Religion has always been a major factor in everything involving the world since the beginning of time. Though the similarities are present, no two religions are exactly alike so there are also various differences within the beliefs of the varying religious centers. Religion affects the society, the population, and the civilization of a country in countless ways. Religion is one of the most important factors of any empire, country, or civilization. Religion also provided a strong role in the governments of different societies around the world.
Western Europe in the 11th century was largely a land of chaos. Following the collapse of Charlemagne's empire and the Viking invasions, the Roman Catholic Church had come increasingly under secular control and the papacy had lost much authority within the Church. Many religious institutions were controlled by noble families. Throughout most of Europe, what little political authority that existed was in the hands of local lords. Most of the population were peasants or serfs, trying to earn a subsistence living working the land.
During the Middle Ages in Europe there was disorder and turmoil, which led to the orderly classes of feudalism. To help the people of Europe, the church became spiritually involved and offered a way to heaven. Although there were dark times during the Middle Ages, new inventions and trade flourished. The best titles that describe the Middle Ages are the Age of Faith, the Golden Ages, and the Age of Feudalism because the church gained more power and land, Europe had a social hierarchy based on their role in society and there was an increase in trade and technology. The Age Of Faith was a time where the church had the most power and control over Europe.
In this way feudalism stretched from the very top of the society to the very bottom. At the lowest rung of the society ladder were the peasants who worked the land itself. They had few rights, little property and no Society in much of medieval Europe . Feudal society was traditionally divided into three "estates" equivalent to social classes). The "First Estate" was the Church -clergy-, those who prayed.
The printing press, by Gutenberg, has grown immensely since the 15th century. It went from being in a few towns in present day Germany to almost all over Europe in a matter of 30 years (Doc. 2). Although the printing press was such a revolutionary achievement, the most important consequences were the dissemination of the words and ideas of the people and educating more citizens. Also it began to stir up conflicts among the beliefs of the churches over time.
Was this coincidence? No, it was through forced globalization. The main method of this projection was through the Crusades which began in 1095 (History.com, 2009). The Crusades were meant to spread Christianity by force and were actually quite effective even when considering the defeat of the Christians by Muslim forces in Jerusalem. Christianity has flourished for the past thousand years and has taken hold in every continent in some form or fashion.
There was a constant customer calling for transportation of men and supplies. There was ship building and commerce going on in the eastern ware in Europe. The economy was gained to a financial high when the Crusades made its way to Europe. Even though the crusades were just Christian campaigns fought, it still took a toll on the economy more than people would of thought. It’s said that the first crusade created Latin states on the holy land.
The first four crusades were seen as the most important and little reference is made to the other crusaders, with the exception of the Children’s crusade, which effectively led to the decline of the crusades. The crusades first started because the emperor of Constantinople request for help to the Pope Urban II and the Catholic Church to defend himself from the Turks. The Pope saw this as an opportunity to control the Byzantine Empire and to expand to towards Jerusalem. The cost of crusading was enormous and very few men had the money to pay so they were force to sell their properties. A crusade army was a mix of rich and poor but they all had the same objective liberate the lands of Christ.
| | All answers are correct. | The intellectual movement called humanism focused on human life and its accomplishments. Which of the following statements is not true of humanism?The humanists were basically atheistic in their beliefs. In the Middle Ages, most important musicians were priests. A virtual monopoly on learning during the Middle Ages was held by monks in monasteries.
In theological terms the Central Middle Ages (from 11th Century) are the most interesting, as earlier periods placed greater emphasis on spreading the Christian message throughout Europe. Nonetheless, Europe was not fully Christian until the 15th Century (Lithuania being the last to convert) and by then Turkish rulers were inspiring many South Europeans (especially in Bosnia) to convert from Orthodox Christianity to Islam. The political background to this period is one of reasonable homogeneity. Europe was seen as one large country with numerous local rulers. Travelling to a foreign land was a dangerous business, but so was travelling ten miles to the next village.