KS3 · History

The role of the medieval Church

In 1077 an emperor stood barefoot in the snow for three days, begging the pope to lift a punishment. How did the head of the Church get that much power?

Why did the Church have so much power over ordinary people?

Tap a box to see how it worked. Watch which other boxes it connects to.

1. Bible only priests read2. Belief in heaven and hell3. Church at the centre4. Threat of excommunication5. Wealth from wills6. Bishops as landlords

Tap a cause to see what it triggered.

Before the timeline

Which of these sounds right to you?

Two ideas about the Church trip people up before the lesson has even started: what the word means, and how powerful the pope always was.

Be honest. Which one is closest to what you think right now?
How sure are you?

History · Cause & effect

How the pope's power grew

Tap an event. What led to it appears on the left, what followed on the right.

Causes ←

What led here

Pippin III had carved out the Papal States for the pope in 754, and Charlemagne was crowned in return

Event

Charlemagne crowned emperor

800

Charlemagne was the most famous of the Carolingian kings.

→ Consequences

What followed

Being crowned Holy Roman Emperor gave Charlemagne additional powers and respect

Who's who

The Church's ladder, simplified: pope at the top, then archbishops, then bishops, then priests, then ordinary people. Tap a card to see the one thing that matters most about each person.

Tap a figure to see what they did.

Weigh the evidence

What was Urban II really after?

The claim

In November 1095 at Clermont, Urban II called on Western European Christians to go on crusade. His main aim was to capture Jerusalem.

Place each piece of evidence to load the balance. Mark the strong ones — they count double.

  1. Jerusalem features in many of the accounts of Urban II's speech.

    Evidence 1: does it support or challenge the claim?

  2. Jerusalem is missing from a lot of the letters of Urban II that we have.

    Evidence 2: does it support or challenge the claim?

  3. There are at least five different versions of the speech, all very different from each other and all written down a long time after the event. Robert the Monk's was written about 11 years later.

    Evidence 3: does it support or challenge the claim?

  4. Some of Urban II's letters may have been lost.

    Evidence 4: does it support or challenge the claim?

  5. In 1095 representatives from the Byzantine Empire asked Urban II for help against the Seljuks, who had invaded Anatolia.

    Evidence 5: does it support or challenge the claim?

  6. Historians suggest other possible motives: helping the Byzantine Empire, reuniting Christianity after the great schism of 1054, stopping the spread of Islam, asserting his authority against the anti-pope Clement III, or redirecting violent French nobles.

    Evidence 6: does it support or challenge the claim?

WHAT YOU'VE LEARNED

A quick recap of today's lesson.

From a belief about heaven to an emperor in the snow, and a pope calling Christians to crusade.

What you need to know

  • The Church (capital C) is the whole Christian organisation; a church (small c) is a building.
  • The Western Church was headed by the pope. Simplified, the ladder ran pope, archbishops, bishops, priests, ordinary people.
  • Medieval people firmly believed heaven and hell were real, and that following the Church's guidance was the only way into heaven.
  • Have a goYour mate Jo says medieval people obeyed the Church 'because it was just the law'. What would you tell Jo the bigger reason was?

    They firmly believed that following the Church's guidance was the only way into heaven and away from hell.

    'Just the law' skips what people actually believed: for them, getting into heaven depended on the Church.

  • Usually only bishops and priests could read the Latin Bible; doom paintings showed everyone else heaven and hell.
  • Excommunication meant being officially shut out of Church services, and people believed it shut you out of heaven too.
  • Hoping to guarantee heaven, wealthy people left land and money in their wills, until roughly one third of Europe's land was Church-owned.
  • Have a goWhich came first: the Church owning lots of land, or people believing in heaven? Say how one led to the other.

    The belief came first. Hoping to guarantee heaven, wealthy people left land and money to the Church in their wills.

    The land was a result of the belief. Reversing them makes it look as if the Church simply grabbed land and people obeyed because of it.

  • In the early medieval period the pope had little power compared with local kings, but it grew, and kings kept contesting it.
  • In the 11th century, under Popes Leo IX and Gregory VII, the Church's power rose and kings lost control over their Church.
  • In 1077 Henry IV, excommunicated and fearing for his life, spent three days barefoot in the snow begging Pope Gregory VII's forgiveness.
  • Have a goHenry IV was an emperor. So why did he end up begging a pope for forgiveness?

    He had been excommunicated and feared for his life, so he wanted the excommunication lifted.

    The Church's power reached up to an emperor, not just villagers. It was a very clear sign to Europe that the Church was a growing power.

  • At Clermont in November 1095, Pope Urban II called on Western European Christians to go on crusade.

The big picture

The medieval Church shaped daily life because people firmly believed that following its guidance was the only way into heaven. That belief fed obedience, gifts of land and the fear of excommunication. Papal power started small next to kings, grew (especially in the 11th century) and was always contested, until Pope Urban II called Western European Christians to crusade in 1095. Historians still debate whether Jerusalem was his main aim.

Key points

1The Church (capital C) is the organisation of the Christian religion; a church (small c) is a building.
2Medieval people firmly believed that heaven and hell were real and that following the Church's guidance was the only way into heaven.
3The Church's power over daily life came from several reasons that fed each other: belief, a Latin Bible read by priests, the local church, the threat of excommunication, wealth from wills and bishops as landlords.
4Papal power was small compared with kings early on, grew (especially in the 11th century) and was contested by kings throughout the period.
5A crusade is a military expedition against a group the papacy considers an enemy of the Church; Urban II called one at Clermont in November 1095.
6Historians debate Urban II's motives, including whether capturing Jerusalem was his main aim.

Worked example

Problem

Explain how people's belief in heaven helped the Church become wealthy.

⚠ Watch out

Thinking the Church was all-powerful from the start. In the early medieval period the pope and the Church had little power compared with local kings. Papal power grew over time, and kings kept contesting it.

🧠

Memory hook

Belief sits in the middle of the web: heaven leads to obeying, giving and fearing. And papal power is a tug-of-war with kings: small at first, rising, still contested.

✓

Check yourself

Close the page and tell a friend how one belief (only the Church can get you into heaven) ended up with an emperor in the snow. Where did your story get stuck?

Flashcards

(14)
What is the difference between 'the Church' and 'a church'?
The Church (capital C) is the organisation of the Christian religion. A church (small c) is a building.
Who headed the Western Church, and what was the simplified order of the Church below him?
The pope. Then archbishops, then bishops, then priests, then ordinary people.
What did medieval people firmly believe about heaven and hell?
That both were real, and that the only way to enter heaven and avoid hell was to follow the Church's guidance.
How did people who couldn't read Latin learn what the Bible taught?
From bishops and priests, usually the only people who could read the Latin Bible, and from doom paintings of heaven and hell on church walls.
What is excommunication?
Officially excluding someone from the sacraments and services of the Christian Church. It was believed to stop them entering heaven, and the community shunned them too.
Why did many people have to obey their local bishop, whatever their religion?
He was also their landlord and could take away their land and livelihood if they disobeyed.
What did Emperor Constantine do in 313 CE?
He declared Christianity an acceptable religion in the Roman Empire, and worked until 337 CE to raise its status.
After the Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, who usually promoted the more important bishops, and why?
Local kings. Only bishops loyal to the king were promoted, which let kings control the Church in their kingdoms.
What happened in 754, and what came 'in return'?
Pippin III carved out the Papal States for the pope in central Italy. In return, Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800.
What did the Gregorian reforms of the 11th century require of the clergy?
Loyalty to the pope. Clergy loyal only to their monarchs were to be replaced.
What did Henry IV do in 1077, and why?
He spent three days barefoot in the snow begging Pope Gregory VII to lift his excommunication, fearing for his life.
What is a crusade?
A military expedition against a group considered by the papacy to be an enemy of the Church.
Where and when did Pope Urban II call the crusade?
At a Church council at Clermont in November 1095, attended by around 300 leading churchmen and thousands of nobles and knights.
Why are historians unsure that Jerusalem was Urban II's main aim?
It is missing from a lot of his letters, the speech survives in at least five very different versions written long afterwards, and he may have had other motives.

Tap any card to flip it, or use Study as deck to go through them one at a time. In the full lesson these run as a spaced-repetition deck — you rate each card Hard, Good or Easy and the tricky ones keep coming back until they stick.

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