The Middle Ages IV
590-1517
Late Middle Ages
Assisi, Captivity, Schism
and Inquisition
Frater Parvulus “little brother”
brother”
Il poverello “little poor man”
man”
Giovanni (John) di Bernardone
renamed Francesco
A.K.A
St. Francis of Assisi
St. Francis of Assisi
• Given the chapel of Portiuncula “Little
Portion”
Portion”
• Heard the call to preach and did so
• Lived by Matthew 16:2416:24-26, 19:21, and
Luke 9:19:1-6
• He was simple and loved animals
• Self proclaimed idiota “illiterate”
illiterate” and was
therefore antianti-education as it inspired pride
• Was married to poverty
St. Francis of Assisi
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From a fairly well off family
Served as a soldier
Convicted by a leper and kissed his hand
Gave away all he had (his fathers goods
included)
• Kicked out of his family
• Ran away to serve the poor especially the
lepers
St. Francis of Assisi
• He attracted followers called the fratres
minores “the lesser brethren”
brethren”
• Worked to earn food/lodging whenever
possible, when not they stayed where they
could.
• Extreme emphasis on living out the gospel
• Obtained papal sanction by rolling in pig mud
• Companion nunnery founded by Clara of Sciffi
• Order taken over by papacy and Francis’
Francis’
ideology ultimately was set aside
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Mediaeval Dissenters
Heretics and Non-Catholics
• Cathari – middle aged manichaens
• Albigensians – lived in Toulouse, the
object of a Crusade
• Beghards – distinctively clothed
mendicants seeking “brod durch Gott”
Gott” bread through God
• Waldenses – one of the few to survive
through persecution, almost prepreprotestants
The Inquisition
• 1252 Innocent IV authorizes torture as means
of obtaining confession
• Inquisitors dissociated from pastoral care of
souls instead focusing purely on heretics
• They were given power to excommunicate, lay
interdict, and absolve acts of violence
• Punishments were seizure of property, life
imprisonment, and death
• Spies were paid out of seized goods
• Some places resisted, especially Germany
The Inquisition
• Ecclesia non sitit sanguinem “The Church is
not thirsty for blood”
blood”
• Priests were not to order/attend executions
• Pinnacle of mixing church and state
• Heretics are little foxes
• Dominican monks were the primary force
behind the Inquisition, though Franciscans
were involved as well
The Inquisition
• German Inquisition: Konrad of Marburg “the
Lords watchwatch-dog”
dog”
• Confessor of Queen/St. Elizabeth
• Deprived her of maidservants and separated
her from her three children
• Assigned her beatings for any wrongdoing
ultimately resulting in her death
• Konrad freely burned “Luciferans”
Luciferans”
• He was murdered in 1233, buried next to
Elizabeth as a “herald of the Christian faith.”
faith.”
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Babylonian Captivity 1305-1378
• Pope Gregory VIII vs. King Phillip the Fair
• Benedict XI was more concilaitory than
Gregory and gave in to the Emperor ending the
conflict.
• He was given poison in a dish of figs and died
• The Frenchman Clement V was elected pope
starting the Babylonian Captivity of the papacy
• The papal throne was moved to Avignon
• 7 popes, 70 years Clement VV-Gregory XI
Babylonian Captivity 1305-1378
• Clement V undoes all that Boniface VIII had done
• France is declared in this dispensation as Israel was in
the last.
• Oct. 13 1307 – The Templar holdings were siezed and
the Templars arrested.
• 1308 Clement V authorizes their persecution
• John XXII 13161316-1334 – greedy as well as doctrinally
poor
• Benedict XII 13341334-1342 - a moderate and good ruler,
he opposed nepotism and built a permanent Papal seat
in Avignon
Babylonian Captivity 1305-1378
• Clement VI 13421342-1352 – nepotist who lived
richly, money, food, and women. Avignon was
officially purchased costing 80,000 florins
• Black Death spreading across Europe
• Innocent VI 13521352-1362 – reduced the excesses
of Avignon, and fought to hold Rome together
• Urban V 13621362-1370 – returns to Rome and
settles in the Vatican and starts rebuilding
• Gregory XI 13701370-1378 – restoration of papacy
to Rome to prevent antianti-popes
The Papal Schism
• Gregory XI declares any election of pope valid
after his death, to forestall antianti-popes
• After a mucky succession Urban VI became
pope in 1378
• He was a terrible politician and insulted the
Cardinals
• In response the Cardinals return to France and
elect Clement VII as pope
• This starts a war Clement VII is held out of
Rome so returns to Avignon and Europe is split
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The Papal Schism
Roman Line
Urban VI 13781378-1389
Boniface IX 13891389-1404
Innocent VII 14041404-1406
Gregory XII 14061406-1415
Avignon Line
Clement VII 13781378-1394
Benedict XII 13941394-1409
Pisan Line
Alexander V 14091409-1410
John XXIII 14101410-1415
Martin V 14171417-1431
The Papal Schism
The Papal Schism
• Urban remains implacable, cold, hard, and
antianti-simonist.
simonist. He has captive cardinals slain
• Clement VII was political and flexible. He
submitted to the French king and attempted
reconciliation by appointing Urban lead
Cardinal
• Boniface IX young only 35 and charismatic but
not well educated. He gained complete control
of Italy. He was very much a simonist and
nepotist
• Innocent VII took over in Rome after Boniface.
He was also only 35 years old.
• Innocent VII continued listing Avignon popes
with heretics pirates and brigands.
• He was driven from Rome as his nephew had
murdered 11 chief men of the City, he was later
recalled as they didn’
didn’t like the new ruler
• Gregory XII the last of the Roman schismatic
popes. Was chosen partially because of his age,
as older men have less ambition.
• Took a vow when coming to office to heal the
schism even if it meant abdicating
The Papal Schism
The Papal Schism
• Benedict XIII a.k.a. Peter de Luna refused to
back down or heal the Schism by mutual
abdication.
• The French king Charles VI 13801380-1412 was
weak and insane which minimalized his
influence
• Multiple councils were called with and without
papal consent, including The Council of Pisa
• It started with 2 popes ended with 3 though the
new pope Alexander V died before reaching
Rome
• Rome is sacked John XXIII is instated as pope
• Rome is sacked John XXIII is removed as pope
• Emperor Sigismund calls the Council of
Constance lasting 4 years 14141414-1418
• John says he will abdicate if the others do, and it
is agreed, John then flees and tries to regain
support in France
• Popes are declared fallible and subject to
Councils
• John is put on trial, Gregory resigns, Benedict is
deposed, though not gracefully
• Nov. 11 1417 Martin V is elected ending the
Schism
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