Roman Empire and Early Christianity

Germanic invasions introduced violence and a foreign character, superstition replaced learning, and learning declined along with economic activity and populations.

They converted Germanic tribes through monasticism.

Many Christians believed a Second Coming was imminent, leading many to seek penance through monasticism.

Monks reclaimed land, spread the faith in rural areas, created centers of learning, and taught Germanic peoples agriculture, trades, and spirituality.

Pope St. Gregory I was the last of the Latin Fathers, signaling the start of the Medieval age and highlighting its ideals and tensions.

The Franks were the first Germanic tribe to convert to Christianity.

St. Patrick is known as the apostle of Ireland.

Born Patricius, he was kidnapped by Irish pirates and sold into slavery. After escaping, he studied for the priesthood and returned to Ireland to evangelize.

He heard a voice in Ireland calling him back.

Irish monasteries preserved Greco-Roman traditions, including language, by faithfully copying and storing manuscripts.

St. Columba is known as the apostle of Scotland.

He popularized the BC/AD distinction in year counting.

St. Boniface is known as the apostle of Germany.

St. Boniface converted German pagans, established monasteries, created the Church's structure in Germany, and reformed Frankish lands.

They became centers of learning, preserving culture and promoting Catholicism.

Tension arose due to the Eastern and Western Churches competing for converts amidst German uneasiness.

Sts. Cyril and Methodius were known as the "Apostles of the Slavs."

Many Slavs later favored Constantinople's church over the Catholic Church because the Popes refused to recognize the use of Slavonic.

Icons are not a violation of the first commandment because they are a tool for prayer, not objects of worship.

Pope St. Gregory II, the Patriarch of Constantinople, most bishops, and most monks condemned Leo's edict.

St. John of Damascus argued that by becoming human, Christ implicitly allowed for artistic depictions of his human form, justifying icons.

Charlemagne unified most of Western Europe under a Christian empire, drew from canon law for civic law, enforced Church decrees, appointed Church officials, sought clerical reform, and remained informed about civil and religious life. He also dedicated himself to prayer and fasting.

Charlemagne's reign emphasized education and artistic excellence, leading to the establishment of schools in monasteries and parishes, better-educated clergy, and revived Catholic faith.

Muslims from the south, Vikings from the north, and Slavs and Magyars from the east.

Monasteries, particularly in Ireland, England, and along major rivers, held precious metals and valuables, making them targets for Viking attacks.

Gaining control over church appointments would reduce the chance of political corruption within the episcopacy.

Henry IV appointed the Bishop of Milan, sparking conflict with St. Gregory VII.

The Concordat of Worms (1122) was an agreement between the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor, allowing the Church to choose bishops while granting the emperor a veto. It also outlawed simony.

Refusing to comply with the Constitutions of Clarendon, St. Thomas fled England. After a faked reconciliation, he was murdered by Henry II's forces.

The Cistercians followed Benedictine Rule with a focus on austerity, farming, and strictness.

White symbolizes simplicity in the Cistercian habit.

The Crusades were a series of eight military expeditions from 1096-1270, undertaken by European Christians to liberate the Holy Land and defend against Muslim invasion.

Europeans controlled Jerusalem from 1099-1291, roughly two centuries.

Thousands of participants, primarily children, left France and Germany seeking to reach the Holy Land but perished or were enslaved.

The Knights Templar were tasked with protecting pilgrims traveling to and from Jerusalem.

They were organized in a hierarchy of ranks: aristocratic soldiers, clergy, and lay brothers.

The Inquisition was an ecclesiastical tribunal established to investigate and prosecute heresy during the Middle Ages.

The Franciscans and Dominicans were the two orders responsible for overseeing the Inquisition.