With the fall of the Roman empire at the end of the sixth century, the Church found itself at the center of a society that lacked any real sense of structure or authority. As perhaps the only institution that could provide the needed organization, the Church shifted its attention to establishing and maintaining an institutional structure. At the same time, secular society was developing a feudal order out of the chaos that developed under the barbarian tribes. In this new system, known as the feudal system, those who defended the land possessed it, and a complex hierarchy of obligations and commitments was established between more and less powerful warriors and lords. Due to the uncertainty of invasion and the infighting among the various tribes, the bond between vassal and lord was the only assurity of stability in a decentralized and dangerous society. The Church, because it owned large sections of land, was a major presence in the Medieval structure, and in order to be both a stabilizer of society and a stable part of that society, the church needed to become a part of the feudalization of Europe as well.

At the center of the feudal structure was the oath, and the oath was symbolized by a ceremony known as Investiture." When a lord would make someone his vassal, he would give them something to symbolize their gift; in the case of land, usually a clod of dirt would be used. When bishops were given land and secular authority over a bishopric, they would undergo this ceremony as well. In addition to having these secular powers bestowed upon them, secular lords over time began granting the bishops their spiritual authority as well. In other words, local lords and kings were not only giving new bishops clods of dirt to symbolize their secular authority during the Investiture ceremony, but they were giving them the ring, staff, and mitre that symbolized their spiritual and religious authority as well. This investiture of spiritual authority was simply a logical extension of the fact that secular authorities were ultimately determining who would be granted ecclesiastical positions anyway.

As a result of this falling into the feudal structure and the emergence of lay investiture, the church began to shift its attention away from the spiritual, and more toward secular interests. Secular lords did not always put the best, or most spiritual, person into the position of bishop or priest. Often times important positions within the church were given to relatives of the king or lord who was determined to be the best political choice. Ecclesiastical offices were given as benefices, or gifts, to one of the favored vassal of a king, or were sometimes even sold to the highest bidder. This buying and selling of offices, known as simony, was widespread throughout all of Europe. At the same time, priests at the local level had also slipped away from the ideal practice of the priesthood. Many were morally lax in many ways: neglecting their duties, storing vast sums of wealth, and even keeping concubines. The Papacy had become a position of political contention among the various aristocratic families of Rome, and monasteries had become private storehouses for powerful kings. Certainly the skeptic will find it hard to find in this milieu of corruption a truly Christian society." Indeed, there is much to criticize in a society where the church has fallen under secular influence and control. With the church acting as the sanctioner of the status quo, the one thing that keep Medieval Europe a Christian society, is the church's constant push for reform.

Ecclesiastical Reform

Only a truly Christian society would not allow moral laxity and corruption within the church to be tolerated. Reform came in two forms in Medieval European society. The first centered around the church itself under the leadership of the papacy and secular rulers. This institutional reform focused primarily on structural and moral changes; it attempted to produce a transformation of the attitudes of the clergy and the secular community through legal changes within the church. The other was popular reform (i.e., it came from the people). The focus of popular reform was not so much directed at the secular community, but rather at the moral laxity within the church. Both the institutional structure of society, and the people themselves, pushed Medieval society towards the ideal Christian community.

There was no separation of Church and State during the Medieval period, and secular rulers were some of the first to attempt reform within the church. Charlemagne is perhaps the most notable example of a secular ruler who took it upon himself to push for reformation. It was, of course, in his best interest to use the stable organization structure of the church to advance his own authority over his subjects and over neighboring peoples, but Charlemagne was also instrumental in reforming Frankish monasteries by reestablishing the rule of St. Benedict, and with the help of his missi dominici, he was able to bring uniformity to the practice and liturgy of the churches within his realm.

Reform was not restricted to secular rulers of society. Indeed, much of the more pronounced reform of the Middle Ages would come under the "lawyer" popes of the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Pope Leo IX was instrumental in "calling reform synods, visiting dioceses, and building up in northern Europe a more direct consciousness of the presence and prerogatives of Rome, with the hope of bringing bishops under papal rather than imperial control."[6] He attacked the clergy for its practice of Nicholiaitism (i.e., the keeping of concubines by priests) and simony. Leo IX was perhaps more instrumental in his assault on the moral laxity of the priesthood and laying the theoretical foundation for a universal Christian society with the Pope as its head, than he actually did in actualizing the latter goal. Leo's presence and power were far to weak to overcome the Emperor's position within society.

Although Gregory VII would also press for moral reform, he did far more to actualize papal authority than Leo IX. His reform movement, known as Gregorian reform, was centered on a break between the church and the secular society. In other words, Gregory wanted to take the church out of the feudal structure. Gregory called councils throughout the later part of the eleventh century, condemning simony and priestly marriage, and declaring that "those who have secured the churches by giving money shall certainly be deprived of them."[7] In 1075, Gregory produced the Dictatus papae, which advanced the primacy of the pope over all matters spiritual and secular.

Gregory VII's battle with such secular rulers as Henry IV is legendary, but it is truly beyond the scope of this paper to examine their relationship in any great detail. As of yet, little has been said in this paper in terms of who should head a Christian society. In the minds of many church officials, especially the reformers of Gregory VII's and Innocent III's papacies, the Church (and specifically the pope) should dictate what goes on in the Christian society. Secular rulers who pushed for reform like Charlemagne, however, are prime examples of how secular rulers can also effectively lead a Christian society. Therefore, whether the pope or the emperor was at the head of society does little to effect the conclusion that Medieval Europe was a Christian society. What this battle between pope and emperor does indicate, however, is that, at least for those in positions of power, Europe was seen as a unified society. Therefore, whether it was the pope who held the authority of the Apostle Peter, or the emperor "through the holy ordination of God," someone with some type of "Christian authority" would have to lead Medieval society.[8]

Monastic Reform

The institutional church not only saw reform from within its hierarchy, but it also saw reform from the lay population. Monastic reform, in fact, was instrumental in beginning the reform movement of the papacy. Monasteries had been very popular in the past, as St. Benedict and other monks popularized the ascetic lifestyle. Although monks and hermits are not unique to Christianity, the popularity of monasteries does much to show the influence of Christianity on the people. Even in a distinctly Christian and other-worldly institution as the monastery, however, corruption was present. Reform monasteries such as Cluny, and the Cistersians and Carthusians, also drew much support and followers from the local population. The monastery then is perhaps emblematic of the whole Medieval society; falling in and out of corruption from secular and pagan sources, but eventually pushing back towards the ideal of a Christian society.

Popular Reform

The push for a society that better represents the Christian ideal was also popular among the common people of Europe from about the twelfth century on. When Pope Urban II preached the first crusade at the end of the eleventh century, massive support came from the ordinary people of Europe. Christianity was so important to the common people, that many would literally drop what they were doing, and would go off to fight the Muslims for lands that were of perhaps no real use to Medieval Europeans, except that they meant a great deal in terms of Christian history. Beyond its own significance in showing the importance Christianity played in the lives of the average European, the Crusade was also instrumental in bringing about the lay piety movement of the twelfth century. Both the reform movements and the religious excitement of the Crusades spurred many people in the twelfth century to begin preaching and writing. The cult of the Virgin Mary was popular at this time, and many people, both men and women, made their way to the streets of European cities to proclaim their mystical experiences and their close connection with God.

These lay preachers were very popular in Europe near the close of the Middle ages, and the people's excitement and love for Christian piety and theology is evidenced in the great amount of excitement this revival brought. Medieval society was not only interested in preachers and mystics, however, but it was also fascinated by the writings of Christian authors as well. It is perhaps from the writings of a society that one can best interpret what was important to the people, and if society is truly Christian because it thinks of itself as being Christian, then Medieval Europe was without a doubt a Christian society. The vast majority of the writings of the Middle Ages focus on some aspect of the Christian life and community. A great deal of writing was devoted to science in order to find out more about God's creation," and thus learn more about God as well. Scholastic works that looked at physics and meta-physics, and such writings as Anselm's Ontological Proof for the Existence of God, attempted to answer questions that scientists in the modern period are still attempting to answer; the only difference is that the Medieval writers constructed their work within a decidedly Christian framework. Most of all, however, theology was of great interest and importance. Important writers like Thomas Aquinas devoted their entire lives to studying and writing theological works.

Conclusion

The question that has been posed to us is: was Medieval Europe a Christian society? Immediately the thought of an ideal Christian society comes to mind. But the ideal Christian society would be an impossible standard to compare any society against. Therefore, this paper has taken a Christian society to be any society that considers itself to be Christian. In the mind of Medieval Europeans -- in their thoughts on government, justice, health, and science -- God and Christianity were assumed to be true, and fundamental to every aspect of life. At the same time, however, the Church had fallen into the feudal structure, and moral laxity and corruption were wide-spread. Recognizing themselves as a Christian society, corruption within the Church was met with constant and consistent reform from secular governments, the common people, and the Church itself. The popularity of theology, lay piety, and monasticism also show the distinctly Christian nature religious excitement took on in Medieval society. In simple terms then, Medieval society, with all its faults and failures, was truly a Societas Christiana.

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Societas Christians, Footnotes (continued)

note: All Bible verses taken from the NRSV.

6. Russel, 121.

7. Pope Gregory VII quoted in Brian Tierny, ed., The Middle Ages: Volume I: Sources of Medieval History (New York: McGraw-Hill, INc., 1992), 144.

8. Henry IV quoted in Tierney, 146.