Decline Of The Church’s Power In The Middle Ages

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Decline of the Church’s Power in the Middle Ages Applying the Anna Karenina principle to the Church in the Middle Ages shows that, in order for the church to maintain power it must succeed in all things in the eyes of the people such as caring for the sick, providing spiritual guidance and undisputed primacy. If it is missing one necessary element then it will fail regardless of the other elements that it does possess . The church’s power began to decline in the late middle ages because it became more concerned with protecting itself and gaining wealth and power, than with the people it was supposed to serve. The church’s one missing factor during the Middle Ages and after was the trust of the people. The church lost the trust and support of the people first because of the effects of the Crusades which resulted in many difficulties and new ideas and then was unable to provide the answers and services that the people expected during the times of famine and plague. Pope Urban II called for the Crusades during his speech at the council of Clermont. He promised the forgiveness of all sins for the warriors, spoke about atrocities committed by the Saracens against Christians and finally, convinced them that they had to take Jerusalem back because it was their holy city. The response by nobles to his exaggerated accounts was overwhelming. They sold their land to finance their journeys; left their manors unmanaged and took up the cause for faith . His speech was in response to a call for help from the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire, Alexius but his true reason appeared to be the unity between the East and West and primacy for his position. The Pope’s intention was to strengthen his position of power through the Crusades but instead after many years and much bloodshed, the crusades became a political tool that once recognized as such, only served to discredit the

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