a bloody war between France and England, another hardship struck Europe. [1]
The Black Plague
A plague broke out in the major trade nation of China in the 1330s that primarily affected rodents. It’s flees, however, when transmitted to people, caused a fatal infection. Once infected, the plague spread quickly and death was imminent. This led to the worst plague known to history.
In October of 1347 A.D. several Italian merchant ships returned from China and its passengers were dying of the plague. When the ships docked in Sicily many of those on board had already died. Realizing that disaster had come upon them, the people of the Sicilian city drove those on board away. The infection, however, remained and continued to spread within the city and then on to the mainland of Italy. Within days the plague had spread even to the surrounding countryside. [2]
The plague reared itself in three different ways:
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Bubonic Plague |
Pneumatic Plague |
Septicemic Plague |
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The plague struck and killed people at horrendous speeds. No doctor or medicine offered any cure. By that August, the plague had spread as far north as England. In the winter the disease seemed to disappear, but only because the fleas, which were carrying the disease from person to person, laid dormant in the cold weather. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims. After five years 25 million people were dead. At the onset of the plague (1347 A.D.), Europe had a population of 75 million people, and by its end in 1352 A.D. the population has declined to 50 million people. One-third of Europe was dead from the Black Plague. [3]
As different as people were, they demonstrated in a variety of ways how they handled the plague. Many rich people ate the finest foods and avoided all excesses, passing the time listening to soothing music instead of mingling with others. There were those who took their families away from the town to live to the countryside - away from other people to avoid infection. Most people, however, felt that no matter what they did, the plague would hit them, so they might as well continue on with life as best as they could under the severe circumstances, avoiding the sick as much as possible. Then there were those who drank and became drunk as a means of escape, making jest of the plague, trying to satisfy every desirous appetite in taverns and other places. Out of fear, many refused to listen to the reports of the dead. It was, however, everywhere!
The worse the plague hit, the less authority and the law were in operation. It was every person for themselves. Ministers and executors of the law were either dead or shut up with their own families. Most people were simply taking care of themselves and their loved ones. [4]
The nursery rhyme – “Ring around the Rosie.”
The stench of the tumors was horrendous, and the smell of death was always in the air. Many people carried posie flowers in their pockets because its scent helped drown out the smell. Right before death the dying person’s cheeks got all flushed with rosy colored circles that formed. Moments before death they sneezed, and then fell down dead.
There’s an old familiar nursery rhyme that children have learned from their parents down through the centuries that carries its root from the Black Plague. Medieval parents taught it to their children to help take away the fear of death.
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Ring Around the Rosie |
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Ring around the rosie – a pocket full of posie. Achoo, achoo, all fall down |
People throughout Europe had prayed for deliverance from the plague and didn’t know why their prayers were not being answered. Popes and priests alike failed to respond to the people’s needs during this time . Multitudes of corpses were brought to the churches every day, having no burial grounds to place them in. Many families had family plots, but they were already filled with the bodies that had been buried earlier. To accommodate the dead, trenches were dug around the church lots and bodies were buried by the hundreds. They were then simply covered with dirt. [5]
For almost five years, death showed no favoritism. The lower and middle class people fell by the thousands. They just simply fell in the streets or quietly in their homes. Often, until someone could smell their remains, no one knew they were dead. When they were, the bodies were carried outside of the house, laid outside of the door. With the aid of porters, if their survivors could acquire them, their bodies were carried away by wagons to be buried. The upper class - b ishops, lords, earl and dukes died with no distinguishing between them and the peasants and serfs. They were simply carried off and buried like anyone else. When the lords died, the serfs simply took over. This led to thievery of property, castles, and land; looting became commonplace. The lords and other nobility who did survive found themselves with a shortage of serfs or peasants to take care of their manor. This led to higher taxes, which then led to higher demands of wages. When the peasants refused to pay the taxes, it would eventually bring on a revolt.
The Peasants’ Revolt
By 1381 A.D., the local peasants in London, England had enough of paying high taxes. Armed bands of villagers and peasants townsmen rose up and attacked manors and churches in their grievance against the young King Richard II. They burned down the palace of the king and set fire to the treasurer’s manor. They then destroyed legal records and opened up prison doors. What began as a local event, spread across Europe to become known as “the Peasants’ Revolt.”
On June 14th of that same year, King Richard and a handful of lords and knights met with the warring peasants. As a result, the peasants promised to pledge their allegiance to Richard if he would grant their petitions. They handed him the petition which asked for the abolition of slavery, the right to rent land at fourpence an acre, and for labor services that would be based on free contracts. In other words, no more serfdom, and increase wages. The king agreed to grant their demands. Later that day, another group of peasants entered the castle tower and kidnapped the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Chancellor. They dragged them up to Tower Hill and executed them as traitors. The next day, King Richard met with these peasants and they demanded an end to all lordship beyond that of the King. Their demands also included the lowering of taxes and the Church's estates be confiscated and divided among the people. The people did not want to submit to any lord, duke or earl, and was willing only to submit to the bishops and the king. The King agreed to all of the demands as well.
Wages rose and the economy began to suit the peasant more than it suited the landowner. This caused the landowners to again tighten up the wages and increase their taxes. Over time the authorities regained control in all the regions that had experienced insurrection, and then King Richard issued a proclamation denying rumors that he had approved of what the rebels had done. Soon after he revoked the pardons he had earlier granted them. A judicial inquiry followed and the king and his armies toured the areas that had experienced revolt. The rebels were captured and dealt with severely. Many were execute! [6]
The Peasants’ Revolt spread across Europe into France, Belgium, and Italy. It would last for the next one hundred years. Lords and manors, serfs and peasants were on their way out of Europe. A new era had come!
The Early Renaissance
The meaning of Renaissance
The word Renaissance is a French word meaning “rebirth,” - a rebirth of the philosophy of Greek and Latin classics. It described the dignity of humanity, and that humanists shifted intellectual emphasis off of theology and logic to specifically human studies. [7] The Renaissance also described the intellectual and economic changes that occurred in Europe from the 14th – 16th centuries. It was an age in which artistic, social, scientific, and political advances emerged from the economic downfall of the Black Plague and Peasant Revolts. [8]
The Renaissance took place in the more prominent countries in Europe between the years of 1350 and 1650 A.D., marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. It was confined largely to a small upper-class society; however, their ideas and ways of living greatly affected the lower segment of the social order. It was a time when commerce became more important than agriculture as the way to make a living. [9]
The reason for the Renaissance
As the middle and lower class of people began to emerge out of peasantry, life became easier. The Black Plague had driven many people out of the cities, but now with the lessening of the spread, people were coming back. Lords and manors had split up. People were earning wages for themselves and their families. Individuals were given the freedom to pursue whatever trade or industry they liked. Many people left the country for towns and cities so they could engage in more profitable pursuits. The “new middle class” people began to emerge as bankers, merchants, and tradesmen.
As their fortunes improved, and their social status improved, the new middle class had more than enough money to meet their basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. Leisure time was created as a time when the new middle class could get educated, read, learn to play musical instruments, and enjoy the leisure of entertainment that a more pleasurable and comfortable living provided. The new middle-class population also began to desire more in life than before – larger homes, fine arts for their homes, and the finer clothing to show off their wealth in public. These desires of the new middle class stimulated the economy.” [10]
Renaissance beginnings
Beginning in Florence, Italy, where the power had been taken from old nobility and placed in the hands of the rising new middle class of people, the Renaissance changed the culture of Western Europe with the reviving of the values of classical Greek and Roman civilization in the arts and politics. [11] From there the Renaissance expanded into Germany, France, England, and other parts of Europe. [12]
Humanism and the humanist
The concept of humanism emphasized the worth of the individual. Renaissance scholars who taught classical learning brought another kind of learner known as the humanists. These humanists searched the antiquities of Greek and Latin philosophies and then developed a new, rigorous kind of classical learning to fit the times of the Renaissance. The funds were provided by merchants, bankers, and the Church. We can look back today and see that this was the basis of our present study of the arts, science, and critical thinking within our higher education institutions.
www.rjgeib.com/.../ cardinal1.jpg
Growth of universities – Liberal arts - the arts and sciences
The Renaissance was a time of growth of universities, knowledge, and philosophy, as well as the added study of law, arts and sciences. This was a time of the broadening of the secular minds through a wider acquaintance of the world around. Education became important for many middle-class professions. Reading was essential for all businessmen, and bankers and accountants needed to understand arithmetic. [14] Education opened the doors for both the upper and middle class people.
Liberal Arts Course of Studies
(Original Meaning)
"Liberates man and makes hm master of hiself in a free world of free spirits."
The Renaissance was also a period or great creative activity in which individual artists came forth with their talents . Byzantine art was popular in the East and Gothic Art centered in Germany and the Netherlands. Now a new type of art was coming on the horizon.
www.nga.gov/collection/gallery
Madonna and Child
Artist: Filippo Lippi.
1440/1445 A.D.
The elite hired humanists to teach their children
The more elite families hired humanists to teach their children classical morality, write elegant, classical letters, and study history.
The humanists within the Papacy
The more scholarly humanists were hired by the papacy to write official correspondence and propaganda. In a time when the people had seen the flaws of the pope as a mere human executing power, this created a challenge for any humanist to create an image of the pope as powerful, enlightened, modern rulers of the Church. The people had also seen the errors of the papacy, and the humanists were given the assignment to elevate the papacy. Many humanists were Christians, others were not. [15]
The discovery of the Donation of Constantine
During their studies, the humanists made an important discovery. They found the ancient writings of the “Donation of Constantine” to the papacy (Refer to article VIII). They saw overwhelming evidence that it was a fraud. Emperor Constantine did not donate the land to the Church as had been believed since the 4th century. What that meant was the pope and the papacy had no legal claim to the place they called the “Vatican.” The Vatican, however, had been well enough established in that land by this time to make any changes. [16] As a result, it was never challenged.
The Donation of Constantine
The huanists discovered the ancient writings of the Donation of Constantine to the Papacy. It showed overwhelming evidence that it was fru; meaning legally the Vatican did not belong to the papacy
The End of the Babylonian Captivity
Rome had been strengthened during the Renaissance, which also strengthened the bishops in the once decayed Vatican. For nearly 70 years the papacy had resided in Avignon, France. With the Renaissance having its greatest strength in Italy, Pope Urban V chose to move the papacy back to the Vatican near Rome. In 1365 A.D., Pope Urban V ordered the Vatican repaired to be ready for the papacy to come back to Italy. Two years later the pope set sail for Rome. The people of Rome rejoiced at his entrance into the city. By 1378 they had completely moved back to the Vatican. There were, however, disputing people who continued to honor the bishop in Avignon as the head of the Church. The end result was that the Church now had two different papal structures and two different popes.
The Papal Schism
From 1378 to 1417 A.D. was a time of difficulty which is referred to as the Papal Schism. This period of time was when parties within the Catholic Church were divided in their allegiances. The split in the papal offices brought division and the loss of authority to the pope(s) and papacy. Eventually, the cardinals of both popes decided that an ecumenical council of godly men could collectively possess more divine authority that just one pope. In 1409 A.D. the cardinals asked the Church council in Pisa (Italy) to elect a new pope that could unite both sides. One was temporarily elected! This brought additional problems because neither the pope in Rome nor the corrupt Avignon pope was willing to give up their power. Thus, three popes were vying for authority over the Church. Finally, in 1417 A.D. the Council of Constance was successful in healing the Schism. The Avignon pope was deposed, which induced the resignation of the Roman pope; therefore, the schism was healed, making room for the election of a single pope. Pope Martin V reigned as a single pope from 1417-1431 A.D. [17]
The period of the decline of the medieval Church is dated between 1305 and 1417 A.D. There was, however, more than one reason for its decline:
Reasons for the Decline of the Late Medieval Church
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The Church of England
While the pope had reigned from Avignon, the English people resented sending money to a pope who was under pressure from their enemy, the French king. Recalling back, England was at war with France. In addition, the Roman Catholic Church owned over 1/3 of England’s property, of whom their representative, the papacy resided in France. This nationalistic feeling was increased by the royal and middle-class resentment over taxation lost from the English treasury and giving it to the papacy in France. It was in this era of nationalism that John Wycliff appeared on the scene to challenge the pope. [18]
Pre-Reformational Revivalists
J ohn Wycliff (1329 – 1384 A.D.)
John Wycliff came from the north of England, and became a leading philosopher at Oxford University. He was invited to serve at court by John of Gaunt, who was acting as ruler at that time. In 1378 A.D., when the papacy had left Avignon and returned to the Vatican, Wycliff set out to reform the Roman Catholic Church by the elimination the corruption of immoral clergymen. He felt that failure on the part of ecclesiastics to fulfill their proper functions was a sufficient reason for the civil authorities to take the property from them and give it to someone who would serve God in the right way.
The nobles of England were happy to seize the property of the Church of Rome and stood behind Wycliff and John of Gaunt.
Wycliff had been disgusted with the Babylonia Captivity and Papal Schism. He also was not satisfied with two popes trying to rule. He began opposing the dogma of the Roman Church with biblical truth. In 1379 A.D. Wycliff attacked the authority of the pope in writing by claiming that Christ, not the pope, was the head of the Church. He also claimed that the Bible, not the Church, was the sole authority for the believer. He also claimed that the Church should model itself after the pattern of the New Testament. To support those beliefs, Wycliff translated the New Testament into English so the people of England could read the Scriptures for themselves. [19] By 1382 A.D. the first complete manuscript translation into English of the New Testament was done. For the first time Englishmen were able to read the Bible in their own tongue.
Wycliff also opposed the dogma of transubstantiation with Roman Catholicism. The Roman Church believed that the substance, or essence of the elements, literally changed into the body and blood of Christ, even though the outward form remained the same. Wycliff argued that the substance of the elements stayed the same and was simply symbolic of Christ’s spiritually present in the sacrament, and was apprehended by faith.
Transubstantiation
The substance or essence of the elements of the communion literally are changed into the body and blood of Christ, even though the outward form remains that same.
If Wycliff was recognized as right and his view was adopted by the Roman Catholic Church, it would mean that the priests could no longer withhold salvation (the practice of excommunication) from anyone by withholding the elements in the Communion. [20] More will be explained regard this later.
The same year (1382 A.D.) Wycliff’s English version of the New Testament came out. His views were condemned by Parliament in London. He was forced to retire to his rectory at Lutterworth. In his retirement he made provisions for the continued evangelism of the truth by founding of a group of lay preachers called the Lollards. The Lollards preached all over England until the Roman Church gave them the death penalty.
In a time when the Church was so corrupt, John Wycliff’s accomplishment were influential in paving the way for subsequent reformation in England. He gave the English their first Bible in their vernacular language and created the Lollards to proclaim evangelical ideas all over England among the common people. His teachings of equality in the Church were applied to economic life by the peasants and contributed to the Peasants’ Revolt of 1381 A.D. Bohemian students studying in England carried his ideas back to their homeland where they became the foundation for the teaching of John Hus. [21]
John Hus
When Richard II of England married Anne of Bohemia, it created an influx of student from that country to come to England to study at the university. When they returned back to their homeland, they carried with them the ideas from Wycliff.
John Hus had studied at the University of Prague. He then became the pastor of the Bethlehem Chapel from 1402 – 1414 A.D. He also taught at the university, and became its rector in about 1409 A.D. He read and adopted the ideas of Wycliff with enthusiasm. His preaching coincided with the rise of Bohemian national feeling against the control of Bohemia by the Roman Church.
Hus wanted to reform the Church in Bohemia along lines similar to those proclaimed by Wycliff. His views, however, exposed him to papal enmity. For that exposure he was ordered to go to the Council of Constance under a “safe-conduct” from the emperor. The safe-conduct, however, was not honored. Both his and Wycliff’s views were condemned at the council. Hus was ordered to recant. After Hus refused to recant, he was burned at the stake by order of the council; however, his writings lived on.
A group known as the United Brethren, or Bohemian Brethren, was formed out of the supporters of Hus in about 1450 A.D. It was from this group that the Moravian Church was formed, which still exists today.
End Notes
[1] Jones, Timothy Paul. Christian History Made Easy. Rose Publishing.Torrance, CA 1999.
[2] http://www.byu.edu/ipt/projects/middleages/LifeTimes/Plague.html
[3] ibed
[4] The Black Death, 1348," EyeWitness to History, www.eyewitnesstohistory.com (2001).
[5] ibed
[6] http://www.britannia.com/history/articles/peasantsrevolt.html
[7] http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/REN/HUMANISM.HTM
[8] http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/
[9] Cairns, Earle, E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[10] http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/middleages_sub.html
[11] http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Renaissance/GeneralFiles/RenaissanceMovement.html
[12] http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761554186/Renaissance.html
[13] ibed
[14] http://www.learner.org/exhibits/renaissance/middleages_sub.html
[15] http://lcweb.loc.gov/exhibits/vatican/humanism.html
[16] http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/Renaissance/GeneralFiles/RenaissanceMovement.html
[17] http://campus.northpark.edu/history/WebChron/WestEurope/GreatSchism.html
[18] Cairns, Earle E. Christianity Through the Centuries. 3rd ed. Zondervan. 1996.
[19] ibed
[20] ibed
[21] ibed