Lecture Structure

1). What was ‘the church’?

• Images and ideas

• Organisation and Personnel

• Functions

2). Challenges facing the (late) medieval church : heresy and discontent

Church militant and triumphant

• The church ‘triumphant’ (Ecclesia Triumphans), comprising those who are in heaven

• The church ‘militant’ (Ecclesia Militans), comprising those believers who are living

• The church ‘suffering’ or Church Penitent (Ecclesia Penitens) or expectant (Ecclesia Expectans), comprising the souls in purgatory

The Church Militant and Church Triumphant

The Church Suffering

The three are fundamentally linked through prayer:

the saints in heaven intercede for those on earth

the faithful living pray for the souls of the dead

the suffering souls in purgatory find their suffering diminished through the labours of the faithful

Other ideas about the church

• The church as institution and the church visible

• The church as the community of believers, and the church ‘invisible’

• Where do the roots of ‘true’ faith lie? In continuity in the visible church as the repository of the faith, or in the continuity of belief among Christians?

Organisation and Personnel

• The Pope (Bishop of Rome) as the successor of St Peter.

• Cardinals – the college of cardinals comes to elect the pope

• Archbishops

• Bishops

• Priests

The Pope

• From Latin "papa" or "father" from Greek πάπας, pápas, "papa“

• Current pope is (conventionally) the 265th successor to St Peter

• Roman primary clear in second century: St Irenaeus writes “With [the Church of Rome], because of its superior origin, all the churches must agree... and it is in her that the faithful everywhere have maintained the apostolic tradition”.

Cardinals

• Responsible for the election of the pope (at least since 1059)

• Usually also a bishop in the church

• Will be among the closest advisers to the pope

• Responsible for the administration of the church sede vacante

Bishops and Archbishops

• responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and for the administration of the Church

• Area of authority = diocese, or archdiocese / metropolitan see

• Only a bishop can confer holy orders – i.e. ordain a priest

• The word episkopoi (bishop) occurs five times in the New Testament, although its meaning is disputed

Priest

• The office of the priest, or the priesthood of all believers?

• Ordained by the bishop

• Responsible for preaching and for the celebration of the sacraments

• Based in a ‘parish’ church.

What does the Church offer?

• The only route to salvation (life after death) via the sacraments

• Education

• Definition and Structure of Time

• Adminstration of canon law

• Administration of land (major landowner)

• Social functions in the community

The geography of the afterlife

• Heaven

• Hell

• Purgatory

• Limbo(s)

St Michael weighs souls

Dies Irae (13th century)

Dies iræ! dies illa

Solvet sæclum in favilla

Teste David cum Sibylla!

Day of wrath! O day of mourning!

See fulfilled the prophets' warning,

Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

Day of Judgement

Securing the fate of the soul

• The sacraments of the church

• Faith and good works

• Prayer and the prayer of others

• Indulgences

Seven deadly sins

• Pope Gregory the Great• Pride• Envy• Anger• Avarice• Sadness (later sloth)• Gluttony• Lust

The deadly sins (Chaldon, Surrey, 12th century)

Seven corporal works of mercy

• Give food to the hungry

• Give drink to the thirsty

• Welcome the stranger

• Clothe the naked

• Visit the sick

• Visit the prisoner

• Bury the dead

The sacraments

• Baptism

• The eucharist / Mass

• Confirmation

• Marriage

• Holy orders

• Reconciliation / confession / penance

• Extreme unction / last rites

Liturgical celebration

• Latin

• Observation and participation

• Praying alongside the priest

• Feast days, holy days, festivals

• Sacred function and social function – for example processions at Rogationtide

Books of Hours

• Private devotion

• Texts, prayers and psalms

• Calendar of the feasts of the church

• Latin (English = primers)

• Based on breviary, monastic prayers

• Lay piety mirrors monastic life

Private devotion

Books of the laity?

• Low levels of literacy

• Other forms of communication?– Images– Altarpieces – Preaching – a priority?– Relics, pilgrimage, sacred space

The Ghent altarpiece

The shrine of St Frideswide (8th century abbess)

Criticism of the church

• Theological

• Opposition to devotional practice

• Political

• Economic

• anticlericalism

Cathars

• Southern France 11th century onwards

• Condemned 1179

• Rooted in the heresies of the past?

• Theological challenge?

• Sacraments (consolamentum)

• Rival structures

• Credentes and perfecti

Suppression

• Begins in earnest late 11th century

• Lateran III (1179)

• Political? Popes and princes

• Key players: Innocent III; Philip II; Raymond of Toulouse; Simon de Montfort

• Albigensian Crusade 1208

• Peace of Paris 1229

Challenges for the Historian

• Rhetoric and reality?

• Lack of sources for early Catharism

• Narrative dominated by key incidents (Beziers)

• Theological, political, territorial and popular narrative

Narrative of events

• Suppression begins 1179

• 1184 Pope enlists the help of emperor

• Innocent III (1198-1215) holds the power of the popes in esteem; legalistic

• Tensions build early 13th century

Political factors

• Geography: the bulk of the attention in South of France

• Raymond Count of Toulouse (1194-1212) sees himself as virtually independent

• Wealthy but not popular; hard to command loyalty

• Clash of local autonomy ands traditions and the demands of the pope

Map of Languedic

Emerging crisis

• 1199: legates sent to Languedoc

• 1204 Arnold Amalric of Citeaux sent

• 1206: St Dominic

• 1207: pope calls on the king to act (but he is busy fighting the English)

• 1208: assassination of Peter of Castelnau

• Raymond protects the murderer: excommunicated

Crusade

• Material and eternal reward

• Raymond tried to use crusade to gain control of territory

• Amalric views him as a heretic

• Raymond reconciled with the church 1209

Phase One 1209-11

• Army gathers July 1209

• Massacre of heretics at Bezier (first target)

• Amalric ‘kill them all. God will know his own’

• Carcassone falls to crusaders

• Simon de Montfort acquires land

Phase Two 1211-13

• Papal legates try to limit Raymond’s involvement

• Further victories for Simon

• The defeated towns turn to Raymond as the army leaves

• Raymond still isolated in Toulouse. Toulousain territory falls to Simon

Phase Three 1213

• Aragonese involvement: Peter

• Peter is already suzerain in parts of Southern France

• Presence of Simon is a threat to Peter

• Alliance between Peter and Raymond

• 1213 Peter killed at Battle of Muret

Cathars expelled from Carcassone

Phase Four: 1213-15

• Simon destroys all towns that he cannot garrison

• Appeals to French king for help

• 1215 Louis VIII makes crusading vow

• Louis attacks Narbonne and Toulouse then leaves

• 1215 (December) Raymond deprived of all land; handed to Simon

Phase Five 1215-1225

• Counter attack by South• Raymond defeats Simon at Beaucaire• Other towns fall to Raymond – Toulouse 1217• Simon killed in Battle 1218• Midi falls without his leadership• Raymond died 1222; his son takes over

campaign• 1225 Raymond (VII) excommunicated and

deprived of land

Phase Six 1225-1229

• Honorius II calls crusade

• Louis VIII leads army and conquers Provence, Avignon, and much of Languedoc and Query

• Louis died 1226

• Southern France exhausted by war

Reconciliation

• Peace of Paris 1229• Raymond VII swears loyalty to Louis IX

(12 year old boy)• Lands returned to Raymond, but with

conditions and penalties• First time that the area has been

controlled by king• Persecution ends. Last ‘perfecti’ executed

1321 (Guillaume Belibaste)