Chapter 46

Count of Anjou | Henry II (1154-1189), the first Plantagenet king

[91] See above, p. 126.

[92] References, Green, pp. 104-112; Gardiner, pp. 138-158. A contemporaneous account of the murder is given by Colby, _Sources_, pp. 56-59.

[93] See above, p. 126.

[94] For John's reign, see Green, pp. 122-127.

[95] The text of the Great Charter is given in _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I, No. 6; extracts, in the _Readings_, Chapter XI.

[96] These were payments made when the lord knighted his eldest son, gave his eldest daughter in marriage, or had been captured and was waiting to be ransomed.

[97] See map following p. 152 for the names and position of the several duchies.

[98] Arnulf, the grandson of Louis the German, who supplanted Charles the Fat, died in 899 and left a six-year-old son, Louis the Child (d. 911), who was the last of the house of Charlemagne to enjoy the German kingship. The aristocracy then chose Conrad I (d. 918), and, in 919, Henry I of Saxony, as king of the East Franks.

[99] See _Readings_, Chapter XII.

[100] See Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, Chapter IV, for a clear account of the condition of the papacy, the struggles between the rival Italian dynasties, and the interference and coronation of Otto the Great.

[101] Henry II (1002-1024) and his successors, not venturing to assume the title of emperor till crowned at Rome, but anxious to claim the sovereignty of Rome as indissolubly attached to the German crown, began to call themselves before their coronation _rex Romanorum_, i.e., King of the Romans. This habit lasted until Luther's time, when Maximilian I got permission from the pope to call himself "Emperor Elect" before his coronation, and this title was thereafter taken by his successors immediately upon their election.

[102] For Otto II, Otto III, and Henry II, see Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, Chapter V; and Henderson, _Germany in the Middle Ages_, pp. 145-166.

[103] These grants of the powers of a count to prelates serve to explain the _ecclesiastical_ states,--for example, the archbishoprics of Mayence and Salzburg, the bishopric of Bamberg, and so forth,--which continue to appear upon the map of Germany until the opening of the nineteenth century.

[104] From the beginning, single life had appealed to some Christians as more worthy than the married state. Gradually, under the influence of monasticism, the more devout and enthusiastic clergy voluntarily shunned marriage, or, if already married, gave up association with their wives after ordination. Finally the Western Church condemned marriage altogether for the deacon and the ranks above him, and later the sub-deacons were included in the prohibition. The records are too incomplete for the historian to form an accurate idea of how far the prohibition of the Church was really observed throughout the countries of the West. There were certainly great numbers of married clergymen in northern Italy, Germany, and elsewhere, in the tenth and eleventh centuries. Of course the Church refused to sanction the marriage of its officials and called the wife of a clergyman, however virtuous and faithful she might be, by the opprobrious name of "concubine."

[105] Pronounced _sĭm'o-ny_.

[106] Reference, Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 201-209.

[107] The word _cardinal_ (Latin, _cardinalis_, principal) was applied to the priests of the various parishes in Rome, to the several deacons connected with the Lateran,--which was the cathedral church of the Roman bishopric,--and, lastly, to six or seven suburban bishops who officiated in turn in the Lateran. The title became a very distinguished one and was sought by ambitious prelates and ecclesiastical statesmen, like Wolsey, Richelieu, and Mazarin. If their official titles were examined, it would be found that each was nominally a cardinal bishop, priest, or deacon of some Roman church. The number of cardinals varied until fixed, in 1586, at six bishops, fifty priests, and fourteen deacons.

[108] The decree of 1059 is to be found in Henderson, _Historical Documents_, p. 361.

[109] For text of the _Dictatus_, see _Readings_, Chapter XIII. The most complete statement of Gregory's view of the responsibility of the papacy for the civil government is to be found in his famous letter to the Bishop of Metz (1081), _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[110] For this letter, see Colby, _Sources_, p. 37.

[111] Reissues of this decree in 1078 and 1080 are given in the _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[112] To be found in the _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[113] Henry's letter and one from the German bishops to the pope are both in Henderson, _Historical Documents_, pp. 372-376.

[114] Gregory's deposition and excommunication of Henry may be found in the _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[115] For Gregory's own account of the affair at Canossa, see _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[116] For a fuller account of the troubles between Gregory and Henry, see Henderson, _Germany in the Middle Ages_, pp. 183-210; Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 240-259.

[117] See _Readings_, Chapter XIII.

[118] For the emperors Lothaire (1125-1137) and Conrad III (1138-1152), the first of the Hohenstaufens, see Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 271-282.

[119] Something will be said of the mediæval towns in Chapter XVIII.

[120] Reference, Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 271-291.

[121] Reference, Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 293-297.

[122] The origin of the name _Ghibelline_, applied to the adherents of the emperor in Italy, is not known; it may be derived from Waibling, a castle of the Hohenstaufens.

[123] The attention of the adventurous Normans had been called to southern Italy early in the eleventh century by some of their people who, in their wanderings, had been stranded there and had found plenty of opportunities to fight under agreeable conditions for one or another of the local rival princes. From marauding mercenaries, they soon became the ruling race. They extended their conquests from the mainland to Sicily, and by 1140 they had united all southern Italy into a single kingdom. The popes had naturally taken a lively interest in the new and strong power upon the confines of their realms. They skillfully arranged to secure a certain hold upon the growing kingdom by inducing Robert Guiscard, the most famous of the Norman leaders, to recognize the pope as his feudal lord; in 1059 he became the vassal of Nicholas II.

[124] For John's cession of England and oath of vassalage, see Henderson, _Historical Documents_, pp. 430-432. For the interdict, see Colby, _Sources_, pp. 72-73.

[125] For the career and policy of Innocent III, see Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 314-343.

[126] An excellent account of Frederick's life is given by Henderson, _Germany in the Middle Ages_, pp. 349-397.

[127] For the speech of Urban, see _Readings_, Chapter XV.

[128] The privileges of the crusaders may be found in _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I, No. 2.

[129] For Peter the Hermit, see _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. I, No. 2.

[130] For the routes taken by the different crusading armies, see the accompanying map.

[131] For an account of the prowess of Richard the Lion-Hearted, see Colby, _Sources_, pp. 68-70.

[132] Heraldry may be definitely ascribed to the Crusades, for it grew up from the necessity of distinguishing the various groups of knights. Some of its terms, for example, _gules_ (red) and _azur_, are of Arabic origin.

[133] References. For the highly developed civilization which the crusaders found in Constantinople, Munro, _Mediæval History_, Chapter X. For the culture of the Saracens, see the same work, Chapter IX.

[134] The law of the Church was known as the _canon law_. It was taught in most of the universities and practiced by a great number of lawyers. It was based upon the acts of the various church councils, from that of Nicæa down, and, above all, upon the decrees and decisions of the popes. See Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 582-592.

One may get some idea of the business of the ecclesiastical courts from the fact that the Church claimed the right to try all cases in which a clergyman was involved, or any one connected with the Church or under its special protection, such as monks, students, crusaders, widows, orphans, and the helpless. Then all cases where the rites of the Church, or its prohibitions, were involved came ordinarily before the church courts, as, for example, those concerning marriage, wills, sworn contracts, usury, blasphemy, sorcery, heresy, and so forth.

[135] Many of the edicts, decisions, and orders of the popes were called _bulls_ from the seal (Latin, _bulla_) attached to them.

[136] For an illustration of provinces and bishoprics, see accompanying map of France showing the ecclesiastical divisions. The seats of the archbishops are indicated by [Symbol]; those of the bishops by [Symbol].

[137] See below, § 81.

[138] Except those monasteries and orders whose members were especially exempted by the pope from the jurisdiction of the bishops.

[139] Those clergymen who enjoyed the revenue from the endowed offices connected with a cathedral church were called _canons_. The office of canon was an honorable one and much sought after, partly because the duties were light and could often be avoided altogether. A scholar like Petrarch might look to such an office as a means of support without dreaming of performing any of the religious services which the position implied. For an account of the relations between the chapter and the bishop, see Emerton, _Mediæval Europe_, pp. 549-550.

[140] It should be remembered that only a part of the priests were intrusted with the care of souls in a parish. There were many priests among the wandering monks, of whom something will be said presently. See below, § 91. There were also many chantry priests whose main function was saying masses for the dead in chapels and churches endowed with revenue or lands by those who in this way provided for the repose of their souls or those of their descendants. See below, p. 213.

[141] For several centuries the _Sentences_ were used as the text-book in all the divinity schools. Theologians established their reputations by writing commentaries upon them. One of Luther's first acts of revolt was to protest against giving the study of the _Sentences_ preference over that of the Bible in the universities.

[142] All the sacraments,--e.g. orders and matrimony,--are not necessary to every one. Moreover, the sincere _wish_ suffices if one is so situated that he cannot possibly actually receive the sacraments.

[143] Confession was a very early practice in the Church. Innocent III and the fourth Lateran Council made it obligatory by requiring the faithful to confess at least once a year, at Easter time. For sacraments, see _Readings_, Chapter XVI.

[144] See above, p. 183, and _Translations and Reprints_, Vol. IV, No. 4, for examples of the interdict and excommunication.

[145] The privilege of being tried by churchmen, which all connected with the Church claimed, was called _benefit of clergy_. See _Readings_,