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Chapter 9
The Crusades, Military
Orders and The Inquisition
“In no way is the Church to
be confused with the
political community ...
But, this said, we should
not conclude that the
message of salvation
entrusted to the Church
has nothing to say to the
body politic in order to
enlighten it with the
Gospel.”
~ John Paul II
The Crusades
A. The Fall of the Holy Land
1. 
Rise of Fatimite Muslims
in Egypt led to renewed
Christian persecutions in
first decades of 11th
century
2.  Seljuk Turks in 2nd half of
11th century, create new
militant Islamic nation
3.  Seljuks attack Christians
in Palestine and Syria
The Fall of the Holy Land
4.  In 1071, Turks annihilate
Byzantine army at Battle of
Manzikert & on verge to
take Constantinople
5.  With two-thirds of Christian
world now taken by Muslim
forces, Pope Blessed
Urban II addresses council
of Clermont to help Eastern
Christians in 1095
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The Fall of the Holy Land
6.  Pope believed Christianity had to defend itself
or be taken over by Islam
7.  Christian pilgrims to Holy Land were often
robbed, beaten or killed
8.  Pope St. Gregory VII was even ready to send
50,000 crusaders into the Holy Land but lay
investiture controversy made it impossible
9.  Objective: fend off Turkish expansion into
Byzantium & free the Holy Land for safe
pilgrimage
B. Motivation for the Crusaders
1.  Religion was a
major motivation
for soldiers
2.  Concept that God
would reward
those who fought
for the cause of
defending
Christendom
Motivation for the Crusaders
C. Preaching the Crusades
3.  Religious indulgences
– remission before God of
temporal punishment due
to sins
4.  Other church incentives
– reduction of taxes,
dissolving of debts,
protection of crusaders’
families
1.  Appeal to sinners to
join crusade as means
of reconciliation with
God
2.  Peter the Hermit of
Amiens spoke of the
poor treatment of
Christians in
Palestine
D. Byzantium’s Response
E. Criticism
1.  Many westerners optimistic about Crusades & relations
between western and eastern churches
2.  Crusades allowed positive exchange of ideas & culture
3.  The Eastern Empire feared the Crusades as a threat
against own territory
4.  After sack of Constantinople in 4th Crusade, relations
were ruined creating a rift between Eastern and
Western Churches
1. St. Bernard of
Clairvaux said
many soldiers
were far from
pious after 1st
crusade
2. Muslims and
Jews in Europe
subject to
violence
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Criticism
3. St. Francis of
Assisi tried to
convert Sultan
Malik-al-Kamil;
two became
friends suggesting
peaceful dialogue
in Holy Land
Outcome of Crusades
4.  Success in having
pilgrimages to Holy
Land easier with
Franciscans holding
key holy places
5.  Success in military
technology – castles,
siege engines,
catapults, etc.
F. Outcome of Crusades
1.  Failed in delivering
Holy Lands back to
Christians
2.  Success in holding
Turkish expansion
for 400 years
3.  Success in creating
Christian unity
transcending
nationality & race
Outcome of Crusades
6.  Crusades encouraged travel & fostered drive
to Asia – reach China by 13th century
7.  Technological & academic achievements
due to contact with Arabic world & Greek
medicine & math
A. Origins of the Inquisition
The Inquisition
1.  Early Christian emperors use their
political & military power to protect
orthodoxy of the Church – saw
themselves divinely appointed agents of
Heaven
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Origins of the Inquisition
2.  During Middle Ages,
Church became tied
politically and
economically to
European life
3.  King Peter of Aragon:
“The enemies of the
Cross of Christ ... are
likewise our enemies.”
Origins of the Inquisition
5.  Albigensian fidelity to the Gospel was expressed
in poverty and fasting.
6.  They believed 2 gods governed the universe –
one spiritual and good god; the other was
physical and evil.
Origins of the Inquisition
9.  Pope Gregory IX
didn’t like civil
authority meddling
in matters of Faith
so he established
the Inquisition as a
means of detecting
& purging heresy
Origins of the Inquisition
4.  Inquisition began in
reaction to
Albigensian heresy;
they saw the soul
as good and the
body as evil.
Origins of the Inquisition
7.  They were hostile to Christianity – rejected the
Mass, the sacraments and ecclesiastical
hierarchy; forbade marriage & propagation of
human race (preached suicide as a way to obtain
spiritual purity)
8.  1208, an Albigensian killed the Papal Legate &
so Pope Innocent III called a crusade against
them – went on for more than 20 years & 1000s
died, some by kings burning the heretics at the
stake
B. Process for Inquisition
1.  Special judges (mostly Dominicans &
Franciscans) known as Inquisitors
decided between life and death for the
heretic.
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Process for Inquisition
2.  A month long “term of grace” allowed heretics to
confess on their own for lighter sentences
3.  Once trial began,
a)  needed minimum of 2 witnesses to convict
someone of heresy (often more was used)
b)  the names of these accusers were not
revealed to the accused individual, though the
accused could make a list of his enemies to
help the judge determine the fairness of the
charges
C. Final Verdict in the Inquisition
1.  Solemn ceremony where offenses &
punishments were announced
2.  If guilty of heresy, heretic turned over to civil
power who carried out the punishments
Final Verdict in the Inquisition
6.  Incarceration was for a definite time
or for life (recants only from fear of
death or had once before abjured
“past” heresy)
7.  At height of Inquisition, 3 people
were burned for heresy per year
8.  Civil authorities dealt much more
severely with heretics than papal
inquisitors
Process for Inquisition
4.  Boni viri (good men)
were called upon
(between 30-80 men)
to decide culpability
and punishment to be
imparted
5.  Most final rulings of
the inquisitor usually
in accord with boni viri
views
Final Verdict in the Inquisition
3.  Most punishments were humane – build a
church, a pilgrimage, participate on a crusade
4.  Some fines were charged, whippings happened
5.  Hardest penalties – imprisonment, exclusion
from communion
D. Inquisition in Spain
1.  Started in 1480 and lasted until 1834
2.  Spanish Inquisition coincided with the
Reconquista, reconquering of Spain by
Christians against Muslims and Jews – during
reign of Ferdinand & Isabella
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Inquisition in Spain
3.  When Pope Sixtus IV
received reports of
torture, unjustifiable
punishment & seizure
of executed
prisoners’ property,
he censured the
inquisitors & would
have deposed them
but Ferdinand and
Isabella intervened
Inquisition in Spain
4.  1487, Fray Tomas Torquemada made
Grand Inquisitor & sets up centralized
system for the courts of the Inquisition
5.  Spanish Inquisition was mostly a civil
tribunal & significantly crueler than papal
inquisition; methods frequently violated
dignity of the person
6.  Even still, less than 2% of those accused
of heresy were condemned to death, far
less that of the European civil courts of
that time
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