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Do not fill this in! ==Late Middle Ages (1300–1500)== In Europe, the Late Middle Ages was an age of transition that Cynthia Wood describes as a "time of change and development, murder, mayhem and crisis".{{sfn|Lazzarini|Blanning|2021|pp=6, 10, 13}}{{sfn|Wood|2016|p=6}} People experienced [[Bubonic plague|plague]], [[Great Famine of 1315–1317|famine]] and [[14th century|wars]] that ravaged most of the continent and the British Isles.{{sfn|Lazzarini|Blanning|2021|pp=7,8}} There was [[Popular revolts in late medieval Europe|social unrest, urban riots, peasant revolts and renegade feudal armies]].{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=243}} The feudal system declined, parliaments and general literacy grew, and written records multiplied.{{sfn|Wood|2016|pp=1–2, 5}} Kings had begun centralizing power into the State in the twelfth century, but it wasn't until the fourteenth century that Papal power stopped increasing, and French kings substantively gained and consolidated power.{{sfn|Wood|2016|pp=1–2, 5}}{{sfn|Moore|2007|p=154}} Societal persecution and discrimination grew, becoming core elements of society and accepted tools of the powerful.{{sfn|Arnold|2018|pp=166–167; 172, 365, 370}}{{sfn|Moore|2007|pp=4, 5, 132}}{{refn|group=note|Before 1478, neither the medieval church nor the secular kings possessed the kind of social-political apparatus, sufficient material resources, or the political support needed for persecution to become truly institutional or regularized.{{sfn|Arnold|2018|pp=370, 371}}}} Christianity remained varied, at times approving in one place what it opposed in another.{{sfn|Arnold|2018|pp=361, 366,}} [[File:Michelangelo's Pieta 5450 cropncleaned edit.jpg|thumb|[[Pietà (Michelangelo)|Michelangelo's ''Pietà'']] (1498–99) in [[St. Peter's Basilica]], Vatican City|alt=image of Michelangelo's famous sculpture the Pieta. Mary is seated looking at the body of her son draped across her lap.]] The later Middle Ages produced a series of formal and informal groups composed of laymen and secular clerics seeking a more apostolic life.{{sfn|Van Engen|1986|p=547}} Inside and outside the church, women were central to these movements. A vernacular religious culture for the laity rose.{{sfn|Van Engen|1986|p=523}} By 1330, the Ottomans had largely conquered [[Anatolia]], much of the Balkans by the end of the century, and Constantinople, the last vestige of the Roman Empire, in 1453.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|pp=185; 192}} The flight of [[Greek scholars in the Renaissance|Eastern Christians from Constantinople]], and the manuscripts they carried with them, is one of the factors that prompted the [[Renaissance|literary renaissance]] in the West.{{sfn|Hudson|2023}} The Church became a leading patron of art and [[Medieval architecture|architecture]] and commissioned and supported many such as [[Michelangelo]], [[Filippo Brunelleschi|Brunelleschi]], [[Donato Bramante|Bramante]], [[Raphael]], [[Fra Angelico]], [[Donatello]], and [[Leonardo da Vinci]].{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=299}} Catholic monks developed the first forms of modern Western musical notation leading to the development of classical music and all its derivatives.{{sfn|Hall|Battani|Neitz|2004|p=100}} Scholars of the Renaissance created [[textual criticism]] revealing the ''[[Donation of Constantine]]'' as a forgery.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=279}} ===Avignon=== [[File:Portrait of Pope John XXII Dueze (by Giuseppe Franchi) – Pinacoteca Ambrosiana.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Pope [[John XXII]] (1316–1334) (by Giuseppe Franchi) who was referred to as "the banker of Avignon"|alt=image of Portrait by Giuseppe Franchi of Pope [[John XXII]] (1316–1334) who was referred to as "the banker of Avignon".{{sfn|Chamberlin|1986|p=131}}]] In 1309, [[Pope Clement V]] moved to Avignon in southern France in search of relief from Rome's factional politics.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=248}} Seven popes resided there in the [[Avignon Papacy]], but the move to Avignon caused great indignation costing popes prestige and power.{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=109–110; 118–119}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|p=375}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|pp=559, 561}} [[Pope Gregory XI]] returned to Rome in 1377.{{sfn|Kelly|2009|p=104}}{{sfn|Whalen|2015|p=14}}{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=109–110}} After Gregory's death, the [[papal conclave]] met in 1378, in Rome, and elected an Italian [[Pope Urban VI|Urban VI]] to succeed Gregory.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=248}} The French cardinals did not approve, so they held a second conclave electing [[Antipope Clement VII|Robert of Geneva]] instead. This began the [[Western Schism]].{{sfn|Olson|1999|p=348}}{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=248}} For thirty years the Church had two popes, then in 1409, the [[Council of Pisa|Pisan council]] called for the resignation of both popes, electing a third to replace them. Both Popes refused to resign, giving the Church three popes. The pious became disgusted.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=248}}{{sfn|Ullmann|2005|p=xv}} Five years later, [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund the Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)]] pressed Pope [[Antipope John XXIII|John XXIII]] to call the [[Council of Constance]] (1414–1418) to depose all three popes. In 1417, the council elected [[Pope Martin V]] in their place.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=248}} [[File:Brožík, Václav - Hus před koncilem 6. července 1415.jpg|thumb|left|[[Jan Hus]] defending his theses at the [[Council of Constance]] (1415), painting by the Czech artist [[Václav Brožík]]|alt=image of painting by the Czech artist Václav Brožík of the Council of Constance with Jan Hus standing before them to defend himself]] [[John Wycliffe]] (1320–1384), an English scholastic philosopher and theologian, attended the Council of Constance and urged the Church to give up its property (which produced much of the Church's wealth), and to once again embrace poverty and simplicity, to stop being subservient to the state and its politics, and to deny papal authority.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=249}}{{sfn|Estep|1986|pp=58–77}} He was accused of heresy, convicted and sentenced to death, but died before implementation. The [[Lollards]] followed his teachings, played a role in the [[English Reformation]], and were persecuted for heresy after Wycliffe's death.{{sfn|Estep|1986|pp=58–77}}{{sfn|Frassetto|2007|pp=151–174}} [[Jan Hus]] (1369–1415), a Czech based in [[Prague]], was influenced by Wycliffe and spoke out against the abuses and corruption he saw in the Catholic Church there.{{sfn|Frassetto|2007|pp=175–198}} He was also accused of heresy and condemned to [[death penalty|death]].{{sfn|Frassetto|2007|pp=151–174}}{{sfn|Frassetto|2007|pp=175–198}}{{sfn|Estep|1986|pp=58–77}} After his death, Hus became a powerful symbol of Czech nationalism and the impetus for the [[Bohemian Reformation|Bohemian/Czech]] and German Reformations.{{sfn|Matthews|Platt|1992|p=150}}{{sfn|Haberkern|2016|pp=1–3}}{{sfn|Frassetto|2007|pp=175–198}}{{sfn|Estep|1986|pp=58–77}} ===Relations with the Jewish people=== {{Main|Reconquista|Spanish Inquisition}} [[File:Expulsion judios-en.svg|thumb|350px|right|Expulsions of Jews in Europe from 1100 to 1600|alt=map of Europe from 1100 to 1600 showing where and when Jews were expelled and exciled]] A turning point in Jewish-Christian relations took place in the early 1200s when contents of the Talmud mocking the central figures of Christianity became public.{{sfn|Rosenthal|1956|pp=68–72}}{{sfn|Schacter|2011|p=2}} The medieval Catholic church never advocated the expulsion of all the Jews from Christendom, nor did the Church ever repudiate Augustine's doctrine of Jewish witness, but new canon law supported discrimination as secular rulers repeatedly confiscated Jewish property and evicted Jews from their lands.{{sfn|Cohen|1998|p=396}} The Spanish inquisition was authorized by the Pope in answer to royal fears that ''[[Conversos]]'' or ''[[Marranos]]'' (Jewish converts) were spying and conspiring with the Muslims to sabotage the new state.{{sfn|Tarver|Slape|2016|pp=210–212}}{{sfn|Bernardini|Fiering|2001|p=371}} Early inquisitors proved so severe that the Pope soon opposed it and wanted to shut it down.{{sfn|Mathew|2018|pp=52–53}} Ferdinand is said to have threatened the Pope to prevent that. In October 1483, a papal bull conceded control to the Spanish crown.{{sfn|Kamen|2014|p=182}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|p=587}} The inquisition became the first national, unified and centralized institution of the nascent Spanish state.{{sfn|Casanova|1994|p=75}} Anti-Judaism had become part of the [[Portuguese Inquisition|Inquisition in Portugal]] before the end of the fifteenth century, and forced conversion led many Jewish converts to India where they suffered as targets of the [[Goa Inquisition]].{{sfn|Flannery|2013|p=11}} Frankfurt's Jews flourished between 1453 and 1613 despite harsh discrimination. They were restricted to one street, subject to strict rules if they wished to leave this territory and forced to wear a [[yellow badge|yellow patch]] as a sign of their identity. Within the community they maintained some self-governance. They had their own laws, leaders and a Rabbinical school that functioned as a religious and cultural center.{{sfn|Cohen|1998|p=396}} ===Criticism and blame=== The many great calamities of the "long fourteenth century" led folk to believe [[Armageddon]] was immanent.{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=109–110}} This sentiment ran throughout society and became intertwined with anticlerical and anti-papal sentiments.{{sfn| Taylor|2021|pp=118–119}} Some claimed the clergy did little to help the suffering, although the high mortality rate amongst clerics indicates many continued to care for the sick.{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=114–115}} Other medieval folk claimed it was the "corrupted" and "vice-ridden" clergy that had caused the many calamities that people believed were punishments from God.{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=114–115}} The period from around 1100 to 1349 can be identified as an era of “anticlerical revolution". It describes developing attitudes and behaviors against the clergy.{{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=9, 11, 12}}{{refn|group=note| Scholars have generally referred to this hostility as "anticlericalism" even though the term is considered biased, and there is a lack of consensus on its elements and form in pre-Reformation Europe.{{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=9, 11}}}} Hostility was usually targeted at bad [[priest]]s, ineffective [[incumbent]]s or inadequate [[curate]]s.{{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=12, 15}} Multiple strands of criticism of the clergy between 1100 and 1520 were voiced by clerics themselves.{{sfn|Swanson|2021|p=15}} Such criticism condemned abuses and sought a more spiritual, less worldly, clergy.{{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=16–17}} However, there is a constancy of complaints in the historical record that indicates most attempts at reform failed. The church's entanglement with the secular and lay exploitation were too deeply rooted. {{sfn|Swanson|2021|pp=16–17}}{{refn|group=note| By the Late Middle Ages, Benedictine and Cluniac had become so focused on centralization and institutionalization that they had become more like competing enterprises than spiritual houses.{{sfn|Van Engen|1986|p=533}} Constitutional reform, such as the [[Conciliarism|Conciliar movement]], was intended to unite the Church; instead, it produced a 40-year debate on what constituted legitimate authority.{{sfn|Canning|2011|p=7}}}} Power within the church tipped away from the monastics toward bishops, but this didn't help with the problems since many kings and noblemen drafted competent bishops to improve their own governments leaving many diocese without spiritual leadership.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|p=378}} Civilization itself was changing its character. The Old order was being challenged. The influence of educated and wealthy lay people increased as the influence of clergy waned.{{sfn|Morris|1990|pp=225, 229}} By the 1300s, nations were becoming more formidable opponents than they had been in the 1100s when the struggle over papal superiority first took political form.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=228}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|p=364, 388}} Evidence of decline in papal power can be found by 1302.{{sfn|Gonzales|2010a|p=368}}{{refn|group=note| After a disagreement, [[Pope Boniface VIII]] issued the bull ''Unam Sanctam'' asserting again that, since "one sword must be under the other," the church must be supreme.{{sfn|Gonzales|2010a|p=368}} This was followed in 1303 by the excommunication of [[Philip IV of France|Philip the Fair of France]]. Philip responded by sending his men to arrest the Pope.{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=231-232}}}} Practices meant to Christianize people had become "burdensome" and contributed to discontent.{{sfn|Van Engen|1986|p=544}} Franciscans provided evidence against [[Pope John XXII]] (1316-1334) as the failings of a succession of popes contributed to criticism.{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|pp=563 - 564; 574}}{{sfn|Morris|1990|p=229}} The combination of catastrophic events, both within the church and those events beyond its control, undermined the moral authority and constitutional legitimacy of the church opening it to local fights of authority and control.{{sfn|Lazzarini|Blanning|2021|p=8}}{{sfn|Taylor|2021|pp=109–110; 118–119}}{{sfn|MacCulloch|2009|p=375}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. 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