Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Department

History

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

This paper will explore the principal figures, activities, issues and doctrines that shaped the ascent of the Medieval Church, with emphasis on the period from 1000 to 1300 A.D. Some of the important ground did begin earlier though, and influential concepts were carried forward from the Gospels, the early Church fathers, and writers such as St. Augustine. Monasticism, art, and pilgrimage and the veneration of relics and saints played important roles in promoting the goals of the Church and the molding of the Medieval mind. Some of the important papal bulls. decrees, and canons of the Church councils reflect characteristics of the people of different periods and the issues or heresies that they had to deal with. The Crusades represent the idea of spiritual unity taken to its threshold in directing religious energy toward a common action. The First Crusade marks the highlight of the Church's spiritual power. The Investiture Controversy marks the apex of the struggle for power between the Church and secular rulers. It is interesting to note that these events share a period of commonality. The Church reached the zenith of is political authority under the leadership of Pope Innocent III, It should also be noted that the height of the Church's spiritual influence and the peak of its political authority did not occur in a simultaneous time frame. The spiritual power was waning as the political power was developing.

Disciplines

History | History of Religion | Religion

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