Topic 3 : Church And Monasticism Flashcards
(18 cards)
Wealth of the church
Single largest landowner in Europe - by 1086 held a quarter of all land in England
Abbots and bishops were feudal lords in both towns and rural areas, and the Church grew extremely wealthy from rents. It was given land by rich people who wanted to ensure that they would go to heaven or they instead left money for prayers for their souls.
Everyone in England had to pay a tithe which was one tenth of anything that was produced -paid in money, goods e.g. crops, meat, wool, milk. Also had to pay one tenth of any profits made.
There were also additional taxes paid at certain times of year such as Easter dues and surplice fees for ceremonies such as weddings and funerals.
With so much wealth, it was inevitable that kings would try to take some of it.
What was the main role of the church ?
Religion : people showing they believe in god, led good lives for heaven
Economic
Law : The Church heard court cases for crimes carried out on Church lands.
Education : only institution that produced books
How did William try to reform the Church?
Deeply religious man, was aware that the people who ran the English Church were not following the rules set by the Pope in Rome. William wanted to reform the Church as he had done in Normandy, and this is one of the reasons why the Pope supported his battle.
What changes did William make to the church ?
William made a number of changes to the way in which the Church was run. Some of these changes were to bring the English Church more in line with the rules from Rome, others were to enable to help the Church run the country, and some were to benefit William himself.
William wanted to reform the Church but was not prepared to do it at the expense at his own power. Anglo-Saxon bishops and archbishops were removed and replaced with Normans. Archbishop Stigand was replaced by Archbishop Lanfranc. By 1080, there was only one Anglo-Saxon bishop, Wulfstan, left.
The Normans knocked down and rebuilt nearly every Anglo-Saxon church, monastery and convent in the country.
Rebuilt in Romanesque style , moved to strategic locations .
How affected were people by these Williams church changes?
Peasants did not experience changes to their religious experience under the Normans, since most Anglo-Saxon priests remained in their jobs.
How did the structure of the Church change?
(Pope + William )
The Normans introduced some big changes to the English Church, and many of these were to do with how it was structured.
The Pope was still head of the Catholic Church and therefore the most powerful Catholic, however King William was certain that members of the Church in England should not obey the Pope over the king. William controlled communication between the leaders of the English Church and the Pope in Rome. This meant that William could influence the information that Church leaders had access to.
How did the structure of the Church change?
(Think archbishops + removals)
In 1066, William removed nearly all Anglo-Saxon archbishops and bishops such as Stigand only one, Wulfstan, remained and replaced them with Normans such as Lanfranc and Thomas of Bayeux. In this way, the Church was crucial in strengthening William’s control over England, and was an important part of stopping rebellions in places like the North of England.
There were still two archbishops in England (Canterbury and York). The two archbishops (Lanfranc and Thomas respectively) were engaged in a bitter dispute over who had the greatest authority. These archbishops were able to influence who served as bishops below them, but the final say rested with William, meaning that he could control who was in the most important positions in the Church. These bishops were loyal to William, again increasing his control over England.
The Church under the Normans became more centralised - this means that it was answerable to the Archbishop of Canterbury and in turn the king. There were also new positions introduced such as archdeacons and deans. All bishops had to appoint archdeacons, and archdeaconries often covered the same areas of land as shires did, while deaneries often had the same boundaries as hundreds. The new Norman structure allowed bishops to have far greater control of their diocese. As well as this, there were more parish priests under the Normans than there had been previously. This allowed the Normans much greater control over the messages that were being given to the public - for example, these new Normans could explain to the people that God favoured King William and the Normans.
Changes to church buildings
Rebuilt in Romanesque style - extensively used by the Norman’s
Cathedrals used as intimidation like castles
They were built on high ground
Rufus and William of Saint Calais
There was a rebellion against Rufus in 1088. The Bishop of Saint-Calais had informed Rufus about this plot, and promised to bring reinforcements to help him. However, Saint-Calais then changed his mind and never returned with his troops. Rufus put him on trial for treason.
Saint-Calais argued that as a member of the clergy, he should be tried in a Church court rather than in a secular court. Rufus refused, arguing that the Bishop had broken his oath of fealty (loyalty) to the king and should be tried by a king’s court.
Showed rufus determination to control the church and not be controlled by it .
Conflict between Anselm and Rufus 1093-94
When Lanfranc died in 1089, he was not replaced. This was a deliberate move by Rufus as he wanted to take the income from the Church lands that Lanfranc had held before his death.
He became ill - thought it was a punishment from god - tried to appoint anselm but wouldn’t meet all his demands
The Council of Rockingham 1095
Rufus had stopped Anselm travelling to Rome to get Papal approval for his appointment as archbishop.
Rufus did not want people to be seen giving loyalty to the pope as he wanted to limit his control in England they could not agree so the council was called.
Truce was called Rufus sent for the pallium and it arrived. Proper urban II had agreed to stay out of his way while Rufus was king.
Norman relations with the Papacy ( William I)
Both Pope Alexander and William wanted to reform the corrupt English Church and bring it into line with Christianity in the rest of Europe.
Pope Alexander also wanted to get rid of any corrupt or incompetent bishops. William supported this, and also promised to abolish the practices of nepotism and simony, as well as to ban clerical marriage. However, William’s main aim was to get rid of untrustworthy Englishmen from powerful roles in the Church and to replace them with Normans.
Both William and Pope Alexander got what they wanted;
After the Battle of Hastings, Pope Alexander forced William to do penance to ask for God’s forgiveness for the killing and destruction the Normans had caused during and after the battle.
Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) was more radical than Alexander II and thought that the Church should have more control than kings over religious teaching and discipline in the Church. Because of this, relations between William and the papacy began to decline. Gregory wanted bishops to travel to Rome to report to him, they did not.
Norman relations with the Papacy (William Rufus 1078-1100)
William Rufus had first damaged his relationship with the Papacy after his trial of William of Saint-Calais . The key conflict between Rufus and the Church was over who had the authority to make appointments in the Church. 1078 : banned kings from appointing. Other kings in Europe disagreed and he was forced out of office in 1085. His successor, also had a bad relationship with Rufus. This was due to Rufus’ actions in stopping Anselm from travelling to Rome to collect his pallium as well as his role in blocking Anselm’s reforms to the English Church.
Eventually, Anselm had been exiled further damaging the relationship between Rufus and the papacy.
Norman relations with the Papacy
Norman relations with the Papacy (Henry I 1100-1135)
The Church was against the idea of members of the clergy paying homage to kings, but this caused a problem. Many bishops were also major landowners. If the kings refused to pay homage, this would damage the king’s authority. This disagreement was known as the Investiture Controversy and lasted from 1075-1122.
Norman impact on monasteries
New monasteries were accelerated by the Normans as the monastic revival. Between 1066 and 1135, the number of monks and nuns increased from about 1,000 to 5,000; the number of religious houses also grew from around 60 to over 250. In 1066 there were 4 cathedrals with monasteries attached to them (e.g. Canterbury), but by 1135, 10 of England’s 19 cathedrals had a monastery attached.
Lanfranc’s reforms to monasticism
Changing the words of the liturgy (service) to make it more like the services inEurope.
Set up a clear hierarchy of the Church
Made strict rules about the creation of saints
Norman affect on education in monasteries
education moved out of monasteries and convents and into the towns and cities. As the size and number of towns increased under the Normans, so did the need for a better education system. People needed better literacy and numeracy skills in order to conduct trade.
Norman barons + knights wanted educated children
