The fourth crusade became terribly diverted from its original plans and became one of the most tragic and barbaric of all the crusades. When Innocent III was elected Pope in 1198 he wanted to ensure his superiority over the state. The Papacy was at its strongest when Innocent reigned as Pope from 1198 – 1216. He believed that the line of Peter’s bishops should control the church and help rule over all domestic affairs. Despite all of Innocent’s lofty views of himself he still maintained a pious and clear mind.
Gregory VII saw these offenses, how they were tearing away at the church as a whole, and wanted to abolish these practices. It was through the reform and purification that then led to a more organized church, with a strong hand placed firmly on the ruling class of the medieval era. In 325 AD the Council of Nicaea forbade marriage and concubinage among the lower ranks of the clergy, which were still customary too much of the Western church. The reform of the 11th century was determined to eliminate this behavior at all costs. While Pope Gregory VII did not introduce the celibacy of the priesthood into the Church, he did take up the fight against the indecency with greater energy unlike his predecessors.
A multiplicity of factors worked together to fashion this new political order. Indeed the very nature of medieval society defies this separation. Feudalism as created by William tied people to the land for social, religious and economic reasons. The Church was a sincere religious institution and, at the same time, a massive multi-national money making machine that was one of the most powerful political influences in Europe. It is very hard and wrong to separate out individual aspects of change as this would be to fail to recognise the nature of the
6) They were excused from communal prayer and masses. 7) All members were to take the three traditional monastic vows. An elite would take a fourth vow of direct obedience to the pope if he sent them on a foreign mission. 8) Faith was to be spread by preaching, spiritual exercises, charity and education in Christianity. Calvinism focused upon salvation through faith and faith alone.
Crusades effected the English people politically, economically, and by exposing the Englishmen to new cultures. The Crusades had a significant influence in Europe in general, not just English people. At the time, the continent was united under a powerful Pope, but by the end of the 14th century, centralized bureaucracies (which have been defined as the foundation of the modern nation state) was flourishing in England, France, Spain, and other countries, due to the tyrannical dominance of the church during the Crusades. The Crusader society in the Kingdom of Jerusalem was also characterized by a culture of innovation, including political structures, governance, and taxation. The need to raise, transport, and supply the large armies led to a flourishing of trade throughout Europe.
The transfer of religious power and influence from the papacy to the Crown, instigated by Cromwell, suggests a developing nation state. After establishing Henry’s supremacy over the English Church, Cromwell issued the Ten Articles of Faith in 1536. This evolutionary theology stated that salvation could be achieved by faith alone; one could not pay for his sins, neither could they be atoned for by somebody else. Therefore monasteries which housed international organisations loyal to the papacy no longer had a function in the English Church. The dissolution of the monasteries, enabled by Cromwell’s actions, removed access to this outside influence from English spiritual life.
Therefore by reforming the English Church and removing the Pope and making Henry VIII the Supreme Head of the Church in England, there was a revolution in the relationship between Church and State. Also as Thomas Cromwell, who masterminded this manoeuvre, had used parliament to enforce the reformation the principle that King-in-parliament was the highest form of authority. This sat very well with Henry VIII and appealed far more to those who lent to the positive and idealistic though secular form of anti-clericalism. This is one reason why the English Church did need to be reformed in the 16th century. Another reason the English Church may have needed reforming would be that many people lost enthusiasm for religious orders and religious images in the 16th century.
Revolutionary Protestant Changes During the Times of Martin Luther Imagine experiencing the constant feeling of being taken advantage of by a more powerful force. Imagine what it has felt like to not have a say or movement in the areas surrounding you. Everyday life in the majority of Europe became submerged in these feelings because of the Roman Catholic Church which during the 1500s had an over extensive amount of power. The Roman Catholic Church had not only immense religious authority because it remained as the main religion of Europe, but in addition had a vast political influence in Europe. Its political power mainly came from the excessive expanse of wealth and economic success.
However, the changes were not uniformly experienced across Europe. Religious context Religion was one of the aspects of the Renaissance that changed drastically over a few centuries. Before the Renaissance, during the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was dominant in most states of Europe. The medieval thinkers believed that the most important responsibility of the people was to pray to God and aim at saving their souls. Society was believed to be full of evil temptations.
Furthermore, for many centuries, European nations had been building empires, slowly extending their economic and political control over various peoples of the world and practicing imperialism. Colonies supplied the European imperial powers with raw materials and provided markets for manufactured goods. As Germany industrialized, it competed with France and Britain in the contest for colonies. In continuation, because each nation wanted stronger armed forces than those of any potential enemy, the imperial powers followed a policy of militarism—the development of armed forces and their use as a tool of diplomacy. Empires were expensive to build and to defend, and the growth of nationalism and imperialism led to increased military spending.