Unit 19 - The Church in the Middle Ages
How were some church officials able to influence the rulers of Europe?
Many
Church officials were also advisers and administrators in the governments of
Europe's rulers. These advisers often persuaded rulers to make policies that
were favoured by the Church.
2 What was the Church's power of excommunication?
What effect did this have on rulers?
During
the Middle Ages, people believed that the king received his power from God. The
Church could "excommunicate" the king, that is cut him off from God's
blessing, and the king would lose his divine right or power to rule the people.
This way, the Church used its power of excommunication to force rulers to follow
their wishes.
3 What made the Church rich?
The
Church was rich because it owned a lot of land and collected taxes from the
people.
4 Where does the word "Crusade" come from?
The
word "Crusade" comes from the Latin word "crux" which means
a "cross". The Crusaders had crosses painted on their armour as the
cross is the symbol of Christianity
5 When were Christians no longer allowed to visit
the Holy Land?
In
1071, the Muslim turks captured the Holy Land. It was from then that the turks
no longer allowed Christians to visit the Holy Land.
6 Who called all Christians to fight to save the
Holy Land?
It
was in 1095, that Pope Urban called all Christians to go on a Crusade to take
back the Holy Lands from the Turks.
7 How many Crusades were there?
There
were eight main Crusades between 1096 and 1271.
8 What was the result of the first Crusade?
The
Christians captured Jerusalem and a Christian kingdom of Jerusalem was
established.
9 What was the final result of all the Crusades?
In the end, the Crusades failed. The Christians were not able to get back the Holy Lands. By 1291, the Holy Lands were taken back by the Christians.