Fordham


IHSP

Main SourcebooksAncientMedievalModern

Subsidiary SourcebooksAfricanEast AsianGlobalIndianJewishIslamicLesbian/GayScienceWomen

About IHSP Help Page IHSP Credits
Introduction to the Medieval World: Class 21

Class 21: Criticism of Society: Jews, Heretics and Friars

Assigned Reading: 



I.	Introduction - Critical Societies

A.	Criticism of society. An important concept in the West.
	But also as important is a tradition of repressing dissent.
	We can see the beginnings of much of the modern oppression
	of various groups in the West in the high middle ages.

B.	Types of society
	-Simple and complex
	-Monolithic and pluralistic

	Simple agricultural societies would tend to be monolithic
	Most people's lives would be similar. Like the West in
	the early middle ages.

	Most people lived on farms, and scrambled for survival.
	Monks lived in highly structure societies.

C.	What changed?
	As should have become evident, the growth of medieval
	Europe in all areas of life had gone on at an enormous
	rate in the period after 1050.
	In particular
	-Towns
	-Spread of education - even to lay people
	-spread of serious interest in religion (qualify.

	Society was no longer simple. There were many more social
	roles. Some people had time to think and criticize society.

D.	Criticism and religion
	Religion permeated medieval society.
	It told people how they should live and provided a model
	to live up to.
	It was the obvious place to express discontent.
	Such discontent could go two ways, as heresy or reform.

II.	Heresy

A.	Define Heresy
	Means `choosing'
	Sociologically it means rejection of a dominant belief.

B.	Medieval Tabula Rasa
	Heresy in early centuries of the Church was common
	- Arianism, Monophysitism.
	But after barbarian invasions, and conversions of Arian
	peoples it died out. People to busy living.
	1000-1050 - 8 refs. to heresy
	1050-1100 - no refs. in sources to heresy

C.	Twelfth Century - things begin to change
	-Towns are rising
	-education at schools and proto-universities is beginning.
	-Points to an important division in medieval heresy,
	between popular and intellectual heresy.

D.	Intellectual Heresy
	In last class we discussed beginnings of new studies
	in philosophy and theology.

	These studies tended to lead certain thinkers off the
	beaten tracks of Catholic doctrine.
	-due to re-reading the Bible
	-Taking Neoplatonism in a non-Christian way
	-Reading Aristotle

	Abelard - condemned for applying logic to faith.
	Roscelin - Nominalism destroys the church.
	Siger of Brabant - attacked transubstantiation

	Philosophers who used Aristotle
	-David of Dinant - taken with the powers of logic.
	-Even Aquinas suffered serious attacks after his death.
	-Averroism - notion of double truth.

	All these thinkers kept there belief in the schools, but
	were challenged by the Orthodox in any case

	But there were also intellectual heresiarchs
	-no absolute distinction
	-Joachim of Fiore -  Three ages of incarnation
	Got taken up by millenarians
	But rejected the idea of the trinity
	-Amaury of Bene - A Platonic panentheist
	-had popular followers - turned ideas into mysticism
	-condemned at a council in Paris in 1210

E.	Popular Reformism
	As important as intellectual heretics were the popular
	heresies - ones professed by large numbers of people.

	Popular heresy could be either fairly main stream in its
	theology, or essentially non-Christian. In either case
	reformism played an important role.

	Reformism - basic in Christianity - see Greg VII
	In 12th century we can see the rise of wandering preachers,
	-Robert of Arbriselle, who founder Fontrevault,
	-Peter the Hermit
	-These orthodox preachers often found the pace of reform
	insufficient,
	-Idea of vita apostolica, Idea of holiness very important.

	Preaching - it became very popular to hear preachers.
	Probably not done well, if at all, by local parish priests
	So you get a phenomenon of wandering preachers.
	-This soon spills over into heresy.

III.	Popular Heresy - Catharism
Probably the biggest major heresy of the middle ages.
Cathars were dualists, rather than deviant Christians.

A.	Origins - Name is German not Greek (Hollister wrong.
	-Attempts have been made to trace them back to a group to
	which St. Augustine belonged, the Manicheans. Not provable.

	Paulicians - 7th century Anatolia
	Byzantine emperors engaged in transfer of populations
	quite often, especially to safeguard frontiers.
	-Some Paulician were transferred to Thrace - still there
	in 18th century.
	-Their ideas seem to have influenced or merged with
	a sect which grew up in Bulgaria - the Bogomils.
	-The Bogomils develop an entire heretical Church, which in
	some areas - Bosnia - totally dominates. They have bishops.
	-The Bogomils were missionary about their faith.
	-Spreads to Western Europe
	-Evidence from the Rhineland in 1143-4.
	Also spreads in the south of France - Albigensians.

B.	Beliefs - Caution: evidence only from opponents
	-Dualism - a basic human religion.
	Seeks to explain problem of evil.
	-Monarchist - one God creator, but Devil makes world.
	Radical dualist - two co-equal principles.
	-Some dispute within Catharism - 1167 St. Felix de Caraman
	adopts a radical line. Cathar Theology develops.
	-Theology of soul locked in body. Matter is Evil.
	-Therefore Cathars opposed to procreation, children,
	and all sacraments - grace cannot come through matter.
	No priests, no Baptism, no Church.
	-Jesus just some sort of angel.

C.	Why Catharism was Attractive.

	1.	Medieval people not necessarily living in a world
		in which matter was comfortable. Still that's not
		enough to explain popularity.

	2.	Reform ideas in Catholicism made people critical
		of, e.g.. lax clergy. The clergy did not necessarily
		get any worse, but it was held to higher standards.
		So a certain amount of anticlericalism

	3.	Also feelings of guilt about material wealth.
		Avarice as the big medieval sin.

	4.	Attraction of Cathar Organization
		Catharism did not demand that people all live its
		life at one go. Division between the perfecti and
		the believers. Consolamentum could make you a
		perfecti, but could be received once. Most Cathars
		received it on death bed. (stories of starving
		consolati to death.. For believers they were under
		no necessity to keep all the rules of the perfecti.
		But they could reject the Catholic Church

D.	Languedoc
	Catharism became particularly popular in Languedoc in
	late 12th century,
	-Cathar bishops went round preaching their faith. It tied
	in to several orthodox themes. The stories and myths
	were popular.
	-Gave nobles a chance to confiscate Catholic property.
	-Church not able to resist - fairly weak leaders.

IV.	Popular Heresy - Waldensians 
The other major heretical group.

A.	Origins - 1173 "Peter" Valdez/Waldo in Lyons
	-Poor Men of Lyons
	-Preached in the streets, appealed for Church support
	-Waldo visited Lateran III 1179 for approval.
	-He was refused: considered dangerous to the clergy.

	The Waldensians would not stop.
	They developed a critique of the Church and its wealth.

	1281 - the Archbishop of Lyons banished them so they
	spread all over - Bohemia, Languedoc, Picardy, Piedmont.
	Picked up some Cathar ideas in structure - e.g. perfecti,
	while in N. Italy.
	-Spread in Italy - still exists

B.	Reformers
	-They wanted to reform the Church.
	-They emphasized the Bible.
	-Were anti sacramental and anti-hierarchical
	-In particular they objected to the Church having wealth.

	They claimed to be orthodox - confession of faith 1184
	-Attacked Cathar dualism
	-support OT and NT
	-Said no salvation outside church.

V.	Orthodox Reformism - The Friars
The Friars must be seen against the background of heresy,
as they spring from the same background, have similar
motives, but eventually help the Church to destroy heresy.

Friars = mendicants.
Cf. older monastics, cf. Newer orders such as SJs

A.	Franciscans - Caritas

	1.	St. Francis 1186-1226
		People though Christ had come to earth again
		a.	Assisi - Rich trading town
			Very parochial - e.g.. vs. Perugia
		b.	Wealth - Francis father was a rich merchant
		c.	Conversion -Mystical experience
			- threw off clothes, Christ spoke to him
		d.	The New Christ - Kissing lepers / AIDS
		e.	Lady Poverty - even books
		f.	Stigmata 1224
		g.	Attractiveness of his spirituality
			To Catholics at the time
			Holy people are not necessarily to be imitated.
		h.	Canonized within 2 years

	2.	The Order
		a.	Followers
		b.	Innocent III - 1210
		c.	Rule
	3.	St. Clare and the Poor Clares
		Wanted to live as Francis but confined to a convent.
	4.	Development
		a.	Money - Popes held it for them
		b.	Split ups
		c.	Condemnation of poverty
	5.	Impossible to live up to St. Francis

B.	Dominicans - Veritas

	1.	St. Dominic Guzman 1170-1221 - Spanish
		His mother's dream - Domini canes
	2.	Augustinians - Canons - semi-monastics
	3.	Dominic and Cathars - Involvement of Catalonia
	4.	The Order - 1216
	5.	Development - Study above all
		The great intellectual order until the SJs.

VI.	The Formation of a Persecuting Society
ref. R.I. Moore.

A.	Reaction to Challenge of Critics
	-Emphasize clerical church.
	-Attack others.

B.	The Inquisition

	1.	Roman Law  judicial procedure
	2.	Origins - Episcopal Inquisitions
		Gregory IX - 1234
	3.	Roman and Spanish
	4.	Rationale - Force can make you believe.
	5.	State aid.

C.	Heretics
	Albigensian Crusade
	Killing of Peter of Castelnau in 1208
	Montsegur 1209

D.	Jews - also increased attacks
	Attacks on Talmud
	Expulsions in 1290s

E.	Homosexuals
	Gay culture in 12th century
	Origin of word Bugger in Bogomils.
	Templars
	Death.

Return to Introduction to the Medieval World main page

© Paul Halsall, 1996.

This file is not copy-permitted.


The Internet History Sourcebooks Project is located at the History Department of  Fordham University, New York. The Internet Medieval Sourcebook, and other medieval components of the project, are located at the Fordham University Center for Medieval Studies.The IHSP recognizes the contribution of Fordham University, the Fordham University History Department, and the Fordham Center for Medieval Studies in providing web space and server support for the project. The IHSP is a project independent of Fordham University.  Although the IHSP seeks to follow all applicable copyright law, Fordham University is not the institutional owner, and is not liable as the result of any legal action.

© Site Concept and Design: Paul Halsall created 26 Jan 1996: latest revision 14 April 2025 [CV]