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SHORT  HISTORY 


THE  MEDI/EVAL  CHURCH 


JOHN  F.  HURST,  D.D, 


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anb  cnitnntt  (Cznuibmn  grolojtst, 

explorer,  niib  scholar 


SHORT  HISTORY 

OF 

THE   MEDIJIVAL  CHURCH 


BY 


JOHN  F.  HURST,  D.D. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHARLES  THE   GREAT 


NEW  YORK 

CHAUTAUQUA    PRESS 

C.  L.  S.  C.  DEPARTXfENT 
805  Broadway 

1887 


Tlie  required  hooks  of  Vie  C.  L.  S.  C.  are  recommended  by  a  Council  of  six.  It 
must,  however,  be  understood  that  recommendation  does  not  involve  an  approval  by 
the  Council,  or  by  any  member  of  it,  of  every  principle  or  doctrine  contained  in 
the  book  recommended. 


6R 
H8 


Copyright,  1887,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 


Ail  rij/htn  retfrved. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  The  Medieval  Transition 1 

II.  The  Reign  of  Charlemagne 4 

III.  Church  and   State   under  the   Carolingian 

Rulers     9 

IV.  The  Fictitious  Isidore 13 

V.  Mohammedanism 16 

VI.  The  Schools  of  Charlemagne 21 

VII.  Theological  Movements 25 

VIII.  The  Rule  of  the  Popes  (Leo  IV.,  a.d.  855,  to 

Gregory  VII.,  a.d.  1085) 28 

IX.  The  Gregorian  Reform 33 

X.  Moral  Life  and  Ecclesiastical  Usages  ...  37 

XI.  The  Public  Services 40 

XII.  The  Writers  of  the  Times 43 

XIII.  New  Missions 46 

XIV.  Schism  between  the  East  and  the  West  .    .  52 
XV.  The  Anglo-Saxon  Church .  56 

XVI.  Arnold  of  Brescia 60 

XVII.  The  Waldenses  and  Albigenses 64 

XVIII.  Thomas  a  Becket 67 

XIX.  The  Monastic  Orders 71 

XX.  Monasteries    as    Centres    of    Intellectual 

Life 76 

XXI.  Christian  Art 78 

XXIT.  Christian  Worship 82 

XXIII.  The  Crusades:  a.d.  1096-1272 85 

XXIV.  Arabic  Philosophy 90 


VI  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTRR  PAGE 

XXV.  The  IIohenstaupens  in  Italy 92 

XXVI.  The  Jewish  Philosophy 94 

XXVII.  The  Scholastic  Philosophy 96 

XXVIII.  Abelard  and  his  Fortunes 101 

XXIX.  General  Literature 105 

XXX.  The  Great  Schools 107 

XXXI.  The  Divided  Papacy 109 

XXXII.  Retrospect 113 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 


FLORENCE Froiitispiece 

MAP  OF  CENTRAL   EUROPE,  1360 To  face  p.  1 

MAP   OP   THE   EMPIRE   OF   CHARLEMAGNE 5 

THE  KAABA  AT   MECCA 19 

ST.  martin's   CHURCH,  CANTERBURY 57 

ABBEY  OF   CLUGNY 72 

MONTE   CASSINO 77 

MINIATURE   PORTAIT   OP   KING   CHARLES  V 79 

PALACE   OF   THE   POPES  AT  AVIGNON 81 

JERUSALEM  :   SIDES  ATTACKED  BY  CRUSADERS 87 


SHORT  HISTORY  OF  THE  MEDIiEVAL  CHURCH. 

J^.lD.    V50-1517. 


Chapter  I. 

THE    MEDIEVAL    TRANSITION. 

1.  The  Significance  of  the  Middle  Ages  lies  in  their 
transitional  character.  The  Ancient  Period  was  the 
time  of  the  planting,  organization,  and  doctrinal  estab- 
lishment of  Christianity.  The  Modern  Period  was  to 
witness  the  application  of  Christianity  to  the  social, 
intellectual,  and  moral  needs  of  the  world.  Between 
these  two  lay  the  Middle  Ages.  It  was  the  far-reach- 
ing mission  of  this  remarkable  period  to  test  the  power 
of  Christianity  for  meeting  the  wants  of  new  nations; 
to  withstand  the  shock  of  philosophical  schools;  to  sift 
and  preserve  the  best  that  remained  of  the  ancient 
world,  and  pass  it  safely  down  for  modern  use;  and, 
above  all,  to  prove  the  ultimate  power  of  Christianity 
to  rise  above  the  infirmities  of  those  who  professed  it, 
and  to  lay  the  foundations  of  a  new  spiritual  life  by  a 
return  to  the  pure  apostolic  example.  The  office  of  the 
Mediaeval  Church  was  to  conduct  man  from  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  Pagan  to  the  Protestant  world.  The  scat- 
tered threads  of  the  eighth  century  were  caught  up  and 
combined  into  unity.  Baur  says:  "This  whole  period 
can  only  be  regarded  by  the  observer  as  one  of  transition, 
1 


2  SHORT    UISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

at  the  close  of  which  the  varied  elements  which  ap- 
peared in  different  quarters  concentrate  into  unity,  and 
thus  show  forth  the  Church  of  the  Middle  Ages  in  the 
full  significance  of  their  universal  grandeur." 

2.  The  Three  Periods.  The  first  period  of  the  Medi- 
ceval  Church  extends  from  Charlemagne  to  the  Papacy 
of  Gregory  VII.— a.d,  768-1073.  This  was  the  time  of 
the  full  appropriation  and  unification  of  the  Germanic 
and  other  Northern  elements.  Mohammedanism,  lying 
at  the  border-line  between  the  ancient  and  the  me- 
diaeval time,  arose  as  a  counterforce  to  Christianity. 
Papal  supremacy  in  Church  and  State  culminated. 

The  second  period  extends  from  Gregory  YII.  to  the 
removal  of  the  papal  see  into  France — a.d.  1073-1305. 
Here  the  absolutism  of  the  papacy  was  broken,  and  the 
freedom  of  the  people  dawned.  The  monastic  orders 
assumed  larger  proportions.  Speculative  science  was 
introduced  into  theological  inquiry.  This  was  Scho- 
lasticism. It  perished  in  the  same  age  which  produced 
it.     The  Crusades  were  organized  during  this  period. 

The  third  period  continued  from  the  removal  of  the 
papal  see  into  France  to  the  Reformation — a.d.  1305- 
1517.  The  papal  unity  was  shattered.  Humanism 
arose,  which  reacted  upon  the  old  order,  and  made  pos- 
sible the  revival  of  vital  Christianity  and  a  moment- 
ous activity  of  mind. 

3.  The  Literary  Transition.  With  the  thorough 
break-up  of  the  pagan  conditions  there  arose  a  new 
order.  Tlie  introduction  of  Christianity  among  the 
rude  nations  of  the  North  had  the  effect  of  increasing 
a  new  literary  spirit.  No  department  of  thought  was 
left  in  its  old  stagnation.  The  quickening  was  intense. 
With  the  beginning  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  was  a 
departure  from  the  old  modes  of  historical  statement. 


THE    MEDIEVAL    TRANSITION.  3 

The  old  Frankisli  chronicles  had  been  monosyllabic, 
and  the  roughness  continued  in  the  successors  of  Trede- 
gar. But  with  the  ninth  century  there  came  a  smooth- 
ness and  beauty,  in  which  one  can  see  the  effect  of  the 
close  and  finished  masterpieces  of  the  Greek  and  Ro- 
man period. 

4.  Progress  in  all  Fields.  Scientific  inquiries  arose, 
in  part  original,  and  in  part  derived  from  the  intro- 
duction of  Arabic  science  through  the  Moslem  inva- 
sion of  Spain.  Monasticism  preserved  the  great  works 
of  the  fathers,  and  saved  to  the  world,  by  patient  copy- 
ing, the  richest  productions  of  the  masters  of  Greek 
philosophy  and  the  drama,  and  Roman  history  and  po- 
etry. The  knightly  poetry  of  the  twelfth  and  thir- 
teenth centuries  attained  to  beautiful  forms,  and  became 
the  foundation  and  inspiration  for  much  of  the  poetry 
of  the  most  recent  centuries.  New  and  bolder  types 
of  architecture  were  applied  to  sacred  buildings,  and 
the  most  impressive  edifices  of  modem  times  here  took 
their  origin.  The  plastic  arts  were  developed  for  the 
first  time  in  Christian  directions.  Dante,  Petrarch,  and 
Boccaccio  were  at  once  children  of  mediaeval  thought, 
and  prophets  for  all  the  future.  The  Italy  of  to-day 
is  not  less  their  creation  than  it  is  that  of  Garibaldi 
and  Victor  Emanuel.  Political  solidification  was  in 
progress.  The  love  of  liberty,  and  its  certain  posses- 
sion by  the  world's  numberless  millions,  were  born  in  the 
time  which  has  passed  by  the  name  of  the  Dark  Ages. 
Looked  upon  in  retrospect,  there  is  almost  no  priceless 
intellectual  or  political  treasure  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury Avhose  precious  seeds  were  not  cast  in  the  ready 
soil  between  the  ninth  and  sixteenth  centuries. 


Chapter  II. 

THE    REIGN    OF   CHARLEMAGNE, 

1.  The  New  Order.     The    process    of    centralization 
north  of  the  Alps  began  with  Charlemagne.     His  rule 
was  the  signal  of  death  to  the  tottering  Roman  Em- 
pire.    It  was  also  the  first  prophecy  of  the  ascendency 
of  the  new  Gothic  nations  of  the  North  and  of  their 
firm  place  in  the  later  life  of  Europe.     In  him  the  old 
classic  conditions  disappeared,  and  the  new  political 
life  began  its  career.     Charlemagne,  called  by  the  Ger- 
mans Karl  der  Grosse,  ascended  the  throne  on  the  death 
of  his  father  Pepin,  in  the  year  7G8,     He  divided  with 
his  brother  Carlomau   the  Frankish  Empire,  Charle- 
magne taking  Austrasia,  Neustria,  and  other  parts  of 
the  eastern  Frankish  dominions,  while  Carloman  ruled 
over  the  western  parts,  or  France,  and  a  large  part  of 
Germany.     Carloman  died  in   771,  and  Charlemagne 
united  his  own  empire  with  that  of  the  rest  of  the  fam- 
ily, and  claimed  rule  over  all,  without  regard  to  the 
rights  of  his  brother's  family.     The  soil  was  now  pre- 
pared for  the  new  European  life — the  Church  and  the 
State  working  hand  in  hand  for  universal  dominion. 

2.  Charlemagne's  Methods  Avere  the  creations  of  a  mas- 
terful shrewdness.  He  regarded  himself  as  a  theocratic 
lord.  His  notion  of  himself  was  not  that  he  was  a  mere 
successor  of  Constantino  or  Augustus  Ca?sar,  but  of 
David  or  Solomon — the  head  of  a  vast  theocracy.  But 
the  Roman  bishop  must  not  be  offended.     He  must  be 


G       SHORT  HISTORY  or  the  mediveval  church. 

outwardly  treated  as  high-priest,  though  Charlemagne 
secretly  regarded  himself  as  the  real  possessor  of  the 
highest  religious  functions.  But  the  pope  must  be  made 
to  feel  that  his  rights  were  respected  ;  yet,  at  the  same 
time,  must  remember  that  kings  and  conquerors  have 
their  rights,  and  that  without  temporal  rulers  there 
can  be  no  successful  and  safe  Church.  Towards  the 
pope,  Leo  III.,  he  acted  Avith  unfailing  respect,  and  was 
at  the  same  time  constantly  receiving  from  him  such 
favors  as  strengthened  his  hold  upon  both  his  subjects 
and  the  Church.  Charlemagne's  motto  was:  "The 
Church  teaches  ;  but  the  emperor  defends  and  in- 
creases." To  Leo  IIL  he  made  the  following  declara- 
tion of  their  mutual  relations  :  "  It  is  my  bounden 
duty,  by  the  help  of  the  divine  compassion,  every- 
Avhere  to  defend  outwardly  by  arms  the  holy  Church 
of  Christ  against  every  attack  of  the  heathen,  and 
every  devastation  caused  by  unbelievers  ;  and,  inward- 
ly, to  defend  it  by  the  recognition  of  the  general  faith. 
But  it  is  your  duty,  holy  father,  to  raise  your  hands  to 
God,  as  Moses  did,  and  to  support  my  military  service 
by  your  prayers."  Leo  III.  accepted  this  declaration 
in  the  most  complaisant  manner. 

3.  The  Preparations  had  been  laid  in  the  preceding 
movements.  Rome  was  constantly  at  the  mercy  of  the 
bold  and  ferocious  Lombards.  They  threatened  to 
sack  the  Holy  City,  and  possess  themselves  of  its  vast 
wealth.  In  734  Gregory  III.  induced  Charles  Martel  to 
lielp  him  against  the  attacks  of  Luitprand,  King  of  the 
Lombards.  Again,  when  Charlemagne's  father,  Pepin, 
was  aspiring  to  destroy  the  Merovingian  dynasty,  Pope 
Zacharias  gave  his  official  approval  to  the  deposition  of 
the  Merovingian  king,  Childeric  III.,  and  in  this  way 
caused  Pepin  to  be  placed  upon  the  throne,  and  to  become 


THE    REIGN    OF    CHARLEMAGNE.  7 

the  founder  of  the  Carolingian  dynasty.  This  obliga' 
tion  of  the  Emperor  of  the  Franks  to  the  pope  was  never 
forgotten  during  Pepin's  reign.  Later,  Pope  Stephen 
II.  personally  visited  Pepin,  in  France,  and  secured  his 
pledge  to  come  down  with  his  army,  and  defend  him 
against  the  new  Lombard  chief  Astolph,  who  had  in- 
vaded the  Greek  Exarchate — a  group  of  five  cities  and 
the  interlying  territory  along  the  eastern  coast,  extend- 
ing from  Rimini  to  Ancona.  Astolph  was  also  besieg- 
ing Rome.  Pepin  defeated  the  Lombards,  took  jjos'- 
session  of  the  Exarchate  himself,  and  appointed  the 
pope  as  patrician  of  the  Exarchate.  The  pope  was 
thus  made  a  temporal  ruler.  It  mattered  not  that  the 
Exarchate  was  a  part  of  the  Byzantine  Empire,  and 
that  protests  were  made  against  it.  Pepin  gave,  and 
Stephen  II,  took.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  tem- 
poral sovereignty  of  the  papacy,  which  only  came  to  an 
end  after  a  reign  of  eleven  centiu-ies,  or  in  1871,  when 
Garibaldi  and  Victor  Emanuel  marched  into  Rome. 

4.  Pope  and  Empexor.  The  final  and  complete  ce- 
menting of  papal  and  imperial  interests  took  place 
under  Charlemagne.  Desiderius,  the  new  Lombard 
king,  invaded  the  pope's  territory  and  laid  siege  to 
Rome.  Adrian  I.,  tfee  now  reigning  pope,  appealed  to 
Chai-lemagne  for  help.  It  was  given,  and  Charlemagne 
invaded  Italy  with  a  great  army,  and  defeated  the  Lom- 
bards. He  confirmed  and  enlarged  the  previous  gifts 
to  the  pope,  went  to  Rome,  and  was  received  with 
great  pomp  by  Pope  Leo  III,  By  a  clever  piece  of 
stage  management,  in  the  midst  of  the  magnificent 
Christmas  festivities  of  the  year  800,  Leo  III.  advanced 
towards  Charlemagne,  and  placed  upon  his  head  a  gold- 
en crown,  with  these  words  :  "Life  and  victory  to 
Charles  Augustus,  crowned  by  God  the  great  and  pa- 


8  SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIJilVAL    CHURCH. 

cific  emperor  !"  It  was  a  well-laid  plan,  and  faithfully- 
carried  out.  The  bells  from  the  many  domes  of  the 
Eternal  City  preached  the  new  gospel  of  the  brother- 
hood of  pope  and  emperor  ;  the  multitude  shouted  their 
glad  acclaim  ;  and  the  city  ran  wild  with  new  joy. 

5.  The  Meaning  of  the  Coronation  was  clear  enough. 
Charlemagne  had  lacked  the  endorsement  of  the 
Church.  He  had  long  coveted  it.  Such  an  attesta- 
tion of  his  imperial  rights  would  forever  silence  the 
claims  of  his  brother  Carloman's  children,  and  give  him 
such  prestige  as  would  defy  all  opposition.  Then,  as 
compensation  for  this  vast  papal  service,  he  enlarged 
the  papal  territory  and  placed  the  papacy  itself,  as  a 
temporal  sovereignty,  on  a  plan  entirely  new  to  history. 

6.  The  later  Relations  of  Charlemagne  and  the  pope 
were  fraternal — always  a  part  of  the  general  policy  of 
mutual  advantage.  The  emperor  was  no  sooner  crowned 
than  he  threw  off  his  Northern  costume,  and  put  on 
the  tunic,  the  chlamys,  and  the  sandals  of  the  Roman. 
When  he  came  to  leave  Rome,  and  Leo  III.  exchanged 
kisses  with  him,  and  he  was  lost  to  sight  behind  the 
hills  of  the  Campagna,  Europe  entered  on  a  new  ca- 
reer. The  Northern  empire  was  to  strengthen  and  pro- 
tect the  papacy  in  every  emergency.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  paj^acy  must  give  its  spiritual  approval  to 
the  empire.  Beautiful  as  this  management  appeared, 
it  had  its  dangers.  Each  was  slave  to  the  other.  The 
papacy  could  only  be  upheld  by  imperial  arms.  The 
empire  Avould  be  in  constant  danger  of  strifes  of  suc- 
cession without  the  partici})ation  and  coronation  of  the 
papacy.  The  time  came,  later,  when  it  would  have  been 
convenient  for  both  parties  if  Charlemagne  had  never 
seen  Rome,  and  no  pope  had  put  upon  his  head  the  crown 
of  the  Cajsars. 


Chapter  III, 

CHURCH  AND  STATE  UNDER  THE  LATER  CAROLINGIAN 

RULERS. 

1.  The  Example  of  Charlemagne  was  on  the  side  of  im- 
perial predominance.  He  never  meant  the  least  surren- 
der  to  the  pope  of  absolute  control  over  the  Church. 
He  knew  the  ancient  power  of  the  Roman  emperors 
over  the  religious  affairs  of  the  State,  and  adhered  to 
his  notions  of  theocratic  responsibility.  It  was  conven- 
ient to  have  a  pope  crown  him,  but  the  august  cere- 
mony produced  no  restraints.  He  regarded  himself  the 
full  suzerain  of  Rome,  and  of  Rome's  pope.  How  little 
importance  Charlemagne  attached  to  the  papal  corona- 
tion may  be  seen  in  the  fact  tliat,  in  813,  when  he  wanted 
to  associate  his  son  Louis  with  him,  in  the  government 
of  the  empire,  he,  with  his  own  hands,  placed  the  crown 
upon  the  young  man's  head. 

2.  The  Carolingian  successors  to  Charlemagne  were  a 
group  of  steadily  dissolving  lights.  The  family  intel- 
lect diminished  to  a  lamentable  degree.  But  there 
was  no  relaxing  of  imperial  claims.  Each  ruler  assert- 
ed his  sovereignty  over  the  religious  functions  of  Eu- 
rope. All  the  Carolingians  adhered  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  bishops,  as  their  father  and  his  predecessors 
had  done.  The  civil  rulers  frequently  sold  the  episco- 
pal office  to  the  highest  bidder.  The  Council  of  Or- 
leans, in  549,  and  that  of  Paris,  in  557,  had  protested 
against  such  methods.     But  the  evil  continued.     Dag- 


10        SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

obert  I.,  in  631,  appointed  his  treasurer,  a  layman,  to 
the  see  of  Cahors,  All  the  barbaric  rulers  ignored  the 
authority  of  the  Roman  bishop.  Even  Boniface  was 
made  Archbishop  of  Mainz  by  royal  hands.  Charles 
Martel  rewarded  his  soldiers  with  the  best  sees  in  his 
realm.  The  brightest  dream  of  many  a  bronzed  war- 
rior was  to  spend  his  last  years  with  the  peaceful  cro- 
sier in  his  scarred  hand.  As  the  Carolingian  line  con- 
tinued there  y>^as  a  rise  of  papal  prerogative.  No 
exception  was  taken  to  Charlemagne's  appointments, 
because  of  his  prestige  and  of  his  service  to  the  Church. 
But  his  weaker  descendants  had  no  such  claims,  and 
were  regarded  with  no  such  awe. 

3.  The  Result  of  the  imperial  appointment  of  Church 
officers  was,  that  the  incumbents  should  feel  that,  their 
authority  coming  from  the  civil  ruler,  they  were  not 
directly  subject  to  papal  mandate.  The  trend  -u^s  to 
create  an  independent  episcopacy.  This  was  of  the 
greatest  concern  to  the  popes.  The  bishops  would  not 
obey  orders.  They  had  direct  contact  with  the  people, 
and  the  matter  must  be  changed.  The  j^opes,  during 
the  later  Carolingian  rulers,  succeeded  in  good  measure 
in  getting  the  episcopal  appointments  dependent  on 
Rome  rather  than  on  the  civil  ruler.  The  effect  was 
to  strengthen  the  papacy  at  the  expense  of  the  empire. 
Why  not  ?     No  Charlemagne  now  wore  the  cro-WTi. 

4.  The  Government  of  the  Church  was,  under  the  Car- 
olingians,  a  part  of  the  general  machinery  of  the  State. 
Under  both  Pepin  and  Charlemagne  the  body  which 
legislated  for  the  State  did  the  same  for  the  Church. 
The  clergy  were  represented,  but  they  only  served  or- 
namental puqioses,  just  as  the  bishops  now  do  in  the 
British  Parliament.  Charlemagne  divided  his  gen- 
eral legislative  assembly  into  three  bodies^ — bishops, 


LATER    CAROLINGIAN    RULERS.  11 

abbots,  and  counts.  The  first  two  attended  to  ecclesi- 
astical matters,  while  the  last  regulated  political  affairs. 
The  showing  was  fair.  There  was  the  appearance  of 
political  liberty.  The  fact  was,  the  emperor  controlled 
all  three  orders. 

5.  The  Clergy  and  the  Army.  Charlemagne  required 
the  bishops  and  abbots  to  furnish  a  contingent  of  sol- 
diers for  his  armies  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  prop- 
erty which  they  held  officially.  In  801  he  forbade  the 
clergy  all  direct  participation  in  military  life, 

6.  The  Extinction  of  the  Carolingians  was  simultane- 
ous with  the  complete  ascendency  of  the  papacy.  In 
about  one  century  there  had  been  pleasant  under- 
standings, which  were  of  great  mutual  advantage. 
Charles  the  Fat  was  a  slender  shadow  of  the  great 
Pepin  and  the  greater  Charlemagne.  In  855  we  find 
the  Neustrian  bishops  declaring  to  Louis  the  German 
that  they  were  not  obliged  to  do  homage,  or  swear 
fidelity,  to  their  sovereign.  Synods,  councils,  and 
popes  were  now  growing  clamorous  for  the  primitive 
mode  of  electing  bishops.  By  the  time  the  last  de- 
scendants of  the  great  Charles  were  spending  their 
closing  days  as  mere  weak  functionaries  in  the  pal- 
ace of  Laon,  the  Church  found  herself  proprietor  of 
more  than  all  her  old  prerogatives,  and  holding  her 
new  teri-itory  with  a  grasp  which  only  relaxed  when 
she  reached  farther  for  a  larger  slice.  She  paid  back 
the  princely  gift  of  land  from  Pepin  and  Charlemagne 
by  an  independence  and  haughtiness  quite  new  even  on 
the  bank  of  the  Tiber, 


Chapter  IV. 

THE   FICTITIOUS    ISIDORE. 

1.  The  Papal  Appeal  to  the  Past.    Every  period  of 
religious  ferment  exhibits  a  disposition  to  fortify  the 
opinions   of  the   present  by  an   appeal   to  the   past. 
The  tendency  applies  to  the  evil  as  well  as  the  good. 
During  the  first  period  of  the  Middle  Ages  there  pre- 
vailedin  the  whole  of  Latin  Christendom  a  calm  and 
subdued   desire   for  papal   elevation,  which,  notwith- 
standing the  outward  fraternity  between  emperor  and 
pope,  was  preparing  to  assert  itself  whenever  the  right 
hour  struck.    The  papacy  had  advantages  over  the  im- 
perial rule  of  a  family.     The  son  might  be  a  poor  and 
weak  successor  to  his  father;  but  no  man  could  seat 
himself  on  the  episcopal  chair  of  Rome  without  at 
least  some  measure  of  ability.     There  was  a  division 
within  the  narrow  rule  of  the  ecclesiastical  govern- 
ment.    The  metropolitan  bishops  were  appointed  by 
the  emperor,  but  the  bishops  in  general  were  supposed 
to  be  appointed  by  the  pope.     The  classes  were  thus 
arrayed  against  each  other.    By  a  shrewd  manipulation 
of  public  sentiment  the  papal  interests  received  a  strong 
support  in  a  skilful  forgery. 

2.  The  Pseudo-Isidorean  Decretals.  A  Spanish  arch- 
bishop of  the  seventh  century,  Isidore  of  Hispalis,  per- 
formed for  the  German  Church  the  distinguished  ser- 
vice of  making  it  acquainted  with  a  number  of  important 
classical  and  patristic  works.     He  died  in  G36,  and  left 


THE    FICTITIOUS   ISIDORE.  13 

behind  a  name  of  great  repute  for  mental  and  moral 
endowments.  His  name  and  fame  were  used  as  au- 
thority for  a  forgery,  in  favor  of  Roman  authority  as 
against  the  political  ruler.  The  entire  Church  was  de- 
ceived. But  it  was  a  most  welcome  deception.  The 
secret  lay  concealed  long  enough  to  fortify  every  branch 
of  ecclesiastical  authority,  to  make  political  rulers  trem- 
ble, and  to  make  Rome  ready,  when  the  Carolingians  ran 
out,  to  extend  her  spiritual  sceptre  over  all  rulers. 

3.  The  Prevalence  of  Decretals.  Thepseudo-Isidorean 
Decretals  combined  all  the  qualities  of  a  perfect  decep- 
tion. They  represented  a  class,  and  yet  were  the  best 
of  their  order.  A  collection  of  canons  and  epistles  of 
Dionysius  Exiguus,  for  example,  had  been  generally 
used  in  the  West.  Isidore  of  Ilispalis  had  written  a 
collection  of  important  canons  not  found  in  that  of 
Dionysius  Exiguus,  and  by  his  work  had  contributed 
greatly  to  the  centralization  of  ecclesiastical  authority 
in  Rome.  How  could  this  same  work  be  carried  fur- 
ther, now  that  the  Carolingian  empire  had  gained  such 
great  prestige  and  threatened  to  eclipse  the  Roman 
bishop,  and  had  been  implored  to  come  and  helj)  him 
fight  his  battles  against  the  Lombards  ?  Isidore,  now 
in  his  grave,  was,  therefore,  used  to  build  up  this  en- 
dangered cause.  It  was  pretended  that  he  had  left 
behind  a  set  of  decretals — the  doings  of  former  coun- 
cils— which  had  never  seen  the  light.  Now,  thanks  to 
good-fortune,  they  had  been  discovered.  They  were 
soon  scattered  as  widely  as  rapid  copyists  could  multi- 
ply them.  No  compiler  had  dared  to  go  back  further 
than  the  authority  of  Siricius,  whose  pontificate  ex- 
tended from  A.D.  384  to  398.  But  this  former  was  no 
timid  character.  He  boldly  rushed  back  to  alleged  de- 
crees of  unknown  councils,  and  to  letters  claiming  to  be 


14        SlUiET    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

written  by  Clement  and  Anacletus — bishops  of  Rome 
contemporary  with  the  Apostles — and  by  nearly  thirty 
of  the  apostolic  fathers  themselves. 

4.  The  Contents  of  the  forged  work  were  enough  to 
condemn  it.  It  was  divided  into  three  parts.  The 
first  contained,  in  addition  to  the  authentic  fifty  apos- 
tolical canons,  fifty-nine  spurious  decretal  writings  of 
Roman  bishops  from  Clement  I.  to  Melchiades,  or 
from  the  end  of  the  first  century  to  the  beginning  of 
the  fourth.  Even  the  reputed  donation  of  territory  by 
Constantine  to  the  papacy — a  thing  which  never  took 
place — was  brought  in  to  help  the  common  interest. 
The  secojid  i)art  comprised  only  authentic  synodal 
canons.  The  third  presented  some  real  Decretals,  bat, 
besides  these,  there  were  thirty-five  spurious  ones, 
w^hich  were  held  to  have  been  written  at  various  times 
from  Pope  Sylvester  I.,  who  died  in  335,  to  Gregory 
IL,  who  died  in  V31.  The  one  purpose  pervading  the 
entire  work  was  to  prove,  by  carh^  authority,  the  in- 
dependence of  the  Church.  The  Church  must  protect 
herself  and  her  priesthood.  The  bishop  must  be  made 
independent  of  his  metroj^olitan.  When  a  bishop  is 
tried,  it  must  not  be  before  a  metropolitan  or  a  secular 
tribunal,  but  before  the  pope  alone.  Even  a  clerk 
must  be  tried  before  an  ecclesiastical  court.  An  offence 
against  a  priest  is  an  offence  against  God  himself,  for 
a  priest  is  very  dear  to  God,  the  very  apple  of  his  eye. 
No  charge  against  a  bishop  can  be  declared  sustained 
unless  .supported  by  seventy-two  witnesses.  The  court 
must  consist  of  twelve  other  bishops.  Only  the  pope 
can  convene  provincial  synods,  and  his  approval  is 
necessary  for  the  efficiency  of  their  decrees. 

5.  The  Authorship  of  the  Decretals  has  remained  a 
secret.    That  Isidore  never  Avrote  the  collection  can  be 


TUE    FICTITIOUS    ISIDORE.  15 

seen  in  the  barbarous  Latin  of  the  ninth  century,  cita- 
tions from  works  of  late  authorship,  clumsy  anachro- 
nisms throughout  the  collection,  the  absence  of  all  tes- 
timony to  the  authority  of  the  more  ancient  portions 
of  the  Decretals,  and  the  attempts  to  meet  contempora- 
neous prejudices.  Never  in  the  whole  history  of  liter- 
ature was  a  fabrication  obscured  by  more  doubt  or  per- 
mitted to  pass  so  long  without  challenge.  The  date  of 
publication  ranged  between  a,d.  829  and  857.  It  was 
probably  written  in  the  Frankish  Empire  or  Rome,  but 
the  evidence  is  not  decisive.  The  most  plausible  theory 
of  authorship  is,  that  Archbishop  Riculf  (a.d.  786-814) 
brought  the  genuine  Isidore  from  Spain;  that  this  was 
enlarged  and  corrupted  by  the  Archbishop  Autcar,  and 
published  at  Mainz,  and  that  the  copying  was  done  by 
the  Benedictine  monk  Levita,  Avho  may  have  bad  no 
suspicion  of  the  fraud  he  was  perpetrating. 

6.  The  Influence  of  the  false  Decretals  was  such  that 
popes,  councils,  synods,  and  minor  ecclesiastical  officers 
api^ealed  to  them  as  final  authority.  They  were  brought 
out  to  decide  questions  which  shook  the  Christian  world. 
After  the  year  864  they  were  habitually  used  in  papal 
rescripts  as  having  binding  force.  Their  genuineness 
was  never  questioned  until  the  twelfth  century.  The 
first  doubts  were  raised  by  Peter  Comestor.  But  the 
fraud  was  never  proven  until  the  sixteenth  century, 
when  the  first  Protestant  Church  historians,  the  authors 
of  the  Magdeburg  Centuries,  exposed  the  successful 
trick.  Since  then  the  better  Roman  Catholic  histori- 
ans have  abandoned  the  Decretals  as  authentic,  but  hold 
them  to  be  a  pious  fraud.  Moehler  calls  their  author 
a  "Romanticist."  Cardinal  Newman,  however,  goes 
further,  and  with  his  characteristic  candor  calls  the 
Decretals  a  "  forgery." 


Chapter  V. 

MOHAMMEDANISM. 

1.  Mohammed,  the  founder  of  the  faith  which  bears 
his  name,  was  born  in  Mecca,  Arabia,  about  a.d.  570. 
He  sprang  from  the  Coreish  tribe,  who  were  the  rulers 
of  Mecca  and  the  surrounding  country,  and  protected 
the  Kaaba,  an  ancient  temple  and  the  centre  of  the  old 
national  worship  of  Arabia.  His  parents  died  when 
he  was  young,  and  he  was  left  to  the  care  of  his  grand- 
father. He  exhibited  his  warlike  taste  when  twenty 
years  of  age.  Of  these  first  experiences  he  afterwards 
said  :  "  I  remember  being  present  with  my  uncles  in 
war.  I  shot  arrows  at  the  enemy,  and  do  not  regret 
it."  He  followed  the  vocation  of  a  shepherd,  and  said: 
"  Truly  no  prophet  hath  been  raised  up,  who  hath  not 
done  the  work  of  a  shepherd."  His  youth  was  spent 
in  better  ways  than  was  the  case  with  most  young 
men  about  him.  He  avoided  the  prevailing  licentious- 
ness, was  reserved,  and  very  early  showed  signs  of  hos- 
tility to  the  usual  idolatry.  Khadija,  a  rich  widow, 
put  him  in  charge  of  her  caravan,  which  was  about 
to  start  for  Syria.  On  his  return  he  married  her.  He 
was  at  this  time  twenty-five  years  of  age,  and  she  was 
forty.  The  wealth  Avhich  was  at  his  disposal  gave  him 
opportunity  for  meditation,  and  for  carrying  out  his 
plans  as  the  founder  of  a  new  religion. 

2.  Entrance  on  his  Career.  Mohammed  claimed  that 
he  fell  into  rhapsodies,  during  which  he  had  his  alleged 


MOHAMMEDANISM. 


17 


revelations.     His  wife  was  one  of  the  first  to  accept 
his  claims  to   the  prophetic   calling.      Forty  or  fifty 


THE    KAABA   AT    MECCA, 


others  rallied  about  him,  even  before  he  made  public 
his  claims  to  special  revelation.  He  called  his  religion 
"  Islam,"  or  "  surrender  "  to  the  will  of  God.     He  de- 


18       SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

spised  idols  of  every  kind,  and  appealed  to  his  coun- 
trymen to  return  to  the  old  Abrahamic  faith.  He 
preached  the  fundamental  doctrines  of  Judaism — the 
resurrection  of  the  human  bod}^,  the  final  judgment, 
and  rewards  and  punishments  according  to  the  life  on 
earth.  Great  opposition  was  soon  developed,  and  he, 
with  fifteen  adherents,  went  across  the  Red  Sea  to 
Abyssinia.  This  was  the  first  Hegira,  and  he  was 
forty-seven  years  of  age  at  the  time.  In  three  months 
he  returned.  In  a  moment  of  weakness,  or  for  pur- 
poses of  the  final  success  of  his  new  faith,  he  yielded 
to  the  popular  idolatry  so  far  as  to  say  of  the  three 
idols,  Lat,  Ozza,  and  Manat:  "These  are  the  exalted 
goddesses  whose  intercession  with  the  Deity  is  to  be 
sought."  But  he  soon  recovered  from  this  position, 
and  denounced  idolatry,  root  and  bi'anch,  more  bittei'ly 
than  ever.  He  made  a  second  flight  into  Abyssinia, 
where  the  Christian  king,  Negus,  gave  him  a  favorable 
reception.  In  fact,  the  religion  of  Mohammed,  so  far, 
was  not  antagonistic  to  Christianity,  but  friendly  to  it. 
But  in  due  time  the  difference  could  be  seen,  and  when 
once  Mohammedanism  was  on  its  full  career  of  con- 
quest there  was  no  further  friendship.  There  are 
traces,  however,  in  the  Koran,  of  Mohammed's  ac- 
quaintance with  the  main  facts  of  the  life  of  Jesus. 
He  probably  acquired  it  when  on  his  caravan  journeys 
in  earlier  life  to  Syria.  There  were,  also,  Christians 
living  in  various  parts  of  Ai'abia,  and  probably  in 
Mecca,  through  whom  he  must  have  become  conver- 
sant with  Christian  doctrine. 

3.  Further  Advance  of  Mohammed.  After  Moham- 
med arrived  at  his  fifty -second  year  his  success  was 
more  decided  than  before.  Mecca  was  slower  to  ac- 
cept his  creed  than   the   distant  places.     At  Medina 


MOHAMMEDANISM.  19 

the  new  faith  gained  great  strength.  Mohammed  re- 
moved thither  a.d.  622,  and  shared  in  building  the 
Grand  Mosque,  which  afterwards  occupied  an  important 
place  in  Mohammedan  history.  Mecca  and  Medina  were 
at  swords'  points,  the  former  being  opposed  to  Moham- 
med, and  the  latter  favoring  him.  The  battle  of  Bedr 
was  the  result.  Mohammed  was  victorious.  Though 
the  first  blood  was  not  shed  here,  this  was  the  real  be- 
ginning, on  a  large  scale,  of  the  sanguinary  career  of 
Mohammedanism.  Mohammed  gained  steadily  on  his 
enemies.  He  conquered  one  tribe  after  another,  until 
he  became  feared  throughout  Arabia,  He  sent  legates 
to  foreign  courts,  and  received  answers  and  gifts  in  re- 
turn. He  died,  while  making  preparations  for  a  cam- 
paign on  the  Syrian  border,  when  sixty-three  years  of 
age. 

4.  The  Koran  contains  the  system  of  Mohammed. 
He  claimed  to  have  received  his  communications  mi- 
raculously, and  that  they  should  be  the  law  of  faith 
and  practice  for  his  followers  for  all  time.  "This 
day,"  said  Mohammed,  at  his  Farewell  Pilgrimage, 
"have  I  perfected  your  religion  unto  you."  And 
from  that  day  to  this  the  Koran  has  never  undergone 
any  change,  and  is  the  standard  of  faith  and  life  of  the 
one  hundred  and  seventy-three  millions  who  consti- 
tute the  Mohammedan  world.  It  is  a  medley  of  le- 
gend, history,  Jewish  patriarchal  traditions,  and  sensual 
doctrine.  It  permits  polygamy,  and  awakens  the  cour- 
age of  Mohammedans  by  promises  of  worldly  pleasures 
in  the  future  life.  It  is  severe  on  idolatry,  and  de- 
clares the  unity  of  God.  There  is  a  great  confusion 
of  chronology.  Many  of  the  moral  precepts  were  mere 
accommodations  to  Mohammed's  infirmities.  Polyga- 
my is  allowed  by  the  Koran,  at  the  mere  whim  of  the 


20        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH, 

husband.  Divorce  takes  place  with  equal  ease.  Sla- 
very is  recognized  as  a  civil  institution.  The  Moham- 
medan is  obliged  to  fight  for  the  extension  of  his 
cause.  The  Church  and  the  State  are  one  and  the 
same.     Fatalism  abounds  throvaghout  the  system. 

5.  Mohammedan  Conquests.  Under  Abu  Bekr  and 
the  later  successors  of  Mohammed,  the  new  faith 
was  propagated  with  amazing  rapidity.  Arabia  was 
conquered  by  the  prophet  himself.  The  caliphs  who 
came  after  him  subdued  Egypt,  all  North  Africa, 
Syria,  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  Northern  India,  Spain,  the 
south  of  France,  and  the  Danubian  principalities. 
The  progress  in  AYestern  Europe  was  arrested  by  the 
victory  of  Charles  Martel,  at  Tours,  a.  d,  732.  The 
conquests  in  the  countries  around  the  eastern  portion 
of  the  Mediterranean  Sea  were  more  easy,  because  of 
the  strifes  of  rulers  and  the  dissensions  of  Christians. 
The  progress  of  the  Mohammedans  into  Central  Eu- 
rope was  not  arrested  until  1683,  when  John  Sobieski, 
the  Polish  king,  defeated  the  Turks,  with  great  slaugh- 
ter, at  Vienna. 


Chapter   VI. 

THE    SCHOOLS    OF   CHARLEMAGNE. 

1.  The  Rulers  immediately  before  Charlemagne  were 
of  barbarian  origin,  and  had  no  symijathy  with  the 
classic  treasures.  They  could  not  appreciate  the  liter- 
ary wealth  of  the  countries  which  they  conquered, 
The}^  even  had  little  respect  for  the  poetic  literature 
of  their  own  countries.  Theodoric  could  not  even 
write  his  own  name. 

2.  Charlemagne  introduced  a  new  order.  He  was  the 
first  of  the  barbaric  rulers  to  see  the  importance  of 
learning,  and,  while  not  educated  himself,  he  knew  the 
value  of  education  as  a  source  of  prosperity  for  his  do- 
minions. He  surrounded  himself  with  learned  men,  Al- 
cuin,  of  England,  was  his  adviser  in  all  literary  matters. 
Charlemagne  intrusted  him  with  the  organization  of 
schools,  and  had  him  report  constantly  concerning  the 
state  of  education  among  his  subjects.  Guizot  calls 
Alcuin  the  "intellectual  prime -minister  of  Charle- 
magne." Longfellow  draws  the  following  picture  of 
Alcuin  in  the  Palatine  School : 

"  In  sooth,  it  was  a  pleasant  sight  to  see 
That  Saxon  monk,  with  hood  and  rosary, 
With  iniihorn  at  his  belt,  and  pen  and  book, 
And  mingled  love  and  reverence  in  his  look ; 
Or  hear  the  cloister  and  the  court  repeat 
The  measured  footfalls  of  his  sandalled  feet, 
Or  watch  him  with  the  pupils  of  his  school, 
Gentle  of  speech,  but  absolute  of  rule." 


22       SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE    MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

But  Charlemagne  had  other  scholars  about  him,  such 
as  Clement  of  Ireland,  Peter  of  Pisa,  Paul  the  Deacon, 
Eginhard,  Paul  of  Aquileia,  and  Theodulph.  These 
were  the  "  true  paladins  of  his  literary  court." 

3.  The  Episcopal  Seminary.  The  old  universities  of 
the  classic  world  had  been  located  in  the  lands  over- 
run by  the  Saracens,  and  were  now  blotted  out  of  ex- 
istence. Their  place  was  occupied  by  seminaries,  where 
only  theology  Avas  taught.  The  education  of  the  better 
part  of  Europe  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Chiirch.  The 
episcopal  seminaries  had  been  seats  of  clerical  learning 
from  the  primitive  period,  but  these  had  been  inter- 
rupted by  the  onslaughts  of  the  barbarians.  Charle- 
magne saw  their  value,  began  to  restore  them  to  their 
old  importance,  and  enlarged  the  curriculum  of  study. 
Out  of  these  episcopal  seminaries  grew,  four  centuries 
afterwards,  some  of  the  great  universities  of  Modern 
Europe. 

4.  Other  Schools.  Charlemagne  took  pains  to  estab- 
lish grammar  and  public  schools.  Those  were  purely 
secular,  and  were  of  popular  character.  They  were 
preparatory  to  the  seminaries  and  to  all  the  secular 
professions.  Theodulph,  Bishop  of  Orleans,  was  de- 
puted to  establish  village  schools  for  all  classes.  Then, 
for  the  first  time  in  Europe,  learning  was  made  free  for 
all.  For  the  children  of  his  court,  Charlemagne  had 
schools  connected  with  his  palace,  or  the  School  Pal- 
atine. To  enrich  the  more  ignorant  portions  of  his 
empire,  he  provided  endowments  for  the  support  of 
schools.  England,  Italy,  and  Greece  were  drawn  upon 
to  furnish  manuscripts  for  the  new  libraries. 

5.  Course  of  Study.  A  special  imperial  constitution 
was  adopted,  which  regulated  the  course  of  study  and 
all  other  matters  connected  with  the  schools.     The  old 


THE   SCHOOLS    OF  CHARLEMAGNE.  23 

triviutn  and  qiiadrivium  arrangement  was  adopted. 
Under  the  former  were  embraced  philology,  logic,  and 
rhetoric;  under  the  latter,  music,  arithmetic,  geometry, 
and  astronomy.  Here  the  average  monk,  like  Egin- 
hard, 

"  Grew  up,  in  Logic  point-device, 
Perfect  in  Grammar,  and  in  Rhetoric  wise ; 
Science  of  Numbers,  Geometric  Art, 
And  lore  of  Stars,  and  Music  knew  by  heart; 
A  Minnesinger,  long  before  the  times 
Of  those  who  sang  their  love  in  Indian  rhymes." 

A  strong  theological  bias  was  given  to  all  the  studies. 
Music  was  largely  limited  to  chanting,  and  astronomy 
to  the  calculation  of  Easter. 

6.  Location  of  the  Schools.  The  emperor  took  great 
pains  to  locate  his  schools  in  proper  places.  That  he 
was  wise  in  his  selection  can  be  seen  in  the  fact  that 
some  of  these  schools  have  existed  ever  since.  He  estab- 
lished about  fifty  schools  of  high  grade.  Italy,  Germany, 
and  France  were  most  favored.  Among  the  schools  which 
he  established  are  the  following :  Paris,  Tours,  Corbie, 
Orleans,  Lyons,  Toulouse,  Clugny,  Mainz,  Treves,  Co- 
logne, Utrecht,  Fulda,  Paderborn,  and  Hildesheim. 

7.  The  Cultivation  of  National  Literature  by  Charle- 
magne was  a  favorite  pursuit.  He  ruled  over  a  hetero- 
geneous people.  Some  of  the  tribes  were  advanced, 
and  already  had  a  taste  of  the  classic  fountains.  But 
the  most  were  in  dense  barbarism.  The  emperor  caused 
grammars  to  be  compiled  in  the  languages  of  his  Teu- 
tonic subjects,  and  collected  the  bardic  lays  of  Germany. 
He  required  that  the  sermon  should  be  preached  in  the 
vulgar  tongue,  and  that  the  common  people  should  have 
the  Apostles'  Creed  and  the  Lord's  Prayer  in  their  own 
languages.    Stripes  and  fasts  were  the  penalty  of  neglect. 


24        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

8.  Circulation  of  the  Scriptures.  Special  measures 
were  taken  for  the  circulation  of  the  Scrij)tures.  Cop- 
ies were  multiplied  by  the  monks,  and  were  distributed 
among  the  schools.  Many  found  their  way  into  pri- 
vate hands.  Theolojjical  literature  received  a  strongr 
impetus.  The  monasteries  became  busy  places,  and 
many  of  the  monks  became  authors.  Their  works  were 
largely  reproductions  of  the  Fathers,  but  occasionally 
the  quiet  atmosphere  was  disturbed  by  an  original 
manuscript. 

9.  The  Decline  in  literary  activity  began  immediately 
after  the  death  of  the  great  Charles.  The  Church  fat- 
tened on  his  educational  beginnings.  The  bishops  and 
other  clergy  took  education  into  their  own  hands.  The 
Carolingian  kinglets  were  unable  to  cope  with  Rome 
when  it  began  to  grasp  for  the  possession  of  the  schools. 
From  the  sixth  century  to  the  eighth  the  education  of 
Europe  had  been  ecclesiastical.  Under  Charlemagne 
it  had  broadened  to  a  remarkable  degree,  and  struck 
its  roots  deeply  into  the  popular  life.  It  was  made  the 
affair  of  the  State,  and  contributed  infinitely  to  the  de- 
velopment of  the  Church.  But  now  a  return  to  the  old 
order  took  place.  The  clergy  having  secured  the  school, 
its  broad  scope  was  destroyed.  Its  general  adaptation 
to  the  professions  and  popular  education  was  destroyed. 
The  State  lost  it,  and  never  regained  it  until  the  Refor- 
mation of  the  sixteenth  century. 


Chapter   VII. 

THEOLOGICAL    MOVEMENTS. 

1.  The  Procession  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  antecedents 
to  this  controversy  are  to  be  found  in  the  Trinitarian 
strifes  of  the  earlier  centuries.  It  was  a  discussion  be- 
tween the  Greek  and  Latin  Christians,  and  was  called 
ih^r^iliogue  ^and  from  the  Son)  controversy.  The  East- 
ern Church  contended  that,  the.  Tloly  Crhost  proceeded 
from  the  Fjjt.hcr  only.  The  Latin  contended  that  he 
proceeded  also  frora  the  Son  [Fllioque).  Augustine 
had  beeji  the  .chief_diif£ndeE4)f- this  view,  he  having 
carried  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  to  its  logical  se- 
quence. If  Christ  were  divine,  then  the  Holy  Ghost 
must  proceed  from  Him  not  less  than  from  the  Father. 
The  argument  was  complete.  But  the  Eastern  Church 
gradually  adopted  the  other  view — that  the  Holy  Ghost 
proceeds  from  the  Father  alone.  The  discussion  was 
animated.  The  result  was,  that  this  question  was  an 
important  factor  in  the  division  of  the  Eastern  and  the 
Western  Church.  Its  results,  therefore,  extended  far 
beyond  the  early  mediaeval  period.  They  have  had 
their  bearing  on  the  theology  of  the  Greek  Church  in 
modern  times,  which  is  the  same  now  as  when  all  Eu- 
rope was  divided  on  the  Filioque  question. 

2.  Adoptianism.  This  doctrine,  also,  was  a  result  of 
earlier  theological  discussion.  The  Council  of  Chalce- 
don,  A.D.  451,  had  declared  that  in  Christ  there  is  one 
person,  but  two  natures.     This  became  the  doctrine 


26        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL  CHURCH. 

of  the  Church  in  both  Ecast  and  West.  But  in  the 
eighth  century  a  new  interpretation  was  made  in  Spain 
by  the  Archbishop  Elipandus,  of  Toledo.  He  claimed 
that  Christ,  in  his  divine  nature,  is  the  real  Son  of  God, 
butThat  in  his  human  nature  he  is  only  Son  of  God  in 
an  adopted  sense,  as  a  name  and  title.  Etherius  and 
Beatus  opposed  Elipandus,  and  defended  the  orthodox 
view.  Great  excitement  was  created  throughout  Spain, 
where  the  Mohammedan  rulers  troubled  themselves 
little  concerning  the  ecclesiastical  conflicts,  but  were 
delighted  to  see  Christians  devour  each  other.  The 
heresy  of  Felix  spread  into  the  Frankish  dominions, 
and  finally  attracted  the  attention  of  Charlemagne. 
The  Narbonne  Synod  of  788  was  indefinite,  Felix  ap- 
peared before  the  Synod  of  Regensburg  in  V92,  and, 
his  doctrine  being  condemned,  he  recanted  and  made 
his  peace  with  the  Church.  On  his  return  to  Spain  he 
recalled  his  recantation.  The  Frankfort  Council  of  794 
reaffirmed  the  condemnation  of  that  of  Reffensburs:. 
In  the  year  799  Felix  once  more  repudiated  his  adop- 
tianism,  but  enjoyed  thereafter  little  favor  from  either 
party.  Elipandus  lived  in  Moorish  Spain,  and  never 
renounced  his  adoptianisra.  The  heresy  lived  but  a 
short  time  after  the  death  of  the  chief  promoters. 

3.  Anthropology.  The  doctrines  relating  to  human 
salvation  came  up  for  new  consideration.  Chief  em- 
phasis was  placed  on  the  elect.  Augustine  had  declared 
that  God  determines  the  number  of  the  saved ;  but  his 
teaching  on  the  divine  reprobation  was  negative — that 
God  passed  over  the  non-elect.  Gottschalk  taught  that 
the  wicked  are  as  fully  predestinated  to  damnation  as 
the  righteous  are  to  salvation.  His  was  a  doctrine  of 
twofold  predestination — hipartita  praedestinatio,  electo- 
runi  ad  requiem,  repi'oborum  ad  mortem  (a  double  pre- 


THEOLOGICAL    MOVEMENTS.  27 

destination,  of  the  elect  to  salvation,  and  of  the  repro- 
bate to  death).  Erigena  opposed  Gottschalk's  doctrine, 
on  the  ground  that  it  was  an  abandonment  of  the  sav- 
ing power  of  God's  grace  and  an  abolition  of  the  func- 
tions of  the  human  will. 

4.  The  Lord's  Supper.     Th^  Greek  Church  was  the 
first  to  teach  a  doctrine  approaching  consubstantiation, 
or  tlie  changeof_the  bread  and  wine  into  the  real  body 
and'blood  of  oiir  Lord.     The  work  on  "  The  Sacrament 
of  the  Body  and  Blood  of  Christ,"  by  Paschasius  Rad- 
bertus,  which  appeared  in  two  editions  (a.d.  831  and 
844),  was  the  first  book  which  pronounced  unequivocal- 
ly for  the  actual  presence  of  the  body  and  blood  of 
Christ  in  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper.     This 
view  was  opposed  by  vigorous  theologians,  with  Ra- 
tramnus  at  their  head.     By  the  end  of  the  tenth  cen-1 
tury,  however,  the  doctrine  of  consubstantiation  gainedS 
such  official  favor  in  Rome  that  it  was  accepted  by  the  J 
Church. 

5.  The  Image  Controversy.  The  use  of  images  in  the 
church  was  a  subject  of  violent  controversy.  Traces 
of  undue  reverence  for  them  can  be  found  as  early  as 
the  fourth  century.  Not  only  were  the  Eastern  and 
Western  churches  divided  on  the  subject,  but  in  each 
there  were  subdivisions  of  disputants — three  being  in 
the  Eastern,  and  as  many  in  the  Western.  The  peri- 
ods of  controversy  in  the  Greek  Church  are  as  follows: 
First,  A.D.  726-754;  second,  754-813;  third,  813-843. 
In  the  Frankish  empire,  three  parties  were  represented 
at  the  Synod  of  Paris,  a.d.  825. 


Chapter   VIII. 

THE    RULE    OF    THE    POPES. 
(Leo  IV.,  A.D.  856,  to  Geegoey  VII.,  a.d.  1085.) 

1.  The  Fluctuations  in  the  Papacy.  The  reign  of  the 
Popes  of  Rome  was  never  uniform.  Where  one  was 
learned,  and  was  alive  to  the  wants  of  his  times,  an- 
other was  devoted  entirely  to  the  building  up  of  his 
authority.  The  same  absence  of  uniformity  applies  to 
their  moral  character.  One  might  be  virtuous,  and 
command  the  respect  of  the  whole  Church ;  but  his 
immediate  successor  might  be  just  the  opposite.  The 
tendency  was  towards  the  evil  side.  The  temptation 
was  to  resort  to  corrupt  measures,  not  only  to  secure 
the  office,  but  to  administer  it  when  secured.  Between 
Leo  IV.  (a.d.  855)  and  Benedict  III.  it  was  alleged  that 
a  female  pope,  Joanna,  was  elected,  and  ruled.  John 
XX.,  for  this  reason,  called  himself  John  XXI.  There 
is  doubt,  however,  as  to  the  authenticity  of  the  belief. 
The  chronicles  of  the  thirteenth  century  were  the  first 
to  make  full  mention  of  it.  Protestant  historians  are 
divided,  some  claiming  that  the  proof  is  certain,  while 
others  hold  that  there  are  better  means  of  proving  the 
growing  immorality  of  the  papacy  than  the  brief  rule 
of  a  pope  of  another  sex.  We  do  not  find  sufficient 
proof  in  favor  of  a  female  pope.  But  the  moral  meth- 
ods in  use  were  dark  enough  for  that,  or  any  similar 
violation  of  ecclesiastical  precedents.  Nicholas  I.,  Ha- 
drian II.,  and  John  VII.  were  involved  in  complica- 


THE    RULE    OF   THE    POPES.  29 

tions  with  the  Frankish  rulers.  The  new  gift  of  tem- 
poral possessions  was  now  bearing  its  legitimate  fruit. 
It  was  easy  to  see  that  the  attention  of  the  popes 
was  directed  just  as  much  towards  political  as  spiritual 
matters. 

2.  The  Pomocracy,  a.d.  904-962.  No  period  in  the 
history  of  the  papacy  has  been  more  corrupt  than  this. 
Italy  was  divided  between  hostile  factions.  The  noble 
families  were  arrayed  against  each  other.  The  ruling 
pope  was  strong  or  weak,  according  to  the  success  of 
the  nobles  whose  cause  he  had  espoused.  For  a  half 
century  a  wicked  woman,  Theodora,  ruled  the  papacy. 
She  was  the  daughter  of  a  noble  family.  Her  daughter 
Maria  was  almost  her  equal  in  genius  and  crime.  These 
two  women  put  into  the  j^apacy  whom  they  chose, 
Theodora  caused  John  X.  to  assume  the  papacy.  After 
her  death  he  endeavored  to  throw  off  his  dependence 
upon  her  daughter.  But  he  failed.  Maria  was  too 
strong  for  the  ungrateful  successor  of  St.  Peter.  She 
put  Peter,  the  pope's  brother,  to  death  before  the  pope's 
eyes,  and  then  smothered  the  pope  himself  in  the  Cas- 
tle of  St.  Angelo  (a.d.  928).  She  immediately  placed 
her  son  John  XL  in  the  papal  chair. 

3.  The  New  German  Power.  We  now  come  to  the 
opposition  of  the  German  emperors  to  the  papal  author- 
ity. Henry  I.  was  the  fii'st  to  assert  a  measure  of  in- 
dependence. But  the  popes  were  constantly  in  need  of 
help  from  the  emperor's  army.  On  the  other  hand,  the 
emperor  was  in  need  of  the  pope's  approval  and  corona- 
tion; because,  if  the  pope  released  the  citizens  from 
fealty  to  the  emperor,  his  power  was  broken.  The  ex- 
communication of  an  emperor  by  the  pope  was  sure  to 
bring  untold  evils  to  the  former.  There  were,  general- 
ly, competitors  to  the  succession,  and  the  man  who  had 


30        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  pope's  favor  was  almost  sure  to  be  winner  in 
the  imperial  game.  The  misconduct  of  certain  popes 
was  so  flagrant  that  the  people  would  not  endure  it. 
For  example,  Benedict  IX.,  while  a  boy,  became  pope, 
but  his  crimes  caused  the  people  to  eject  him.  They 
put  Sylvester  III,  in  the  papal  chair.  Benedict  aimed 
to  get  it  again.  But  he  could  not  hold  it,  and  sold  it 
outright  to  Gregory  VI,  There  wei'e  now  three  rival 
popes.  Henry  III,  of  Germany  was  invited  in  to  settle 
matters.  Clement  II.  was  elected,  and  he  paid  back 
his  benefactor  by  crowning  him  Emperor  of  Germany 
and  Patrician  of  Rome. 

4.  Gregory  VII.  was  the  son  of  a  mechanic,  and  arose 
from  the  humblest  monastic  life.  He  bore  the  name 
of  Hildebrand.  He  could  easily  have  been  pope  at  an. 
early  period  of  his  life,  but  chose  to  gain  power,  and 
add  to  the  papal  authority,  by  getting  men  of  his  choice 
in  office.  He  was  the  Warwick  of  ecclesiastical  his- 
tory— the  maker  of  popes.  On  the  death  of  Alexander 
II.  the  time  had  come  when  he  could  safely  throw  off 
the  mask.  The  people  cried  out :  "Hildebrand  is  pope; 
St.  Peter  has  elected  him!" 

5.  The  Strife  between  Gregory  VII.  and  Henry  IV.  of 
Germany  was  one  of  the  most  bitter  in  the  Avhole  his- 
tory of  temporal  and  spii'itual  authority.  Gregory 
asked  Henry's  permission  to  assume  the  tiara.  This 
was  a  fine  piece  of  flattery,  Gregory  meant  no  com- 
pliment to  Henry,  but  he  did  not  Avant  an  anti-pope, 
and  this  was  a  good  precautionary  measure.  Gregory 
determined  to  elevate  the  papacy  at  all  hazards.  His 
course  brought  him  into  collision  with  Henry  IV.  For 
oppressing  the  Saxons,  and  permitting  the  sacred  ves- 
sels to  be  despoiled  of  their  jewels,  which  were  now 
worn  by  the  favorite  women  of  Henry's  court,  Gregory 


THE    RULE    OF    THE    POPES.  31 

threatened  the  emperor  with  excommunication,  Henry 
resented  the  insult  with  great  promptness  and  spirit. 
It  was  now  a  struggle  of  authority.  All  Europe  was 
interested  in  the  duel.  Henry  called  a  synod  at  Worms, 
A.D.  1076,  which  deposed  the  pope,  as  a  violator  of  im- 
perial rights.  Gregory  cast  back  upon  the  emperor  his 
anathema  of  excommunication,  and  declared  all  his 
subjects  released  from  allegiance.  Henry's  princes, 
who  were  fast  losing  respect  for  him,  declared  that 
they  would  have  another  sovereign  if  the  anathema 
were  not  removed  by  the  pope  by  a  certain  time. 

6.  The  Result  of  the  strife  was  the  division  of  the 
whole  Western  Church.  Henry  saw  that  the  reins  of 
power  were  fast  slipping  from  him,  and  he  resolved  on 
penitence.  He  made  a  journey  to  Italy,  to  regain  the 
favor  of  the  pope.  At  Canossa  he  humiliated  himself 
by  doing  the  jDope  the  menial  sei'vice  of  holding  the 
stirrups  of  his  saddle.  The  result  was  pardon.  But 
the  end  was  not  yet.  Henry  repented  of  his  repentance, 
and  withdrew  it.  Parchment  depositions  flew  back  and 
forth.  Henry  deposed  the  pope,  and,  in  turn,  Gregory 
deposed  Henry.  The  affair  took  a  larger  form  than 
writs  of  ejectment.  It  came  to  bloodshed.  Armies 
were  summoned,  campaigns  were  conducted,  and  Italy 
and  Germany  swam  in  blood.  Henry  captured  Rome 
A.D.  1084,  and  the  pope  became  a  prisoner  in  the  Castle 
of  St.  Angelo.  But  Gregory  spoke  no  word  of  sur- 
render. He  withdrew  to  Salerno,  where  he  died. 
The  outcome  was  a  victory  for  political  independence. 

7.  The  Later  Fortunes  of  the  papacy  were  fluctuating. 
The  result  of  the  long  and  bitter  struggle  between  the 
empire  and  pope  was  to  create  an  independent  spirit 
north  of  the  Alps.  After  Henry's  triumph  the  emper- 
ors were  always  disposed  to  assume  more  control,  and 


32        SHOKT    HISTORY    OF    TUE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

a  larger  independence  of  the  papal  authority.  The 
charm  of  Rome's  rule  north  of  the  Alps  was  broken  for- 
ever. The  ban  of  excommunication  had  lost  much  of  its 
terror.  Here,  in  this  long  struggle  between  Henry  of 
Germany  and  Pope  Gregory  VII.  lies  the  entering 
wedge  of  the  Reformation.  For  six  centuries  there 
lingered  in  Germany  a  doubt  of  the  papal  authority. 
The  political  rulers  never  forgot  the  example  of  Henr3\ 
His  capture  of  Rome,  and  his  deposition  of  Gregory, 
were  of  great  force  in  all  the  religious  struggles  of  Ger- 
many. They  proved  a  powerful  example  for  the  Saxon 
princes  in  their  suppoi't  of  Luther  and  the  Reformation 
six  centuries  after  Henry  IV.  stood  all  night  barefooted 
in  the  snow  at  Canossa  before  the  pope's  palace,  and 
held  the  stirrups  when  the  august  successor  of  St.  Peter 
chose  to  mount  his  horse,  but  atoned  for  it  all  by  cap- 
turing Rome  itself,  deposing  Gregory,  and  shutting  him 
up  in  the  castle  beside  the  Tiber. 


I 


Chapter  IX. 

THE    GBEGORIAN   REFORM:. 

1.  The  Moral  Decline  of  the  tenth  century  was  so  great 
that  not  even  the  most  extreme  apologists  for  the  pa- 
pacy have  been  able  to  present  a  defence  of  it.  When 
the  Carolingian  dynasty  died  out  in  887,  and  a  new 
one  took  its  place,  this  decline  began  in  full  force.  The 
papacy  had  been  gaining  strength  with  every  year, 
and  when  the  tenth  century  began,  such  evils  prevailed 
in  the  Church  as  to  threaten  its  very  life.  The  most 
far-sighted  of  the  leaders  saw  the  danger,  and  that  the 
Church  itself  had  become  only  a  vast  piece  of  political 
machinery,  using  unholy  measures  to  advance  its  ends. 
Even  so  warm  a  eulogist  of  Rome  as  Baronius  says, 
that  in  that  period  "  Christ  was  as  if  asleep  in  the 
vessel  of  the  Church."  Rome,  the  very  heart  of  the 
Church,  presented  a  repulsive  picture.  The  churches 
were  neglected,  and  a  dissolute  life  distinguished  the 
prie"thood. 

2.  Newman's  Confession.  Cardinal  Newman  makes 
the  following  admissions:  When  Hildebrand  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  monastery  of  St.  Paul  in  Rome  he  found 
offices  of  devotion  neglected,  sheep  and  cattle  defiling 
the  house  of  prayer,  and  monks  attended  by  women. 
The  excuse  was,  that  there  were  predatory  bands  from 
the  Campagna,  which  gave  trouble.  But  in  Germany, 
where  there  was  no  such  apology,  things  were  even 
worse.     In  France  the  same  evils  of  spiritual  decline 

3 


34        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

were  apparent.  The  offices  of  the  Church  were  sold, 
almost  as  at  an  auction.  An  archbishop  of  France, 
Avho  tried  to  silence  the  j^owerful  witnesses  against  him 
when  arraigned  for  simony,  confessed  his  guilt,  and 
forty-five  bishops  and  twenty-seven  other  dignitaries 
or  governors  of  churches  came  forward  and  confessed 
the  criminal  mode  by  which  they  had  obtained  their 
offices.  Ilincmar  thought  it  necessary  to  issue  a  de- 
cree against  the  pawning  by  the  clergy  of  the  vest- 
ments and  the  communion  plate.  The  nobles  had  their 
younger  sons  and  relatives  ordained  for  the  sole  pur- 
pose that  they  might  be  put  in  charge  of  lucrative  bene- 
fices. Others  had  their  dependants  ordained  that  they 
might  be  willing  instruments  for  any  service  in  the 
household.  The  domestic  priests  served  the  tables, 
mixed  the  strained  wine,  led  out  the  dogs  for  the  chase, 
looked  after  the  ladies'  horses,  and  superintended  the 
tilling  of  the  land.* 

3.  Hildebrand,  when  he  became  pope,  bearing  the 
name  of  Gregory  VII.,  addressed  himself  to  remedy 
the  evils.  He,  more  than  any  man  of  his  times,  saw 
the  necessity  of  a  thorough  moral  awakening.  The 
long  experience  through  which  he  had  passed,  and  his 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  clergy  and  the  laity  in 
Rome  and  throughout  the  Church,  had  given  him  rare 
opportunity  for  learning  the  real  life  of  the  time. 
Hence,  when  the  power  was  once  in  his  hands,  he 
wielded  it  with  great  vigor.  He  strove  in  every  pos- 
sible way  to  eradicate  simony,  and  all  the  other  ecclesi- 
astical crimes,  from  Latin  Christendom.  He  looked 
after  the  conduct  of  the  clergy,  and  attempted  to  bring 
it  up  to  a  loftier  moral  plane.     There  was  no  depart- 

*  "  Essays  Critical  and  Historical,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  255  ff. 


THE    GREGORIAN   REFORM.  35 

ment  of  discipline  which  he  did  not  observe  with  keen 
eye,  and  which  he  did  not  attempt  with  vigorous  hand 
to  improve. 

4.  The  Marriage  of  the  Clergy  was  almost  universal. 
The  canons  of  the  Roman  Church  had  long  before  en- 
forced the  celibacy  of  the  clergy.  In  the  reply  of 
Pope  Nicholas  I.  to  the  Bulgarians  (a.d.  860),  in  the 
conclusions  of  the  Synod  of  \Yorms  (868),  in^Leo  VII.'s 
Epistle  to  the  Gauls  and  Germans  (938),  in  the  Coun- 
cils of  Mentz  and  Metz  in  888,  in  the  decrees  of  Augs- 
burg (952),  and  in  Benedict  VIII.'s  speech  and  the  de- 
crees at  Pavia,  in  1020,  the  practice  of  clerical  marriage 
was  severely  condemned.*  The  entire  official  record 
of  the  Church  for  two  centuries,  but  not  before,  had 
been  against  the  marriage  of  the  clergy.  Gregory,  be- 
fore anything  else  engaged  his  attention,  set  himself 
to  work  to  correct  the  custom.  But  he  little  dreamed 
of  the  opposition  which  he  had  to  encounter.  His 
canons  were  met  with  the  bitterest  opposition.  In 
Germany  the  opposition  was  intense.  In  France  the 
Archbishop  of  Rouen  was  pelted  with  stones  when  at- 
tempting to  enforce  the  new  Gregorian  reform.  In 
Normandy  many  churches  had  become  heritable  prop- 
erty to  the  sons  and  daughters  of  priests.f 

5.  Condition  in  Rome.  In  Rome  the  antagonism  to 
the  canons  of  Gregory  was  even  more  violent,  if  pos- 
sible, than  elsewhere.  Many  of  the  churches  had  be- 
come scenes  of  wild  nocturnal  revelry.  Priests,  and 
even  cardinals,  celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  at  irreg- 
ular hours  for  the  sake  of  gain.J  Clerical  immorality 
was  universal.     The  enemies  of  the  Gregorian  canons, 

*  Xewuuui,  "  Essays  Critical  and  Ilistorical,"  p.  289. 

f  Newman,  ibid.,  p.  294. 

X  Dowden,  "  Life  of  Hildebrand,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  42, 43. 


36     SHORT  HISTORY  of  the  medieval  church. 

under  the  very  eyes  of  Gregory  himself,  met  his  re- 
formatory measures  with  relentless  fury.  It  was  not  so 
much  a  rebellion  against  the  war  made  on  the  marriage 
of  the  clergy,  but  of  rebellion  against  the  whole  sys- 
tem of  reform  in  the  life  of  the  clergy,  from  bishops, 
up  or  down,  as  one  may  think,  through  all  the  clerical 
strata.  The  clergy  saw  that  they  were  watched  as  by 
the  eye  of  an  eagle.  They  knew,  too,  the  vigor  of 
Gregory's  hand.  But  he  received  only  threats  for  his 
pains.  One  year  of  this  kind  of  work  was  enough  for 
him.  He  effected  but  little,  except  that  he  sowed  some 
good  seed  for  later  times. 

6.  Gregory's  Sorrow.  Gregory  was  now  sixty  years 
of  age,  and  was  afflicted  by  an  illness  so  severe  that 
he  thought  himself  dying.  But  he  recovered.  These 
were  his  words  :  "  We  were  reserved  to  our  accustomed 
toils,  our  infinite  anxieties ;  reserved  to  suffer,  as  it  were, 
each  hour  the  pangs  of  travail,  while  we  feel  ourselves 
unable  to  save,  by  any  steerraanship,  the  Church  which 
seems  almost  foundering  before  our  eyes."  *  In  the 
midst  of  his  sorrows,  on  witnessing  the  violent  opposi- 
tion in  every  quarter,  at  home  and  north  of  the  Alps, 
he  cried  aloud:  "I  live  as  it  were  in  death,  shaken  by 
a  thousand  stoi'ms." 


*  Dowden,  "  Life  of  Ilildebrand,"  vol.  ii.,  pp.  42,  43. 


Chapter  X. 

MORAL   LIFE   AND    ECCLESIASTICAL   USAGES. 

1.  The  Morals  of  the  Higher  Clergy  were,  thus,  the 
darkest  feature  of  the  times.  The  example  of  the  pa- 
pacy, leaving  out  Gregory,  and  now  and  then  another 
pope,  was  not  favorable  to  episcopal  purity.  As  many 
of  the  bishops  secured  their  office  by  purchase  or  polit- 
ical intrigues,  the  effect  of  their  administration  could 
not  be  expected  to  be  of  an  elevated  spiritual  charac- 
ter. Gregory  VII.  was  the  first  of  the  popes  to  order 
clerical  celibacy.  But  even  with  all  his  efforts  the 
clergy  of  the  more  remote  territory  were  slow  to  yield 
to  his  command.  In  Spain  the  marriage  of  the  clergy 
was  not  held  to  be  unlawful  until  the  twelfth  century, 
and,  in  the  northern  kingdoms  of  Europe,  not  until  the 
thirteenth.  The  tenth  century  was  especially  distin- 
guished for  the  general  immorality  of  the  clergy. 

2.  Penance.  The  original  jurisdiction  of  the  bishop 
extended  over  the  matter  of  all  penances  within  his 
diocese.  But  the  tendency  was  to  withdraw  this  lucra- 
tive trade  from  the  episcopacy,  and  let  it  be  a  matter 
for  the  pope  to  regulate  by  special  agents.  The  leg- 
ates whom  the  bishops  had  sent  to  Rome  with  refer- 
ence to  penances  were  clothed  with  special  powers  by 
the  popes,  and  even  papal  absolution  was  declared  to 
individuals  on  whom  penance  had  been  pronounced  by 
the  bishops.  The  tendency  was  to  increase  the  author- 
ity of  the  pope.     The  nobles  were  on  the  side  of  the 


38        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH, 

bishops.  It  "was  the  question  of  a  territory  against 
Rome.  The  Council  of  Pavia,  a.d.  876,  declared  in 
favor  of  the  papal  anathema  as  against  that  of  a 
bishop.  The  papal  management  of  penances  went  on 
with  undisguised  force.  The  profits  were  enormous 
They  added  vastly  to  the  papal  treasury,  and  were  in 
full  force  down  to  the  time  of  Martin  Luther. 

3.  The  Reverence  for  the  Virgin  Mary  was  one  of  the 
peculiarities  of  the  times.  The  rise  of  chivalry  tended 
to  increase  the  respect  for  woman  throiighout  Europe. 
The  reverence  for  the  Virgin  Mary  had  some  bearing 
upon  the  growing  custom  of  giving  woman  a  larger 
place  in  social  life.  Learned  writers  indulged  in  spec- 
ulations as  to  the  Holy  Mother's  divinity.  She  was 
the  "Queen  of  Heaven,"  the  "Mother  of  God,"  and 
her  praises  went  far  and  wide.  The  miraculous  achieve- 
ments and  lofty  virtues  of  some  of  the  pagan  divinities 
of  the  North,  such  as  Freya,  were  transferred  outright 
to  her. 

4.  Relics  came  into  use  far  more  than  in  the  preced- 
ing period.  The  pilgrim  to  Palestine,  on  his  return, 
brought  with  him  enough  sacred  relics  of  the  saints  to 
supply  a  church.  Each  relic  was  the  centre  of  a  throng 
of  associations,  and  was  supposed  to  be  endowed  with 
great  power.  The  chapel  became  famous  which  could 
boast  a  single  one.  Diseases  were  supposed  to  be  easily 
curable  by  touching  a  relic.  The  imagination  never 
had  a  larger  field  for  play  than  here.  The  saints  of  the 
whole  past  were  drawn  upon  to  help  the  ills  of  the 
present.  The  Eastern  countries  furnished  many  of  the 
most  precious  relics,  but  Italy  was  most  productive  of 
the  holy  manufactures.  The  Prankish  monastery  of 
Centula,  for  example,  was  so  highly  favored  that  it 
could  boast  a  miniature  cottage  belonging  to  St.  Peter, 


MOKAL    LIFE    AND    ECCLESIASTICAL    USAGES.  89 

a  handkerchief  of  Paul,  some  hairs  from  St.  Peter's 
beard,  some  souvenirs  from  the  graves  of  the  murdered 
innocents  at  Bethlehem,  some  of  the  Virgin  Mary's 
milk,  and  some  of  the  identical  wood  which  Peter  did 
not  use,  but  which  he  would  have  used,  to  build  the 
three  tabernacles  impulsively  proposed  by  him  on  the 
Mount  of  Transfiguration. 

5.  The  Church  Festivals  increased  during  this  period. 
The  saints'  days  grew  to  an  alarming  number,  for  the 
motives  to  enlarge  the  calendar  were  very  strong.  The 
day  of  commencing  the  year  was  changed  from  Easter 
to  Christmas.  In  the  ninth  century  the  All-Saints'  fes- 
tival was  made  general  throughout  the  Church. 


Chapteb  XL 

THE    PUBLIC    SERVICES. 

1.  The  Sermon.  During  the  period  of  aggressive 
missionary  life  the  sermon  assumed  a  larger  place  than 
usual.  The  missionary  was  compelled  to  teach  orally, 
in  order  to  instruct  the  people  in  the  rudiments  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine.  Charlemagne  saw  the  inaptitude  of  the 
Frankish  preachers  for  their  public  office,  and,  to  rem- 
edy the  difficulty,  commanded  Peter  Diaconus  to  pre- 
pare a  Homilarium,  or  collection  of  sermons  from  the 
Fathers.  This  was  to  be  a  model  for  homiletic  compo- 
sition, if  not  a  work  which  the  preachers  might  di- 
rectly use  in  preaching.  This  is  the  first  instance,  of 
which  we  have  account,  in  which  encouragement  was 
given  from  an  authoritative  source,  for  the  homiletic 
fracture  of  the  Eighth  Commandment.  The  Homila- 
rium was  designed  to  be  used  especially  on  Sundays  and 
feast  days.  There  was  no  pulpit  as  yet.  The  preacher 
continued  to  stand  on  the  platform  in  front  of  the 
high-altar. 

2.  Music  was  diligently  cultivated.  The  old  Grego- 
rian chant  was  supplanted  by  the  Ambrosian  melody. 
In  Germany,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  cen- 
tury, short  verses  in  the  rude  German  language  were 
sung  by  the  people.  This  was  the  earliest  trace  we 
have  of  the  later  rich  German  hymnology.  Cliarle- 
magne  paid  great  attention  to  music.  He  founded 
singing-schools  throughout  his  dominions — especially 


THE   PUBLIC    SERVICES.  41 

at  Metz,  Soissons,  Orleans,  Paris,  Lyons,  and  other 
central  places.  The  first  knowledge  we  have  of  an 
organ  in  the  West  was  the  gift  of  one  to  Pepin,  a,d. 
757,  by  the  Byzantine  emperor,  Copronymus.  Another 
Byzantine  emperor,  Michael  I.,  made  a  present  of  one 
to  Charlemagne,  who  placed  it  in  the  imperial  church 
at  Aix  la  Chapelle,  These  instruments  were  of  robust 
quality,  as  they  had  but  twelve  keys,  and  required  the 
vigorous  use  of  the  performer's  fist  to  make  the  keys 
produce  the  desired  melody.  Charlemagne  gave  strict 
orders  that  the  people  should  unite  in  the  singing  at 
the  public  service,  especially  in  the  Gloria  and  Sanctus, 
but  his  orders  had  only  small  effect.  Among  the  more 
noted  hymn-writers,  between  the  seventh  and  ninth 
centuries,  were  Paul  Wernefried  Theodulf,  of  Orleans, 
Alcuin,  and  Rabanus  Maurus.  The  Pentecost  hymn, 
"Veni  Creator  Spiritus,"  was  popularly  ascribed  to 
Robert  of  France,  who  died  in  the  year  1031: 

"  Veni,  Sancte  Spiritus,  Et  cmitte  coelitus  Lncis  tuae  radium. 
Veni,  Pater  pauperum,  Veni,  Dator  munerum,  Veni,  Lumen  cordium  : 
Consolator  optime,  Dulcis  hospes  animac,  Dulce  refrigerium. 
In  labore  requies.  In  aestu  temperies,  In  fletu  solatium ! 
0  lux  beatissima,  Reple  cordis  intima  Tuorum  fidelium  ! 
Sine  tuo  nomine  Nihil  est  in  homine,  Nihil  est  innoxium. 
Lava  quod  est  sordidum,  Riga  quod  est  aridum,  Sana  quod  est  saucium; 
Flecte  quod  est  rigidura,  Fove  quod  est  f  rigidum,  Rege  quod  est  devium ! 
Da  tuis  fidelibus,  In  te  confidentibus,  Sacrum  septenarium ! 
Da  virtutis  meritum.  Da  salutis  exitum,  Da  perenne  gaudium  ! 
Amen." 

3.  Chapels  and  other  Additions.  The  great  increase 
in  relics  and  the  enlargement  of  the  number  of  saints, 
led  to  a  multiplication  of  chapels.  Each  chapel  had 
its  name,  according  to  the  saint  to  whom  it  had  been 
dedicated.  No  confessionals  had  as  yet  been  erected. 
With  all  the  increase  in  superstition,  this  masterpiece 


42        SHORT    IIISTOKY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

of  decline  had  not  as  yet  been  invented.  The  baptistery, 
which  had  previously  been  outside  of  the  church  build- 
ing, now  began  to  be  included  "within  the  church.  Bells 
came  into  use.  The  tower,  which  had  hitherto  been 
an  independent  structure,  became  connected  with  the 
church  edifice.  The  christening  of  bells  was  not  as 
yet  an  ecclesiastical  usage. 

4.  The  Arts  were  now  departing  from  the  classic 
models,  and  undergoing  the  intiuence  of  the  new  North- 
ern nations.  The  Byzantine  architecture,  as  exemplified 
in  the  rich  buildings  of  Ravenna,  was  employed  to  some 
extent.  In  Italy  the  basilica  still  prevailed.  Xorth 
of  the  Alps  there  was  no  disposition  to  be  confined  to 
either  Roman  or  Byzantine  style.  Einhard  was  the 
most  celebrated  architect  of  the  times.  Shrines  for 
relics,  candelabra,  and  other  adornments  of  the  sacred 
buildings,  were  of  elaborate  and  rich  Avorkmanship. 
The  imperial  treasury  spared  nothing,  in  order  to  add 
to  the  splendor  of  tlie  sanctuary  and  the  copiousness  of 
the  ritual.  Great  wealth  was  expended  in  copying  the 
Scriptui-es.  The  miniature  paintings  in  the  devotional 
books  of  the  times  were  models  of  painstaking  and 
costly  outlay.  Even  in  the  British  Isles  much  care  was 
bestowed  on  the  copies  of  the  favorite  authors  of  the 
patristic  times.  The  Irish  monasteries  produced  some 
of  the  finest  specimens  of  early  Christian  art  which 
have  come  down  to  our  own  times.  On  the  Continent 
the  monasteries  of  St.  Gall  and  Fulda  took  the  lead  as 
patrons  of  the  arts.  Tutilo,  of  St.  Gall,  was  architect, 
painter,  sculptor,  poet,  and  scholar — the  Michael  An- 
gel o  of  his  age. 


Chapter  XII. 

THE    WRITERS    OF   THE    TIMES. 

1.  The  Classic  Masters  of  Greek  and  Roman  thought 
were  at  no  time  entirely  forgotten.  It  is  a  peculiarity 
of  the  age  that  all  the  temporal  rulers,  beginning  with 
Charlemagne,  though  often  profoundly  ignorant,  were 
never  wholly  forgetful  of  the  debt  of  their  people  to 
the  creators  of  literature.  Now  and  then  even  a  bar- 
baric ruler  surrounded  himself  Avith  scholars,  who  not 
only  reflected  their  learned  light  on  the  court,  but  were 
of  influence  in  promoting  a  thirst  for  knowledge 
throughout  the  dominions.  The  example  of  the  Goth 
Ulfilas,  one  of  the  most  thorough  scholars  of  his  times, 
was  powerful  over  rulers  and  the  scholars  of  their 
courts,  in  the  later  times. 

2.  Scholars  before  Charlemagne  were  numerous,  and 
yet,  because  of  the  general  distractions  of  the  times, 
were  not  of  wide  influence.  The  most  learned  men 
were  servants  of  the  Church,  and  hence  science  was 
confined  chiefly  to  theology.  Boethius  and  Cassiodo- 
rus,  who  flourished  under  the  patronage  of  the  Ostro- 
gothic  court,  contributed  largely  to  the  presei'vation  of 
both  the  classic  and  patristic  writings.  The  monas- 
teries of  Scotland  and  Ireland  produced  many  scholars, 
whose  fame  went  into  all  lands.  The  communication 
between  those  countries  and  Rome  was  frequent,  and 
many  treasures  were  taken  back  to  them  from  Italy, 
which  proved  of  great  value  for  the  study  of  the  Greek 


44:       SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

and  Roman  writers,  and  of  the  Fathers  as  well,  for 
many  centuries.  Theodore  of  Tarsus,  the  Venerable 
Bcde,  and  the  scholar  Hadrian,  were  at  the  head  of 
Anglo-Saxon  learning.  The  most  powerful  promoter 
of  learning  in  Britain  was  Alfred  the  Great.  The  war 
of  races  had  done  much  to  destroy  all  taste  for  scholar- 
ship. The  ravages  of  the  Scandinavian  piratical  tribes 
made  the  land  a  waste.  But  that  wise  king  restored 
science  to  its  former  elevated  position.  His  own  ex- 
ample was  a  model  of  literary  aspiration. 

3.  The  Scholars  of  Charlemagne's  Court  constituted  a 
bright  galaxy  of  masters  in  literature.  The  emperor 
was  constantly  in  search  of  learned  men.  He  did  not 
care  where  they  came  from  or  what  their  opinions  were. 
The  brightest  ornament  of  his  reign  was  Alcuin,  an 
Anglo-Saxon.  While  this  man  was  on  a  journey  to 
Rome,  he  was  introduced  to  Charlemagne.  This  was 
in  781,  and  down  to  his  death,  in  804,  Charlemagne 
would  not  permit  the  calm  and  learned  scholar  to  leave 
his  service.  He  commanded  Alcuin  to  superintend  all 
the  educational  movements  of  his  broad  dominions. 
He  sent  him  on  important  diplomatic  missions,  and 
found  that  he  could  trust  him  in  the  most  delicate  du- 
ties. In  796  he  gave  him  the  Abbacy  of  Tours,  which 
became,  through  Alcuin,  a  celebrated  seat  of  learning. 
Paul  Diaconus  was  of  Lombard  origin.  He  had  been 
a  member  of  the  court  of  the  Lombard  king  Deside- 
rius.  Yet  Charlemagne,  after  subjugating  the  Lom- 
bards, won  him  to  his  service.  But  the  scholar  was  ill 
at  ease.  The  loss  of  his  country  was  a  sorrow  which 
he  could  not  overcome,  and,  after  getting  released,  he 
withdrew  to  his  former  monastery,  Monte  Cassino,  and 
died  there.  Leidrad  of  Lyons,  Theodulf  of  Orleans, 
and  Paulinus  of  Aquil*^ia,  were  also  bright  lights  of 
Charlemagne's  cour' 


THE   WRITERS    OF   THE   TIMES.  45 

4.  The  Scholars  of  the  later  Carolingians  proved  of 
eminent  service  to  the  general  cultivation  of  knowl- 
edge. Louis  the  Pious,  who  reigned  a.d.  814-840,  was 
a  pati'on  of  learning.  The  learned  men  Avhom  he  drew 
about  him  were  Agobard  of  Lyons;  Christian  Druth- 
mar,  of  the  monastery  of  Corbey;  Amalarius;  Walafrid 
Strabo,  of  Reichenau;  Fredegis,  an  Anglo-Saxon  disci- 
ple of  Alcuin ;  Jonas  of  Orleans,  and  Claudius  of  Turin, 
a  Spaniard.  The  principal  scholars  of  the  reign  of 
Charles  the  Bald  (a.d.  840-877)  were  Robanus  Mag- 
nentius  Maurus,  of  Roman  origin  before  the  removal 
of  the  family  to  Germany;  Paschasius  Radbertus,  of 
the  Corbey  monastery;  Hincmar  of  Rheims;  Florus 
Magister,  of  Lyons;  Ratramnus  of  Corbey;  Haymo  of 
Halberstadt ;  Servatus  Lupus  and  Prudentius,  of  France; 
Anastasius  of  Rome;  Regino  of  Prum;  and,  brightest 
light  of  all,  John  Scotus  Erigena,  who  was  either  a 
Scotchman  or  an  Irishman. 


Chapter  XIII. 

N  E  V/     M  I  S  S  I  O  K  S. 

1.  The  Spread  of  Christianity  continued  steadily. 
From,  the  centres  in  Germany  and  France  missionaries 
went  out,  and  labored  in  the  darker  European  coun- 
tries. There  was  constant  communication  between 
Britain  and  the  Continent.  Missionaries  from  Ire- 
land, the  "  Holy  Isle,"  and  from  England,  crossed 
the  channel  into  France,  and  co-operated  with  Con- 
tinental missionaries  in  founding  missions  among  the 
heathen  dwelling  in  the  remoter  parts  of  Europe. 
The  monasteries  kept  up  a  close  brotherhood.  That 
there  was  great  missionary  fervor  in  them  can  be 
seen  in  the  number  of  monks  who  went  out  from 
them,  and  threaded  the  forests  and  climbed  the  moun- 
tains of  rude  and  barbarous  peoples,  and  spent  their 
lives  amid  all  possible  dangers,  in  endeavoring  to 
extend  Christianity.  Many  of  them  fell  by  violent 
hands.  No  people  parted  with  their  ancestral  idols 
without  regarding  the  first  Christian  preachers  worthy 
of  immediate  death.  Sometimes  the  rulers  were  the 
first  to  accept  the  gospel,  but  often  it  ascended  from 
the  poor  and  the  lowly,  step  by  step,  until  the  throne 
was  reached,  and  Christianity  was  publicly  proclaimed 
as  the  faith  of  the  State. 

2,  Denmark.  Harold,  King  of  Jutland,  was  aided  to 
the  throne  of  his  fathers,  against  his  competitors,  by 
the  Carolingian  emperor,  Louis  le  Debonnaire.    Harold 


NEW   MISSIONS.  47 

and  his  queen  were  baptized  in  the  cathedral  of  Mentz. 
There  is  no  knowing  how  much  conscience  was  in  this 
proof  of  their  espousal  of  Christianity,  But  it  is  a  fact 
that  the  Danish  king  and  queen  ever  afterwards  be- 
friended the  gospel,  and  did  their  utmost  to  plant  it 
throughout  their  dominions.  Anskar,  a  monk  of  Cor- 
bey,  accompanied  them  back  to  Denmark,  with  a  view 
to  organize  the  Christian  Church  in  that  country.  The 
mission  in  Denmark  was  resisted  by  the  people.  A 
rebellion  was  excited  against  Harold,  and  he  was 
obliged  to  flee  from  the  country.  Anskar  was  also 
compelled  to  leave,  but,  instead  of  giving  up  his  mis- 
sionary work,  turned  his  eyes  towards  the  still  more 
savage  Sweden,  and  determined  to  plant  m:s8:ons  there. 
3.  Sweden.  In  the  year  831  Anskar,  with  Witmar, 
a  brother  monk,  as  companion,  proceeded  to  Sweden 
with  gifts  for  the  king  of  the  country.  They  were  at- 
tacked by  pirates  while  on  their  voyage,  and  lost  all 
their  possessions,  such  as  the  gifts  for  the  king,  their 
sacred  books,  and  their  priestly  robes.  They  barely 
escaped  with  their  lives.  They  reached  Birka,  on  the 
Malar  lake,  and  were  hospitably  entertained.  The 
king  welcomed  them,  and  in  a  short  time  his  counsellor, 
Herigar,  became  a  Christian  convert.  A  few  Chris- 
tians were  found  already  there,  but  there  was  no  or- 
ganization. Anskar  remained  a  year  and  a  half  in 
Sweden,  and  then  returned  to  Louis,  to  whom  he 
brought  friendly  letters  from  the  King  of  Sweden,  and 
gave  a  full  account  of  his  experiences.  Louis  estab- 
lished an  archiepiscopal  see  at  Hamburg,  with  a  view 
to  operating  directly  upon  Scandinavia.  Anskar  Avent 
to  Rome,  where  he  was  consecrated  to  the  archiepis- 
copal office  and  deputed  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
Northern  nations.     Hamburg  was  desolated  by  a  Dan- 


48       SHORT   HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL   CHUBCH. 

ish  army,  and  the  see  was  united  with  Bremen.  Ans- 
kar  removed  to  the  latter  place.  He  made  a  second 
visit  to  Sweden  in  855.  He  died  in  865,  but  before  his 
death  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  Christianity  taking 
firm  hold  throughout  Scandinavia.  He  was  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  characters  of  the  whole  mediaeval  pe- 
riod. In  charity,  personal  exposure,  fearlessness  of 
danger  or  death,  and  sublime  devotion  to  his  work,  he 
was  surpassed  by  no  one  of  his  times.  He  said :  "  One 
miracle  I  would,  if  worthy,  ask  the  Lord  to  grant  me, 
and  that  is,  that  by  his  grace  he  would  make  me  a 
good  man." 

4.  Norway.  The  first  positive  accounts  we  have  of 
the  introduction  of  the  gospel  into  Korway  is  that  it 
was  carried  thither  by  some  seafaring  youth.  It  is  not 
unlikely,  however,  that  the  Norwegian  pirates  who  or- 
ganized and  made  expeditions  along  the  western  coast 
of  Europe  came  in  contact  with  Christianity,  and  that 
some  of  their  prisoners  were  the  means  of  preaching  it 
afterwards  in  the  country  to  which  they  were  taken. 
Olaf  the  Thick,  King  of  Norway,  was  the  first  to  or- 
ganize the  Church  on  a  permanent  basis.  This  he 
achieved  in  1019. 

5.  Iceland  and  Greenland,  The  gospel  reached  Ice- 
land from  Norway,  about  the  year  1000.  There  was 
no  formal  organization  of  a  mission  there,  the  first 
preachers  being  merely  transient  missionaries.  Olaf 
Trygvesen  established  Christianity  permanently  in  the 
country.  This  was  secured  at  a  public  assembly  of  the 
people.  They  accepted  the  gospel,  but  reserved  the 
right  to  worship  their  former  national  gods  in  private, 
if  they  wished.  From  Iceland  Christianity  extended 
to  Greenland.  A  bishopric  over  that  country  was  es- 
tablished shortly  after  the  introduction  of  the  gospel 


NEW    MISSIONS.  49 

into  Iceland.  Even  from  this  remote  country  Rome 
was  careful  to  gather  gifts  for  her  treasury.  The 
Greenland  Christians  paid  their  tithes  to  Rome  in 
walrus  teeth. 

6.  The  Slavic  Peoples.— Bulgarians.  Cyril  and  Metho- 
dius, two  Greek  monks,  were  the  first  to  introduce  the 
gospel  among  the  Bulgarians,  These  people  had  con- 
quered the  tribes  along  the  lower  Danube,  and  had 
settled  there,  and  also  in  Macedonia  and  Epirus.  The 
Bulgarian  prince,  Bogoris,  was  besought  by  Greek, 
Roman,  and  Armenian  missionaries  to  adopt  each  of 
those  foi'ms  of  Christianity.  He  looked  towards  the 
pope,  Nicholas,  for  advice,  and,  during  this  formative 
period  of  the  Bulgarian  Church,  its  relations  were  with 
Rome. 

7.  Moravia  was,  in  the  ninth  century,  a  large  and  pow- 
erful kingdom.  In  863  the  king,  Rostislav,  requested 
the  Greek  emperor,  Michael,  to  send  him  learned  men, 
who  should  translate  the  Bible  into  the  Slavonic  tongue, 
and  explain  it  to  the  people.  Cyril  and  Methodius  were 
accordingly  sent.  They  composed  a  Slavonic  alphabet, 
and  translated  the  Gospels,  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  the 
Psalms,  and  other  parts  of  the  Bible.  This  procedure 
awakened  the  opposition  of  the  German  missionaries, 
who  regarded  it  as  a  measure  hostile  to  their  own  lan- 
guage and  methods.  For  many  years  the  Moravians 
suffered  greatly.  The  archbishopric  of  Prague  was  es- 
tablished in  973.  Their  misfortunes  culminated  when 
they  were  attacked  and  overrun  by  the  Magyars.  When 
peace  came  they  were  no  more  a  nation,  but  a  mere 
province  of  the  kingdom  of  Bohemia. 

8.  Russia.  The  Russian  princess,  Olga,  in  955,  went 
down  to  C^onstantinople,  where  she  embraced  Chris- 
tianity.     She    endeavored  to    convert  her   son  Swia- 

4 


50       SHOKT    UISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

toslav  to  Christianity,  but  he  was  proof  against  all  hor 
importunities.  Her  grandson,  Vladimir,  however,  was 
more  accessible  to  the  truth.  After  a  long  period  of 
reflection,  and  the  sending  out  of  messengers  into  dif- 
ferent lands  to  examine  all  the  various  faiths,  he  ac- 
cepted Christianity,  and  caused  churches  to  be  organ- 
ized, and  the  people  to  be  instructed  in  the  use  of  the 
Slavonic  Scriptures  and  liturgy. 

9.  The  Wends  lived  between  the  Saale  and  the  Oder, 
and  were  distinguished  for  their  wildness  and  their 
fidelity  to  their  idolatrous  worship.  They  ^vere  divid- 
ed into  many  tribes.  The  emperor,  Otho  I.,  conquered 
them,  but  they  regained  their  independence  a.d.  983, 
and  in  1047  Gottschalk  united  them  into  one  kingdom. 
He  strove  to  introduce  Christianity  among  his  people, 
but  was  assassinated,  and  the  land  reverted  to  idolatry. 
The  restoration  to  Christianity  was  not  finally  eif  ected 
until  1168,  when  the  last  Wendic  idol  Avas  burned  by 
Absalon,  Bishop  of  Roeskilde,  amid  the  rejoicings  of 
the  people. 

10.  Poland  received  the  gospel  through  Christian  ref- 
ugees from  Moravia,  when  that  kingdom  Avas  broken 
up.  When  (a.d,  966)  Miecislaus,  Duke  of  Poland,  was 
married  to  a  Bohemian  princess,  it  was  the  signal  for 
the  foi*mal  adoption  of  Christianity  in  place  of  idola- 
try. Relations  with  the  Roman  Church  were  estab- 
lished. The  rude  peasantrj^,  however,  fondly  cherished 
the  memory  of  their  pagan  rites  for  a  long  time. 

11.  Hungary  first  became  acquainted  with  Christian- 
ity through  the  instrumentality  of  certain  of  her  princes 
while  visiting  Constantinople.  Many  German  slaves, 
W'ho  had  been  captured  by  the  Hungarians  in  war, 
brought  their  religion  with  them,  and  contributed 
largely  towards  its  establishment  in  their  new  country. 


NEW    MISSIONS.  51 

Duke  Geysa,  who  reigned  a.d.  972-997,  was  a  mixed 
character,  for  he  both  sacrificed  to  the  gods  of  his 
people  and  built  churches  for  Christian  worship.  Un- 
der Stephen,  his  son,  who  reigned  a.d.  997-1038,  Chris- 
tianity became  the  religion  of  the  country,  Stephen 
was  successful  in  developing,  as  well,  the  material  in- 
terests of  his  country,  and  in  bringing  it  into  close  rela- 
tionship with  Germany.  Strong  measures  were  taken 
by  the  ruder  Hungarians,  after  Stephen's  death,  to  re- 
store the  old  idolatry.     But  they  were  unsuccessful. 

12.  The  Finns  were  conquered  by  Eric  the  Saint, 
King  of  Sweden,  a.d.  1157.  The  forests  were  vast, 
and  the  population  far  away  from  the  current  of  Euro- 
pean life.  Hence  the  attachment  to  the  ancestral  idol- 
atry was  intense.  The  ignorant  peasantry  were  largely 
under  the  control  of  the  magicians  some  time  after 
Eric's  labors  to  introduce  Christianity.  From  Livonia 
and  the  German  districts  along  the  Baltic  the  Chris- 
tians passed  over  into  Finland,  and  labored  assiduous- 
ly for  the  conversion  of  the  people.  The  Esthonians, 
a  people  along  the  Baltic,  were  forced  to  accept  Chris- 
tianity A.D.  1211,  through  a  powerful  religious  order, 
the  Brethren  of  the  Sword,  whose  aim  was  to  see  that 
the  Northern  idolaters  should  become  Christians  at 
all  hazards— if  not  by  peaceful  measures,  then  by  the 
sword. 


Chapter  XIV. 

SCHISM     BETWEEN    THE    EAST    AND   THE    WEST. 

1.  Early  Differences  existed  between  the  Church  in 
the  East  and  West,  They  were  due  in  part  to  polit- 
ical relations,  and  in  part  to  antagonism  of  tempera- 
ment. The  removal  of  the  Roman  capital  to  Byzanti- 
um brought  political  considerations  into  predominance 
over  religion,  while  in  Rome  the  growth  of  episcopal 
power  gained  supreme  ascendency.  The  Greek  was 
speculative,  fanciful,  excitable,  and  wandered  wildly 
into  doctrinal  paths.  The  Roman  Christian  was  prac- 
tical, steady,  and  conservative.  He  was  slow  to  accept 
any  novelty,  but,  having  once  admitted  it,  it  was  next 
to  impossible  to  induce  him  to  surrender  it. 

2.  The  Doctrinal  Divergence  between  the  East  and 
West  was  first  perceptible  in  the  variety  of  teaching 
on  the  divinity  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  The  Council  of 
Constantinople  decided,  a.d.  381,  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  equal  in  essence  with  the  Son,  and  that  both  are  con- 
substantial  with  the  Father.  The  Western  teaching, 
guided  chiefly  through  the  clear  and  logical  intellect 
of  Augustine,  held  that  the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from 
the  Father  and  the  Son.  In  589  the  Toledo  Council, 
in  accordance  with  this  view,  added  to  the  symbol  of 
Constantinople  the  term  Filioque. 

3.  Roman  Primacy  was  also  a  ground  of  violent  an- 
tagonism. The  Bishop  of  Rome  held  that  his  deci- 
sions should  apply  to  the  entire  Christian  Church.     The 


SCHISM    BETWEEN   THE    EAST    AND    THE    AVEST.       53 

growth  of  the  papal  primacy  was  rapid,  and  subject  to 
only  temporary  interruptions,  and  was  therefore  looked 
upon  by  the  Eastern  Church  with  grave  suspicion.  The 
Eastern  Church  held  that  the  Patriarch  of  Constanti- 
nople was  equal  in  rank  to  the  Roman  bishop.  But 
this  was  not  only  not  admitted  in  Rome,  but  indig- 
nantly rejected.  There  was  no  dependence  upon  Ro- 
man approval  of  the  decisions  of  Eastern  councils  and 
synods.  What  was  regarded  as  orthodox  on  the  Bos- 
phorus  might  be  promptly  decided  very  heterodox  on 
the  bank  of  the  Tiber.  Here  was  a  large  field  for  bit- 
ter antagonism.  The  entire  political  and  ecclesiastical 
life  of  the  two  regions  grew  more  discordant  with  the 
years.  Often  the  animosity  was  as  intense  between 
them  as  though  neither  East  nor  West  professed  the 
Christian  religion. 

4.  The  Ecclesiastical  Laws  and  Usages  were  also  cal- 
culated to  widen  the  chasm.  The  Greek  Church  ac- 
cepted eighty-five  of  the  apostolic  canons,  while  the 
Latin  Church  acknowledged  but  fifty.  The  contro- 
versy on  images  in  the  sacred  buildings  fluctuated 
with  great  violence  and  during  a  long  period.  The 
result  was  that  the  Greek  Church  rejected  them,  while 
the  Roman  endorsed  them,  and  gave  the  type  for  the 
abuse  throughout  Western  Christendom.  The  Latin 
Church  declared  against  the  marriage  of  the  clergy, 
while  the  Greek  Church  permitted  all  its  clergy,  ex- 
cepting bishops,  to  remain  in  the  marriage  relation, 
provided  at  the  time  of  their  ordination  they  were  al- 
ready married.  The  eating  of  animals  strangled,  the 
use  of  the  figure  of  a  lamb  to  represent  Christ,  and 
fasting  on  Saturday,  were  permitted  by  the  Latin 
Church,  but  rejected  by  the  Greek.  The  second  Trul- 
lan  Council,  a.d.  692,  so  sharply  defined  these  differ- 


64       SHORT    HISTORY     OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

ences  that  its  action  was  a  violent  factor  towards  the 
great  schism.  Photius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople, 
invited  all  the  Eastern  patriarchs  to  a  council  which 
convened  in  867.  Here  he  formulated  the  points  of 
difference  between  the  Greek  and  Latin  Christians, 
and  gave  a  catalogue  of  the  doctrinal  and  other  va- 
garies which  the  Western  Christians  had  committed. 
The  pope  was  even  declared  deposed,  and  the  infor- 
mation extended  to  the  Western  Church. 

5.  The  Complete  Schism  took  place  a.d.  1054.  Con- 
stantino Monomachus,  the  Byzantine  emperor,  having 
in  view  a  war,  applied  to  the  Roman  pope  for  friendly 
support.  This  overture  awakened  the  wrath  of  Michael 
Cerularius,  Patriarch  of  Constantinople,  and  of  Leo  of 
Achrida,  Metropolitan  of  Bulgaria.  They  wrote  a  let- 
ter to  the  bishops  of  the  Latin  Church,  charging  it  with 
grave  doctrinal  errors,  and  urging  it  to  renounce  them. 
This  letter  reached  Pope  Leo  IX.  He  was  intensely 
excited,  and  bitter  letters  passed  between  Rome  and 
Constantinople.  The  pope  sent  three  delegates  to  the 
latter  city.  But  only  a  fiercer  animosity  ensued.  The 
closing  signal  of  an  open  and  final  rupture  was  given 
by  the  issuing  of  a  public  excommunication  of  the  Pa- 
triarch by  the  legates,  in  the  Church  of  St.  Sophia,  and 
their  withdrawal  to  Rome. 

6.  Attempts  at  Reunion  were  subsequently  made. 
But  the  divergence  increased  with  time.  The  doc- 
trinal differences  became  more  prominent,  while  the 
constant  growth  of  the  papal  authority  in  the  Latin 
Church  made  conciliation  impossible.  During  the  Cru- 
sades, which  united  all  Christendom,  strong  attempts 
to  restore  the  unity  of  the  East  and  West  were  made, 
but  in  the  end  proved  fruitless.  The  Council  of  Lyons, 
in  1274,  declared  the  reunion  complete.     The  Eastern 


SCHISM    BETWEEN    THE    EAST    AND    THE    WEST.         55 

delegates  accepted  the  Roman  confession  of  faith,  and 
acknowledged  the  primacy  of  the  Roman  pope,  while 
the  Roman  delegates  agreed  that  all  the  existing  usages 
of  the  Eastern  Church  might  in  future  be  conceded  to 
it,  while  the  Nicene  Creed,  without  addition  or  com- 
ment, might  remain  in  permanent  use.  This  pacifi- 
cation was  brought  about  by  the  Eastern  emperor, 
Michael  Paloeologus.  But  when  he  died,  and  another 
took  his  place,  the  old  schism  reappeared  in  full  force. 
Efforts  at  restoration  continued  to  be  made  until  the 
middle  of  the  fifteenth  century.  But  when  the  By- 
zantine Empire  went  down,  a.d.  1453,  all  serious  and 
general  attempts  ceased. 


Chapter   XV, 

THE   ANGLO-SAXON    CHURCH. 

1.  The  Conflict  of  Tribes  and  Races  in  Britain  was 
violent  during  all  the  early  Christian  centuries.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  condition  or  pursuits  of  the  people 
to  give  the  least  indication  of  the  later  controlling  in- 
fluence of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  modern  civilization 
and  the  evangelization  of  the  world.  There  was  enough 
of  booty  in  the  land  to  attract  warring  tribes  and  free- 
booting  sailors  from  the  western  part  of  the  Continent. 
The  native  races  in  Britain  were  at  war  with  each  other. 
An  invasion  made  the  conflicts  only  more  intense. 
Scandinavia  and  Germany  furnished  the  chief  assailing 
elements.  Probably  no  place  has  ever  been  the  scene 
of  more  bitter  tribal  warfare,  or  contained  a  greater 
number  of  tribes  to  the  square  mile,  than  the  British 
Isles.  The  tendency  was  towards  unity.  Alfred  suc- 
ceeded in  conquering  the  Danes,  and  driving  them  into 
the  territory  about  the  present  London.  Harold,  the 
last  Saxon  king,  was  defeated  at  the  battle  of  Hastings, 
A.D.  1066,  by  William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  who  founded 
the  present  dynasty.  This  was  the  great  historical 
event  which  first  gave  unity  to  the  English  people. 

2.  Independence  of  the  British  Church.  There  are  no 
positive  data  as  to  the  means  by  which  Christianity 
was  proj)agated  tlu'oughout  Britain.  But  the  evidence 
is  clear  that  it  secured  a  strong  footing  in  many  parts 
of  the  country  during  the  domination  of  the  Romans. 


THE    ANGLO-SAXON    CHURCH. 


51 


ST.    martin's    church,   canterbury   (cradle    of   BRITISH   CHRISTIANITY). 

Daring  the  early  centuries  the  relations  between  Brit- 
ish Christianity  and  the  Churches  of  Gaul  and  Rome 
were  very  intimate.  But  the  Saxons,  in  their  great  in- 
vasion, A.D.  449,  destroyed  the  Christian  worship  prac- 
tised in  the  eastern  parts  of  Britain.  Christianity,  there- 
fore, was  professed  chiefly  along  the  western  coast.  The 
relations  between  this  limited  type  of  Christianity  and 
the  Continental  churches  became  sundered  for  a  time. 
There  was  little  communication  between  them.  In  the 
meantime,  the  British  Church  developed  on  an  inde- 
pendent basis.  Its  Christianity  was  a  continuation  of 
the  apostolic  type,  and  exhibited  but  little  harmony 
with  that  of  Rome.     In  the  year  597,  the  Church  of 


58         SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Rome  sent  legates  to  Britain,  to  resume  the  old  rela- 
tions of  daughter  and  mother.  There  was  strong  op- 
position on  the  part  of  Britain  to  accept  any  overtures. 

3.  The  Points  of  Difference.  The  divergence  of  the 
British  Church  from  that  of  Rome  consisted  more  in 
usages  and  details  than  in  fundamental  doctrines.  The 
British  clergy  did  not  adopt  the  tonsure  of  their  Roman 
brethren,  but  shaved  the  fore  part  of  the  head  instead 
of  the  crown.  The  Church  of  Britain  did  not  acknowl- 
edge the  primacy  of  the  Roman  pope,  or  the  confes- 
sional, or  purgatory,  or  the  Easter  Cycle  of  nineteen 
years  adopted  by  Dionysius  Exiguus,  or  the  sacrament- 
al character  of  marriage. 

4.  Rome  the  Conqueror.  Whether  the  Briton  or  the 
Roman  would  conquer  in  matters  ecclesiastical,  de- 
pended largely  on  the  native  princes.  By  the  year 
660  the  Anglo-Saxon  Heptarchy  was  overspread  by 
the  Christian  religion.  This  entire  territory  was  in- 
tensely British  in  its  profession.  Kent  alone  was  fa- 
vorable to  Rome.  The  kings  of  the  whole  country,  with 
all  their  prefei-ence  for  a  native  Church,  without  any 
control  from  the  Continent,  were  induced  by  Oswy, 
King  of  Northumbria,  to  accept  the  sympathy  and  pro- 
tection of  Rome.  The  diplomacy  in  behalf  of  Roman 
ascendency  was  managed  with  great  shrewdness.  Oswy 
called  the  Council  of  Whitby,  a.d.  664.  Both  interests 
were  represented  by  able  advocates  :  Rome  by  the 
gifted  Wilfrid,  and  Britain  by  Colman,  Bishop  of  Lin- 
disfarne.  The  result,  however,  was  easy  to  foresee. 
The  kin  or  was  intent  on  affiliation  with  Rome.  The 
council  decreed  accordingly,  and  Oswy  took  care  to 
see  that  the  decrees  were  rigidly  enforced.  The  union 
of  the  British  kinoes  under  the  Roman  banner  led 
Scotland  and  Ireland  in  the  same  direction.     Ireland 


THE    ANGLO-SAXON    CHURCH.  59 

surrendered  to  Rome  a.d.  701,  and  Scotland  a.ix  800. 
The  monks  of  lona  were  the  last  to  yield.  They 
finally  surrendered  a.d.  716,  and  thus  passed  away  the 
last  remnant  of  the  early  British  National  Church. 

5.  Alfred  the  Great  was  the  most  powerful  agent  for 
building  up  and  extending  Christianity  during  the  early 
period  of  the  British  Church.     He  was  King  of  the 
West  Saxons,  and  was  born  a.d.  849.     After  his  con- 
quest of  the  Danes  he  made  it  one  of  the  conditions 
of  their  surrender  to  him  that  their  chiefs  should  re- 
ceive baptism.     Fearless  in  battle,  Alfred  was  not  less 
wise  in  government.     He  reduced  the  Saxon  laws  to  a 
code,  encouraged  commercial  activity,  and  spared  no 
pains  to  educate  and  elevate  his  people.     He  saw  the 
necessity  of  spreading  good  books  among  his  people, 
and  composed  several  himself,  for  the  special  purpose 
of  contributing  what  he  could  towards  their  intellec- 
tual development.     He  deplored  the  ignorance  of  his 
subjects,  and  declared  that  almost  no  one  living  north 
of  the  Thames  could  translate  a  Latin  letter  or  com- 
prehend the  Church  ritual.     He  fostered  clerical  educa- 
tion.    He  rebuilt  the  old  monasteries,  founded  schools, 
gathered  books  from  every  possible  quarter,  and  in- 
vited learned  men  from  abroad  to  settle  within  his  do- 
minions, and  aid  in  the  educational  and  ecclesiastical 
development  of  his  people.     In  the   Christian  works 
which  proceeded  from  his  own  pen,  less  regard  was 
paid  to  original  thought  than  to  the  reproduction  of 
Christian  classics.     The  chief  of  these  were  the  transla- 
tions of  Boethius's  "  Consolations  of  Philosophy,"  and  of 
Gregory's  "  Pastoral  Care."    To  the  English  of  all  later 
times,  Alfred  remains  the   ideal   ruler — "  the  wisest, 
best,  and  greatest  king  that  ever  reigned  in  England." 


Chapter  XVI. 

ARNOLD     OF     BRESCIA. 

1.  A  New  Force.  The  long  quarrel  between  Henry 
IV.  and  the  papacy  gave  rise  to  a  new  force  in  Italy, 
which  was  now  felt  far  and  wide.  The  claims  which 
the  pope  made  to  supreme  authority  awakened  the  alarm 
of  certain  serious  minds,  who  saw  here  an  element  of 
great  danger  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  all  Christen- 
dom. In  addition  to  this  a  desire  for  local  independence 
was  awakened.  A  process  of  violent  disintegration 
went  on,  especially  in  the  Italian  cities.  The  people 
arose  against  the  high  claims  of  an  ecclesiastical  rule, 
and  cities  vied  with  each  other  in  an  attempt  to  cut 
loose  from  these  restraints.  That  the  clergy  should 
hold  such  power,  not  only  in  Rome,  but  throughout 
Italy,  was  considered  a  curse  which  must  be  done  away, 
and  the  sooner  the  better. 

2.  Arnold  the  Representative.  It  requires  but  little 
time  for  a  great  popular  aspiration  to  find  its  incarna- 
tion. The  strong  desire  of  many  thousands  in  Italy  to 
reduce  the  prerogatives  of  the  clergy  and  the  papacy 
to  the  primitive  status  of  voluntary  poverty  and  purely 
spiritual  life  and  government  found  its  rej^resentative 
in  Arnold  of  Brescia,  born  about  the  end  of  the  eleventh 
century.  He  had  been  taught  in  a  good  school.  Though 
an  Italian,  he  had  gone  to  Paris,  and  placed  himself  un- 
der the  care  of  Abelard,  whose  spirit  he  had  imbibed. 
He  possessed  rare  gifts  of  eloquence  and  popular  lead- 


ARNOLD    OF    BRKSOIA.  61 

ership.  He  returned  to  Italy,  where  he  boldly  pro- 
claimed against  the  excesses  of  the  priesthood  and,  in- 
directly, against  the  bold  claim  of  the  pope  to  secular 
authority.  He  was  guarded  in  his  expressions  concern- 
ing the  papacy,  but  against  the  universal  life  of  the  clergy 
he  proclaimed  inveterate  hostility.  He  held  that  the 
priests  should  renounce  all  holding  of  property,  and 
live  on  the  free-will  offerings  of  the  people.  His  fear- 
less method  and  defiant  exposure  of  the  prevailing  vices 
of  the  time  rallied  to  his  standard  a  multitude  of  ad- 
herents. Among  them  were  many  cultivated  people 
and  nobles,  who  saw  in  him  a  safe  and  pure  leader. 
But  when  the  awakening  which  he  produced  became 
alarming  to  the  existing  authorities  he  was  opposed  by 
the  pope.  Innocent  II.,  who  banished  him  from  Italy. 
He  tied  to  France,  and  then  to  Switzerland,  and  in  both 
countries  continued  to  preach  the  need  of  a  universal 
reform,  and  the  return  of  the  Church  to  its  original 
simplicity. 

3.  Return  to  Rome.  Ai-nold  had  accomplished  a  great 
work  in  Rome.  The  popular  sentiment  was  in  his  favor. 
The  needful  reform  which  he  had  preached  gathered 
strength  during  his  absence,  and  the  people  Avhom  he 
had  influenced  now  revolted  against  the  pope.  Arnold 
returned  to  Rome,  and  stood  at  their  head.  He  was 
not  only  the  spiritual  leader  of  the  city,  but,  in  a  certain 
sense,  also  the  political  head.  In  the  Eternal  City  he 
was  what  Calvin  was  four  centuries  later  in  Geneva — 
the  "administi'ator  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  affairs." 
Arnold's  eloquence  was  overwhelming.  The  multi- 
tudes gathered  about  him  with  increasing  enthusiasm. 
The  citizens  revolted  against  the  rule  of  the  pope,  es- 
tablished a  Senate,  drove  the  pope  out  of  Rome,  passed 
laws  requiring  the  pope  to  live  on  voluntary  offerings 


62        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

and  throw  off  his  temporal  authority,  and  invited  the 
German  emperor  to  come  down  to  Italy,  and  re-establish 
the  old  imperial  rule  on  the  banks  of  the  Tiber.  Lucius 
II.  led  an  army  against  the  Romans,  but  was  killed 
during  the  siege  of  the  city  by  a  paving-stone.  Eu- 
genius  III.,  who  succeeded  him,  fled  to  France,  and 
placed  himself  under  the  guidance  of  Bernard  of  Clair- 
vaux.  Eugenius  was  bi'ougbt  back  to  Rome  by  Roger, 
King  of  the  Normans.  But  he  was  helpless.  Arnold 
was  still  supreme,  and  the  Romans  were  devoted  to 
him.  A  young  Englishman,  who  commenced  life  as  a 
beggar,  turned  his  attention  to  the  priesthood,  advanced 
through  all  subordinate  stages  until  he  became  Bishop 
of  Albano,  and,  on  the  death  of  Eugenius  III.,  succeeded 
to  the  papacy  as  Hadrian  IV.,  1154.  He  hit  upon  a 
novel  method  of  opposing  the  revered  Arnold.  He 
prohibited  all  public  worship  in  Rome.  This  one  act 
produced  a  powerful  impression,  and  the  people  could 
not  say  that  it  was  not  within  his  province  and  a  pure- 
ly ecclesiastical  deed. 

4.  Martyrdom  of  Arnold.  The  pope  was  now  in  the 
ascendant.  Arnold  was  compelled  to  flee  from  Rome 
a  second  time,  and  was  afterwards  seized  by  the  Em- 
peror of  German}^,  Frederic  Barbarossa,  who  gave  him 
up  to  his  enemies  in  Rome.  No  mercy  was  now  shown 
him.  He  was  hung  in  Rome,  the  scene  of  his  greatest 
triumphs,  in  1155.  To  give  additional  indignity  to  his 
memory,  his  body  was  afterwards  burned,  and  his  ashes 
cast  into  the  Tiber.  During  all  the  latter  part  of  Ar- 
nold's career  the  most  powerful  enemy  he  had  to  con- 
tend with  was  Bernard  of  Clairvaux.  The  latter  not 
only  opposed  his  doctrines  and  the  general  drift  of  his 
teachings  in  political  matters,  but  shaped  the  policy  of 
the  papacy.    He  was  the  real  adviser  of  the  popes  who, 


ARNOLD    OF    BRESCIA.  63 

one  after  anothei",  had  to  contend  with  Arnold,  and, 
because  of  his  weight  with  the  Catholic  masses,  prob- 
ably did  more  than  all  of  the  popes  to  undermine  the 
influence  of  Arnold. 

5.  What  Effect  ?  To  study  the  career  of  Arnold,  and 
its  unhappy  end,  one  would  conclude  that  it  was  simply 
a  revolutionary  episode  in  the  turbulent  age  in  Avhich 
he  lived.  But  we  must  take  a  broader  view.  He 
greatly  weakened  the  confidence  of  the  peojile  in  the 
strength  of  the  papacy.  He  proved  that  it  was  possi- 
ble for  one  man,  endowed  with  energy,  to  overthrow,  for 
at  least  a  time,  the  temporal  sovereignty  of  the  popes, 
introduce  a  new  political  life  in  Rome  itself,  and  mass 
the  people  to  support  his  views.  His  most  bitter  ene- 
mies could  not  find  any  flaw  in  his  moral  character. 
His  purity  of  life  was  in  perfect  harmony  with  the  gos- 
pel which  he  preached.  His  personal  worth,  and  the 
temporary  changes  which  he  wrought,  were  the  great 
forces  which  continued  to  work  long  after  his  martyr- 
dom. In  every  later  effort  for  reform,  and  even  in  the 
Reformation  in  Germany  and  other  countries,  the  name 
of  Arnold  of  Brescia  was  a  mighty  factor  in  aiding 
towards  the  breaking  of  the  old  bonds.  Even  in  these 
latest  times  it  has  its  historical  value,  for  in  the  strug- 
gle of  the  Protestantism  of  New  Italy  for  mastery  over 
the  thought  of  the  people,  that  name  is  a  comfort  to 
all  who  are  endeavoring  to  bring  in  the  new  and  bet- 
ter day,  from  the  Alps  down  to  Sicily. 


Chapter  XVII. 

THE    WALDENSES    AND    ALBIGENSES. 

1.  The  Moral  Reaction  of  the  Laity.  More  than  once 
in  the  history  of  the  Church  there  has  arisen  from 
among  the  laity  a  bold  and  fearless  reaction  against 
the  moral  decline  of  the  priesthood.  The  most  notable 
illustration  is  to  be  found  in  the  rise  and  growth  of 
the  Waldenses.  They  represented  the  protest  of  the 
private  members  against  the  prevailing  corruptions  in 
the  Church.  The  Waldensians  took  their  name  from 
Peter  Waldus,  of  Lyons,  in  France,  who  appeared  as  a 
bold  and  fearless  preacher  of  reform  in  the  second  half 
of  the  twelfth  century.  He  was  a  private  citizen  of 
large  means,  and  with  no  relation  to  the  clergy.  He 
gave  all  his  Avealth  to  the  poor,  circulated  religious  books 
among  the  people  in  their  own  language,  and  exposed 
the  vices  of  his  time. 

2.  The  Waldensians  and  the  Church.  This  strong  pro- 
test from  the  laity  soon  awakened  the  hostility  of  Rome. 
Neither  Waldus  nor  his  followers  had  any  thought  of 
seceding  from  the  Church.  Like  the  Pietists  of  Ger- 
many  in  the  last  century,  they  hoped  to  produce  reform 
within  the  Church.  But  their  efforts  soon  met  with 
fierce  opposition.  The  Archbishop  of  Lyons  issued 
a  decree  against  them.  The  pope,  Alexander  HI., 
in  1179,  treated  them  Avith  the  same  bitter  hostility,  and 
five  years  afterwards  they  w'ere  formally  excommuni- 
cated by  Pope  Lucius  HI.  They  grew  rapidly  in  num- 
bers, however,  but  were  compelled  to  seek  the  mountain 


I 


THE    WALDENSES    AXD    ALBIGENSES.  65 

fastnesses  of  Piedmont,  in  Italy,  where  they  found  com- 
parative security.  They  also  established  societies  in 
Germany  and  in  the  mountain  regions  of  France,  but 
their  existence  out  of  Piedmont  was  always  insecure. 
In  some  instances  they  existed  as  individual  believers, 
but  knew  each  other  by  secret  signs,  led  a  pure  and  de- 
vout life,  and  labored,  by  such  methods  as  defied  dis- 
covery, to  produce  a  better  life  around  them.  They 
regarded  ordination  as  unnecessary,  preached  against 
purgatory,  the  worship  of  saints,  and  priestly  absolu- 
tion, and  held  that  the  real  Church  of  Christ  embraced 
many  more  believers  than  the  papal  Church. 

3.  Warfare  on  the  Reformers.  The  Waldenses  were 
reinforced  by  the  Catharists,  who  had  arisen  about  the 
beginning  of  the  eleventh  century,  and  had  preached 
fearlessly  against  the  corruptions  of  the  times.  Rome 
had  employed  vigorous  measures  against  the  Catharists, 
who  had  rapidly  gained  strength  in  France,  Germany, 
and  even  in  England.  The  first  Catharist  martyrdoms 
took  place  in  Orleans,  in  1022.  When  the  Waldensians 
were  gaining  strength,  notwithstanding  the  bitterness 
of  Rome,  the  Catharists  regarded  their  cause  as  iden- 
tical with  their  own,  and  combined  with  them.  The 
Waldenses  were,  at  first,  much  less  opposed  than  the 
Catharists  had  been,  but  in  due  time  they  stood  alike, 
as  injurious  and  threatening,  in  the  eye  of  Rome.  By 
and  by  a  relentless  warfare  was  declared  against,  not 
only  these  heretics,  but  all  similar  reformatory  bodies. 
Raymond  Roger,  Viscount  of  Beziers  and  Albi,  repre- 
sented the  cause  of  the  reformers,  who  were  grouped 
under  the  general  term  of  Albigenses.  Simon  de  Mont- 
fort,  one  of  the  pope's  legates  to  carry  on  the  crusade 
against  the  reformers,  conquered  them  in  battle,  and 
was  declared  lord  of  the  conquered  territory. 
5 


66        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIJ2VAL    CHURCH. 

4.  Foreign  Sympathy.  It  is  a  beautiful  illustration  of 
the  bond  between  Christians  of  all  lands  that  when 
these  reformers  were  persecuted  on  the  Continent  their 
sufferings  awakened  a  universal  sympathy.  In  all  the 
nations  of  Europe  there  were  pure  people  who  were 
praying  for  a  better  life  throughout  the  Christian 
world.  They  watched  with  fear  and  trembling  the 
persecutions  of  the  believers  in  France  and  Piedmont, 
and  believed  that,  though  conquered  to-day,  they 
would  be  victorious  to-morrow.  In  England  this  sym- 
pathy was  intense,  and  the  parties  to  the  persecution 
were  made  to  feel  it.  Milton,  at  a  later  day,  put  into 
ringing  and  immortal  verse  the  English  protest  against 
the  crusade  made  upon  the  Waldensians,  not  only  in 
the  time  of  Waldus,  but  many  times  afterwards: 

"  Avenge,  0  Lord,  thy  slaughtered  Saints,  whose  bones 
Lie  scattei'd  on  the  Alpine  mountains  cold, 
Even  them  who  kept  thy  truth  so  pure  of  old 
When  all  our  Fathers  worship't  Stocks  and  Stones. 
Forget  not:  in  thy  book  record  their  groanes 
Who  were  thy  sheep,  and  in  their  antient  Fold 
Slayn  by  the  bloody  Piedmontese  that  roll'd 
Mother  with  Infant  down  the  Kocks.     Their  moans 
The  Vales  redoubl'd  to  the  Hills,  and  they 
To  Heav'n.     Their  niartyr'd  blood  and  ashes  sow 
O'er  all  the  Italian  fields,  where  still  doth  sway 
The  triple  Tyrant ;  that  from  these  may  grow 
A  hundred-fold,  who  having  learnt  thy  way 
Early  may  fly  the  Babylonian  wo." 


Chapter  XVIII. 

THOMAS     A     BECKET. 

1.  The  English  Church  underwent  important  changes 
during  the  twelfth  century.  The  central  figure  was 
Thomas  a  Becket,  Archbishop  of  Canterbury  and  Chan* 
cellor  of  England.  During  the  reign  of  the  more  capa- 
ble Norman  kings  who  succeeded  William  the  Con- 
queror, the  English  Church  was  under  the  full  control 
of  the  throne.  The  popes  had  little  to  do  except  to 
watch  and  wait.  When  Stephen  became  king  it  was  at 
once  seen  that  he  lacked  the  capacity  to  rule,  and  more 
especially  to  oppose  the  vigorous  policy  of  such  of  the 
English  clergy  as  wished  to  ally  themselves  with  Rome 
as  against  the  authority  of  the  kings  of  England.  There 
was  a  complete  sundering  of  the  relations  of  the  clergy 
with  the  crown.  The  pope  was  claimed  to  be  the  eccle- 
siastical head  of  England.  When  Henry  II.  came  to 
the  throne  he  undertook  to  restore  the  old  relation, 
and  to  break  up  the  bondage  to  Rome.  The  Diet  of 
Clarendon,  which  met  in  1164,  carried  out  his  wishes. 
Its  principal  act  was  to  order  the  election  of  bishops 
in  the  royal  chapel,  with  the  king's  consent;  in  civil 
matters  and  in  all  disputes  the  clergy  should  be  amen- 
able to  the  king;  no  cause  could  be  carried  to  a  foreign 
jurisdiction  for  decision  without  the  king's  consent; 
the  same  condition  was  required  when  any  clergyman 
left  the  kingdom;  and  no  member  of  the  royal  council 
could  be  excommunicated.    This  was  a  direct  thrust  at 


C8        SIIOKT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  power  of  the  papacy  over  England.     The  battle 
now  began  in  great  fierceness. 

2.  Becket  in  the  Strife.  Thomas  a  Bccket  w^as  born 
in  1118.  His  education  was  purely  secular,  and  he 
never  became  a  theologian.  His  tastes  were  all  in  the 
line  of  military  and  diplomatic  life.  The  pope  wanted 
Stephen's  son,  Eustace,  to  be  Stephen's  successor  to  the 
throne,  and  to  Becket  belongs  the  responsibility  of  pre- 
venting it.  For  this  service  Henry  II.  appointed  him 
Chancellor  of  England.  He  was  now  Henry's  most 
willing  agent.  He  went  on  a  foreign  campaign,  in  the 
war  of  Toulouse,  and  led  the  English  soldiers  to  suc- 
cess. He  spared  no  foes.  He  w^ent  again  to  France  to 
secure  the  marriage  of  Henry's  son  to  the  daughter  of 
the  Kinff  of  France.  He  was  the  most  intimate  and 
trusted  friend  of  the  king,  and  there  was  no  difficult  or 
delicate  service  in  which  he  was  not  called  upon  to 
take  the  lead.  In  1162  he  was  chosen  Archbishop  of 
Canterbury,  and  was  thus  the  ecclesiastical  head  of 
En  inland. 

3.  The  Change  in  Becket.  We  now  find  this  man  of 
the  world  in  a  new  position.  He  had  no  more  fitness 
for  a  religious  office  than  the  average  soldier  or  dip- 
lomat. But  he  felt  his  new  position,  and  immediately 
placed  himself  on  the  side  of  the  pope,  in  his  conflict 
with  the  king.  Henry  could  hardly  believe  his  own 
eyes.  Becket,  from  being  the  fastidious  courtier,  the 
luxurious  diplomat,  threw  off  all  his  old  methods,  and 
assumed  the  appearance  of  the  saintly  character.  He 
was  at  once  "  transformed  into  the  squalid  })enitent, 
who  wore  hair-cloth  next  his  skin,  fed  on  roots,  drank 
nauseous  water,  and  daily  washed  the  feet  of  thirteen 
beggars."  He  surrendered  to  the  king  his  office  of 
chancellor,  and  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  party 


THOMAS    A    BECKET.  69 

of  the  pope.  It  was  a  duel  of  giants.  Henry  had,  on 
his  side,  the  Norman  nobility  and  the  decrees  of  the 
Diet  of  Clarendon.  Becket  had  with  him  the  Saxon 
masses  and  the  agents  of  the  pope.  It  was  a  grave 
question,  long  undecided,  which  should  win.  Becket 
made  due  penitence  for  endorsing  the  decrees  of  Clar- 
endon, and  was  gi-anted  pardon  by  the  pope.  A  charge 
for  an  old  offence  was  brought  against  Becket  by  the 
king,  at  a  council  in  Northampton,  to  the  effect  that 
when  Becket  was  chancellor  he  had  appropriated  to 
himself  forty -four  thousand  marks.  Becket  replied 
that  he  was  not  going  to  answer  to  charges  for  of- 
fences while  he  was  not  consecrated  to  the  service  of 
the  Church.  He  appealed  to  the  pope  for  justice,  and 
fled  to  France. 

4.  Becket's  Death.  While  in  France  Becket's  cause 
gained  great  strength.  The  pope  aided  him  in  every 
possible  way,  and  he  had  many  supporters  at  home. 
Henry  consented  to  an  interview  with  him,  but  failed 
to  appear.  The  king  had  agreed  that  Becket  should 
return  to  his  see,  and  that  he  would  pay  all  Becket's 
debts  and  the  expenses  of  his  journey.  Becket  re- 
turned to  Canterbuiy,  and  met  with  a  cordial  recep- 
tion. Henry  was  frightened.  He  exclaimed  :  "  Of 
all  the  cowards  who  eat  my  bread,  is  there  not  one 
who  will  free  me  from  this  turbulent  priest  ?"  Henry's 
agents,  four  knights,  went  to  Canterbury,  and,  finding 
Becket  unwilling  to  compromise,  slew  him  in  the  Can- 
terbury Cathedral,  in  1170. 

5.  Reverence  was  paid  the  memory  of  Becket  in  a  way 
new  to  England.  The  popular  indignation  amounted 
to  a  national  uprising.  Henry  was  regarded  by  the 
people  as  a  murderer,  though  no  proof  has  ever  yet 
been  produced  which  can    convict  him  of  intending 


70        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH.  ' 

that   crime.     His  remark  was   made  in  great   anger,         | 
and  it  is  unfair  to  suppose  that  by  getting  rid  of  the 
priest  his  murder  was  meant,  much  less  endorsed  and         . 
directed.     But  the  people  are  never  logicians.     They         i 
rush  to  conclusions;  and  so  charged  Henry  with  the 
crime.     The  king,  to  conciliate  them,  made  a  pilgrim-         4 
age  to  Becket's  grave,  and  did  ample  penance.     Two 
years  later  Becket  was  canonized   as  St.  Thomas  of 
Canterbury.     Henceforth  his  tomb  in  the  cathedral  be- 
came the  most  popular  place  of  pilgrimage  in  the  whole 
Christian  world,  Rome  alone  excepted.     Miracles  were 
claimed  to  be  wrought  at  his  grave.    At  one  time,  it  is 
alleged,  that  as  many  as  a  hundred  thousand  pilgrims 
worshipped  at  the  tomb  of  St.  Thomas.     These  pilgrim- 
ages were  warmly  encouraged  by  the  court  of  Rome. 
They  were  regarded  as  helpful  to  the  cause  of  papal 
supremacy  in  the  British  Isles,  and  ])lenary  indulgence 
was  granted  every  pilgrim  to  the  shrine  of  the  latest 
English  Saint. 


Chapter   XIX. 

THE    MONASTIC    ORDERS. 

1.  Eastern  Monasticism,  which  in  the  early  period 
had  flourished  in  all  parts,  especially  along  the  valley 
of  the  Nile,  declined  as  the  mediaeval  period  advanced. 
The  monks  had  departed  fi'om  their  original  pure  and 
pimple  life,  and  had  ceased  to  be  examples  for  popular 
imitation.  Eustathius  of  Thessalonica  describes  the 
monastic  decline  of  the  twelfth  century  in  the  Eastern 
Church  as  deplorable.  He  speaks  of  the  monks  as  a 
hypocritical  and  ignorant  class,  no  longer  worthy  of 
the  confidence  or  support  of  the  Church.  The  most 
celebrated  of  all  the  Eastern  monasteries  were  those 
of  Mt.  Athos.  They  still  exist,  are  held  in  high  es- 
teem, and  are  supposed  to  contain  important  literary 
treasures,  still  in  manuscript,  with  which  the  Christian 
scholars  of  the  West  are  as  yet  unacquainted. 

2.  Eccentric  Types  of  monasticism  manifested  them- 
selves in  the  East  in  the  twelfth  century.  Imitators 
of  Simeon  Stylites  arose  in  large  numbers.  Many  an- 
chorites spent  their  lives  in  the  tops  of  trees,  or  in 
caves.  Numerous  devices  were  resorted  to,  such  as  the 
wearing  of  an  iron  shirt,  or  other  articles  inflicting 
physical  pain,  in  order  to  make  the  self-abnegation 
complete  in  the  eye  of  God,  Some  of  the  monasteries 
were  enlivened  by  theological  discussions,  though  the 
general  tendency  was  towards  sloth  and  ignorance. 
In  the  cloisters  on  Mt.  Athos  the  disposition  towards 


72 


SHORT    HISTORY    OF  THE  MEDIEVAL    CnURCn. 


mysticism  and  quietism  prevailed  for  some  time.  As 
the  Byzantine  Empire  declined,  and  tlie  Roman  Church 
gained  strength,  the  Eastern  monastic  life  lost  its  place 
in  the  general  life  of  the  Church. 

3.  Western  Monasticism  developed  with  amazing  ra- 
pidity. The  Benedictines  and  Cluniacensians  occupied 
a  prominent  place  in  the  great  body  of  the  Latin 
Church.     The  wealthy  and  noble  were  attracted  tow- 


^S^<^. 


ABBEY   OF   CLUGNY. 


ards  tliem.  Not  only  were  fabulous  gifts  made  to 
them,  but  the  nobility  even  left  their  estates,  took  on 
themselves  the  vows  of  povert}^,  and  in  all  menial 
service  placed  themselves  on  a  level  with  the  monks. 
They  became  cooks,  shepherds,  carpenters  —  anything 
and  everything  which  the  monastic  order  required  of 
its  humblest  members,     Peter  of  Clugny,  born  1096, 


THE    MONASTIC    ORDEKS.  73 

and  Hiklegard  of  Bingen,  born  1104,  were  distin- 
guished for  monastic  zeal.  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  born 
1091,  was  very  successful  in  extending  the  work  of  the 
Benedictine  order.  He  encouraged  the  reclaiming  of 
w^aste  lands  and  other  works  of  material  improvement. 
During  the  thirteenth  century  there  were  no  less  than 
thirteen  hundred  Benedictine  abbeys,  this  large  in- 
crease from  very  humble  beginnings  being  due  chiefly 
to  the  reformatory  energy  and  pure  example  of  Ber- 
nard himself. 

4.  The  Mendicant  Orders  were  a  reaction  against  the 
vast  wealth  which  was  poured  into  the  abbeys  of  the 
Latin  Church.  The  adoption  of  the  monastic  life  by 
the  nobility  had,  no  doubt,  its  effect  in  introducing  a 
new  and  more  dangerous  taste  than  had  hitherto  reigned 
in  those  simple  abodes.  The  orders  which  now  arose  re- 
pudiated all  wealth,  and  professed  to  live  on  alms  alone. 
The  Fratres  Minores,  or  Franciscans,  arose  from  Francis 
of  Assisi,  who  was  born  a.d.  1 1 82.  He  was  distinguished 
for  his  zeal  and  popular  eloquence.  He  was  a  model 
of  poverty.  Without  money,  shoes,  or  staff,  he  went 
through  the  country,  and  preached  the  blessings  of 
poverty  to  the  multitudes.  He  applied  to  Pope  Inno- 
cent III.  for  authority  for  a  separate  order,  and  gained 
the  object  of  his  desire.  The  early  stages  of  his  ca- 
reer were  without  decided  result,  disciples  growing  but 
slowly  in  number.  But  after  a  certain  point  his  suc- 
cess suddenly  broke  upon  him.  By  the  year  1219  he 
had  won  five  thousand  men  to  his  order,  and  by  1264 
there  were,  throughout  Europe,  eight  thousand  Fran- 
ciscan cloisters,  which  were  occupied  by  two  hundred 
thousand  monks.  The  Dominicans  were  founded  by 
Dominic,  who  was  born  a.d.  1170.  The  order  was  ap- 
proved by  Pope  Honorius  III.     The  tastes  of  its  mem- 


74        SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHURCH. 

bers  were  scientific.  They  were  fond  of  theological 
discussion.  In  the  year  1230  they  had  a  theological 
school  in  Paris,  which  became  a  great  centre  of  sacred 
learning. 

5.  Obscure  Orders.  Besides  these  chief  orders  there 
were  others,  which  were  obscure  imitations.  Among 
them  were  the  Carmelites,  the  Augustine  Hermits,  and 
the  Servites — Servi  beatae  virginis  Mariae  (servants  of 
the  Blessed  Virgin  Mary).  The  Beguins  and  Beghards 
were  peculiar  to  the  Netherlands.  Lambert  le  Begue, 
of  Louvain,  is  said  to  have  founded  the  Beghard  order 
about  1180.  Both  these  orders  drifted  into  theological 
vagaries,  and  were  finally  condemned  and  persecuted 
by  the  Roman  Church.  The  Council  of  Lyons  reduced 
the  mendicant  orders  from  twenty-three  to  four — Do- 
minicans, Franciscans,  Carmelites,  and  Augustines. 

6.  The  Knightly  Orders  wei-e  an  outgrowth  of  two 
forces — the  regular  monastic  life  in  the  Church,  and 
the  physical  needs  called  forth  by  the  Crusades.  The 
Knights  Templar  were  founded  by  Hugo  of  Payens, 
A.D.  1119,  and  Godfrey  of  St.  Omer.  Baldwin,  King 
of  Jerusalem,  opened  his  palace  for  their  occupation. 
They  were  greatly  sti'engthened  by  the  eloquence  and 
influence  of  Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  who,  in  1128,  gained 
an  ecclesiastical  confirmation  of  them  by  the  Synod  of 
Troyes.  The  Knights  of  St.  John,  though  originally 
founded  for  purposes  of  benevolence,  became  also  a 
famous  military  order.  Schiller,  in  his  "  Knights  of 
St.  John,"  thus  portrays  their  prowess  in  war  and  their 
sacrifice  for  the  suffering: 

"  Oh,  noble  shone  the  fearful  Cross  upon  your  mail  afar. 
When  Rhodes  and  Acre  hailed  your  might,  0  lions  of  the  war! 
When  leading  many  a  pilgrim  horde  through  wastes  of  Syrian  gloom. 
Or  standing  with  the  cherub's  sword  before  the  Holy  Tomb. 


THE    MONASTIC    ORDERS.  75 

Yet  on  your  forms  the  apron  seemed  a  nobler  armor  far, 

When  by  the  sick  man's  bed  )'e  stood,  0  lions  of  the  war ! 

When  ye,  the  high-born,  bowed  your  pride  to  tend  the  lowly  weakness, 

The  duty,  though  it  brought  no  fame,  fulfilled  by  Christian  meekness — 

Religion  of  the  Cross,  thou  blend'st,  as  in  a  single  flower, 

The  twofold  branches  of  the  palm — Humility  and  Power." 

But  from  this  high  estate  there  was  a  sad  decline. 
When  the  knights  became  strong,  and  were  the  ob- 
jects of  universal  love  and  admiration,  they  began  to 
depart  from  their  original  charity  and  poverty.  They 
became  wealthy  and  immoral,  and  finally  lost  the  re- 
spect of  the  Church  and  the  nations.  After  the  Cru- 
sades they  settled  on  the  island  of  Cyprus.  In  the  year 
1309  they  removed  to  Rhodes.  In  1530  Charles  V. 
ceded  to  them  the  island  of  Malta,  which  they  held 
until  1798,  when  Napoleon  Bonaparte  took  it.  It  is 
now  a  British  possession. 

7.  The  Brothers  of  the  Common  Life  arose  amid  the 
distractions  of  the  papal  exile  in  France  and  the  ter- 
rors of  the  Black  Death.  The  order  was  the  crystalli- 
zation of  a  general  desire  in  the  Church  for  a  new  spir- 
itual life.  It  was  founded  by  Gerhard  Groot,  and  pro- 
duced such  pure  members  as  Thomas  a  Kempis,  of  the 
monastery  of  Agnesburg,  and  other  men  of  similar 
spiritual  life. 


Chapter  XX, 

MONASTERIES    AS    CENTRES    OF    INTELLECTUAL    LIFE. 

1.  European  Learning  had  a  safe  refuge  during  the 
Middle  Ages  in  the  monasteries  of  the  Latin  Church. 
Some  of  the  orders  paid  special  attention  to  one  sci- 
ence, and  others  to  another,  while  still  others  occupied 
their  whole  time  in  ascetic  discipline  and  works  of 
charity.  The  monks  of  Monte  Cassino,  in  southern 
Italy,  were  distinguished  above  all  others  in  Europe 
for  their  scholarly  taste.  They  possessed  a  very  valu- 
able library,  and  utilized  it  in  the  production  of  works 
which  commanded  the  respect  of  learned  circles 
throughout  Eui-ope.  But  the  popes  never  looked  upon 
the  monks  of  Monte  Cassino  with  favor.  The  great 
monastery  was  a  very  hotbed  of  liberal  thought.  From 
that  place  proceeded  many  an  appeal  in  favor  of  great- 
er intelligence,  less  superstition,  purer  morals,  and  pa- 
pal reform.  The  appeals  were  fortified  with  a  powerful 
array  of  thorough  scholarship.  The  reputation  of  this 
famous  monastery  for  liberal  ideas  was  never  lost.  The 
monks  continued  from  generation  to  generation  in  the 
same  path  of  independent  thought.  It  is  believed  that 
their  attitude,  even  in  these  later  times,  has  contributed 
largely  towards  the  growth  of  those  aspirations  which 
have  resulted  in  the  abolition  of  the  temporal  power 
of  the  pope  and  the  unity  of  Italy,  with  Rome  as  the 
capital. 

2.  The  Works  of  the  Fathers,    The  most  frequent  era- 


MONASTERIES   AS  CENTRES   OF  INTELLECTUAL  LIFE.    77 


ployment  of  the  monks  was  the  copying  of  the  patristic 
literature.  This  class  of  works  was  very  large,  and  the 
monks  were  so  skilled  in  the  use  of  the  pen  that  their 
achievements  in  this  department  are  still  a  bibliograph- 
ical wonder.  They  wrote  on  parchment,  and  were  ac- 
quainted M'ith  all  the  arts  necessary  for  permanent 
transcription.  They  knew  how  to  make  ink  from  vege- 
table materials,  which  remains  firm  to  this  day.  They 
prepared  the  skins  for  Avriting,  and  knew  all  the  de- 
tails of  firm  and  artistic  binding.  They  were  capable 
of  exquisite  illuminating.  In  the  production  of  doc- 
trinal works  they  Avere  at  their  best.  Many  of  the  il- 
lustrations, in  purple,  silver,  and  gold,  are  still  master- 
pieces of  delicacy  and  finish. 


MONTE   CASSINO. 


Chapter  XXI. 

CHRISTIAN    ART. 

1.  Christian  Art  in  the  mediaeval  Church  was  patron- 
ized in  all  the  centres  of  thought.  The  monasteries 
were  not  wanting  in  even  this  larger  field  of  intellec- 
tual development.  St.  Gall,  in  Switzerland,  and  Fulda, 
in  Germany,  excelled  all  places  north  of  Italy,  For 
some  time  the  former  stood  at  the  head.  Tutilo  lived 
there.  He  was  the  Michael  Angelo  of  his  time,  being 
architect,  painter,  poet,  and  sculptor.  The  furniture  for 
the  sacred  buildings  grew  into  more  artistic  shapes 
as  the  Middle  Ages  advanced.  The  brass  candelabra 
were  of  rich  details;  the  wooden  stalls  and  seats  for 
the  clergy  and  choir  were  richly  carved  in  all  possible 
devices  ;  the  pulpits  grew  to  be  a  vast  mass  of  exqui- 
site stone  or  wooden  sculpture;  and  the  screen  between 
the  nave  and  high-altar  was  frequently  a  piece  of  me- 
tallic open  work  at  once  rich  and  beautiful.  Each  part 
of  the  sacred  building  was  adorned  with  all  the  skill 
known  to  the  art  of  the  times. 

2.  The  Churches,  during  the  early  part  of  the  Middle 
Ages,  were  modelled  after  the  classic  type.  The  ba- 
silica ruled  throughout  Christendom.  But  in  time  the 
pointed  ceiling  and  arch  came  into  use,  and  marked  the 
final  transition,  north  of  the  Alps,  to  the  magnificent 
Gothic,  The  Goths,  who  ruled  in  Ravenna,  employed 
the  Byzantine  style.  These  churches  are  still  preserved, 
and,  because  of  their  rich  and  numerous  mosaics,  are 


CHRISTIAN    ART. 


19 


MINIATURE    PORTRAIT  OF  KING   CHARLES  V.,  FROM    A 

DOCUMENT   DATED    A.D.   1379.       NATIONAL 

ARCHIVES,  PARIS. 


the  best  sources  for  the  study,  from  ecclesiastical  struct- 
ures, of  the  earliest  Christian  usages. 

3.  Stagnation  and  Revival.  The  tenth  century  was 
the  darkest  period,  so  far  as  art  is  concerned,  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  Thei^  was  universal  stagnation.  There 
was  a  pause  in  the  building  of  churches,  and  a  disposi- 
tion to  depart  from  the  Romanesque  style,  and  to 
adopt  the  Gothic.  In  the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth 
centuries  there  was  a  great  revival,  not  only  in  archi- 
tecture, but  in  all  departments  of  art.  There  was  a 
general  casting  away  of  classic  models,  and  the  Gothic 
style  became  universal.  The  Christian  mind  seemed 
disposed  to  abandon  all  relationship  with  the   Greek 


80        SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

and  Roman  public  buildings.  The  very  reminders  of 
them  were  avoided.  The  place  where  the  Christian 
worshipped  was,  to  the  believer  of  the  later  mediaeval 
period,  a  rich  and  living  growth.  There  must  be  flow- 
ers and  leaves  and  vines,  in  all  the  rich  luxuriance  of  a 
German  forest.  The  great  window  must  not  be  of 
transparent  glass,  but  colored  with  all  the  tints  of  the 
rainbow,  so  that  the  rays  falling  on  the  stone  floor  of 
the  cathedral  might  suggest  the  falling  of  the  light 
through  the  leaves  and  branches  of  great  trees  upon 
the  forest  floor.  Then  the  window  itself  must  be  a 
repetition  of  nature  in  her  happiest  mood.  The  Rose 
window  became,  in  all  Gothic  architectui'e,  the  particu- 
lar object  in  which  the  poetic  fancy  and  artistic  skill 
succeeded  in  the  creation  of  one  of  the  most  beautiful 
objects  ever  used  for  the  advancement  of  a  sacred 
building.  During  this  period  the  cathedrals  of  Co- 
logne, Strasburg,  Speyer,  and  other  places  were  built. 
The  Cologne  cathedral  was  modelled  after  designs  of 
Conrad  of  Hochstaden.  It  was  begun  in  the  thirteenth 
century  and  finished  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth.  Er- 
win  of  Steinbach  was  the  architect  of  the  Strasburg  min- 
ster. It  was  begun  a.  d.  1270,  but  Erwin  died  before 
the  completion  of  his  undertaking.  His  daughter  Sabi- 
na  took  his  place  and  carried  on  his  work.  The  minster, 
however,  was  not  finished  until  the  fifteenth  century. 

4.  Glass  Painting,  for  the  ornamentation  of  sacred 
edifices,  came  into  use  in  the  eleventh  century,  with  the 
growing  taste  for  Gothic  architecture.  It  was  first 
used  in  the  monastery  of  Tegernsee,  on  a  lake  of  that 
name  in  the  Bavarian  Highlands,  and  from  that  begin- 
ning it  extended  wherever  the  Gothic  style  was  used  in 
architecture. 

5.  The  Plastic  Arts  revived  simultaneously  with  the 


CURISTIAN  AKT. 


81 


PALACE  OF   THE    POPES    AT    ATIGNON. 


mediaeval  architecture.  Nicolas  of  Pisa,  who  died 
A.D.  1274,  was  the  master  in  the  ornamental  uses  of 
gold  and  copper.  His  genius  made  such  rich  and  beau- 
tiful adaptations  of  these  metals  as  to  attract  many 
into  the  same  profession.  Painting  came  into  use, 
largely  for  the  ornamentation  of  the  interior  of  the  sa- 
cred edifices.  The  Germans  learned  the  ai't  from  the 
Italians,  the  latter  having  derived  their  models  from 
Byzantium.  But  the  Italians  improved  upon  their  By- 
zantine originals.  These  were  stiff  and  formal.  But 
in  Italian  hands  they  became  soft  and  pleasing,  Giun- 
ta  of  Pisa,  Cimabue  of  Florence,  and  Guido  of  Sienna 
were  the  first  Italians  to  take  away  the  sharpness  of 
the  Byzantine  style,  and  to  clothe  the  images  of  Jesus 
and  the  Mother  with  that  gentleness  and  attractive- 
ness which  culminated  in  the  masterpieces  of  the  school 
of  Raphael. 
6 


CUAPTER    XXII. 
CHRISTIAN    WORSHIP. 

1.  The  Pilgrimages  to  the  Holy  Land,  and  the  progress 
of  the  Crusades,  increased  the  importance  of  church 
building.  Relics  brought  back  to  every  part  of  Chris- 
tendom awakened  a  desire  to  construct  beautiful  chap- 
els, and  even  great  cathedrals,  as  fit  depositories  for 
such  priceless  memorials  of  early  Christian  life  ;  and 
when  these  places  were  erected,  the  images  were 
adorned  with  such  stores  of  gold,  silver,  and  precious 
stones  as  to  bewilder  the  worshipper. 

2.  The  Sermon.  The  prevalence  of  monasticism  add- 
ed largely  to  the  importance  of  this  part  of  public  wor- 
ship. To  establish  a  new  order,  or  to  found  a  new 
crusade,  there  must  be  a  vigorous  appeal  to  the  peo- 
ple. The  monks  were  close  students  of  human  nature, 
and  were  acquainted  with  all  the  mysteries  of  popular 
oratory.  Many  of  them  could  sway  an  audience  in 
the  edge  of  a  great  forest,  on  the  shore  of  a  lake,  or  in 
a  market-place,  with  infinite  ease.  The  religious  fervor 
added  vastly  to  the  rhetorical  eifect.  Peter  the  Her- 
mit, when  preaching  his  crusade,  placed  religious  mo- 
tives in  the  foreground.  His  audiences  consisted  of 
many  thousands.  He  would  preach  until  so  wearied 
that  he  was  compelled  to  lie  upon  the  ground.  He 
would  then  gasp  his  words,  and  these  inaudible  speeches 
were  even  more  powerful  in  awakening  sympathy  for 
his  cause  than  his  loudest  utterances.     \lo  was  vener- 


CUEISTIAN    WORSHIP.  83 

ated  as  a  saint  while  yet  alive.  His  very  hairs  were 
preserved  by  the  pious,  and  regarded  with  peculiar 
sanctity.  Bevnhard,  also,  was  a  celebrated  jireacher,  and 
the  people  never  tired  of  listening  to  his  magnetic  ap- 
peals. Berthold  of  Ratisbon,  however,  was  the  greatest 
of  all  the  mediaeval  preachers.  His  audience  sometimes 
amounted  to  one  hundred  thousand  people.  He  was  a 
voice  crying  in  the  wilderness.  Like  Tauler,  of  a 
later  period,  he  declared  in  favor  of  a  revival  of  spirit- 
ual life.  He  denounced  indulgences,  and  all  Romish 
errors,  with  all  the  fire  and  indignation  of  Luther.  The 
general  preaching  in  the  sacred  buildings  was  in  the 
Latin  tongue.  But  the  Crusades,  and  the  advocacy  of 
the  orders,  and  all  the  preaching  to  the  great  out-door 
audiences,  were  in  the  vernacular. 

3.  Sacred  Music.  As  in  art,  so  in  sacred  music,  there 
was  the  same  disposition  in  the  Latin  Church  to  depart 
from  Eastern  models.  The  Gregorian  chants,  so  long 
in  use,  grew  into  neglect  in  the  West.  The  music  be- 
came more  varied  and  involved.  The  Ambrosian  mel- 
odies took  the  place  of  the  older  models.  Duets  became 
common.  Constant  improvements  were  going  on,  and 
the  choral  service  in  the  cathedrals  was  cultivated  to 
such  an  extent  that  it  eclipsed  all  other  parts  of  the  de- 
votional exercises.  Hucbald,  who  lived  about  a.d.  900, 
Reginus  (920),  Odo,  Abbot  of  Clugny,  and  Guido  of 
Arezzo  (1000-1050),  stood  in  the  front  rank  as  leaders 
in  the  development  of  sacred  music  in  Western  Chris- 
tendom. 

4.  Hymnology  increased  in  importance  commcnsu- 
rately  with  the  melody.  There  was  not  only  a  copious 
recasting  of  the  earlier  Greek  hymns  into  the  Latin, 
but  also  into  the  popular  languages.  There  was,  hc- 
sides,  a  disposition  towards  original  composition.     The 


84        SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

tendency  towards  sacred  hymns  was  promoted  by  the 
Minnesingers,  many  of  whose  popular  rhymes  Avere 
interwoven  with  religious  threads.  Among  the  best 
Christian  poets  of  the  mediaeval  period  we  may  men- 
tion Robert,  King  of  France,  Abelard,  St.  Bernard, 
Adam  of  St.  Victor,  Thomas  Aquinas,  Bonaventura, 
Thomas  of  Celano,  and  Jacoponus,  Thomas  of  Celano 
wrote  the  celebrated  "  Dies  Irne  :" 

".Dies  irae,  dies  ilia, 
Solvet  saeclum  in  favilla, 
Teste  David  cum  Sibylla." 

Jacoponus  wrote  the  "Stabat  Mater:" 

"  Stabat  mater  dolorosa 
Juxta  cruccm  lacrymosa, 

Dum  pendebat  Filius : 
Ciijus  auimain  gemcntem, 
Contristatam  ac  dolentem, 

Pertransivit  gladius." 


Chapter   XXIII. 
THE  crusades:  a.d.  1096-1272. 

1.  The  Origin  of  the  Crusades  is  to  be  found  in  the 
occupation  of  Palestine  by  the  Mohammedan  conquer- 
ors. The  pilgrims  from  Europe  cherished  the  warmest 
attachment  to  the  sacred  places.  The  Mohammedans 
not  only  now  occupied  them,  but  persecuted  the  pil- 
grims. The  sanctuaries  were  profaned,  and  the  ven- 
erated patriarchs  thrown  into  prison.  Christian  mer- 
chants from  Pisa,  Amalfi,  Genoa,  and  other  rich  Italian 
ports  were  fortunate  if  they  escaped  with  their  lives. 
The  evil  reports  came  back  to  Europe,  and  took  prac- 
tical form  in  military  expeditions  against  the  Moham- 
medans. These  were  called  Crusades  because  of  the 
cross  {crux)  worn  by  the  warriors. 

2.  Peter  the  Hermit  was  the  apostle  of  the  first  Cru- 
sade. Pope  Gregory  VII.  was  the  first,  it  is  believed, 
who  conceived  the  idea  of  sending  from  Europe  an 
armed  expedition,  not  only  to  punish  the  Mohammedan 
rulers,  but  to  occupy  the  country,  and  rule  it  as  a  Chris- 
tian nation.  His  successors,  Victor  III.  and  Urban  II., 
indulged  the  same  strong  hope.  All  that  was  wanting 
was  a  popular  leader — some  one  to  fire  the  h,eart  of 
Christian  Europe.  This  man  was  Peter  the  Hermit. 
He  had  been  a  soldier  under  the  counts  of  Boulogne, 
but  forsook  his  military  career,  made  a  journey  to  Pal- 
estine, and  saw  the  indignities  suffered  by  the  pilgrims. 
Here  he  was  aroused  to  great  enthusiasm  in  favor  of 


80      SHORT  HISTORY  of  the  medieval  church. 

the  conquest  of  the  country  by  Christians  from  Europe. 
To  Simeon,  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  wlio  was  com- 
paratively helpless,  the  Eastern  emperor  not  being  able 
to  do  anything  for  the  Christians,  Peter  said:  "The 
nations  of  the  West  shall  take  up  arms  in  your  cause." 
Peter  was  true  to  his  pledge.  He  returned  to  Europe, 
travelled  through  the  German  countries,  and  aroused 
the  people  to  a  frenzy  of  indignation  against  the  Mos- 
lem faith.  He  j^resented  a  singular  spectacle.  He  was 
a  dwarf,  wore  neither  shoes  nor  hat,  and  rode  through 
Central  Europe  on  an  ass.  His  appeals  were  irresist- 
ible. The  multitudes  regarded  him  as  the  represent- 
ative of  a  holy  cause,  and  through  him  organized  the 
first  Crusade. 

3.  The  Varied  Fortunes  of  the  Crusades  furnish  a  strik- 
ing historical  picture.  We  find  a  rich  combination  of 
light  and  shade.  Peter  the  Hermit  and  Walter  the 
Penniless  were  the  humble  organizers  of  the  great 
movement.  Some  military  leaders  rallied  to  their 
standard.  The  best  blood  of  Europe  was  burning  with 
sympathy  with  Christians  in  their  aspirations  to  kneel 
beside  the  Holy  Sepulchre  at  Jerusalem  and  rule  over 
the  land  in  which  Jesus  had  lived.  Six  different  armies 
constituted  the  first  Crusade.  They  numbered  six  hun- 
dred thousand  people,  who  were  led  by  Godfrey,  Hugh 
the  Great,  Tancred,  Raymond  of  Toulouse,  and  Robert 
of  Normandy.  This  Crusade,  begun  a.d.  1096,  resulted 
in  the  capture  of  Jerusalem  within  two  years,  with 
Godfrey  of  Bouillon  as  king  of  the  sacred  city. 

The  next  Crusade  was  on  a  still  more  magnificent 
scale.  The  kingdom  of  Jerusalem  was  threatened.  St. 
Bernard  was  the  apostle.  The  kings  became  leaders. 
Louis  VII.  of  France  and  Conrad  III.  of  Germany  led 
one  million  two  hundred  thousand  men  against  the 


THE   CBUSADES. 


87 


Saracens.  The  great  object  was  to  reduce  Damascus, 
as  a  su23povt  to  the  kingdom  of  Jerusalem.  It  Avas  a 
faihire,  and  only  the  mere  fragments  of  the  armies 
reached  Europe  again.  Saladin,  the  great  Moham- 
medan chief,  conquered  Jerusalem  a.d.  1187,  and  this 
was  the  signal  for  a  new  attempt  to  rescue  the  Holy 


••'> 


jekusalem:  sides  attacked  by  crusaders. 


City  and  the  entire  country.  Germany  under  Frederic 
Barbarossa,  France  under  Philip  Augustus,  and  Eng- 
land under  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion,  united  in  a  great  Cru- 
sade. This  was  a  failure,  because  of  division  among 
the  leaders.  But  they  succeeded  in  gaining  from  Sala- 
din one  concession — namely,  the  freedom  of  Christians 


88         SUOliT    HISTOKY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

from  taxes.  A  fourth  Crusade,  begun  by  the  Knights 
of  St.  John,  proved  a  failure.  The  Boy  Crusade,  or- 
ganized A.D.  1212,  shows  the  extent  to  which  the  wild 
fanaticism  of  the  times  could  go.  Thirty  thousand 
boys,  united  under  the  leadership  of  a  shepherd  boy, 
Stephen  of  Vendome,  set  sail  from  Marseilles  for  Pal- 
estine. Some  of  the  vessels  were  wrecked,  while  the 
rest  were  driven  ashore  on  the  Egyptian  coast,  where 
the  deluded  boys  were  sold  as  slaves.  The  sixth  Cru- 
sade, under  the  direction  of  Frederic  II.  of  Germany, 
proved  a  success,  Palestine  was  ceded  to  the  emperor 
and  became  a  Christian  land.  The  seventh  Crusade 
lost  all  that  the  preceding  had  won.  The  Moham- 
medans recaptured  the  country.  The  last  Crusade  was 
under  the  guidance  of  Louis  IX.  of  France,  commonly 
called  St.  Louis,  because  of  his  deej)  piety  and  high 
moral  principle.  Keble,  in  his  "  Christian  Year,"  thus 
describes  him : 

"  Where  shall  the  holy  Cross  find  rest  ? 
On  a  crown'd  monarch's  mailed  breast: 
Like  some  bright  angel  o'er  the  darkling  scene, 
Through  court  and  camp  he  holds  his  heavenward  course  serene." 

After  his  death  Edward  I.  of  England  took  the  leader- 
ship. But  this  Crusade  also  was  a  hopeless  failure. 
The  land  was  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  Moham- 
medans. Europe  was  exhausted.  The  cause  was  lost. 
4.  The  Arrest  of  Mohammedanism.  While  the  direct 
object  of  the  Crusades  was  not  gained,  there  were  im- 
portant indirect  results.  First  of  all,  it  is  likely  that, 
but  for  this  important  diversion  to  the  Moslem  con- 
querors, they  would  have  invaded  Europe  in  such  vast 
masses  as  to  gain  a  permanent  foothold.  The  bravery 
of  the  Christians,  their  ungovernable  enthusiasm,  and 


THE    CRUSADES.  89 

their  self-denial,  as  shown  in  the  Crusades,  proved  to 
the  Mohammedans  the  character  of  the  foe  with  Avhich 
they  had  to  deal.  They  found  that  the  Western  and 
Northern  Christians  were  far  different  from  those  pop- 
ulations of  the  Eastern  Empire  which  they  had  easily 
conquered.  The  Crusades,  with  all  their  waste  of  men 
and  treasure,  seem  to  have  saved  France  and  Central 
Germany  and  Scandinavia,  and  even  Britain,  from  the 
hand  of  the  Saracen.  They  arrested  him,  held  him 
at  bay,  and  inspired  in  him  a  healthy  terror  of  the 
Christian  soldier  from  which  he  has  never  been  relieved. 
5.  The  Positive  Benefits  of  the  Crusades  towards  the 
development  of  the  people  are  numerous.  The  old 
feudal  system  of  private  warfare  had  long  been  a  curse 
to  the  empire.  The  knight,  with  his  retainers,  could 
make  war  on  his  brother  knight.  All  of  Central  and 
Western  Europe  was  torn  up  by  this  feudal  and  preda- 
tory system.  The  Crusades  broke  it  up,  and  bound  the 
people  together  by  a  common  law.  When  the  last 
Crusader  came  home  from  Palestine  he  found  himself 
the  member  of  a  broad  commonwealth,  and  not  the  head 
of  a  clan.  The  cruelty  of  rulers  was  arrested.  The 
voice  of  the  people  was  heard  for  the  first  time,  and 
kings  learned  that  there  was  a  limit  to  their  authority. 
Commerce  took  larger  and  freer  shape.  The  far  East- 
ern countries  were  brought  into  close  relationship  with 
the  Western.  Some  new  sciences,  such  as  medicine  and 
astronomy,  were  introduced  into  Europe.  As  a  field 
for  literature,  the  Crusades  have  inspired  many  writers 
in  all  subsequent  times.  As  an  aid  for  comprehending 
their  spirit  and  the  age  in  which  they  were  organized, 
we  may  reckon  Sir  Walter  Scott's  novels,  "  The  Talis- 
man," "  The  Betrothed,"  and  "  Count  Robert  of  Paris," 
the  scenes  of  which  are  laid  in  those  heated  times. 


Chapter  XXIV. 

ARABIC     PHILOSOPHY. 

1.  The  Literature  of  the  Arabs  developed  in  an  extraor- 
dinary manner  during  the  eleventh  and  twelfth  cen- 
turies. With  the  thirteenth  century  it  went  into  de- 
cline. There  was  a  strong  bond  of  unity  between  the 
Jew  and  the  Arab.  They  were  both  alike  hostile  to 
Christianity,  and  the  monotheism  of  the  Jewish  system 
was  a  fundamental  factor  in  the  Mohammedan  creed. 
When  the  Arabs  conquered  Spain  they  gave  prompt 
attention  to  education.  The  universities  of  Cordova, 
Seville,  Toledo,  and  Salamanca  became,  through  them, 
centres  of  thought,  which  affected  not  only  the  whole 
Iberian  peninsula,  but  extended  to  the  remotest  learned 
circles  of  Europe.  The  Aristotelian  philosophy  was 
peculiarly  attractive  to  them.  The  Arab  scholars 
caught  up  its  threads,  interwove  them  with  their  own 
Oriental  speculations,  and  produced  a  system  of  dialec- 
tics which  Christian  scholars  were  not  slow  to  utilize. 
The  Platonic  system,  with  its  warmth,  had  also  its 
charm,  and  was  interpreted  with  great  vigor  and  skill. 

2.  Algazel,  who  died  a.d.  1127,  in  Bagdad,  was  a 
learned  Arab,  who  gave  proof  of  the  speculative  power 
of  the  Arab  mind  even. without  the  quickening  influ- 
ence of  contact  Avith  European  thought.  In  his  "  De- 
struction of  the  Philosophers "  he  showed  the  glaring 
inconsistencies  of  philosophical  systems,  vindicated 
supernaturalism,  and  defended  the  inspiration  of  the 


AEABIC    PHILOSOPHY,  91 

Koran.  His  work  was  a  skilful  putting  of  the  Moham- 
medan case,  perhaps  as  plausible  a  plea  for  it  as  has 
ever  been  made. 

3.  The  Spanish  Transplantation  of  Arab  speculation  is 
to  be  found  in  the  work  of  Tophail,  who  died  in  Seville, 
A.D.  1190.  In  his  "Life  of  a  Young  Yokdan"  he  un- 
dertakes to  show  that  true  philosophy  is  not  the  prod- 
uct of  education,  or  of  any  force  from  the  external 
world,  but  of  an  effort  of  the  mind  from  its  own  re- 
sources. 

4.  Averrhoes,  who  died  a.d.  1206,  was  the  most  gifted 
of  all  the  Arab  thinkers  resident  in  Spain.  He  wrote 
against  Algazel's  work,  calling  his  own  book  the  "De- 
struction of  the  Destruction  of  the  Philosophers."  He 
brought  the  Arab  speculation  out  of  the  narrow  affilia- 
tions with  the  Mohammedan  system,  and  gave  it  a  uni- 
versal application.  He  held  that  true  religion  and 
a  thoroughly  logical  speculation  belong  together,  for 
the  reason  that  the  divine  and  human  reason  are  natu- 
rally united.  He  expounded  the  philosophy  of  Aristotle, 
and  gave  it  a  neo-Platonic  coloring.  His  system  was 
a  grouping  of  the  better  elements  in  both  Plato  and 
Aristotle.  The  systems  of  Christian  scholasticism, 
were  based  largely  on  his  speculations. 


Chapter  XXV. 

THE    UOUENSTAUFENS    IN    ITALY. 

1.  The  Italian  Rule  of  the  Hohenstaufens  is  one  of  the 
most  romantic  episodes  in  European  history.    Frederic 
II.,  otherwise  called  Frederic  Barbarossa,  or  the  Red 
Beard,  was  a  man  of  remarkable  genius.     Since  the 
time  of  Charlemagne  he  was  the  most  gifted  occupant 
of  the  German  imperial  throne.    He  gave  profound  at- 
tention to  his  dominions  in  Sicily.     He  had  advised 
the  settlement  there  of  a  colony  of  Saracens.     The 
little  affair  was  an  outgrowth  of  the  Crusades.     Here 
he  had  a  small  army  which  stood  ready  to  defend  his 
cause.     When  he  was  crowned  at  Aix  la  Chapelle  he 
took  upon  himself  the  vow  of  the  Crusader.    His  wife, 
lolante,  was  heiress  of  the  crown  of  Jerusalem,  and  in 
1228  he  set  sail  for  Palestine.     Here  he  was  crowned 
King   of  Jerusalem.     His  possessions   in  Italy   were, 
meanwhile,  in  danger  of  being  blotted  out,  through  the 
vigorous  management  of  Pope  Gregory  IX.     Gregory 
had  excommunicated  him,  ostensibly  for  delaying  his 
departure  for  Palestine,  but  really,  as  we  believe,  to 
make  him  so  unpopular  with  his  people  in  the  kingdom 
of  the  Two  Sicilies  that  his  rule  could  be  terminated. 
But  here  Gregory  failed.     He  Avas  compelled  to  ac- 
knowledge Frederic  as  rightful  ruler  over  the  Two 
Sicilies.     However,  the  struggles  between  Frederic  and 
the  popes  continued  from  year  to  year.     The  popes 
used  their  utmost  influence  to  Aveaken  the  force  of  the 
emperor,  not  only  among  his  Sicilian  subjects,  but  in 
Germany  as  well. 


THE    HOHENSTAUFENS   IN    ITALY.  93 

2.  The  Fall  of  the  Hohenstaufens  in  Sicily  was  only  a 
question  of  time.  When  Frederic  died  the  case  was 
hoijeless.  Pope  Innocent  IV.  declared  that  Sicily  was 
really  a  part  of  the  States  of  the  Church,  and  so  took 
possession  of  it.  Conrad  IV.  left  Germany  to  take 
care  of  itself,  and  undertook  to  regain  the  hold  on 
Sicily.  Conrad  died  before  the  struggle  was  over,  and 
his  son  Conradin  found  not  only  a  slender  hold  on 
Sicily,  but  only  a  mere  tithe  of  the  ancestral  posses- 
sions in  Germany  as  his  inheritance.  At  first,  Man- 
fred, a  natural  son  of  Frederic,  took  possession  of  the 
Two  Sicilies,  and  held  them  against  the  forces  and 
manipulation  of  the  Roman  pope.  What  should  the 
popes  now  do  ?  They  followed  one  another  in  rapid 
succession,  but  each  one  kept  a  careful  eye  on  Sicily. 
They  gave  up  the  struggle  at  last,  because  of  the  fidel- 
ity of  the  Sicilies  to  the  Hohenstaufens,  and  sold  their 
alleged  right  to  the  Sicilies  first  to  England  and  then 
to  France.  Pope  Clement  IV.  aided  Charles  of  Anjou 
to  take  possession  of  the  Sicilian  kingdom.  Charles 
was  crowned  king,  after  the  battle  of  Benevento,  in 
1266,  when  Manfred  was  slain.  Conradin  now  came 
down  from  Suabia,  and  appeared  upon  the  scene.  He 
was  defeated  in  the  battle  of  Tagliacozzo,  and  taken 
prisoner  and  put  to  death  in  1268. 

3.  The  End.  This  put  an  end  to  the  German  rule 
south  of  the  Alps,  The  popes  were  once  more  at  ease, 
so  far  as  Italy  was  concerned.  It  had  been  a  bitter 
struggle.  Though  their  rule  was  restored,  the  bitter 
hostility  which  it  had  engendered  on  the  part  of  Ger- 
many did  not  die  out.  The  German  rulers  never  for- 
got the  affair,  and,  in  the  later  centuries,  lost  no  oppor- 
tunity to  put  their  bitter  memories  in  practical  form 
against  the  papacy. 


Chapter  XXVI. 

THE    JEWISH    PHILOSOPHY. 

1.  The  Development  of  Jewish  Speculation  was  con- 
temporaneous with  the  Arabic,  being  confined  to  the 
eleventh  and  twelftli  centuries.  It  was  the  old  neo- 
Platonism  of  Alexandria  coming  to  life  again,  and  re- 
appearing with  intense  vigor  in  Spain.  There  was  no 
special  attachment  to  the  Old  Testament,  but  a  gather- 
ing into  one  of  the  various  threads  of  Plato  and  other 
Greek  thinkers,  and  their  interweaving  with  Jewish 
theology.  The  result  was  a  philosophical  theology 
made  up  of  the  Old-Testament  Scriptures  and  the  phil- 
osophical systems,  but  with  a  warm  sympathy  Avith 
Mohammedanism.  It  was  of  so  complex  a  nature  tliat 
neither  Moses,  Plato,  nor  Mohammed  Avould  have  rec- 
ognized himself  in  any  one  of  its  fundamental  princi- 
ples. 

2.  Grammatical  Exegesis  was  one  of  the  main  de])art- 
ments  of  Jewish  philoso])hy.  The  leading  representa- 
tives Avere  Solomon  Isaaki,  of  Troyes;  Aben  Ezra,  of 
Toledo,  and  the  three  Kimchi,  of  Narbonne.  These 
men  flourished  between  a.d.  1075  and  1232.  There  Avas 
nothing  brilliant  in  the  achicA'cments  of  any  of  them, 
or  of  those  Avho  imitated  them.  But  their  critical 
tastes  and  the  application  of  exact  methods  to  the  ex- 
pounding of  the  Scriptures  were  of  great  influence 
upon  Christian  scholars.  There  is  reason  to  suppose 
that  tliis   school   of  Jewish  thinkers,  though  far  re- 


THE   JEWISH    PHILOSOPHY.  95 

moved  from  the  great  centres  of  Christian  learning, 
were  influential  on  the  later  rise  of  Humanism  and  the 
general  awakening  of  a  taste  for  the  philological  exam- 
ination of  the  scriptural  languages. 

3.  Philosophical  Speculation  was  the  other  wing  of 
the  Jewish  eagle  in  the  mediaeval  period.  Here  the 
Jewish  thinker  dwelt  with  greatest  pleasure.  His  field 
was  broad.  All  systems  and  lands  were  combined. 
Christianitj^,  Greek  philosophy,  and  Mohammedanism 
were  a  confused  molten  mass.  These  elements  pro- 
duced the  later  cabalism. 

4.  Jehuda  Levi,  of  Andalusia  (died  1153),  had  less 
sympathy  with  other  systems  than  with  the  Jewish. 
His  "  Book  of  Cossi "  was  a  romance.  It  represents  a 
king  of  the  Cosaraeans  and  a  rabbi,  Isaac  Sangar,  who 
conduct  a  dialogue.  The  outcome  is  a  vindication  of 
the  Jewish  religion. 

5.  Maimonides  was  the  most  gifted  Jew  of  the  whole 
raedijBval  period.  He  stands  related  to  Jewish  specu- 
lation as  Averrhoes  does  to  Arabic — each  supreme  in 
his  own  field.  There  was  a  close  bond  of  sympathy 
between  them.  The  Jew  was  the  disciple  of  the  Arab. 
Maimonides  was  born  a.b.  1135,  in  Cordova.  He  mas- 
tered the  Greek  and  Arabic  systems  of  philosophy,  and 
became  an  industrious  author  and  profound  thinker  in 
many  fields.  Besides  his  devotion  to  jihilosophy,  he 
was  skilled  in  mathematics,  astronomy,  medicine,  and 
Talmudic  lore.  He  was  an  earnest  and  serious  moral 
and  religious  character.  His  works  were  very  numer- 
ous, in  both  Arabic  and  Hebrew.  But  his  most  influ- 
ential book  was  of  popular  character — "  The  Guide  to 
the  Perplexed."  It  was  a  well-planned  attempt  to  rec- 
oncile Jewish  theology  and  heathen  philosophy. 


Chapter  XXVIL 
the  scholastic  philosophy. 

1.  General  Qualities.  Scholasticism  derived  its  name 
from  the  monastic  and  catholic  schools  —  scholae.  It 
was  a  system  of  philosophy  which  emanated  from  those 
schools,  and  gave  color  to  the  thought  of  Europe  from 
the  tenth  century  down  to  the  sixteenth.  It  was  based 
on  the  dialectics  of  Aristotle,  and  aimed  to  prove  the 
truth  of  Christianity  by  the  process  of  logic.  Its  his- 
tory was  varied.  At  one  time  scholasticism  was  scep- 
tical, refusing  to  admit  as  truth  what  could  not  be 
proven  by  dialectics.  Again,  it  became  orthodox,  and 
was  a  stout  defender  of  the  supernatural  element.  In 
the  thirteenth  century  it  reached  its  highest  stage. 

2.  Mysticism  appeared  in  the  twelfth  century  as  the 
competitor  of  scholasticism  for  the  attention  and  en- 
dorsement of  Christian  thinkers.  The  two  represented 
opposite  tendencies.  Scholasticism  declared  that  the 
intellect  must  be  the  umpire  of  truth,  while  mysticism 
held  that  the  feelings  are  our  highest  judge  of  the 
truth.  SchoLasticisra  was  to  the  Middle  Asfes  what 
rationalism  is  to  the  modern  period  —  what  cannot  be 
proved  must  not  be  believed.  Mysticism  bore  to  the 
same  period  the  relation  which  Schleiermacher's  phi- 
losophy of  religion  docs  to  the  German  theology  of  the 
present  century — the  heart  is  the  seat  of  all  true  theol- 
ogy. Scholasticism  had  but  slight  bearinsf  on  the  erreat 
spiritual  movement  which  culminated  in  the  Reforma- 


THE    SCHOLASTIC   PHILOSOrHY.  97 

tion,  while  the  Mystics  were  among  the  most  powerful 
agents  in  preparing  the  way  for  Luther. 

3.  Nominalists  and  Realists.  The  Nominalists  held 
that  general  conceptions,  such  as  man,  horse,  and  the 
like,  are  abstractions  of  the  intellect,  derived  from  the 
properties  of  the  intellect,  and  possessing  no  existence 
beyond  the  intellect ;  that  they  are  logical  conven- 
iences of  expression — nomina  mera,  voces  nudae,  fiatus 
vocis  (mere  names,  simple  sounds,  the  breath  of  the 
voice).  The  system  has  its  modern  supporters  in  Ilobbes, 
Berkeley,  Hume,  Adam  Smith,  Stewart,  and  Hamilton. 
The  Realists  held  that  general  conceptions  have  an  ex- 
istence beyond  the  mere  intellect  of  man;  that  such 
general  terms  as  man,  horse,  and  the  like  have  a  real 
existence  aj^art  from  the  manifestations  to  our  senses. 
The  Nominalist  believed,  for  example,  that,  taking  man 
as  a  general  conception,  "humanity  existed  only  in 
Socrates,  Plato,  Phajdo,  and  other  individuals;  that  the 
term  was  only  an  intellectual  device  for  indicating  the 
common  properties  characteristic  of  Socrates,  Plato, 
and  Plioedo,  by  giving  them  the  general  name  Man, 
and  thus  embracing  them  in  one  class."  The  Realist, 
on  the  other  hand,  believed  that,  "  before  Socrates, 
Plato,  and  Phjsdo,  or  any  other  individual  men  exist- 
ed, Man,  as  an  abstract  idea,  had  an  essential  and  im- 
mutable reality,  and  that  Socrates,  Plato,  and  Phffido 
were  men  solely  in  consequence  of  possessing  this  ideal 
manhood."  Between  these  two  classes,  the  Nominal- 
ists and  the  Realists,  the  whole  scholastic  system  was 
divided. 

4,  Fulbert  and  other  Schoolmen.  Fulbert,  who  was 
Bishop  of  Chartres  after  A.r>.  1007,  was  the  first  notable 
Schoolman.  His  disciple,  Berengar  of  Tours,  started 
a  controversy  on  the  Lord's  Supper.     He  held  that  the 

7 


98         SHORT   HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

elements  were  changed,  that  Christ's  body  is  present, 
but  only  in  the  form  of  bread  and  wine,  and,  not  in 
substance.  The  participant  must  have  faith,  for  by 
this  alone  can  the  elements  become  effective.  Beren- 
gar  was  op})Osed  by  Lanfranc,  whose  views  were  con- 
demned by  the  Church  at  the  Synod  of  Rome,  a.d, 
1050.  Anselm,  in  his  "Why  the  God -Man?"  held 
that  Christ  made  an  active  vicarious  sacrifice  for  the 
sins  of  the  Avorld.  But  Anselm  does  not  declare  that 
Christ  endured,  the  actual  punishment  for  men's  sins. 
Abelard  represented  the  critical  and  sceptical  element 
in  scholasticism.  As  to  the  schools,  he  was  a  Nomi- 
nalist, rather  than  a  Realist.  Bernard  arrayed  himself 
against  Abelard,  and  triumphed.  A  moderate  com- 
promise was  effected  between  mysticism  and  scholas- 
ticism by  Peter  Lombard.  But  the  elements  were  too 
antagonistic  to  be  of  large  or  permanent  influence. 

5.  The  Thomists.  The  Thomists  and  Scotists  were  . 
two  culminating  schools  within  the  broad  domain  of 
scholasticism,  Thomas  Aquinas,  the  "  Doctor  Angeli- 
cas "  of  his  age,  taught  in  the  University  of  Paris, 
and  died  in  Rome  a.d.  1274.  His  "Summary  of  Theol- 
ogy" was  an  attempt  to  represent  theology  as  a  com- 
plete science.  He  held  that  revelation  is  necessary ; 
that  the  knowledge  of  God  is,  in  a  measure,  intuitive 
in  man  ;  that  redemption  is  relatively,  not  absolutely, 
necessary,  and  that  baptism  has  regenerative  power. 
He  claimed  that  true  theology  is  derived  from  the  union 
of  religion  and  philosophy.  His  system  represented 
the  orthodox  element  of  the  scholastic  philosophy. 

6.  The  Scotists  derived  their  name  from  the  founder, 
John  Duns  Scotus,  the  "  Doctor  Subtilis  "  of  his  time. 
He  died  a.d.  1308.  AYhile  Aquinas  represented  the 
Augustinian  Theology,  and  was  a  defender  of  the  es- 


THE    SCHOLASTIC    PHILOSOPHY.  99 

tablislied  doctrines  of  the  Church,  Duns  Scotus  fol- 
lowed in  the  footstejis  of  Pelagius,  and  represented 
the  free-thinking-  wing  of  scholasticism.  He  held  that 
by  our  natural  powers  we  can  know  the  Trinity;  that 
it  was  God's  own  good  pleasure  that  there  should  be 
a  redemption  through  Christ;  but  that  God  does  not 
command  good  and  forbid  evil  because  they  are  good 
and  evil;  they  are  good  and  evil  because  he  has  com- 
manded and  forbidden.  Nothing  is  sinful  or  righteous 
in  itself.  Duns  Scotus  gives  large  place  to  human  merit, 
after  the  semi-Pelagian  example.  Johnson,  in  his  Eng- 
lish Dictionary,  suggests  that  our  Avord  dunce  is  de- 
rived from  Duns — an  achievement  of  his  opponents, 
the  Thomists. 

7.  Raymond  Lully  (died  a.d.  1314)  was  called  by  his 
contemjDoraries  the  "  Doctor  lUuminatus."  He  saw  in  the 
course  of  scholasticism  only  injury  to  the  general  cause 
of  truth,  and  aimed  at  a  thorough  reform.  He  devised 
a  plan  for  teaching  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  and  called 
his  method  the  ars  magna,  or  great  art.  He  used  cer- 
tain letters  to  represent  certain  ideas.  His  plan  was 
mechanical,  not  only  to  retain  knowledge,  but  to  i^rove 
the  truths  of  Christianity.  He  was  of  devout  spirit 
and  led  a  pure  life.  Neander  says  of  him,  that  he  pos- 
sessed "  the  enthusiasm  of  a  most  fervent  love  to  God, 
a  zeal  equally  intense  for  the  cause  of  faith  and  the 
interests  of  reason  and  science."  Lully  misconceived 
the  emptiness  of  scholasticism.  Even  with  all  his  en- 
thusiasm he  could  not  galvanize  it  into  an  hour's  thor- 
ough life.     For  his  pains  he  was  stoned  to  death. 

8.  Opponents  of  Scholasticism.  Some  clear  thinkers, 
seeing  no  prospect  of  advantage  to  the  Church  from 
the  Scholastics,  declared  for  the  teaching  of  religion  by 
the  Scriptui'es,  and  not  by  pagan  dialectics.     Roger 


100     SHORT   UlSTOEY    OF   TUE    MEDIEVAL   CIIURCH. 

Bacon,  of  Oxford  (died  a.d.  1294),  held  that  the  only 
relief  from  the  wretched  quibbles  of  the  speculations 
of  the  times  lay  in  a  thorough  study  of  the  word  of 
God.  Robert,  founder  of  the  Sorbonne,  in  Paris,  wrote 
in  defence  of  the  same  necessity  for  a  close  study  of 
the  written  word.  Hugo  a  Santo  Caro  likewise  in- 
sisted on  the  studj-  of  the  Bible  as  the  only  solution 
for  the  evils  of  the  times.  He  wrote  a  Postilla  or 
Commentary,  and  "  Concordance  "  of  the  Biblical  books. 
To  him  we  owe  the  present  division  into  chapters  and 
verses. 

9.  The  Decline  of  Scholasticism.  The  philosophic 
strife  of  the  times  had  long  been  bitter,  and  productive 
of  little  good.  Both  the  Nominalist  and  Realist  had 
sought  to  find  in  the  ancient  philosophy  some  support, 
but  had  leaned  on  a  broken  reed.  The  air  was  filled 
with  war-cries.  The  universities  fought  each  other 
with  a  spirit  not  less  hostile  than  that  of  the  Crusader 
when  he  marched  to  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre. 
Manuscript  books  and  pamphlets  were  hurled  at  each 
other  with  a  relentless  fury.  Towns  and  villages,  cir- 
cles of  the  learned  and  the  ignorant,  and  court  and 
camp,  were  divided  by  bitter  quarrels  on  the  force  of 
logical  definitions.  Not  since  the  theological  contro- 
ve^-sies  of  the  fourth  century  had  Europe  seen  such  a 
picture  of  the  warfare  of  syllables.  The  only  relief  to 
the  waste  of  words  lay  in  the  fact  that  it  gave  proof  of 
the  awakening  of  the  European  mind.  Even  scholas- 
ticism was  better  than  inertia.  In  time  it  had  done 
its  work.  Luther,  Avith  his  strong  besom,  swept  away 
the  thick  mass  of  Aristotelian  dialectics,  and  sowed,  in- 
stead, the  seeds  of  Christian  doctrine. 


Chapter   XXVIII. 

ABELARD    AND    HIS    FORTUNES. 

1.  The  Early  Career  of  Abelard.  Of  all  the  leaders  in 
the  great  scholastic  movement  there  is  no  one  to  whom 
so  great  a  personal  interest  attaches  as  to  Abelard.  He 
gave  promise  at  an  early  age  of  the  remarkable  abili- 
ties which  distinguished  his  entire  career,  and  attracted 
the  profound  attention  of  all  Europe.  His  first  plan 
for  life  seems  to  have  been  the  career  of  a  soldier,  but 
he  soon  devoted  himself  to  theological  studies,  and  here 
achieved  such  success  as  to  astound  alike  his  preceptors 
and  companions.  He  left  his  home,  where  he  had  en- 
joyed the  teaching  of  the  famous  Roscelin  of  Com- 
piegue,  and  repaired  to  Paris. 

2.  "William  of  Champeaux  was  at  this  time  at  the 
head  of  the  Abbey  of  St.  Victor,  which  he  himself  had 
founded,  and  stood  in  the  front  of  the  theological  and 
philosophical  movement  which  had  concentrated  in  that 
city.  He  was  the  first  to  give  to  the  schools  of  Paris 
a  university  character,  and  to  admit  the  laity  as  well 
as  the  clergy,  and  foreigners  as  well  as  natives,  to  the 
privileges  of  the  highest  education  within  the  walls  of 
a  school  of  the  Church.  His  liberal  movement  in  this 
direction  was  the  death-knell  of  exclusionism  in  educa- 
tion, and  the  real  preparation  for  the  recognition,  in  all 
later  time,  of  the  rights  of  the  poorest  and  humblest 
to  all  the  wealth  of  science.  Abelard  placed  himself 
under  the  charge  of  William   and    developed   with 


102      SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL     CHURCH, 

amazing  rapidity.  But  in  two  years'  time  the  young 
student  differed  so  essentially  from  his  master  that  he 
broke  off  his  connection,  and  established  the  Abbey  of 
St.  Genevieve  close  beside  his  master's  renowned  Ab- 
bey of  St.  Victor.  Abclard  emptied  the  walls  of  St. 
Victor.     The  multitudes  gathered  about  him. 

3.  Giving  up  Philosophy  for  Theology.  The  eloquence 
with  which  he  taught,  the  mastery  of  language,  the 
skill  in  logic,  and  the  magnetism  of  his  personality,  at- 
tracted a  constantly  increasing  audience.  To  the  mul- 
titudes who  came  from  various  countries  all  Paris  was 
as  nothing.  He  was  the  one  man  for  whose  Avisdom 
and  example  students  from  all  parts  of  France,  Eng- 
land, Spain,  and  even  Rome  itself,  had  come  Avith  eager 
search.  The  success  of  his  teaching,  and  the  decline  of 
William's  school  through  that  success,  awakened  the 
opposition,  not  only  of  William,  but  of  his  friends  and 
sympathizers.  To  get  away  from  the  persecution  Abe- 
lard  left  Paris,  went  to  Melun,  and  began  to  teach  with 
the  same  success  which  he  had  enjoyed  in  Paris.  He 
went  thence  to  Corbeil,  and  taught  as  before.  Here 
his  health  failed,  and  he  retired  for  several  years  to  his 
native  place,  Palais,  near  Nantes.  He  then  returned  to 
Paris.  From  this  time  he  devoted  himself  entirely  to 
the  study  of  theology.  He  left  Paris  and  Avent  to 
Laon,  Avhere  he  had  as  his  preceptor  the  celebrated 
Anselm.  This  man  soon  became  nnable  to  withstand 
the  boldness  of  Abelard's  ideas  and  the  power  of  his 
eloquence,  and  secured  his  expulsion  from  Laon. 

4.  Return  to  Paris  and  New  Prestige.  Then  Abelard 
returned  to  Paris  and  established  a  new  school,  Avhich 
was  overAvhelmed,  in  a  short  time,  by  throngs  of  stu- 
dents. He  Avas  noAV  at  the  head  of  the  theological 
AA'orld  of  Europe.     His  students  Avere  devoted  to  him, 


ABELARD    AND    UIS    FORTUNES.  103 

and  his  opinions  were  accepted  by  his  admirers  as  final. 
This  school  became  the  very  centre  of  education  for 
such  of  the  clergy  of  Europe  as  desired  a  thorough 
scientific  training.  Guizot  says  of  its  success  :  "  In 
this  celebrated  school  were  trained  one  pope  (Celestine 
II.),  nineteen  cardinals,  more  than  fifty  bishops  and 
archbishops,  French,  English,  and  German,  and  a  much 
larger  number  of  those  men  with  whom  popes,  bishops, 
and  cardinals  had  often  to  contend — such  men  as  Arnold 
of  Brescia  and  others.  The  number  of  pupils  who 
used  at  that  time  to  assemble  round  Abelard  has  been 
estimated  at  upwards  of  five  thousand." 

5.  Abelard'a  Misfortunes.  This  man  was  now  at  the 
zenith  of  his  power.  He  was  employed  by  Fulbert,  a 
canon  of  the  Cathedral  of  Paris,  to  be  the  private 
teacher  of  his  niece,  the  rarely  gifted  Heloise.  He  had 
an  improper  relation  with  her,  and  his  name  was  stained 
by  the  crime  of  which  not  even  his  bitterest  foe  could 
have  had  a  suspicion. 

"  Desire  of  wine,  and  all  delicions  drinks, 
Wliich  many  a  famous  warrior  overturns, 
Thou  couldst  repress ;  nor  did  the  dancing  ruby 
Sparklinf;  outpoured,  the  flavor  or  the  smell, 
Or  taste  that  cheers  the  hearts  of  gods  or  men, 
Allure  thee  from  the  cool  crystalline  stream ; 
But  what  availed  this  temperance,  not  complete, 
Against  another  object,  more  enticing? 
What  boots  it  at  one  gate  to  make  defence, 
And  at  another  to  let  in  the  foe, 
Effeminately  vanquished  ?" 

Abelard  married  Heloise,  but  the  affair  was  kept  a 
secret,  at  her  request.  She  was  willing  to  suffer  dis- 
grace that  his  preferment  might  not  suffer.  He  now 
took  the  vows  of  a  monk,  and  entered  the  convent  of 


104     SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

St.  Denis,  Avhile  Ileloise  took  the  veil  as  a  nun  in  the 
convent  of  Argentenil.  He  continued  to  teach  and  to 
write,  with  broken  spii'it,  but  with  a  multitude  of  ad- 
mirers. He  was  charged  with  heresy  for  certain  re- 
marks in  his  "Introduction  to  Theology,"  and  at  the 
Council  of  Soissons,  in  1121,  he  was  compelled  to  burn 
his  book  with  his  own  hands.  He  afterwards  returned 
to  his  monastery  of  St,  Denis,  but  left  it  and  built  an 
oratory  in  the  name  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  which  he 
called  the  Paraclete,  At  his  death,  in  the  year  1142, 
he  left  his  oratory  to  be  conducted  by  Heloise. 

6,  The  Theological  Position  of  Abelard,  He  exalted 
the  Church  Fathers  to  a  still  higher  position  than  they 
already  occupied,  great  as  it  was,  and  made  no  conces- 
sions to  sceptical  writers.  Here  lay  the  most  difficult 
l^oint  in  the  opposition  by  the  ecclesiastical  authorities 
to  the  direct  teaching  of  Abelard.  Nothing  could  be 
proved,  save  by  inference,  against  his  orthodoxy. 
While  he  assumed  the  unity  of  the  Divine  Being,  he 
held  that  there  were  diversities  of  his  relations,  in  which 
the  Divine  Persons  consist.  He  also  affirmed  a  knowl- 
edge of  God  to  be  arrived  at  by  the  reason.  But  he 
never  claimed  that  this  was  either  complete,  or  accurate, 
or  independent  of  the  full  scriptural  revelation.  His 
works  consist  of  "  Letters  to  Heloise,"  "  Exposition  of 
the  Lord's  Prayer,"  "  Exposition  of  the  Apostolic 
Creed,"  "Exposition  of  the  Athanasian  Creed,"  "Book 
against  Heresies,"  "  Commentary  on  Romans,"  "  Ser- 
mons," "Introduction  to  Theology,"  "Epitome  of 
Christian  Doctrine,"  and  various  works  of  correspond- 
ence. The  general  effect  of  his  teaching  was  to  pro- 
mote a  critical  and  thorough  method  in  Jhe  investiga- 
tion  of  truth. 


Chapter  XXIX. 

GENERAL    LITERATURE. 

1.  Literature  and  Religion.  The  example  of  Charle- 
magne in  rescuing  the  elder  popular  myth  of  the  Franks 
from  oblivion  became  very  influential  upon  the  popular 
taste.  Poets  vied  with  each  other  in  tracing  back  the 
legends  to  their  sources,  and  recasting  them  in  their 
own  style.  The  tendency  was  towards  the  marvellous 
and  exciting.  A  decidedly  religious  character  was 
added,  in  many  instances,  to  the  purely  heathen  thread. 
During  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries  the  poets 
used  the  religious  factor  to  a  remarkable  degree.  Wolf- 
ram of  Eschenbach  added  religious  poetry  to  his  roman- 
tic verse.  His  "  Parceval "  contains  frequent  allusions  to 
the  efficacy  of  the  atonement  and  the  excellence  of  the 
Christian  life.  The  Church  had  its  warm  eulogists  in 
the  troubadours  of  Southern  France.  Walter  of  the 
Vogelwaide  sang  panegyrics  to  the  Holy  Virgin.  Gott- 
fried of  Strasburg  celebrated  the  glories  of  voluntary 
poverty  and  the  longings  of  the  soul  for  heavenly  joy. 

2.  Historians.  The  taste  for  legend  was  closely  al- 
lied to  the  historical  spirit.  The  treatment  was  far 
from  orderly  or  philosophical.  The  best  of  the  histo- 
ries were  mere  chronicles.  The  whole  of  the  thirteenth 
century  was  distinguished  for  its  historical  spirit.  Ar- 
nold of  Ltlbeck  (died  1212)  wrote  the  "Chronicles  of 
the  Sclaves,"  a  work  continued  to  1241  by  Alberich  of 
Liege.     An  important  larger  history  was  produced  by 


106      SHOBT   HISTORY   OF  THE   MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

Matthew  Paris,  of  England,  Avho  died  a.d.  1259.  Chro- 
nological works  were  written  also  by  Martin  Polonus 
and  William  de  Naugis,  of  St.  Denis,  France. 

3.  Religious  Theatricals  were  employed  to  divert  the 
people,  and  at  the  same  time  to  instruct  the  popular 
mind  in  some  of  the  more  dramatic  portions  of  the 
Scriptures.  The  passion  of  Jesus  was  represented  with 
a  realism  which  produced  great  popular  effect.  Multi- 
tudes thronged  from  distant  parts  to  witness,  in  the 
open  air,  all  the  details  of  the  crucifixion.  These  have 
disappeared,  with  the  single  exception  of  the  "  Passion 
Play,"  which  is  still  performed,  every  decade,  in  the 
Bavarian  village  of  Ober-Ammergau.  These  theatricals 
were  likewise  used  for  a  different  purpose — to  hold  up 
the  weaker  side  of  the  priests,  and  even  of  bishops  and 
popes,  to  popular  ridicule.  The  Feast  of  the  Innocents 
was  modelled  after  the  heathen  December  festivities. 

4.  The  Three  Florentine  Poets,  Dante,  Petrarch,  and 
Boccaccio,  introduced  a  severer  taste,  and  elevated  po- 
etry to  a  dignity  entirely  new  to  mediaeval  Europe. 
Dante's  soul  was  stirred  by  the  theological  disputes 
and  papal  misdoings  of  his  day.  He  saw  the  needs  of 
the  people,  and  was  their  champion.  He  regarded  the 
Church  as  utterly  fallen,  its  doctrines  thrown  into  the 
background,  and  its  holy  functions  performed  by  un- 
worthy hands.  He  believed  in  God's  final  justice,  and 
in  his  "  Divine  Comedy "  portrayed  the  certainty  of 
rewards  and  punishments  according  to  the  deeds  done 
in  the  body.  His  whole  life  was  a  tragedy,  due  to 
his  heroic  espousal  of  the  cause  of  justice  in  Church 
and  State.  He  led  the  people  away  from  the  dark 
present  to  a  beautiful  future.  Without  knowing  it,  he 
Avas  the  real  prophet  of  the  better  day  of  the  great  Ref- 
ormation. 


Chapter   XXX, 

THE     GREAT     SCHOOLS. 

1.  The  Decline  after  Alfred  and  Charlemagne  was  very- 
marked.  The  latter  established  fifty  great  schools 
throughout  his  dominions.  Alfred  organized  Oxford, 
and  spared  no  pains  to  make  it  the  centre  of  Anglo- 
Saxon  thought.  He  eni'iched  the  foundations  by  secur- 
ing from  the  Continent  the  best  possible  teachers  and 
the  richest  literary  treasures.  But  schools  suffered  a 
fearful  decline  throughout  the  tenth  century.  With 
the  eleventh  century,  however,  there  came  a  revival  of 
literary  taste,  which  continued  until  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries. 

2.  The  Rise  of  the  University.  Some  of  the  monastic 
schools  now  assumed  larger  proportions,  and  became, 
like  Paris  and  Oxford,  full-fledged  universities.  But 
the  most  of  the  universities  seem  to  have  taken  their 
origin  independently  of  both  Church  and  State.  They 
were  the  popular  creation  of  a  taste  for  learning.  Great 
teachers  appeared  in  certain  cities,  and  their  fame  at- 
tracted students  from  every  quarter,  and  even  distant 
countries.  The  teachers  and  the  students  were  united 
by  a  common  bond.  The  term  Universitas  Magistro- 
rmn  et  Scholaruni,  or  the  Community  of  Masters  and 
Pupils,  became  the  origin  of  the  general  word  Univer- 
sity. At  first,  each  gi-eat  school  was  distinguished  for 
its  devotion  to  one  science,  as  theology  at  Paris  and 
Oxford,  law  at  Bologna,  and  medicine  at  Salerno,     In 


108     SHORT    HISTORY    OF   THE    MEDIJEVAL    CHURCH. 

time  the  university  divided  into  the  four  great  facul- 
ties of  theology,  law,  medicine,  and  philosophy.  This 
division  arose  first  in  Paris,  where  the  mendicant  orders 
were  proscribed  by  the  other  teachers  in  the  university, 
and  constituted  themselves  a  separate  faculty.  This 
division  in  the  faculties  tended  to  increase  the  attend- 
ance of  students.  So  great  was  the  number  that  they 
constituted  an  important  part  of  the  population.  The 
number  ranged  from  ten  thousand  to  twenty  thousand 
in  some  of  the  universities.  They  were  divided,  not 
according  to  the  studies  which  they  pursued,  but  the 
nationalities  which  they  represented,  and  "were  called 
Nations.  Traces  of  this  media3val  division  into  nations 
and  languages  can  be  seen  in  the  present  German  uni- 
versities, especially  the  more  provincial,  where  some 
of  the  clubs  of  students  bear  the  names  of  the  old 
tribal  divisions. 


Chapter  XXXI. 

THE     DIVIDED     PAPACY. 

1.  The  First  Great  Blow  against  the  solidarity  of  the 
papacy  was  struck  by  France,  Germany  was  now  sub- 
missive to  Rome.  England  was  likewise  brought  into 
a  docile  attitude.  Of  all  the  great  powers  France 
alone  remained  independent,  and  continued  disobedi- 
ent. The  traditional  independence  of  the  Galilean 
Church  was  a  rich  inheritance  of  the  kings,  and,  while 
some  were  less  exacting,  others  brought  it  into  a  prom- 
inence at  once  troublesome  and  threatening  to  Rome. 
Philip  IV.  of  France  was  of  the  latter  class.  He 
claimed  to  be  head  of  the  French  Church,  and  rejected 
all  intei'ference  with  his  royal  prerogatives. 

2.  The  Outbreak.  Pope  Boniface  VIII.,  who  ruled 
A.D.  1294-1303,  resolved  on  a  vigorous  policy  towards 
France.  He  determined  to  humble  that  country,  and 
make  it  fall  into  line  with  all  the  other  nations  of  Eu- 
rope. He  found  his  match  in  Philip  IV.  The  two 
were  not  unlike.  Each  was  ambitious,  selfish,  and  in- 
tent on  perfect  independence.  France  was  at  war  with 
England,  then  under  the  rule  of  Edward  I.  Each  of 
those  countries  had  its  strong  and  interested  allies.  On 
the  side  of  England  were  the  German  king  Adolf  of  Nas- 
sau, and  the  Count  of  Flanders.  On  the  side  of  France 
was  the  King  of  Scotland.  Boniface  saw  in  this  great 
conflict  an  opportunity  to  follow  in  the  great  Gregory's 
footsteps,  and  play  tlie  role  of  umpire.    Edward,  in  or- 


110     SHORT   HISTORY   OF   THE   MEDIEVAL   CHURCH. 

der  to  carry  on  the  war,  had  burdened  his  people  with 
heavy  taxes.  Boniface  boldly  issued,  in  1296,  a  spe- 
cial Bull,  the  Clericis  Laicos,  in  which  he  threatened 
Philip  with  excommunication  if  he  levied  such  taxes. 
Philip  replied  indignantly  with  the  words:  "The 
Church  does  not  consist  alone  of  the  clergy,  but  also  of 
laymen;  the  freedom  of  the  Church  is  divided  between 
the  clergy  and  the  laity."  The  pope  saw  that  the  sub- 
jects of  Philip  were  in  sympathy  with  their  king.  He 
was,  therefore,  powerless  in  his  threats.  He  found  him- 
self deprived  of  his  revenues  from  France,  and  feared 
most  serious  consequences.  He  accordingly  resolved 
on  mild  measures.  He  hoped  to  conquer  Philip  by  flat- 
tery. He  even  canonized  Louis  IX.,  the  grandfather 
of  Philip.  A  truce  was  patched  up  between  the  two, 
each  making  concessions.  Philip  accepted  the  arbitra- 
tion of  Boniface,  but  as  a  friend,  and  not  as  pope.  Bon- 
iface decided  against  Philip,  and  in  favor  of  Edward. 
Tliis  was  the  final  blow  to  peace.  France  Avas  defiant. 
3.  The  Removal  of  the  Papacy  to  Avignon,  Boniface, 
already  advanced  in  years,  now  died.  He  was  succeed- 
ed by  an  Italian  pope,  who  reigned  but  a  short  time. 
He,  in  turn,  was  succeeded  by  Bertrand  de  Got,  who 
ruled  as  Clement  I,  This  man,  though  he  had  been  a 
favorite  of  Boniface,  was  already  in  secret  relations 
with  Philip,  and  had  made  pledges  to  supj^ort  his  pol- 
icy against  that  of  Rome.  Clement,  of  his  own  choice, 
removed  the  papal  see  to  Avignon,  in  France,  a.u. 
1309.  The  papacy  remained  in  France  until  1377,  or  a 
period  of  nearly  seventy  years.  In  Roman  literature 
it  is  called  the  "  Babylonian  Captivity."  Gregory 
XI.  restored  the  papacy  to  Rome.  The  papacy  during 
its  French  residence  was  frivolous  and  corrupt.  It 
was  the  mere  tool  of  the  French  court. 


THE    DIVIDED    PAPACY.  Ill 

4.  The  Schism  in  the  Papacy.  Gregory  dying,  Urban 
VI.  was  elected  in  his  place.  He  was  in  the  Roman 
interest.  The  French  electors  declared  the  election  il- 
legal, and  chose  an  anti-pope,  Clement  VII.,  who  ruled 
in  Avignon.  This  singular  pictui'e  was  now  presented 
— two  popes,  each  independent  of  the  other,  one  ruling 
in  France  and  the  other  in  Rome,  each  hurling  anathe- 
mas at  the  other,  and  each  surrounded  by  a  court,  a 
full  quota  of  cardinals,  and  an  obedient  clergy.  It  was 
a  disgrace  to  all  Europe. 

5.  The  Councils.  The  quarrel  was  violent.  Immo- 
rality increased.  The  only  hope  lay  in  general  councils. 
But  the  popes  wanted  no  general  councils.  Their  hope 
to  restore  peace  and  prestige  to  the  papacy  lay  in  a 
personal  government.  But  the  reformatory  spirit  in 
the  laity  and  a  large  part  of  the  clergy  demanded  the 
general  voice  of  the  Church,  as  it  might  express  itself 
in  a  council.  A  council  was  accordingly  ordered  to 
meet  in  Pavia,  in  1423.  The  place  of  meeting  was 
changed,  by  Pope  Martin  V.,  to  Sienna.  But  there  were 
only  a  few  sessions.  Reformatory  decrees  were  feared, 
and  it  was  tliought  best  in  Rome  to  j)ut  it  out  of  exist- 
ence. Seven  years  later  another  council  was  called,  to 
meet  in  Basle.  It  was  of  a  highly  reformatory  charac- 
ter. The  pope  dissolved  it  by  direct  order.  But 
enough  delegates  remained  to  carry  on  its  work.  The 
pope  afterwards  recognized  it,  but  removed  it,  first  to 
Ferrara  and  later  to  Florence.  The  delegates,  how- 
ever, acknowledged  no  removal.  On  the  contrary, 
they  continued  their  work,  for  which  the  pope  excom- 
municated them.  The  council,  in  return,  deposed  the 
pope,  and  chose  another  in  his  stead,  Felix  V.  This 
measure  was  fatal  to  the  council.  The  delegates  grew 
tired  and  disbanded. 


112      SHORT    UISTOKY    OF    THE    MEDIAEVAL    CHUKCH. 

6.  The  Outcome  of  all  these  ti-oubles  was  the  triumph 
of  the  papacy  and  the  restoration  of  the  old  solidarity. 
The  immorality  continued  the  same  as  before.  The 
last  popes  before  the  Reformation  were  no  improve- 
ment upon  their  predecessors.  The  decrees  of  the  re- 
formatory councils  were  condemned.  Superstition  was 
the  order  of  the  day.  Clerical  offices  were  at  the  high- 
est bidder.  Indulgences  were  sold  throughout  Ger- 
many. The  people  were  neglected.  The  clergy  seemed 
to  think  the  Church  existed  for  their  use  and  conven- 
ience. But  the  clock  now  struck  for  a  new  life.  A 
strong  voice  from  Wittenberg  was  heard.  The  old  is- 
sues were  dead.  A  new  order  was  now  established, 
and  Europe  had  something  else  to  think  about  besides 
the  wrangles  of  schoolmen  and  the  counterblasts  of 
rival  popes. 


Chapter  XXXII. 

RETROSPECT. 

1.  The  Condition  of  the  European  Church  at  the  close 
of  the  Mediaeval  Period  was  in  marked  contrast  with 
that  at  the  beginning.  The  uncertainty  as  to  whether 
Christianity  could  adapt  itself  to  the  universal  spiritual 
needs  of  Europe  was  now  solved.  The  East  and  the 
West  changed  places.  The  East,  overridden  by  internal 
divisions,  and  trampled  by  the  Saracen  conquerors, 
passed  into  an  oblivion  which  has  lasted  until  modern 
times,  and  has  only  been  in  part  relieved  by  the  rise  of 
the  Russo-Greek  Church.  Had  the  Eastern  Church 
adhered  to  orthodox  standards,  and  preserved  its  spir- 
itual unity,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  its  vast  territory 
would  have  been  overrun  by  the  Saracens.  On  the 
contrary,  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  from  Con- 
stantinople, Jerusalem,  Antioch,  and  Alexandria,  and 
other  centimes,  the  whole  of  India,  China,  Japan,  and  other 
Oriental  countries  would  have  been  evangelized  many 
centuries  ago,  instead  of,  just  now,  becoming  great 
mission-fields  for  Western  Christianity  to  rescue  from 
paganism.  The  transfer  of  universal  interests  to  the 
Western  Church  was  complete  at  the  close  of  the  Mid- 
dle Ages.  No  questions  were  asked  of  the  Eastern 
patriarchs,  Rome  held  the  power  in  its  own  hands, 
until  a  stronger  force,  the  Reformation,  appeared  in 
Germany. 

2.  The  Stages  of  Progress  are  well  defined.      From 
8 


114      SHORT    HISTORY    OF    THE    MEDIEVAL    CHURCH. 

the  eighth  century  to  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  the 
German  peoples  became  evangelized,  and  gave  full 
promise  of  their  future  large  place  in  universal  Chris- 
tian thought  and  life.  From  the  middle  of  the  elev- 
enth century  to  the  thirteenth  the  papacy  grew  into 
enormous  proportions.  There  never  floated  before  the 
mind  of  Julius  Cresar  or  Trajan  a  larger  empire  than 
that  to  which  Gregory  VII.  and  other  occupants  of  the 
Roman  see  aspired. 

3.  The  Saxon  and  the  Latin  Christian,  at  the  end  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  confronted  each  other.  The  Latin 
represented  the  past;  the  Saxon,  the  future  and  the 
permanent.  The  force  which  destroyed  the  old  and 
strong  Roman  conditions  was  titanic.  The  Saxon  ham- 
mer  was  irresistible.  The  Germans  of  the  North  were 
kinsmen  to  the  Saxons  and  the  Angles  of  Britain.  W}-- 
cliffe  and  Luther  were  from  a  common  cradle  of  Teu- 
tonic honesty  and  liberty.  The  Norman  conquest  of 
Britain  was  political;  the  spiritual  conqueror,  in  all 
later  history,  was  still  the  Saxon.  Every  triumph  of 
religion  and  liberty  in  the  England  of  modern  times 
can  be  traced  back  to  the  Teutonic  element  in  the  Eng- 
lish race.  In  the  great  advance  of  modern  peoples  the 
Latin  is  inferior  to  the  Saxon  in  all  spiritual  upbuild- 
ino-.  The  sad  moral  condition  of  South  America,  Mex- 
ico, Spain,  Italy,  and  the  Jesuit  missions  in  India  and 
other  Eastern  countries,  is  a  striking  proof  of  what  the 
world  would  be  to-day  had  not  the  Saxon  been  at  the 
head  of  the  world's  greatest  affairs.  The  tree  must  be 
tested  by  its  fruits.  We  have  only  to  examine  the 
map  of  the  conquests  of  the  Saxon  Christian,  and  com- 
pare it  with  that  of  the  Latin  Christian,  in  order  to  see 
where  the  honor  of  all  great  modern  advancement  be- 
lonsrs. 


INDEX. 


Abelard,  and  Heloise,  103,  104;  early  career  of,  101,  102;  gives  up  phi- 
losophy for  theology,  102;  his  misfortunes,  103;  his  popularity,  102; 
his  theological  position,  104;  his  works,  104. 

Adoptianisra,  25,  26. 

Albigenses,  conquered  by  Simon  de  Montfort,  65  ;  and  Waldenses,  64-66. 

Alcuin,  Charlemagne's  "intellectual  prime-minister,"  21 ;  is  made  Abbot 
of  Tours,  44 ;  Longfellow's  description  of,  21 ;  superintends  educa- 
tional movements  for  Charlemagne,  44. 

Alfred  the  Great,  builds  up  Christianity,  59;  conquers  the  Danes,  56;  the 
ideal  ruler,  69 ;  spreads  good  books,  59. 

Algazel,  his  "  Destruction  of  the  Philosophers,"  90. 

Ambrosian  melody  supplants  Gregorian  Chant,  40. 

Anskar,  character  of,  48 ,  organizes  Church  in  Denmark,  47 ;  with  Wit- 
mar  goes  to  Sweden,  47. 

Anthropology,  26. 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  a  factor  in  later  reforms,  63 ;  effect  of  his  career,  63 ; 
given  up  by  Frederic  Barbarossa,  62 ;  is  banished  and  returns  to 
Rome,  61 ;  martyrdom  of,  62;  his  bxh'  cast  into  the  Tiber,  62;  rep- 
resents the  people,  60;  spiritual  and  political  leader,  61- 

Architecture,  Byzantine,  42,  78 ;  Gothic,  78,  79 ;  origin  of  modern  types 
of,  3;  Romanesque,  79. 

Art,  Christian :  architecture,  78-80,  82 ;  flowers,  leaves,  vines,  80 ;  glass 
painting,  80;  gold  and  copper  work,  81;  painting,  81. 

Arts,  the,  monasteries  patrons  of,  42. 

Astronomy  and  medicine  introduced  into  Europe  by  Crusades,  89. 

Averrhoes,  speculative  views  of,  91. 

Baptisteries,  position  of,  42. 

Barbarossa,  Frederic,  and  Gregory  IX.,  92. 

Bells,  christening  of,  42. 

Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  73,  74 ;  opposes  Arnold  of  Brescia,  62. 

Bishop  of  Rome  claims  to  rule  whole  church,  52. 

Bishops,  appointment  of,  9,  10,  12;  election  of,  ordered  in  royal  chapel 
by  Diet  of  Clarendon,  67  ;  Neustrian,  declare  themselves  free  from 
civil  rule,  11;  office  of,  sold  by  civil  rulers  to  highest  bidder,  9;  re- 
sult of  imperial  appointment  of,  10. 

Bulgarians :  Cyril  and  Methodius  teach  Christianity  among.  49. 


116  INDEX, 

Canons,  apostolic,  Latin  and  Greek  Churches  differ  as  to  number  of,  53. 

Carolingian  dynasty,  extinction  of,  11 ;  successors  to  Charlemagne,  9. 

Cathedrals  of  Cologne,  Strasburg,  and  Speyer,  80. 

Celibacy,  canons  of  Church  requiring,  35  ;  first  ordered  by  Gregorj'  VII.,  37. 

Centralization,  Charlemagne  began  the  process  of,  4. 

Chapels,  41. 

Charlemagne,  and  Adrian  I.,  7;  cultivation  of  national  literature  by,  23; 
decline  in  literature  after  his  death,  24;  divides  the  empire  with  his 
brother,  4;  encourages  education,  21 ;  example  of,  9;  founds  singing- 
schools,  40  ;  fraternal  relations  with  the  pope,  8 ;  his  general  legisla- 
tive assembly,  10,  11 ;  his  influence  upon  literature,  105;  insists  upon 
religious  instruction  in  vulgar  tongue,  23  ;  meaning  of  his  coronation, 
8;  his  methods,  4;  Michael  I.  presents  an  organ  to,  41;  his  motto 
regarding  the  Church,  5;  his  notions  of  himself,  4,  5;  orders  that 
people  should  sing  at  public  service,  41 ;  his  policy,  4, 5 ;  reign  of,  4-8 ; 
schools  of,  21-24;  surrounds  himself  with  learned  men,  21,  22;  unites 
the  empire,  4. 

Charles  the  Fat,  11. 

Christian,  the  Roman  and  the  Greek  compared,  52 ;  the  Saxon  and  the 
Latin  compared,  114. 

Christianity,  its  planting  and  application,  1 ;  resultof  introduction  of,  among 
Northern  nations,  2;  proof  of  its  ultimate  power,  1;  spread  of,  46-51. 

Chronicles,  old  and  new  styles,  2,  3. 

Church  and  State,  under  the  later  Carolingian  rulers,  9 ;  working  for  uni- 
versal dominion,  4. 

Church,  British,  changes  in  twelfth  century  in.  67;  independence  of,  57; 
its  Christianity  apostolic,  57 ;  differs  from  Roman  on  doctrinal  points, 
58 ;  is  conquered  by  Roman  Church,  58 ;  refuses  subjection  to  Rome, 
58 ;  under  control  of  throne,  67. 

,  European,  condition  of,  113. 

,  French,  independent,  119. 

,  Greek,  conflict  with  Roman,  52-54;  denies  supremacy  of  Roman 

bishop,  53;  differs  on  doctrinal  points  with  Western  Church,  52,  .53; 
permits  its  clergy  to  marry,  53;  rejects  images,  53;  and  Roman 
Church  separate,  54. 

-,  MediiBval,  office  of,  1 ;  periods  of,  2. 

-,  Roman,  a  political  machine,  33;  and  British  Church  represented 


at  Council  of  Whitby,  58;  British  Church  refuses  to  be  subject  to, 
58;  and  Catharists,  65;  condition  of,  in  tenth  century,  33-37;  festi- 
vals, increase  of,  39;  France,  independent  of,  109;  government  of.  10; 
Henry  II.  tries  to  break  up  bondage  of  English  Church  to,  67;  Irish 
and  Scotch  churches  surrender  to,  58,  59 ;  Music  of  the,  40,  41 ;  ob- 
tains power  over  British  Church,  58;  offices  of.  sold,  34;  persecutes 
the  reformers,  65 ;  troubadours  eulogize,  105;  Waldenses  and,  64. 

,  Russo-Greek,  113. 

Churches,  gradual  change  in  architecture  of,  78-80;  changes  in  style  of 
furniture,  78  ;  windows  in,  80  ;  mosaics  in,  78. 

Classic  conditions  disappear,  4. 


INDEX.  117 

Clergy,  and  tlie  army,  11 ;  morals  of  the  higher,  37 ;  their  power  a  curse,  60. 

Commerce  helped  by  Crusades,  89. 

Consubstantiation,  27. 

Coronation  of  his  son  Louis  by  Charlemagne,  9. 

Council,  of  Clialcedon,  on  Divinity  of  Christ,  25;  of  Lj'ons  declares  East- 
ern and  Western  Clnirchcs  reunited,  5;  of  Pavia  declares  in  favor  of 
papal  anathema,  38;  Trullan,  defines  differences  between  Eastern  and 
Western  Churches,  53 ;  of  Whitby  adds  British  to  Romau  Church,  58. 

Creed,  Nicene,  .55. 

Crusade,  Boy,  88 ;  Peter  the  Hermit  apostle  of  first,  85 ;  St.  Bernard  apos- 
tle of  second,  86. 

Crusades,  benefits  resulting  from,  89;  leaders  in,  80-88;  origin  of,  85;  their 
result,  88 ;  varied  fortunes  of,  86. 

Decretals,  prevalence  of,  13. 

. ,  Pseudo-Isidorean,  authorship,  14,  15;  called  a  "forgery"  by  Car- 
dinal Newman,  15;  contents,  14;  forgery  exposed  by  first  Protes- 
tant historians,  15;  influence,  15;  Peter  Comestor  first  doubts  their 
authenticity,  15;  proofs  of  forgery,  15;   purpose,  14. 

Denmark,  attempt  to  organize  Christian  Church  in,  47. 

Desiderius  the  Lombard  lays  siege  to  Rome,  7. 

Dionysius  Exiguus,  canons  and  epistles  of,  13. 

Ecclesiastical  authority,  attempt  to  centralize  at  Rome,  13 ;  result  of  its 

conflict  with  temporal  authority,  31,  32. 

usages  and  laws,  53;  and  moral  life,  37-39. 

Education,  falls  into  hands  of  clergy,  24 ;  fostered  by  Alfred  the  Great,  59 ; 

impetus  given  to  by  Charlemagne,  24;  made  free  to  all  classes,  lOL 
Elipandus  of  Toledo,  heresy  of,  26. 
Esthonians  are  made  Christians  by  the  sword,  51. 
European  life,  the  new,  4,  8. 
Excommunication,  effect  of,  upon  emperor,  29. 

Fathers,  the  works  of,  76 ;  copied  by  monks,  77. 
Feudal  system  destroyed  by  Crusades,  89. 
Filioque,  the,  25,  52. 

Finns,  the,  conquered  by  Eric  the  Saint,  51. 
Force,  a  new,  60. 

German  power,  the  new,  29. 

rule  ends  in  Italy,  93. 

Gothic  nations,  first  prophecy  of  their  ascendency,  4. 
Grammatical  Exegesis,  a  main  department  of  Jewish  philosophy,  94. 
Greek  exarchate,  appropriation  of,  7, 
Gregorian  reform,  the,  33. 

Harold,  of  England,  defeated  at  Hastings,  56 ;  of  Jutland,  baptized,  47. 
Historians,  mediieval,  105. 


118  INDEX. 

Hohenstaiiffens,  fall  of,  93;  Italian  rule  of,  92. 

Holy    Ghost,  procession  of  the,  '25 ;  teachings  of  Eastern  and  Western 

Churclics  on  divinity  of,  52. 
Homilariura,  design  of,  40;  preparation  of,  40, 
Hungary  becomes  acquainted  with  Christianitj',  50,  51. 
Hynniology,  83;  earliest  trace  of  German,  40. 
Hymns,  Miiniesingers  promote  writing  of,  84 ;  recasting  of  early  Greek 

into  other  languages,  83. 
Ilymn-writers  of  Middle  Ages,  41,  84, 105. 

Iceland  and  Greenland,  extension  of  gospel  to,  48. 

Image  controversy,  27,  53. 

Isidore  of  Ilispalis,  12 ;  canons  of,  13. 

Italy  of  to-da\',  to  whom  is  due  the,  3. 

Jehuda  Levi,  his  "  Book  of  Cossi,"  95. 

Jerusalem  captured  by  Crusaders,  86 ;  taken  by  Saladin,  87. 

Knights  of  St.  John,  74,  75. 

Koran,  doctrines  of,  19,  20 ;  has  never  been  altered,  19. 

Learning,  Alfred  the  Great  a  promoter  of,  44;  European,  76. 

Literature,  aided  by  Crusaders,  89 ;  Arabian,  90 ;  and  religion,  105. 

Lombards,  Luitprand,  King  of  the,  5 ;  Rome  constantly  at  mercy  of,  5, 

Lord's  Supper,  the,  27. 

Louis  the  Pious,  45. 

Lully,  Raymond,  his  teaching,  99. 

Luther,  Martin,  destroys  scholasticism,  100. 

Mairaonides,  95. 

Marriage,  clerical,  condemned  by  popes,  35. 

Middle  Ages,  significance  of,  in  connection  with  Christianity,  1. 

Missionaries,  burning  zeal  of,  46 ;  fate  of  tirst,  46. 

Missions,  to  the  Bulgarians,  49;  in  Denmark,  46;  to  the  Finns,  51;  in 
Iceland  and  Greenland,  48;  Hungary,  50;  Poland,  50;  Moravia,  49; 
Norway,  48;  Russia,  49;  Sweden,  47;  to  the  Wends,  50. 

Mohammed^  acquainted  with  main  facts  in  life  of  Jesus,  18  ;  builds 
Grand  Mosque,  19;  calls  his  religion  "Islam,"  17;  claims  accepted 
by  his  wife,  17 ;  conquests  of,  19;  his  death,  19 ;  enters  on  his  career, 
16 ;  hostile  to  idolatry,  16 ;  marries  Khadija.  16 ;  not  licentious,  16 ;  or- 
igia  of,  16;  preaches  fundamental  doctrines  of  Judaism,  18;  pretend- 
ed revelations  to,  16;  his  religion  develops  antagonism  to  Christian- 
ity, 18;  his  religious  system  contained  in  the  Koran,  19;  success  of, 
18,  19;  twice  a  fugitive  in  Abyssinia,  18;  his  warlike  character,  16; 
youth  of,  16. 

Mohammedanism,  arrest  of,  88,  89 ;  sanguinary  career  of,  19. 

Monasteries,  brotherhood  of  the,  46;  centres  of  intellectual  learning,  76; 
rol)Milt  liv  Alfrod  the  Great,  59. 


INDEX.  119 

Monastic  orders,  71 ;  Aiisustine  Hermits,  74 ;  Beguins  and  Beghards,  74 ; 
Benedictines  and  Cluniacensians,  72 ;  Brothers  ot  the  Common  Life, 
75;  Carmelites,  74;  eccentric  types  of,  71;  imitators  of  Simon  Sty- 
lites,  71 ;  Knights,  74,  75;  Mendicants,  73;  nobility  join  the,  72. 

Monasticism  preserves  literature,  3 ;  Western,  72. 

Monks,  literary  work  of  the,  24;  of  Monte  Cassino  have  largely  contribu- 
ted to  independent  thought,  70. 

Monomachus,  Constantine,  54. 

Moral  decline  of  tenth  century,  33. 

Moravians,  misfortunes  of,  49. 

Music,  sacred,  improvement  in,  83 ;  leaders  in,  83.  * 

Mysticism,  96. 

Nominalists,  97. 

North,  introduction  of  Christianitj'-  among  nations  of,  2. 

Norway,  introduction  of  gospel  into,  47. 

Organ,  the  first,  in  the  West,  41. 

Paganism,  result  of  overthrow  of,  2. 

Paintings,  miniature,  in  devotional  books,  42. 

Palestine,  occupation  of  by  Crusaders,  86. 

Papacy,  its  first  temporal  rule,  6;  fluctuations  in,  28;  its  grasping  dispo- 
sition, 11 ;  later  fortunes  of  the,  31,  32;  people  revolt  against,  60,  61 ; 
removed  to  Avignon,  110;  ruled  by  Theodora,  29;  schism  in,  111. 

Papal  prerogative,  rise  of,  10. 

Penances,  popes  claim  jurisdiction  over,  37  ;  and  succeed,  38. 

Periods,  Ancient  and  Modern,  1 :  of  the  Mediaeval  Church,  2. 

Peter  the  Hermit,  85;  his  appearance,  86. 

Philosophy,  Arabic,  90;  Aristotelian,  90 ;  Jewish,  94;  scholastic,  96. 

Pilgrimages  to  Holy  Land,  82. 

Poetry,  knightly,  the  foundation  of  motlern,  43. 

Poets,  the  Italian,  were  firophets,  3;  religious,  105;  three  Florentine,  106. 

Political  life,  beginning  of  new,  4. 

Pornocracy,  the,  29. 

Popes:  Adrian  I.  appeals  to  Charlemagne,  7 ;  Alexander  III.  bitterly  op- 
poses Waldenses,  64.;  Benedict  VIII.  opposes  marriage  among  clergy, 
35;  Benedict  IX.  ejected  for  his  crimes,  30;  Boniface  VII.  issues  a 
special  bull,  110;  resolves  on  vigorous  policy  towards  France,  109; 
Clement  I.  removes  seat  of  papacy  to  France.  110 ;  Clement  II.  crowns 
Henry  III.  emperor,  30;  Clement  IV.  aids  Charles  of  Anjou,  93 ;  Eu- 
genius  III.  escapes  to  France,  62;  Gregory  HI.  induces  Charles  Mar- 
tel  to  help  him  against  the  Lombards,  5;  Gregory  VI.  buys  his  seat, 
30;  (Jregory  VII.,  attempted  reforms  of,  34,  35;  and  Charles  Jlartel, 
6;  enconrages  Crusades,  85;  his  disappointment  and  sorrow,  36;  re- 
bellion of  the  clergy  against,  36  ;  sketch  of,  30 ;  strife  between  Henry 
IV.  and,  30,31  ;  result  of  the  strife,  31,  32;  (ircgory  IX.  excommuni- 
cates Frederic  Barbarossa,  92 ;  (iregory  XI.  restores  papacy  to  Rome, 


12U  INDEX. 

110 ;  Innocent  IV.  declares  Sicily  belongs  to  the  Church,  93 ;  Joanna, 
28;  Hadrian  IV.  prohibits  public  worship  in  Rome,  62;  John  X. 
made  pope  by  Theodora,  29 ;  murdered  by  Maria,  29 ;  John  XI.  made 
pope  by  Maria,  his  mother,  29;  John  XXII.,  his  reason  for  calling 
himself  John  XXI.,  28;  Leo  III.,  Charlemagne's  declaration  of  mu- 
tual relations  with,  5;  crowns  Charlemagne  emperor,  7;  Leo  VII. 
condemns  marriage  of  clergy,  35 ;  Leo  IX.  sends  delegates  to  Constan- 
tinople, 54 ;  Lucius  II.  leads  an  army  against  revolting  Komans.  62 ; 
Lutius  III.  excommunicates  Waldenses,  64;  Nicholas  I.  condemns 
clerical  marriage,  35;  Stephen  II.  visits  Pepin,  7;  Zacharias  ap- 
proves deposition  of  Childeric  III.,  5;  three  rival,  30. 

Preachers,  great  mediaeval,  82,  83. 

Predestination,  26,  27. 

Progress  in  all  fields,  3 ;  stages  of,  113. 

Races,  conflicts  of  tribes  and,  56. 

Realists,  97. 

Relics,  38,  39. 

Russia  accepts  Christianity,  49. 

Schism  between  the  East  and  the  West,  52. 

Scholars,  43-45,  90. 

Scholasticism,  91,  96-100. 

School.  Abelard's,  102 ;  its  pupils,  103. 

Schools,  Charlemagne's,  22,23;  Alfred  the  Great  founds,  59;  decline  after 

Alfred  and  Charlemagne,  107 ;  laity  admitted  to,  101 ;  of  Paris,  101. 
Science,  advance  of,  3. 
Sculpture,  first  development  of  Christian,  3. 
Sermon,  the,  40,  82. 
Services,  the  public,  40. 
Simony,  34 ;  protest  against,  9. 
Speculation,  transplantation  of  Arabian,  91 ;  Jewish,  95. 

Theatricals,  religious.  106. 

Theological  movements,  25-27. 

Thomas  a,  Becket,  67-70. 

Thomists,  the,  98. 

Tower,  the  church,  42. 

Transition,  Middle  Ages  the  time  of,  1, 2. 

Trinitj',  doctrine  of,  25. 

Tutiloof  St.  Gall,  the  Michael  Angelo  of  his  age,  42. 

Universities,  Arabic,  90. 

University,  rise  of  the,  107  :  divided  into  faculties,  108. 

Waldenses  and  Albigenses,  64-66. 
Worship,  Christian,  82-84. 
Writers  of  the  times,  43-45. 


BR 


Hurst,   John  Fletcher,   bp, , 
252  Short  history  of  the 

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