Early European History Part 79

[4] The practice of primogeniture has now been abolished by the laws of the various European countries and is not recognized in the United States.

It still prevails, however, in England.

[5] Latin _h.o.m.o_, "man."

[6] Sir Walter Scott's novel, _Ivanhoe_ (chapter xliii), contains an account of a judicial duel.

[7] See page 326.

[8] See page 331.

[9] See the ill.u.s.trations, pages 408, 421, 422, 473.

[10] The French form of the word is _chateau_.

[11] A good example is the "White Tower," which forms a part of the Tower of London. It was built by William the Conqueror. See the ill.u.s.tration, page 498.

[12] See page 560.

[13] Malory, _Morte d'Arthur_, xxi, 13. See also Tennyson's poem, _Sir Galahad_, for a beautiful presentation of the ideal knight.

[14] Sir Walter Scott's novel, _Ivanhoe_ (chapter xii), contains a description of a tournament.

[15] _Don Quixote_, by the Spanish writer, Cervantes (1547-1616 A.D.), is a famous satire on chivalry. Our American "Mark Twain" also stripped off the gilt and tinsel of chivalry in his amusing story ent.i.tled _A Connecticut Yankee at the Court of King Arthur_.

[16] See page 208.

[17] According to Domesday Book (see page 499) there were 9250 manors, of which William the Conqueror possessed 1422. His manors lay in about thirty counties.

[18] This "open field" system of agriculture, as it is usually called, still survives in some parts of Europe. See the plan of Hitchin Manor, page 435.

[19] See page 581-582.

[20] See page 612.

CHAPTER XIX

THE PAPACY AND THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE, 962-1273 A.D. [1]

159. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE MEDIEVAL CHURCH

THE ROMAN CHURCH

A preceding chapter dealt with the Christian Church in the East and West during the early Middle Ages. We learned something about its organization, belief, and worship, about the rise and growth of the Papacy, about monasticism, and about that missionary campaign which won all Europe to Christianity. Our narrative extended to the middle of the eleventh century, when the quarrel between pope and patriarch led at length to the disruption of Christendom. We have now to consider the work and influence of the Roman Church during later centuries of the Middle Ages.

TERRITORIAL EXTENT OF THE CHURCH

The Church at the height of its power held spiritual sway over all western Europe. Italy and Sicily, the larger part of Spain, France, Germany, Hungary, Poland, British Isles, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Iceland yielded obedience to the pope of Rome.

THE CHURCH AS UNIVERSAL

Membership in the Church was not a matter of free choice. All people, except Jews, were required to belong to it. A person joined the Church by baptism, a rite usually performed in infancy, and remained in it as long as he lived. Every one was expected to conform, at least outwardly, to the doctrines and practices of the Church, and anyone attacking its authority was liable to punishment by the state.

THE CHURCH AS INTERNATIONAL

The presence of one Church throughout the western world furnished a bond of union between European peoples during the age of feudalism. The Church took no heed of political boundaries, for men of all nationalities entered the ranks of the priesthood and joined the monastic orders. Priests and monks were subjects of no country, but were "citizens of heaven," as they sometimes called themselves. Even difference of language counted for little in the Church, since Latin was the universal speech of the educated cla.s.ses. One must think, then, of the Church as a great international state, in form a monarchy, presided over by the pope, and with its capital at Rome.

TWOFOLD DUTIES OF THE CHURCH

The Church in the Middle Ages performed a double task. On the one hand it gave the people religious instruction and watched over their morals; on the other hand it played an important part in European politics and provided a means of government. Because the Church thus combined ecclesiastical and civil functions, it was quite unlike all modern churches, whether Greek, Roman, or Protestant. Both sides of its activities deserve, therefore, to be considered.

160. CHURCH DOCTRINE AND WORSHIP

"THE GATE OF HEAVEN."

In medieval times every loyal member of the Church accepted without question its authority in religious matters. The Church taught a belief in a personal G.o.d, all-wise, all-good, all-powerful, to know whom was the highest goal of life. The avenue to this knowledge lay through faith in the revelation of G.o.d, as found in the Scriptures. Since the unaided human reason could not properly interpret the Scriptures, it was necessary for the Church, through her officers, to declare their meaning and set forth what doctrines were essential to salvation. The Church thus appeared as the sole repository of religious knowledge, as "the gate of heaven."

THE SACRAMENTAL SYSTEM

Salvation did not depend only on the acceptance of certain beliefs. There were also certain acts, called "sacraments," in which the faithful Christian must partic.i.p.ate, if he was not to be cut off eternally from G.o.d. These acts formed channels of heavenly grace; they saved man from the consequences of his sinful nature and filled him with "the fullness of divine life." Since priests alone could administer the sacraments, [2] the Church presented itself as the necessary mediator between G.o.d and man.

BAPTISM, CONFIRMATION, MATRIMONY, AND EXTREME UNCTION

By the thirteenth century seven sacraments were generally recognized. Four of these marked critical stages in human life, from the cradle to the grave. Baptism cleansed the child from the taint of original sin and admitted him into the Christian community. Confirmation gave him full Church fellowship. Matrimony united husband and wife in holy bonds which might never be broken. Extreme Unction, the anointing with oil of one mortally ill, purified the soul and endowed it with strength to meet death.

PENANCE

Penance held an especially important place in the sacramental system. At least once a year the Christian must confess his sins to a priest. If he seemed to be truly repentant, the priest p.r.o.nounced the solemn words of absolution and then required him to accept some punishment, which varied according to the nature of the offense. There was a regular code of penalties for such sins as drunkenness, avarice, perjury, murder, and heresy. Penances often consisted in fasting, reciting prayers, abstaining from one's ordinary amus.e.m.e.nts, or beating oneself with bundles of rods. A man who had sinned grievously might be ordered to engage in charitable work, to make a contribution in money for the support of the Church, or to go on a pilgrimage to a sacred shrine. The more distant and difficult a pilgrimage, the more meritorious it was, especially if it led to some very holy place, such as Rome or Jerusalem. People might also become monks in order to atone for evil-doing. This system of penitential punishment referred only to the earthly life; it was not supposed to cleanse the soul for eternity.

HOLY EUCHARIST

The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, generally known as the Ma.s.s, formed the central feature of worship. It was more than a common meal in commemoration of the Last Supper of Christ with the Apostles. It was a solemn ceremony, by which the Christian believed himself to receive the body and blood of Christ, under the form of bread and wine. [3] The right of the priest to withhold the Eucharist from any person, for good cause, gave the Church great power, because the failure to partake of this sacrament imperiled one's chances of future salvation. It was also supposed that the benefits of the ceremony in purifying from sin might be enjoyed by the dead in Purgatory; hence ma.s.ses were often said for the repose of their souls.

ORDINATION

The seventh and last sacrament, that of Ordination, or "Holy Orders,"

admitted persons to the priesthood. According to the view of the Church the rite had been inst.i.tuted by Christ, when He chose the Apostles and sent them forth to preach the Gospel. From the Apostles, who ordained their successors, the clergy in all later times received their exalted authority. [4] Ordination conferred spiritual power and set such an indelible mark on the character that one who had been ordained could never become a simple layman again.

[Ill.u.s.tration: PILGRIMS TO CANTERBURY From a medieval ma.n.u.script. Canterbury with its cathedral appears in the background. The shrine of Thomas Becket, archbishop of Canterbury, formed a celebrated resort for medieval pilgrims. The archbishop had been murdered in the church (1180 A.D.), if not at the instigation, at any rate without the opposition of King Henry II, whose policies he opposed.

Becket, who was regarded as a martyr, soon received canonization. Miracles were said to be worked at his grave and at the well in which his b.l.o.o.d.y garments had been washed. He remained the most popular saint in England until the Protestant Reformation in the sixteenth century, when his shrine was destroyed.]

REVERENCE FOR SAINTS

The Church did not rely solely on the sacramental system as a means to salvation. It was believed that holy persons, called saints, [5] who had died and gone to Heaven, offered to G.o.d their prayers for men. Hence the practice arose of invoking the aid of the saints in all the concerns of life. The earliest saints were Christian martyrs, [6] who had sealed their faith with their blood. In course of time many other persons, renowned for pious deeds, were exalted to sainthood. The making of a new saint, after a rigid inquiry into the merits of the person whom it is proposed to honor, is now a privilege reserved to the pope.