A Source Book of Mediaeval History Part 8

[81] The Germanic peoples north of the Humber were more properly Angles, but of course they were in all essential respects like the Saxons. Ethelbert was not actually king in that region, but was recognized as "bretwalda," or over-lord, by the other rulers.

[82] For later changes in this part of the coast line, see p. 70, note 1.

[83] This was possible because the Franks and Saxons, being both German, as yet spoke languages so much alike that either people could understand the other without much difficulty.

[84] Bertha was a daughter of the Frankish king Charibert. The Franks had been nominally a Christian people since the conversion of Clovis in 496 [see p. 53]--just a hundred years before Augustine started on his mission to the Angles and Saxons.

[85] Luidhard had been bishop of Senlis; a town not many miles northeast of Paris. Probably Augustine and his companions profited not a little by the influence which Luidhard had already exerted at the Kentish court.

[86] "The present church of St. Martin near Canterbury is not the old one spoken of by Bede, as it is generally thought to be, but is a structure of the thirteenth century, though it is probable that the materials of the original church were worked up in the masonry in its reconstruction, the walls being still composed in part of Roman bricks."--J. A. Giles, _Bede's Ecclesiastical History_, p. 39.

[87] Thus was established the "primacy," or ecclesiastical leadership, of Canterbury, which has continued to this day.

CHAPTER VI.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH

10. Pope Leo's Sermon on the Petrine Supremacy

In tracing the history of the great ecclesiastical inst.i.tution known as the papacy, the first figure that stands out with considerable clearness is that of Leo I., or Leo the Great, who was elected bishop of Rome in the year 440. Leo is perhaps the first man who, all things considered, can be called "pope" in the modern sense of the term, although certain of his predecessors in the bishop's seat at the imperial capital had long claimed and exercised a peculiar measure of authority over their fellow bishops throughout the Empire. Almost from the earliest days of Christianity the word _papa_ (pope) seems to have been in common use as an affectionate mode of addressing any bishop, but after the fourth century it came to be applied in a peculiar manner to the bishop of Rome, and in time this was the only usage, so far as western Europe was concerned, which survived. The causes of the special development of the Roman bishopric into the powerful papal office were numerous. Rome's importance as a city, and particularly as the political head of the Mediterranean world, made it natural that her bishop should have something of a special dignity and influence.

Throughout western Europe the Roman church was regarded as a model and its bishop was frequently called upon for counsel and advice. Then, when the seat of the imperial government was removed to the East by Constantine, the Roman bishop naturally took up much of the leadership in the West which had been exercised by the emperor, and this added not a little in the way of prestige. On the whole the Roman bishops were moderate, liberal, and sensible in their att.i.tude toward church questions, thereby commending themselves to the practical peoples of the West in a way that other bishops did not always do. The growth of temporal possessions, especially in the way of land, also made the Roman bishops more independent and able to hold their own. And the activity of such men as Leo the Great in warding off the attacks of the German barbarians, and in providing popular leadership in the absence of such leadership on the part of the imperial authorities, was a not unimportant item.

After all, however, these are matters which have always been regarded by the popes themselves as circ.u.mstances of a more or less transitory and accidental character. It is not upon any or all of them that the papacy from first to last has sought to base its high claims to authority. The fundamental explanation, from the papal standpoint, for the peculiar development of the papal power in the person of the bishops of Rome is contained in the so-called theory of the "Petrine Supremacy," which will be found set forth in Pope Leo's sermon reproduced in part below. The essential points in this theory are: (1) that to the apostle Peter, Christ committed the keys of the kingdom of heaven and the supremacy over all other apostles on earth; (2) that Peter, in the course of time, became the first bishop of Rome; and (3) that the superior authority given to Peter was transmitted to all his successors in the Roman bishopric. It was fundamentally on _these_ grounds that the pope, to quote an able Catholic historian, was believed to be "the visible representative of ecclesiastical unity, the supreme teacher and custodian of the faith, the supreme legislator, the guardian and interpreter of the canons, the legitimate superior of all bishops, the final judge of councils--an office which he possessed in his own right, and which he actually exercised by presiding over all ec.u.menical synods, through his legates, and by confirming the acts of the councils as the Supreme Head of the Universal Catholic Church."[88] Modern Protestants discard certain of the tenets which go to make up the Petrine theory, but it is essential that the student of history bear in mind that the people of the Middle Ages never doubted its complete and literal authenticity, nor questioned that the authority of the papal office rested at bottom upon something far more fundamental than a mere fortunate combination of historical circ.u.mstances. Whatever one's personal opinions on the issues involved, the point to be insisted upon is that in studying mediaeval church life and organization the universal acceptance of these beliefs and conclusions be never lost to view.

Leo was pope from 440 to 461 and it has been well maintained that he was the first occupant of the office to comprehend the wide possibilities of the papal dignity in the future. In his sermons and letters he vigorously a.s.serted the sovereign authority of his position, and in his influence on the events of his time, as for example the Council of Chalcedon in 451, he sought with no little success to bring men to a general acknowledgment of this authority.

Source--Text in Jacques Paul Migne, _Patroligiae Cursus Completus_ ["Complete Collection of Patristic Literature"], First Series, Vol. LIV., cols. 144-148. Translated in Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, _Select Library of Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church_ (New York, 1895), Second Series, Vol. XII., pp. 117-118.

[Sidenote: The apostle Peter still with his Church]

Although, therefore, dearly beloved, we be found both weak and slothful in fulfilling the duties of our office, because, whatever devoted and vigorous action we desire to undertake, we are hindered in by the frailty of our nature, yet having the unceasing propitiation of the Almighty and perpetual Priest [Christ], who being like us and yet equal with the Father, brought down His G.o.dhead even to things human, and raised His Manhood even to things Divine, we worthily and piously rejoice over His dispensation, whereby, though He has delegated the care of His sheep to many shepherds, yet He has not Himself abandoned the guardianship of His beloved flock. And from His overruling and eternal protection we have received the support of the Apostle's aid also, which a.s.suredly does not cease from its operation; and the strength of the foundation, on which the whole superstructure of the Church is reared, is not weakened by the weight of the temple that rests upon it. For the solidity of that faith which was praised in the chief of the Apostles is perpetual; and as that remains which Peter believed in Christ, so that remains which Christ inst.i.tuted in Peter.

[Sidenote: Christ's commission to Peter]

For when, as has been read in the Gospel lesson,[89] the Lord had asked the disciples whom they believed Him to be amid the various opinions that were held, and the blessed Peter had replied, saying, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living G.o.d," the Lord said, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona, because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but My Father, which is in heaven. And I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock will I build My church, and the gates of h.e.l.l shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven." [Matt. xvi. 16-19.]

[Sidenote: Peter properly rules the Church through his successors at Rome]

The dispensation of Truth therefore abides, and the blessed Peter persevering in the strength of the Rock, which he has received, has not abandoned the helm of the Church, which he undertook. For he was ordained before the rest in such a way that from his being called the Rock, from his being p.r.o.nounced the Foundation, from his being const.i.tuted the Doorkeeper of the kingdom of heaven, from his being set as the Umpire to bind and to loose, whose judgments shall retain their validity in heaven--from all these mystical t.i.tles we might know the nature of his a.s.sociation with Christ. And still to-day he more fully and effectually performs what is intrusted to him, and carries out every part of his duty and charge in Him and with Him, through whom he has been glorified. And so if anything is rightly done and rightly decreed by us, if anything is won from the mercy of G.o.d by our daily supplications, it is of his work and merits whose power lives and whose authority prevails in his see....[90]

[Sidenote: Leo claims to be only Peter's representative]

And so, dearly beloved, with becoming obedience we celebrate to-day's festival[91] by such methods, that in my humble person he may be recognized and honored, in whom abides the care of all the shepherds, together with the charge of the sheep commended to him, and whose dignity is not belittled even in so unworthy an heir. And hence the presence of my venerable brothers and fellow-priests, so much desired and valued by me, will be the more sacred and precious, if they will transfer the chief honor of this service in which they have deigned to take part to him whom they know to be not only the patron of this see, but also the primate of all bishops. When therefore we utter our exhortations in your ears, holy brethren, believe that he is speaking whose representative we are. Because it is his warning that we give, and nothing else but his teaching that we preach, beseeching you to "gird up the loins of your mind," and lead a chaste and sober life in the fear of G.o.d, and not to let your mind forget his supremacy and consent to the l.u.s.ts of the flesh.

[Sidenote: An exhortation to Christian constancy]

[Sidenote: The peculiar privilege of the church at Rome]

Short and fleeting are the joys of this world's pleasures which endeavor to turn aside from the path of life those who are called to eternity. The faithful and religious spirit, therefore, must desire the things which are heavenly and, being eager for the divine promises, lift itself to the love of the incorruptible Good and the hope of the true Light. But be a.s.sured, dearly-beloved, that your labor, whereby you resist vices and fight against carnal desires, is pleasing and precious in G.o.d's sight, and in G.o.d's mercy will profit not only yourselves but me also, because the zealous pastor makes his boast of the progress of the Lord's flock.

"For ye are my crown and joy," as the Apostle says, if your faith, which from the beginning of the Gospel has been preached in all the world, has continued in love and holiness. For though the whole Church, which is in all the world, ought to abound in all virtues, yet you especially, above all people, it becomes to excel in deeds of piety, because, founded as you are on the very citadel of the Apostolic Rock, not only has our Lord Jesus Christ redeemed you in common with all men, but the blessed Apostle Peter has instructed you far beyond all men.

11. The Rule of St. Benedict

A very important feature of the church life of the early Middle Ages was the tendency of devout men to withdraw from the active affairs of the world and give themselves up to careers of self-sacrificing piety.

Sometimes such men went out to live alone in forests or other obscure places and for this reason were called anchorites or hermits; but more often they settled in groups and formed what came to be known as monasteries. The idea that seclusion is helpful to the religious life was not peculiar to Christianity, for from very early times Brahmins and Buddhists and other peoples of the Orient had cherished the same view; and in many cases they do so still. Monasticism among Christians began naturally in the East and at first took the form almost wholly of hermitage, just as it had done among the adherents of other Oriental religions, though by the fourth century the Christian monks of Syria and Egypt and Asia Minor had come in many cases to dwell in established communities. In general the Eastern monks were p.r.o.ne to extremes in the way of penance and self-torture which the more practical peoples of the West were not greatly disposed to imitate.

Monasticism spread into the West, but not until comparatively late--beginning in the second half of the fourth century--and the character which it there a.s.sumed was quite unlike that prevailing in the East. The Eastern ideal was the life of meditation with as little activity as possible, except perhaps such as was necessary in order to impose hardships upon one's self. The Western ideal, on the other hand, while involving a good deal of meditation and prayer, put much emphasis on labor and did not call for so complete an abstention of the monk from the pursuits and pleasures of other men.

In the later fifth century, and earlier sixth, several monasteries of whose history we know little were established in southern Gaul, especially in the pleasant valley of the Rhone. Earliest of all, apparently, and destined to become the most influential was the abbey of St. Martin at Tours, founded soon after St. Martin was made bishop of Tours in 372. But the development of Western monasticism is a.s.sociated most of all with the work of St. Benedict of Nursia, who died in 543. Benedict was the founder of several monasteries in the vicinity of Rome, the most important being that of Monte Ca.s.sino, on the road from Rome to Naples, which exists to this day. One should guard, however, against the mistake of looking upon St. Benedict as the introducer of monasticism in the West, of even as the founder of a new monastic _order_ in the strict sense of the word. The great service which he rendered to European monasticism consisted in his working out for his monasteries in Italy an elaborate system of government which was found so successful in practice that, in the form of the Benedictine Rule (_regula_), it came to be the const.i.tution under which for many centuries practically all the monks of Western countries lived. That it was so widely adopted was due mainly to its definite, practical, common-sense character. Its chief injunctions upon the monks were poverty, chast.i.ty, obedience, piety, and labor.

All these were to be attained by methods which, although they may seem strange to us to-day, were at least natural and wholesome when judged by the ideas and standards prevailing in early mediaeval times. Granted the ascetic principle upon which the monastic system rested, the Rule of St. Benedict must be regarded as eminently moderate and sensible.

It sprang from an acute perception of human nature and human needs no less than from a lofty ideal of religious perfection. The following extracts will serve to show its character.

Source--Text in Jacques Paul Migne, _Patrologiae Cursus Completus_, First Series, Vol. LXVI., cols. 245-932 _pa.s.sim_.

Adapted from translation in Ernest F. Henderson, _Select Historical Doc.u.ments of the Middle Ages_ (London, 1896), pp.

274-314.

_Prologue...._ We are about to found, therefore, a school for the Lord's service, in the organization of which we trust that we shall ordain nothing severe and nothing burdensome. But even if, the demands of justice dictating it, something a trifle irksome shall be the result, for the purpose of amending vices or preserving charity, thou shalt not therefore, struck by fear, flee the way of salvation, which cannot be entered upon except through a narrow entrance.

[Sidenote: Responsibility of the abbot for the character and deeds of the monks]

[Sidenote: He must teach by example as well as by precept]

=2.= _What the abbot should be like._ An abbot who is worthy to preside over a monastery ought always to remember what he is called, and carry out with his deeds the name of a Superior. For he is believed to be Christ's representative, since he is called by His name, the apostle saying: "Ye have received the spirit of adoption of sons, whereby we call Abba, Father" [Romans viii. 15].

And so the abbot should not (grant that he may not) teach, or decree, or order, anything apart from the precept of the Lord; but his order or teaching should be characterized by the marks of divine justice in the minds of his disciples. Let the abbot always be mindful that, at the terrible judgment of G.o.d, both things will be weighed in the balance, his teaching and the obedience of his disciples. And let the abbot know that whatever of uselessness the father of the family finds among the sheep is laid to the fault of the shepherd. Only in a case where the whole diligence of their pastor shall have been bestowed on an unruly and disobedient flock, and his whole care given to their wrongful actions, shall that pastor, absolved in the judgment of the Lord, be free to say to the Lord with the prophet: "I have not hid Thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared Thy faithfulness and Thy salvation, but they, despising, have scorned me" [Psalms xl. 10]. And then let the punishment for the disobedient sheep under his care be that death itself shall prevail against them. Therefore, when any one receives the name of abbot, he ought to rule over his disciples with a double teaching; that is, let him show forth all good and holy things by deeds more than by words. So that to ready disciples he may set forth the commands of G.o.d in words; but to the hard-hearted and the more simple-minded, he may show forth the divine precepts by his deeds.

[Sidenote: His duty to encourage, to admonish, and to punish]

He shall make no distinction of persons in the monastery. One shall not be more cherished than another, unless it be the one whom he finds excelling in good works or in obedience. A free-born man shall not be preferred to one coming from servitude, unless there be some other reasonable cause. But if, by the demand of justice, it seems good to the abbot, he shall do this, no matter what the rank shall be. But otherwise they shall keep their own places. For whether we be bond or free, we are all one in Christ; and, under one G.o.d, we perform an equal service of subjection. For G.o.d is no respecter of persons. Only in this way is a distinction made by Him concerning us, if we are found humble and surpa.s.sing others in good works. Therefore let him [the abbot] have equal charity for all.

Let the same discipline be administered in all cases according to merit.... He should, that is, rebuke more severely the unruly and the turbulent. The obedient, moreover, and the gentle and the patient, he should exhort, that they may progress to higher things.

But the negligent and scorners, we warn him to admonish and reprove. Nor let him conceal the sins of the erring; but, in order that he may prevail, let him pluck them out by the roots as soon as they begin to spring up.

And let him know what a difficult and arduous thing he has undertaken--to rule the souls and uplift the morals of many. And in one case indeed with blandishments, in another with rebukes, in another with persuasion--according to the quality or intelligence of each one--he shall so conform and adapt himself to all that not only shall he not allow injury to come to the flock committed to him, but he shall rejoice in the increase of a good flock. Above all things, let him not, deceiving himself or undervaluing the safety of the souls committed to him, give more heed to temporary and earthly and pa.s.sing things; but let him always reflect that he has undertaken to rule souls for which he is to render account.

[Sidenote: The monks to be consulted by the abbot]

[Sidenote: The Rule to be followed by every one as a guide]

=3.= _About calling in the brethren to take counsel._ Whenever anything of importance is to be done in the monastery, the abbot shall call together the whole congregation,[92] and shall himself explain the matter in question. And, having heard the advice of the brethren, he shall think it over by himself, and shall do what he considers most advantageous. And for this reason, moreover, we have said that all ought to be called to take counsel, because often it is to a younger person that G.o.d reveals what is best. The brethren, moreover, with all subjection of humility, ought so to give their advice that they do not presume boldly to defend what seems good to them; but it should rather depend on the judgment of the abbot, so that, whatever he decides to be best, they should all agree to it.

But even as it behooves the disciples to obey the master, so it is fitting that he should arrange all matters with care and justice.

In all things, indeed, let every one follow the Rule as his guide; and let no one rashly deviate from it. Let no one in the monastery follow the inclination of his own heart. And let no one boldly presume to dispute with his abbot, within or without the monastery.

But, if he should so presume, let him be subject to the discipline of the Rule.

[Sidenote: No property to be owned by the monks individually]