What new challenges faced the church in the thirteenth century, and how did it respond? What has changed in society since we began this course in the year 1000, and how did the thirteenth century church and spirituality reflect these changes?
Main Prompt:
What new challenges faced the church in the thirteenth century, and how did it respond? What has changed in society since we began this course in the year 1000, and how did the thirteenth century church and spirituality reflect these changes?
Answer these questions (and the appropriate sub-questions) using ONE of the following sources:
A) Selections from the writings of St. Francis and St. Clare
What are the principles of life that Francis and Clare laid out for their followers? How do these principles reflect contemporary concerns facing thirteenth century society? What differentiated the Franciscans from the heretical movements discussed by Teo in Lecture 8? In what ways were they the same?
[It might also be helpful to read the optional reading on St. Francis I posted on my blog, though not required.]
B) Thomas of Monmouth, The Life and Martyrdom of St. William of Norwich (c. 1173)
How does this text paint Jews and Jewish culture? What does this text reveal about the process of defining people as “others” within medieval society? R.I. Moore has argued that during this period, persecution of minorities became systematized; do you see evidence for or against that argument in this text?
C) Pope Boniface, Unam Sanctam (1302) / King Philip IV of France, General Assembly of Paris (1303)
What arguments do Pope Boniface and Philip IV make about the relationship of religious and secular power? Contrast this pair of documents to the sources we read on the Investiture Controversy. What has changed in how kings and popes define their power, and what does this show about the earliest stages of the processes of nationalization and secularization in the West?
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