W, Wed 16

Wednesday, February 16, 2011 Important Dates:

4:38 PM 

Today's Topics: Important People:

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Lecture Topic:
During the lecture, take notes here.

The Roots of Lay Enthusiasm for the First Crusade

GROUP DISCUSSION
-because the people had a major connection to their local churches, the pope had an uncanny
ability to unite the churches through religious doctrine and local experiences
-could relate to many different churches but tie them to his own purposes (p56); he's a
good politician
-salvation promised by the local preachers re-emphasizing Urban II's speech
-the people are now able to take control of their own salvation
-absolution of their sins
-performing penance for their own sins
-they could also take on penance for their dead relatives by participating in the Crusade
and killing enough men
-extreme loyalty and family ties (p52)
-the message was no longer distributed in Latin but in the vernacular
-no longer only the church restricting information
-everything was voluntary (p50)--amazing b/c of the numbers of individuals who went on
crusade
-now able to physically touch and obtain relics and see the places where the saints lived
-fear for their dead relatives and their own souls (p54)
-benefaction (p53)--the rich would give lands and/or property but the poor people had no such
things and went on pilgrimage instead
-peer pressure (p47): if these people are the same religion as myself and doing such a thing, then I
should go to

CLASS DISCUSSION:
-modern scholars argue that many people were motivated to go on Crusade to be a part of the
army of Christ
-Bull suggests this is a weak argument b/c so few people became vassals of St. Peter
-scholars suggest the Peace and Truce of God were also strong motivators for people to go on
Crusade
-a number of people went on Crusade from areas where these ideas never developed
-also, the movements had all but passed out of public memory by the time the Crusades
started
NEW THESIS:
-intercession for dead relatives
-prayer for salvation of others
-moral worth / value
-the theory that one engages in the Crusading activity b/c it makes the individual a better
person
-quest for relics

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 -quest for relics
-works-based slavation
-visibly, physically doing something to pay for one's sin
-penance in this manner = pilgrimage (an active and mental state to obtain salvation, not
merely a journey)
-growth in knowledge and understanding of the church
-vernacular distribution and literacy
-practical literacy, not merely religious
-general desire to learn on the part of laity
-what did the laity know about Christianity?
-they are sinners and cannot escape sin in this world (p54, p1, l12~)
-they believe they have almost no chance of salvation
-now, they have control over their own salvation with the opportunity for absolution
of their sins by pilgrimage (p50, p1, l10~)
-the world is becoming larger and there is more and more appreciation for the universality of
Christianity
-if the system is set up on the local level to obtain penance by walking a shorter distance,
why walk more and put your body in harm's way?

-in the cellular (microcosmic) system:

-the monastery (made up of individuals from surrounding villages) functions as part of a
family
-the church brings in relics
-the idea is that when you walk to see the relics and see your local family praying for you
as an individual, you get the benefits of the prayers
-in the universal (macrocosmic) system:
-each monastery is focused on the veneration of the local saint
-but in Jerusalem, there are relics of both CHRIST and MARY
-the cup, spear, crown of thorns, robe, burial shroud, cross, nails
-the church is trying to focus on the familial relationship to Christ and Mary through the
universality of the church
-this includes the Christians in the east as well as the west

The Accounts of Peter the Hermit

GROUP DISCUSSION:
-motivation: vengeance against his men's death
-motivation: physical wealth and possessions (plundering relics)
-difficulty: did not have a great number of trained foot soldiers
-difficulty: did not want to have to fight fellow Christians
-difficulty: militarily taking the fort from the Hungarians and Bulgarians
-difficulty: travelling and being attacked while sailing
-Peter the Hermit seemed like a Jesus-model (a cultist leader?)
-deeply religious man
-could also be singularly motivated for his own benefit
-the people followed him willingly and joyfully

CLASS DISCUSSION:
-he isn't simply teaching the need to go to Jerusalem on Urban II's principles, but there is a bigger
issue at stake
-the ability of individuals to redeem themselves and therefore society
-restoring people to proper behavior
-not everyone can go, but everyone wants to be a part of it: it's a social movement
-rich people give money to Peter --> Peter gives it back to the poor --> Peter is calling
the poor to aid him as he has aided them
-giving to the poor is an act of penance
-vita apostolica (live the life of the apostles)

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 -the apostles lived in Jerusalem
-imitatio Christi(imitate Christ)
-he is a charismatic preacher
-has a universal audience (top to bottom of the social spectrum, including women)
-opens the prisons to the Crusade movement
-has problems:
-violence against fellow Christians--can it be justified when they do something wrong?
-provisions, particularly in reference to food
-Peter and his band steal the food, which creates hostility for later Crusaders
-inability to find trained soldiers or good transportation
-result: they get slaughtered by the Turks
-Alexius knew this would happed, and allowed it because doing so would prevent them
from invading his territory

-motivation: the people can now walk like apostles

-motivation: we have God on our side--we don't need military tactics or provisions or anything else
as long as we have faith

The Slaughter of the Jews (Albert of Aachen)

-the Christians saw the Jews as the crucifier of Christ--excuse and/or reason to deal with the
community of non-Christians
-what is their legal status, living in a Christian world?
-in our world, they are citizens; not in medieval society
-they live under the benefice of the king (in actuality, lower social strata than even the
serfs)
-Albert is non-supportive of Jewish pogroms
-it is technically against canon law to coerce people into believing something
-most convert, but some fight back
-motivation for attacking the Jews: money
-getting capital as a means of paying for pilgrimage
-erasing debts by killing off the lenders (crime of opportunity)
-politics: the counts and lords are trying to upstage the king by attacking his beneficiaries
-politics: the counts and lords are tying to settle land disputes between themselves and
the bishops
-justification:
-purifying the lands of "Christ killers"
-merit by conversion of the Jews (an act of love)
-preparing the way for Christ's Second Coming and giving the Jews a last opportunity to
convert

(Solomon ben Simson)

-the Jews see the situation as punishment from God for an action in their community which was
sinful

Christian and Jewish Perceptions of 1096 (Chazan)

-arrival of the Crusaders
-fear in the Jewish community
-this fear comes from preachers raising up strife in local Christian towns
-reaction
-Crusaders demand conversion or death
-generally go after the women first
-the Jews
-go to the Bishop looking for legal protection
-Bishop
-protect the Jews --> has to flee the Crusaders threatening him with
physical violence

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 physical violence
-when he returns, says he cannot protect the Jews from the Crusaders
and encourages them to convert
-then does one of four things:
-suicide
-convert (vast majority, though few stay converted b/c it is against canon law)
-fight
-flee
-this begins the process of mass persecution of the Jews in European history

What is the personal effectiveness of the pope?

-he only comes into contact with a limited number of Christians

Summary
After the lecture, summarize the main points of this lecture topic.
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