High Middle Ages

High Middle Ages
1000–1300
Edgar Levine
HIGH MIDDLE AGES
1000–1300
HIGH MIDDLE AGES
1000–1300
Edgar Levine
High Middle Ages: 1000–1300
by Edgar Levine
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Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction ....................................................................................... 1
Chapter 2 Holy Roman Empire ......................................................................... 26
Chapter 3 Feudalism ........................................................................................ 67
Chapter 4 Catholic Church ............................................................................... 83
Chapter 5 Chivalry ......................................................................................... 140
Chapter 6 Crusades........................................................................................ 165

Chapter 1
Introduction
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the

period of European history that lasted from around AD 1000 to
1250. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle
Ages and were followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended
around AD 1500 (by historiographical convention).
Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the

rapidly increasing population of Europe, which brought about
great social and political change from the preceding era, and
the Renaissance of the 12th century, including the first
developments of rural exodus and of urbanization. By 1250,
the robust population increase had greatly benefited the
European economy, which reached levels that would not be
seen again in some areas until the 19th century. That trend
faltered during the Late Middle Ages because of a series of
calamities, most notably the Black Death, but also numerous
wars as well as economic stagnation.
From around 780, Europe saw the last of the barbarian

invasions and became more socially and politically organized.
The Carolingian Renaissance stimulated scientific and
philosophical activity in Northern Europe. The first universities
started operating in Bologna, Paris, Oxford, Salamanca,
Cambridge and Modena. The Vikings settled in the British
Isles, France and elsewhere, and Norse Christian kingdoms
started developing in their Scandinavian homelands. The
Magyars ceased their expansion in the 10th century, and by
the year 1000, a Christian Kingdom of Hungary had become a
recognized state in Central Europe that was forming alliances

with regional powers. With the brief exception of the Mongol
invasions in the 13th century, major nomadic incursions
ceased. The powerful Byzantine Empire of the Macedonian and
Komnenos dynasties gradually gave way to the resurrected
Serbia and Bulgaria and to a successor crusader state (1204 to
1261), who continually fought each other until the end of the
Latin Empire. The Byzantine Empire was reestablished in 1261
with the recapture of Constantinople from the Latins, though it
was no longer a major power and would continue to falter
through the 14th century, with remnants lasting until the mid
15th century.
In the 11th century, populations north of the Alps began a

more intensive settlement, targeting "new" lands, some of
which areas had reverted to wilderness after the end of the
Western Roman Empire. In what historian Charles Higounet
called the "great clearances", Europeans cleared and cultivated
some of the vast forests and marshes that lay across much of
the continent. At the same time, settlers moved beyond the
traditional boundaries of the Frankish Empire to new frontiers
beyond the Elbe River, which tripled the size of Germany in the
process. The Catholic Church, which reached the peak of its
political power around then, called armies from across Europe
to a series of Crusades against the Seljuk Turks. The
crusaders occupied the Holy Land and founded the Crusader
States in the Levant. Other wars led to the Northern Crusades.
The Christian kingdoms took much of the Iberian Peninsula
from Muslim control, and the Normans conquered southern
Italy, all part of the major population increases and the
resettlement patterns of the era.
2
The High Middle Ages produced many different forms of

intellectual, spiritual and artistic works. The age also saw the
rise of ethnocentrism, which evolved later into modern national
identities in most of Europe, the ascent of the great Italian
city-states and the rise and fall of the Islamic civilization of Al-
Andalus.
The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle, at first indirectly

through Medieval Jewish and Islamic Philosophy, led
Maimonides, Avicenna, Averroes, Thomas Aquinas and other
thinkers of the period to expand Scholasticism, a combination
of Judeo-Islamic and Catholic ideologies with the ancient
philosophy. For much of this period, Constantinople remained
Europe's most populous city, and Byzantine art reached a peak
in the 12th century. In architecture, many of the most notable
Gothic cathedrals were built or completed around this period.
The Crisis of the Late Middle Ages began at the start of the
14th century and marked the end of the period.
• Historical events and politics

• Great Britain and Ireland
In England, the Norman Conquest of 1066 resulted in a

kingdom ruled by a Francophone nobility. The Normans
invaded Ireland in 1169 and soon established themselves
throughout most of the country, although their stronghold was
the southeast. Likewise, Scotland and Wales were subdued to
vassalage at about the same time, though Scotland later
asserted its independence and Wales remained largely under
the rule of independent native princes until the death of
Llywelyn ap Gruffydd in 1282. The Exchequer was founded in
3
the 12th century under King Henry I, and the first parliaments
were convened. In 1215, after the loss of Normandy, King John
signed the Magna Carta into law, which limited the power of
English monarchs.
• Spain, Portugal, and Italy
Much of the Iberian peninsula had been occupied by the Moors

after 711, although the northernmost portion was divided
between several Christian states. In the 11th century, and
again in the thirteenth, the Christian kingdoms of the north
gradually drove the Muslims from central and most of southern
Iberia.
In Italy, independent city states grew affluent on eastern

maritime trade. These were in particular the thalassocracies of
Pisa, Amalfi, Genoa and Venice, which played a key role in
European trade from then on. Making these cities become
major financial centers.
• Scandinavia
From the mid-tenth to the mid-11th centuries, the

Scandinavian kingdoms were unified and Christianized,
resulting in an end of Viking raids, and greater involvement in
European politics. King Cnut of Denmark ruled over both
England and Norway. After Cnut's death in 1035, England and
Norway were lost, and with the defeat of Valdemar II in 1227,
Danish predominance in the region came to an end. Meanwhile,
Norway extended its Atlantic possessions, ranging from
Greenland to the Isle of Man, while Sweden, under Birger Jarl,
built up a power-base in the Baltic Sea. However, the
Norwegian influence started to decline already in the same
4
period, marked by the Treaty of Perth of 1266. Also, civil wars

raged in Norway between 1130 and 1240.
• France and Germany
By the time of the High Middle Ages, the Carolingian Empire

had been divided and replaced by separate successor kingdoms
called France and Germany, although not with their modern
boundaries. Germany was under the banner of the Holy Roman
Empire, which reached its high-water mark of unity and
political power.
• Georgia
During the successful reign of King David IV of Georgia (1089–

1125), Kingdom of Georgia grew in strength and expelled the
Seljuk Empire from its lands. David's decisive victory in the
Battle of Didgori (1121) against the Seljuk Turks, as a result of
which Georgia recaptured its lost capital Tbilisi, marked the
beginning of the Georgian Golden Age.
David's granddaughter Queen Tamar continued the upward

rise, successfully neutralizing internal opposition and
embarking on an energetic foreign policy aided by further
decline of the hostile Seljuk Turks.
Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on

the successes of her predecessors to consolidate an empire
which dominated vast lands spanning from present-day
southern Russia on the Black Sea to the Caspian Sea. Georgia
remained a leading regional power until its collapse under the
Mongol attacks within two decades after Tamar's death.
5
• Hungary
In the High Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary (founded in

1000), became one of the most powerful medieval states in
central Europe and Western Europe. King Saint Stephen I of
Hungary introduced Christianity to the region; he was
remembered by the contemporary chroniclers as a very
religious monarch, with wide knowledge in Latin grammar,
strict with his own people but kind to the foreigners. He
eradicated the remnants of the tribal organisation in the
Kingdom and forced the people to sedentarize and adopt the
Christian religion, ethics, way of life and founded the
Hungarian medieval state, organising it politically in counties
using the Germanic system as a model.
The following monarchs usually kept a close relationship with

Rome like Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary, and a tolerant attitude
with the pagans that escaped to the Kingdom searching for
sanctuary (for example Cumans in the 13th century), which
eventually created certain discomfort for some Popes. With
entering in Personal union with the Kingdom of Croatia and the
establishment of other vassal states, Hungary became a small
empire that extended its control over the Balkans and the
Carpathian region. The Hungarian royal house was the one
that gave the most saints to the Catholic Church during
medieval times.
• Lithuania
During the High Middle Ages Lithuania emerged as a Kingdom

of Lithuania. After the assassination of its first Christian king
Mindaugas Lithuania was known as Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
6
Unconquered during the Lithuanian Crusade, Lithuania itself

rapidly expanded to the East due to conquests and became one
of the largest states in Europe.
• Poland
During the High Middle Ages Poland emerged as a kingdom. It

decided to bond itself with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,
confirmed by the Union of Krewo and later treaties, leading to
a personal union in 1569.
• Southeastern Europe
The High Middle Ages saw the height and decline of the Slavic
state of Kievan Rus' and emergence of Cumania. Later, the
Mongol invasion in the 13th century had great impact on the
east of Europe, as many countries of the region were invaded,
pillaged, conquered and/or vassalized.
During the first half of this period (c. 1025—1185) the

Byzantine Empire dominated the Balkans, and under the
Komnenian emperors there was a revival of prosperity and
urbanization; however, their domination of Southeastern
Europe came to an end with a successful Vlach-Bulgarian
rebellion in 1185, and henceforth the region was divided
between the Byzantines in Greece, some parts of Macedonia,
and Thrace, the Bulgarians in Moesia and most of Thrace and
Macedonia, and the Serbs to the northwest. Eastern and
Western churches had formally split in the 11th century, and
despite occasional periods of co-operation during the 12th
century, in 1204 the Fourth Crusade treacherously captured
Constantinople. This severely damaged the Byzantines, and
their power was ultimately weakened by the Seljuks and the
7
rising Ottoman Empire in the 14–15th century. The power of

the Latin Empire, however, was short lived after the Crusader
army was routed by Bulgarian Emperor Kaloyan in the Battle
of Adrianople (1205).
• Climate and agriculture
The Medieval Warm Period, the period from the 10th century to
about the 14th century in Europe, was a relatively warm and
gentle interval ended by the generally colder Little Ice Age.
Farmers grew wheat well north into Scandinavia, and wine
grapes in northern England, although the maximum expansion
of vineyards appears to occur within the Little Ice Age period.
During this time, a high demand for wine and steady volume of
alcohol consumption inspired a viticulture revolution of
progress. This protection from famine allowed Europe's
population to increase, despite the famine in 1315 that killed
1.5 million people. This increased population contributed to
the founding of new towns and an increase in industrial and
economic activity during the period. They also established
trade and a comprehensive production of alcohol. Food
production also increased during this time as new ways of
farming were introduced, including the use of a heavier plow,
horses instead of oxen, and a three-field system that allowed
the cultivation of a greater variety of crops than the earlier
two-field system—notably legumes, the growth of which
prevented the depletion of important nitrogen from the soil.
• The rise of chivalry
During the High Middle Ages, the idea of a Christian warrior

started to change as Christianity grew more prominent in
8
Medieval Europe. The Codes of Chivalry promoted the ideal

knight to be selfless, faithful, and fierce against those who
threaten the weak. Household heavy cavalry (knights) became
common in the 11th century across Europe, and tournaments
were invented. Tournaments allowed knights to establish their
family name while being able to gather vast wealth and renown
through victories. In the 12th century, the Cluny monks
promoted ethical warfare and inspired the formation of orders
of chivalry, such as the Templar Knights. Inherited titles of
nobility were established during this period. In 13th-century
Germany, knighthood became another inheritable title,
although one of the less prestigious, and the trend spread to
other countries.
• Religion
• Christian Church
The East–West Schism of 1054 formally separated the

Christian church into two parts: Roman Catholicism in
Western Europe and Eastern Orthodoxy in the east. It occurred
when Pope Leo IX and Patriarch Michael I excommunicated
each other, mainly over disputes as to the use of unleavened
bread in the liturgy and fasting days, existence of papal
authority over the four Eastern patriarchs, as well as
disagreement over the filioque.
• Crusades
The Catholic Crusades occurred between the 11th and 13th

centuries. They were conducted under papal authority, initially
with the intent of reestablishing Christian rule in The Holy
Land by taking the area from the Muslim Fatimid Caliphate.
9
The Fatimids had captured Palestine in AD 970, lost it to the

Seljuk Turks in 1073 and recaptured it in 1098, just before
they lost it again in 1099 as a result of the First Crusade.
Military orders
In the context of the crusades, monastic military orders were

founded that would become the template for the late medieval
chivalric orders.
The Knights Templar were a Christian military order founded

after the First Crusade to help protect Christian pilgrims from
hostile locals and highway bandits. The order was deeply
involved in banking, and in 1307 Philip the Fair (Philippine le
Bel) had the entire order arrested in France and dismantled on
charges of heresy.
The Knights Hospitaller were originally a Christian

organization founded in Jerusalem in 1080 to provide care for
poor, sick, or injured pilgrims to the Holy Land. After
Jerusalem was taken in the First Crusade, it became a
religious/military order that was charged with the care and
defence of the Holy Lands. After the Holy Lands were
eventually taken by Muslim forces, it moved its operations to
Rhodes, and later Malta.
The Teutonic Knights were a German religious order formed in

1190, in the city of Acre, to aid Christian pilgrims on their way
to the Holy Lands and to operate hospitals for the sick and
injured in Outremer. After Muslim forces captured the Holy
Lands, the order moved to Transylvania in 1211 and later,
after being expelled, invaded pagan Prussia with the intention
of Christianizing the Baltic region. Yet, both before and after
10
the Order's main pagan opponent, Lithuania, converted to

Christianity, the Order had already attacked other Christian
nations such as Novgorod and Poland. The Teutonic Knights'
power hold, which became considerable, was broken in 1410,
at the Battle of Grunwald, where the Order suffered a
devastating defeat against a joint Polish-Lithuanian army.
After Grunwald, the Order declined in power until 1809 when it
was officially dissolved. There were ten crusades in total.
• Scholasticism
The new Christian method of learning was influenced by

Anselm of Canterbury (1033–1109) from the rediscovery of the
works of Aristotle, at first indirectly through Medieval Jewish
and Muslim Philosophy (Maimonides, Avicenna, and Averroes)
and then through Aristotle's own works brought back from
Byzantine and Muslim libraries; and those whom he
influenced, most notably Albertus Magnus, Bonaventure and
Abélard. Many scholastics believed in empiricism and
supporting Roman Catholic doctrines through secular study,
reason, and logic. They opposed Christian mysticism, and the
Platonist-Augustinian belief that the mind is an immaterial
substance. The most famous of the scholastics was Thomas
Aquinas (later declared a "Doctor of the Church"), who led the
move away from the Platonic and Augustinian and towards
Aristotelianism. Aquinas developed a philosophy of mind by
writing that the mind was at birth a tabula rasa ("blank slate")
that was given the ability to think and recognize forms or ideas
through a divine spark. Other notable scholastics included
Muhammad Averroes, Roscelin, Abélard, Peter Lombard, and
Francisco Suárez. One of the main questions during this time
was the problem of universals. Prominent opponents of various
11
aspects of the scholastic mainstream included Duns Scotus,

William of Ockham, Peter Damian, Bernard of Clairvaux, and
the Victorines.
• Golden age of monasticism
The late 11th century/early-mid 12th century was the height of

the golden age of Christian monasticism (8th-12th centuries).
• Benedictine Order – black-robed monks

• Cistercian Order – white-robed monks
Bernard of Clairvaux
• Mendicant orders
The 13th century saw the rise of the Mendicant orders such as
the:
• Franciscans (Friars Minor, commonly known as the

Grey Friars), founded 1209
• Carmelites (Hermits of the Blessed Virgin Mary of
Carmel, commonly known as the White Friars),
founded 1206–1214
• Dominicans (Order of Preachers, commonly called
the Black Friars), founded 1215
• Augustinians (Hermits of St. Augustine, commonly
called the Austin Friars), founded 1256
Heretical movements
Christian heresies existed in Europe before the 11th century

but only in small numbers and of local character: in most
12
cases, a rogue priest, or a village returning to pagan

traditions. Beginning in the 11th century, however mass-
movement heresies appeared. The roots of this can be partially
sought in the rise of urban cities, free merchants, and a new
money-based economy. The rural values of monasticism held
little appeal to urban people who began to form sects more in
tune with urban culture. The first large-scale heretical
movements in Western Europe originated in the newly
urbanized areas such as southern France and northern Italy
and were probably influenced by the Bogomils and other
dualist movements. These heresies were on a scale the Catholic
Church had never seen before; the response was one of
elimination for some (such as the Cathars), and acceptance
and integration of others (such as the veneration of Francis of
Assisi, the son of an urban merchant who renounced money).
Cathars
Catharism was a movement with Gnostic elements that

originated around the middle of the 10th century, branded by
the contemporary Roman Catholic Church as heretical. It
existed throughout much of Western Europe, but its
origination was in Languedoc and surrounding areas in
southern France.
The name Cathar stems from Greek katharos, "pure". One of

the first recorded uses is Eckbert von Schönau who wrote on
heretics from Cologne in 1181: "Hos nostra Germania catharos
appellat."
The Cathars are also called Albigensians. This name originates

from the end of the 12th century, and was used by the
chronicler Geoffroy du Breuil of Vigeois in 1181. The name
13
refers to the southern town of Albi (the ancient Albiga). The

designation is hardly exact, for the centre was at Toulouse and
in the neighbouring districts.
The Albigensians were strong in southern France, northern

Italy, and the southwestern Holy Roman Empire.
The Bogomils were strong in the Balkans, and became the

official religion supported by the Bosnian kings.
Dualists believed that historical events were the result of

struggle between a good force and an evil force and that evil
ruled the world, though it could be controlled or defeated
through asceticism and good works.
Albigensian Crusade, Simon de Montfort, Montségur, Château

de Quéribus
Waldensians
Peter Waldo of Lyon was a wealthy merchant who gave up his

riches around 1175 after a religious experience and became a
preacher. He founded the Waldensians which became a
Christian sect believing that all religious practices should have
scriptural basis. Waldo was denied the right to preach his
sermons by the Third Lateran Council in 1179, which he did
not obey and continued to speak freely until he was
excommunicated in 1184. Waldo was critical of the Christian
clergy saying they did not live according to the word. He
rejected the practice of selling indulgences, as well as the
common saint cult practices of the day.
14
Waldensians are considered a forerunner to the Protestant

Reformation, and they melted into Protestantism with the
outbreak of the Reformation and became a part of the wider
Reformed tradition after the views of John Calvin and his
theological successors in Geneva proved very similar to their
own theological thought. Waldensian churches still exist,
located on several continents.
• Trade and commerce
In Northern Europe, the Hanseatic League, a federation of free

cities to advance trade by sea, was founded in the 12th
century, with the foundation of the city of Lübeck, which would
later dominate the League, in 1158–1159. Many northern cities
of the Holy Roman Empire became hanseatic cities, including
Amsterdam, Cologne, Bremen, Hanover and Berlin.
Hanseatic cities outside the Holy Roman Empire were, for

instance, Bruges and the Polish city of Gdańsk (Danzig), as
well as Königsberg, capital of the monastic state of the
Teutonic Knights. In Bergen, Norway and Veliky Novgorod,
Russia the league had factories and middlemen. In this period
the Germans started •ecentrali Europe beyond the Empire, into
Prussia and Silesia.
th
In the late 13 century, a Venetian explorer named Marco Polo
became one of the first Europeans to travel the Silk Road to
China. Westerners became more aware of the Far East when
Polo documented his travels in Il Milione. He was followed by
numerous Christian missionaries to the East, such as William
of Rubruck, Giovanni da Pian del Carpine, André de
Longjumeau, Odoric of Pordenone, Giovanni de’ Marignolli,
15
Giovanni di Monte Corvino, and other •ecentral such as Niccolò

de’ Conti.
• Science
Philosophical and scientific teaching of the Early Middle Ages

was based upon few copies and commentaries of ancient Greek
texts that remained in Western Europe after the collapse of the
Western Roman Empire. Most of them were studied only in
Latin as knowledge of Greek was very limited.
th
This scenario changed during the Renaissance of the 12
century. The intellectual revitalization of Europe started with
the birth of medieval universities. The increased contact with
the Islamic world in Spain and Sicily during the Reconquista,
and the Byzantine world and Muslim Levant during the
Crusades, allowed Europeans access to scientific Arabic and
Greek texts, including the works of Aristotle, Alhazen, and
Averroes. The European universities aided materially in the
translation and propagation of these texts and started a new
infrastructure which was needed for scientific communities.
th
At the beginning of the 13 century there were reasonably
accurate Latin translations of the main works of almost all the
intellectually crucial ancient authors, allowing a sound
transfer of scientific ideas via both the universities and the
monasteries. By then, the natural science contained in these
texts began to be extended by notable scholastics such as
Robert Grosseteste, Roger Bacon, Albertus Magnus and Duns
Scotus. Precursors of the modern scientific method can be seen
already in Grosseteste’s emphasis on mathematics as a way to
16
understand nature, and in the empirical approach admired by

Bacon, particularly in his Opus Majus.
• Technology
th th
During the 12 and 13 century in Europe there was a radical
change in the rate of new inventions, innovations in the ways
of managing traditional means of production, and economic
growth. In less than a century there were more inventions
developed and applied usefully than in the previous thousand
years of human history all over the globe. The period saw
major technological advances, including the adoption or
invention of windmills, watermills, printing (though not yet
with movable type), gunpowder, the astrolabe, glasses, scissors
of the modern shape, a better clock, and greatly improved
ships. The latter two advances made possible the dawn of the
Age of Discovery. These inventions were influenced by foreign
culture and society.
Alfred W. Crosby described some of this technological

revolution in The Measure of Reality: Quantification in Western
Europe, 1250-1600 and other major historians of technology
have also noted it.
• The earliest written record of a windmill is from

Yorkshire, England, dated 1185.
• Paper manufacture began in Italy around 1270.
• The spinning wheel was brought to Europe (probably
th
from India) in the 13 century.
• The magnetic compass aided navigation, first
th
reaching Europe some time in the late 12 century.
• Eye glasses were invented in Italy in the late 1280s.
17
• The astrolabe returned to Europe via Islamic Spain.

• Fibonacci introduces Hindu-Arabic numerals to
Europe with his book Liber Abaci in 1202.
• The West’s oldest known depiction of a stern-
mounted rudder can be found on church carvings
dating to around 1180.
• Arts
• Visual arts
Art in the High Middle Ages includes these important

movements:
• Anglo-Saxon art was influential on the British Isles

until the Norman Invasion of 1066
• Romanesque art continued traditions from the
Classical world (not to be confused with Romanesque
architecture)
• Gothic art developed a distinct Germanic flavor (not
to be confused with Gothic architecture).
• Indo-Islamic architecture begins when Muhammad of
Ghor made Delhi a Muslim capital
• Byzantine art continued earlier Byzantine traditions,
influencing much of Eastern Europe.
• Illuminated manuscripts gained prominence both in
the Catholic and Orthodox churches
Architecture
Gothic architecture superseded the Romanesque style by

combining flying buttresses, gothic (or pointed) arches and
ribbed vaults. It was influenced by the spiritual background of
the time, being religious in essence: thin horizontal lines and
18
grates made the building strive towards the sky. Architecture

was made to appear light and weightless, as opposed to the
dark and bulky forms of the previous Romanesque style. Saint
Augustine of Hippo taught that light was an expression of God.
Architectural techniques were adapted and developed to build
churches that reflected this teaching. Colorful glass windows
enhanced the spirit of lightness. As color was much rarer at
medieval times than today, it can be assumed that these
virtuoso works of art had an awe-inspiring impact on the
common man from the street. High-rising intricate ribbed, and
later fan vaultings demonstrated movement toward heaven.
Veneration of God was also expressed by the relatively large
size of these buildings. A gothic cathedral therefore not only
invited the visitors to elevate themselves spiritually, it was
also meant to demonstrate the greatness of God. The floor plan
of a gothic cathedral corresponded to the rules of
scholasticism: According to Erwin Panofsky’s Gothic
Architecture and Scholasticism, the plan was divided into
sections and uniform subsections. These characteristics are
exhibited by the most famous sacral building of the time: Notre
Dame de Paris.
• Literature
A variety of cultures influenced the literature of the High

Middle Ages, one of the strongest among them being
Christianity. The connection to Christianity was greatest in
Latin literature, which influenced the vernacular languages in
the literary cycle of the Matter of Rome. Other literary cycles,
or interrelated groups of stories, included the Matter of France
(stories about Charlemagne and his court), the Acritic songs
dealing with the chivalry of Byzantium’s frontiersmen, and
19
perhaps the best known cycle, the Matter of Britain, which

featured tales about King Arthur, his court, and related stories
from Brittany, Cornwall, Wales and Ireland. An anonymous
German poet tried to bring the Germanic myths from the
Migration Period to the level of the French and British epics,
producing the Nibelungenlied. There was also a quantity of
poetry and historical writings which were written during this
period, such as Historia Regum Britanniae by Geoffrey of
Monmouth.
th
Despite political decline during the late 12 and much of the
th
13 centuries, the Byzantine scholarly tradition remained
particularly fruitful over the time period. One of the most
th
prominent philosophers of the 11 century, Michael Psellos,
reinvigorated Neoplatonism on Christian foundations and
bolstered the study of ancient philosophical texts, along with
contributing to history, grammar, and rhetorics. His pupil and
successor at the head of Philosophy at the University of
Constantinople Ioannes Italos continued the Platonic line in
Byzantine thought and was criticized by the Church for holding
opinions it considered heretical, such as the doctrine of
transmigration. Two Orthodox theologians important in the
dialogue between the eastern and western churches were
Nikephoros Blemmydes and Maximus Planudes. Byzantine
historical tradition also flourished with the works of the
brothers Niketas and Michael Choniates in the beginning of the
th
13 century and George Akropolites a generation later. Dating
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from 12 century Byzantine Empire is also Timarion, an
Orthodox Christian anticipation of Divine Comedy. Around the
same time the so-called Byzantine novel rose in popularity with
its synthesis of ancient pagan and contemporaneous Christian
themes.
20
At the same time southern France gave birth to Occitan

literature, which is best known for troubadours who sang of
courtly love. It included elements from Latin literature and
Arab-influenced Spain and North Africa. Later its influence
spread to several cultures in Western Europe, notably in
Portugal and the Minnesänger in Germany. Provençal literature
also reached Sicily and Northern Italy laying the foundation of
the “sweet new style” of Dante and later Petrarca. Indeed, the
most important poem of the Late Middle Ages, the allegorical
Divine Comedy, is to a large degree a product of both the
theology of Thomas Aquinas and the largely secular Occitan
literature.
• Music
The surviving music of the High Middle Ages is primarily

religious in nature, since music notation developed in religious
institutions, and the application of notation to secular music
was a later development. Early in the period, Gregorian chant
was the dominant form of church music; other forms,
beginning with organum, and later including clausulae,
conductus, and the motet, developed using the chant as source
material.
th
During the 11 century, Guido of Arezzo was one of the first to
develop musical notation, which made it easier for singers to
remember Gregorian chants.
th th
It was during the 12 and 13 centuries that Gregorian
plainchant gave birth to polyphony, which appeared in the
works of French Notre Dame School (Léonin and Pérotin). Later
it evolved into the ars nova (Philippe de Vitry, Guillaume de
Machaut) and the musical genres of late Middle Ages. An
21
th
important composer during the 12 century was the nun
Hildegard of Bingen.
The most significant secular movement was that of the

troubadours, who arose in Occitania (Southern France) in the
th
late 11 century. The troubadours were often itinerant, came
from all classes of society, and wrote songs on a variety of
topics, though with a particular focus on courtly love. Their
style went on to influence the trouvères of northern France,
the minnesingers of Germany, and the composers of secular
music of the Trecento in northern Italy.
• Theatre
Economic and political changes in the High Middle Ages led to

the formation of guilds and the growth of towns, and this
would lead to significant changes for theatre starting in this
time and continuing into the Late Middle Ages. Trade guilds
began to perform plays, usually religiously based, and often
dealing with a biblical story that referenced their profession.
For instance, a baker’s guild would perform a reenactment of
the Last Supper. In the British Isles, plays were produced in
some 127 different towns during the Middle Ages. These
vernacular Mystery plays were written in cycles of a large
number of plays: York (48 plays), Chester (24), Wakefield (32)
and Unknown (42). A larger number of plays survive from
France and Germany in this period and some type of religious
dramas were performed in nearly every European country in
the Late Middle Ages. Many of these plays contained comedy,
devils, villains and clowns.
There were also a number of secular performances staged in

the Middle Ages, the earliest of which is The Play of the
22
Greenwood by Adam de la Halle in 1276. It contains satirical

scenes and folk material such as faeries and other
supernatural occurrences. Farces also rose dramatically in
th
popularity after the 13 century. The majority of these plays
come from France and Germany and are similar in tone and
form, emphasizing sex and bodily excretions.
Timeline
• 1003 – death of Pope Sylvester II

• 1018 – the First Bulgarian Empire is conquered by
the Byzantine Empire under Basil II.
• 1027 – the Salian Conrad II succeeds the last
Ottonian Henry II the Saint
• 1054 – East–West Schism
• 1066 – Battle of Hastings
• 1066–1067 Bayeux Tapestry
• 1073–1085 – Pope Gregory VII
• 1071 – Battle of Manzikert
• 1077 – Henry IV’s Walk to Canossa
• 1086 – Domesday Book
• 1086 – Battle of az-Zallaqah
• 1088 – University of Bologna founded
• 1091 – Battle of Levounion
• 1096–1099 – First Crusade
• 1123 – First Lateran Council
• 1139 – Second Lateran Council
• 1145–1149 – Second Crusade
• 1147 – Wendish Crusade
• c. 1150 – University of Paris founded
• 1155–1190 – Frederick I Barbarossa
23
• 1158 – foundation of the Hanseatic League

• 1167 – University of Oxford founded
• 1169 – Norman invasion of Ireland
• 1185 – reestablishment of the Bulgarian Empire
• 1189–1192 – Third Crusade
• 1200–1204 – Fourth Crusade
• 1205 – battle of Adrianople
• 1209 – University of Cambridge founded
• 1209 – foundation of the Franciscan Order
• 1209–1229 – Albigensian Crusade
• 1212 – Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa
• 1215 – Magna Carta
• 1216 – recognition of the Dominican Order
• 1215 – Fourth Lateran Council
• 1217–1221 – Fifth Crusade
• 1218 – University of Salamanca founded
• 1220–1250 – Frederick II
• 1222 – University of Padua founded
• 1223 – approval of the Franciscan Rule of Life
• 1228–1229 – Sixth Crusade
• 1230 – Prussian Crusade
• 1230 – battle of Klokotnitsa
• 1237–1242 – Mongol invasion of Europe
• 1241 – Battle of Legnica and Battle of Mohi
• 1242 – Battle of the Ice
• 1248–1254 – Seventh Crusade
• 1257 – foundation of the Collège de Sorbonne
• 1261 – the Byzantine Empire reconquers
Constantinople.
• 1274 – death of Thomas Aquinas; Summa Theologica
published
24
• 1277-1280 – Uprising of Ivaylo – Medieval Europe’s

only successful peasant uprising
• 1280 – death of Albertus Magnus
• 1291 – Acre, the last European outpost in the Near
East, is captured by the Mamluks under Khalil.
• 1299 – Peak of Mongol supremacy in Southeastern
Europe with Chaka of Bulgaria
• 1299 – Osman I founds the Ottoman Empire.
25
Chapter 2
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire (Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum;

German: Heiliges Römisches Reich) was a multi-ethnic complex
of territories in Western, Central and SouthernEurope that
developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its
dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
The empire was created by joining in personal union and with

the imperial title the crown of the Kingdom of Italy with the
Frankish crown, particularly the Kingdom of East Francia
(Later Kingdom of Germany), as well as titles of other smaller
territories. Soon these kingdoms would be joined by the
Kingdom of Burgundy and Kingdom of Bohemia. By the end of
th
the 15 century the empire was still in theory composed of
three major blocks – Italy, Germany and Burgundy. Later
territorially only the Kingdom of Germany and Bohemia
remained, with the Burgundian territories lost to France.
Although the Italian territories were formally part of the
empire, the territories were ignored in the Imperial Reform and
splintered into numerous de facto independent territorial
entities. The status of Italy in particular varied throughout the
th th
16 to 18 centuries. Some territories like Piedmont-Savoy
became increasingly independent, while others became more
dependent due to the extinction of their ruling noble houses
causing these territories to often fall under the dominions of
the Habsburgs and their cadet branches. Barring the loss of
Franche-Comté in 1678, the external borders of the Empire did
not change noticeably from the Peace of Westphalia – which
acknowledged the exclusion of Switzerland and the Northern
Netherlands, and the French protectorate over Alsace – to the

dissolution of the Empire. At the conclusion of the Napoleonic
Wars in 1815, most of the Holy Roman Empire was included in
the German Confederation, with the main exceptions being the
Italian states.
On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish

kingCharlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western
Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the earlier
ancient Western Roman Empire in 476. In theory and
diplomacy, the Emperors were considered primus inter pares,
regarded as first among equals among other Roman Catholic
monarchs across Europe. The title continued in the
Carolingian family until 888 and from 896 to 899, after which
it was contested by the rulers of Italy in a series of civil wars
until the death of the last Italian claimant, Berengar I, in 924.
The title was revived again in 962 when Otto I, King of
Germany, was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the
successor of Charlemagne and beginning a continuous
existence of the empire for over eight centuries. Some
historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin
of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as
its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating
an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the
empire, describing a gradual assumption of the imperial title
and role.
The exact term “Holy Roman Empire” was not used until the
th
13 century, before which the empire was referred to variously
as universum regnum (“the whole kingdom”, as opposed to the
regional kingdoms), imperium christianum (“Christian empire”),
or Romanum imperium (“Roman empire”), but the Emperor’s
27
legitimacy always rested on the concept of •ecentraliz imperii,

that he held supreme power inherited from the ancient
emperors of Rome. The dynastic office of Holy Roman Emperor
was traditionally elective through the mostly German prince-
electors, the highest-ranking noblemen of the empire; they
would elect one of their peers as “King of the Romans” to be
crowned emperor by the Pope, although the tradition of papal
th
coronations was discontinued in the 16 century.
The empire never achieved the desired extent of political

unification due to the formation of the relatively centralized
kingdom of France to its west. Instead it evolved into a
•ecentralized, limited elective monarchy composed of hundreds
of sub-units: kingdoms, principalities, duchies, counties,
prince-bishoprics, Free Imperial Cities, and eventually even
individuals enjoying imperial immediacy, such as the imperial
knights. The power of the emperor was limited, and while the
various princes, lords, bishops, and cities of the empire were
vassals who owed the emperor their allegiance, they also
possessed an extent of privileges that gave them de facto
independence within their territories. Emperor Francis II
dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806 following the creation
of the Confederation of the Rhine by Emperor Napoleon I the
month before.
Name
The Empire was considered by the Roman Catholic Church to

be the only legal successor of the Roman Empire during the
Middle Ages and the early modern period. Since Charlemagne,
the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. The
term sacrum (“holy”, in the sense of “consecrated”) in
28
connection with the medieval Roman Empire was used

beginning in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa (“Holy
Empire”): the term was added to reflect Frederick’s ambition to
dominate Italy and the Papacy. The form “Holy Roman Empire”
is attested from 1254 onward.
In a decree following the Diet of Cologne in 1512, the name

was changed to the Holy Roman Empire of the German
Nation (German: Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation,
Latin: Sacrum Imperium Romanum Nationis Germanicæ), a form
first used in a document in 1474. The new title was adopted
partly because the Empire lost most of its territories in Italy
th
and Burgundy to the south and west by the late 15 century,
but also to emphasize the new importance of the German
Imperial Estates in ruling the Empire due to the Imperial
Reform.
th
By the end of the 18 century, the term “Holy Roman Empire of
the German Nation” fell out of official use. Contradicting the
traditional view concerning that designation, Hermann Weisert
has argued in a study on imperial titulature that, despite the
claims of many textbooks, the name “Holy Roman Empire of the
German Nation” never had an official status and points out
that documents were thirty times as likely to omit the national
suffix as include it.
In a famous assessment of the name, the political philosopher

Voltaire remarked sardonically: “This body which was called
and which still calls itself the Holy Roman Empire was in no
way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”
In the modern period, the Empire was often informally called

the German Empire (Deutsches Reich) or Roman-German
29
Empire (Römisch-Deutsches Reich). After its dissolution

through the end of the German Empire, it was often called “the
old Empire” (das alte Reich). Beginning in 1923, early
twentieth-century German nationalists and Nazi propaganda
would identify the Holy Roman Empire as the First Reich
(Reich meaning empire), with the German Empire as the
Second Reich and either a future German nationalist state or
Nazi Germany as the Third Reich.
History
Early Middle Ages
Carolingian period:
As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local

Germanic tribes assumed control. In the late 5th and early 6th
centuries, the Merovingians, under Clovis I and his successors,
consolidated Frankish tribes and extended hegemony over
others to gain control of northern Gaul and the middle Rhine
river valley region. By the middle of the 8th century, however,
the Merovingians were reduced to figureheads, and the
Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, became the de facto
rulers. In 751, Martel's son Pepin became King of the Franks,
and later gained the sanction of the Pope. The Carolingians
would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy.
In 768, Pepin's son Charlemagne became King of the Franks

and began an extensive expansion of the realm. He eventually
incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany,
30
northern Italy, the Low Countries and beyond, linking the

Frankish kingdom with Papal lands.
Although antagonism about the expense of Byzantine

domination had long persisted within Italy, a political rupture
was set in motion in earnest in 726 by the iconoclasm of
Emperor Leo III the Isaurian, in what Pope Gregory II saw as
the latest in a series of imperial heresies. In 797, the Eastern
Roman Emperor Constantine VI was removed from the throne
by his mother Irene who declared herself Empress. As the Latin
Church only regarded a male Roman Emperor as the head of
Christendom, Pope Leo III sought a new candidate for the
dignity, excluding consultation with the Patriarch of
Constantinople.
Charlemagne's good service to the Church in his defense of

Papal possessions against the Lombards made him the ideal
candidate. On Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned
Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the West for the
first time in over three centuries. This can be seen as symbolic
of the papacy turning away from the declining Byzantine
Empire towards the new power of CarolingianFrancia.
Charlemagne adopted the formula Renovatio imperii
Romanorum ("renewal of the Roman Empire"). In 802, Irene was
overthrown and exiled by Nikephoros I and henceforth there
were two Roman Emperors.
After Charlemagne died in 814, the imperial crown passed to

his son, Louis the Pious. Upon Louis' death in 840, it passed
to his son Lothair, who was his co-ruler. By this point the
territory of Charlemagne was divided into several territories
(cf. Treaty of Verdun, Treaty of Prüm, Treaty of Meerssen and
31
Treaty of Ribemont), and over the course of the later ninth

century the title of Emperor was disputed by the Carolingian
rulers of Western Francia and Eastern Francia, with first the
western king (Charles the Bald) and then the eastern (Charles
the Fat), who briefly reunited the Empire, attaining the prize.
After the death of Charles the Fat in 888 the Carolingian

Empire broke apart, and was never restored. According to
Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm "spewed forth kinglets",
and each part elected a kinglet "from its own bowels". After the
death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope
controlled only territories in Italy. The last such emperor was
Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924.
Formation of the Holy Roman Empire
Around 900, autonomous stem duchies (Franconia, Bavaria,

Swabia, Saxony, and Lotharingia) reemerged in East Francia.
After the Carolingian king Louis the Child died without issue
in 911, East Francia did not turn to the Carolingian ruler of
West Francia to take over the realm but instead elected one of
the dukes, Conrad of Franconia, as Rex Francorum Orientalium.
On his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival,
Henry the Fowler of Saxony (r. 919–36), who was elected king
at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the
raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against
them in the Battle of Riade.
Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing (or

Ottonian) dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom
for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowler's death, Otto, his
son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in
32
936. He overcame a series of revolts from a younger brother

and from several dukes. After that, the king managed to
control the appointment of dukes and often also employed
bishops in administrative affairs.
In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the widowed queen of

Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her, and taking control
over Italy. In 955, Otto won a decisive victory over the Magyars
in the Battle of Lechfeld. In 962, Otto was crowned emperor by
Pope John XII, thus intertwining the affairs of the German
kingdom with those of Italy and the Papacy. Otto's coronation
as Emperor marked the German kings as successors to the
Empire of Charlemagne, which through the concept of
translatio imperii, also made them consider themselves as
successors to Ancient Rome.
The kingdom lacked a permanent capital city. Kings traveled

between residences (called Kaiserpfalz) to discharge affairs,
though each king preferred certain places; in Otto's case, this
was the city of Magdeburg.
Kingship continued to be transferred by election, but Kings

often ensured their own sons were elected during their
lifetimes, enabling them to keep the crown for their families.
This only changed after the end of the Salian dynasty in the
12th century.
In 963, Otto deposed the current Pope John XII and chose Pope
Leo VIII as the new pope (although John XII and Leo VIII both
claimed the papacy until 964 when John XII died). This also
renewed the conflict with the Eastern Emperor in
Constantinople, especially after Otto's son Otto II (r. 967–83)
adopted the designation imperator Romanorum. Still, Otto II
33
formed marital ties with the east when he married the

Byzantine princess Theophanu. Their son, Otto III, came to the
throne only three years old, and was subjected to a power
struggle and series of regencies until his age of majority in
994. Up to that time, he remained in Germany, while a deposed
duke, Crescentius II, ruled over Rome and part of Italy,
ostensibly in his stead.
In 996 Otto III appointed his cousin Gregory V the first

German Pope. A foreign pope and foreign papal officers were
seen with suspicion by Roman nobles, who were led by
Crescentius II to revolt.
Otto III's former mentor Antipope John XVI briefly held Rome,
until the Holy Roman Emperor seized the city. Otto died young
in 1002, and was succeeded by his cousin Henry II, who
focused on Germany.
Henry II died in 1024 and Conrad II, first of the Salian

dynasty, was elected king only after some debate among dukes
and nobles. This group eventually developed into the college of
Electors.
The Holy Roman Empire eventually came to be composed of

four kingdoms. The kingdoms were:
• Kingdom of Germany (part of the empire since 962),

• Kingdom of Italy (from 962 until 1801),
• Kingdom of Bohemia (from 1002 as the Duchy of
Bohemia and raised to a kingdom in 1198),
• Kingdom of Burgundy (from 1032 to 1378).
34
High Middle Ages
Investiture controversy
Kings often employed bishops in administrative affairs and

often determined who would be appointed to ecclesiastical
offices. In the wake of the Cluniac Reforms, this involvement
was increasingly seen as inappropriate by the Papacy. The
reform-minded Pope Gregory VII was determined to oppose
such practices, which led to the Investiture Controversy with
Henry IV (r. 1056–1106), the King of the Romans and Holy
Roman Emperor.
Henry IV repudiated the Pope's interference and persuaded his

bishops to excommunicate the Pope, whom he famously
addressed by his born name "Hildebrand", rather than his
regnal name "Pope Gregory VII". The Pope, in turn,
excommunicated the king, declared him deposed, and dissolved
the oaths of loyalty made to Henry. The king found himself
with almost no political support and was forced to make the
famous Walk to Canossa in 1077, by which he achieved a
lifting of the excommunication at the price of humiliation.
Meanwhile, the German princes had elected another king,
Rudolf of Swabia.
Henry managed to defeat Rudolf, but was subsequently

confronted with more uprisings, renewed excommunication,
and even the rebellion of his sons. After his death, his second
son, Henry V, reached an agreement with the Pope and the
bishops in the 1122 Concordat of Worms. The political power of
the Empire was maintained, but the conflict had demonstrated
35
the limits of the ruler's power, especially in regard to the

Church, and it robbed the king of the sacral status he had
previously enjoyed. The Pope and the German princes had
surfaced as major players in the political system of the empire.
Ostsiedlung
As the result of Ostsiedlung, less-populated regions of Central

Europe (i.e. the territory of today's Poland and Czech Republic)
became German-speaking. Silesia became part of the Holy
Roman Empire as the result of the local Piast dukes' push for
autonomy from the Polish Crown. From the late 12th century,
the Duchy of Pomerania was under the suzerainty of the Holy
Roman Empire and the conquests of the Teutonic Order made
that region German-speaking.
Hohenstaufen dynasty
When the Salian dynasty ended with Henry V's death in 1125,
the princes chose not to elect the next of kin, but rather
Lothair, the moderately powerful but already old Duke of
Saxony. When he died in 1137, the princes again aimed to
check royal power; accordingly they did not elect Lothair's
favoured heir, his son-in-law Henry the Proud of the Welf
family, but Conrad III of the Hohenstaufen family, the
grandson of Emperor Henry IV and thus a nephew of Emperor
Henry V. This led to over a century of strife between the two
houses. Conrad ousted the Welfs from their possessions, but
after his death in 1152, his nephew Frederick I "Barbarossa"
succeeded him and made peace with the Welfs, restoring his
cousin Henry the Lion to his – albeit diminished – possessions.
36
The Hohenstaufen rulers increasingly lent land to ministerialia,

formerly non-free servicemen, who Frederick hoped would be
more reliable than dukes. Initially used mainly for war
services, this new class of people would form the basis for the
later knights, another basis of imperial power. A further
important constitutional move at Roncaglia was the
establishment of a new peace mechanism for the entire empire,
the Landfrieden, with the first imperial one being issued in
1103 under Henry IV at Mainz.
This was an attempt to abolish private feuds, between the

many dukes and other people, and to tie the emperor's
subordinates to a legal system of jurisdiction and public
prosecution of criminal acts – a predecessor of the modern
concept of "rule of law". Another new concept of the time was
the systematic founding of new cities by the Emperor and by
the local dukes. These were partly a result of the explosion in
population; they also concentrated economic power at strategic
locations. Before this, cities had only existed in the form of old
Roman foundations or older bishoprics. Cities that were
founded in the 12th century include Freiburg, possibly the
economic model for many later cities, and Munich.
Frederick I, also called Frederick Barbarossa, was crowned

emperor in 1155. He emphasized the "Romanness" of the
empire, partly in an attempt to justify the power of the emperor
independent of the (now strengthened) pope. An imperial
assembly at the fields of Roncaglia in 1158 reclaimed imperial
rights in reference to Justinian I's Corpus Juris Civilis.
Imperial rights had been referred to as regalia since the
Investiture Controversy but were enumerated for the first time
at Roncaglia. This comprehensive list included public roads,
37
tariffs, coining, collecting punitive fees, and the seating and

unseating of office-holders. These rights were now explicitly
rooted in Roman law, a far-reaching constitutional act.
Frederick's policies were primarily directed at Italy, where he

clashed with the increasingly wealthy and free-minded cities of
the north, especially Milan. He also embroiled himself in
another conflict with the Papacy by supporting a candidate
elected by a minority against Pope Alexander III (1159–81).
Frederick supported a succession of antipopes before finally
making peace with Alexander in 1177. In Germany, the
Emperor had repeatedly protected Henry the Lion against
complaints by rival princes or cities (especially in the cases of
Munich and Lübeck). Henry gave only lackluster support to
Frederick's policies, and, in a critical situation during the
Italian wars, Henry refused the Emperor's plea for military
support. After returning to Germany, an embittered Frederick
opened proceedings against the Duke, resulting in a public ban
and the confiscation of all Henry's territories. In 1190,
Frederick participated in the Third Crusade, dying in the
Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia.
During the Hohenstaufen period, German princes facilitated a

successful, peaceful eastward settlement of lands that were
uninhabited or inhabited sparsely by West Slavs. German-
speaking farmers, traders, and craftsmen from the western
part of the Empire, both Christians and Jews, moved into these
areas. The gradual Germanization of these lands was a complex
phenomenon that should not be interpreted in the biased terms
of 19th-century nationalism. The eastward settlement
expanded the influence of the empire to include Pomerania and
Silesia, as did the intermarriage of the local, still mostly
38
Slavic, rulers with German spouses. The Teutonic Knights were

invited to Prussia by Duke Konrad of Masovia to Christianize
the Prussians in 1226. The monastic state of the Teutonic
Order (German: Deutschordensstaat) and its later German
successor state of Prussia were never part of the Holy Roman
Empire.
Under the son and successor of Frederick Barbarossa, Henry

VI, the Hohenstaufen dynasty reached its apex. Henry added
the Norman kingdom of Sicily to his domains, held English
king Richard the Lionheart captive, and aimed to establish a
hereditary monarchy when he died in 1197.
As his son, Frederick II, though already elected king, was still
a small child and living in Sicily, German princes chose to
elect an adult king, resulting in the dual election of Frederick
Barbarossa's youngest son Philip of Swabia and Henry the
Lion's son Otto of Brunswick, who competed for the crown.
Otto prevailed for a while after Philip was murdered in a
private squabble in 1208 until he began to also claim Sicily.
Pope Innocent III, who feared the threat posed by a union of

the empire and Sicily, was now supported by Frederick II, who
marched to Germany and defeated Otto. After his victory,
Frederick did not act upon his promise to keep the two realms
separate. Though he had made his son Henry king of Sicily
before marching on Germany, he still reserved real political
power for himself. This continued after Frederick was crowned
Emperor in 1220. Fearing Frederick's concentration of power,
the Pope finally excommunicated him. Another point of
contention was the Crusade, which Frederick had promised but
repeatedly postponed. Now, although excommunicated,
39
Frederick led the Sixth Crusade in 1228, which ended in

negotiations and a temporary restoration of the Kingdom of
Jerusalem.
Despite his imperial claims, Frederick's rule was a major

turning point towards the disintegration of central rule in the
Empire.
While concentrated on establishing a modern, centralized state

in Sicily, he was mostly absent from Germany and issued far-
reaching privileges to Germany's secular and ecclesiastical
princes: in the 1220 Confoederatio cum principibus
ecclesiasticis, Frederick gave up a number of regalia in favour
of the bishops, among them tariffs, coining, and fortification.
The 1232 Statutum in favorem principum mostly extended these
privileges to secular territories.
Although many of these privileges had existed earlier, they

were now granted globally, and once and for all, to allow the
German princes to maintain order north of the Alps while
Frederick concentrated on Italy. The 1232 document marked
the first time that the German dukes were called domini terræ,
owners of their lands, a remarkable change in terminology as
well.
Kingdom of Bohemia
The Kingdom of Bohemia was a significant regional power

during the Middle Ages. In 1212, King Ottokar I (bearing the
title "king" since 1198) extracted a Golden Bull of Sicily (a
formal edict) from the emperor Frederick II, confirming the
royal title for Ottokar and his descendants, and the Duchy of
Bohemia was raised to a kingdom. Bohemian kings would be
40
exempt from all future obligations to the Holy Roman Empire

except for participation in the imperial councils. Charles IV set
Prague to be the seat of the Holy Roman Emperor.
Interregnum
After the death of Frederick II in 1250, the German kingdom

was divided between his son Conrad IV (died 1254) and the
anti-king, William of Holland (died 1256). Conrad's death was
followed by the Interregnum, during which no king could
achieve universal recognition, allowing the princes to
consolidate their holdings and become even more independent
as rulers. After 1257, the crown was contested between
Richard of Cornwall, who was supported by the Guelph party,
and Alfonso X of Castile, who was recognized by the
Hohenstaufen party but never set foot on German soil. After
Richard's death in 1273, Rudolf I of Germany, a minor pro-
Hohenstaufen count, was elected. He was the first of the
Habsburgs to hold a royal title, but he was never crowned
emperor. After Rudolf's death in 1291, Adolf and Albert were
two further weak kings who were never crowned emperor.
Albert was assassinated in 1308. Almost immediately, King

Philip IV of France began aggressively seeking support for his
brother, Charles of Valois, to be elected the next King of the
Romans. Philip thought he had the backing of the French Pope,
Clement V (established at Avignon in 1309), and that his
prospects of bringing the empire into the orbit of the French
royal house were good. He lavishly spread French money in the
hope of bribing the German electors. Although Charles of
Valois had the backing of Henry, Archbishop of Cologne, a
French supporter, many were not keen to see an expansion of
41
French power, least of all Clement V. The principal rival to

Charles appeared to be Rudolf, the Count Palatine. Instead,
Henry VII, of the House of Luxembourg, was elected with six
votes at Frankfurt on 27 November 1308. Given his
background, although he was a vassal of king Philip, Henry
was bound by few national ties, an aspect of his suitability as
a compromise candidate among the electors, the great
territorial magnates who had lived without a crowned emperor
for decades, and who were unhappy with both Charles and
Rudolf. Henry of Cologne's brother, Baldwin, Archbishop of
Trier, won over a number of the electors, including Henry, in
exchange for some substantial concessions. Henry VII was
crowned king at Aachen on 6 January 1309, and emperor by
Pope Clement V on 29 June 1312 in Rome, ending the
interregnum.
Changes in political structure
During the 13th century, a general structural change in how

land was administered prepared the shift of political power
towards the rising bourgeoisie at the expense of the
aristocratic feudalism that would characterize the Late Middle
Ages. The rise of the cities and the emergence of the new
burgher class eroded the societal, legal and economic order of
feudalism. Instead of personal duties, money increasingly
became the common means to represent economic value in
agriculture. Peasants were increasingly required to pay tribute
to their landlords. The concept of "property" began to replace
more ancient forms of jurisdiction, although they were still
very much tied together. In the territories (not at the level of
the Empire), power became increasingly bundled: whoever
owned the land had jurisdiction, from which other powers
42
derived. However, that jurisdiction at the time did not include

legislation, which was virtually non-existent until well into the
15th century. Court practice heavily relied on traditional
customs or rules described as customary.
During this time, territories began to transform into the

predecessors of modern states. The process varied greatly
among the various lands and was most advanced in those
territories that were almost identical to the lands of the old
Germanic tribes, e.g., Bavaria. It was slower in those scattered
territories that were founded through imperial privileges. In
the 12th century the Hanseatic League established itself as a
commercial and defensive alliance of the merchant guilds of
towns and cities in the empire and all over northern and
central Europe. It dominated marine trade in the Baltic Sea,
the North Sea and along the connected navigable rivers. Each
of the affiliated cities retained the legal system of its sovereign
and, with the exception of the Free imperial cities, had only a
limited degree of political autonomy. By the late 14th century,
the powerful league enforced its interests with military means,
if necessary. This culminated in a war with the sovereign
Kingdom of Denmark from 1361 to 1370. The league declined
after 1450.
Late Middle Ages
Rise of the territories after the Hohenstaufens
The difficulties in electing the king eventually led to the

emergence of a fixed college of prince-electors (Kurfürsten),
whose composition and procedures were set forth in the Golden
43
Bull of 1356, which remained valid until 1806. This

development probably best symbolizes the emerging duality
between emperor and realm (Kaiser und Reich), which were no
longer considered identical. The Golden Bull also set forth the
system for election of the Holy Roman Emperor. The emperor
now was to be elected by a majority rather than by consent of
all seven electors. For electors the title became hereditary, and
they were given the right to mint coins and to exercise
jurisdiction. Also it was recommended that their sons learn the
imperial languages – German, Latin, Italian, and Czech.
The shift in power away from the emperor is also revealed in

the way the post-Hohenstaufen kings attempted to sustain
their power. Earlier, the Empire's strength (and finances)
greatly relied on the Empire's own lands, the so-called
Reichsgut, which always belonged to the king of the day and
included many Imperial Cities. After the 13th century, the
relevance of the Reichsgut faded, even though some parts of it
did remain until the Empire's end in 1806. Instead, the
Reichsgut was increasingly pawned to local dukes, sometimes
to raise money for the Empire, but more frequently to reward
faithful duty or as an attempt to establish control over the
dukes. The direct governance of the Reichsgut no longer
matched the needs of either the king or the dukes.
The kings beginning with Rudolf I of Germany increasingly

relied on the lands of their respective dynasties to support
their power. In contrast with the Reichsgut, which was mostly
scattered and difficult to administer, these territories were
relatively compact and thus easier to control. In 1282, Rudolf I
thus lent Austria and Styria to his own sons. In 1312, Henry
VII of the House of Luxembourg was crowned as the first Holy
44
Roman Emperor since Frederick II. After him all kings and
emperors relied on the lands of their own family (Hausmacht):
Louis IV of Wittelsbach (king 1314, emperor 1328–47) relied on
his lands in Bavaria; Charles IV of Luxembourg, the grandson
of Henry VII, drew strength from his own lands in Bohemia. It
was thus increasingly in the king's own interest to strengthen
the power of the territories, since the king profited from such a
benefit in his own lands as well.
Imperial reform
The "constitution" of the Empire still remained largely

unsettled at the beginning of the 15th century. Although some
procedures and institutions had been fixed, for example by the
Golden Bull of 1356, the rules of how the king, the electors,
and the other dukes should cooperate in the Empire much
depended on the personality of the respective king. It therefore
proved somewhat damaging that Sigismund of Luxemburg (king
1410, emperor 1433–1437) and Frederick III of Habsburg (king
1440, emperor 1452–1493) neglected the old core lands of the
empire and mostly resided in their own lands. Without the
presence of the king, the old institution of the Hoftag, the
assembly of the realm's leading men, deteriorated. The Imperial
Diet as a legislative organ of the Empire did not exist at that
time. The dukes often conducted feuds against each other –
feuds that, more often than not, escalated into local wars.
Simultaneously, the Catholic Church experienced crises of its

own, with wide-reaching effects in the Empire. The conflict
between several papal claimants (two anti-popes and the
"legitimate" Pope) ended only with the Council of Constance
(1414–1418); after 1419 the Papacy directed much of its energy
45
to suppressing the Hussites. The medieval idea of unifying all

Christendom into a single political entity, with the Church and
the Empire as its leading institutions, began to decline.
With these drastic changes, much discussion emerged in the

15th century about the Empire itself. Rules from the past no
longer adequately described the structure of the time, and a
reinforcement of earlier Landfrieden was urgently needed.
While older scholarship presented this period as a time of total
disorder and near-anarchy, new research has reassessed the
German lands in the 15th century in a more positive light.
Landfrieden was not only a matter imposed by kings (which
might disappear in their absence), but was also upheld by
regional leagues and alliances (also called "associations").
Princes, nobles and/or cities collaborated to keep the peace by

adhering to collective treaties which stipulated methods for
resolving disputes (ad hoc courts and arbitration) and joint
military measures to defeat outlaws and declarers of feuds.
Nevertheless, some members of the imperial estates (notably
Berthold von Henneberg, archbishop of Mainz) sought a more
centralized and institutionalized approach to regulating peace
and justice, as (supposedly) had existed in earlier centuries of
the Empire's history. During this time, the concept of "reform"
emerged, in the original sense of the Latin verb re-formare – to
regain an earlier shape that had been lost.
When Frederick III needed the dukes to finance a war against

Hungary in 1486, and at the same time had his son (later
Maximilian I) elected king, he faced a demand from the united
dukes for their participation in an Imperial Court. For the first
time, the assembly of the electors and other dukes was now
46
called the Imperial Diet (German Reichstag) (to be joined by the

Imperial Free Cities later). While Frederick refused, his more
conciliatory son finally convened the Diet at Worms in 1495,
after his father's death in 1493. Here, the king and the dukes
agreed on four bills, commonly referred to as the Reichsreform
(Imperial Reform): a set of legal acts to give the disintegrating
Empire some structure.
For example, this act produced the Imperial Circle Estates and
the Reichskammergericht (Imperial Chamber Court),
institutions that would – to a degree – persist until the end of
the Empire in 1806. It took a few more decades for the new
regulation to gain universal acceptance and for the new court
to begin functioning effectively; the Imperial Circles were
finalized in 1512. The King also made sure that his own court,
the Reichshofrat, continued to operate in parallel to the
Reichskammergericht. Also in 1512, the Empire received its
new title, the Heiliges Römisches Reich Deutscher Nation ("Holy
Roman Empire of the German Nation").
Reformation and Renaissance
In 1516, Ferdinand II of Aragon, grandfather of the future Holy

Roman Emperor Charles V, died. Due to a combination of (1)
the traditions of dynastic succession in Aragon, which
permitted maternal inheritance with no precedence for female
rule; (2) the insanity of Charles's mother, Joanna of Castile;
and (3) the insistence by his remaining grandfather,
Maximilian I, that he take up his royal titles, Charles initiated
his reign in Castile and Aragon, a union which evolved into
Spain, in conjunction with his mother. This ensured for the
47
first time that all the realms of what is now Spain would be
united by one monarch under one nascent Spanish crown.
The founding territories retained their separate governance

codes and laws. In 1519, already reigning as Carlos I in Spain,
Charles took up the imperial title as Karl V. The balance (and
imbalance) between these separate inheritances would be
defining elements of his reign and would ensure that personal
union between the Spanish and German crowns would be
short-lived. The latter would end up going to a more junior
branch of the Habsburgs in the person of Charles's brother
Ferdinand, while the senior branch continued to rule in Spain
and the Burgundian inheritance in the person of Charles's son,
Philip II of Spain.
In addition to conflicts between his Spanish and German

inheritances, conflicts of religion would be another source of
tension during the reign of Charles V. Before Charles's reign in
the Holy Roman Empire began, in 1517, Martin Luther
launched what would later be known as the Reformation. At
this time, many local dukes saw it as a chance to oppose the
hegemony of Emperor Charles V. The empire then became
fatally divided along religious lines, with the north, the east,
and many of the major cities – Strasbourg, Frankfurt, and
Nuremberg – becoming Protestant while the southern and
western regions largely remained Catholic.
Baroque period
• Charles V continued to battle the French and the

Protestant princes in Germany for much of his reign.
After his son Philip married Queen Mary of England,
48
it appeared that France would be completely

surrounded by Habsburg domains, but this hope
proved unfounded when the marriage produced no
children. In 1555, Paul IV was elected pope and took
the side of France, whereupon an exhausted Charles
finally gave up his hopes of a world Christian
empire. He abdicated and divided his territories
between Philip and Ferdinand of Austria. The Peace
of Augsburg ended the war in Germany and accepted
the existence of Protestantism in the form of
Lutheranism, while Calvinism was still not
recognized. Anabaptist, Arminian and other minor
Protestant communities were also forbidden.
Germany would enjoy relative peace for the next six decades.
On the eastern front, the Turks continued to loom large as a
threat, although war would mean further compromises with the
Protestant princes, and so the Emperor sought to avoid it. In
the west, the Rhineland increasingly fell under French
influence. After the Dutch revolt against Spain erupted, the
Empire remained neutral, de facto allowing the Netherlands to
depart the empire in 1581, a secession acknowledged in 1648.
A side effect was the Cologne War, which ravaged much of the
upper Rhine.
After Ferdinand died in 1564, his son Maximilian II became

Emperor, and like his father accepted the existence of
Protestantism and the need for occasional compromise with it.
Maximilian was succeeded in 1576 by Rudolf II, a strange man
who preferred classical Greek philosophy to Christianity and
lived an isolated existence in Bohemia. He became afraid to act
when the Catholic Church was forcibly reasserting control in
49
Austria and Hungary, and the Protestant princes became upset

over this. Imperial power sharply deteriorated by the time of
Rudolf's death in 1612. When Bohemians rebelled against the
Emperor, the immediate result was the series of conflicts
known as the Thirty Years' War (1618–48), which devastated
the Empire. Foreign powers, including France and Sweden,
intervened in the conflict and strengthened those fighting
Imperial power, but also seized considerable territory for
themselves. The long conflict so bled the Empire that it never
recovered its strength.
The actual end of the empire came in several steps. The Peace
of Westphalia in 1648, which ended the Thirty Years' War, gave
the territories almost complete independence. Calvinism was
now allowed, but Anabaptists,
Arminians and other Protestant communities would still lack

any support and continue to be persecuted well until the end
of the Empire. The Swiss Confederation, which had already
established quasi-independence in 1499, as well as the
Northern Netherlands, left the Empire. The Habsburg Emperors
focused on consolidating their own estates in Austria and
elsewhere.
At the Battle of Vienna (1683), the Army of the Holy Roman

Empire, led by the Polish King John III Sobieski, decisively
defeated a large Turkish army, stopping the western Ottoman
advance and leading to the eventual dismemberment of the
Ottoman Empire in Europe.
The army was one third forces of the Polish–Lithuanian

Commonwealth and two thirds forces of the Holy Roman
Empire.
50
Modern period
Prussia and Austria
By the rise of Louis XIV, the Habsburgs were chiefly dependent

on their hereditary lands to counter the rise of Prussia, which
possessed territories inside the Empire. Throughout the 18th
century, the Habsburgs were embroiled in various European
conflicts, such as the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–
1714), the War of the Polish Succession (1733–1735), and the
War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748). The German
dualism between Austria and Prussia dominated the empire's
history after 1740.
French Revolutionary Wars and final dissolution
From 1792 onwards, revolutionary France was at war with

various parts of the Empire intermittently.
The German mediatization was the series of mediatizations and

secularizations that occurred between 1795 and 1814, during
the latter part of the era of the French Revolution and then the
Napoleonic Era. "Mediatization" was the process of annexing
the lands of one imperial estate to another, often leaving the
annexed some rights. For example, the estates of the Imperial
Knights were formally mediatized in 1806, having de facto been
seized by the great territorial states in 1803 in the so-called
Rittersturm. "Secularization" was the abolition of the temporal
power of an ecclesiastical ruler such as a bishop or an abbot
and the annexation of the secularized territory to a secular
territory.
51
The empire was dissolved on 6 August 1806, when the last

Holy Roman Emperor Francis II (from 1804, Emperor Francis I
of Austria) abdicated, following a military defeat by the French
under Napoleon at Austerlitz (see Treaty of Pressburg).
Napoleon reorganized much of the Empire into the
Confederation of the Rhine, a French satellite. Francis' House
of Habsburg-Lorraine survived the demise of the empire,
continuing to reign as Emperors of Austria and Kings of
Hungary until the Habsburg empire's final dissolution in 1918
in the aftermath of World War I.
The Napoleonic Confederation of the Rhine was replaced by a

new union, the German Confederation in 1815, following the
end of the Napoleonic Wars. It lasted until 1866 when Prussia
founded the North German Confederation, a forerunner of the
German Empire which united the German-speaking territories
outside of Austria and Switzerland under Prussian leadership
in 1871. This state developed into modern Germany.
The only princely member states of the Holy Roman Empire

that have preserved their status as monarchies until today are
the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Principality of
Liechtenstein. The only Free Imperial Cities still existing as
states within Germany are Hamburg and Bremen. All other
historic member states of the Holy Roman Empire were either
dissolved or have adopted republican systems of government.
Institutions
The Holy Roman Empire was neither a centralized state nor a

nation-state. Instead, it was divided into dozens – eventually
hundreds – of individual entities governed by kings, dukes,
52
counts, bishops, abbots, and other rulers, collectively known

as princes. There were also some areas ruled directly by the
Emperor. At no time could the Emperor simply issue decrees
and govern autonomously over the Empire. His power was
severely restricted by the various local leaders.
From the High Middle Ages onwards, the Holy Roman Empire
was marked by an uneasy coexistence with the princes of the
local territories who were struggling to take power away from
it. To a greater extent than in other medieval kingdoms such as
France and England, the emperors were unable to gain much
control over the lands that they formally owned. Instead, to
secure their own position from the threat of being deposed,
emperors were forced to grant more and more autonomy to
local rulers, both nobles and bishops. This process began in
the 11th century with the Investiture Controversy and was
more or less concluded with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia.
Several Emperors attempted to reverse this steady dilution of
their authority but were thwarted both by the papacy and by
the princes of the Empire.
Imperial estates
The number of territories represented in the Imperial Diet was

considerable, numbering about 300 at the time of the Peace of
Westphalia. Many of these Kleinstaaten ("little states") covered
no more than a few square miles, and/or included several non-
contiguous pieces, so the Empire was often called a
Flickenteppich ("patchwork carpet"). An entity was considered a
Reichsstand (imperial estate) if, according to feudal law, it had
no authority above it except the Holy Roman Emperor himself.
The imperial estates comprised:
53
• Territories ruled by a hereditary nobleman, such as

a prince, archduke, duke, or count.
• Territories in which secular authority was held by an
ecclesiastical dignitary, such as an archbishop,
bishop, or abbot. Such an ecclesiastic or Churchman
was a prince of the Church. In the common case of a
prince-bishop, this temporal territory (called a
prince-bishopric) frequently overlapped with his
often larger ecclesiastical diocese, giving the bishop
both civil and ecclesiastical powers. Examples are
the prince-archbishoprics of Cologne, Trier, and
Mainz.
• Free imperial cities and Imperial villages, which were
subject only to the jurisdiction of the emperor.
• The scattered estates of the free Imperial Knights
and Imperial Counts, immediate subject to the
Emperor but unrepresented in the Imperial Diet.
A sum total of 1,500 Imperial estates has been reckoned. For a

list of Reichsstände in 1792, see List of Imperial Diet
participants (1792).
The most powerful lords of the later empire were the Austrian
Habsburgs, who ruled 240,000 square kilometers of land
(96,665 square miles) within the Empire in the first half of the
17th century, mostly in modern-day Austria and Czechia. At
the same time the lands ruled by the electors of Saxony,
Bavaria, and Brandenburg (prior to the acquisition of Prussia)
were all close to 40,000 square kilometers (15,445 square
miles); the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (later the Elector of
Hanover) had a territory around the same size. These were the
largest of the German realms. The Elector of the Palatinate had
54
significantly less at 20,000 square kilometers (7,772 square

miles), and the ecclesiastical Electorates of Mainz, Cologne,
and Trier were much smaller, with around 7,000 square
kilometers each (2,702 square miles). Just larger than them,
with roughly 7,000–10,000 square kilometers (2,702-3,861
square miles), were the Duchy of Württemberg, the
Landgraviate of Hessen-Kassel, and the Duchy of Mecklenburg-
Schwerin. They were roughly matched in size by the prince-
bishoprics of Salzburg and Münster. The majority of the other
German territories, including the other prince-bishoprics, were
under 5,000 square kilometers, the smallest being those of the
Imperial Knights; around 1790 the Knights consisted of 350
families ruling a total of only 5,000 square kilometers
collectively. Imperial Italy was more centralized, most of it c.
1600 being divided between Savoy (Savoy, Piedmont, Nice,
Aosta), the Grand Duchy of Tuscany (Tuscany, bar Lucca), the
Republic of Genoa (Liguria, Corisca), the duchies of Modena-
Reggio and Parma-Piacenza (Emilia), and the Spanish Duchy of
Milan (most of Lombardy), each with between half a million and
one and a half million people. The Low Countries were also
more coherent than Germany, being entirely under the
dominion of the Spanish Netherlands as part of the
Burgundian Circle, at least nominally.
King of the Romans
A prospective Emperor first had to be elected King of the

Romans (Latin: Rex Romanorum; German: römischer König).
German kings had been elected since the 9th century; at that
point they were chosen by the leaders of the five most
important tribes (the Salian Franks of Lorraine, Ripuarian
Franks of Franconia, Saxons, Bavarians, and Swabians). In the
55
Holy Roman Empire, the main dukes and bishops of the

kingdom elected the King of the Romans.
In 1356, Emperor Charles IV issued the Golden Bull, which

limited the electors to seven: the King of Bohemia, the Count
Palatine of the Rhine, the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of
Brandenburg, and the archbishops of Cologne, Mainz, and
Trier. During the Thirty Years' War, the Duke of Bavaria was
given the right to vote as the eighth elector, and the Duke of
Brunswick-Lüneburg (colloquially, Hanover) was granted a
ninth electorate; additionally, the Napoleonic Wars resulted in
several electorates being reallocated, but these new electors
never voted before the Empire's dissolution. A candidate for
election would be expected to offer concessions of land or
money to the electors in order to secure their vote.
After being elected, the King of the Romans could theoretically

claim the title of "Emperor" only after being crowned by the
Pope. In many cases, this took several years while the King was
held up by other tasks: frequently he first had to resolve
conflicts in rebellious northern Italy or was quarreling with the
Pope himself. Later Emperors dispensed with the papal
coronation altogether, being content with the styling Emperor-
Elect: the last Emperor to be crowned by the Pope was Charles
V in 1530.
The Emperor had to be male and of noble blood. No law

required him to be a Catholic, but as the majority of the
Electors adhered to this faith, no Protestant was ever elected.
Whether and to what degree he had to be German was disputed
among the Electors, contemporary experts in constitutional
law, and the public. During the Middle Ages, some Kings and
56
Emperors were not of German origin, but since the

Renaissance, German heritage was regarded as vital for a
candidate in order to be eligible for imperial office.
Imperial Diet (Reichstag)
The Imperial Diet (Reichstag, or Reichsversammlung) was not a

legislative body as is understood today, as its members
envisioned it to be more like a central forum, where it was
more important to negotiate than to decide. The Diet was
theoretically superior to the emperor himself. It was divided
into three classes.
The first class, the Council of Electors, consisted of the

electors, or the princes who could vote for King of the Romans.
The second class, the Council of Princes, consisted of the other
princes. The Council of Princes was divided into two "benches",
one for secular rulers and one for ecclesiastical ones. Higher-
ranking princes had individual votes, while lower-ranking
princes were grouped into "colleges" by geography. Each college
had one vote.
The third class was the Council of Imperial Cities, which was
divided into two colleges: Swabia and the Rhine. The Council of
Imperial Cities was not fully equal with the others; it could not
vote on several matters such as the admission of new
territories. The representation of the Free Cities at the Diet
had become common since the late Middle Ages. Nevertheless,
their participation was formally acknowledged only as late as
1648 with the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty Years'
War.
57
Imperial courts
The Empire also had two courts: the Reichshofrat (also known
in English as the Aulic Council) at the court of the
King/Emperor, and the Reichskammergericht (Imperial
Chamber Court), established with the Imperial Reform of 1495
by Maximillian I. The Reichskammergericht and the Auclic
Council were the two highest judicial instances in the Old
Empire. The Imperial Chamber court's composition was
determined by both the Holy Roman Emperor and the subject
states of the Empire. Within this court, the Emperor appointed
the chief justice, always a highborn aristocrat, several
divisional chief judges, and some of the other puisne judges.
The Aulic Council held standing over many judicial disputes of

state, both in concurrence with the Imperial Chamber court
and exclusively on their own. The provinces Imperial Chamber
Court extended to breaches of the public peace, cases of
arbitrary distraint or imprisonment, pleas which concerned the
treasury, violations of the Emperor's decrees or the laws
passed by the Imperial Diet, disputes about property between
immediate tenants of the Empire or the subjects of different
rulers, and finally suits against immediate tenants of the
Empire, with the exception of criminal charges and matters
relating to imperial fiefs, which went to the Aulic Council.
Imperial circles
As part of the Imperial Reform, six Imperial Circles were

established in 1500; four more were established in 1512. These
were regional groupings of most (though not all) of the various
states of the Empire for the purposes of defense, imperial
58
taxation, supervision of coining, peace-keeping functions, and

public security. Each circle had its own parliament, known as
a Kreistag ("Circle Diet"), and one or more directors, who
coordinated the affairs of the circle. Not all imperial territories
were included within the imperial circles, even after 1512; the
Lands of the Bohemian Crown were excluded, as were
Switzerland, the imperial fiefs in northern Italy, the lands of
the Imperial Knights, and certain other small territories like
the Lordship of Jever.
Army
The Army of the Holy Roman Empire (German Reichsarmee,

Reichsheer or Reichsarmatur; Latin exercitus imperii) was
created in 1422 and as a result of the Napoleonic Wars came to
an end even before the Empire. It must not be confused with
the Imperial Army (Kaiserliche Armee) of the Emperor.
Despite appearances to the contrary, the Army of the Empire

did not constitute a permanent standing army that was always
at the ready to fight for the Empire. When there was danger, an
Army of the Empire was mustered from among the elements
constituting it, in order to conduct an imperial military
campaign or Reichsheerfahrt. In practice, the imperial troops
often had local allegiances stronger than their loyalty to the
Emperor.
Administrative centres
Throughout the first half of its history the Holy Roman Empire
was reigned by a travelling court. Kings and emperors toured
between the numerous Kaiserpfalzes (Imperial palaces), usually
59
resided for several weeks or months and furnished local legal

matters, law and administration. Most rulers maintained one
or a number of favourites Imperial palace sites, where they
would advance development and spent most of their time:
Charlemagne (Aachen from 794), Frederick II (Palermo 1220–
1254), Wittelsbacher (Munich 1328–1347 and 1744–1745),
Habsburger (Prague 1355–1437 and 1576–1611; and Vienna
1438–1576, 1611–1740 and 1745–1806).
This practice eventually ended during the 14th century, as the

emperors of the Habsburg dynasty chose Vienna and Prague
and the Wittelsbach rulers chose Munich as their permanent
residences. These sites served however only as the individual
residence for a particular sovereign. A number of cities held
official status, where the Imperial Estates would summon at
Imperial Diets, the deliberative assembly of the empire.
The Imperial Diet (Reichstag) resided variously in Paderborn,

Bad Lippspringe, Ingelheim am Rhein, Diedenhofen (now
Thionville), Aachen, Worms, Forchheim, Trebur, Fritzlar,
Ravenna, Quedlinburg, Dortmund, Verona, Minden, Mainz,
Frankfurt am Main, Merseburg, Goslar, Würzburg, Bamberg,
Schwäbisch Hall, Augsburg, Nuremberg, Quierzy-sur-Oise,
Speyer, Gelnhausen, Erfurt, Eger (now Cheb), Esslingen,
Lindau, Freiburg, Cologne, Konstanz and Trier before it was
moved permanently to Regensburg.
Until the 15th century the elected emperor was crowned and
anointed by the Pope in Rome, among some exceptions in
Ravenna, Bologna and Reims. Since 1508 (emperor Maximilian
I) Imperial elections took place in Frankfurt am Main,
Augsburg, Rhens, Cologne or Regensburg.
60
In December 1497 the Aulic Council (Reichshofrat) was

established in Vienna.
In 1495 the Reichskammergericht was established, which

variously resided in Worms, Augsburg, Nuremberg,
Regensburg, Speyer and Esslingen before it was moved
permanently to Wetzlar.
Foreign relations
The Habsburg royal family had its own diplomats to represent

its interests. The larger principalities in the HRE, beginning
around 1648, also did the same. The HRE did not have its own
dedicated ministry of foreign affairs and therefore the Imperial
Diet had no control over these diplomats; occasionally the Diet
criticised them.
When Regensburg served as the site of the Diet, France and, in

the late 1700s, Russia, had diplomatic representatives there.
Denmark, Great Britain, and Sweden had land holdings in
Germany and so had representation in the Diet itself. The
Netherlands also had envoys in Regensburg. Regensburg was
the place where envoys met as it was where representatives of
the Diet could be reached.
Demographics
Population
Overall population figures for the Holy Roman Empire are

extremely vague and vary widely. The empire of Charlemagne
may have had as many as 20 million people. Given the political
61
fragmentation of the later Empire, there were no central

agencies that could compile such figures. Nevertheless, it is
believed the demographic disaster of the Thirty Years War
meant that the population of the Empire in the early 17th
century was similar to what it was in the early 18th century;
by one estimate, the Empire didn't exceed 1618 levels of
population until 1750.
In the early 17th century, the electors held under their rule
the following number of Imperial subjects:
• Habsburg monarchy: 5,350,000 (including 3 million

in the Bohemian crown lands)
• Electorate of Saxony: 1,200,000
• Duchy of Bavaria (later Electorate of Bavaria):
800,000
• Electoral Palatinate: 600,000
• Electorate of Brandenburg: 350,000
• Electorates of Mainz, Trier, and Cologne: 300-
400,000 altogether
While not electors, the Spanish Habsburgs had the second

highest number of subjects within the Empire after the
Austrian Habsburgs, with over 3 million in the early 17th
century in the Burgundian Circle and Duchy of Milan.
Peter Wilson estimates the Empire's population at 25 million in

1700, of whom 5 million lived in Imperial Italy. By 1800 he
estimates the Empire's population at 29 million (excluding
Italy), with another 12.6 million held by the Austrians and
Prussians outside of the Empire.
62
According to an overgenerous contemporary estimate of the

Austrian War Archives for the first decade of the 18th century,
the Empire—including Bohemia and the Spanish Netherlands—
had a population of close to 28 million with a breakdown as
follows:
• 65 ecclesiastical states with 14 percent of the total

land area and 12 percent of the population;
• 45 dynastic principalities with 80 percent of the land
and 80 percent of the population;
• 60 dynastic counties and lordships with 3 percent of
the land and 3.5 percent of the population;
• 60 imperial towns with 1 percent of the land and 3.5
percent of the population;
• Imperial knights' territories, numbering into the
several hundreds, with 2 percent of the land and 1
percent of the population.
German demographic historians have traditionally worked on

estimates of the population of the Holy Roman Empire based
on assumed population within the frontiers of Germany in
1871 or 1914. More recent estimates use less outdated criteria,
but they remain guesswork. One estimate based on the
frontiers of Germany in 1870 gives a population of some 15–
17 million around 1600, declined to 10–13 million around 1650
(following the Thirty Years' War). Other historians who work on
estimates of the population of the early modern Empire suggest
the population declined from 20 million to some 16–17 million
by 1650.
A credible estimate for 1800 gives 27-28 million inhabitants for

the Empire (which at this point had already lost the remaining
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Low Countries, Italy, and the Left Bank of the Rhine in the
1797 Treaty of Campo Fornio) with an overall breakdown as
follows:
• 9 million Austrian subjects (including Silesia,

Bohemia and Moravia);
• 4 million Prussian subjects;
• 14–15 million inhabitants for the rest of the Empire.
Largest cities
Largest cities or towns of the Empire by year:
• 1050: Regensburg 40,000 people. Rome 35,000.

Mainz 30,000. Speyer 25,000. Cologne 21,000. Trier
20,000. Worms 20,000. Lyon 20,000. Verona 20,000.
Florence 15,000.
• 1300–1350: Prague 77,000 people. Cologne 54,000
people. Aachen 21,000 people. Magdeburg 20,000
people. Nuremberg 20,000 people. Vienna 20,000
people. Danzig (now Gdańsk) 20,000 people.
Straßburg (now Strasbourg) 20,000 people. Lübeck
15,000 people. Regensburg 11,000 people.
• 1500: Prague 70,000. Cologne 45,000. Nuremberg
38,000. Augsburg 30,000. Danzig (now Gdańsk)
30,000. Lübeck 25,000. Breslau (now Wrocław)
25,000. Regensburg 22,000. Vienna 20,000.
Straßburg (now Strasbourg) 20,000. Magdeburg
18,000. Ulm 16,000. Hamburg 15,000.
• 1600: Milan 130,000. Prague 100,000. Vienna
50,000. Augsburg 45,000. Cologne 40,000.
Nuremberg 40,000. Hamburg 40,000. Magdeburg
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40,000. Breslau (now Wrocław) 40,000. Straßburg

(now Strasbourg) 25,000. Lübeck 23,000. Ulm
21,000. Regensburg 20,000. Frankfurt am Main
20,000. Munich 20,000.
Religion
Roman Catholicism constituted the single official religion of

the Empire until 1555. The Holy Roman Emperor was always a
Roman Catholic.
Lutheranism was officially recognized in the Peace of Augsburg

of 1555, and Calvinism in the Peace of Westphalia of 1648.
Those two constituted the only officially recognized Protestant
denominations, while various other Protestant confessions
such as Anabaptism, Arminianism, etc. coexisted illegally
within the Empire. Anabaptism came in a variety of
denominations, including Mennonites, Schwarzenau Brethren,
Hutterites, the Amish, and multiple other groups.
Following the Peace of Augsburg, the official religion of a

territory was determined by the principle cuius regio, eius
religio according to which a ruler's religion determined that of
his subjects. The Peace of Westphalia abrogated that principle
by stipulating that the official religion of a territory was to be
what it had been on 1 January 1624, considered to have been a
"normal year". Henceforth, the conversion of a ruler to another
faith did not entail the conversion of his subjects.
In addition, all Protestant subjects of a Catholic ruler and vice

versa were guaranteed the rights that they had enjoyed on that
date. While the adherents of a territory's official religion
enjoyed the right of public worship, the others were allowed
65
the right of private worship (in chapels without either spires or

bells). In theory, no one was to be discriminated against or
excluded from commerce, trade, craft or public burial on
grounds of religion. For the first time, the permanent nature of
the division between the Christian Churches of the empire was
more or less assumed. A Jewish minority existed in the Holy
Roman Empire.
66
Chapter 3
Feudalism
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the

combination of the legal, economic, military, and cultural
customs that flourished in Medieval Europe between the 9th
and 15th centuries.
Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around

relationships that were derived from the holding of land in
exchange for service or labor. Although it is derived from the
Latin word feodum or feudum (fief), which was used during the
Medieval period, the term feudalism and the system which it
describes were not conceived of as a formal political system by
the people who lived during the Middle Ages. The classic
definition, by François-Louis Ganshof (1944), describes a set of
reciprocal legal and military obligations which existed among
the warrior nobility and revolved around the three key
concepts of lords, vassals, and fiefs.
A broader definition of feudalism, as described by Marc Bloch

(1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior nobility
but the obligations of all three estates of the realm: the
nobility, the clergy, and the peasantry, all of whom were bound
by a system of manorialism; this is sometimes referred to as a
"feudal society". Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R.
Brown's "The Tyranny of a Construct" (1974) and Susan
Reynolds's Fiefs and Vassals (1994), there has been ongoing
inconclusive discussion among medieval historians as to
whether feudalism is a useful construct for understanding
medieval society.
Definition
There is no commonly accepted modern definition of feudalism,

at least among scholars. The adjective feudal was in use by at
least 1405, and the noun feudalism, now often employed in a
political and propagandistic context, was coined by 1771,
paralleling the French féodalité (feudality).
According to a classic definition by François-Louis Ganshof

(1944), feudalism describes a set of reciprocal legal and
military obligations which existed among the warrior nobility
and revolved around the three key concepts of lords, vassals
and fiefs, though Ganshof himself noted that his treatment was
only related to the "narrow, technical, legal sense of the word".
A broader definition, as described in Marc Bloch's Feudal

Society (1939), includes not only the obligations of the warrior
nobility but the obligations of all three estates of the realm:
the nobility, the clergy, and those who lived off their labor,
most directly the peasantry which was bound by a system of
manorialism; this order is often referred to as a "feudal
society", echoing Bloch's usage.
Outside its European context, the concept of feudalism is often

used by analogy, most often in discussions of feudal Japan
under the shoguns, and sometimes in discussions of the Zagwe
dynasty in medieval Ethiopia, which had some feudal
characteristics (sometimes called "semifeudal"). Some have
taken the feudalism analogy further, seeing feudalism (or
traces of it) in places as diverse as China during the Spring
and Autumn period (771-476 BCE), ancient Egypt, the Parthian
Empire, the Indian subcontinent and the Antebellum and Jim
68
Crow American South. The term feudalism has also been

applied—often inappropriately or pejoratively—to non-Western
societies where institutions and attitudes which are similar to
those which existed in medieval Europe are perceived to
prevail. Some historians and political theorists believe that the
term feudalism has been deprived of specific meaning by the
many ways it has been used, leading them to reject it as a
useful concept for understanding society.
The applicability of the term feudalism has also been question

in the context of some Central and Eastern European
countries, such as Poland and Lithuania, with scholars
observing that the medieval political and economist structure
of those countries bears some, but not all, resemblances to the
Western European societies commonly described as feudal.
Etymology
The root of the term "feudal" originates in the Proto-Indo-

European word *pé u, meaning "cattle", and possesses
cognates in many other Indo-European languages: Sanskrit
pacu, "cattle"; Latin pecus (cf. pecunia) "cattle", "money"; Old
High German fehu, fihu, "cattle", "property", "money"; Old
Frisian fia; Old Saxon fehu; Old English feoh, fioh, feo, fee. The
term "féodal" was first used in 17th-century French legal
treatises (1614) and translated into English legal treatises as
an adjective, such as "feodal government".
In the 18th century, Adam Smith, seeking to describe economic

systems, effectively coined the forms "feudal government" and
"feudal system" in his book Wealth of Nations (1776). The
phrase "feudal system" appeared in 1736, in Baronia Anglica,
69
published nine years after the death of its author Thomas

Madox, in 1727. In 1771, in his History of Manchester, John
Whitaker first introduced the word "feudalism" and the notion
of the feudal pyramid.
The term "feudal" or "feodal" is derived from the medieval Latin

word feodum. The etymology of feodum is complex with
multiple theories, some suggesting a Germanic origin (the most
widely held view) and others suggesting an Arabic origin.
Initially in medieval Latin European documents, a land grant
in exchange for service was called a beneficium (Latin). Later,
the term feudum, or feodum, began to replace beneficium in the
documents.
The first attested instance of this is from 984, although more

primitive forms were seen up to one-hundred years earlier. The
origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not
been well established, but there are multiple theories,
described below.
The most widely held theory was proposed by Johan Hendrik

Caspar Kern in 1870, being supported by, amongst others,
William Stubbs and Marc Bloch. Kern derived the word from a
putative Frankish term *fehu-ôd, in which *fehu means "cattle"
and -ôd means "goods", implying "a moveable object of value".
Bloch explains that by the beginning of the 10th century it was
common to value land in monetary terms but to pay for it with
moveable objects of equivalent value, such as arms, clothing,
horses or food. This was known as feos, a term that took on
the general meaning of paying for something in lieu of money.
This meaning was then applied to land itself, in which land
was used to pay for fealty, such as to a vassal. Thus the old
70
word feos meaning movable property changed little by little to

feus meaning the exact opposite: landed property. It has also
been suggested that word comes from the Gothicfaihu, meaning
"property", specifically, "cattle".
Another theory was put forward by Archibald R. Lewis. Lewis

said the origin of 'fief' is not feudum (or feodum), but rather
foderum, the earliest attested use being in Astronomus's Vita
Hludovici (840). In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious
that says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant, which
can be translated as "Louis forbade that military provender
(which they popularly call "fodder") be furnished."
Another theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic

origin, from fuyū (the plural of fay, which literally means "the
returned", and was used especially for 'land that has been
conquered from enemies that did not fight'). Samarrai's theory
is that early forms of 'fief' include feo, feu, feuz, feuum and
others, the plurality of forms strongly suggesting origins from
a loanword.
The first use of these terms is in Languedoc, one of the least

Germanic areas of Europe and bordering Muslim Spain.
Further, the earliest use of feuum (as a replacement for
beneficium) can be dated to 899, the same year a Muslim base
at Fraxinetum (La Garde-Freinet) in Provence was established.
It is possible, Samarrai says, that French scribes, writing in
Latin, attempted to transliterate the Arabic word fuyū (the
plural of fay), which was being used by the Muslim invaders
and occupiers at the time, resulting in a plurality of forms –
feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others – from which eventually
feudum derived. Samarrai, however, also advises to handle this
71
theory with care, as Medieval and Early Modern Muslim scribes

often used etymologically "fanciful roots" in order to claim the
most outlandish things to be of Arabian or Muslim origin.
History
Feudalism, in its various forms, usually emerged as a result of

the decentralization of an empire: especially in the Carolingian
Empire in 8th century AD, which lacked the bureaucratic
infrastructure necessary to support cavalry without allocating
land to these mounted troops. Mounted soldiers began to
secure a system of hereditary rule over their allocated land and
their power over the territory came to encompass the social,
political, judicial, and economic spheres.
These acquired powers significantly diminished unitary power

in these empires. However, once the infrastructure to maintain
unitary power was re-established—as with the European
monarchies—feudalism began to yield to this new power
structure and eventually disappeared.
Classic feudalism
The classic François-Louis Ganshof version of feudalism

describes a set of reciprocal legal and military obligations
which existed among the warrior nobility, revolving around the
three key concepts of lords, vassals and fiefs. In broad terms a
lord was a noble who held land, a vassal was a person who was
granted possession of the land by the lord, and the land was
known as a fief. In exchange for the use of the fief and
protection by the lord, the vassal would provide some sort of
service to the lord. There were many varieties of feudal land
72
tenure, consisting of military and non-military service. The

obligations and corresponding rights between lord and vassal
concerning the fief form the basis of the feudal relationship.
Vassalage
Before a lord could grant land (a fief) to someone, he had to

make that person a vassal. This was done at a formal and
symbolic ceremony called a commendation ceremony, which
was composed of the two-part act of homage and oath of fealty.
During homage, the lord and vassal entered into a contract in
which the vassal promised to fight for the lord at his command,
whilst the lord agreed to protect the vassal from external
forces. Fealty comes from the Latin fidelitas and denotes the
fidelity owed by a vassal to his feudal lord. "Fealty" also refers
to an oath that more explicitly reinforces the commitments of
the vassal made during homage. Such an oath follows homage.
Once the commendation ceremony was complete, the lord and

vassal were in a feudal relationship with agreed obligations to
one another. The vassal's principal obligation to the lord was
to "aid", or military service. Using whatever equipment the
vassal could obtain by virtue of the revenues from the fief, the
vassal was responsible to answer calls to military service on
behalf of the lord. This security of military help was the
primary reason the lord entered into the feudal relationship. In
addition, the vassal could have other obligations to his lord,
such as attendance at his court, whether manorial, baronial,
both termed court baron, or at the king's court.
It could also involve the vassal providing "counsel", so that if

the lord faced a major decision he would summon all his
73
vassals and hold a council. At the level of the manor this might
be a fairly mundane matter of agricultural policy, but also
included sentencing by the lord for criminal offences, including
capital punishment in some cases. Concerning the king's
feudal court, such deliberation could include the question of
declaring war.
These are examples; depending on the period of time and

location in Europe, feudal customs and practices varied; see
examples of feudalism.
The "Feudal Revolution" in France
In its origin, the feudal grant of land had been seen in terms of
a personal bond between lord and vassal, but with time and
the transformation of fiefs into hereditary holdings, the nature
of the system came to be seen as a form of "politics of land" (an
expression used by the historian Marc Bloch). The 11th
century in France saw what has been called by historians a
"feudal revolution" or "mutation" and a "fragmentation of
powers" (Bloch) that was unlike the development of feudalism
in England or Italy or Germany in the same period or later:
Counties and duchies began to break down into smaller

holdings as castellans and lesser seigneurs took control of
local lands, and (as comital families had done before them)
lesser lords usurped/privatized a wide range of prerogatives
and rights of the state, most importantly the highly profitable
rights of justice, but also travel dues, market dues, fees for
using woodlands, obligations to use the lord's mill, etc. (what
Georges Duby called collectively the "seigneurie banale"). Power
in this period became more personal.
74
This "fragmentation of powers" was not, however, systematic

throughout France, and in certain counties (such as Flanders,
Normandy, Anjou, Toulouse), counts were able to maintain
control of their lands into the 12th century or later. Thus, in
some regions (like Normandy and Flanders), the vassal/feudal
system was an effective tool for ducal and comital control,
linking vassals to their lords; but in other regions, the system
led to significant confusion, all the more so as vassals could
and frequently did pledge themselves to two or more lords. In
response to this, the idea of a "liege lord" was developed (where
the obligations to one lord are regarded as superior) in the
12th century.
End of European feudalism (1500–1850s)
Most of the military aspects of feudalism effectively ended by

about 1500. This was partly since the military shifted from
armies consisting of the nobility to professional fighters thus
reducing the nobility's claim on power, but also because the
Black Death reduced the nobility's hold over the lower classes.
Vestiges of the feudal system hung on in France until the
French Revolution of the 1790s, and the system lingered on in
parts of Central and Eastern Europe as late as the 1850s.
Slavery in Romania was abolished in 1856. Russia finally
abolished serfdom in 1861.
Even when the original feudal relationships had disappeared,

there were many institutional remnants of feudalism left in
place. Historian Georges Lefebvre explains how at an early
stage of the French Revolution, on just one night of August 4,
1789, France abolished the long-lasting remnants of the feudal
75
order. It announced, "The National Assembly abolishes the

feudal system entirely." Lefebvre explains:
Without debate the Assembly enthusiastically adopted equality

of taxation and redemption of all manorial rights except for
those involving personal servitude—which were to be abolished
without indemnification.
Other proposals followed with the same success: the equality of

legal punishment, admission of all to public office, abolition of
venality in office, conversion of the tithe into payments subject
to redemption, freedom of worship, prohibition of plural
holding of benefices.. Privileges of provinces and towns were
offered as a last sacrifice.
Originally the peasants were supposed to pay for the release of

seigneurial dues; these dues affected more than a quarter of
the farmland in France and provided most of the income of the
large landowners. The majority refused to pay and in 1793 the
obligation was cancelled. Thus the peasants got their land free,
and also no longer paid the tithe to the church.
Feudal society
The phrase "feudal society" as defined by Marc Bloch offers a

wider definition than Ganshof's and includes within the feudal
structure not only the warrior aristocracy bound by vassalage,
but also the peasantry bound by manorialism, and the estates
of the Church. Thus the feudal order embraces society from top
to bottom, though the "powerful and well-differentiated social
group of the urban classes" came to occupy a distinct position
to some extent outside the classic feudal hierarchy.
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Historiography
The idea of feudalism was unknown and the system it

describes was not conceived of as a formal political system by
the people living in the Medieval Period. This section describes
the history of the idea of feudalism, how the concept originated
among scholars and thinkers, how it changed over time, and
modern debates about its use.
Evolution of the concept
The concept of a feudal state or period, in the sense of either a

regime or a period dominated by lords who possess financial or
social power and prestige, became widely held in the middle of
the 18th century, as a result of works such as
Montesquieu'sDe L'Esprit des Lois (1748; published in English
as The Spirit of the Laws), and Henri de Boulainvilliers’s
Histoire des anciens Parlements de France (1737; published in
English as An Historical Account of the Ancient Parliaments of
France or States-General of the Kingdom, 1739). In the 18th
century, writers of the Enlightenment wrote about feudalism to
denigrate the antiquated system of the Ancien Régime, or
French monarchy. This was the Age of Enlightenment when
writers valued reason and the Middle Ages were viewed as the
"Dark Ages". Enlightenment authors generally mocked and
ridiculed anything from the "Dark Ages" including feudalism,
projecting its negative characteristics on the current French
monarchy as a means of political gain. For them "feudalism"
meant seigneurial privileges and prerogatives. When the
French Constituent Assembly abolished the "feudal regime" in
August 1789 this is what was meant.
77
Adam Smith used the term "feudal system" to describe a social

and economic system defined by inherited social ranks, each of
which possessed inherent social and economic privileges and
obligations. In such a system wealth derived from agriculture,
which was arranged not according to market forces but on the
basis of customary labour services owed by serfs to landowning
nobles.
Karl Marx
Karl Marx also used the term in the 19th century in his
analysis of society's economic and political development,
describing feudalism (or more usually feudal society or the
feudal mode of production) as the order coming before
capitalism.
For Marx, what defined feudalism was the power of the ruling
class (the aristocracy) in their control of arable land, leading to
a class society based upon the exploitation of the peasants who
farm these lands, typically under serfdom and principally by
means of labour, produce and money rents. Marx thus defined
feudalism primarily by its economic characteristics.
He also took it as a paradigm for understanding the power-

relationships between capitalists and wage-labourers in his
own time: "in pre-capitalist systems it was obvious that most
people did not control their own destiny—under feudalism, for
instance, serfs had to work for their lords. Capitalism seems
different because people are in theory free to work for
themselves or for others as they choose. Yet most workers have
as little control over their lives as feudal serfs." Some later
Marxist theorists (e.g. Eric Wolf) have applied this label to
78
include non-European societies, grouping feudalism together

with Imperial Chinese and pre-Columbian Incan societies as
'tributary'.
Later studies
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, John Horace Round
and Frederic William Maitland, both historians of medieval
Britain, arrived at different conclusions as to the character of
English society before the Norman Conquest in 1066. Round
argued that the Normans had brought feudalism with them to
England, while Maitland contended that its fundamentals were
already in place in Britain before 1066. The debate continues
today, but a consensus viewpoint is that England before the
Conquest had commendation (which embodied some of the
personal elements in feudalism) while William the Conqueror
introduced a modified and stricter northern French feudalism
to England incorporating (1086) oaths of loyalty to the king by
all who held by feudal tenure, even the vassals of his principal
vassals (holding by feudal tenure meant that vassals must
provide the quota of knights required by the king or a money
payment in substitution).
In the 20th century, two outstanding historians offered still

more widely differing perspectives. The French historian Marc
Bloch, arguably the most influential 20th-century medieval
historian, approached feudalism not so much from a legal and
military point of view but from a sociological one, presenting in
Feudal Society (1939; English 1961) a feudal order not limited
solely to the nobility. It is his radical notion that peasants
were part of the feudal relationship that sets Bloch apart from
his peers: while the vassal performed military service in
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exchange for the fief, the peasant performed physical labour in

return for protection – both are a form of feudal relationship.
According to Bloch, other elements of society can be seen in
feudal terms; all the aspects of life were centered on "lordship",
and so we can speak usefully of a feudal church structure, a
feudal courtly (and anti-courtly) literature, and a feudal
economy.
In contradistinction to Bloch, the Belgian historian François-

Louis Ganshof defined feudalism from a narrow legal and
military perspective, arguing that feudal relationships existed
only within the medieval nobility itself. Ganshof articulated
this concept in Qu'est-ce que la féodalité? ("What is
feudalism?", 1944; translated in English as Feudalism). His
classic definition of feudalism is widely accepted today among
medieval scholars, though questioned both by those who view
the concept in wider terms and by those who find insufficient
uniformity in noble exchanges to support such a model.
Although he was never formally a student in the circle of

scholars around Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre that came to be
known as the Annales School, Georges Duby was an exponent
of the Annaliste tradition. In a published version of his 1952
doctoral thesis entitled La société aux XIe et XIIe siècles dans
la région mâconnaise (Society in the 11th and 12th centuries in
the Mâconnais region), and working from the extensive
documentary sources surviving from the Burgundian
monastery of Cluny, as well as the dioceses of Mâcon and
Dijon, Duby excavated the complex social and economic
relationships among the individuals and institutions of the
Mâconnais region and charted a profound shift in the social
structures of medieval society around the year 1000. He
80
argued that in early 11th century, governing institutions—

particularly comital courts established under the Carolingian
monarchy—that had represented public justice and order in
Burgundy during the 9th and 10th centuries receded and gave
way to a new feudal order wherein independent aristocratic
knights wielded power over peasant communities through
strong-arm tactics and threats of violence.
In 1939 the Austrian historian Theodor Mayer [ de ] subordinated

the feudal state as secondary to his concept of a
Personenverbandsstaat (personal interdependency state),
understanding it in contrast to the territorial state. This form
of statehood, identified with the Holy Roman Empire, is
described as the most complete form of medieval rule,
completing conventional feudal structure of lordship and
vassalage with the personal association between the nobility.
But the applicability of this concept to cases outside of the
Holy Roman Empire has been questioned, as by Susan
Reynolds. The concept has also been questioned and
superseded in German histography because of its bias and
reductionism towards legitimating the Führerprinzip.
Challenges to the feudal model
In 1974, the American historian Elizabeth A. R. Brown rejected

the label feudalism as an anachronism that imparts a false
sense of uniformity to the concept. Having noted the current
use of many, often contradictory, definitions of feudalism, she
argued that the word is only a construct with no basis in
medieval reality, an invention of modern historians read back
"tyrannically" into the historical record. Supporters of Brown
have suggested that the term should be expunged from history
81
textbooks and lectures on medieval history entirely. In Fiefs

and Vassals: The Medieval Evidence Reinterpreted (1994),
Susan Reynolds expanded upon Brown's original thesis.
Although some contemporaries questioned Reynolds's
methodology, other historians have supported it and her
argument. Reynolds argues: Too many models of feudalism
used for comparisons, even by Marxists, are still either
constructed on the 16th-century basis or incorporate what, in
a Marxist view, must surely be superficial or irrelevant
features from it. Even when one restricts oneself to Europe and
to feudalism in its narrow sense it is extremely doubtful
whether feudo-vassalic institutions formed a coherent bundle
of institutions or concepts that were structurally separate from
other institutions and concepts of the time.
The term feudal has also been applied to non-Western societies

in which institutions and attitudes similar to those of medieval
Europe are perceived to have prevailed (See Examples of
feudalism). Japan has been extensively studied in this regard.
Friday notes that in the 21st century historians of Japan
rarely invoke feudalism; instead of looking at similarities,
specialists attempting comparative analysis concentrate on
fundamental differences. Ultimately, critics say, the many ways
the term feudalism has been used have deprived it of specific
meaning, leading some historians and political theorists to
reject it as a useful concept for understanding society.
Richard Abels notes that "Western Civilization and World

Civilization textbooks now shy away from the term 'feudalism'."
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Chapter 4
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, often referred to as the Roman Catholic

Church, is the largest Christian church and the largest
religiousdenomination, with approximately 1.3 billion baptised
Catholics worldwide as of 2019. As the world's oldest and
largest continuously functioning international institution, it
has played a prominent role in the history and development of
Western civilisation. The church consists of 24 particular
churches and almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchiesaround the
world. The pope, who is the Bishop of Rome (and whose titles
also include Vicar of Jesus Christ and Successor of St. Peter),
is the chief pastor of the church, entrusted with the universal
Petrine ministry of unity and correction. The church's
administration, the Holy See, is in the Vatican City, a tiny
enclave of Rome, of which the pope is head of state.
The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed.

The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic
and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great
Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's
apostles, and that the pope is the successor to Saint Peter,
upon whom primacy was conferred by Jesus Christ. It
maintains that it practises the original Christian faith,
reserving infallibility, passed down by sacred tradition. The
Latin Church, the twenty-three Eastern Catholic Churches,
and institutes such as mendicant orders, enclosed monastic
orders and third orders reflect a variety of theological and
spiritual emphases in the church.
Of its seven sacraments, the Eucharist is the principal one,

celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that
through consecration by a priest, the sacrificial bread and
winebecome the body and blood of Christ.
The Virgin Mary is venerated as the Perpetual Virgin, Mother of

God, and Queen of Heaven; she is honoured in dogmas and
devotions. Its teaching includes Divine Mercy, sanctification
through faith and evangelisation of the Gospel as well as
Catholic social teaching, which emphasises voluntary support
for the sick, the poor, and the afflicted through the corporal
and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church operates
thousands of Catholic schools, hospitals, and orphanages
around the world, and is the largest non-government provider
of education and health care in the world. Among its other
social services are numerous charitable and humanitarian
organisations.
The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy,

culture, art, music and science. Catholics live all over the
world through missions, diaspora, and conversions. Since the
20th century the majority reside in the southern hemisphere,
due to secularisation in Europe, and increased persecution in
the Middle East. The Catholic Church shared communion with
the Eastern Orthodox Church until the East–West Schism in
1054, disputing particularly the authority of the pope. Before
the Council of Ephesus in AD 431, the Church of the East also
shared in this communion, as did the Oriental Orthodox
churches before the Council of Chalcedon in AD 451; all
separated primarily over differences inChristology. In the 16th
century, the Reformation led to Protestantism also breaking
away. From the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has
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been criticised for its teachings on sexuality, its inability to

ordain women, and its handling of sexual abuse cases
involving clergy.
History
The Christian religion is based on the teachings of Jesus

Christ, who lived and preached in the 1st century AD in the
province of Judea of the Roman Empire. Catholic theology
teaches that the contemporary Catholic Church is the
continuation of this early Christian community established by
Jesus. Christianity spread throughout the early Roman
Empire, despite persecutions due to conflicts with the pagan
state religion. Emperor Constantine legalised the practice of
Christianity in 313, and it became the state religion in 380.
Germanic invaders of Roman territory in the 5th and 6th
centuries, many of whom had previously adopted Arian
Christianity, eventually adopted Catholicism to ally themselves
with the papacy and the monasteries.
In the 7th and 8th centuries, expanding Muslim conquests

following the advent of Islam led to an Arab domination of the
Mediterranean that severed political connections between that
area and northern Europe, and weakened cultural connections
between Rome and the Byzantine Empire. Conflicts involving
authority in the church, particularly the authority of the
Bishop of Rome finally culminated in the East–West Schism in
the 11th century, splitting the church into the Catholic and
Orthodox Churches. Earlier splits within the church occurred
after the Council of Ephesus (431) and the Council of
Chalcedon (451). However, a few Eastern Churches remained in
communion with Rome, and portions of some others
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established communion in the 15th century and later, forming

what are called the Eastern Catholic Churches.
Early monasteries throughout Europe helped preserve Greek

and Roman classical civilisation. The church eventually
became the dominant influence in Western civilisation into the
modern age. Many Renaissance figures were sponsored by the
church. The 16th century, however, began to see challenges to
the church, in particular to its religious authority, by figures
in the Protestant Reformation, as well as in the 17th century
by secular intellectuals in the Enlightenment. Concurrently,
Spanish and Portuguese explorers and missionaries spread the
church's influence through Africa, Asia, and the New World.
In 1870, the First Vatican Council declared the dogma of papal

infallibility and the Kingdom of Italy annexed the city of Rome,
the last portion of the Papal States to be incorporated into the
new nation. In the 20th century, anti-clerical governments
around the world, including Mexico and Spain, persecuted or
executed thousands of clerics and laypersons. In the Second
World War, the church condemned Nazism, and protected
hundreds of thousands of Jews from the Holocaust; its efforts,
however, have been criticised as inadequate. After the war,
freedom of religion was severely restricted in the Communist
countries newly aligned with the Soviet Union, several of which
had large Catholic populations.
In the 1960s, the Second Vatican Council led to reforms of the

church's liturgy and practices, described as "opening the
windows" by defenders, but criticised by traditionalist
Catholics. In the face of increased criticism from both within
and without, the church has upheld or reaffirmed at various
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times controversial doctrinal positions regarding sexuality and

gender, including limiting clergy to males, and moral
exhortations against abortion, contraception, sexual activity
outside of marriage, remarriage following divorce without
annulment, and against same-sex marriage.
Apostolic era and papacy
The New Testament, in particular the Gospels, records Jesus'

activities and teaching, his appointment of the Twelve Apostles
and his Great Commission of the apostles, instructing them to
continue his work. The book Acts of Apostles, tells of the
founding of the Christian church and the spread of its message
to the Roman empire. The Catholic Church teaches that its
public ministry began on Pentecost, occurring fifty days
following the date Christ is believed to have resurrected. At
Pentecost, the apostles are believed to have received the Holy
Spirit, preparing them for their mission in leading the church.
The Catholic Church teaches that the college of bishops, led by
the Bishop of Rome are the successors to the Apostles.
In the account of the Confession of Peter found in the Gospel

of Matthew, Christ designates Peter as the "rock" upon which
Christ's church will be built. The Catholic Church considers
the Bishop of Rome, the pope, to be the successor to Saint
Peter. Some scholars state Peter was the first Bishop of Rome.
Others say that the institution of the papacy is not dependent
on the idea that Peter was Bishop of Rome or even on his ever
having been in Rome. Many scholars hold that a church
structure of plural presbyters/bishops persisted in Rome until
the mid-2nd century, when the structure of a single bishop
and plural presbyters was adopted, and that later writers
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retrospectively applied the term "bishop of Rome" to the most

prominent members of the clergy in the earlier period and also
to Peter himself. On this basis, Oscar Cullmann, Henry
Chadwick, and Bart D. Ehrman question whether there was a
formal link between Peter and the modern papacy. Raymond E.
Brown also says that it is anachronistic to speak of Peter in
terms of local bishop of Rome, but that Christians of that
period would have looked on Peter as having "roles that would
contribute in an essential way to the development of the role of
the papacy in the subsequent church". These roles, Brown
says, "contributed enormously to seeing the bishop of Rome,
the bishop of the city where Peter died and where Paul
witnessed the truth of Christ, as the successor of Peter in care
for the church universal".
Antiquity and Roman Empire
Conditions in the Roman Empire facilitated the spread of new

ideas. The empire's network of roads and waterways facilitated
travel, and the Pax Romana made travelling safe. The empire
encouraged the spread of a common culture with Greek roots,
which allowed ideas to be more easily expressed and
understood.
Unlike most religions in the Roman Empire, however,

Christianity required its adherents to renounce all other gods,
a practice adopted from Judaism (see Idolatry). The Christians'
refusal to join pagan celebrations meant they were unable to
participate in much of public life, which caused non-
Christians—including government authorities—to fear that the
Christians were angering the gods and thereby threatening the
peace and prosperity of the Empire. The resulting persecutions
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were a defining feature of Christian self-understanding until

Christianity was legalised in the 4th century.
In 313, Emperor Constantine I's Edict of Milan legalised

Christianity, and in 330 Constantine moved the imperial
capital to Constantinople, modern Istanbul, Turkey. In 380 the
Edict of Thessalonica made Nicene Christianity the state
church of the Roman Empire, a position that within the
diminishing territory of the Byzantine Empire would persist
until the empire itself ended in the fall of Constantinople in
1453, while elsewhere the church was independent of the
empire, as became particularly clear with the East–West
Schism. During the period of the Seven Ecumenical Councils,
five primary sees emerged, an arrangement formalised in the
mid-6th century by Emperor Justinian I as the pentarchy of
Rome, Constantinople, Antioch, Jerusalem and Alexandria. In
451 the Council of Chalcedon, in a canon of disputed validity,
elevated the see of Constantinople to a position "second in
eminence and power to the bishop of Rome". From c. 350 to c.
500, the bishops, or popes, of Rome, steadily increased in
authority through their consistent intervening in support of
orthodox leaders in theological disputes, which encouraged
appeals to them. Emperor Justinian, who in the areas under
his control definitively established a form of caesaropapism, in
which "he had the right and duty of regulating by his laws the
minutest details of worship and discipline, and also of
dictating the theological opinions to be held in the Church", re-
established imperial power over Rome and other parts of the
West, initiating the period termed the Byzantine Papacy (537–
752), during which the bishops of Rome, or popes, required
approval from the emperor in Constantinople or from his
representative in Ravenna for consecration, and most were
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selected by the emperor from his Greek-speaking subjects,

resulting in a "melting pot" of Western and Eastern Christian
traditions in art as well as liturgy.
Most of the Germanic tribes who in the following centuries

invaded the Roman Empire had adopted Christianity in its
Arian form, which the Catholic Church declared heretical. The
resulting religious discord between Germanic rulers and
Catholic subjects was avoided when, in 497, Clovis I, the
Frankish ruler, converted to orthodox Catholicism, allying
himself with the papacy and the monasteries. The Visigoths in
Spain followed his lead in 589, and the Lombards in Italy in
the course of the 7th century.
Western Christianity, particularly through its monasteries, was

a major factor in preserving classical civilisation, with its art
(see Illuminated manuscript) and literacy. Through his Rule,
Benedict of Nursia (c. 480–543), one of the founders of Western
monasticism, exerted an enormous influence on European
culture through the appropriation of the monastic spiritual
heritage of the early Catholic Church and, with the spread of
the Benedictine tradition, through the preservation and
transmission of ancient culture. During this period, monastic
Ireland became a centre of learning and early Irish
missionaries such as Columbanus and Columba spread
Christianity and established monasteries across continental
Europe.
Middle Ages and Renaissance
The Catholic Church was the dominant influence on Western

civilisation from Late Antiquity to the dawn of the modern age.
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It was the primary sponsor of Romanesque, Gothic,

Renaissance, Mannerist and Baroque styles in art, architecture
and music. Renaissance figures such as Raphael,
Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, Botticelli, Fra Angelico,
Tintoretto, Titian, Bernini and Caravaggio are examples of the
numerous visual artists sponsored by the church. Historian
Paul Legutko of Stanford University said the Catholic Church
is "at the center of the development of the values, ideas,
science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call
Western civilisation".
The massive Islamic invasions of the mid-7th century began a

long struggle between Christianity and Islam throughout the
Mediterranean Basin. The Byzantine Empire soon lost the
lands of the eastern patriarchates of Jerusalem, Alexandria
and Antioch and was reduced to that of Constantinople, the
empire's capital. As a result of Islamic domination of the
Mediterranean, the Frankish state, centred away from that sea,
was able to evolve as the dominant power that shaped the
Western Europe of the Middle Ages. The battles of Toulouse
and Poitiers halted the Islamic advance in the West and the
failed Siege of Constantinople halted it in the East. Two or
three decades later, in 751, the Byzantine Empire lost to the
Lombards the city of Ravenna from which it governed the small
fragments of Italy, including Rome, that acknowledged its
sovereignty. The fall of Ravenna meant that confirmation by a
no longer existent exarch was not asked for during the election
in 752 of Pope Stephen II and that the papacy was forced to
look elsewhere for a civil power to protect it. In 754, at the
urgent request of Pope Stephen, the Frankish king Pepin the
Short conquered the Lombards. He then gifted the lands of the
former exarchate to the pope, thus initiating the Papal States.
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Rome and the Byzantine East would delve into further conflict
during the Photian schism of the 860s, when Photius criticised
the Latin west of adding of the filioque clause after being
excommunicated by Nicholas I. Though the schism was
reconciled, unresolved issues would lead to further division.
In the 11th century, the efforts of Hildebrand of Sovana led to

the creation of the College of Cardinals to elect new popes,
starting with Pope Alexander II in the papal election of 1061.
When Alexander II died, Hildebrand was elected to succeed
him, as Pope Gregory VII. The basic election system of the
College of Cardinals which Gregory VII helped establish has
continued to function into the 21st century. Pope Gregory VII
further initiated the Gregorian Reforms regarding the
independence of the clergy from secular authority. This led to
the Investiture Controversy between the church and the Holy
Roman Emperors, over which had the authority to appoint
bishops and popes.
In 1095, Byzantine emperor Alexius I appealed to Pope Urban

II for help against renewed Muslim invasions in the Byzantine–
Seljuk Wars, which caused Urban to launch the First Crusade
aimed at aiding the Byzantine Empire and returning the Holy
Land to Christian control. In the 11th century, strained
relations between the primarily Greek church and the Latin
Church separated them in the East–West Schism, partially due
to conflicts over papal authority.
The Fourth Crusade and the sacking of Constantinople by

renegade crusaders proved the final breach. In this age great
gothic cathedrals in France were an expression of popular
pride in the Christian faith.
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In the early 13th century mendicant orders were founded by

Francis of Assisi and Dominic de Guzmán. The studia
conventualia and studia generalia of the mendicant orders
played a large role in the transformation of Church-sponsored
cathedral schools and palace schools, such as that of
Charlemagne at Aachen, into the prominent universities of
Europe. Scholastic theologians and philosophers such as the
Dominican priest Thomas Aquinas studied and taught at these
studia. Aquinas' Summa Theologica was an intellectual
milestone in its synthesis of the legacy of ancient Greek
philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle with the content of
Christian revelation.
A growing sense of church-state conflicts marked the 14th

century. To escape instability in Rome, Clement V in 1309
became the first of seven popes to reside in the fortified city of
Avignon in southern France during a period known as the
Avignon Papacy. The Avignon Papacy ended in 1376 when the
pope returned to Rome, but was followed in 1378 by the 38-
year-long Western schism, with claimants to the papacy in
Rome, Avignon and (after 1409) Pisa. The matter was largely
resolved in 1415–17 at the Council of Constance, with the
claimants in Rome and Pisa agreeing to resign and the third
claimant excommunicated by the cardinals, who held a new
election naming Martin V pope.
In 1438, the Council of Florence convened, which featured a

strong dialogue focussed on understanding the theological
differences between the East and West, with the hope of
reuniting the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Several eastern
churches reunited, forming the majority of the Eastern
Catholic Churches.
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Age of Discovery
The Age of Discovery beginning in the 15th century saw the

expansion of Western Europe's political and cultural influence
worldwide. Because of the prominent role the strongly Catholic
nations of Spain and Portugal played in Western Colonialism,
Catholicism was spread to the Americas, Asia and Oceania by
explorers, conquistadors, and missionaries, as well as by the
transformation of societies through the socio-political
mechanisms of colonial rule. Pope Alexander VI had awarded
colonial rights over most of the newly discovered lands to
Spain and Portugal and the ensuing patronato system allowed
state authorities, not the Vatican, to control all clerical
appointments in the new colonies. In 1521 the Portuguese
explorer Ferdinand Magellan made the first Catholic converts
in the Philippines. Elsewhere, Portuguese missionaries under
the Spanish Jesuit Francis Xavier evangelised in India, China,
and Japan. The French colonisation of the Americas beginning
in the 16th century established a Catholic francophone
population and forbade non-Catholics to settle in Quebec.
Protestant Reformation and Counter-Reformation
In 1415, Jan Hus was burned at the stake for heresy, but his
reform efforts encouraged Martin Luther, an Augustinian monk
in modern-day Germany, who sent his Ninety-five Theses t o
several bishops in 1517. His theses protested key points of
Catholic doctrine as well as the sale of indulgences, and along
with the Leipzig Debate this led to his excommunication in
1521. In Switzerland, Huldrych Zwingli, John Calvin and other
Protestant Reformers further criticised Catholic teachings.
These challenges developed into the Reformation, which gave
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birth to the great majority of Protestantdenominations and also

crypto-Protestantism within the Catholic Church. Meanwhile,
Henry VIII petitioned the pope for a declaration of nullity
concerning his marriage to Catherine of Aragon. When this was
denied, he had the Acts of Supremacy passed to make him
head of the Church of England, spurring the English
Reformation and the eventual development of Anglicanism.
The Reformation contributed to clashes between the Protestant

Schmalkaldic League and the Catholic Emperor Charles V and
his allies.
The first nine-year war ended in 1555 with the Peace of

Augsburg but continued tensions produced a far graver
conflict—the Thirty Years' War—which broke out in 1618. In
France, a series of conflicts termed the French Wars of Religion
was fought from 1562 to 1598 between the Huguenots (French
Calvinists) and the forces of the French Catholic League, which
were backed and funded by a series of popes. This ended under
Pope Clement VIII, who hesitantly accepted King Henry IV's
1598 Edict of Nantes granting civil and religious toleration to
French Protestants.
The Council of Trent (1545–1563) became the driving force

behind the Counter-Reformation in response to the Protestant
movement. Doctrinally, it reaffirmed central Catholic teachings
such as transubstantiation and the requirement for love and
hope as well as faith to attain salvation. In subsequent
centuries, Catholicism spread widely across the world, in part
through missionaries and imperialism, although its hold on
European populations declined due to the growth of religious
scepticism during and after the Enlightenment.
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Enlightenment and modern period
From the 17th century onward, the Enlightenment questioned

the power and influence of the Catholic Church over Western
society. In the 18th century, writers such as Voltaire and the
Encyclopédistes wrote biting critiques of both religion and the
Catholic Church. One target of their criticism was the 1685
revocation of the Edict of Nantes by King Louis XIV of France,
which ended a century-long policy of religious toleration of
Protestant Huguenots.
As the papacy resisted pushes for Gallicanism, the French

Revolution of 1789 shifted power to the state, caused the
destruction of churches, the establishment of a Cult of Reason,
and the martyrdom of nuns during the Reign of Terror. In 1798,
Napoleon Bonaparte's General Louis-Alexandre Berthier
invaded the Italian Peninsula, imprisoning Pope Pius VI, who
died in captivity. Napoleon later re-established the Catholic
Church in France through the Concordat of 1801. The end of
the Napoleonic Wars brought Catholic revival and the return of
the Papal States.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX, with the support of the overwhelming

majority of Catholic bishops, whom he had consulted from
1851 to 1853, proclaimed the Immaculate Conception as a
Dogma in the Catholic Church. In 1870, the First Vatican
Council affirmed the doctrine of papal infallibility when
exercised in specifically defined pronouncements, striking a
blow to the rival position of conciliarism. Controversy over this
and other issues resulted in a breakaway movement called the
Old Catholic Church,
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The Italian unification of the 1860s incorporated the Papal

States, including Rome itself from 1870, into the Kingdom of
Italy, thus ending the papacy's temporal power. In response,
Pope Pius IX excommunicated King Victor Emmanuel II,
refused payment for the land, and rejected the Italian Law of
Guarantees, which granted him special privileges. To avoid
placing himself in visible subjection to the Italian authorities,
he remained a "prisoner in the Vatican". This stand-off, which
was spoken of as the Roman Question, was resolved by the
1929 Lateran Treaties, whereby the Holy See acknowledged
Italian sovereignty over the former Papal States in return for
payment and Italy's recognition of papal sovereignty over
Vatican City as a new sovereign and independent state.
Catholic missionaries generally supported, and sought to

facilitate, the European imperial powers' conquest of Africa
during the late nineteenth-century. According to the historian
of religion Adrian Hastings, Catholic missionaries were
generally unwilling to defend African rights or encourage
Africans to see themselves as equals to Europeans, in contrast
to Protestant missionaries, who were more willing to oppose
colonial injustices.
20th century
During the First World War, numerous appeals for peace came
from the Catholic Church. The "Dès le début" initiative of Pope
Benedict XV of August 1, 1917, failed because of the rejection
of the warring parties.
A number of anti-clerical governments emerged in the 20th

century. The 1926 Calles Law separating church and state in
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Mexico led to the Cristero War in which more than 3,000

priests were exiled or assassinated, churches desecrated,
services mocked, nuns raped, and captured priests shot.
Following the 1917 October Revolution, persecution of the
church and Catholics in the Soviet Union continued into the
1930s, with the execution and exiling of clerics, monks and
laymen, the confiscation of religious implements, and closure
of churches. In the 1936–39 Spanish Civil War, the Catholic
hierarchy allied with Franco'sNationalists against the Popular
Front government, citing as justification Republican violence
against the church. Pope Pius XI referred to these three
countries as a "terrible triangle".
After violations of the 1933 Reichskonkordat between the

church and Nazi Germany, Pope Pius XI issued the 1937
encyclical Mit brennender Sorge, which publicly condemned the
Nazis' persecution of the church and their ideology of
neopaganism and racial superiority. The Church condemned
the 1939 Invasion of Poland that started World War II and
other subsequent wartime Nazi invasions.
Thousands of Catholic priests, nuns and brothers were

imprisoned in the countries occupied by the Nazis or were
taken to a concentration camp, tortured and murdered,
including Saints Maximilian Kolbe and Edith Stein. By
contrast, Catholic clergy played a leading role in the
government of the fascist Slovak State, which collaborated with
the Nazis, copied their anti-Semitic policies, and helped them
carry out the Holocaust in Slovakia. Jozef Tiso, the President
of the Slovak State and a Catholic priest, supported his
government's deportation of Slovakian Jews to extermination
camps.
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It was not only about passive resistance, but also actively

about defeating National Socialism. For example, the Catholic
resistance group around the priest Heinrich Maier, who was
often referred to as Miles Christi, very successfully passed on
plans and production facilities for V-1 flying bombs, V-2
rockets, Tiger tanks, Messerschmitt Me 163 Komet and other
aircraft to the Allies, with which they could target German
production facilities. Much of the information was important to
Operation Hydra and Operation Crossbow, both critical
operations to Operation Overlord. He and his group informed
the American secret service OSS very early on about the mass
murder of Jews in Auschwitz. Maier advocated to the Nazi war
in principle "Every bomb that falls on armaments factories
shortens the war and spares the civilian population."
Around 1943, Adolf Hitler planned the kidnapping of the Pope

and his internment in Germany. He gave SS General Wolff a
corresponding order to prepare for the action. While Pope Pius
XII has been credited with helping to save hundreds of
thousands of Jews during the Holocaust, the church has also
been accused of having encouraged centuries of antisemitism
by its teachings and not doing enough to stop Nazi atrocities.
Many Nazi criminals escaped overseas after the Second World
War, also because they had powerful supporters from the
Vatican. The judgment of Pius XII. is made more difficult by
the sources, because the church archives for his tenure as
nuncio, cardinal secretary of state and pope are in part closed
or not yet processed.
In dismembered Yugoslavia, the Church favored the Nazi-

installed Croatian Catholic fascist Ustaše regime due to its
anti-communist ideology and for the potential to reinstate
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Catholic influence in the region following the dissolution of

Austria-Hungary. It did not however formally recognise the
Independent State of Croatia (NDH). Despite being informed of
the regime's genocide against Orthodox Serbs, Jews and other
non-Croats, the Church did not publicly speak out against it,
preferring to exert pressure through diplomacy. In assessing
the Vatican's position, historian Jozo Tomasevich writes that
"it seems the Catholic Church fully supported the [Ustaše]
regime and its policies."
During the post-war period, Communist governments in

Central and Eastern Europe severely restricted religious
freedoms. Although some priests and religious people
collaborated with Communist regimes, many others were
imprisoned, deported, or executed. The church was an
important player in the fall of Communism in Europe,
particularly in the Polish People's Republic. In 1949, the
Communist victory in the Chinese Civil War led to the
expulsion of all foreign missionaries. The new government also
created the Patriotic Church and appointed its bishops. These
appointments were initially rejected by Rome before many of
them were accepted. In the 1960s during the Cultural
Revolution, the Chinese Communists closed all religious
establishments. When Chinese churches eventually reopened,
they remained under the control of the Patriotic Church. Many
Catholic priests continued to be sent to prison for refusing to
renounce allegiance to Rome.
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) introduced the most

significant changes to Catholic practices since the Council of
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Trent, four centuries before. Initiated by Pope John XXIII, this

ecumenical council modernised the practices of the Catholic
Church, allowing the Mass to be said in the vernacular (local
language) and encouraging "fully conscious, and active
participation in liturgical celebrations". It intended to engage
the Church more closely with the present world
(aggiornamento), which was described by its advocates as an
"opening of the windows". In addition to changes in the liturgy,
it led to changes to the church's approach to ecumenism, and
a call to improved relations with non-Christian religions,
especially Judaism, in its document Nostra aetate.
The council, however, generated significant controversy in

implementing its reforms: proponents of the "Spirit of Vatican
II" such as Swiss theologian Hans Küng said that Vatican II
had "not gone far enough" to change church policies.
Traditionalist Catholics, such as ArchbishopMarcel Lefebvre,
however, strongly criticised the council, arguing that its
liturgical reforms led "to the destruction of the Holy Sacrifice
of the Mass and the sacraments", among other issues.
Several teachings of the Catholic Church came under increased

scrutiny both concurrent with and following the council;
among those teachings was the church's teaching regarding the
immorality of contraception. The recent introduction of
hormonal contraception (including "the pill"), which were
believed by some to be morally different from previous
methods, prompted John XXIII to form a committee to advise
him of the moral and theological issues with the new method.
Pope Paul VI later expanded the committee's scope to freely
examine all methods, and the committee's unreleased final
report was rumoured to suggest permitting at least some
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methods of contraception. Paul did not agree with the

arguments presented, and eventually issued Humanae vitae,
saying that it upheld the constant teaching of the church
against contraception. It expressly included hormonal methods
as prohibited. This document generated a largely negative
response from many Catholics.
John Paul II
In 1978, Pope John Paul II, formerly Archbishop of Kraków in

the Polish People's Republic, became the first non-Italian pope
in 455 years. His 26 1/2-year pontificate was one of the
longest in history. Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of the
Soviet Union, credited the Polish pope with hastening the fall
of Communism in Europe.
John Paul II sought to evangelise an increasingly secular

world. He instituted World Youth Day as a "worldwide
encounter with the pope" for young people; it is now held every
two to three years. He travelled more than any other pope,
visiting 129 countries, and used television and radio as means
of spreading the church's teachings. He also emphasised the
dignity of work and natural rights of labourers to have fair
wages and safe conditions in Laborem exercens. He emphasised
several church teachings, including moral exhortations against
abortion, euthanasia, and against widespread use of the death
penalty, in Evangelium Vitae.
From the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been
criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its inability to ordain
women, and its handling of sexual abuse cases.
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In 1992, the Vatican acknowledged its error in persecuting

Galileo 359 years earlier for proving the Earth revolved around
the Sun.
21st century
In 2005, following the death of John Paul II, Pope Benedict

XVI, head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
under John Paul, was elected. He was known for upholding
traditional Christian values against secularisation, and for
increasing use of the Tridentine Mass as found in the Roman
Missal of 1962, which he titled the "Extraordinary Form". In
2012, the 50th anniversary of Vatican II, an assembly of the
Synod of Bishops discussed re-evangelising lapsed Catholics in
the developed world. Citing the frailties of advanced age,
Benedict resigned in 2013, becoming the first pope to do so in
nearly 600 years. His resignation has caused controversy
among a minority of Catholics who say Benedict did not fully
resign the papacy.
Pope Francis
Pope Francis, the current pope of the Catholic Church,

succeeded Pope Benedict XVI in 2013 as the first pope from the
Americas, the first from the Southern Hemisphere, and the
first Pope from outside Europe since the Syrian Gregory III,
who reigned in the 8th century. Pope Francis has been noted
for his humility, emphasis on God's mercy, concern for the
poor and the environment, as well as his commitment to
interfaith dialogue. Media commentators Rachel Donadio of The
Atlantic and Brandon Ambrosino of Vox credit Pope Francis
with having a less formal approach to the papacy than his
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predecessors. Pope Francis is recognised for his efforts "to

further close the nearly 1,000-year estrangement with the
Orthodox Churches". His installation was attended by
Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople of the Eastern
Orthodox Church, the first time since the Great Schism of
1054 that the Eastern Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch of
Constantinople has attended a papal installation. On 12
February 2016, Pope Francis and Patriarch Kirill of Moscow,
head of the largest Eastern Orthodox church, met in Havana,
Cuba, issuing a joint declaration calling for restored Christian
unity between the two churches. This was reported as the first
such high-level meeting between the two churches since the
Great Schism of 1054.
In 2014, the Third Extraordinary General Assembly of the

Synod of Bishops addressed the church's ministry towards
families and marriages and to Catholics in "irregular"
relationships, such as those who divorced and remarried
outside of the church without a declaration of nullity. While
welcomed by some, it was criticised by some for perceived
ambiguity, provoking controversies among individual
representatives of differing perspectives.
In 2017 during a visit in Egypt, Pope Francis reestablished

mutual recognition of baptism with the Coptic Orthodox
Church.
In 2021, Pope Francis issued the apostolic letter Traditionis

Custodes, which reversed some of permissions his predecessor
had afforded to celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the
Roman Rite and emphasized Pope Francis's preference for the
Ordinary Form.
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Organisation
The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops

who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given
formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. There are
three levels of clergy, the episcopate, composed of bishops who
hold jurisdiction over a geographic area called a diocese or
eparchy; the presbyterate, composed of priests ordained by
bishops and who work in local dioceses or religious orders; and
the diaconate, composed of deacons who assist bishops and
priests in a variety of ministerial roles. Ultimately leading the
entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called
the pope, whose jurisdiction is called the Holy See. In parallel
to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes
that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority
of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop.
Most religious institutes only have male or female members but
some have both. Additionally, lay members aid many liturgical
functions during worship services.
Holy See, papacy, Roman Curia, and College of Cardinals
• The hierarchy of the Catholic Church is headed by

the Bishop of Rome, known as the pope (Latin: papa;
"father"), who is the leader of the worldwide Catholic
Church. The current pope, Francis, was elected on
13 March 2013 by papal conclave.
The office of the pope is known as the papacy. The Catholic

Church holds that Christ instituted the papacy upon giving the
keys of Heaven to Saint Peter. His ecclesiastical jurisdiction is
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called the "Holy See" (Sancta Sedes in Latin), or the "Apostolic

See" (meaning the see of the apostle Peter). Directly serving the
pope is the Roman Curia, the central governing body that
administers the day-to-day business of the Catholic Church.
The pope is also Sovereign of Vatican City, a small city-state

entirely enclaved within the city of Rome, which is an entity
distinct from the Holy See.
It is as head of the Holy See, not as head of Vatican City State,

that the pope receives ambassadors of states and sends them
his own diplomatic representatives. The Holy See also confers
orders, decorations and medals, such as the orders of chivalry
originating from the Middle Ages.
While the famous Saint Peter's Basilica is located in Vatican

City, above the traditional site of Saint Peter's tomb, the papal
cathedral for the Diocese of Rome is the Archbasilica of Saint
John Lateran, located within the city of Rome, though enjoying
extraterritorial privileges accredited to the Holy See.
The position of cardinal is a rank of honour bestowed by popes

on certain clerics, such as leaders within the Roman Curia,
bishops serving in major cities and distinguished theologians.
For advice and assistance in governing, the pope may turn t o
the College of Cardinals.
Following the death or resignation of a pope, members of the

College of Cardinals who are under age 80 act as an electoral
college, meeting in a papal conclave to elect a successor.
Although the conclave may elect any male Catholic as pope,
since 1389 only cardinals have been elected.
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Canon law
Canon law (Latin: jus canonicum) is the system of laws and

legal principles made and enforced by the hierarchical
authorities of the Catholic Church to regulate its external
organisation and government and to order and direct the
activities of Catholics toward the mission of the church. The
canon law of the Latin Church was the first modern Western
legal system and is the oldest continuously functioning legal
system in the West, while the distinctive traditions of Eastern
Catholic canon law govern the 23 Eastern Catholic particular
churchessui iuris.
Positive ecclesiastical laws, based directly or indirectly upon

immutable divine law or natural law, derive formal authority in
the case of universal laws from promulgation by the supreme
legislator—the Supreme Pontiff—who possesses the totality of
legislative, executive and judicial power in his person, while
particular laws derive formal authority from promulgation by a
legislator inferior to the supreme legislator, whether an
ordinary or a delegated legislator. The actual subject material
of the canons is not just doctrinal or moral in nature, but all-
encompassing of the human condition. It has all the ordinary
elements of a mature legal system: laws, courts, lawyers,
judges, a fully articulated legal code for the Latin Church as
well as a code for the Eastern Catholic Churches, principles of
legal interpretation, and coercive penalties.
Canon law concerns the Catholic Church's life and

organisation and is distinct from civil law. In its own field it
gives force to civil law only by specific enactment in matters
such as the guardianship of minors. Similarly, civil law may
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give force in its field to canon law, but only by specific

enactment, as with regard to canonical marriages. Currently,
the 1983 Code of Canon Law is in effect for the Latin Church.
The distinct 1990 Code of Canons of the Eastern Churches
(CCEO, after the Latin initials) applies to the autonomous
Eastern Catholic Churches.
Latin and Eastern churches
In the first thousand years of Catholic history, different

varieties of Christianity developed in the Western and Eastern
Christian areas of Europe. Though most Eastern-tradition
churches are no longer in communion with the Catholic
Church after the Great Schism of 1054, autonomous particular
churches of both traditions currently participate, also known
as "churches sui iuris" (Latin: "of one's own right").
The largest and most well known is the Latin Church, the only
Western-tradition church, with more than 1 billion members
worldwide. Relatively small in terms of adherents compared to
the Latin Church, are the 23 self-governing Eastern Catholic
Churches with a combined membership of 17.3 million as of
2010.
The Latin Church is governed by the pope and diocesan

bishops directly appointed by him. The pope exercises a direct
patriarchal role over the Latin Church, which is considered to
form the original and still major part of Western Christianity, a
heritage of certain beliefs and customs originating in Europe
and northwestern Africa, some of which are inherited by many
Christian denominations that trace their origins to the
Protestant Reformation.
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The Eastern Catholic Churches follow the traditions and

spirituality of Eastern Christianity and are churches that have
always remained in full communion with the Catholic Church
or who have chosen to re-enter full communion in the
centuries following the East–West Schism and earlier divisions.
These churches are communities of Catholic Christians whose
forms of worship reflect distinct historical and cultural
influences rather than differences in doctrine.
A church sui iuris is defined in the Code of Canons for the

Eastern Churches as a "group of Christian faithful united by a
hierarchy" that is recognised by the pope in his capacity as the
supreme authority on matters of doctrine within the church.
The term is an innovation of the CCEO to denote the relative
autonomy of the Eastern Catholic Churches, who remain in full
communion with the pope, but have governance structures and
liturgical traditions separate from that of the Latin Church.
While the Latin Church's canons do not explicitly use the term,
it is tacitly recognised as equivalent.
Some Eastern Catholic churches are governed by a patriarch

who is elected by the synod of the bishops of that church,
others are headed by a major archbishop, others are under a
metropolitan, and others are organised as individual eparchies.
Each church has authority over the particulars of its internal
organisation, liturgical rites, liturgical calendar and other
aspects of its spirituality, subject only to the authority of the
pope.
The Roman Curia has a specific department, the Congregation

for the Oriental Churches, to maintain relations with them.
The pope does not generally appoint bishops or clergy in the
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Eastern Catholic Churches, deferring to their internal

governance structures, but may intervene if he feels it
necessary.
Dioceses, parishes, organisations and institutes
Individual countries, regions, or major cities are served by

particular churches known as dioceses in the Latin Church, or
eparchies in the Eastern Catholic Churches, each overseen by
a bishop. As of 2008, the Catholic Church has 2,795 dioceses.
The bishops in a particular country are members of a national
or regional episcopal conference.
Dioceses are divided into parishes, each with one or more

priests, deacons or lay ecclesial ministers. Parishes are
responsible for the day to day celebration of the sacraments
and pastoral care of the laity. As of 2016, there are 221,700
parishes worldwide.
In the Latin Church, Catholic men may serve as deacons or

priests by receiving sacramental ordination. Men and women
may serve as extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, as
readers (lectors), or as altar servers. Historically, boys and
men have only been permitted to serve as altar servers;
however, since the 1990s, girls and women have also been
permitted.
Ordained Catholics, as well as members of the laity, may enter

into consecrated life either on an individual basis, as a hermit
or consecrated virgin, or by joining an institute of consecrated
life (a religious institute or a secular institute) in which to take
vows confirming their desire to follow the three evangelical
counsels of chastity, poverty and obedience. Examples of
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institutes of consecrated life are the Benedictines, the

Carmelites, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Missionaries
of Charity, the Legionaries of Christ and the Sisters of Mercy.
"Religious institutes" is a modern term encompassing both

"religious orders" and "religious congregations," which were
once distinguished in canon law. The terms "religious order"
and "religious institute" tend to be used as synonyms
colloquially. By means of Catholic charities and beyond, the
Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of
education and health care in the world.
Membership
Catholicism is the second largest religious body in the world,

surpassed in size only by Sunni Islam. Church membership,
defined as baptised Catholics, was 1.345 billion at the end of
2019, which is 18% of the world population. Brazil has the
largest Catholic population in the world, followed by Mexico,
Philippines, and the United States. Catholics represent about
half of all Christians.
Geographic distribution of Catholics worldwide continues to

shift, with 18.7% in Africa, 48.1% in the Americas, 11.0% Asia,
21.2% in Europe, and 0.8% in Oceania.
Catholic ministers include ordained clergy, lay ecclesial

ministers, missionaries, and catechists. Also as of the end of
2019, there were 467,938 ordained clergy, including 5,364
bishops, 414,336 priests (diocesan and religious), and 48,238
deacons (permanent). Non-ordained ministers included
3,157,568 catechists, 367,679 lay missionaries, and 39,951 lay
ecclesial ministers.
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Catholics who have committed to religious or consecrated life

instead of marriage or single celibacy, as a state of life or
relational vocation, include 54,559 male religious, 705,529
women religious. These are not ordained, nor generally
considered ministers unless also engaged in one of the lay
minister categories above.
Doctrine
• Catholic doctrine has developed over the centuries,

reflecting direct teachings of early Christians, formal
definitions of heretical and orthodox beliefs by
ecumenical councils and in papal bulls, and
theological debate by scholars. The church believes
that it is continually guided by the Holy Spirit as it
discerns new theological issues and is protected
infallibly from falling into doctrinal error when a
firm decision on an issue is reached.
It teaches that revelation has one common source, God, and

two distinct modes of transmission: Sacred Scripture and
Sacred Tradition, and that these are authentically interpreted
by the Magisterium. Sacred Scripture consists of the 73 books
of the Catholic Bible, consisting of 46 Old Testament and 27
New Testament writings. Sacred Tradition consists of those
teachings believed by the church to have been handed down
since the time of the Apostles. Sacred Scripture and Sacred
Tradition are collectively known as the "deposit of faith"
(depositum fidei in Latin). These are in turn interpreted by the
Magisterium (from magister, Latin for "teacher"), the church's
teaching authority, which is exercised by the pope and the
College of Bishops in union with the pope, the Bishop of Rome.
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Catholic doctrine is authoritatively summarised in the

Catechism of the Catholic Church, published by the Holy See.
Nature of God
The Catholic Church holds that there is one eternal God, who
exists as a perichoresis ("mutual indwelling") of three
hypostases, or "persons": God the Father; God the Son; and
God the Holy Spirit, which together are called the "Holy
Trinity".
Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is the "Second Person" of

the Trinity, God the Son. In an event known as the
Incarnation, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God became
united with human nature through the conception of Christ in
the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Christ, therefore, is
understood as being both fully divine and fully human,
including possessing a human soul. It is taught that Christ's
mission on earth included giving people his teachings and
providing his example for them to follow as recorded in the
four Gospels. Jesus is believed to have remained sinless while
on earth, and to have allowed himself to be unjustly executed
by crucifixion, as a sacrifice of himself to reconcile humanity
to God; this reconciliation is known as the Paschal Mystery.
The Greek term "Christ" and the Hebrew "Messiah" both mean
"anointed one", referring to the Christian belief that Jesus'
death and resurrection are the fulfilment of the Old
Testament's messianic prophecies.
The Catholic Church teaches dogmatically that "the Holy Spirit

proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not as from
two principles but as from one single principle". It holds that
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the Father, as the "principle without principle", is the first

origin of the Spirit, but also that he, as Father of the only Son,
is with the Son the single principle from which the Spirit
proceeds. This belief is expressed in the Filioque clause which
was added to the Latin version of the Nicene Creed of 381 but
not included in the Greek versions of the creed used in Eastern
Christianity.
Nature of the church
The Catholic Church teaches that it is the "one true church",

"the universal sacrament of salvation for the human race", and
"the one true religion". According to the Catechism, the
Catholic Church is further described in the Nicene Creed as
the "one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church". These are
collectively known as the Four Marks of the Church. The
church teaches that its founder is Jesus Christ. The New
Testament records several events considered integral to the
establishment of the Catholic Church, including Jesus'
activities and teaching and his appointment of the apostles as
witnesses to his ministry, suffering, and resurrection. The
Great Commission, after his resurrection, instructed the
apostles to continue his work.
The coming of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles, in an event

known as Pentecost, is seen as the beginning of the public
ministry of the Catholic Church. The church teaches that all
duly consecrated bishops have a lineal succession from the
apostles of Christ, known as apostolic succession. In
particular, the Bishop of Rome (the pope) is considered the
successor to the apostle Simon Peter, a position from which he
derives his supremacy over the church.
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Catholic belief holds that the church "is the continuing

presence of Jesus on earth" and that it alone possesses the full
means of salvation. Through the passion (suffering) of Christ
leading to his crucifixion as described in the Gospels, it is said
Christ made himself an oblation to God the Father in order to
reconcile humanity to God; the Resurrection of Jesus makes
him the firstborn from the dead, the first among many
brethren. By reconciling with God and following Christ's words
and deeds, an individual can enter the Kingdom of God. The
church sees its liturgy and sacraments as perpetuating the
graces achieved through Christ's sacrifice to strengthen a
person's relationship with Christ and aid in overcoming sin.
Final judgement
The Catholic Church teaches that, immediately after death, the

soul of each person will receive a particular judgement from
God, based on their sins and their relationship to Christ. This
teaching also attests to another day when Christ will sit in
universal judgement of all mankind. This final judgement,
according to the church's teaching, will bring an end to human
history and mark the beginning of both a new and better
heaven and earth ruled by God in righteousness.
Depending on the judgement rendered following death, it is

believed that a soul may enter one of three states of the
afterlife:
• Heaven is a state of unending union with the divine

nature of God, not ontologically, but by grace. It is
an eternal life, in which the soul contemplates God
in ceaseless beatitude.
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• Purgatory is a temporary condition for the

purification of souls who, although destined for
Heaven, are not fully detached from sin and thus
cannot enter Heaven immediately. In Purgatory, the
soul suffers, and is purged and perfected. Souls in
purgatory may be aided in reaching heaven by the
prayers of the faithful on earth and by the
intercession of saints.
• Final Damnation: Finally, those who persist in living
in a state of mortal sin and do not repent before
death subject themselves to hell, an everlasting
separation from God. The church teaches that no one
is condemned to hell without having freely decided to
reject God. No one is predestined to hell and no one
can determine with absolute certainty who has been
condemned to hell. Catholicism teaches that through
God's mercy a person can repent at any point before
death, be illuminated with the truth of the Catholic
faith, and thus obtain salvation. Some Catholic
theologians have speculated that the souls of
unbaptised infants and non-Christians without
mortal sin but who die in original sin are assigned to
limbo, although this is not an official dogma of the
church.
While the Catholic Church teaches that it alone possesses the

full means of salvation, it also acknowledges that the Holy
Spirit can make use of Christian communities separated from
itself to "impel towards Catholic unity" and "tend and lead
toward the Catholic Church", and thus bring people to
salvation, because these separated communities contain some
elements of proper doctrine, albeit admixed with errors. It
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teaches that anyone who is saved is saved through the Catholic

Church but that people can be saved outside of the ordinary
means known as baptism of desire, and by pre-baptismal
martyrdom, known as baptism of blood, as well as when
conditions of invincible ignorance are present, although
invincible ignorance in itself is not a means of salvation.
Saints and devotions
A saint (also historically known as a hallow) is a person who is

recognised as having an exceptional degree of holiness or
likeness or closeness to God, while canonisation is the act by
which a Christian church declares that a person who has died
was a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in
the "canon", or list, of recognised saints. The first persons
honoured as saints were the martyrs. Pious legends of their
deaths were considered affirmations of the truth of their faith
in Christ. By the fourth century, however, "confessors"—people
who had confessed their faith not by dying but by word and
life—began to be venerated publicly.
In the Catholic Church, both in Latin and Eastern Catholic

churches, the act of canonisation is reserved to the Apostolic
See and occurs at the conclusion of a long process requiring
extensive proof that the candidate for canonisation lived and
died in such an exemplary and holy way that he is worthy to be
recognised as a saint. The church's official recognition of
sanctity implies that the person is now in Heaven and that he
may be publicly invoked and mentioned officially in the liturgy
of the church, including in the Litany of the Saints.
Canonisation allows universal veneration of the saint in the
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liturgy of the Roman Rite; for permission to venerate merely

locally, only beatification is needed.
Devotions are "external practices of piety" which are not part of

the official liturgy of the Catholic Church but are part of the
popular spiritual practices of Catholics. These include various
practices regarding the veneration of the saints, especially
veneration of the Virgin Mary. Other devotional practices
include the Stations of the Cross, the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
the Holy Face of Jesus, the various scapulars, novenas to
various saints, pilgrimages and devotions to the Blessed
Sacrament, and the veneration of saintly images such as the
santos. The bishops at the Second Vatican Council reminded
Catholics that "devotions should be so drawn up that they
harmonise with the liturgical seasons, accord with the sacred
liturgy, are in some fashion derived from it, and lead the
people to it, since, in fact, the liturgy by its very nature far
surpasses any of them."
Virgin Mary
Catholic Mariology deals with the doctrines and teachings

concerning the life of the Mary, mother of Jesus, as well as the
veneration of Mary by the faithful. Mary is held in special
regard, declared the Mother of God (Greek: Θεοτόκος,
r o ma niz e d: Theotokos, lit . 'God-bearer'), and believed as dogma
to have remained a virgin throughout her life. Further
teachings include the doctrines of the Immaculate Conception
(her own conception without the stain of original sin) and the
Assumption of Mary (that her body was assumed directly into
heaven at the end of her life). Both of these doctrines were
defined as infallible dogma, by Pope Pius IX in 1854 and Pope
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Pius XII in 1950 respectively, but only after consulting with

the Catholic bishops throughout the world to ascertain that
this is a Catholic belief.
Devotions to Mary are part of Catholic piety but are distinct

from the worship of God. Practices include prayers and Marian
art, music, and architecture. Several liturgical Marian feasts
are celebrated throughout the Church Year and she is
honoured with many titles such as Queen of Heaven. Pope Paul
VI called her Mother of the Church because, by giving birth to
Christ, she is considered to be the spiritual mother to each
member of the Body of Christ. Because of her influential role
in the life of Jesus, prayers and devotions such as the Hail
Mary, the Rosary, the Salve Regina and the Memorare are
common Catholic practices. Pilgrimage to the sites of several
Marian apparitions affirmed by the church, such as Lourdes,
Fátima, and Guadalupe, are also popular Catholic devotions.
Sacraments
The Catholic Church teaches that it was entrusted with seven

sacraments that were instituted by Christ. The number and
nature of the sacraments were defined by several ecumenical
councils, most recently the Council of Trent. These are
Baptism, Confirmation, the Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of
the Sick (formerly called Extreme Unction, one of the "Last
Rites"), Holy Orders and Holy Matrimony. Sacraments are
visible rituals that Catholics see as signs of God's presence
and effective channels of God's grace to all those who receive
them with the proper disposition (ex opere operato). The
Catechism of the Catholic Church categorises the sacraments
into three groups, the "sacraments of Christian initiation",
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"sacraments of healing" and "sacraments at the service of

communion and the mission of the faithful". These groups
broadly reflect the stages of people's natural and spiritual lives
which each sacrament is intended to serve.
The liturgies of the sacraments are central to the church's

mission. According to the Catechism:
In the liturgy of the New Covenant every liturgical action,

especially the celebration of the Eucharist and the sacraments,
is an encounter between Christ and the Church. The liturgical
assembly derives its unity from the "communion of the Holy
Spirit" who gathers the children of God into the one Body of
Christ. This assembly transcends racial, cultural, social—
indeed, all human affinities.
According to church doctrine, the sacraments of the church

require the proper form, matter, and intent to be validly
celebrated. In addition, the Canon Laws for both the Latin
Church and the Eastern Catholic Churches govern who may
licitly celebrate certain sacraments, as well as strict rules
about who may receive the sacraments. Notably, because the
church teaches that Christ is present in the Eucharist, those
who are conscious of being in a state of mortal sin are
forbidden to receive the sacrament until they have received
absolution through the sacrament of Reconciliation (Penance).
Catholics are normally obliged to abstain from eating for at
least an hour before receiving the sacrament. Non-Catholics
are ordinarily prohibited from receiving the Eucharist as well.
Catholics, even if they were in danger of death and unable to

approach a Catholic minister, may not ask for the sacraments
of the Eucharist, penance or anointing of the sick from
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someone, such as a Protestant minister, who is not known to

be validly ordained in line with Catholic teaching on
ordination. Likewise, even in grave and pressing need, Catholic
ministers may not administer these sacraments to those who
do not manifest Catholic faith in the sacrament. In relation to
the churches of Eastern Christianity not in communion with
the Holy See, the Catholic Church is less restrictive, declaring
that "a certain communion in sacris, and so in the Eucharist,
given suitable circumstances and the approval of Church
authority, is not merely possible but is encouraged."
Sacraments of initiation
Baptism
As viewed by the Catholic Church, Baptism is the first of three

sacraments of initiation as a Christian. It washes away all
sins, both original sin and personal actual sins. It makes a
person a member of the church.
As a gratuitous gift of God that requires no merit on the part of

the person who is baptised, it is conferred even on children,
who, though they have no personal sins, need it on account of
original sin. If a new-born child is in a danger of death,
anyone—be it a doctor, a nurse, or a parent—may baptise the
child. Baptism marks a person permanently and cannot be
repeated. The Catholic Church recognises as valid baptisms
conferred even by people who are not Catholics or Christians,
provided that they intend to baptise ("to do what the Church
does when she baptises") and that they use the Trinitarian
baptismal formula.
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Confirmation
The Catholic Church sees the sacrament of confirmation as

required to complete the grace given in baptism. When adults
are baptised, confirmation is normally given immediately
afterwards, a practice followed even with newly baptised
infants in the Eastern Catholic Churches. In the West
confirmation of children is delayed until they are old enough to
understand or at the bishop's discretion. In Western
Christianity, particularly Catholicism, the sacrament is called
confirmation, because it confirms and strengthens the grace of
baptism; in the Eastern Churches, it is called chrismation,
because the essential rite is the anointing of the person with
chrism, a mixture of olive oil and some perfumed substance,
usually balsam, blessed by a bishop. Those who receive
confirmation must be in a state of grace, which for those who
have reached the age of reason means that they should first be
cleansed spiritually by the sacrament of Penance; they should
also have the intention of receiving the sacrament, and be
prepared to show in their lives that they are Christians.
Eucharist
For Catholics, the Eucharist is the sacrament which completes

Christian initiation. It is described as "the source and summit
of the Christian life". The ceremony in which a Catholic first
receives the Eucharist is known as First Communion.
The Eucharistic celebration, also called the Mass or Divine

liturgy, includes prayers and scriptural readings, as well as an
offering of bread and wine, which are brought to the altar and
consecrated by the priest to become the body and the blood of
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Jesus Christ, a change called transubstantiation. The words of

consecration reflect the words spoken by Jesus during the Last
Supper, where Christ offered his body and blood to his
Apostles the night before his crucifixion. The sacrament re-
presents (makes present) the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross,
and perpetuates it. Christ's death and resurrection give grace
through the sacrament that unites the faithful with Christ and
one another, remits venial sin, and aids against committing
moral sin (though mortal sin itself is forgiven through the
sacrament of penance).
Sacraments of healing
The two sacraments of healing are the Sacrament of Penance

and Anointing of the Sick.
Penance
The Sacrament of Penance (also called Reconciliation,

Forgiveness, Confession, and Conversion) exists for the
conversion of those who, after baptism, separate themselves
from Christ by sin. Essential to this sacrament are acts both
by the sinner (examination of conscience, contrition with a
determination not to sin again, confession to a priest, and
performance of some act to repair the damage caused by sin)
and by the priest (determination of the act of reparation to be
performed and absolution). Serious sins (mortal sins) should
be confessed at least once a year and always before receiving
Holy Communion, while confession of venial sins also is
recommended. The priest is bound under the severest penalties
to maintain the "seal of confession", absolute secrecy about
any sins revealed to him in confession.
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Anointing of the sick
While chrism is used only for the three sacraments that cannot
be repeated, a different oil is used by a priest or bishop to
bless a Catholic who, because of illness or old age, has begun
to be in danger of death. This sacrament, known as Anointing
of the Sick, is believed to give comfort, peace, courage and, if
the sick person is unable to make a confession, even
forgiveness of sins.
The sacrament is also referred to as Unction, and in the past as

Extreme Unction, and it is one of the three sacraments that
constitute the last rites, together with Penance and Viaticum
(Eucharist).
Sacraments at the service of communion
According to the Catechism, there are two sacraments of

communion directed towards the salvation of others:
priesthood and marriage. Within the general vocation to be a
Christian, these two sacraments "consecrate to specific
mission or vocation among the people of God. Men receive the
holy orders to feed the Church by the word and grace. Spouses
marry so that their love may be fortified to fulfil duties of their
state".
Holy Orders
The sacrament of Holy Orders consecrates and deputes some

Christians to serve the whole body as members of three
degrees or orders: episcopate (bishops), presbyterate (priests)
and diaconate (deacons). The church has defined rules on who
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may be ordained into the clergy. In the Latin Church, the

priesthood is generally restricted to celibate men, and the
episcopate is always restricted to celibate men. Men who are
already married may be ordained in certain Eastern Catholic
churches in most countries, and the personal ordinariates and
may become deacons even in the Western Church (see Clerical
marriage). But after becoming a Catholic priest, a man may not
marry (see Clerical celibacy) unless he is formally laicised.
All clergy, whether deacons, priests or bishops, may preach,

teach, baptise, witness marriages and conduct funeral
liturgies. Only bishops and priests can administer the
sacraments of the Eucharist, Reconciliation (Penance) and
Anointing of the Sick. Only bishops can administer the
sacrament of Holy Orders, which ordains someone into the
clergy.
Matrimony
The Catholic Church teaches that marriage is a social and

spiritual bond between a man and a woman, ordered towards
the good of the spouses and procreation of children; according
to Catholic teachings on sexual morality, it is the only
appropriate context for sexual activity. A Catholic marriage, or
any marriage between baptised individuals of any Christian
denomination, is viewed as a sacrament. A sacramental
marriage, once consummated, cannot be dissolved except by
death. The church recognises certain conditions, such as
freedom of consent, as required for any marriage to be valid; In
addition, the church sets specific rules and norms, known as
canonical form, that Catholics must follow.
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The church does not recognise divorce as ending a valid

marriage and allows state-recognised divorce only as a means
of protecting the property and well-being of the spouses and
any children. However, consideration of particular cases by the
competent ecclesiastical tribunal can lead to declaration of the
invalidity of a marriage, a declaration usually referred to as an
annulment. Remarriage following a divorce is not permitted
unless the prior marriage was declared invalid.
Liturgy
Among the 24 autonomous (sui iuris) churches, numerous

liturgical and other traditions exist, called rites, which reflect
historical and cultural diversity rather than differences in
belief. In the definition of the Code of Canons of the Eastern
Churches, "a rite is the liturgical, theological, spiritual, and
disciplinary patrimony, culture and circumstances of history of
a distinct people, by which its own manner of living the faith is
manifested in each Church sui iuris".
The liturgy of the sacrament of the Eucharist, called the Mass

in the West and Divine Liturgy or other names in the East, is
the principal liturgy of the Catholic Church. This is because it
is considered the propitiatory sacrifice of Christ himself. Its
most widely used form is that of the Roman Rite as
promulgated by Paul VI in 1969 and revised by Pope John Paul
II in 2002. In certain circumstances, the 1962 form of the
Roman Rite remains authorised in the Latin Church. Eastern
Catholic Churches have their own rites. The liturgies of the
Eucharist and the other sacraments vary from rite to rite,
reflecting different theological emphases.
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Western rites
• The Roman Rite is the most common rite of worship

used by the Catholic Church, with the Ordinary
Form of the Roman Rite form of the Mass. Its use is
found worldwide, originating in Rome and spreading
throughout Europe, influencing and eventually
supplanting local rites. The present ordinary form of
Mass in the Roman Rite, found in the post-1969
editions of the Roman Missal, is usually celebrated
in the local vernacular language, using an officially
approved translation from the original text in Latin.
An outline of its major liturgical elements can be
found in the sidebar.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI affirmed the licitness of continued

use of the 1962 Roman Missal as an "extraordinary form"
(forma extraordinaria) of the Roman Rite, speaking of it also as
an usus antiquior ("older use"), and issuing new more
permissive norms for its employment. An instruction issued
four years later spoke of the two forms or usages of the Roman
Rite approved by the pope as the ordinary form and the
extraordinary form ("the forma ordinaria" and "the forma
extraordinaria").
The 1962 edition of the Roman Missal, published a few months

before the Second Vatican Council opened, was the last that
presented the Mass as standardised in 1570 by Pope Pius V at
the request of the Council of Trent and that is therefore known
as the Tridentine Mass. Pope Pius V's Roman Missal was
subjected to minor revisions by Pope Clement VIII in 1604,
Pope Urban VIII in 1634, Pope Pius X in 1911, Pope Pius XII in
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1955, and Pope John XXIII in 1962. Each successive edition

was the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass until
superseded by a later edition. When the 1962 edition was
superseded by that of Paul VI, promulgated in 1969, its
continued use at first required permission from bishops; but
Pope Benedict XVI's 2007 motu proprioSummorum Pontificum
allowed free use of it for Mass celebrated without a
congregation and authorised parish priests to permit, under
certain conditions, its use even at public Masses. Except for
the scriptural readings, which Pope Benedict allowed to be
proclaimed in the vernacular language, it is celebrated
exclusively in liturgical Latin. These permissions were largely
removed by Pope Francis in 2021, who issued the motu
proprioTraditionis custodes in order to emphasize the Ordinary
Form as promulgated by Popes Paul VI and John Paul II.
Since 2014, clergy in the small personal ordinariates set up for

groups of former Anglicans under the terms of the 2009
document Anglicanorum Coetibus are permitted to use a
variation of the Roman Rite called "Divine Worship" or, less
formally, "Ordinariate Use", which incorporates elements of the
Anglican liturgy and traditions, an accommodation protested
by Anglican leaders.
In the Archdiocese of Milan, with around five million Catholics

the largest in Europe, Mass is celebrated according to the
Ambrosian Rite. Other Latin Church rites include the
Mozarabic and those of some religious institutes. These
liturgical rites have an antiquity of at least 200 years before
1570, the date of Pope Pius V's Quo primum, and were thus
allowed to continue.
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Eastern rites
The Eastern Catholic Churches share common patrimony and

liturgical rites as their counterparts, including Eastern
Orthodox and other Eastern Christian churches who are no
longer in communion with the Holy See.
These include churches that historically developed in Russia,

Caucasus, the Balkans, North Eastern Africa, India and the
Middle East. The Eastern Catholic Churches are groups of
faithful who have either never been out of communion with the
Holy See or who have restored communion with it at the cost of
breaking communion with their associates of the same
tradition.
The rites used by the Eastern Catholic Churches include the

Byzantine Rite, in its Antiochian, Greek and Slavonic varieties;
the Alexandrian Rite; the Syriac Rite; the Armenian Rite; the
Maronite Rite and the Chaldean Rite.
Eastern Catholic Churches have the autonomy to set the

particulars of their liturgical forms and worship, within certain
limits to protect the "accurate observance" of their liturgical
tradition.
In the past some of the rites used by the Eastern Catholic

Churches were subject to a degree of liturgical Latinisation.
However, in recent years Eastern Catholic Churches have
returned to traditional Eastern practices in accord with the
Vatican II decree Orientalium Ecclesiarum. Each church has its
own liturgical calendar.
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Social and cultural issues
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching, reflecting the concern Jesus showed

for the impoverished, places a heavy emphasis on the corporal
works of mercyand the spiritual works of mercy, namely the
support and concern for the sick, the poor and the afflicted.
Church teaching calls for a preferential option for the poor
while canon law prescribes that "The Christian faithful are also
obliged to promote social justice and, mindful of the precept of
the Lord, to assist the poor." Its foundations are widely
considered to have been laid by Pope Leo XIII's 1891 encyclical
letter Rerum novarum which upholds the rights and dignity of
labour and the right of workers to form unions.
Catholic teaching regarding sexuality calls for a practice of

chastity, with a focus on maintaining the spiritual and bodily
integrity of the human person. Marriage is considered the only
appropriate context for sexual activity. Church teachings about
sexuality have become an issue of increasing controversy,
especially after the close of the Second Vatican Council, due to
changing cultural attitudes in the Western world described as
the sexual revolution.
The church has also addressed stewardship of the natural

environment, and its relationship to other social and
theological teachings. In the document Laudato si', dated 24
May 2015, Pope Francis critiques consumerism and
irresponsible development, and laments environmental
degradation and global warming. The pope expressed concern
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that the warming of the planet is a symptom of a greater

problem: the developed world's indifference to the destruction
of the planet as humans pursue short-term economic gains.
Social services
The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of

education and medical services in the world. In 2010, the
Catholic Church's Pontifical Council for Pastoral Assistance to
Health Care Workers said that the church manages 26% of
health care facilities in the world, including hospitals, clinics,
orphanages, pharmacies and centres for those with leprosy.
The church has always been involved in education, since the

founding of the first universities of Europe. It runs and
sponsors thousands of primary and secondary schools, colleges
and universities throughout the world and operates the world's
largest non-governmental school system.
Religious institutes for women have played a particularly

prominent role in the provision of health and education
services, as with orders such as the Sisters of Mercy, Little
Sisters of the Poor, the Missionaries of Charity, the Sisters of
St. Joseph of the Sacred Heart, the Sisters of the Blessed
Sacrament and the Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de
Paul. The Catholic nun Mother Teresa of Calcutta, India,
founder of the Missionaries of Charity, was awarded the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work among India's
poor. Bishop Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo won the same award
in 1996 for "work towards a just and peaceful solution to the
conflict in East Timor".
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The church is also actively engaged in international aid and

development through organisations such as Catholic Relief
Services, Caritas International, Aid to the Church in Need,
refugee advocacy groups such as the Jesuit Refugee Service
and community aid groups such as the Saint Vincent de Paul
Society.
Sexual morality
The Catholic Church calls all members to practise chastity

according to their state in life. Chastity includes temperance,
self-mastery, personal and cultural growth, and divine grace. It
requires refraining from lust, masturbation, fornication,
pornography, prostitution and rape. Chastity for those who are
not married requires living in continence, abstaining from
sexual activity; those who are married are called to conjugal
chastity.
In the church's teaching, sexual activity is reserved to married

couples, whether in a sacramental marriage among Christians
or in a natural marriage where one or both spouses are
unbaptised. Even in romantic relationships, particularly
engagement to marriage, partners are called to practise
continence, in order to test mutual respect and fidelity.
Chastity in marriage requires in particular conjugal fidelity
and protecting the fecundity of marriage.
The couple must foster trust and honesty as well as spiritual

and physical intimacy. Sexual activity must always be open to
the possibility of life; the church calls this the procreative
significance. It must likewise always bring a couple together in
love; the church calls this the unitive significance.
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Contraception and certain other sexual practices are not

permitted, although natural family planning methods are
permitted to provide healthy spacing between births, or to
postpone children for a just reason. Pope Francis said in 2015
that he is worried that the church has grown "obsessed" with
issues such as abortion, same-sex marriage and contraception
and has criticised the Catholic Church for placing dogma
before love, and for prioritising moral doctrines over helping
the poor and marginalised.
Divorce and declarations of nullity
Canon law makes no provision for divorce between baptised

individuals, as a valid, consummated sacramental marriage is
considered to be a lifelong bond. However, a declaration of
nullity may be granted when the proof is produced that
essential conditions for contracting a valid marriage were
absent from the beginning—in other words, that the marriage
was not valid due to some impediment.
A declaration of nullity, commonly called an annulment, is a

judgement on the part of an ecclesiastical tribunal determining
that a marriage was invalidly attempted. In addition, marriages
among unbaptised individuals may be dissolved with papal
permission under certain situations, such as a desire to marry
a Catholic, under Pauline or Petrine privilege. An attempt at
remarriage following divorce without a declaration of nullity
places "the remarried spouse … in a situation of public and
permanent adultery". An innocent spouse who lives in
continence following divorce, or couples who live in continence
following a civil divorce for a grave cause, do not sin.
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Worldwide, diocesan tribunals completed over 49000 cases for

nullity of marriage in 2006. Over the past 30 years about 55 to
70% of annulments have occurred in the United States. The
growth in annulments has been substantial; in the United
States, 27,000 marriages were annulled in 2006, compared to
338 in 1968. However, approximately 200,000 married
Catholics in the United States divorce each year; 10 million
total as of 2006. Divorce is increasing in some predominantly
Catholic countries in Europe. In some predominantly Catholic
countries, it is only in recent years that divorce was
introduced (Italy (1970), Portugal (1975), Brazil (1977), Spain
(1981), Ireland (1996), Chile (2004) and Malta (2011)), while
the Philippines and the Vatican City have no procedure for
divorce. (The Philippines does, however, allow divorce for
Muslims.)
Contraception
The church teaches that sexual intercourse should only take

place between a man and woman who are married to each
other, and should be without the use of birth control or
contraception. In his encyclical Humanae vitae (1968), Pope
Paul VI firmly rejected all contraception, thus contradicting
dissenters in the church that saw the birth control pill as an
ethically justifiable method of contraception, though he
permitted the regulation of births by means of natural family
planning. This teaching was continued especially by John Paul
II in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae, where he clarified the
church's position on contraception, abortion and euthanasia
by condemning them as part of a "culture of death" and calling
instead for a "culture of life".
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Many Western Catholics have voiced significant disagreement

with the church's teaching on contraception. Catholics for
Choice, a political lobbyist group that is not associated with
the Catholic Church, stated in 1998 that 96% of U.S. Catholic
women had used contraceptives at some point in their lives
and that 72% of Catholics believed that one could be a good
Catholic without obeying the church's teaching on birth
control. Use of natural family planning methods among United
States Catholics purportedly is low, although the number
cannot be known with certainty. As Catholic health providers
are among the largest providers of services to patients with
HIV/AIDS worldwide, there is significant controversy within
and outside the church regarding the use of condoms as a
means of limiting new infections, as condom use ordinarily
constitutes prohibited contraceptive use.
Similarly, the Catholic Church opposes artificial insemination

regardless of whether it is homologous (from the husband) or
heterologous (from a donor) and in vitro fertilisation (IVF),
saying that the artificial process replaces the love and conjugal
act between a husband and wife. In addition, it opposes IVF
because it might cause disposal of embryos; Catholics believe
an embryo is an individual with a soul who must be treated as
such. For this reason, the church also opposes abortion.
Due to the anti-abortion stance, some Catholics oppose

receiving vaccines derived from fetal cells obtained via
abortion. On December 21, 2020, and regarding COVID-19
vaccination, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith
emitted a document stating that "it is morally acceptable to
receive Covid-19 vaccines that have used cell lines from
aborted fetuses in their research and production process" when
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no alternative vaccine is available, since "the moral duty to

avoid such passive material cooperation is not obligatory if
there is a grave danger, such as the otherwise uncontainable
spread of a serious pathological agent." The document states
that receiving the vaccine does not constitute endorsement of
the practice of abortion, and that "the morality of vaccination
depends not only on the duty to protect one's own health, but
also on the duty to pursue the common good." The document
cautions further:
Those who, however, for reasons of conscience, refuse vaccines

produced with cell lines from aborted fetuses, must do their
utmost to avoid, by other prophylactic means and appropriate
behavior, becoming vehicles for the transmission of the
infectious agent. In particular, they must avoid any risk to the
health of those who cannot be vaccinated for medical or other
reasons, and who are the most vulnerable.
Homosexuality
The Catholic Church also teaches that "homosexual acts" are

"contrary to the natural law", "acts of grave depravity" and
"under no circumstances can they be approved", but that
persons experiencing homosexual tendencies must be accorded
respect and dignity. According to the Catechism of the Catholic
Church,
The number of men and women who have deep-seated

homosexual tendencies is not negligible. This inclination,
which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a
trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and
sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard
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should be avoided… Homosexual persons are called to chastity.

By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom,
at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer
and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and
resolutely approach Christian perfection.
This part of the Catechism was quoted by Pope Francis in a

2013 press interview in which he remarked, when asked about
an individual:
I think that when you encounter a person like this [the

individual he was asked about], you must make a distinction
between the fact of a person being gay from the fact of being a
lobby, because lobbies, all are not good. That is bad. If a
person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, well who
am I to judge them?
This remark and others made in the same interview were seen
as a change in the tone, but not in the substance of the
teaching of the church, which includes opposition to same-sex
marriage. Certain dissenting Catholic groups oppose the
position of the Catholic Church and seek to change it.
Holy orders and women
Women and men religious engage in a variety of occupations,

from contemplative prayer, to teaching, to providing health
care, to working as missionaries. While Holy Orders are
reserved for men, Catholic women have played diverse roles in
the life of the church, with religious institutes providing a
formal space for their participation and convents providing
spaces for their self-government, prayer and influence through
many centuries. Religious sisters and nuns have been
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extensively involved in developing and running the church's

worldwide health and education service networks.
Efforts in support of the ordination of women to the priesthood

led to several rulings by the Roman Curia or popes against the
proposal, as in Declaration on the Question of the Admission of
Women to the Ministerial Priesthood (1976), Mulieris Dignitatem
(1988) and Ordinatio sacerdotalis (1994). According to the
latest ruling, found in Ordinatio sacerdotalis, Pope John Paul II
affirmed that the Catholic Church "does not consider herself
authorised to admit women to priestly ordination". In defiance
of these rulings, opposition groups such as Roman Catholic
Womenpriests have performed ceremonies they affirm as
sacramental ordinations (with, reputedly, an ordaining male
Catholic bishop in the first few instances) which, according to
canon law, are both illicit and invalid and considered mere
simulations of the sacrament of ordination. The Congregation
for the Doctrine of the Faith responded by issuing a statement
clarifying that any Catholic bishops involved in ordination
ceremonies for women, as well as the women themselves if they
were Catholic, would automatically receive the penalty of
excommunication (latae sententiae, literally "with the sentence
already applied", i.e. automatically), citing canon 1378 of
canon law and other church laws.
Sexual abuse cases
From the 1990s, the issue of sexual abuse of minors by

Catholic clergy and other church members has become the
subject of civil litigation, criminal prosecution, media coverage
and public debate in countries around the world. The Catholic
Church has been criticised for its handling of abuse
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complaints when it became known that some bishops had

shielded accused priests, transferring them to other pastoral
assignments where some continued to commit sexual offences.
In response to the scandal, formal procedures have been
established to help prevent abuse, encourage the reporting of
any abuse that occurs and to handle such reports promptly,
although groups representing victims have disputed their
effectiveness. In 2014, Pope Francis instituted the Pontifical
Commission for the Protection of Minors for the safeguarding
of minors.
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Chapter 5
Chivalry
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying

code of conduct developed between 1170 and 1220. It was
associated with the medievalChristian institution of
knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were
governed by chivalrous social codes. The ideals of chivalry were
popularized in medieval literature, particularly the literary
cycles known as the Matter of France, relating to the legendary
companions of Charlemagne and his men-at-arms, the
paladins, and the Matter of Britain, informed by Geoffrey of
Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written in the 1130s,
which popularized the legend of King Arthur and his knights of
the Round Table. All of these were taken as historically
accurate until the beginnings of modern scholarship in the
19th century.
The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its

roots in earlier centuries. It arose in the Carolingian Empire
from the idealisation of the cavalryman—involving military
bravery, individual training, and service to others—especially
in Francia, among horse soldiers in Charlemagne's cavalry. The
term "chivalry" derives from the Old French term chevalerie,
which can be translated as "horse soldiery". Originally, the
term referred only to horse-mounted men, from the French
word for horse, cheval, but later it became associated with
knightly ideals.
Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to

emphasize more general social and moral virtues. The code of
chivalry, as it stood by the Late Middle Ages, was a moral

system which combined a warrior ethos, knightly piety, and
courtly manners, all combining to establish a notion of honour
and nobility.
Terminology and definitions
In origin, the term chivalry means "horsemanship", formed in

Old French, in the 11th century, from chevalerie (horsemen,
knights), itself from the Medieval Latincaballarii, the
nominative plural form of the term caballārius. The French
word chevalier originally meant "a man of aristocratic standing,
and probably of noble ancestry, who is capable, if called upon,
of equipping himself with a war horse and the arms of heavy
cavalryman and who has been through certain rituals that
make him what he is". Therefore, during the Middle Ages, the
plural chevalerie (transformed in English into the word
"chivalry") originally denoted the body of heavy cavalry upon
formation in the field. In English, the term appears from 1292
(note that cavalry is from the Italian form of the same word).
The meaning of the term evolved over time into a broader

sense, because in the Middle Ages the meaning of chevalier
changed from the original concrete military meaning "status or
fee associated with a military follower owning a war horse" or
"a group of mounted knights" to the ideal of the Christian
warrior ethos propagated in the romance genre, which was
becoming popular during the 12th century, and the ideal of
courtly love propagated in the contemporary Minnesang and
related genres.
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The ideas of chivalry are summarized in three medieval works:

the anonymous poem Ordene de chevalerie, which tells the
story of how Hugh II of Tiberias was captured and released
upon his agreement to show Saladin (1138–1193) the ritual of
Christian knighthood; the Libre del ordre de cavayleria, written
by Ramon Llull (1232–1315), from Majorca, whose subject is
knighthood; and the Livre de Chevalerie of Geoffroi de Charny
(1300–1356), which examines the qualities of knighthood,
emphasizing prowess. None of the authors of these three texts
knew the other two texts, and the three combine to depict a
general concept of chivalry which is not precisely in harmony
with any of them. To different degrees and with different
details, they speak of chivalry as a way of life in which the
military, the nobility, and religion combine.
The "code of chivalry" is thus a product of the Late Middle

Ages, evolving after the end of the crusades partly from an
idealization of the historical knights fighting in the Holy Land
and from ideals of courtly love.
10 Commandments of Chivalry
Gautier's Ten Commandments of chivalry, set out in 1891, are:
• Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches and

thou shalt observe all its directions.
• Thou shalt defend the Church.
• Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt
constitute thyself the defender of them.
• Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born.
• Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy.
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• Thou shalt make war against the infidel without

cessation and without mercy.
• Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if
they be not contrary to the laws of God.
• Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy
pledged word.
• Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to
everyone.
• Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion
of the Right and the Good against Injustice and Evil.
Catherine Hanley says, "His rather simplistic work has been

superseded by more recent scholars."
Literary chivalry and historical

reality
Supporters of chivalry have assumed since the late medieval

period that there was a time in the past when chivalry was a
living institution, when men acted chivalrically, when chivalry
was alive and not dead, the imitation of which period would
much improve the present. This is the mad mission of Don
Quixote, protagonist of the most chivalric novel of all time and
inspirer of the chivalry of Sir Walter Scott and of the U.S.
South: to restore the age of chivalry, and thereby improve his
country. It is a version of the myth of the Golden Age.
With the birth of modern historical and literary research,

scholars have found that however far back in time "The Age of
Chivalry" is searched for, it is always further in the past, even
back to the Roman Empire. From Jean Charles Léonard de
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Sismondi: We must not confound chivalry with the feudal

system. The feudal system may be called the real life of the
period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and
inconveniences, its virtues and its vices. Chivalry, on the
contrary, is the ideal world, such as it existed in the
imaginations of the romance writers. Its essential character is
devotion to woman and to honour.
Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about

the imaginary Court of King Arthur, which were usually taken
as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He
continues:
The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we
perceive that the system of chivalry is an invention almost
entirely poetical. It is impossible to distinguish the countries
in which it is said to have prevailed. It is always represented
as distant from us both in time and place, and whilst the
contemporary historians give us a clear, detailed, and complete
account of the vices of the court and the great, of the ferocity
or corruption of the nobles, and of the servility of the people,
we are astonished to find the poets, after a long lapse of time,
adorning the very same ages with the most splendid fictions of
grace, virtue, and loyalty.
The romance writers of the twelfth century placed the age of

chivalry in the time of Charlemagne. The period when these
writers existed, is the time pointed out by Francis I. At the
present day [about 1810], we imagine we can still see chivalry
flourishing in the persons of Du Guesclin and Bayard, under
Charles V and Francis I. But when we come to examine either
the one period or the other, although we find in each some
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heroic spirits, we are forced to confess that it is necessary to

antedate the age of chivalry, at least three or four centuries
before any period of authentic history.
History
Historian of chivalry Richard W. Kaeuper, saw chivalry as a

central focus in the study of the European Middle Ages that
was too often presented as a civilizing and stabilizing influence
in the turbulent Middle Ages. On the contrary, Kaueper argues
"that in the problem of public order the knights themselves
played an ambivalent, problematic role and that the guides to
their conduct that chivalry provided were in themselves
complex and problematic." Many of the codes and ideals of
chivalry were of course contradictory, however, when knights
did live up to them, they did not lead to a more "ordered and
peaceful society". The tripartite conception of medieval
European society (those who pray, those who fight, and those
who work) along with other linked subcategories of monarchy
and aristocracy, worked in congruence with knighthood to
reform the institution in an effort "to secure public order in a
society just coming into its mature formation."
Kaeuper makes clear that knighthood and the worldview of

"those who fight" was pre-Christian in many ways and outside
the purview of the church, at least initially. The church saw it
as a duty to reform and guide knights in a way that weathered
the disorderly, martial, and chauvinistic elements of chivalry.
Royalty was a similar story, with knighthood at many points
clashing with the sovereignty of the king over the conduct of
warfare and personal disputes between knights and other
knights (and even between knights and aristocracy). While the
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worldview of "those who work" (the burgeoning merchant class

and bourgeoisie) was still in incubation, Kaeuper makes clear
that the social and economic class that would end up defining
modernity was fundamentally at odds with knights, and those
with chivalrous valor saw the values of commerce as beneath
them. Those who engaged in commerce and derived their value
system from it could be confronted with violence by knights, if
need be.
According to Crouch, many early writers on medieval chivalry

cannot be trusted as historians, because they sometimes have
"polemical purpose which colours their prose". As for Kenelm
Henry Digby and Léon Gautier, chivalry was a means to
transform their corrupt and secular worlds. Gautier also
emphasized that chivalry originated from the Teutonic forests
and was brought up into civilization by the Catholic Church.
Charles Mills used chivalry "to demonstrate that the Regency
gentleman was the ethical heir of a great moral estate, and to
provide an inventory of its treasure". Mills also stated that
chivalry was a social, not a military phenomenon, with its key
features: generosity, fidelity, liberality, and courtesy.
Europe before 1170: the noble habitus
According to Crouch, prior to codified chivalry there was the

uncodified code of noble conduct that focused on the
preudomme, which can be translated as a wise, honest, and
sensible man. This uncodified code – referred to as the noble
habitus – is a term for the environment of behavioural and
material expectations generated by all societies and classes. As
a modern idea, it was pioneered by the French
philosopher/sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Maurice Merleau-
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Ponty, even though a precedent exists for the concept as far

back as the works of Aristotle. Crouch argues that the habitus
on which "the superstructure of chivalry" was built and the
preudomme was a part, had existed long before 1100, while the
codified medieval noble conduct only began between 1170 and
1220.
The pre-chivalric noble habitus as discovered by Mills and

Gautier are as follows:
• Loyalty: It is a practical utility in a warrior nobility.

Richard Kaeuper associates loyalty with prowess.
The importance of reputation for loyalty in noble
conduct is demonstrated in William Marshal
biography.
• Forbearance: knights' self-control towards other
warriors and at the courts of their lords was a part
of the early noble habitus as shown in the
Conventum of Hugh de Lusignan in the 1020s. The
nobility of mercy and forbearance was well
established by the second half of the 12th century
long before there was any code of chivalry.
• Hardihood: Historians and social anthropologists
have documented the fact physical resilience and
aptitude in warfare in the earliest formative period of
"proto-chivalry," was, to contemporary warriors,
almost essential of chivalry-defined knighthood
(saving the implicit Christian-Davidic ethical
framework) and for a warrior of any origin, even the
lowliest, to demonstrate outstanding physicality-
based prowess on the battlefield was seen as near
certainty of noble-knightly status or grounds for
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immediate nobilitation. To deliver a powerful blow in

Arthurian literature almost always certifies of the
warrior's nobility. Formal chivalric authorities and
commentators were hardly in dispute: the
anonymous author of La vraye noblesse, states if the
prince or civic authority incarnate sees a man of "low
degree" but of noble (i.e., martially imposing in the
medieval context) bearing, he should promote him to
nobility "even though he be not rich or of noble
lineage": the "poor companion" who distinguishes
themselves in worldly, incarnadine valor should be
"publicly rewarded." As the erudite scholastic
analyst modernly viewing these matters, Richard
Kaeuper summarizes the matter: "A knight's nobility
or worth is proved by his hearty strokes in battle"
(Chivalry and Violence in Medieval Europe, p. 131).
The quality of sheer hardihood aligns itself with
forbearance and loyalty in being one of the military
virtues of the preudomme. According to Philip de
Navarra, a mature nobleman should have acquired
hardiness as part of his moral virtues. Geoffrey de
Charny also stressed on the masculine respectability
of hardiness in the light of religious feeling of the
contemptus mundi.
• Largesse or Liberality: generosity was part of a
noble quantity. According to Alan of Lille, largesse
was not just a simple matter of giving away what he
had, but "Largitas in a man caused him to set no
store on greed or gifts, and to have nothing but
contempt for bribes."
• The Davidic ethic: It is the strongest qualities of
preudomme derived by clerics from Biblical tradition.
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The classical-Aristotelian concept of the

"magnanimous personality" in the conceptual
formulation of the notion here is not without
relevance, additionally, nor likewise the early-
Germanic and Norse tradition of the war-band leader
as the heroic, anti-materialistic "enemy of gold".
Formally, the Christian-Davidic guardian-protector
role concept of warrior-leadership was extensively
articulated initially by the Frankish church which
involved legitimizing rightful authority, first and
foremost, on the basis of any would-be warrior-
headman being ethically committed to the protection
of the weak and helpless (pointedly, the Church and
affiliated organizations are here implied primarily if
not exclusively), respect and provisioning of justice
for widows and orphans, and a Christian idealism-
inspired, no-nonsense, principle-based militant
opposition to the encroachments of overweening
cruel and unjust personages wielding power, whether
in the form of unruly, "black knight" or "robber-
baron"-like local sub-princely magistrates, or even in
the context of conceiving the hypothetical overthrow
of a monarch who had usurped and violated the lex
primordialis or lex naturae of God in his domain by
decreeing or permitting immoral customs or laws and
thus self-dethroning themselves meta-ethically,
inviting tyrannicidal treatment. The core of Davidic
ethic is benevolence of the strong toward the weak.
Although a somewhat later authority in this specific
context, John of Salisbury imbibed this lineage of
philosophico-clerical, chivalric justifications of
power, and excellently describes the ideal enforcer of
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the Davidic ethic here: "The [warrior-]prince

accordingly is the minister of the common interest
and the bond-servant of equity, and he bears the
public person in the sense that he punishes the
wrongs and injuries of all, and all crimes, with even-
handed equity. His rod and staff also, administered
with wise moderation, restore irregularities and false
departures to the straight path of equity, so that
deservedly may the Spirit congratulate the power of
the prince with the words, 'Thy rod and thy staff,
they have comforted me.' [Psalm 23:4] His shield,
too, is strong, but it is a shield for the protection of
the weak, and one which wards off powerfully the
darts of the wicked from the innocent. Those who
derive the greatest advantage from his performance
of the duties of his office are those who can do least
for themselves, and his power is chiefly exercised
against those who desire to do harm. Therefore not
without reason he bears a sword, wherewith he
sheds blood blamelessly, without becoming thereby a
man of blood, and frequently puts men to death
without incurring the name or guilt of homicide."
• Honour: honour was what was achieved by living up
to the ideal of the preudomme and pursuing the
qualities and behaviour listed above. Maurice Keen
notes the most damning, irreversible mode of
"demoting" one's honorific status, again humanly
through contemporary eyes, consisted in displaying
pusillanimous conduct on the battlefield. The loss of
honour is a humiliation to a man's standing and is
worse than death. Bertran de Born said: "For myself
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I prefer to hold a little piece of land in onor, than to

hold a great empire with dishonor".
The code of chivalry, as it was known during the late Medieval

age, developed between 1170 and 1220.
Origins in military ethos
Chivalry was developed in the north of France around the mid-

12th century but adopted its structure in a European context.
New social status, new military techniques, and new literary
topics adhered to a new character known as the knight and his
ethos called chivalry. A regulation in the chivalric codes
includes taking an oath of loyalty to the overlord and
perceiving the rules of warfare, which includes never striking a
defenceless opponent in battle, and as far as resembling any
perceived codified law, revolved around making the effort in
combat wherever possible to take a fellow noble prisoner, for
later ransom, rather than simply dispatching one another. The
chivalric ideals are based on those of the early medieval
warrior class, and martial exercise and military virtue remains
an integral part of chivalry until the end of the medieval
period, as the reality on the battlefield changed with the
development of Early Modern warfare, and increasingly
restricted it to the tournament ground and duelling culture.
The joust remained the primary example of knightly display of
martial skill throughout the Renaissance (the last Elizabethan
Accession Day tilt was held in 1602).
The martial skills of the knight carried over to the practice of

the hunt, and hunting expertise became an important aspect of
courtly life in the later medieval period (see terms of venery).
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Related to chivalry was the practice of heraldry and its

elaborate rules of displaying coats of arms as it emerged in the
High Middle Ages.
Chivalry and Christianity
Christianity and church had a modifying influence on the

classical concept of heroism and virtue, nowadays identified
with the virtues of chivalry. The Peace and Truce of God in the
10th century was one such example, with limits placed on
knights to protect and honour the weaker members of society
and also help the church maintain peace. At the same time the
church became more tolerant of war in the defence of faith,
espousing theories of the just war; and liturgies were
introduced which blessed a knight's sword, and a bath of
chivalric purification. In the story of the Grail romances and
Chevalier au Cygne, it was the confidence of the Christian
knighthood that its way of life was to please God, and chivalry
was an order of God. Thus, chivalry as a Christian vocation
was a result of marriage between Teutonic heroic values with
the militant tradition of Old Testament.
The first noted support for chivalric vocation, or the

establishment of knightly class to ensure the sanctity and
legitimacy of Christianity, was written in 930 by Odo, abbot of
Cluny, in the Vita of St. Gerald of Aurillac, which argued that
the sanctity of Christ and Christian doctrine can be
demonstrated through the legitimate unsheathing of the "sword
against the enemy". In the 11th century the concept of a
"knight of Christ" (miles Christi) gained currency in France,
Spain and Italy. These concepts of "religious chivalry" were
further elaborated in the era of the Crusades, with the
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Crusades themselves often being seen as a chivalrous

enterprise. Their ideas of chivalry were also further influenced
by Saladin, who was viewed as a chivalrous knight by medieval
Christian writers. The military orders of the crusades which
developed in this period came to be seen as the earliest
flowering of chivalry, although it remains unclear to what
extent the notable knights of this period—such as Saladin,
Godfrey of Bouillon,
William Marshal or Bertrand du Guesclin—actually did set new

standards of knightly behaviour, or to what extent they merely
behaved according to existing models of conduct which came in
retrospect to be interpreted along the lines of the "chivalry"
ideal of the Late Middle Ages. Nevertheless, chivalry and
crusades were not the same thing. While the crusading
ideology had largely influenced the ethic of chivalry during its
formative times, chivalry itself was related to a whole range of
martial activities and aristocratic values which had no
necessary linkage with crusading.
Medieval literature and the influence of the Moors and

Romans
From the 12th century onward chivalry came to be understood

as a moral, religious and social code of knightly conduct. The
particulars of the code varied, but codes would emphasise the
virtues of courage, honour, and service. Chivalry also came to
refer to an idealisation of the life and manners of the knight at
home in his castle and with his court.
European chivalry owed much to the chivalry of the Moors

(Muslims) in Spain, or al-Andalus as they called it. were
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greatly influenced by Arabic literature. "Chivalry was the most

prominent characteristic of the Muslim 'Moors' who conquered
the Iberian Peninsula...beginning in 711 AD. In classical Arab
culture, to become a genuine Knight (Fáris) (‫رس‬ ), one had to
master the virtues of dignity, eloquence, gentleness,
horsemanship and artistic talents, as well as strength and skill
with weaponry. These ancient chivalric virtues were promoted
by the Moors, who comprised the majority population of the
Iberian Peninsula by 1100 AD, and their ancient Arabian
contributions to Chivalry quickly spread throughout Europe."
The literature of chivalry, bravery, figurative expression, and

imagery made its way to Western literature through Arabic
literature in Andalusia in particular.
The famous Spanish author Blasco Ibáñez says: "Europe did

not know chivalry, or its adopted literature or sense of honour
before the arrival of Arabs in Andalusia and the wide presence
of their knights and heroes in the countries of the south."
The Andalusian Ibn Hazm and his famous book The Ring of the
Dove (Tawq al- amāmah) had a great impact on poets in Spain
and southern France after the Islamic community blended with
the Christian community. The Arabic language was the
language of the country and the language of the high-class
people. In many Christian Spanish provinces, Christian and
Muslim poets used to meet at the court of the governor. The
European poets at the time were good at composing Arabic
poetry. For this reason, Henry Maro says: "The Arab impact on
the civilization of the Roman peoples did not stop at fine arts
only, but extended to music and poetry as well."
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The influence of Arabic literature on European writers is

proven by what Reinhart Dozy quoted on his book Spanish
Islam: History of Moslems in Spain, of the Spanish writer
AlGharo, who deeply regretted the neglect of Latin and Greek
and the acceptance of the language of the Muslims, he said,
"The intelligent and eloquent people are bewitched by the
sound of Arabic and they look down on Latin. They have
started to write in the language of those who defeated them."
A contemporary of his, who was more influenced by

nationalistic feelings, expressed his bitterness when he said:
My Christian brothers admire the poetry and chivalry stories of

the Arabs, and they study the books written by the
philosophies and scholars of the Muslims. They do not do that
in order to refute them, but rather to learn the eloquent Arabic
style. Where today – apart from the clergy – are those who read
the religious commentaries on the Old and New Testaments?
Where are those who read the Gospels and the words of the
Prophets? Alas, the new generation of intelligent Christians do
not know any literature and language well apart from Arabic
literature and the Arabic language. They avidly read the books
of the Arabs and amass huge libraries of these books at great
expense; they look upon these Arabic treasures with great
pride, at the time when they refrain from reading Christian
books on the basis that they are not worth paying attention to.
How unfortunate it is that the Christians have forgotten their
language, and nowadays you cannot find among them one in a
thousand who could write a letter to a friend in his own
language. But with regard to the language of the Arabs, how
many there are who express themselves fluently in it with the
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most eloquent style, and they write poetry of the Arabs

themselves in its eloquence and correct usage.
Medieval courtly literature glorifies the valour, tactics, and

ideals of both Moors and ancient Romans. For example, the
ancient hand-book of warfare written by Vegetius called De re
militari was translated into French in the 13th century as L'Art
de chevalerie by Jean de Meun. Later writers also drew from
Vegetius, such as Honoré Bonet, who wrote the 14th century
L'Arbes des batailles, which discussed the morals and laws of
war. In the 15th century Christine de Pizan combined themes
from Vegetius, Bonet, and Frontinus in Livre des faits d'armes
et de chevalerie.
In the later Middle Ages, wealthy merchants strove to adopt

chivalric attitudes - the sons of the bourgeoisie were educated
at aristocratic courts where they were trained in the manners
of the knightly class. This was a democratisation of chivalry,
leading to a new genre called the courtesy book, which were
guides to the behaviour of "gentlemen". Thus, the post-
medieval gentlemanly code of the value of a man's honour,
respect for women, and a concern for those less fortunate, is
directly derived from earlier ideals of chivalry and historical
forces which created it.
The medieval development of chivalry, with the concept of the

honour of a lady and the ensuing knightly devotion to it, not
only derived from the thinking about the Virgin Mary, but also
contributed to it. The medieval veneration of the Virgin Mary
was contrasted by the fact that ordinary women, especially
those outside aristocratic circles, were looked down upon.
Although women were at times viewed as the source of evil, it
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was Mary who as mediator to God was a source of refuge for

man. The development of medieval Mariology and the changing
attitudes towards women paralleled each other and can best be
understood in a common context.
When examining medieval literature, chivalry can be classified

into three basic but overlapping areas:
• Duties to countrymen and fellow Christians: this

contains virtues such as mercy, courage, valour,
fairness, protection of the weak and the poor, and in
the servant-hood of the knight to his lord. This also
brings with it the idea of being willing to give one's
life for another's; whether he would be giving his life
for a poor man or his lord.
• Duties to God: this would contain being faithful to
God, protecting the innocent, being faithful to the
church, being the champion of good against evil,
being generous and obeying God above the feudal
lord.
• Duties to women: this is probably the most familiar
aspect of chivalry. This would contain what is often
called courtly love, the idea that the knight is to
serve a lady, and after her all other ladies. Most
especially in this category is a general gentleness
and graciousness to all women.
These three areas obviously overlap quite frequently in

chivalry, and are often indistinguishable. Different weight
given to different areas produced different strands of chivalry:
• warrior chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty is to

his lord, as exemplified by Sir Gawain in Sir Gawain
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and the Green Knight and The Wedding of Sir Gawain

and Dame Ragnelle
• religious chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty is
to protect the innocent and serve God, as exemplified
by Sir Galahad or Sir Percival in the Grail legends.
• courtly love chivalry, in which a knight's chief duty
is to his own lady, and after her, all ladies, as
exemplified by Sir Lancelot in his love for Queen
Guinevere or Sir Tristan in his love for Iseult
Late Middle Ages
In the 14th century Jean Froissart wrote his Chronicles which

captured much of the Hundred Years' War, including the Battle
of Crécy and later the Battle of Poitiers both of which saw the
defeat of the French nobility by armies made up largely of
common men using longbows. The chivalric tactic employed by
the French armoured nobility, namely bravely charging the
opposition in the face of a hail of arrows, failed repeatedly.
Froissart noted the subsequent attacks by common English
and Welsh archers upon the fallen French knights.
His Chronicles also captured a series of uprisings by common

people against the nobility, such as the Jacquerie and The
Peasant's Revolt and the rise of the common man to leadership
ranks within armies. Many of these men were promoted during
the Hundred Years' War but were later left in France when the
English nobles returned home, and became mercenaries in the
Free Companies, for example John Hawkwood, the mercenary
leader of The White Company. The rise of effective, paid
soldiery replaced noble soldiery during this period, leading to a
new class of military leader without any adherence to the
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chivalric code. Chivalry underwent a revival and elaboration of

chivalric ceremonial and rules of etiquette in the 14th century
that was examined by Johan Huizinga, in The Waning of the
Middle Ages, in which he dedicates a full chapter to "The idea
of chivalry". In contrasting the literary standards of chivalry
with the actual warfare of the age, the historian finds the
imitation of an ideal past illusory;
in an aristocratic culture such as Burgundy and France at the

close of the Middle Ages, "to be representative of true culture
means to produce by conduct, by customs, by manners, by
costume, by deportment, the illusion of a heroic being, full of
dignity and honour, of wisdom, and, at all events, of
courtesy....The dream of past perfection ennobles life and its
forms, fills them with beauty and fashions them anew as forms
of art".
Japan was the only country that banned the use of firearms
completely to maintain ideals of chivalry and acceptable form
of combat. In 1543 Japan established a government monopoly
on firearms. The Japanese government destroyed firearms and
enforced a preference for traditional Japanese weapons.
The end of chivalry
Chivalry was dynamic and it transformed and adjusted in

response to local situations and this is what probably led to its
demise. There were many chivalric groups in England as
imagined by Sir Thomas Malory when he wrote Le Morte
d'Arthur in the late 15th century; perhaps each group created
each chivalric ideology. And Malory's perspective reflects the
condition of 15th-century chivalry. When Le Morte d'Arthur
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was printed, William Caxton urged knights to read the romance

with an expectation that reading about chivalry could unite a
community of knights already divided by the Wars of the
Roses.
During the early Tudor rule in England, some knights still

fought according to the ethos. Fewer knights were engaged in
active warfare because battlefields during this century were
generally the area of professional infantrymen, with less
opportunity for knights to show chivalry. It was the beginning
of the demise of the knight. The rank of knight never faded,
but it was Queen Elizabeth I who ended the tradition that any
knight could create another and made it exclusively the
preserve of the monarch. Christopher Wilkins contends that Sir
Edward Woodville, who rode from battle to battle across
Europe and died in 1488 in Brittany, was the last knight
errant who witnessed the fall of the Age of Chivalry and the
rise of modern European warfare. When the Middle Ages were
over, the code of chivalry was gone.
Modern manifestations and revivals
Chivalry! – why, maiden, she is the nurse of pure and high

affection – the stay of the oppressed, the redresser of
grievances, the curb of the power of the tyrant – Nobility were
but an empty name without her, and liberty finds the best
protection in her lance and her sword.
• —Walter Scott, Ivanhoe (1820)
The chivalric ideal persisted into the early modern and modern
period. The custom of foundation of chivalric orders by
Europe's monarchs and high nobility peaked in the late
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medieval period, but it persisted during the Renaissance and

well into the Baroque and early modern period, with e.g. the
Tuscan Order of Saint Stephen (1561), the French Order of
Saint Louis (1693) or the Anglo-IrishOrder of St. Patrick
(1783), and numerous dynastic orders of knighthood remain
active in countries that retain a tradition of monarchy.
At the same time, with the change of courtly ideas during the
Baroque period, the ideals of chivalry began to be seen as
dated, or "medieval". Don Quixote, published in 1605–15,
burlesqued the medieval chivalric novel or romance by
ridiculing the stubborn adherence to the chivalric code in the
face of the then-modern world as anachronistic, giving rise to
the term Quixotism. Conversely, elements of Romanticism
sought to revive such "medieval" ideals or aesthetics in the late
18th and early 19th century.
The behavioural code of military officers down to the

Napoleonic era, the American Civil War (especially as idealised
in the "Lost Cause" movement), and to some extent even to
World War I, was still strongly modelled on the historical
ideals, resulting in a pronounced duelling culture, which in
some parts of Europe also held sway over the civilian life of the
upper classes.
With the decline of the Ottoman Empire, however, the military

threat from the "infidel" disappeared. The European wars of
religion spanned much of the early modern period and
consisted of infighting between factions of various Christian
denominations. This process of confessionalization ultimately
gave rise to a new military ethos based in nationalism rather
than "defending the faith against the infidel".
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In the American South in mid-19th century, John C.

Breckinridge of Kentucky was hailed as the epitome of chivalry.
He enjoyed a reputation for dignity and integrity, and
especially his tall, graceful and handsome appearance, with
piercing blue eyes and noble -looking expression, with cordial
manner, pleasing voice and eloquent address that was highly
appreciated by voters, soldiers, and women alike.
From the early modern period, the term gallantry (from galant,
the Baroque ideal of refined elegance) rather than chivalry
became used for the proper behaviour and acting of upper-
class men towards upper-class women.
In the 19th century, there were attempts to revive chivalry for

the purposes of the gentleman of that time.
Kenelm Henry Digby wrote his The Broad-Stone of Honour for

this purpose, offering the definition: 'Chivalry is only a name
for that general spirit or state of mind which disposes men to
heroic actions, and keeps them conversant with all that is
beautiful and sublime in the intellectual and moral world'.
The pronouncedly masculine virtues of chivalry came under

attack on the parts of the upper-class suffragettes campaigning
for gender equality in the early 20th century, and with the
decline of the military ideals of duelling culture and of
European aristocracies in general following the catastrophe of
World War I, the ideals of chivalry became widely seen as
outmoded by the mid-20th century. As a material reflection of
this process, the dress sword lost its position as an
indispensable part of a gentleman's wardrobe, a development
described as an "archaeological terminus" by Ewart Oakeshott,
as it concluded the long period during which the sword had
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been a visible attribute of the free man, beginning as early as

three millennia ago with the Bronze Age sword. During the
20th century, the chivalrous ideal of protecting women came to
be seen as a trope of melodrama ("damsel in distress"). The
term chivalry retains a certain currency in sociology, in
reference to the general tendency of men, and of society in
general, to lend more attention offering protection from harm
to women than to men, or in noting gender gaps in life
expectancy, health, etc., also expressed in media bias giving
significantly more attention to female than to male victims.
Formed in 1907, the world's first Scout camp, the Brownsea

Island Scout camp, began as a boys' camping event on
Brownsea Island in Poole Harbour, southern England,
organised by British ArmyLieutenant-General Robert Baden-
Powell to test his ideas for the book Scouting for Boys. Boy
scouts from different social backgrounds in the UK
participated from 1 to 8 August 1907 in activities around
camping, observation, woodcraft, chivalry, lifesaving and
patriotism.
According to William Manchester, General Douglas MacArthur

was a chivalric warrior who fought a war with the intention to
conquer the enemy, completely eliminating their ability to
strike back, then treated them with the understanding and
kindness due their honour and courage. One prominent model
of his chivalrous conduct was in World War II and his
treatment of the Japanese at the end of the war. MacArthur's
model provides a way to win a war with as few casualties as
possible and how to get the respect of the former enemy after
the occupation of their homeland. On May 12, 1962,
MacArthur gave a famous speech in front of the cadets of
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United States Military Academy at West Point by referring to a

great moral code, the code of conduct and chivalry, when
emphasizing duty, honour, and country.
Criticism of chivalry
Miguel de Cervantes, in Part I of Don Quixote (1605), attacks

chivalric literature as historically inaccurate and therefore
harmful (see history of the novel), though he was quite in
agreement with many so-called chivalric principles and guides
to behavior. He toyed with but was never able to write a
chivalric romance that was historically truthful.
The Italian humanistPetrarch is reported to have had no use

for chivalry. Peter Wright criticizes the tendency to produce
singular descriptions of chivalry, claiming there are many
variations or "chivalries". Among the different chivalries Wright
includes "military chivalry" complete with its code of conduct
and proper contexts, and woman-directed "romantic chivalry"
complete with its code of conduct and proper contexts, among
others.
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Chapter 6
Crusades
The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated,

supported, and sometimes directed by the Latin Church in the
medieval period. The best known of these Crusades are those
to the Holy Land in the period between 1095 and 1291 that
were intended to liberate Jerusalem and its surrounding area
from Islamic rule. Concurrent military activities in the Iberian
Peninsula against Moors (the Reconquista) and in northern
Europe against pagan Slavic tribes (the Northern Crusades)
also became known as crusades. Through the 15th century,
other church-sanctioned crusades were fought against
heretical Christian sects, against the Byzantine and Ottoman
empires, to combat paganism and heresy, and for political
reasons. Unsanctioned by the church, Popular Crusades of
ordinary citizens were also frequent. Beginning with the First
Crusade which resulted in the recovery of Jerusalem in 1099,
dozens of Crusades were fought, providing a focal point of
European history for centuries.
In 1095, Pope Urban II proclaimed the First Crusade at the

Council of Clermont. He encouraged military support for
Byzantine emperorAlexios I against the Seljuk Turks and called
for an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Across all social strata
in western Europe, there was an enthusiastic popular
response. The first Crusaders had a variety of motivations,
including religious salvation, satisfying feudal obligations,
opportunities for renown, and economic or political advantage.
Later crusades were generally conducted by more organized
armies, sometimes led by a king. All were granted papal
indulgences. Initial successes established four Crusader

states: the County of Edessa; the Principality of Antioch; the
Kingdom of Jerusalem; and the County of Tripoli. The Crusader
presence remained in the region in some form until the fall of
Acre in 1291. After this, there were no further crusades to
recover the Holy Land.
Proclaimed a crusade in 1123, the struggle between the

Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula was called the
Reconquista by Christians, and only ended in 1492 with the
fall of the Muslim Emirate of Granada. From 1147 campaigns
in Northern Europe against pagan tribes were considered
crusades. In 1199 Pope Innocent III began the practice of
proclaiming political crusades against Christian heretics. In
the 13th century, crusading was used against the Cathars in
Languedoc and against Bosnia; this practice continued against
the Waldensians in Savoy and the Hussites in Bohemia in the
15th century and against Protestants in the 16th. From the
mid-14th century, crusading rhetoric was used in response to
the rise of the Ottoman Empire, only ending in 1699 with the
War of the Holy League.
Terminology
The term "crusade" first referred to military expeditions

undertaken by European Christians in the 11th, 12th, and
13th centuries to the Holy Land. The conflicts to which the
term is applied has been extended to include other campaigns
initiated, supported and sometimes directed by the Roman
Catholic Church against pagans, heretics or for alleged
religious ends. These differed from other Christian religious
wars in that they were considered a penitential exercise, and
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so earned participants forgiveness for all confessed sins. The

term's usage can be misleading, particularly regarding the
early Crusades, and the definition remains a matter of debate
among contemporary historians.
At the time of the First Crusade, iter, "journey", and

peregrinatio, "pilgrimage" were used to describe the campaign.
Crusader terminology remained largely indistinguishable from
that of Christian pilgrimage during the 12th century. Only at
the end of the century was a specific language of Crusading
adopted in the form of crucesignatus—"one signed by the
cross"—for a Crusader. This led to the French croisade—the
way of the cross. By the mid 13th century the cross became
the major descriptor of the Crusades with crux transmarina—
"the cross overseas"—used for crusades in the eastern
Mediterranean, and crux cismarina—"the cross this side of the
sea"—for those in Europe. The modern English "crusade" dates
to the 17th century, with the work of Louis Malmbourg.
The terms "Franks" (Franj) and "Latins" were used by the

peoples of the Near East during the crusades for western
Europeans, distinguishing them from the Byzantine Christians
who were known as "Greeks". Saracen was used for an Arab
Muslim, derived from a Greek and Roman name for the
nomadic peoples of the Syro-Arabian desert. Crusader sources
used the term "Syrians" to describe Arabic speaking Christians
who were members of the Greek Orthodox Church, and
"Jacobites" for those who were members of the Syrian Orthodox
Church. The Crusader states of Syria and Palestine were
known as the "Outremer" from the French outre-mer, or "the
land beyond the sea".
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Background
The period of Islamic Arab territorial expansion had been over

since the 8th century. Syria and Palestine's remoteness from
the focus of Islamic power struggles enabled relative peace and
prosperity. Only in the Iberian Peninsula was Muslim-Western
European contact more than minimal. Byzantine emperorBasil
II extended the empire’s territorial recovery to its furthest
extent in 1025, with frontiers stretching east to Iran. It
controlled Bulgaria, much of southern Italy and suppressed
piracy in the Mediterranean Sea. The empire's relationships
with its Islamic neighbours were no more quarrelsome than its
relationships with the Slavs and the Western Christians. The
Normans in Italy, to the north Pechenegs, Serbs and Cumans,
and Seljuk Turks in the east all competed with the empire.
The political situation in the Middle East was changed by

waves of Turkish migration—in particular, the arrival of the
Seljuk Turks in the 10th century. Previously a minor ruling
clan from Transoxania, they were recent converts to Islam who
migrated into Iran to seek their fortune. In two decades, they
conquered Iran, Iraq, and the Near East. The Seljuks and their
followers were Sunni, which brought them into conflict in
Palestine and Syria with the Shi'iteFatimids.
Emperor Romanos IV Diogenes's attempted confrontation in

1071 to suppress the Seljuks sporadic raiding led to his defeat
and capture at the Battle of Manzikert. In the same year,
Jerusalem was taken from the Fatimids by the Turkish warlord
Atsiz, who seized most of Syria and Palestine as part of the
expansion of the Seljuks throughout the Middle East. The
Seljuk hold on the city resulting in pilgrims reported
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difficulties and the oppression of Christians. The Byzantine

desire for military aid then converged with increasing
willingness of the western nobility to accept papal military
direction. The result was the First Crusade.
Crusades and the Holy Land,

1095–1291
The Crusades to the Holy Land are the best known of the
religious wars discussed here, beginning in 1095 and lasting
some two centuries. Since the destruction of the Church of the
Holy Sepulchre early in the 11th century, the Holy Land was
an increasingly hostile environment for both Christian pilgrims
and inhabitants.
These Crusades began with the fervent desire to liberate the

Holy Land from the Muslims, and ran through eight major
numbered crusades and dozens of minor crusades over two
centuries. Larger-than-life nobels such as Richard the
Lionheart, Eleanor of Aquitaine and Saladin continue to
dominate in popular culture, but lesser-known participants
and a multitude of battles provide for a complex history that
continues to be relevant today.
First Crusade, 1095–1099
The First Crusade, summoned in 1095, consisted of the

unsuccessful People's Crusade followed by what became known
as the Princes' Crusade that resulted in the final liberation of
the Holy Land with the successful and bloody siege of
Jerusalem in 1099. The Kingdom of Jerusalem was established,
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first under Godfrey of Bouillon, a Frankish leader of the

Crusade, and lasting until the loss of the last stronghold at the
siege of Acre in 1291.
The summons to Jerusalem
In 1074, just three years after of the disastrous defeat of the

Byzantines at Manzikert and the Seljuk takeover of Jerusalem,
Pope Gregory VII began planning to launch a military campaign
for the liberation of the Holy Land. Christian pilgrimages to
Jerusalem and other holy sites were more frequently being
disrupted by the occupying Seljuks and other Muslim tribes.
Twenty years later, Pope Urban II realized that dream, hosting
the decisive Council of Piacenza and subsequent Council of
Clermont in November 1095, that resulted in the mobilization
of Western Europe to go to the Holy Land. Byzantine emperor
Alexios I Komnenos, worried about the continued advances of
the Seljuks, sent envoys to these councils asking Urban for aid
against the invading Turks. There are five versions of the
speech of Urban's at Clermont, agreeing that the pope talked of
the violence of Europe and the necessity of maintaining the
Peace of God; about helping Byzantium; about the crimes being
committed against Christians in the east; and about a new
kind of war, an armed pilgrimage, and of rewards in heaven,
where remission of sins was offered to any who might die in
the undertaking. The enthusiastic crowd responded with cries
of Deus lo volt! ––God wills it!
The People's Crusade
Immediately after Urban's proclamation, the French priest

Peter the Hermit led thousands of mostly poor Christians out
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of Europe in what became known as the People's Crusade. In

transit through Germany, these Crusaders spawned German
bands who massacred Jewish communities in what became
known as the Rhineland massacres.
This was part of wide-ranging anti-Jewish activities, extending

from limited, spontaneous violence to full-scale military
attacks. Jews were perceived to be as much an enemy as
Muslims and were more immediately visible than the distant
Muslims.
Many people wondered why they should travel thousands of

miles to fight non-believers when there were already non-
believers closer to home.
Crusaders' motivations were varied. One factor was spiritual –

a desire for penance through warfare. An early first-hand
account known as the Gesta Francorum talks about the
economic attraction of gaining "great booty".
This was true to an extent, but the rewards often did not
include the seizing of land, as fewer Crusaders settled than
returned. Another explanation was adventure and an
enjoyment of warfare, but the deprivations the Crusaders
experienced and the costs they incurred weigh against this.
The crusaders left Byzantine-controlled territory on their

journey to Nicaea, the capital of the Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.
Their first encounter with the Seljuks was at the siege of
Xerigordos from 21 to 29 September 1096, in which a portion
of Peter's forces were destroyed. The destruction was
completed on 21 October 1096 when the main body of
Crusaders was annihilated in a Turkish ambush at the battle
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of Civetot. The sultan Kilij Arslan mistakenly believed the ease

with which these Crusaders were dispatched would hold true
in the future.
The Princes' Crusade
In response to Urban's call, members of the high aristocracy

from France, western Germany, the Low Countries, Languedoc
and Italy led independent military contingents in loose, fluid
arrangements based on bonds of lordship, family, ethnicity and
language. Foremost amongst these was the elder statesman
Raymond IV of Toulouse, who with bishop Adhemar of Le Puy
commanded southern French forces. Other armies included
men from Upper and Lower Lorraine led by Godfrey of Bouillon
and his brother Baldwin of Boulogne; Italo-Norman forces led
by Bohemond of Taranto and his nephew Tancred; as well as
various contingents consisting of northern French and Flemish
forces under Robert Curthose, Stephen of Blois, Hugh of
Vermandois, and Robert II of Flanders. The armies, which may
have contained as many as 100,000 people including non-
combatants, travelled eastward by land to Byzantium where
they were cautiously welcomed by the emperor. Due to
conflicts with the pope, Philip I of France and Holy Roman
Emperor Henry IV declined to participate.
Alexios persuaded many of the princes to pledge allegiance to

him. He also convinced them their first objective should be
Nicaea, Buoyed by his success at Civetot, the over-confident
Kilij Arslan left the city to resolve a territorial dispute, thus
enabling its capture after the siege of Nicaea and a Byzantine
naval assault in May–June 1097. This was a high point in
Latin and Greek co-operation and the beginning of Crusader
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attempts to take advantage of disunity in the Muslim world.

The first experience of Turkish tactics using lightly armoured
mounted archers occurred when an advanced party led by
Bohemond and Robert was ambushed at battle of Dorylaeum of
1 July 1097. The Normans resisted for hours before the arrival
of the main army caused a Turkish withdrawal.
The crusader army marched for three arduous months to the

former Byzantine city Antioch, that had been in Muslim control
since 1084. Numbers were reduced by starvation, thirst and
disease and by Baldwin's decision to carve out his own
territory in Edessa, which became the County of Edessa, the
first of the Crusader states. The Crusaders began the siege of
Antioch, to last from 21 October 1097 until 3 June 1098, and
fought for eight months but lacked the resources to fully invest
the city and the residents lacked the means to repel the
invaders. Finally, Bohemond persuaded a guard in the city to
open a gate. The Crusaders entered, massacring the Muslim
inhabitants as well as many Christians amongst the Greek
Orthodox, Syrian and Armenian communities. A force to
recapture the city was raised by Kerbogha, the atabeg of
Mosul. The discovery of the Holy Lance may have boosted the
morale of the Crusaders. The Byzantines did not march to the
assistance of the Crusaders because the deserting Stephen of
Blois told them the cause was lost. Instead Alexius retreated
from Philomelium, where he received Stephen's report, to
Constantinople. The Greeks were never truly forgiven for this
perceived betrayal and Stephen was branded a coward. Losing
numbers through desertion and starvation in the besieged city,
the Crusaders attempted to negotiate surrender but were
rejected. Bohemond recognised that the only remaining option
was open combat and launched a counterattack. Despite
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superior numbers, Kerbogha's army — which was divided into

factions and surprised by the Crusaders commitment and
dedication— retreated and abandoned the siege.
The Crusading force delayed for months while they argued over
who would have the captured territory. Hunger led to
widespread raids on the countryside, culminating with the
siege of Ma'arrat in late 1098, with reported cannibalism by
the Crusaders. The debate ended when news arrived that the
Fatimid Egyptians had taken Jerusalem from the Seljuks,
making it imperative to attack before the Egyptians could
consolidate their position. Bohemond remained in Antioch,
retaining the city, despite his pledge to return it to Byzantine
control, while Raymond led the remaining crusader army
rapidly south along the coast to Jerusalem. An initial attack on
the city failed, and the siege of Jerusalem of 1099 became a
stalemate, until the arrival of craftsmen and supplies
transported by the Genoese to Jaffa tilted the balance.
Crusaders constructed two large siege engines. The one
commanded by Godfrey breached the walls on 15 July 1099.
For two days the Crusaders massacred the inhabitants and
pillaged the city. Godfrey further secured the Frankish position
by defeating an Egyptian relief force at the battle of Ascalon in
August 1099.
Godfrey of Bouillon and the foundation of the Kingdom
At this point, most Crusaders considered their pilgrimage

complete and returned to Europe. When it came to the future
governance of the city it was Godfrey who took the leadership,
not called king but rather with the title Advocatus Sancti
Sepulchri (Defender of the Holy Sepulchre). The presence of
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troops from Lorraine ended the possibility that Jerusalem

would be an ecclesiastical domain and the claims of Raymond.
At that point Godfrey was left with a small force––a mere 300
knights and 2,000 infantry––to defend the kingdom. Tancred
was the other prince who remained. His ambition was to gain a
Crusader state princedom of his own.
The Islamic world seems to have barely registered the First

Crusade and there is limited written evidence before 1130. This
may be in part due to a reluctance to relate Muslim failure, but
it is more likely to be the result of cultural misunderstanding.
The Muslim world mistook the Crusaders for the latest in a
long line of Byzantine mercenaries, rather than religiously
motivated warriors intent on conquest and settlement. The
Muslim world was divided between the Sunnis of Syria and Iraq
and the Shi'ite Fatimids of Egypt. Even the Turks remained
divided, finding unity unachievable since the death of sultan
Malik-Shah I in 1092, with rival rulers in Damascus and
Aleppo. In Baghdad, the Seljuk sultan Barkiyaruq competed for
power with Abbasid caliph al-Mustazhir. This gave the
Crusaders a crucial opportunity to consolidate without any
pan-Islamic counterattack.
Kingdom of Jerusalem, 1099–1144
The newly-formed kingdom quickly faced major challenges,

both internally and externally. Most of the Crusaders had gone
home, leaving few seasoned fighters to protect the realm. A
leadership crisis, with the death of Godfrey and continued
push by the clergy against secular rule, was immediately felt.
In addition, both the Seljuks to the north and west, and the
Fatimids to the south, were not content with the presence of
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the Western Christians. Urban II had died in 1099, not living

to see his vision realized, and was replaced by Pope Paschal II,
with new pressures from Europe.
The death of Godfrey and coronation of Baldwin I
On 1 August 1099, Arnulf of Chocques, chaplain to Robert

Curthose, was elected Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem. He had
supported Godfrey's decision to make Jerusalem a secular
kingdom rather than one ruled by the clergy and had
accompanied Godfrey to Ascalon with a relic of the True Cross.
Nonetheless, before he could be ordained, he was replaced with
Bohemund's support by Dagobert of Pisa, whom Paschal had
appointed legate. Dagobert was anxious to establish the
patriarch's power, demanding that Godfrey hand over
Jerusalem to him. Godfrey partly yielded, and at a ceremony
on Easter Day, 1 April 1100, he announced that he would
retain possession of the city and the Tower of David until his
death, or until he conquered two great cities from the infidel,
but he bequeathed Jerusalem to the patriarch.
Godfrey of Bouillon died on 18 July 1100, likely from typhoid.

The news of his death was greeted with mourning in
Jerusalem, laying for five days in state before his burial at the
Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Meanwhile, Dagobert had been
accompanying a campaign against Jaffa with Tancred, and in
his absence, the Jerusalem knights offered the lordship to
Godfrey's brother Baldwin, then Count of Edessa. With the
support of Tancred, Dagobert wrote offering the lordship of
Jerusalem to Bohemond, Prince of Antioch, and asking that he
prevent Baldwin's expected travel to Jerusalem. But the letter
was intercepted and Bohemond was captured with Richard of
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Salerno by the Danishmends after the battle of Melitene in

August 1100. Baldwin I was crowned as the first king of
Jerusalem on Christmas Day 1100 by Dagobert at the Church
of the Nativity. Baldwin's cousin Baldwin of Bourcq, later his
successor as Baldwin II, was named Count of Edessa, and
Tancred became regent of Antioch during Bohemond's
captivity, lasting through 1103.
The Crusade of 1101
The Crusade of 1101 was initiated by Paschal when he learned

of the precarious position of the remaining forces in the Holy
Land. The host consisted of four separate expeditions to the
Holy Land and is frequently regarded as a second wave of
armies following the First Crusade rather than as a separate
Crusade. The four armies departed for Constatinople from
September 1100 through March 1101, arriving in the spring of
1101.
The first army to depart for the East was composed of Italians
from Lombardy, led by Anselm, archbishop of Milan. At
Constantinople, the Lombard army was joined by a force led by
Conrad, constable to the German emperor, Henry IV. A second
army, the Nivernois, was commanded by William II, Count of
Nevers. The third group was a large combined army from
northern France, Flanders, and Burgundy led by Stephen of
Blois and Stephen, Count of Burgundy, and included Guy II
the Red of Rochefort, his brother Milo I the Great, and Joscelin
of Courtenay, later count of Edessa. The were joined by
Raymond of Saint-Gilles, now in the service of the emperor.
The fourth army to depart was made up of two contingents.
One was led by William IX of Aquitaine, joining with German
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crusaders commanded by Welf IV of Bavaria. Accompanying

them was Ida of Austria, mother of Leopold III of Austria, as
well as Hugh of Vermandois who had left the First Crusade
before the siege of Jerusalem. The joint Aquitanian-Bavarian
army passed through Hungary and after some conflict with
Byzantine forces, arrived in Constantinople at the beginning of
June 1101.
The Crusaders faced their old enemy Kilij Arslan who, despite
losing his capital city of Nicaea to the First Crusaders, was
still a formidable foe. He was joined by the Danishmends, the
captors of Bohemond, as well as Ridwan, emir of Aleppo. The
Seljuk forces first met the Lombard and French contingents in
August 1101 at the battle of Mersivan. The battle lasted four
days, with the crusader camp captured. The knights fled,
leaving women, children, and priests behind to be killed or
enslaved. Raymond of Toulouse, Stephen of Blois, and Stephen
of Burgundy fled north, returning to Constantinople. The
Nivernois contingent was decimated that same month at
Heraclea, with nearly the entire force wiped out, except for the
count William and a few of his men. The Aquitainians and
Bavarians reached Heraclea in September where again the
Crusaders were massacred. William IX and Welf escaped, but
Hugh was morally wounded. Ida of Austria disappeared during
the battle and was never heard from again. The Crusade of
1101 was a total disaster both militarily and politically,
showing the Muslims that the Crusaders were not invincible.
Bohemond's mission that resulted in his capture was

ostensibly to aid Gabriel of Melitene, whose daughter Morphia
of Melitene would later become queen of Jerusalem. Baldwin I,
with other priorities, sent only a small force to pursue
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Bohemond's captors, who were marching with the heads of the

slain Franks on pikes. The Lombard contingent was intent on
freeing Bohemond impacting the Crusade of 1101, but neither
Baldwin I nor Tancred saw an urgency, preferring the politics
of status quo. Baldwin I, seeing Tancred’s ambition, convinced
Alexios I to offer a ransom. Kilij Arslan interfered, demanding
half, and causing a rift between the Danishmends and the
Seljuks. Offering favorable terms, including an alliance against
Alexios I and Kilij, the Danishmends settled for a small
ransom, raised by Bernard of Valence, Kogh Vasil and Baldwin
of Bourcq. Tancred did not contribute. The captives were
released in 1103, with Bohemond immediately resuming his
position as ruler of Antioch.
Consolidation of the Latin States, 1100-1118
The reign of Baldwin I began in 1100 and oversaw the

consolidation of the kingdom in the face of enemies to the
north, the Seljuks, and the Fatimids to the south. To the south
of Jerusalem, al-Afdal Shahanshah, the powerful Fatimid
vizier, was anxious to recover the lands lost to the Franks in
the First Crusade. He initiated the First battle of Ramla on 7
September 1101 in which his forces were defeated, albeit
narrowly, by those of Baldwin I. On 17 May 1102, the
Crusaders were not so lucky, suffering a major defeat at the
hands of the Fatimids, under the command of al-Afdal's son
Sharaf al-Ma’ali at the Second battle of Ramla. Among the
slain were veterans of the Crusade of 1101, Stephen of Blois
and Stephen of Burgundy. Conrad of Germany fought so
valiantly that his attackers offered to spare his life if he
surrendered. The kingdom was on the verge of collapse after
the defeat, recovering after the successful battle of Jaffa on 27
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May. Al-Afdal tried once more in the Third battle of Ramla in

August 1105 and, defeated, the Fatimid threat to the kingdom
subsided for two decades.
With the threat from the Fatimid caliphs in Cairo diminished

and the ineffectiveness of the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad, the
principal threats to the kingdom in the early part of the 12th
century were the frequently-battling groups from Syria and
Persia. Kilij Arslan had died in 1107 during an internal Seljuk
struggle, and his son and successor Mesud I would play a key
role in the Second Crusade. The Sultanate of Rûm would not
pose additional threats until the 13th century. The
Danishmends were also to play just a minor part in the
Crusaders' history. The principal threats then came from the
powerful atabegs and emirs of the key cities of Aleppo,
Damascus and Mosul.
• Aleppo: Ridwan, son of the powerful Seljuk sultan

Tutush I; Luʾ luʾ al-Yaya, regent to Ridwan's sons;
Ilghazi, a founder of the Artuqid dynasty; Timurtash,
son of Ilghazi; and Belek Ghazi, Ilghazi's nephew.
• Damascus: Duqaq, brother of Ridwan; Irtash,
Duqaq's brother and successor; and Toghtekin and
his son Taj al-Muluk Buri, founders of the Burid
dynasty.
• Mosul: Kerbogha, an Abbasid; Jikirmish, the
successor to Kerbogha; Jawali Saqawa, a Turkish
adventurer; Mawdud, a renown Seljuk general; and
il-Bursuqi, one of Mawdud's officers.
Additional players were the emir Sökmen, Ilghazi's brother and

one-time co-ruler of Jerusalem, and the Persian Bursuq ibn
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Bursuq. All three cities would be conquered in the mid-12th

century by Imad al-Din Zengi, the adopted son of Kerbogha,
providing a united Syrian front to the kingdom. A further
complication to the Muslim world were the Assassins who
originally targeted Fatimid, Abbasid and Seljuk leaders,
murdering many of those listed above.
Tancred remained defiant to Baldwin until he was offered the

regency of the Principality of Antioch in March 1101. For the
next two years, Tancred ruled Antioch and conquered
Byzantine Cilicia and parts of Syria. In 1102, Raymond of
Toulouse, having fled the Crusade of 1101, traveled to Antioch,
where Tancred imprisoned him, dismissed only after promising
not to attempt any conquests in the country between Antioch
and Acre. He immediately broke his promise, attacking and
capturing Tartus, and began to build a castle on the Mons
Peregrinus––Pilgrim's Mountain––which would help in his Siege
of Tripoli. He was aided in his quest by Alexius I, creating the
County of Tripoli, the last of the Crusader states, before the
city was conquered, in order to balance the hostile state in
Antioch. Raymond died in 1105 and his cousin William II
Jordan continued the siege. It was successfully completed in
1109 when Raymond's son Bertrand of Toulouse arrived.
Baldwin brokered a deal, sharing the territory between them,
until William Jordan's death united the county. Bertrand
acknowledged Baldwin's suzerainty, despite William Jordan
having been Tancred's vassal. Baldwin captured Beirut in
1110, forming the Lordship of Beirut as one of the vassals of
the Kingdom of Jerusalem.
The battle of Harran was fought in 1104, pitting the Crusader

states of Edessa and Antioch against Jikirmish, now atabeg of
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Mosul, and Sökmen, commander of the Seljuk forces. The

Seljuk victory also resulted in the capture of Baldwin of
Bourcq, count of Edessa, and his cousin and vassal Joscelin of
Courtenay. Baldwin was first taken by Sökmen, but he was
soon absconded by Jikirmish. Joscelin remained in Sökmen’s
custody at ḤiḤn Kaifa. Joscelin’s subjects at Turbessel paid a
ransom for his release in 1107. Jikirmish, after an
unsuccessful siege at Edessa, fled with Baldwin to
Mosul. Tancred, now in control of Edessa, captured a Seljuk
princess of Jikirmish’s household, who then offered to pay a
ransom, or to release Baldwin in return for her liberty.
Bohemond and Tancred preferred the money and Baldwin
remained imprisoned. Jawali Saqawa killed Jikirmish in 1106,
seizing Mosul and his hostage. Freed, Joscelin began
negotiations with Jawali for Baldwin's release. Expelled from
Mosul by Mawdud, Jawali fled with his hostage to the fortress
of Qal’at Ja’bar. Jawali, in need of allies against Mawdud,
accepted Joscelin's offer, released Baldwin in the summer of
1108.
When Bohemond was ransomed in 1103, he resumed control of

Antioch and continued Tancred's conflicts with the Byzantine
empire. Bohemond had joined Baldwin of Bourcq in the attack
at Harran in 1104, and afterward Tancred assumed the regency
of Edessa, with his cousin Richard of Salerno as governor. The
Byzantines had taken advantage of Bohemond's absence and
retaken lands lost, and Bohemond returned to Italy on late
1104 to recruit allies and gather supplies. Tancred again
assumed leadership in Antioch, while his uncle began what is
known as Bohemond's Crusade (or the Crusade of 1107–1108).
Bohemond crossed into the Balkans and began the failed siege
of Dyrrachium of 1107–1108. The subsequent Treaty of Devol
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of 1108 forced Bohemond to become vassal to the emperor,

restore taken lands and other onerous terms. Bohemond never
returned. He died in 1111, leaving Tancred as regent to his son
Bohemond II, and ignored the treaty.
The Norwegian Crusade also known as the Crusade of Sigurd

Jorsalfar, king of Norway, took place from of 1107–1110. More
of a pilgrimage than a crusade, it did include the participation
in military action, with the king's forces participation in the
siege of Sidon of 1110.
Baldwin's army besieged the city by land, while the Norwegians

came by sea, and the victorious Crusaders gave similar terms
of surrender as given to previous victories at the siege of Arsuf
in 1102 and at the siege of Acre of 1100–1104, freeing the
major port of the kingdom. This crusade marked the first time
a European king visited the Holy Land. The Lordship of Sidon
was created and given to Eustace Grenier, later bailiff of the
kingdom during Baldwin II's second captivity, described below.
Beginning in 1110, the Seljuks launched a series of attacks on

the Crusader states, in particular Edessa, led by Mawdud.
These included the battle of Shaizar in 1111, a stalemate. At
the battle of al-Sannabra of 1113, a Crusader army led by
Baldwin I was defeated by a Muslim army led by Mawdud and
Toghtekin whose ultimate objective was Edessa. Mawdud was
unable to annihilate the Crusader forces and was soon
murdered by Assassins. Bursuq ibn Bursuq took command of
the failed attempt against Edessa in 1114. Finally, Roger of
Salerno routed the last Seljuk invading army at the First battle
of Tell Danith on 14 September 1115.
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The Knights Hospitaller and Knights Templar
Military orders like the Knights Hospitaller and Knights

Templar provided Latin Christendom's first professional armies
in support of the Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Hospitallers date
to the 7th century, with the establishment of a hospital in
Jerusalem to serve Christian pilgrims and were formalized by
Paschall's papal bull Pie postulatio voluntatis in 1113.
They included a military arm formed by Raymond du Puy and

began to support the Crusades under Baldwin II of Jerusalem,
continuing through the 16th century. The Templars were
formed in 1119 in Jerusalem by Hugues de Payens, and
formally codified through the bull Omne datum optimum in
1139. Templar knights, sporting distinctive white mantles with
a red cross, were amongst the most skilled fighting units of the
Crusades. They supported the Crusades through their
dissolution in the 14th century at the infamous trial of the
Knights Templar of 1307.
The reign of Baldwin II, 1118–1131
Baldwin I, a founding father of the kingdom, would not live

long after the routing of the Seljuks. After building a series of
castles including Krak de Montreal to control the caravan
routes from Syria to Egypt, he undertook efforts to shore up
the southern flank of the kingdom. Baldwin I launched an
attack against Egypt in 1118. His troops attacked the city of
Pelusium on the Nile, razing all of the mosques. While there,
an old wound from 1103 flared up and he was taken to al-Arish
in the Sinai where he died on 2 April 1118. He was buried in
Jerusalem.
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Baldwin II of Jerusalem became king on 14 April 1118, but was

there was not a formal coronation until Christmas Day 1119
due to issues concerning his wife Morphia of Melitene. There
was some dissension as to the transition since Baldwin I had
willed that his brother Eustace III of Boulogne. In addition,
there were significant transitions in Byzantium and the Muslim
world. Alexios I Komnenos died on 15 August, with his son
John II Komnenos becoming the new Byzantine emperor. Seljuk
sultan Muhammad I Tapar, son of Malik-Shah I, also died that
year and was succeeded in Baghdad by his son Mahmud II.
The early days of Baldwin II's reign included actions against

the Egyptians and a defeat dealt to Taj al-Muluk Buri. The first
major military action was the battle of Ager Sanguinis, the
Field of Blood, on 28 June 1119. At Ager Sanguinis, an Artuqid
army led by Ilghazi annihilated the Antiochian forces led by
Roger of Salerno, a major blow to the kingdom. Roger was
killed during the battle. The Muslim victory was short-lived,
with Baldwin II and Pons of Tripoli narrowly defeating Ilghazi's
army at the Second battle of Tell Danith on 14 August 1119.
On 16 January 1120, Baldwin II and the new patriarch

Warmund of Jerusalem held the Council of Nablus,
establishing a rudimentary set of rules for governing the
kingdom now known as the assizes of Jerusalem. The formal
establishment of the Knights Templar was likely also granted
by the council, complimenting the military arm of the Knights
Hospitaller that was protecting pilgrims to the Holy Land. Both
military orders were accumulating holdings in the kingdom and
Crusader states, with the Hospitallers eventually obtaining the
famous Krak des Chevaliers, an important military and
administrative center.
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The Venetian Crusade, also known as the Crusade of Calixtus

II, was conducted from 1122–1124. The Western participants
included those from the Republic of Venice as well as Pons of
Tripoli. The actions resulted in the successful siege of Tyre,
taking the city from the Damascene atabeg Toghtekin. This
marked a major victor for Baldwin II prior to his second
captivity in 1123.
During an encounter at Sarūj in 1122, Belek Ghazi captured

Joscelin of Courtenay, now count of Edessa, and Waleran of Le
Puiset. The next year, as Baldwin II was leading a raid to
rescue the hostages, he and a nephew were also captured and
taken to Kharput. In Baldwin's absence Eustace Grenier, lord
of Caesarea and Sidon, was elected constable and bailiff of
Jerusalem to administer the kingdom.
A group of Joscelin's Armenian supporters came to Kharput,

disguising themselves as monks, and expelled the Seljuk
garrison from the fortress. Joscelin left Kharput to gather
troops in Turbessel and Antioch, with Baldwin II and the
Armenians remaining defend the fortress. Belek returned to
Kharput and forced Baldwin II to surrender. The Armenians
were among those executed, with only Baldwin II, a nephew,
and Waleran spared. Belek died in May 1124 and Baldwin II
was seized by Ilghazi's son, Timurtash. Timurtash commenced
negotiations for Baldwin's release with Joscelin’s family and
Baldwin’s wife Morphia. Baldwin II was to pay a ransom and
cede a number of fortresses to Timurtash. Baldwin II also
promised that he would assist Timurtash against a certain
Bedouin warlord. After a portion of the ransom was paid,
additional hostages, to include Baldwin's youngest daughter
Jovetta and Joscelin's son Joscelin II, were handed over to
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secure the payment of the balance, Baldwin II was released

from the Citadel of Aleppo on 29 August 1124.Jovetta and
Joscelin II were held by il-Bursuqi at Aleppo following
Timurtash’s overthrow, and were ransomed by Baldwin II in
1125 using his spoils from the Battle of Azaz of 1125. Waleran
and Baldwin’s nephew were executed.
Toghtekin died on 12 February 1128, and Baldwin II began the

Crusade of 1129, also known as the Damascus Crusade,
shortly thereafter. The objective was Damascus, now led by the
new atabeg Taj al-Muluk Buri, the son of Toghtekin. The
Crusaders were able to capture the town of Banias, but were
unable to take Damascus despite coming within six miles of
the town.
Bohemond II had married Alice of Jerusalem, the second

daughter of Baldwin II and Morphia of Melitene, in 1126, and
he joined Baldwin in his Damascus campaign. Baldwin II and
Morphia married their eldest daughter Melisende of Jerusalem
to Fulk V of Anjou in 1129 in anticipation of a royal
succession.
After Bohemond II was killed during an invasion of Cilician

Armenia in early 1130, Alice wanted the city for herself. She
attempted to make an alliance with Zengi, offering to marry her
daughter to a Muslim prince. The messenger sent by Alice to
Zengi was captured on the way by Baldwin, and was tortured
and executed. Alice refused to let Baldwin enter Antioch, but
some of the Antiochene nobles opened the gates for Baldwin's
representatives, Fulk and Joscelin I, now Count of Edessa.
Alice was expelled from Antioch, but was allowed to keep the
cities that had been her dowry. Baldwin left Antioch under the
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regency of Joscelin I, ruling for Alice and Bohemond's daughter

Constance of Antioch. Baldwin II fell ill in Antioch, and took
monastic vows before he died in the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre on 21 August 1131.
Fulk and Melisende, 1131–1143
Fulk and Melisende were crowned joint rulers of Jerusalem on

14 September 1131 in the same church where Baldwin II had
been laid to rest. Fulk assumed full control of the government,
excluding Melisende, as he favored fellow Angevins to the
native nobility. The Crusader states to the north feared that
Fulk would attempt to impose the suzerainty of Jerusalem over
them, as Baldwin II had done. But as Fulk was far less
powerful than his deceased father-in-law, the northern states
rejected his authority. Melisende's sister Alice, exiled from
Antioch, took control of Antioch once more after the death of
her father. She allied with Pons of Tripoli and Joscelin II of
Edessa to prevent Fulk from marching north in 1132. Fulk and
Pons fought a brief battle before peace was made and Alice was
exiled again. In 1134, Fulk repressed a revolt by Hugh II of
Jaffa, a relative of Melisende. Taking advantage of Antioch's
weakened position, Leo I of Armenia seized the Cilician plain.
The Antiochene nobility asked Fulk to propose a husband for

Constance, and he selected Raymond of Poitiers, a younger son
of William IX of Aquitaine. Raymond arrived in Antioch in
1136. Alice, thinking Raymond was coming to marry her,
allowing him into Antioch. Instead, he and Constance were
married. In 1137, Pons of Tripoli was killed battling the
Damascenes, and Zengi invaded Tripoli. Fulk intervened, but
Zengi's troops captured Pons' successor Raymond II of Tripoli,
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and besieged Fulk in the border castle of Montferrand. Fulk

surrendered the castle and paid Zengi a ransom for his and
Raymond's freedom. The emperor John II Komnenos reasserted
Byzantine claims to Cilicia and Antioch.
He compelled Raymond of Poitiers to give homage and agree

that he would surrender Antioch by way of compensation if the
Byzantines ever captured Aleppo, Homs, and Shaizar for him.
On 20 April 1138, the Byzantines and Franks jointly besieged
Aleppo and, with no success, then began the siege of Shaizar,
abandoning it on 221 May 1138. Having prepared his army for
a renewed attack on Antioch, John II went hunting wild boar
on Mount Taurus, cutting himself with a poisoned arrow. He
died on 8 April 1143 and was succeeded as emperor by his son
Manuel I Komnenos.
On 13 November 1143, while the royal couple were in Acre,

Fulk was killed in a hunting accident and buried at the Church
of the Holy Sepulchre near his predecessors. On Christmas Day
1143, their son Baldwin III of Jerusalem was crowned co-king
with his mother. Among Fulk and Melisende's other children,
Amalric of Jerusalem would one day also become king, in 1163.
The rise and fall of Zengi, 1127–1146
For the first time, the advent of Imad ad-Din Zengi saw the
Crusaders threatened by a Muslim ruler attempting to restore
jihad to Near Eastern politics, joining the powerful Syrian
emirates in a combined effort against the Franks. Zengi's
father Aq Sunqur al-Hajib was governor of Aleppo under the
Seljuk sultan Malik-Shah I and was beheaded by Malik's
brother Tutush I for treason in 1094. At the time, Zengi was
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about 10 years old and brought up by Kerbogha, who later met

the Crusaders at Antioch in 1098. Little is known of his early
years. He became atabeg of Mosul in September 1127 and used
this to expand his control to Aleppo on 18 June 1128.
When sultan Mahmud II died in 1131, a civil war for the

succession occurred and, taking advantage of the chaos, Zengi
marched on Baghdad to add it to his domain. He was soundly
defeated and escaped thanks to the help of an otherwise
obscure governor of Tikrit, Najm ad-Din Ayyub, father of
Saladin and founder of the Ayyubid dynasty. Several years
later, Zengi would reward the governor with a position in his
army, paving the way for the 100-year Ayyubid domination of
Asia Minor.
In 1135, Zengi moved against Antioch. When the Crusaders

failed to put an army into the field to oppose him, he captured
the Syrian towns of Atharib, Zerdana, Ma'arrat al-Numan and
Kafr Tab. He defeated Fulk at the battle of Ba'rin of 1137.
Afterward, he seized Ba'rin Castle which the Crusaders never
recovered.
In 1138, he helped repel a Frankish–Byzantine attack at the

siege of Shaizar. Because of his continued efforts to seize
Damascus, that city sometimes allied itself with the Kingdom
of Jerusalem. In 1144, Zengi began his successful attack
against the weakest of the Crusader states––Edessa. Zengi was
murdered in uncertain circumstances on 14 September 1146.
His legacy was continued in the Zengid dynasty, with his elder
son Saif ad-Din Ghazi I succeeded him as atabeg of Mosul
while a younger son Nūr-ad-Din succeeded him in Aleppo.
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The Siege of Edessa, 1144
While John II Komnenos was alive, he and his army deterred

the constant attacks by Zengi. Following John’s death in 1143,
the Byzantine army withdrew, leaving Zengi unopposed. Fulk's
death later in the year left Joscelin II of Edessa with no
powerful allies to help defend Edessa. In autumn 1144,
Joscelin II formed an alliance with the young emir Kara Aslan
of ḤiḤn Kaifa, grandson of Sökmen, and marched a sizable
army north to assist in their struggle with Zengi. Zengi came
north to begin the first siege of Edessa, arriving on 28
November 1144. The city had been warned of his arrival and
was prepared for a siege, but there was little they could do but
wait for Joscelin and his army.
Zengi realized there was no defending force and surrounded

the city. He built siege engines and had the walls mined, and
his forces were reinforced by Kurds and Turcomen. The city’s
defensive towers were unmanned and, with no knowledge of
counter-mine techniques, the walls collapsed on 24 December.
Zengi's troops rushed into the city, killing all those who were
unable to flee, and thousands were trampled to death in the
panic, including Archbishop Hugh, archbishop of Edessa. All
the Frankish prisoners were executed, but the native
Christians were allowed to live. The Crusaders were dealt their
first major defeat, lessening the number of Crusader states by
one.
Second Crusade and aftermath, 1144–1187
The first of the Crusader states––Edessa––was also the first to

fall, causing great consternation in Jerusalem and Western
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Europe and tampering the enthusiastic success of the First

Crusade. Calls for a Second Crusade were immediate, and was
the first led by European kings. The disastrous performance of
this campaign in the Holy Land damaged the standing of the
papacy, soured relations between the Christians of the
kingdom and the West for many years, and encouraged the
Muslims of Syria to even greater efforts to defeat the Franks.
The dismal failures of this Crusade then set the stage for the
fall of Jerusalem, leading to the Third Crusade. Concurrent
campaigns as part of the Reconquista and Northern Crusades
are also sometimes associated with this Crusade.
The response in the kingdom and Europe
Zengi, fresh from his success at Edessa, did not however

pursue an attack on the remaining territory of Edessa, or on
Antioch, as was feared. Events in Mosul compelled him to
return home, and he once again set his sights on Damascus.
However, he was assassinated by a slave and was succeeded in
Aleppo by his son Nūr-ad-Din. Joscelyn II of Edessa and
Baldwin of Marash recaptured the city during the Second siege
of Edessa of 1146 by stealth but could not take or even
properly besiege the citadel. After a brief counter-siege, Nūr-
ad-Din took the city. The population was massacred, with the
women and children enslaved, and the walls razed. This victory
was pivotal in the rise of Zengid dynasty.
Eugene III, recently elected pope, issued the bull Quantum

praedecessores on 1 December 1145, the first such papal bull
issued calling for a new crusade––the Second Crusade. Hugh of
Jabala, the bishop who brought the news of Edessa to the
pope, also told of a Nestorian Christian king known as Prester
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John who would bring relief to the Crusader states. The pope
did not share Hugh's enthusiasm for this savior (who was in
fact mythical), but nevertheless did propose a Second Crusade
meant to be more organized and centrally controlled than the
First. The armies would be led by the strongest kings of Europe
and a route that would be pre-planned. However, some anti-
Semitic preaching of a Cistercian monk named Radulphe
initiated further massacres of Jews in the Rhineland until
stopped by Bernard of Clairvaux.
Eugene called on Bernard to preach the Second Crusade,

granting the same indulgences which had accorded to the First
Crusaders. Among those answering the call were by two
European kings, Louis VII of France and Conrad III of
Germany. Louis, his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and many
princes and lords prostrated themselves at the feet of Bernard
in order to take the cross. Conrad and his nephew Frederick
Barbarossa also received the cross from the hand of Bernard.
The Second Crusade, 1147–1149
Conrad III and the German contingent planned to leave for the
Holy Land at Easter, but did not depart until May. When the
German army began to cross Byzantine territory, emperor
Manuel I had his troops posted to ensure against trouble. A
brief battle of Constantinople on 10 September 1147 ensued,
and their defeat at the emperor's hand convinced the Germans
to move quickly to Asia Minor.
Without waiting for the French contingent, Conrad III engaged

the Seljuks of Rûm under sultan Mesud I, son and successor of
Kilij Arslan, the nemesis of the First Crusade. Mesud and his
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forces almost totally destroyed Conrad's contingent at the

Second battle of Dorylaeum on 25 October 1147.
The French contingent departed in June 1147. In the

meantime, Roger II of Sicily, an enemy of Conrad's, had just
invaded Byzantine territory. Manuel I needed all his army to
counter this force, and so both the Germans and French
entered Asia without any Byzantine assistance, unlike the
armies of the First Crusade. The French met the remnants of
Conrad's army in northern Turkey, and Conrad joined Louis's
force. They fended off a Seljuk attack at the battle of Ephesus
on 24 December 1147. A few days later, they were again
victorious at the battle of the Meander, late in 1147. Louis was
not as lucky at the battle of Mount Cadmus on 6 January
1148, where Mesud I's army inflicted heavy losses on the
Crusaders. The army limped into Adalia on 20 January shortly
thereafter sailed for Antioch, almost totally destroyed by battle
and sickness.
The Crusader army arrived at Antioch on 19 March 1148 with

the intent on moving to retake Edessa, but Baldwin III of
Jerusalem and the Knights Templar had other ideas. The
Council of Acre was held on 24 June 1148, changing the
objective of the Second Crusade to Damascus, a former ally of
the kingdom that had shifted its allegiance to that of the
Zengids. At the invitation of Altuntash, the emir of Bosra and
Salkhad, the Crusaders attempted to occupy these cities, and
fought the battle of Bosra with the Damascenes in the summer
of 1147. The governor of Damascus Mu'in ad-Din Unur (Unur)
immediately began to implement defensive measures. Bad luck
and poor tactics led to the disastrous five-day siege of
Damascus from 24–28 July 1148. The barons of Jerusalem
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withdrew support and the Crusaders retreated before the

arrival of a relief army led by Zengi's sons Nūr-ad-Din and Saif
ad-Din Ghazi I. Morale fell, hostility to the Byzantines grew
and distrust developed between the newly arrived crusaders
and those that had made the region their home after the earlier
crusades. The French and German forces felt betrayed by the
other, lingering for a generation due to the defeat, to the ruin
of the Christian kingdoms in the Holy Land.
Campaigns in Iberia and Northern Europe, 1147
In the spring of 1147, Eugene authorized the expansion of his

mission into the Iberian peninsula, equating these campaigns
against the Moors with the rest of the Second Crusade. The
successful Siege of Lisbon, from 1 July to 25 October 1147,
was followed by the six-month siege of Tortosa, ending on 30
December 1148 with a defeat for the Moors. In the north, some
Germans were reluctant to fight in the Holy Land while the
pagan Wends were a more immediate problem. The resulting
Wendish Crusade of 1147 was partially successful but failed to
convert the pagans to Christianity.
The career of Nūr-ad-Din, 1146–1174
When Zengi died in 1146, his son Nūr-ad-Din succeeding him

as the leader of the Zengid dynasty. Nūr-ad-Din and his older
brother Saif ad-Din Ghazi I divided Zengi's domain of Aleppo
and Mosul amongst themselves, with Damascus to be
conquered later, in 1154. In the aftermath of the disastrous
Second Crusade, he destroyed the Crusader army at the battle
of Inab on 29 June 1149. Raymond of Poitiers, then Prince of
Antioch, came to the aid of the besieged citadel. Raymond was
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killed and his head was presented to Nūr-ad-Din, who

forwarded it to the caliph al-Muqtafi in Baghdad.
In the beginning of his rule, Nūr-ad-Din attacked Antioch,

seizing several castles in the north of Syria, while at the same
time defeating the attempt of Joscelin II to recover Edessa. In
1147, he signed a treaty with Unur, regent to Mujir ad-Din
Abaq, the Burid governor of Damascus. He also married Unur's
daughter Ismat ad-Din Khatun. Unur's truce with Jerusalem's
was tested with the battle of Bosra in 1147, the first military
action of the new king Baldwin III of Jerusalem. Unur turned
to his new Zengid ally to help repel the Crusaders. His truce
restored, Unur was suspicious of Nūr-ad-Din's intentions who
then curtailed his stay in Damascus and turned instead
towards the Principality of Antioch, where he was able to seize
Artah, Kafar Latha, Basarfut, and Bara.
In 1150, he defeated Joscelin II of Edessa for a final time, after

allying with Mas'ud I, the son of Kilij Arslan. Joscelin was
publicly blinded and died in his prison in Aleppo in 1159. At
the battle of Aintab in August 1150, Nūr-ad-Din tried but failed
to prevent Baldwin III's evacuation of the residents of
Turbessel. The unconquered portions of the County of Edessa
would nevertheless fall to the Zengids within a few years. In
1152, Nūr-ad-Din captured and burned Tortosa, briefly
occupying the town, before it was taken by the Knights
Templar as a military headquarters.
After the siege of Ascalon ended on 22 August 1153 with a

Crusader victory, Mujir ad-Din forbade Nūr-ad-Din from
travelling across his territory, paying an annual tribute in
exchange for protection provided by Jerusalem. Mujir ad-Din
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was overthrown by Nūr-ad-Din in 1154, uniting all of Syria

under Zengid rule. Ever cautious, he did not antagonize
Jerusalem, continuing the annual tribute. On 18 May 1157,
Nūr-ad-Din began a siege on the Knights Hospitaller at Banias,
with the Grand Master Bertrand de Blanquefort captured.
Baldwin III was able to break the siege, only to be ambushed at
Jacob's Ford in June 1157. Reinforcements from Antioch and
Tripoli were able to relieve the besieged Crusaders. Bertrand's
captivity lasted until 1159, when emperor Manuel I negotiated
an alliance with Nūr-ad-Din against the Seljuks against
Baldwin III's wishes. Nūr-ad-Din, allied with the Danishmends,
attacked the Seljuk sultan Kilij Arslan II from the east the next
year, while Manuel I attacked from the west.
His intervention in the First Crusader invasion of Egypt in

1163 allowed his general Shirkuh accompanied by his nephew
Saladin to enter Egypt. Banias, long a target of Nūr-ad-Din,
was finally captured in 1164. He died on 15 May 1174 and was
buried in the Nūr-ad-Din Madrasa in Damascus. He was
succeeded by his son As-Salih Ismail al-Malik at Damascus
and Aleppo. Saladin declared himself his vassal, but would
soon unite Syria and Egypt under his own rule.
The Kingdom of Jerusalem from Baldwin III through

Sibylla, 1143–1190
Baldwin III of Jerusalem was crowned co-king with his mother

Melisende on Christmas Day 1143 shortly after the death of his
father Fulk of Jerusalem. Just 13 year old when he ascended
to the throne, he immediately had to deal with the loss of
Edessa in 1144 and the Second Crusade through 1149. He
engaged his mother in a civil war from 1152–1154, with the
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two eventually reconciling. He was responsible for the military

first success after the Second Crusade, the siege of Ascalon of
1153, resulting in the capture of a strategic fortress from the
Fatimids. In 1156, Baldwin was forced into a treaty with Nūr-
ad-Din, and later entered into an alliance with the Byzantine
Empire. Melisende died on 11 September 1161, and Baldwin
succumbed two years later on 10 February 1163. Childless, he
was succeeded by his brother, Amalric.
Amalric of Jerusalem was crowned as King of Jerusalem on 18

February 1163. He married Agnes of Courtenay and, after an
annulment, Maria Komnene. Three of Amalric's children would
assume the throne of Jerusalem. He undertook a series of four
invasions of Egypt from 1163–1169, taking advantage of
weaknesses of the Fatimids. The campaign was generally
indecisive, but did lay the groundwork for the takeover of
Egypt by Saladin in 1171. Amalric died at a young age, on 11
July 1174, and was succeeded by his son Baldwin IV of
Jerusalem.
Baldwin IV of Jerusalem became king on 5 July 1174 at the

age of 13. As a leper he was not expected to live long, and
served with a number of regents, and served as co-ruler with
his cousin Baldwin V of Jerusalem beginning in 1183. Baldwin
IV's rule began simultaneously with the death of Nūr-ad-Din
and the rise of Saladin.
Notably, Baldwin and Raynald of Châtillon defeated Saladin at

the celebrated battle of Montgisard on 25 November 1177, and
repelled his attacks at the battle of Belvoir Castle in 1182 and
later in the siege of Kerak of 1183. He died on 6 March 1185.
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Baldwin V of Jerusalem became sole king upon the death of his

uncle in 1185; he died in the summer of 1186 and was
succeeded in the kingdom by his mother Sibylla of Jerusalem—
daughter of Amalric—and his stepfather, the French knight
Guy of Lusignan.
Sibylla of Jerusalem and Guy of Lusignan were crowned as

queen and king of Jerusalem in the summer of 1186, shortly
after the death of Baldwin V. They immediately had to deal
with the threat posed by Saladin, and, in particular the battle
of Hattin in 1187. During the battle Guy was captured, and
remained in Saladin's custody until 1188. After the fall of
Jerusalem, Sibylla fled to Tripoli, later meeting up with Guy in
Acre to meet the vanguard of the Third Crusade. She died on
25 July 1190.
The rise of Saladin, 1137–1193
Saladin was a Kurd born in 1137 in Tikrit, a city in Iraq whose

district is named Salah ad-Din after him. His father was Najm
ad-Din Ayyub served as the warden of the city and had aided
Zengi after his aborted attempt at Baghdad. Zengi in turn
appointed Ayyub commander of his fortress in Baalbek.
Saladin's military career began his uncle Shirkuh, a
commander under Nūr-ad-Din. In 1163, Shawar, the vizier to
the Fatimid caliph al-Adid, had been driven out of Egypt and
requested help from Nūr-ad-Din, who dispatched Shirkuh,
accompanied by Saladin. Shawar, once reinstated as vizier,
demanded that Shirkuh withdraw from Egypt but he refused.
Shawar then allied with Amalric I of Jerusalem, attacking
Shirkuh at the second siege of Bilbeis in August–October 1164,
following Amalric's unsuccessful first siege in September 1163.
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After the sacking of Bilbais, the Crusader-Egyptian force was

to meet Shirkuh's army in the indecisive battle of al-Babein on
18 March 1167. Saladin commanded the right-wing of the
Zengid army,. The Crusader force enjoyed early successes, but
the terrain was ill-suited for their horses, and commanderHugh
Grenier was captured while attacking Saladin's unit. Hugh was
released after a truce was reached.
In 1169, Shawar was assassinated by Saladin, Shirkuh died

later that year, and al-Adid appointed Saladin as vizier. At the
end of 1169, Saladin, with reinforcements from Nūr-ad-Din,
defeated a massive Crusader-Byzantine force at the siege of
Damietta. Nūr-ad-Din died in 1174, the first Muslim to unite
Aleppo and Damascus in the crusading era. Saladin assumed
control and was become the pre-eminent Muslim ruler in the
eastern Mediterranean. This new power gained Saladin the
attention of the Assassins, with attempts on his life in January
1175 and again on 22 May 1176.
In November 1177, Baldwin and Raynald of Châtillon defeated

Saladin with the help of the Knights Templar at the celebrated
battle of Montgisard. In August 1179, the unfinished castle at
Jacob's Ford fell to Saladin, with the slaughter of half its
Templar garrison. The kingdom began to harass the trading
caravans travelling between Egypt and Damascus. After
Saladin retaliated for these attacks in the campaign but was
defeated at the battle of Belvoir Castle in 1182 and later in the
siege of Kerak of 1183.
While Nūr-ad-Din's territories fragmented, Saladin legitimised

his ascent by positioning himself as a defender of Sunni Islam,
subservient to both Baghdad and to Nūr-ad-Din's son As-Salih
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Ismail al-Malik. He claimed to be the young prince's regent

until the boy died seven years later, at which point Saladin
seized Damascus and much of Syria but failed to take Aleppo.
After building a defensive force to resist a planned attack by
the Kingdom of Jerusalem that never materialised, his first
contest with the Latin Christians was not a success.
Overconfidence and tactical errors had led to his defeat at the
battle of Montgisard in 1177. Despite this setback, Saladin
established a domain stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates
through a decade of politics, coercion and low-level military
action.
The Battle of Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem, 1187
The ultimate fall of Jerusalem was due to a variety of reasons,

including the rise of Saladin and the internal problems of the
kingdom. In 1186, Saladin's survival of a life-threatening
illness provided the motivation to make good on his
propaganda as the champion of Islam. He increased
campaigning against the Latin Christians. Guy of Lusignan
responded by raising the largest army that Jerusalem had ever
put into the field. Saladin lured the force into inhospitable
terrain without water supplies, surrounded the Latins with a
superior force, and routed them at the battle of Hattin on 4
July 1887. Guy was one of the very few captives spared by
Saladin after the battle, along with Raynald of Châtillon and
Humphrey IV of Toron. Raynald was beheaded, settling an old
score but Guy and Humphrey were imprisoned in Damascus
and later released in 1188.
As a result of his victory, much of Palestine quickly fell to

Saladin. After a short five-day Siege of Jerusalem from 20
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September 20 to 2 October 1187, Balian of Ibelin surrendered

the Holy City to Saladin. According to some, on 19 October
1187, Urban III died upon of hearing of the defeat. Jerusalem
was once again in Muslim hand.
Third Crusade, 1187–1197
The years following the Kingdom of Jerusalem were met with

multiple disasters. The Second Crusade did not achieve its
goals and left the Muslim East in a stronger position, with the
rise of Saladin. A united Egypt-Syria saw the loss of Jerusalem
itself, and Western Europe had no choice but to launch the
Third Crusade, this time led by the kings of Europe.
The call for a Crusade, 1187
The news of the disastrous defeat at Hattin and subsequent

fall of Jerusalem gradually reached Western Europe. Urban III
died shortly after hearing the news, and his successor Gregory
VIII issued the bull Audita tremendi on 29 October 1187
describing the terrible events in the East and urging all
Christians to take up arms and go to the aid of those in the
Kingdom of Jerusalem. In his view, the capture of Jerusalem
was punishment for the sins of Christians across Europe,
calling for a new crusade to the Holy Land––the Third Crusade.
Crusaders would receive generous benefits, including release
from penance imposed for all sins for which they had made
proper confession. Archbishop Joscius of Tyre traveled to the
West to seek aid and was given papal permission to preach the
Crusade in Northern Europe. In January 1188, he succeeded in
negotiating a peace settlement between Philip II of France and
Henry II of England, in which both kings agreed to take the
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cross and lead a joint expedition to the East. Financing for the
Crusade by the English and, to some extent, the French, came
from a levy known as the Saladin tithe. Henry's death left the
Third Crusade to his son and successor Richard I the
Lionheart. A German contingent under Holy Roman Emperor
Frederick I Barbarossa was also forming.
The Sieges of Tyre and Acre, 1187–1190
By the fall of 1187, much of the Holy Land had been lost to
Saladin. The remnants of the Crusader army retreated to Tyre,
one of the last major cities still in Christian hands. Reginald
Grenier, Count of Sidon, was in the process of negotiating its
surrender with Saladin, but for the arrival of Conrad of
Montferrat who assuming leadership. Saladin's army arrived on
12 November 1187, beginning the siege of Tyre. The fighting
was intense, with multiple siege engines attacking the city's
walls, while the ships of the Crusaders harassed the attacking
army. Attempting to win the siege with sea power at sea,
Saladin summoned a fleet of galleys that some initial
successes, but the Christian fleet iinflicted a decisive defeat on
the Muslim force. After another attempt to take the city,
Saladin decided to retire to Acre, ending the siege ended on 1
January 1188.
Saladin released Guy of Lusignan from prison in 1189, and he

attempted to take command of the Christian forces at Tyre, but
Conrad held power there after his successful defence of the
city from Muslim attacks. He then turned his attention to the
wealthy port of Acre. Guy of Lusignan attempted to recover
Acre from Saladin by beginning the siege of Acre on 28 August
1189. He amassed an army to besiege the city and received aid
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from Philip's newly arrived French army. The combined armies

were not enough to counter Saladin, however, whose forces
besieged the besiegers. The crusaders became so deprived at
times they are thought to have resorted to cannibalism. The
situation at Acre was not to resolved until the arrival of
Richard the Lionheart in June 1191. In summer 1190, in one
of the numerous outbreaks of disease in the camp, Sibylla of
Jerusalem and her young daughters died. Guy, although only
king by right of marriage, endeavoured to retain his crown,
although the rightful heir was Sibylla's half-sister Isabella of
Jerusalem. After a hastily arranged divorce from Humphrey IV
of Toron, Isabella was married to Conrad of Montferrat, who
claimed the kingship in her name.
Crusade of Frederick Barbarossa, 1190
By November 1187, Frederick Barbarossa received pleas from

the rulers of the Crusader states urging him to join the
Crusade. He expressed his support but declined to take the
cross because of his ongoing conflict with the archbishop of
Cologne. He did urge Philip II of France to take the cross,
meeting with him in December. On 27 March 1188, at the
Curia Christi, Frederick asked the assembly whether he should
take the cross to universal acclaim. At the universal acclaim of
the assembly, he took the crusader's vow. His son Frederick VI
of Swabia, followed suit, whereas his eldest Henry VI of
Germany remained behind as regent. The army was scheduled
to assemble on 23 April 1189.
As Frederick had signed a treaty with Saladin in 1175, he gave

notice of the termination of their alliance, sending an
ultimatum to the sultan. He then received various envoys, with
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the Hungarians and Seljuks promising provisions and safe-

conduct, and the Serbians. The envoys of Serbia announced
that the grand prince would receive Frederick and an
agreement was finally reached, with some difficulty, with
Byzantium. On 11 May 1189, Frederick's host departed from
Germany, passing through Hungary, Serbia, and Bulgaria
before entering Byzantine territory. Matters were complicated
by a secret alliance between the emperor Isaac II Angelos and
Saladin. While in Hungary, Frederick asked the prince Géza,
brother of the king, to join the Crusade, and a Hungarian army
led by Géza escorted the emperor's forces.
In the autumn of 1189, Frederick camped in Philippopolis,

then in Adrianople to avoid the winters of Anatolia There he
received imprisoned German emissaries who were held in
Constantinople, and exchanged hostages with Isaac II, as a
guarantee that the crusaders do not sack local settlements
until they depart the Byzantine territory. In March 1190,
Frederick left Adrianople to Gallipoli at the Dardanelles to
embark to Asia Minor.
The armies coming from western Europe pushed on through

Anatolia, where they were victorious at the Battle of
Philomelium and defeated the Turks in the Battle of Iconium,
eventually reaching as far as Cilician Armenia. The approach of
Frederick's army concerned Saladin who was forced to weaken
his force at the siege of Acre and send troops to the north to
block the arrival of the Germans.
Frederick took the local Armenians' advice to follow a shortcut

along the Saleph river while his army traversed a mountain
route. On 10 June 1190, he drowned near Silifke Castle. His
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death caused several thousand German soldiers to leave the

force and return home. The remaining army was struck with an
onset of disease near Antioch, weakening it further. A third of
the original force, arrived in Acre. Frederick VI of Swabia took
over command of the remnants of the German army, with the
aim of burying the emperor in Jerusalem, but efforts to
preserve his body failed. His various earthly remains were
spread among the Church of St. Peter in Antioch, a cathedral
of Tyre, and Saint Paul's Church in Tarsus. The remaining
German army moved under the command of the English and
French forces that arrived shortly thereafter.
Crusade of Richard the Lionheart, 1187–1192
Richard the Lionheart had already taken the cross as Count of

Poitou in 1187. His father Henry II of England and Philip II of
France had done so on 21 January 1188 after receiving news of
the fall of Jerusalem to Saladin. After Richard became king, he
and Philip agreed to go on the Third Crusade, since each
feared that during his absence the other might usurp his
territories.
Travelling by sea, they arrived in Sicily in September 1190.

After the death of William II of Sicily in 1189, his cousin
Tancred of Lecce had seized power imprisoned William's widow,
Joan of England, Richard's sister. Richard demanded her
return, along with her dowry. When Tancred balked at these
demands, Richard attacked the city of Messina, capturing it on
4 October 1190. Tancred agreed to the terms. In March 1191,
Eleanor of Aquitaine arrived in Messina with Richard's fiancé
Berengaria of Navarre. Richard established his base there,
remaining until Tancred signed a treaty on 4 March 1191.
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In April 1191 Richard left for Acre, but a storm dispersed his
fleet, with the ship carrying Joan and Berengaria anchored off
Cyprus, along with the wrecks of several other vessels,
including the treasure ship. Survivors of the wrecks had been
taken prisoner by the island's ruler, Isaac Komnenos. On 1
May 1191, Richard arrived at Limassol, demanding that Isaac
to release the prisoners and treasure. Isaac refused, so
Richard landed his troops and took the city. Various princes of
the Holy Land arrived in Limassol at the same time, in
particular Guy of Lusignan. All declared their support for
Richard provided that he support Guy against his rival, Conrad
of Montferrat. Guy led Richard's troops in conquering the
island on 5 June 1191. Richard, married to Berengaria on 12
May 1191, left for Acre, arriving on 8 June 1191. Cyprus was
later sold to the Knights Templar.
Richard immediately led his support to the stalemated siege of

Acre. Philip II had arrived separately on 20 April 1191, and the
Muslim defenders surrendered on 12 July 1191. Richard
remained in sole command of the Crusader force after the
departure of Philip II on 31 July 1191. On 20 August 1191,
Richard had the more than 2000 prisoners beheaded at the so-
called massacre of Ayyadieh. Saladin subsequently ordered the
execution of his Christian prisoners in retaliation.
Richard moved south, defeating Saladin's forces at the Battle

of Arsuf on 7 September 1191. The Muslim army suffered
considerable casualties, but was not destroyed. Three days
late, Richard took Jaffa, held by Saladin since 1187, and
advanced inland towards Jerusalem. He offered to begin
negotiations with Saladin, who sent his brother Al-Adil as him
emissary. Negotiations, which included attempts to marry
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Richard's sister Joan of England or niece Eleanor of Brittany to

Al-Adil, failed (both women refused) and Richard marched to
Ascalon, recently demolished by Saladin.
In November 1191, Richard's army advanced inland towards

Jerusalem, and on 12 December Saladin disbanded the greater
part of his army. Learning this, Richard pushed his army
forward, to within 12 miles from Jerusalem before retreating
back to the coast. The spring of 1192 saw continued
negotiations and skirmishing between the opposing forces. On
22 May 1192, the fortress at Darum on the frontiers of Egypt
fell to the Crusaders and the army made another advance on
Jerusalem, coming within sight of the city in June before being
forced to retreat again, due to dissention amongst its leaders.
Richard wanted to force Saladin to relinquish Jerusalem by
attacking the basis of his power through an invasion of Egypt.
The leader of the French contingent, the Hugh III of Burgundy,
however, was adamant that a direct attack on Jerusalem
should be made. This split the Crusader army into two
factions, and neither was strong enough to achieve its
objective. Without a united command the army had little choice
but to retreat back to the coast.
On July 27 1192, Saladin's army began the Battle of Jaffa,

capturing the city. Richard's forces stormed Jaffa from the sea
and the Muslims were driven from the city. Attempts to retake
Jaffa failed and Saladin was forced to retreat. This battle
greatly strengthened the position of the coastal Crusader
states.
On 2 September 1192, following this defeat, Richard and

Saladin entered into the Treaty of Jaffa, providing that
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Jerusalem would remain under Muslim control, while allowing

unarmed Christian pilgrims and traders to freely visit the city.
The Christians would hold the coast from Tyre to Jaffa,
practically reducing the Latin kingdom to the corresponding
coastal strip. This treaty ended the Third Crusade and Richard
departed the Holy Land on 9 October 1192.
Saladin died in Damascus of a fever on 4 March 1193, not long

after Richard's departure. Despite the inevitable quarrels over
the Ayyubid succession, the Ayyubid dynasty would rule Egypt,
Syria and Arabia for much of the next century before
succumbing to the Mamluks in the East and Mongols in the
West. Richard was imprisoned and ransomed for a time after
his leaving the Holy Land under suspicion of complicity in the
murder of Conrad of Montferrat by Assassins in 1192. He was
released by Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI on 4 February 1194.
Crusade of 1197
Three years later, Henry VI launched the Crusade of 1197, also

known the German Crusade, in response to his father's aborted
crusade that ended in 1190. While his forces were en route to
the Holy Land, Henry VI died in Messina on 28 September
1197. The emerging succession conflict between his brother
Philip of Swabia and his rivals caused many higher-ranking
Crusaders return to Germany in order to protect their
interests. The nobles that remained captured the Levant coast
between Tyre and Tripoli before returning to Germany. The
Crusade ended on 1 July 1198 after capturing Sidon and
Beirut from the Muslim defenders, now commanded by
Saladin's brother Al-Adil.
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The Kingdom of Acre from Isabella through Almaric II,

1190–1212
The Third Crusade began with Sibylla and Guy of Lusignan co-
rulers of the reconstituted Kingdom of Acre. With Sibylla's
death in 1190, Guy no longer had claim to the throne, had he
become the first King of Cyprus with Richard's help. The rulers
of the kingdom through 1212 were as follows.
Isabella I was sister to Sibylla and so became heiress to the

kingdom upon her death, sometime after 25 July 1190. After
much political haranguing, she married Conrad of Montferrat
on 24 November 1190, with him become de jure king. In April
1192, Conrad was elected king but on 28 April 1192, he was
felled by two Assassins before he could be crowned. Richard
was suspected as supported the murder, a suspicion that
remains unproven.
Henry I of Jerusalem became king on 5 May 1192 when he

married Isabella. At 20 years younger that his wife, Henry was
the nephew of both Richard I of England and Philip II of
France, but did not use the royal title. He died in Acre on 10
September 1197 after a fall from his window at the palace in
Acre.
Almaric II of Lusignan was Isabella's next husband, and they

were crowned king and queen of in January 1198. A former
commander at the Battle of Hattin of 1187 as well as King of
Cyprus since the death of Guy of Lusignan in 1194, his rule
was a period of peace and stability in both of his realms. In
particular, he signed a truce with Al-Adil, now Ayyubid sultan
of Egypt in 1198 which secured the Christian possession of the
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coastline from Acre to Antioch. He died on 1 April 1205. His

son Hugh I of Cyprus succeeded him in Cyprus, while Isabella I
continued to rule the Kingdom of Jerusalem. Isabella died four
days later on 5 April 1205 and was succeeded by her daughter
by Conrad, Maria of Montferrat, who served through 1212, with
her husband John of Brienne after 1210.
Fourth Crusade and the Latin

Empire, 1197–1204
Fourth Crusade, 1202–1204
In 1198, the recently elected Pope Innocent III announced a

new crusade, organised by three Frenchmen: Theobald of
Champagne; Louis of Blois; and Baldwin of Flanders. After
Theobald's premature death, the Italian Boniface of Montferrat
replaced him as the new commander of the campaign. They
contracted with the Republic of Venice for the transportation of
30,000 crusaders at a cost of 85,000 marks. However, many
chose other embarkation ports and only around 15,000 arrived
in Venice. The Doge of VeniceEnrico Dandolo proposed that
Venice would be repaid with the profits of future conquests
beginning with the seizure of the Christian city of Zara. Pope
Innocent III's role was ambivalent. He only condemned the
attack when the siege started. He withdrew his legate to
disassociate from the attack but seemed to have accepted it as
inevitable. Historians question whether for him, the papal
desire to salvage the crusade may have outweighed the moral
consideration of shedding Christian blood. The crusade was
joined by King Philip of Swabia, who intended to use the
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Crusade to install his exiled brother-in-law, Alexios IV Angelos,

as Emperor. This required the overthrow of Alexios III Angelos,
the uncle of Alexios IV. Alexios IV offered the crusade 10,000
troops, 200,000 marks and the reunion of the Greek Church
with Rome if they toppled his uncle Emperor Alexios III.
The sack of Constantinople
When the crusade entered Constantinople, Alexios III fled and

was replaced by his nephew. The Greek resistance prompted
Alexios IV to seek continued support from the crusade until he
could fulfil his commitments. This ended with his murder in a
violent anti-Latin revolt. The crusaders were without ships,
supplies or food, leaving them with little option other than to
take by force what Alexios had promised. The Sack of
Constantinople involved three days of pillaging churches and
killing much of the Greek Orthodox Christian populace. While
not unusual behaviour for the time, contemporaries such as
Innocent III and Ali ibn al-Athir saw it as an atrocity against
centuries of classical and Christian civilisation.
The majority of the crusaders considered continuation of the

crusade impossible. Many lacked the desire for further
campaigning and the necessary Byzantine logistical support
was no longer available. The result was that the Fourth
Crusade never came within 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of its
objective of Jerusalem. Instead it increased Latin territory in
the East including Constantinople, demonstrated that poor
organisation could wreck an expedition and set a precedent
that crusades could legitimately attack not only Muslims but
other enemies of the Papacy. A council of six Venetians and six
Franks partitioned the territorial gains, establishing a Latin
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Empire. Baldwin became Emperor of seven-eighths of

Constantinople, Thrace, northwest Anatolia and the Aegean
Islands. Venice gained a maritime domain including the
remaining portion of the city. Boniface received Thessalonika,
and his conquest of Attica and Boeotia formed the Duchy of
Athens. His vassals, William of Champlitte and Geoffrey of
Villehardouin, conquered Morea, establishing the Principality
of Achaea. Both Baldwin and Boniface died fighting the
Bulgarians, leading the papal legate to release the crusaders
from their obligations.
As many as a fifth of the crusaders continued to Palestine via

other routes, including a large Flemish fleet. Joining King
Aimery on campaign they forced al-Adil into a six-year truce.
Latin Empire of Constantinople
The Latin states established were a fragile patchwork of petty

realms threatened by Byzantine successor states—the
Despotate of Epirus, the Empire of Nicaea and the Empire of
Trebizond. Thessaloniki fell to Epirus in 1224, and
Constantinople to Nicaea in 1261.
Achaea and Athens survived under the French after the Treaty
of Viterbo. The Venetians endured a long-standing conflict with
the Ottoman Empire until the final possessions were lost in the
Seventh Ottoman–Venetian War in the 18th century. This
period of Greek history is known as the Frankokratia or
Latinokratia ("Frankish or Latin rule") and designates a period
when western European Catholics ruled OrthodoxByzantine
Greeks.
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Struggle for Recovery: Fifth and Sixth Crusades, 1205–

1247
In the 13th century the Mongols became a new military threat

to the Christian and Islamic worlds. They defeated the Seljuks
and threatened the crusader states while sweeping west from
Mongolia through southern Russia, Poland and Hungary. The
Mongols were predominately pagans, but some were Nestorian
Christians giving the Papacy hope they were possible allies.
Saladin's brother Al-Adil supplanted Saladin's sons in the
Ayyubid succession, but lacked the authority required to unite
the Muslim world of his brother.
As a result, the kingdom of Jerusalem revived in a period of

peace between 1194 and 1217. in 1213, Innocent III called for
another Crusade at the Fourth Lateran Council. In the papal
bull Quia maior he codified existing practice in preaching,
recruitment and financing the crusades. The plenary
indulgence was defined as forgiveness of the sins confessed to
a priest for those who fought in, or even provided funding for,
crusades. Geoffrey Chaucer's The Pardoner's Tale may
demonstrate a cynical view of vow commutation but it was a
pragmatic approach that led to more people taking the cross
and raising more money in the following century than in the
previous hundred years. Innocent died and in 1217 crusading
resumed on the expiration of a number of treaties.
Fifth Crusade, 1217–1221
A force—primarily raised from Hungary, Germany, Flanders—

led by King Andrew II of Hungary and Leopold VI, Duke of
Austria achieved little in what is categorised as the Fifth
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Crusade. The strategy was to attack Egypt because it was

isolated from the other Islamic power centres, it would be
easier to defend and was self-sufficient in food. Leopold and
John of Brienne, the King of Jerusalem and later Latin
Emperor of Constantinople, besieged and captured Damietta,
but an army advancing into Egypt was compelled to surrender.
Damietta was returned, and an eight-year truce agreed.
Sixth Crusade, 1228–1229
Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II was excommunicated for

frequently breaking an obligation to the pope to join the
crusade. In 1225, his marriage to Isabella II of Jerusalem,
John of Brienne's daughter and heir, meant he had a claim to
the kingdom of Jerusalem. In 1227 he embarked on crusade
but was forced to abandon it due to illness but in 1228 he
finally reached Acre.
Culturally, Frederick was the Christian monarch most

empathetic to the Muslim world, having grown up in Sicily,
with a Muslim bodyguard and even a harem. Despite his
excommunication by Pope Gregory IX, his diplomatic skills
meant the Sixth Crusade was largely a negotiation supported
by force. A peace treaty granted Latin Christians most of
Jerusalem and a strip of territory that linked the city to Acre.
The Muslims controlled their sacred sites and an alliance was
made with Al-Kamil, Sultan of Egypt, against all his enemies of
whatever religion. This treaty, and suspicions about
Frederick's ambitions in the region, made him unpopular, and
when Pope Gregory IX attacked his Italian domains he was
compelled to return and defend them.
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Barons' Crusade, 1239–1241
The conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the papacy
meant that the responsibility for the campaigns in the
Crusader states often fell to secular, rather than papal,
leadership. What is known as the Barons' Crusade was led first
by Count Theobald I of Navarre and when he returned to
Europe, by the king of England's brother, Richard of Cornwall.
The death of Sultan al-Kamil and resulting succession conflict
in Egypt and Syria allowed the crusaders to follow Frederick's
tactics of combining forceful diplomacy with playing rival
factions off against each other. Jerusalem was sparsely
populated but in Christian hands and the kingdom's territorial
reach was the same as before the 1187 disaster at Hattin. This
brief renaissance for Frankish Jerusalem was illusory. The
Jerusalem nobility rejected the succession of the Emperor's
son to the kingdom's throne. The kingdom could no longer rely
on the resources of the Holy Roman Empire and was left
dependent on Ayyubid division, the crusading orders and other
western aid for survival.
The Mongols displaced a central Turkish Asian people, the

Khwarazmian, providing Al-Kamil's son As-Salah with useful
allies. The Khwarazmians captured Jerusalem and only 300
Christian refugees reached safety at Ramla. A combined
Egyptian-Khwarazmian army then defeated a Frankish-
Damascene army at the battle of La Forbie. This was the last
occasion the Crusader State nobility had the resources to put
an army in the field. The Patriarch of Jerusalem put the total
losses at 16,000; only 36 out of 348 Templars, 26 out of 351
Hospitallers and 3 out of 400 Teutonic knights escaped alive.
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Crusades of Saint Louis and Edward

I, 1249–1290
Seventh Crusade, 1248–1254
Politics in the 13th-century eastern Mediterranean were

complex, with numerous powerful and interested parties. The
French were led by the very devout Louis IX, king of France,
and his ambitiously expansionist brother Charles.
Communication with the Mongols was hindered by the
enormous distances involved. Louis sent an embassy to the
Mongols in Iran in 1249 seeking a Franco-Mongol alliance.
When the reply found him in Palestine in 1251 it was again
only a demand for tribute.
Louis organised a new crusade, called the Seventh Crusade, to

attack Egypt, arriving in 1249. He was defeated at Mansura
and captured as he retreated to Damietta. Another ten-year
truce was agreed. Louis and his nobles were ransomed while
the other prisoners were given a choice between conversion to
Islam or beheading. He remained in Syria until 1254 to
consolidate the crusader states. A brutal power struggle
developed in Egypt between various Mamluk leaders and the
remaining weak Ayyubid rulers. The Mamluks were slave
soldiers that had been used by Muslim rulers for centuries.
Most of them were Turks from the Eurasian Steppe or
Christians from Anatolia; kidnapped as boys, converted to
Islam and given military training. The threat presented by an
invasion by the Mongols led to Qutuz seizing the sultanate in
1259 and uniting with another faction led by Baibars to defeat
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the Mongols at Ain Jalut. The Mamluks then quickly gained

control of Damascus and Aleppo before Qutuz was
assassinated, most probably by Baibers.
Eighth Crusade, 1270
Between 1265 and 1271, Sultan Baibars drove the Franks to a

few small coastal outposts. Baibars had three key objectives: to
prevent an alliance between the Latins and the Mongols, to
cause dissension among the Mongols (particularly between the
Golden Horde and the Persian Ilkhanate), and to maintain
access to a supply of slave recruits from the Russian steppes.
He supported King Manfred of Sicily's failed resistance to the
attack of Charles and the papacy. Dissention in the crusader
states led to conflicts such as the War of Saint Sabas. Venice
drove the Genoese from Acre to Tyre where they continued to
trade with Baibars' Egypt. Indeed, Baibars negotiated free
passage for the Genoese with Michael VIII Palaiologos, Emperor
of Nicaea, the newly restored ruler of Constantinople. In 1270
Charles turned his brother King Louis IX's crusade, known as
the Eighth, to his own advantage by persuading him to attack
his rebel Arab vassals in Tunis. The crusader army was
devastated by disease, and Louis himself died at Tunis on
25 August. The fleet returned to France.
Lord Edward's Crusade, 1271–1272
Prince Edward, the future king of England, and a small retinue

arrived too late for the conflict but continued to the Holy Land
in what is known as the Ninth Crusade. Edward survived an
assassination attempt, negotiated a ten-year truce, and then
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returned to manage his affairs in England. This ended the last

significant crusading effort in the eastern Mediterranean.
The causes of the decline in crusading and the failure of the

crusader states are multi-faceted. The nature of crusades was
unsuited to the defence of the Holy Land. Crusaders were on a
personal pilgrimage and usually returned when it was
completed. Although the ideology of crusading changed over
time, crusades continued to be conducted without centralised
leadership by short-lived armies led by independently minded
potentates, but the crusader states needed large standing
armies. Religious fervour was difficult to direct and control
even though it enabled significant feats of military endeavour.
Political and religious conflict in Europe combined with failed
harvests reduced Europe's interest in Jerusalem. The distances
involved made the mounting of crusades and the maintenance
of communications difficult. It enabled the Islamic world,
under the charismatic leadership of Zengi, Nur al-Din, Saladin,
the ruthless Baibars and others, to use the logistical
advantages of proximity.
Decline and fall of the Crusader States, 1291
The causes of the decline in crusading and the failure of the

crusader states are multi-faceted. Historians have attempted to
explain this in terms of Muslim reunification and jihadi
enthusiasm but Thomas Asbridge, amongst others, considers
this too simplistic. Muslim unity was sporadic and the desire
for jihad ephemeral. The nature of crusades was unsuited to
the conquest and defence of the Holy Land. Crusaders were on
a personal pilgrimage and usually returned when it was
completed. Although the philosophy of crusading changed over
219
time, the crusades continued to be conducted by short-lived

armies led by independently minded potentates, rather than
with centralised leadership. What the crusader states needed
were large standing armies. Religious fervour enabled
significant feats of military endeavour but proved difficult to
direct and control.
Succession disputes and dynastic rivalries in Europe, failed

harvests and heretical outbreaks, all contributed to reducing
Latin Europe's concerns for Jerusalem. Ultimately, even
though the fighting was also at the edge of the Islamic world,
the huge distances made the mounting of crusades and the
maintenance of communications insurmountably difficult. It
enabled the Islamic world, under the charismatic leadership of
Zengi, Nur al-Din, Saladin, the ruthless Baibars and others, to
use the logistical advantages of proximity to victorious effect.
The mainland Crusader states were finally extinguished with

the fall of Tripoli in 1289 and Acre in 1291. It is reported that
many Latin Christians evacuated to Cyprus by boat, were
killed or enslaved. Despite this, Ottoman census records of
Byzantine churches show that most parishes in the former
Crusader states survived at least until the 16th century and
remained Christian.
Other crusades
The military expeditions undertaken by European Christians in

the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land
from Muslims provided a template for warfare in other areas
that also interested the Latin Church. These included the 12th
and 13th century conquest of Muslim Al-Andalus by Spanish
220
Christian kingdoms; 12th to 15th century German Northern

Crusades expansion into the pagan Baltic region; the
suppression of non-conformity, particularly in Languedoc
during what has become called the Albigensian Crusade and
for the Papacy's temporal advantage in Italy and Germany that
are now known as political crusades. In the 13th and 14th
centuries there were also unsanctioned, but related popular
uprisings to recover Jerusalem known variously as Shepherds'
or Children's crusades.
Urban II equated the crusades for Jerusalem with the ongoing

Catholic invasion of the Iberian Peninsula and crusades were
preached in 1114 and 1118, but it was Pope Callixtus II who
proposed dual fronts in Spain and the Middle East in 1122. By
the time of the Second Crusade the three Spanish kingdoms
were powerful enough to conquer Islamic territory—Castile,
Aragon and Portugal. In 1212 the Spanish were victorious at
the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa with the support of 70,000
foreign fighters responding to the preaching of Innocent III.
Many of these deserted because of the Spanish tolerance of the
defeated Muslims, for whom the Reconquista was a war of
domination rather than extermination. In contrast the
Christians formerly living under Muslim rule called Mozarabs
had the Roman Rite relentlessly imposed on them and were
absorbed into mainstream Catholicism. Al-Andalus, Islamic
Spain, was completely suppressed in 1492 when the Emirate of
Granada surrendered.
• In 1147, Pope Eugene III extended Calixtus's idea by

authorising a crusade on the German north-eastern
frontier against the pagan Wends from what was
primarily economic conflict. From the early
221
13th century, there was significant involvement of

military orders, such as the Livonian Brothers of the
Sword and the Order of Dobrzyń. The Teutonic
Knights diverted efforts from the Holy Land,
absorbed these orders and established the State of
the Teutonic Order. This evolved the Duchy of
Prussia and Duchy of Courland and Semigallia in
1525 and 1562, respectively.
By the beginning of the 13th century Papal reticence in

applying crusades against the papacy’s political opponents and
those considered heretics. Innocent III proclaimed a crusade
against Catharism that failed to suppress the heresy itself but
ruined the culture the Languedoc.
This set a precedent that was followed in 1212 with pressure

exerted on the city of Milan for tolerating Catharism, in 1234
against the Stedinger peasants of north-western Germany, in
1234 and 1241 Hungarian crusades against Bosnian heretics.
The historian Norman Housley notes the connection between
heterodoxy and anti-papalism in Italy.
Indulgence was offered to anti-heretical groups such as the

Militia of Jesus Christ and the Order of the Blessed Virgin
Mary. Innocent III declared the first political crusade against
Frederick II's regent, Markward von Annweiler, and when
Frederick later threatened Rome in 1240, Gregory IX used
crusading terminology to raise support against him. On
Frederick II's death the focus moved to Sicily. In 1263, Pope
Urban IV offered crusading indulgences to Charles of Anjou in
return for Sicily's conquest. However, these wars had no clear
objectives or limitations, making them unsuitable for
222
crusading. The 1281 election of a French pope, Martin IV,

brought the power of the papacy behind Charles. Charles's
preparations for a crusade against Constantinople were foiled
by the Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos, who
instigated an uprising called the Sicilian Vespers. Instead,
Peter III of Aragon was proclaimed king of Sicily, despite his
excommunication and an unsuccessful Aragonese Crusade.
Political crusading continued against Venice over Ferrara;
Louis IV, King of Germany when he marched to Rome for his
imperial coronation; and the free companies of mercenaries.
The threat of the expanding Ottoman Empire prompted further

campaigns. In 1389, the Ottomans defeated the Serbs at the
Kosovo, won control of the Balkans from the Danube to the
Gulf of Corinth, in 1396 defeated French crusaders and King
Sigismund of Hungary at the Nicopolis, in 1444 destroyed a
crusading Serb and Hungarian force at Varna, four years later
again defeated the Hungarians at Kosovo and in 1453 captured
Constantinople.
The 16th century saw growing rapprochement. The Habsburgs,

French, Spanish and Venetians and Ottomans all signed
treaties. Francis I of France allied with all quarters, including
from German Protestant princes and Sultan Suleiman the
Magnificent. Anti-Christian crusading declined in the
15th century, the exceptions were the six failed crusades
against the religiously radical Hussites in Bohemia and attacks
on the Waldensians in Savoy. Crusading became a financial
exercise; precedence was given to the commercial and political
objectives. The military threat presented by the Ottoman Turks
diminished, making anti-Ottoman crusading obsolete in 1699
with the final Holy League.
223
Crusading movement
Origins
The First Crusade was an unexpected event for contemporary

chroniclers, but historical analysis demonstrates it had its
roots in developments earlier in the 11th century. Clerics and
laity increasingly recognised Jerusalem as worthy of
penitential pilgrimage. The desire of Christians for a more
effective church was evident in increased piety. Pilgrimage to
the Holy Land expanded after safer routes through Hungary
developed from 1000. There was an increasingly articulate
piety within the knighthood and the developing devotional and
penitential practises of the aristocracy created a fertile ground
for crusading appeals. The papacy’s decline in power and
influence had left it as little more than a localised bishopric,
but its’ assertion grew under the influence of the Gregorian
Reform in the period from the 1050s until the 1080s. The
doctrine of papal supremacy conflicted with the view of the
Eastern church that considered the pope as only one of the five
patriarchs of the Christian Church, alongside the Patriarchates
of Alexandria, Antioch, Constantinople and Jerusalem. In 1054
differences in custom, creed, and practice spurred Pope Leo IX
to send a delegation to the Patriarch of Constantinople, which
ended in mutual excommunication and an East–West Schism.
Military orders
The crusaders' propensity to follow the customs of their

Western European homelands meant that there were few
innovations developed in the crusader states. Three notable
224
exceptions to this were the military orders, warfare and

fortifications. The Knights Hospitaller, formally the Order of
Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, had a
medical function in Jerusalem before the First Crusade. The
order later adding a martial element and became a much larger
military order. In this way knighthood entered the previously
monastic and ecclesiastical sphere. The Templars, formally the
Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and the Temple of Solomon were
founded around 1119 by a small band of knights who dedicated
themselves to protecting pilgrims en route to Jerusalem. King
Baldwin II granted the order the Al-Aqsa Mosque in 1129 they
were formally recognised by the papacy at the 1129 Council of
Troyes. Military orders like the Knights Hospitaller and Knights
Templar provided Latin Christendom's first professional armies
in support of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the other crusader
states.
The Hospitallers and the Templars became supranational

organisations as papal support led to rich donations of land
and revenue across Europe. This, in turn, led to a steady flow
of new recruits and the wealth to maintain multiple
fortifications in the crusader states. In time, they developed
into autonomous powers in the region. After the fall of Acre the
Hospitallers relocated to Cyprus, then ruled Rhodes until the
island was taken by the Ottomans in 1522, and Malta until
Napoleon captured the island in 1798. The Sovereign Military
Order of Malta continues in existence to the present-day. King
Philip IV of France probably had financial and political reasons
to oppose the Knights Templar, which led to him exerting
pressure on Pope Clement V. The Pope responded in 1312 with
a series of papal bulls including Vox in excelso and Ad
providam that dissolved the order, explaining that the order
225
has been defamed by accusations of sodomy, heresy and magic,

although he did not condemn it on theses contested charges.
Art and architecture
According to the historian Joshua Prawer no major European

poet, theologian, scholar or historian settled in the crusader
states. Some went on pilgrimage, and this is seen in new
imagery and ideas in western poetry. Although they did not
migrate east themselves, their output often encouraged others
to journey there on pilgrimage.
Historians consider the crusader military architecture of the

Middle East to demonstrate a synthesis of the European,
Byzantine and Muslim traditions and to be the most original
and impressive artistic achievement of the crusades. Castles
were a tangible symbol of the dominance of a Latin Christian
minority over a largely hostile majority population.
They also acted as centres of administration. Modern

historiography rejects the 19th-century consensus that
Westerners learnt the basis of military architecture from the
Near East, as Europe had already experienced rapid
development in defensive technology before the First Crusade.
Direct contact with Arab fortifications originally constructed by

the Byzantines did influence developments in the east, but the
lack of documentary evidence means that it remains difficult to
differentiate between the importance of this design culture and
the constraints of situation. The latter led to the inclusion of
oriental design features such as large water reservoirs and the
exclusion of occidental features such as moats.
226
Typically, crusader church design was in the French

Romanesque style. This can be seen in the 12th-century
rebuilding of the Holy Sepulchre. It retained some of the
Byzantine details, but new arches and chapels were built to
northern French, Aquitanian and Provençal patterns. There is
little trace of any surviving indigenous influence in sculpture,
although in the Holy Sepulchre the column capitals of the
south facade follow classical Syrian patterns.
In contrast to architecture and sculpture, it is in the area of

visual culture that the assimilated nature of the society was
demonstrated. Throughout the 12th and 13th centuries the
influence of indigenous artists was demonstrated in the
decoration of shrines, paintings and the production of
illuminated manuscripts. Frankish practitioners borrowed
methods from the Byzantines and indigenous artists and
iconographical practice leading to a cultural synthesis,
illustrated by the Church of the Nativity. Wall mosaics were
unknown in the west but in widespread use in the crusader
states. Whether this was by indigenous craftsmen or learnt by
Frankish ones is unknown, but a distinctive original artistic
style evolved.
Manuscripts were produced and illustrated in workshops

housing Italian, French, English and local craftsmen leading to
a cross-fertilisation of ideas and techniques. An example of
this is the Melisende Psalter, created by several hands in a
workshop attached to the Holy Sepulchre. This style could have
both reflected and influenced the taste of patrons of the arts.
But what is seen is an increase in stylised, Byzantine-
influenced content. This extended to the production of icons,
unknown at the time to the Franks, sometimes in a Frankish
227
style and even of western saints. This is seen as the origin of

Italian panel painting. While it is difficult to track illumination
of manuscripts and castle design back to their origins, textual
sources are simpler. The translations made in Antioch are
notable, but they are considered of secondary importance to
the works emanating from Muslim Spain and from the hybrid
culture of Sicily.
Female involvement
Until the requirement was abolished by Innocent III married

men needed to obtain their wives' consent before taking the
cross, which was not always readily forthcoming. Muslim and
Byzantine observers viewed with disdain the many women who
joined the armed pilgrimages, including female fighters.
Western chroniclers indicated that female crusaders were
wives, merchants, servants and sex workers.
Attempts were made to control the women's behaviour in

ordinances of 1147 and 1190. Aristocratic women had a
significant impact: Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg led her own
force in 1101; Eleanor of Aquitaine conducted her own political
strategy; and Margaret of Provence negotiated her husband
Louis IX's ransom with an opposing woman—the Egyptian
sultana Shajar al-Durr. Misogyny meant that there was male
disapproval; chroniclers tell of immorality and Jerome of
Prague blamed the failure of the Second Crusade on the
presence of women. Even though they often promoted
crusading, preachers would typecast them as obstructing
recruitment, despite their donations, legacies and vow
redemptions. The wives of crusaders shared their plenary
indulgences.
228
Legacy
The Crusades created national mythologies, tales of heroism,

and a few place names. Historical parallelism and the tradition
of drawing inspiration from the Middle Ages have become
keystones of political Islam encouraging ideas of a modern
jihad and a centuries-long struggle against Christian states,
while secular Arab nationalism highlights the role of western
imperialism. Modern Muslim thinkers, politicians and
historians have drawn parallels between the crusades and
political developments such as the establishment of Israel in
1948. Right-wing circles in the western world have drawn
opposing parallels, considering Christianity to be under an
Islamic religious and demographic threat that is analogous to
the situation at the time of the crusades. Crusader symbols
and anti-Islamic rhetoric are presented as an appropriate
response. These symbols and rhetoric are used to provide a
religious justification and inspiration for a struggle against a
religious enemy.
Crusade finance and taxation left a legacy of social, financial,

and legal institutions. Property became available while coinage
and precious materials circulated more readily within Europe.
Crusading expeditions created immense demands for food
supplies, weapons, and shipping that benefited merchants and
artisans. Levies for crusades contributed to the development of
centralised financial administrations and the growth of papal
and royal taxation. This aided development of representative
bodies whose consent was required for many forms of taxation.
The Crusades strengthened exchanges between oriental and
occidental economic spheres. The transport of pilgrims and
crusaders notably benefitted Italian maritime cities, such as
229
the trio of Venice, Pisa, and Genoa. Having obtained

commercial privileges in the fortified places of Syria, they
became the favoured intermediaries for trade in goods such as
silk, spices, as well as other raw alimentary goods and mineral
products. Trade with the Muslim world was thus extended
beyond existing limits. Merchants were further advantaged by
technological improvements, and long-distance trade as a
whole expanded. The increased volume of goods being traded
through ports of the Latin Levant and the Muslim world made
this the cornerstone of a wider middle-eastern economy, as
manifested in important cities along the trade routes, such as
Aleppo, Damascus and Acre. It became increasingly common
for European merchants to venture further east, and business
was conducted fairly despite religious differences, and
continued even in times of political and military tensions.
Historiography
• The historiography of the Crusades is concerned with

the "history of the histories" of the military
campaigns discussed herein as well as the general
history of the Holy Land (including the Outremer and
Cyprus) during the Crusader period. The subject is a
complex one, with overviews provided in The
Routledge Companion to the Crusades, Modern
Historiography, and Crusades (Bibliography and
Sources). The histories describing the Crusades are
broadly of three types: (1) The primary sources of the
Crusades, which include works written in the
medieval period, generally by participants in the
Crusade or written contemporaneously with the
230
event, letters and documents in archives, and

archaeological studies; (2) secondary sources,
beginning with early consolidated works in the 16th
century and continuing to modern times; and (3)
tertiary sources, primarily encyclopedias,
bibliographies and genealogies.
Primary sources. The primary sources for the Crusades are

generally presented in the individual articles on each Crusade
and summarized in the list of sources for the Crusades. For
the First Crusade, the original Latin chronicles, most notably
the Gesta Francorum, together with The Alexiad by Byzantine
princess Anna Komnene, the Complete Work of History by
Muslim historian Ali ibn al-Athir, and the Chronicle of
Armenian historian Matthew of Edessa, provide for a starting
point for the study of the Crusades' historiography. Many of
these and related texts are found in the collections Recueil des
historiens des croisades (RHC) and Crusade Texts in
Translation. The work of William of Tyre, Historia Rerum in
Partibus Transmarinis Gestarum, and its continuations by later
historians complete the foundational work of the traditional
Crusade. Some of these works also provide insight into the
later Crusades and Crusader states. Other works of not e
include:
• Eyewitness accounts of the Second Crusade by Odo

of Deuil and Otto of Freising. The Arab view from
Damascus is provided by ibn al-Qalanisi.
• Works on the Third Crusade such as Libellus de
Expugnatione Terrae Sanctae per Saladinum
expeditione, the Itinerarium Regis Ricardi, and the
works of Crusaders Tageno and Roger of Howden,
231
and the narratives of Richard of Devizes, Ralph de

Diceto, Ralph of Coggeshall and Arnold of Lübeck.
The Arabic works by al-Isfahani and al-Maqdisi as
well as the biography of Saladin by Baha ad-Din ibn
Shaddad are also of interest.
• The Fourth Crusade is described in the Devastatio
Constantinopolitana and works of Geoffrey of
Villehardouin, in his chronicle De la Conquête de
Constantinople,Robert de Clari and Gunther of
Pairis. The view of Byzantium is provided by Niketas
Choniates and the Arab perspective is given by Abū
Shāma and Abu’l-Fida.
• The history of the Fifth and Sixth Crusades is well
represented in the works of Jacques de Vitry, Oliver
of Paderborn and Roger of Wendover, and the Arabic
works of Badr al-Din al-Ayni.
• Key sources for the later Crusades include Gestes
des Chiprois, Jean de Joinville'sLife of Saint Louis,
as well as works by Guillaume de Nangis, Matthew
Paris, Fidentius of Padua and al-Makrizi.
After the fall of Acre, the crusades continued in through the

16th century. Principal references on this subject are the
Wisconsin Collaborative History of the Crusades and Norman
Housley'sThe Later Crusades, 1274-1580: From Lyons to
Alcazar. Complete biblographies are also given in these works.
Secondary sources. The secondary sources of the Crusades

began in the 16th century, with the first use of the term
crusades was by 17th century French historian Louis
Maimbourg in his Histoire des Croisades pour la délivrance de
la Terre Sainte, with an earlier work by Thomas Fuller, The
232
Historie of the Holy Warre, referring to the entire enterprise as

the Holy War, with individual campaigns called voyages.
Notable works of the 18th century include Voltaire'sHistoire
des Croisades, and Edward Gibbon'sDecline and Fall of the
Roman Empire, excerpted as The Crusades, A.D. 1095–1261.
This edition also includes an essay on chivalry by Sir Walter
Scott, whose works helped popularize the Crusades.
Early in the 19th century, the monumental Histoire des

Croisades was published by the French historian Joseph
François Michaud, a major new narrative based on original
sources which was translated into English as The History of the
Crusades. The English school of Crusader historians included
Charles Mills, who wrote History of the Crusades for the
Recovery and Possession of the Holy Land, a complete history
of nine Crusades. The German school of historians was led by
Friederich Wilken, whose Geschichte der Kreuzzüge is a
complete history based on Western, Arabic, Greek and
Armenian sources.
Later, Heinrich von Sybel, who studied under Leopold von

Ranke (the father of modern source-based history) wrote his
Geschichte des ersten Kreuzzuges, both a history of the first
three Crusades and contains a full study of the authorities
and, as such, is the earliest historiography study. The greatest
German historian of the Crusades was then Reinhold Röhricht.
His histories Geschichte der Kreuzzüge im Umriss and
Geschichte des Königreichs Jerusalem, laid the foundation of
all modern Crusades research. His Bibliotheca geographica
Palaestinae summarizes over 3500 books on the geography of
the Holy Land, providing a valuable resource for historians (see
Related studies discussion below).
233
These histories have provided evolving views of the Crusades

as discussed in detail in the Historiography writeup in
Crusading movement. Modern works that serve as secondary
source material are listed in the Bibliography section below
and need no further discussion here.
Tertiary sources. The first encyclopedia article on the

Crusades is credited to Denis Diderot in the 18th century,
whose entry on Crusades in his Encyclopédie is based on
Voltaire's work. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, three
notable encyclopedia articles appeared. These include Philip
Schaff's article in the Schaff-Herzog Encyclopaedia of Religious
Knowledge. In addition, Louis Bréhier's multiple works on the
Crusades in the Catholic Encyclopedia; and the works of
Ernest Barker in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition),
later expanded into a separate publication, remain useful
references. All have interesting bibliographies showing
histories deemed important at the time. Any such discussion
must necessarily include the 8-volume Cambridge Medieval
History, planned by J. B. Bury. The modern work The
Crusades—An Encyclopedia, edited by historian Alan V.
Murray, is a comprehensive treatment with over 1000 entries
written by 120 authors from 25 countries.
Related studies. Numerous works in the auxiliary sciences of

history are also key to the study of the Crusades. Topics
include the genealogy of the nobles of the kingdom such as in
Lignages d’Outremer, chivalry, and legal texts as described in
the Assizes of Jerusalem and in the charters reproduced in
Röhricht's Regesta Regni Hierosolymitani. Additional topics
include the following:
234
• Archaeological disciplines have contributed to the

understanding of the history of the Crusades by
verifying or refuting accounts presented in original
sources. Particular emphasis has been on Crusader
castles, history of Crusader art, and document
analysis techniques such as palaeography,
diplomatics and epigraphy.
• Historical cartography, geography and topography
are important sources in the study of the history of
the Crusades.
• The disciples of numismatics, the study of coins and
other money, and sigillography, the study of seals of
Byzantium and the Latin East, play an important
role in interpreting histories.
Comprehensive Crusades histories also discuss the background

of the Holy Land before 1095, including the Islamic world,
pilgrimages to Jerusalem, and the Byzantine empire.
235

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Chapter 2 Holy Roman Empire ......................................................................... 26

Chapter 3 Feudalism ........................................................................................ 67

Chapter 4 Catholic Church ............................................................................... 83

Chapter 5 Chivalry ......................................................................................... 140

Chapter 6 Crusades........................................................................................ 165

The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the

Key historical trends of the High Middle Ages include the

From around 780, Europe saw the last of the barbarian

recognized state in Central Europe that was forming alliances

In the 11th century, populations north of the Alps began a

The High Middle Ages produced many different forms of

The rediscovery of the works of Aristotle, at first indirectly

• Historical events and politics

In England, the Norman Conquest of 1066 resulted in a

• Spain, Portugal, and Italy

Much of the Iberian peninsula had been occupied by the Moors

In Italy, independent city states grew affluent on eastern

From the mid-tenth to the mid-11th centuries, the

period, marked by the Treaty of Perth of 1266. Also, civil wars

• France and Germany

By the time of the High Middle Ages, the Carolingian Empire

During the successful reign of King David IV of Georgia (1089–

David's granddaughter Queen Tamar continued the upward

Relying on a powerful military élite, Tamar was able to build on

In the High Middle Ages, the Kingdom of Hungary (founded in

The following monarchs usually kept a close relationship with

During the High Middle Ages Lithuania emerged as a Kingdom

Unconquered during the Lithuanian Crusade, Lithuania itself

During the High Middle Ages Poland emerged as a kingdom. It

During the first half of this period (c. 1025—1185) the

rising Ottoman Empire in the 14–15th century. The power of

• Climate and agriculture

• The rise of chivalry

During the High Middle Ages, the idea of a Christian warrior

Medieval Europe. The Codes of Chivalry promoted the ideal

The East–West Schism of 1054 formally separated the

The Catholic Crusades occurred between the 11th and 13th

The Fatimids had captured Palestine in AD 970, lost it to the

In the context of the crusades, monastic military orders were

The Knights Templar were a Christian military order founded

The Knights Hospitaller were originally a Christian

The Teutonic Knights were a German religious order formed in

the Order's main pagan opponent, Lithuania, converted to

The new Christian method of learning was influenced by

aspects of the scholastic mainstream included Duns Scotus,

• Golden age of monasticism

The late 11th century/early-mid 12th century was the height of

• Benedictine Order – black-robed monks

• Franciscans (Friars Minor, commonly known as the

Christian heresies existed in Europe before the 11th century

cases, a rogue priest, or a village returning to pagan

Catharism was a movement with Gnostic elements that

The name Cathar stems from Greek katharos, "pure". One of

The Cathars are also called Albigensians. This name originates

refers to the southern town of Albi (the ancient Albiga). The

The Albigensians were strong in southern France, northern