Chapter 46 Chapter 12 The Thirteenth Century AD

The Middle Ages reached its climax in the thirteenth century AD.Since the fall of the Roman Empire, the comprehensive system gradually established has been perfect.The fourteenth century brought the disintegration of institutions and schools of philosophy; the fifteenth century brought the beginnings of what we still think of as modern times.The great men of the thirteenth century were remarkable: Innocent III, St. Francis, Friedrich II, and Thomas Aquinas, each in a different way, was an eminent representative of his type.In addition, there are some great achievements but these have no real relationship with great figures, such as: French Gothic cathedrals, Romanticism about Charlemagne, King Arthur and the Nibelung, Magna Carta and the Chamber of Deputies. The founding of constitutional politics and so on.It is, however, scholasticism, which is most immediately relevant to us, as formulated by Aquinas; but I shall leave that for the next chapter.I would like to give a general account of some of the events which most influenced the formation of the spirit of the age.

The central figure at the beginning of the century was Pope Innocent III (AD 1198-1216), an astute statesman with boundless energy and a firm belief in the supreme power of the pope, but lacking Christ in his endowments. humility.When he took over the priesthood, he chose a scripture to preach: "Behold, I set you today over peoples and nations to uproot and break, to destroy and overthrow, and to build and erect." He called himself "The King of kings and Lord of lords is a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." In enforcing this view he took advantage of every favorable circumstance.Sicily had been conquered earlier by the Roman Emperor Henry VI (died 1197 AD), who married Constance, the heiress of the Norman kings.When Innocent took over as Pope, the new king Friedrich was only three years old.Sicily was in turmoil at this time, and Constance needed the pope's help.She asked the pope to be the guardian of the young king, and by recognizing the superiority of the Holy See, she obtained the pope's recognition of the young king's right to rule in Sicily.Portugal and Aragon had similar recognition of the superiority of the Holy See.In England, King John, after stubborn resistance, was at last compelled to give his kingdom to Innocent, and then to recover it as a papal fief.

To some extent the Venetians had gained the upper hand over the Pope in the Fourth Crusade.The crusaders were supposed to set out by ship in Venice, but they couldn't get enough ships.There weren't that many ships at the time except the Venetians, but they argued (for purely commercial reasons) that it was better to attack Constantinople than Jerusalem - anyway Constantinople was a useful stepping stone , and the Eastern Roman Empire was never very friendly to the Crusaders. — Concessions to Venice were deemed necessary; Constantinople was captured, and a Latin emperor was installed.At first Innocent was troubled; but he thought now that it might be possible to reunite the churches of the East and the West. (This hope will eventually come to naught.) Except in this matter, I don't know anyone who has the upper hand over Innocent III to what extent.He sent a large number of crusaders to crusade against the Albigensist faction. This time, the crusades eradicated heretical sects, happiness, prosperity and culture in southern France.He deposed Raymond, Count of Tulus, for his lukewarm attitude towards the crusade, and at the same time gave most of the lands of the Albigensians to the commander of the crusade Simon de Montfort (Father of the Fathers of Parliament).He had a dispute with the German emperor Otto, so he called on the Germans to depose Otto.They carried out his instructions and, on his proposal, elected Friedrich II, who had just come of age.

However, in order to support Friedrich, he blackmailed Friedrich to promise to pay a staggering price-but Friedrich was determined to break this promise as soon as possible. Innocent III was the first grand pope without divine qualities.The reformation of the Church made the hierarchy feel safe in its moral authority, and thus convinced it that it had no need to worry about holiness.From that time the motives of power dominated the court more and more exclusively, and thus aroused opposition from some pious believers even during his lifetime.To increase the power of the Holy See he codified the canons;

Walter van der Vogelweide called this code "the darkest book that hell has given to mankind." Although the Holy See still achieved some prominent victories, its future decline has been seen. Foresaw this. Friedrich II, who had been under the guardianship of Pope Innocent III, went to Germany in 1212 and was elected emperor to succeed Otto with the support of the Pope. Innocent did not live to see what a terrible enemy he had raised to attack the Holy See. Friedrich - one of history's finest rulers - had a difficult childhood and adolescence.His father Henry VI (son of Barbarossa) conquered the Normans in Sicily and married the heir to the dynasty, Constance.Henry VI raised a Germanic garrison hated by the Sicilians; he died in 1197 when Friedrich was three years old.Constance then turned against the Germans and tried to rule without them and with the support of the pope.The Germans were outraged, and Otto tried to conquer Sicily;

This is exactly why he had a dispute with the Pope.Palermo, where Friedrich grew up, had experienced some other turmoil.The Moslems there rioted from time to time; the Pisans were at war with the Genoese and with everyone else for the capture of Sicily.Sicilian dignitaries often sided with one side or the other depending on whether one side in the war was willing to pay a greater price for treason.But in terms of culture, Sicily has benefited greatly.Muslim, Byzantine, Italian and Germanic cultures blend like nowhere else.Greek and Arabic were still spoken in Sicily at that time.Friedrich could speak six languages ​​fluently, and German medieval bard (1165-1230). ——The translator is also able to speak wittyly in the use of various languages.He was proficient in Arabic philosophy and had friendly relations with Muslims.This made devout Christians quite indignant.He was a member of the Hohenstaufen royal family and could be considered a German in Germany.But culturally and emotionally an Italian, with Arab and Byzantine overtones.His contemporaries watched him with wonder that gradually turned to terror; they called him "the wonder of the world and the strange reformer."While he was still alive, he has become the protagonist of many legends.He is considered to be the author of the book "Three Liars"—the three chapters refer to Moses, Christ, and Muhammad—there has never been such a work in the world, but many enemies of the church have been said to be the author of the book.The last of these was Spinoza.

Guilov (Pope--translator) and Kibelin (Emperor-- Translator) began to be used in the era of Friedrich and Emperor Otto competing for supremacy.Zilov and Kibbling are the surnames of the two opponents, "Weilov" and "Waiblingen". (Otto's nephew is an ancestor of the British royal family.) Innocent III died in 1216; Otto, defeated by Friedrich, in 1218.The new Pope Honorius III and Emperor Friedrich were friendly at first, but entanglements soon arose.First of all, Friedrich refused to participate in the Crusade; then, he had disputes with the Lombard cities. In 1226 AD, the Lombard cities entered into an offensive and defensive alliance for a period of 25 years.They hated the Germans; one of their poets wrote such passionate lines against the Germans: "Love the Germans not, and let these mad dogs go far from you." This seems to express the universality of the Lombards Feelings.Friedrich wanted to stay in Italy to deal with the cities, but Honorius died in AD 1227 and the Pope was succeeded by Gregory IX, a fervent ascetic who loved St. Francis , and loved by St. Francis. (Gregory canonized Francis two years after his death).Gregory thought nothing so important as the Crusades.Friedrich was punished by him for not taking part in the crusade.Friedrich married the princess and heir to the throne of the king of Jerusalem, and would have liked to go if it were possible; and he had proclaimed himself king of Jerusalem.In 1228 A.D., when he was still breaking the door, he actually joined the army; this time he annoyed Gregory more than when he didn't go the previous time. Just imagine how the Crusaders could be led by a person who was excommunicated by the Pope?

When Friedrich arrived in Palestine, he reconciled with the Muslims and explained to them that although Jerusalem had little strategic value, Christians valued it.At last he succeeded in persuading them to return the city to him in peace.This made the pope even more angry - Christians should fight pagans, not peace talks with pagans.But, in any case, Friedrich was officially crowned in Jerusalem, and no one can deny that he was successful.In 1230 AD the pope and emperor reconciled. During the brief years of peace that followed, the emperor devoted himself to the affairs of the Kingdom of Sicily.A new code of law was promulgated with the assistance of Prime Minister Pieter de la Vigna.The new code was derived from Roman law and showed the high civilization of its southern lands; it was immediately translated into Greek for the convenience of the Greek inhabitants.He founded an important university at Naples.Another gold coin was minted, called the "Augustalus," which was the first gold coin in the West for many centuries.He instituted a relatively free trade system and completely abolished interior tariffs.He even summoned the elected representatives of the cities to his senate, which, however, had only advisory powers.

This period of peace ended when Friedrich and the Lombard League resumed war in 1237, and the Pope, sharing the fate of the allied cities, once again excommunicated the Emperor.From this time until the death of Friedrich in A.D. 1250, the war not only continued uninterrupted, but became more violent, cruel and treacherous for both sides.During the period, the two sides had mutual gains and losses, and until the death of the emperor, the victory or defeat was still unpredictable.But the emperors who tried to succeed Friedrich's cause did not have his courage, and they lost one by one, leaving Italy in disarray and the pope in victory.

The successive deaths of popes had little effect on the current state of the struggle; each new pope followed virtually unchanged the policy of his predecessor.Gregory IX died in 1241 AD; Innocent IV, Friedrich's sworn enemy, was elected pope in 1243 AD.Although Louis IX was a full orthodox sect, he tried to mediate the rift between Gregory and Innocent IV, but it was ultimately ineffective.In particular, Yin Nuosen refused to accept any advice from the emperor and used all tactics against him.Yin Nuosen announced that he was deposed as emperor, organized a crusade against him, and punished all those who supported him.The dervishes spoke ill of him, the Mohammedans rebelled, and there were conspiracies among the prominent men who even nominally supported him.These incidents made Friedrich increasingly cruel; conspirators were tortured, and prisoners were often gouged out with their right eyes and right hands.

At one point in the midst of this great struggle Friedrich wanted to found a new religion.In this religion he acts as Messiah, Prime Minister Peter della Vigna acts as the Holy Apostle Peter.He did not mature the plan into announcing it, but only wrote to Della Vigner.But suddenly he was convinced that Peter was plotting against him, which may or may not have been true; he blinded him and put him on display in a cage, yet Peter escaped more misery by suicide . In spite of his talents, Friedrich was unable to succeed because the forces against the Pope were pious and democratic, while his purpose was somewhat like restoring a pagan Roman Empire.Culturally he is enlightened, but politically he is reactionary.His court was oriental; he had a harem with eunuchs.But it was in this court that Italian poetry arose; and as a poet, he had some talent.In his conflicts with the Holy See he made several dissents against the dangers of ecclesiastical dictatorship, which might have been admired in the sixteenth century, but had no effect in his own time.The heretics should have been his allies, but he saw them as traitors, and he even persecuted them to please the Pope.The free cities, if not for the Emperor's sake, might well have turned against the Pope; and it was only because Friedrich demanded their surrender that they welcomed the Pope as their ally.In this way, although he got rid of contemporary superstitions and was culturally far ahead of other contemporary rulers, his status as emperor forced him to oppose all people who held liberal views in politics.He failed inevitably, but of all the failures in history, his failure is the most interesting one. The heresies which were crusaded by Innocent III's crusade and persecuted by all rulers, including Friedrich, are worth studying both in themselves and in their reflection of contemporary popular sentiment.For we find no hint of it in the writings of the time, except by the study of the heresies of the schools. Of the heresies, the most interesting, and the largest, were the Cassalis, known in southern France as the Albijanses.Their teachings came from Asia via the Balkan peoples; they were widespread in northern Italy, and were practiced by a great majority in southern France, including nobles who were happy to find excuses for expropriating ecclesiastical estates.The heresy spread so widely, partly from the despondency of the Crusaders' defeat, but mostly from a moral distaste for the wealth and vice of the clergy. There was then a sort of later Puritanism of admiration for personal sanctity; it was associated with the worship of poverty.The church is rich and very worldly: most priests are extremely immoral.The dervishes accused some of the old orders and parish priests of using the confessional to seduce women; their opponents countered with the same charge.There can be no doubt that such accusations are mostly just.The more the church demands religious authority above all else on religious grounds, the more the people are shocked by the discrepancy between the church's words and deeds.The same motive which finally led to the Reformation was at work already in the thirteenth century.The main difference during this period is that the secular rulers at this time did not dare to combine their destiny with the heresies; Reconcile the demands of the right. We have no way of knowing with certainty the heretical teachings of the Cassali sect, since we rely only on the testimony of its enemies.Moreover, since the clergy, well acquainted with the history of the various heresies, were in the habit of labeling the existing heresies with familiar labels on the basis of some inappropriate similarities, and attaching the teachings of the various former heresies to some existing under the name of the heretical sect.Even so, there are many things that cannot be disputed.The Kasari heretics seem to be dualists, like the Gnostics, who believe that Yahweh in the Old Testament is an evil creator, and that the true God is only revealed in the New Testament.They believe that matter is inherently evil.And believe that there is no bodily resurrection after the death of a good man.However, the wicked will suffer the suffering of reincarnation and be reborn as animals.For this reason, they are all vegetarians, even eggs, cheese, and milk are not eaten.But they eat fish because they think fish reproduce asexually.They abhor all sexual acts; marriage, it is said, is even worse than adultery.Because marriage is continuous and self-satisfying.On the other hand, they have no objection to suicide.They are more bound to the literal interpretation of the New Testament than the Orthodox; they abstain from swearing that when someone slaps them on the left cheek they really slap the right cheek as well.On one occasion, according to the accounts of his persecutors, a man accused of heresy defended himself by saying that he had eaten meat, had lied, sworn, and was a good Catholic. The sect's strict canons are only observed by those who are particularly holy, known as "perfect people": the rest are allowed to eat meat or even marry. It is interesting to trace the origin of these teachings.They were spread from a Bulgarian sect called Bogomiles, through the Crusaders, to Italy and France: in 1167 AD, when the Kasari heresy held a meeting near Tullus, representatives of Bulgaria also attended the meeting.The Bogomilian sect was a mixture of the Manichaeans and the Paulicians.The Paulicians were the Armenian sect opposed to infant baptism, Purgatory, the invocation of the Holy One, and the Trinity; they gradually entered Thrace, and later Bulgaria.The Paulists were followers of Marcion (c. 150 AD).Marcion saw himself as following St. Paul in rejecting the Jewish element in Christianity.Although he didn't become a Gnostic believer, he had some chance with them. In addition, I should mention that another heresy that was very popular was the Valedians, who were followers of Peter Valedus.Waller was a fanatic. In 1170 AD, he launched a crusade to obey the laws of Christ.He donated all his property to the poor, and founded a society called "Lyon Poor" to practice a life of poverty and happiness.At first they were also approved by the Pope, but they were finally condemned by the Verona Synod in 1184 AD because of their excessive reprimand of monks' immorality.Thereafter they decided that every good man was qualified to preach and preach; they appointed missionaries themselves and abolished the liturgy practiced by Catholic priests.After they spread to Lombardy, they spread to Bohemia, where they paved the way for the Hessians.When the Albigensists were persecuted they were also affected, and many of them fled to Piedmont.Their persecution at Piedmont in Milton's day inspired the poet to write the sonnet "O God, avenge the slaughtered saints."There are still believers of this sect in remote Alpine valleys and the United States. All these heresies had aroused alarm in the church, and the church resorted to violent measures to suppress them.Innocent III believed that the heretics deserved the death penalty because they had committed the crime of betraying Christ.In 1209 AD, he called on the King of France to launch a crusade against the Albi Zansis sect.The ferocity of the fighting was beyond belief; especially after the capture of Carcassonne, a horrific massacre was committed.Searching for heresy was originally the job of the bishops, but it was too burdensome for those who had other responsibilities, so Gregory IX established the Inquisition in 1233 AD to take over the work of the bishops.After 1254 AD, no defender was allowed for anyone prosecuted by the Inquisition. And upon conviction, the property was confiscated—in France, to the king.When the accused is found to be guilty, he is handed over to the secular authorities with a prayer that his life be spared; but if the secular authorities do not burn the prisoner, they themselves may suffer Inquiries by the Inquisition.The Inquisition not only dealt with ordinary cases of heresy, but also tried witchcraft and magic.In Spain, the main activity of the Inquisition was against the secret Judaizers.Much of this work was performed by monks of the Dominican and Franciscan orders.This system of refereeing never seeped into Scandinavia and England.The English, however, did not hesitate to use it to punish Joan of Arc.All in all the Inquisition was very successful; at the outset it wiped out the Albigensists. The Catholic Church, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, was once in danger of rebellion, no less terrible in its degree than the rebellion in the sixteenth century A.D.The averting of rebellion was largely due to the rise of the order of the dervish; St. Francis and St. Dominic did more to preserve orthodoxy than even the most powerful popes. St. Francis of Assisi (1181 AD or 1182-1226 AD) is one of the loveliest figures in history.He was born into a well-to-do family, and in his youth he never disliked the usual pleasures.One day when he was riding past a leper, he was suddenly moved by a pity, jumped off his horse, and kissed the leper.Soon thereafter, he resolved to give up all worldly possessions and devote himself to preaching and charity.His father, a well-known businessman, was furious when he heard about it, but he couldn't stop him in the end.Soon he gathered a band of followers, each sworn to live in poverty.At first the Church viewed this movement with suspicion because it was too much like the "poor people of Lyons." The first missionaries sent by St. , not (as monks do) only verbal oaths, never taken seriously.But Innocent III was shrewd enough to see the value of keeping the movement within the bounds of orthodoxy.Thus, in AD 1209 or 1210 he recognized the new order.Pope Gregory IX, a personal friend of St. Francis, steadfastly patronized him, but at the same time imposed upon him certain precepts which were at odds with the saint's inner urges for fanatical anarchism. contradicted.St. Francis wished to interpret the Poverty Pledge in the strictest possible way; he objected to his followers taking property or churches.They must live by begging, and are not allowed to have a place to live except when they are entertained by others.In 1219 AD, St. Francis traveled to the East and preached before the Sultan. The king treated him politely, but did not change his Muslim belief.On his return he found that the Franciscan monks had built themselves a house; he was distressed by this, but the Pope persuaded him or forced him to make concessions.After his death, the pope proclaimed him a saint, but relaxed the standard of poverty. There are people equal to Francis in terms of holiness, but his cheerful attitude, philanthropic spirit, and poetic talent make him stand above other saints.His kindness seems to be natural, and there has never been any trace of chiseling.He loved all beings, not only as a Christian and a philanthropist, but also as a poet.The Ode to the Sun, written just before his death, almost seems to have been written by Ikhnaton, the Worshiper of the Sun, but not necessarily so - although it is not obvious that it is Christianity that gives the Ode its character.He felt a duty to the lepers, not for himself, but for them; unlike most Christian saints, he cared more for the happiness of others than for his own salvation.He never expressed any sense of superiority, not even to the basest and villainous.Thomas of Plano says he is a super-saint among saints; among sinners he is one of them. If there is a Satan, the future of the order founded for St. Francis will surely satisfy him.Brother Elijah, the immediate successor of the saints as the head of the order, was a man of extravagance who had fully tolerated the renunciation of poverty.In the first few years of their founder's death the main job of the Franciscan Order was to act as recruiter in the brutal and bloody war between the Gylov faction and the Kibelline faction.Seven years after Francis' death the Inquisition was established, and in several countries it was chiefly sent by Francis.During this period, a small number of believers called spiritualists remained faithful to his teachings; but many of them were burned to death by the Inquisition on charges of heresy.These people believed that Christ and the apostles had no property, not even the clothes they wore; this view was condemned by John XXII for heresy in 1323 AD.In short, the result of St. Francis's life's labors was only to create a richer and more corrupt order, to strengthen the order system, and to promote the persecution of all good people of moral integrity and freedom of thought.From his own purpose and character, we really can't imagine any ending in the world more wry than this. St. Dominic (AD 1170-1221) is less interesting than St. Francis.He was a Castilian, and he shared Royola's fervent belief in orthodoxy.His main aim was to attack heresy, and he used poverty as a means to this end.Throughout he took part in the war against the heresy of Albijanssis, though it is said that he shed tears at some of the brutality of the war.The Order of Dominica was founded by Pope Innocent III in AD 1215 and quickly achieved success.All that I know of St. Dominic's human touch is his confession to Jordan the Saxon that he prefers to talk to younger women than to older ones.In 1242 AD, the order issued a solemn decree stating that this record must be deleted from the biography of Dominique written by Jordan. Dominican monks were more active in the work of the Church Inquisition than Franciscan monks.But because of their academic devotion, they have made some valuable contributions to mankind.This was not St. Dominic's intention, however; he ordered his dervishes "not to study lay science and literature except with special permission." This prohibition was lifted in AD 1259.Since then, all measures have been taken to ensure a comfortable academic life for monks of the Dominican order.Physical labor was not obligatory for them, and devotional lessons were shortened in order to give them more time for research.They worked to reconcile Aristotle and Christ; Albertus Magnus and Thomas Aquinas, both of whom belonged to the Dominican Order, did all they could to accomplish this work. to the thing.The authority of Thomas Aquinas is so overwhelming that later generations of Dominican monks have not achieved greater philosophical achievements.Although the Franciscans were more averse to learning than the Dominicans, the great figures in philosophy in the next period were Franciscans: Rogier Bacon, Duns Scotus and William of Occam, both Franciscan monks.The philosophical achievements of the dervishes will be the subject of the next few chapters.