European historyLesson 2 of 3 in the course The Post-Roman West and the Crusading Movement

Medieval Church Reform, the Great Schism, and the Crusading Movement

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

This lesson examines how reformers challenged secular control of the medieval church and how political, cultural, and religious tensions contributed to the division between eastern and western Christianity.

After the Carolingian Empire fragmented, local lords often treated churches and monasteries on their lands as possessions. They could appoint abbots and bishops, sometimes choosing relatives or selling positions. This meant that church offices could go to people without religious experience or commitment.

All flashcards

Cluniac reform
A reform movement associated with Cluny that sought greater church independence from local aristocratic control.
Simony
The buying or selling of church offices, condemned by reforming church leaders.
Excommunication
Exclusion from the church and its sacraments, which could also weaken a ruler’s political position.
Just war
A concept that sought to limit violence by requiring public authority and a defensible purpose.
Jihad
An Islamic term for struggle that can refer to inner moral effort or, in some contexts, armed struggle.

Quiz questions

  1. What assistance did Byzantine emperor Alexios I request from the pope in 1095?Answer: Military help for the Byzantine Empire.
  2. What did Pope Urban II call western Christians to undertake at Clermont?Answer: An armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the Holy Land.
  3. Why should surviving accounts of Urban II’s speech at Clermont be treated cautiously?Answer: No definitive transcript survives, and later accounts give differing versions.
  4. What happened to some Jewish communities during the First Crusade’s mobilization?Answer: Some faced attacks, plunder, extortion, or demands for supplies.

Based on World History Volume 1, to 1500 by Ann Kordas, Ryan J. Lynch, Brooke Nelson, Julie Tatlock (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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