Catholicism+in+the+Middle+Ages

Before the middle ages, Catholicism was seen as a threat to the Roman Emperor and the Roman Gods. Many early Catholics were killed. It was not until Emperor Constantine took power that Catholicism was legalized. Once legal, Catholicism was seen as the only true religion. Catholicism dominated the lives of the people living during the middle ages. Catholicism impacted the middle ages by raising and spreading the knowledge of religion. In the middle ages it did not matter who you were, nine times out of ten your life was mostly contained in the church. THE RISE OF CATHOLICISM ** Catholicism took its rise in Judaism and the earliest teacher of Catholicism was Jesus Christ. He secretly taught the religion in Palestine when it was under the reign of Roman Emperor Tiberius. He did not agree with the Catholicism so many of the early Catholics were killed. The prosecution of the martyrs finally ceased when the reign of Roman Emperor Constantine began. From then on, Catholicism was the official religion of the Roman Empire. In the Dark Ages, 5th Century, there was a lot growth in the power of the Catholic Church. It issued its own laws, lands and taxes. All became consumed by the Catholic Church. It was the main source of education, faith and it carried the most power and money. THE CHURCH ** The Roman Catholic Church was the largest unifying religion in medieval Europe. With the exception of a small number of Jews, everyone in Europe was apart of the Christian faith during the middle ages from the richest king down to the lowest serf. When a child is born, the moment after its baptism the child is entered into a life of service to God and his church. As a child grew older, it was taught the basic prayers of their religion. They would also go to church every week to learn the responsibility of the church. Everyone in the church was required to live by its laws. They had to pay heavy taxes to the church and in return they were given everlasting life. =THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH= Most of the time in the middle ages, the church and government ruled together. Abbots and Bishops would read and write for kings and often became vassals. The local lord appointed the local priest. The priest were expected to up hold the lords wishes and whatever he desired. In the middle of every town there was something called the Parish Church. It was usually the largest building in the town and it had stained glass windows. There were statues that told the stories of the bible to the villagers who, for the most part, could not read. This building and religion were the biggest aspect in the people’s lives. Weddings were held in this building, burial services and when people became ill or their crops fell they would come to the Parish Church to pray. The church was overseen by a parish priest, whose duties were to teach the Christian gospel to his parishioners, and help them to live their lives by God's laws. They were also in charge of collecting the taxes. =THE POPE= The Pope in the Middle Ages was very powerful and influenced the lives of everyone. He was considered God’s representative on earth. This is why he was the head of the church. The Pope had the power to end all communication between someone who went against the church, and everyone else. The people who were excommunicated could never attend church again, and were believed to go straight to hell when they die. Underneath the Pope were the Bishops. The power of the Pope eventually weakened by conflicts between the church and state. Popes kept their papal chair for no more than a decade. Some only lasted as short as weeks. =PILGRIMAGES= Atleast once in their lives, European Christians took a trip, or pilgrimage, to Jerusalem, or The Holy Land. They believed that making a pigramge would grant them forgiveness of their sins and the healing of their sick. During this "Peacetime" Jerusalem was held by the non-Christian Arabs and their Jerusalem was a hallowed shrine for Muslims, Christians and Jews. the Arabs would let the pilgrims come and go as they pleased and permitted Christians to live peacefully there as well. This all changed in 1071, when the Seljuks, a tribe of Muslim Turks, captured the Holy City.
 * CATHOLICISM IN THE MIDDLE AGES **

The crusades were wars against the Muslims. The Muslims had taken over Jerusalem 1071 and were not allowing Christians to visit the holy city or any holy place within Palestine. Which made the Christians in Europe very angry. The Byzantine Emperor called for help to defeat the Turkish Muslims from the holy land. The pope Urban II agreed to help, and called upon Christians to help as well, making this the first crusade. The Christian church, in order to gain soldiers and knights, told the people of Europe that their sins would be forgiven if they went and fought in the crusades. The support of the church was the backbone of the crusades. The first crusade was the only successful crusade out of the seven others that came after. Within the British Isles King Richard Lionheart was the only English King to go on the crusades. He went on the third crusade but was defeated. THE THIRD CRUSADE ** The third crusade had started when Jerusalem, and all the cities that were taken during the first crusade, was taken by Saladin and his Islamic forces. Word of Jerusalem’s capture spread back to Europe and its countries. Three kings mustered forces to go on the crusade, King Philip Augustus of France, King Richard I of England, and King Frederick Barbarossa of Germany. Barbarossa and his forces were the first to set off for Jerusalem, attempting to reach there by land. The hardship of the march and Turks took a toll on the Germans, Barbarossa drowned while on the march. The Germans disheartened went back to Germany.
 * THE CRUSADES **

After some time the English and French forces finally mustered their forces and went on to reclaim the Holy Land. When the crusaders reached the holy land Saladin had captured all the Christian cities within Syria. The crusaders fought hard to reclaim there land and managed to recapture the city of Acre. The crusaders continued to fight Saladin but weren’t able to recapture Jerusalem. Unable to capture Jerusalem, King Philip took the rest of his forces and spoils and went back to France.

King Richard I stayed in the holy land and continued to campaign against Saladin in attempt to take back Jerusalem. After time, the fighting of the two leaders ceased. They made a truce to allow Christians to enter Jerusalem and all holy places without paying tribute. With this Richard sailed back to England ending the third crusade.

Woo Chan Kwon- A Chapel was usually located in a castle because catholictism played such a big role in the Middle-Age times.

WORK CITED
"Popes in the Middle Ages." //The Middle ages Wibsite//. Web. 2 Feb 2010. . "The Church." //Minnesota// //State// //University//. Web. 2 Feb 2010. <[]>. "History of the Crusades, From the First Crusade to the last Crusade ." //The Tree Maker//. The Tree Maker, Web. 18 Feb 2010. [].