Alphabetical Index to Bible Timeline – Page 12 – Amazing Bible Timeline with World History

Posted on April 11, 2017March 20, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Malta Founded, Order of

Jerusalem: The City of Peace

The Order of Malta, also known as Order of Saint John, was founded not on the Mediterranean island itself but in the ancient city of Jerusalem in 1048 according to the Biblical Timeline with World History. For thousands of years, Jerusalem was the holiest of cities for the Jews. In the centuries that followed it became a beacon for Christianity and an important pilgrimage site for Christians. When Islam rose in the seventh century, the holy city of Jerusalem became one of the most important sites for the faith. The city soon found itself under Muslim hands after the Umayyads’ aggressive takeover in AD 638.

Although it was completely dominated by the Muslims from the early eighth century onwards, the rulers of the city allowed the Christian and Jewish inhabitants to remain and worship freely (provided, of course, that they abide by the conditions set before them). They also allowed the relatively safe passage of European pilgrims who flocked to the holy city during the Medieval Period. However, the overland route from Europe to Western Asia became more challenging with the arrival and domination of the Seljuk Turks. If the threat of the Seljuk Turks warriors was not enough, there was always good old banditry to deter would-be pilgrims from coming into Jerusalem. A sea route was developed as an alternative since the overland journeys posed great threats to regular travellers and Jerusalem-bound pilgrims.

The Order of Saint John of Jerusalem

In the middle of the eleventh century, a number of Italian merchants from the Duchy of Amalfi requested for the Fatimid ruler to grant them a piece of land where their fellow Italian pilgrims could rest while they were in Jerusalem. The Fatimid ruler gave them a site near the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The Amalfi merchants wasted no time in building a church on the piece of land they owned. It was followed by a monastery dedicated to the Virgin Mary, a women’s house, and finally, a xenodochium (hospice) built in 1048 to cater specifically to the sick inhabitants and the destitute pilgrims.

The hospice was dedicated to Saint John the Baptist (hence, the name Order of Saint John). The founders later built separate hospices for men and women. Stories, such as the claim that when he was alive, Jesus visited the site to cure the sick or that the hospice was around when the apostles were alive, were connected to the hospice and lent a sheen of history to it. Nevertheless, the hospice continued to serve pilgrims and sick inhabitants of Jerusalem well into the twelfth century after the first of the Crusaders captured Jerusalem. It was later renamed the Order of Malta when the Knights Hospitaller were driven out of Jerusalem and Rhodes in the thirteenth century.

References:
Picture By Pietro Anderloni – →This file has been extracted from another file: Bust portrait of a knight of Malta.jpg, Public Domain, Link
“History – Order of Malta.” Order of Malta. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Nov. 2016.
Nicholson, Helen J. The Knights Hospitaller. Woodbridge, Suffolk: Boydell Press, 2001.
Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The Knights Hospitaller in the Levant, C.1070-1309. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012.

Posted on April 10, 2017March 20, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Zimbabwe, Stone Houses of

The great stone houses of Zimbabwe were built between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. These stone buildings were named dzimbabwe in the local Shona language. The people of Zimbabwe later named their country after these stone buildings to honor their ancient cultural heritage. The stone houses of Zimbabwe are recorded on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History during 1250 AD.

Great Zimbabwe

The Shona people of ancient Zimbabwe lived between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers. Their ancestors hunted and gathered food wherever they could find them. They found that they lived on a good and fertile land later on, so they started to farm it. To make a living, they also raised cattle, made ceramics, and worked on iron. The Shona people also discovered that their land had an abundance of gold. So they started to mine and trade it with neighboring peoples.

They also became merchants and traded textiles from India for gold, ivory, and other products from south-east Africa. The kingdom became prosperous because of the trade. Around 1250, the people started to use their wealth to build stone houses. They laid out the foundations of the city of Great Zimbabwe around 1270 and expanded it around 1300 to include larger stone buildings.

The Great Zimbabwe Kings became the most powerful men in the region for the next 150 years. The city became so big in the years that followed that it covered an area of as much as 1,730 acres and as much as 20,000 people lived inside at its peak. The great city was divided into the three sites: the Great Enclosure, the Hill Ruins, and the Valley Ruins.

The Shona people lived in the Hill Ruins starting in the eleventh century and into the fifteenth century. They built a large structure which can only be reached via a narrow passage and enclosed it with rough stone blocks on top of a granite hill. It served as the house of the Great Zimbabwe kings and their families. A part of it served as a center where religious ceremonies were held.

The Great Enclosure was built south of the Great Zimbabwe hills and it was a massive round enclosure made of granite blocks. It contained some daga huts (walls made of granitic sand and clay), a public area, and a high conical tower. The Valley Ruins came much later in the nineteenth century. It included structures made of bricks or stones stacked and locked together to form a wall.

The Great Zimbabwe was abandoned in 1450, possibly because of food shortages caused by overpopulation and deforestation. The gold trade also shifted to other regions which greatly affected the kingdom’s economy and politics. The northern and western kingdoms rose after the Great Zimbabwe’s decline. They completely overshadowed the once great city in the years that followed.

References:
Picture By © Hans Hillewaert / , CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Cremin, Aedeen. The World Encyclopedia of Archaeology. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly Books, 2012.
“Great Zimbabwe National Monument.” UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed November 22, 2016. http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/364.
Oliver, Roland, ed. The Cambridge History of Africa C. 1050-c. 1600. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Roberts, J. M., and Odd Arne Westad. The History of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Posted on April 7, 2017March 20, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Mali Converted to Islam, Leaders of

The leaders of Mali converted to Islam around the thirteenth century (1200-1300) after the empire’s Lion Prince Sundiata Keita united his people. Many of Mali’s kings even became devout Muslims after the death of Sundiata Keita. They also listened to Muslim advisers who were influential in the royal court of Mali’s kings. The conversion of Mali to Islam is recorded on the Bible Timeline Chart with World History during 1235 AD.

Islam in West Africa

During the seventh century, Arab Muslims reached the African continent via the Sinai desert and the Red Sea. Despite the dangers, they still managed to reach Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, and Morocco. Apart from their religion, they also brought the Arab culture to North Africa. Native North African Christians called Copts eventually became minorities in Egypt, while ethnic Nubians who practiced Christianity also struggled against the popularity of Islam.

mali_converted_to_islam — “Muslim traders from North Africa crossed the Sahara Desert and reached the western part of the Sahel to trade salt”

Muslim traders from North Africa crossed the Sahara Desert and reached the western part of the Sahel to trade salt in exchange for the region’s abundant gold. They also preached Islam to the people of the Sahel but what they brought was the Sunni religious law called Maliki. One by one, the people of the Sahel region (particularly the people of the Ghana and Mali Empires) converted to Islam. Many, however, combined their new-found faith with their native religions. Others only converted to Islam so that they could take part in the lucrative Saharan trade.

Around the thirteenth century, many of the West African leaders had converted to Islam which included the leaders of the Mali Empire. The most revered of these Mali kings was Mansa Musa, who was said to be the richest man on earth at that time because of his kingdom’s gold.

Mali’s Muslim Kings

Before the arrival of Islam, the people of ancient Mali worshipped the spirits that lived inside objects. This practice is known as animism. Their village chiefs also served as their religious leaders. Around the twelfth century, Arab, Berber, and Tuareg merchants trickled from the northern part of the Sahara to trade salt for region’s gold. Some of the people of the Ghana Empire (which came before the Mali Empire) converted to Islam.

The Mali Empire replaced Ghana after it crumbled. Sundiata Keita, Mali’s Lion Prince, united his people and formed the Mali Empire after he defeated Sumanguru, King of Sosso. Although King Sundiata did not convert to Islam, he had many Muslim men who served in his court. He ruled between 1217 and 1255. His son, Mansa Uli, became the new king after his father’s death.

The Mali kings who followed Sundiata Keita converted to Islam. Some of them even made a pilgrimage to Mecca (the hajj). The greatest of these Muslim kings was Mansa Musa who reigned from 1307 to 1332. He made Islam the state religion of the Mali Empire and made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. He and his entourage of about 60,000 people passed through North Africa on the way to Mecca. He was said to be so rich that he brought with him many camels loaded with gold, and was known to be the richest man on earth at that time. He established good relations with the rulers of Morocco and then built a mosque in Egypt. He spent so much of the gold he brought with him in Egypt that its value went down many years after he and his people returned to Mali. The Malian cities of Timbuktu and Djenne also became important centers of worship and Islamic studies.

The Empire of Mali also crumbled after its people rebelled and it was attacked by the Tuaregs in the fifteenth century. It was conquered by the kingdom of Gao, which later gave way to the Muslim Songhay Empire.

References:
Picture By Holger Reineccius at the German language Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Hill, Margaret. “The Spread of Islam in West Africa: Containment, Mixing, and Reform from the Eighth to the Twentieth Century.” FSI | SPICE. Accessed November 22, 2016. http://spice.fsi.stanford.edu/docs/the_spread_of_islam_in_west_africa_containment_mixing_and_reform_from_the_eighth_to_the_twentieth_century.
Oliver, Roland, ed. The Cambridge History of Africa C. 1050-c. 1600. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1977. Print.
Pouwels, Randall L. “The History of Islam in Africa.” Ohio University Press. Accessed November 23, 2016. http://www.ohioswallow.com/extras/0821412965_intro.pdf.
Zamosky, Lisa. Mansa Musa: Leader of Mali. Huntington Beach, CA: Teacher Created Materials, 2010.

Posted on April 6, 2017March 20, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Sundiata Keita: Mali’s Lion Prince

Sundiata Keita was born in 1217. He ruled the Mali Empire between 1235 and 1255. He is recorded on the Bible Timeline with World History between 1217 and 1260. Also known as Mali’s Lion Prince, the great warrior was the hero from the epic story of the Old Mali Empire.

The Empires of West Africa

When the ancient Ghana Empire crumbled in the eleventh century, another empire took its place as the most powerful force in West Africa. The new empire was named Mali. It became wealthy and powerful after it took over the gold mining operations and Saharan trade from the Ghana Empire. Mali was said to be so wealthy that one of its kings owned as much as 10,000 horses. Just like other empires, it soon broke apart after it was attacked by the Berbers. The Muslim Songhai Empire rose after the disappearance of the Mali Empire.

Sundiata: Mali’s Lion Prince

Sundiata Keita was known as Mali’s Lion Prince because he was the empire’s first warrior and king. Modern readers know about Sundiata because he was the hero of the epic that bore his name. An Arab historian named ibn-Khaldun also wrote about him and his adventures. He was known as King Mari-Jata in ibn-Khaldun’s stories.

Sundiata was the son of Maghan Kon Fatta, chief of the Kangaba, by his wife, Sogolon Kedjou. His father was the chief of the Mandinka people (Malinke) who lived along the Sankarani River, and he had two other wives. His father’s other wives looked down on Sundiata’s mother because she was a hunchback and was ugly. Other people also mocked Sundiata because he was born crippled, but one day the young boy was healed through a miracle.

The young man became a popular hunter and a warrior. Soon, his older half-brother, Chief Dankaran Touman, became jealous of Sundiata’s popularity. Dankaran Touman made many attempts on his brother’s life, so Sundiata was forced to flee from their land.

Sundiata arrived in the kingdom of Mema (or Wagadou), and its King Tunkara offered him protection. In return, the young man served Tunkara as a warrior and later rose as an important commander of the army of Mema. Meanwhile, the King Sumanguru of the kingdom of Sosso marched his army and attacked Sundiata’s city of Kangaba. His brother, the Chief Dankaran Touman, was killed by King Sumangaru along with many members of the Kangaba royal family.

One member of their family survived. He immediately sent people to the kingdom of Mema to look for Sundiata. These men convinced Sundiata to come home and help them win against their enemy. The exiled prince agreed to go home, but he knew that he would not be able to defeat Sumanguru since many of their own warriors had died in battle. The king of Mema then gave Sundiata some of his own men to help him take back his homeland. Meanwhile, other warriors of the Mandinka also joined them as they marched near the city.

Sundiata and his troops won many battles against Sumanguru, but the king remained his great enemy for a long time. He finally found Sumanguru’s weakness and defeated him at the Battle at Kirina. The king of Sosso fled to his own country after his defeat. Sundiata and his men took back their own land.

The Mandinka chiefs had sworn their loyalty to Sundiata before, but they renewed their vow of loyalty to him after they won the war. They also agreed and proclaimed him as their new king in 1217. Each chief received a land of his own so that the kingdom became bigger. It soon became a great empire. The new king also ordered the people to build a new capital along the Sankarani River, and they called it Niani.

After the war, Sundiata repaid the king of Mema’s support with great gifts. They also became allies, and Mema became an independent kingdom within the Mali Empire. Sundiata Keita ruled until his death in 1255. He was succeeded by his only son, Uli I of Mali.

References:
CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Niane, Djibril Tamsir., David W. Chappell, and Jim Jones. Sundiata: An Epic of Old Mali. Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2006.
Oliver, Roland, ed. The Cambridge History of Africa C. 1050-c. 1600. Vol. 3. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
Roberts, J. M., and Odd Arne Westad. The History of the World. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Posted on April 5, 2017April 8, 2017 by Kat Cendana — 1 Comment

Ghana Empire, Height of the

The Ghana Empire flourished between AD 300 and 1200; it is recorded on the Biblical Timeline Chart with World History around 1000 AD. It was one of the richest empires in Africa at its height between AD 750 and 1000. The Empire, also known as Wagadou, was located in the western part of the Sahel region. It was also the largest and most powerful empire in the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The modern countries of Senegal, Gambia, Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Burkina Faso occupy the former territories of the Ghana Empire.

The Sahel region seemed incapable of sustaining life at first glance. Thanks to the Senegal, Gambia, and Niger rivers, people had inhabited this region for thousands of years. The first settlers of the Ghana Empire were hunter-gatherers who settled in to farm the land. The small settlement grew into a village where the people made a living by planting crops, mining, and trading with other tribes. The tiny village grew into a kingdom ruled by their king or as they called it, the ghana in the local Soninke language.

ghana_empire_map — “The Ghana Empire at its greatest extent”

Gold Trade in the Ghana Empire

The Ghana Empire first appeared on the records of learned men such as al-Khwarizmi and al-Fazari who called it “the land of gold.” The most important source of information on the Ghana Empire was the historian al-Bakri who visited its capital, Koumbi Saleh. In his records of the Ghana royal court, al-Bakri told his audience that the king wore many gold jewelry. This was not strange at all since he kept the finest gold nuggets while the common people only kept gold dust.

The abundance of gold in the Ghana Empire was the reason behind their wealth. It also fueled the gold and salt trade that thrived in the region during the Medieval Period. Berber merchants were the Ghana Empire’s best trading partners as they brought in salt that was important to the Sahel region. Salt was such a prized product for its people that they taxed a donkey-load of salt at one dinar when it entered the empire. Another two dinars were required each time it was sent out of the empire. The Ghana Empire traded with the Berbers for hundreds of years. But they sometimes fought because the Berbers liked to raid even the people they traded with.

References:
Picture By Luxo – Image:BlankMap-World gray.svg, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Cohen, Robert Z. Discovering the Empire of Ghana. New York, NY: Rosen Publishing, 2014.
Conrad, David C. Empires of Medieval West Africa: Ghana, Mali, and Songhay. New York: Chelsea House, 2010.
Fage, J. D., ed. The Cambridge History of Africa:. The Cambridge History of Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979. doi:10.1017/CHOL9780521215923.

Posted on April 3, 2017March 16, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Urban II

Urban II started his reign as pope in 1088 where he is recorded on the Bible Timeline with World History. He guided the Roman Catholic Church until his death in 1099. His reign was described as turbulent because of the schemes of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and the presence of Urban’s rival, the antipope Clement III. Pope Urban was also instrumental in rallying the European nobles (mostly French, Norman, Lombard, and German aristocrats) in taking part in the First Crusade between 1095 and 1099.

Early Life

Pope Urban II was born around 1042 at Châtillon-sur-Marne in the Champagne region near the city of Reims. His devout parents, Eucher and Isabella of Lagery, called their son Odo (or Otho). He descended from a well-to-do aristocratic family. As a boy, he studied under the brilliant Bruno of Cologne (later canonized as a saint) who founded the Carthusian Order of monks. He later entered the Cluny Abbey in 1070 to become a monk. Odo trained as a monk under Abbot Hugh and became friends with the monks of Cluny, especially the novice master Peter Pappacarbone.

In 1076, he was appointed as Grand-Prior by Abbot Hugh and was elevated as chief adviser and Bishop of Ostia by Pope Gregory VII in 1078. During the last three years of Gregory VII in office (1082-1085), Odo served as a papal legate. It was during this time that he was imprisoned by Henry IV in 1083 but released later in 1084. Gregory died in 1085. Desiderius of Monte Cassino was chosen to succeed the deceased pope. Desiderius, however, did not last long in the position as he was deposed shortly and Henry elected Clement III as the new Roman pontiff (considered as an antipope).

Election as Pope and Alliances

Deterred by the presence of Pope Clement III and Henry IV in Rome, a group of bishops unanimously elected Urban as pope in the coastal town of Terracina in 1088. He adopted the name Urban II thereafter. With few troops of his own, the newly elected Pope Urban II knew that he needed to strengthen his alliance with the pragmatic Normans who could supply him with troops that he needed so he could retake Rome. The Normans, however, were divided after the death of Robert Guiscard. So the pope headed south and helped reconcile the Norman lord’s heirs, Bohemond and his brother Roger. Urban enlisted the help of their uncle, the Count Roger. The reconciliation was accomplished one year later.

Urban left Sicily and returned to Rome shortly after he brokered the peace between Bohemond and Roger. He was escorted by Norman troops that would help him assert his rights as pope against Clement III. However, this show of force was not enough, and he had to live (temporarily) on the Pierleoni family estate on the island of Saint Bartholomew on the Tiber river. In 1089, Henry gained the upper hand in his war against the Saxons after the death of their leaders. To counter this, Urban issued a letter of excommunication against the German king. The antipope Clement III convened a synod in Rome in response to Urban’s excommunication of Henry, but his efforts came to nothing as he and his troops were driven out of the city on the 30th of June, 1089.

With the antipope out of Rome, Urban was at last free to rule as a duly elected Pope. However, he still spent the next four years struggling against Henry and Clement III until the German king’s power finally waned and both men were forced to flee north. In 1095, Urban issued an additional condemnation of Henry for his alleged mistreatment of his wife, the Empress Adelaide (Eupraxia of Kiev); the pope also issued the anathematization of simony, clerical marriage, and additional condemnation against the deposed Clement III and the heretical teachings of Berengarius.

The First Crusade

With Rome temporarily quiet, Urban spent the months between 1095 and 1096 touring France where a letter from the Byzantine emperor Alexius I Komnenus reached him. The letter contained Alexius’ simple request for additional troops to bolster his depleted army against the overwhelming strength of the Seljuk Turks who, by then, had conquered a great part of Asia Minor. Urban promised religious rewards to anyone who answered the call. It was a hit, especially among the nobles, and some of the first to respond to the call were Robert, Duke of Normandy; Hugh of Vermandois; and Stephen, Count of Blois. Laypeople, ordinary soldiers, and peasants also left Europe to go on a pilgrimage-turned-military adventure in the Levant in what would be called as the First Crusade.

The Fall of Henry and Urban II

By 1097, Henry’s power had completely weakened until he was nothing more than a wandering pariah in Germany. His own son, Conrad, had rebelled against him and turned to Pope Urban II for an alliance. To strengthen their alliance against Henry, Urban arranged for Conrad to marry Count Roger of Sicily’s daughter Maximilla and appointed the count as a papal legate in 1098. He also held a council in Rome between April 24 and 30 in 1099 to promote the First Crusade among the Italian nobles. It was his last council as on July 29, 1099. Pope Urban II died in the Pierleoni family estate. His remains were buried in Saint Peter’s beside the tomb of Pope Hadrian I.

References:
Picture By Francisco de Zurbarán – John N.D. Kelly (1997) Encyklopedia papieży, Warsaw: Państwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, p. 498 ISBN: 83-06-02633-0., Public Domain, Link
Mann, Horace K. The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages. Vol. VII. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1925.
Kelly, J. N. D., and Michael J. Walsh. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York, NY.: Oxford UP, 2010. Print.

Posted on March 31, 2017March 16, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Order of Austin Friars

The Order of the Austin Friars was created around 1253 on the British island, but at that time, it was less powerful than other Catholic orders. It was closed down during the Dissolution of the Monasteries between 1536 and 1541. The Order of Austin Friars is recorded on the Bible Timeline Chart with World History between 1150 and 1200 AD.

The Founding of the Austin Friars

In 1252, a group of hermits who followed the rule of Saint Augustine settled in Wales. Later on, the earl of Hereford and Essex and former Crusader Henry de Bohun ordered the construction of the first house of the Austin Friars in London. He had it built near the church of Saint Peter le Poer on Broad Street. In 1256, Pope Alexander IV gave his official recognition of the Order of Austin Friars.

The Order first followed the laws of the Dominicans, but they later followed the rule of the Augustinians (the word ‘Austin’ itself was a shortened version of the name ‘Augustine’). The brothers (friars) relied on donations that came from rich people to survive. In the early years, their property on London’s Broad Street was rented from the archdeacon of Saint Olave’s. The land donation of the Bishop of Bath and Wells in 1281 later made the priory’s property grow larger.

The Austin Friars were accused of occupying land that was not theirs in 1321. In 1334, they gained even more property after another land donation. The land which they occupied was transferred to them by the government in 1345, and there they built a new priory church nine years later.

In 1381, several Fleming rebels took refuge inside the Austin priory during the Peasants’ Revolt. They were later killed by a mob after they were dragged outside, but luckily, the crowd left the Austin friars alone. A Lollard preacher named Peter Patteshull later accused them of murder and other sins in 1388. He preached against them in front a crowd that gathered at Saint Christopher’s church. The crowd became angry at the friars during his sermon that they threatened to destroy the church. They only stopped when the sheriff arrived and convinced them to leave.

order_of_austin_friars — “The ruins of Glastonbury Abbey, dissolved in 1539 following the execution of the abbot”

The Dissolution of the Monasteries and the End of the Austin Friars

The Austin Friars met their biggest challenge during the reign of Henry VIII of England. The king and his chief minister fought the Roman Catholic Church, so they ordered all monasteries to be closed starting in 1536. The government ordered the friars to leave the priory, and they never went back even after the execution of the chief minister in 1540. The Marquess of Winchester later turned the building into a townhouse. Meanwhile, some parts of the Austin Friar building were converted to warehouses during the 19th century.

The church was later used by the Dutch Church, but a large part of the building remained as a warehouse. What remained of the original Austin Friar buildings were destroyed by the German bombers during the air raids of the Second World War. Some were rebuilt during the 1950s, a street named after the Austin Friars still exist in the city of London today.

References:
Picture by: Public Domain, Link
Douglas, J. D., and Earle E. Cairns, eds. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub., 1978.
“Friaries: The Austin friars,” in A History of the County of London: Volume 1, London Within the Bars, Westminster and Southwark, ed. William Page (London: Victoria County History, 1909), 510-513. British History Online, accessed November 8, 2016, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/london/vol1/pp510-513.
Justice, Steven. Writing and Rebellion: England in 1381. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1994.
Röhrkasten, Jens. The Mendicant Houses of Medieval London, 1221-1539. LIT Verlag Münster, 2004.

Posted on March 30, 2017March 16, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Election of Popes (1059), Decree of

Background

The middle of the eleventh century was a tumultuous period for the papacy. Six popes reigned during a twelve-year period (December of 1046 until March of 1058). Four of them were German bishops who were favored by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III (all four kept their bishoprics in Germany even when they served as popes). One of the popes who was elected during this period was French, while another, Benedict IX, was an Italian who descended from a powerful family. Benedict IX’s reign, in particular, embodied the chaotic period after he was elected because of bribery and expelled twice from the papacy. Another “pope” who was elected during this time was Benedict X. His election was considered as invalid as it was arranged by Lombard nobles in 1058 using bribery and intimidation. The decree of the Election of Popes was then made around 1000 AD according to the Bible Timeline Chart with World History.

The Cardinals who were supposed to take part in the election of a new pope upon the death of Pope Stephen IX in 1058 fled from Rome to Siena out of fear for their safety. In Siena, the cardinals elected Gerard de Bourgogne (Gerard of Burgundy), the Bishop of Florence, as the new pope. He had the backing of Hildebrand of Sovana (future Pope Gregory VII), the Holy Roman Emperor Henry III, and other Italian nobles who had him escorted by their own troops when he entered Rome on January 24, 1059. He adopted the name Nicholas II. He then assembled a synod in the Lateran Palace less than three months after his election to prevent the repetition of corrupt papal election practices that had persisted since the ninth century. One hundred and thirteen bishops attended the Synod of 1059.

“In Nomine Domini” of 1059

An earlier synod called the Lateran Council of 769 previously tried to address the papal election issues that persisted over the years. The Lateran Council decreed that the papal candidate should only be chosen from among the cardinal priests or cardinals deacons upon election. But since the publication of the Lateran Council’s decrees, Pope Nicholas found that only 25 of the popes previously elected were qualified (as they held the positions of cardinal priests and cardinal deacons). Five popes were of dubious backgrounds while as much as fifty percent of popes elected between 769 up to the eleventh century failed to qualify for some reason or another (the catch was that Nicholas II himself was not qualified).

To rectify this, they released a papal bull known as “In Nomine Domini” (In the Name of Our Lord) after the Roman Synod of 1059. It contained the following decrees that addressed the papal election:

Upon the death of the pope, the cardinal bishops should summon the cardinal clergy, other priests, and the laity for them to give their consent to the election of the new pope.
Only the cardinal bishops were allowed to elect the pope (this was done so as to prevent bribery and simony).
The candidate should be chosen within the Roman clergy, but if they can’t find a suitable candidate, the Cardinals were allowed to elect one from another church.
After they have chosen a pope-elect, this was followed by an endorsement by the cardinal priests and cardinal deacons.
The endorsement required the agreement not only of the cardinals but also of the rest of the Roman clergy and the laity.
Rome was the ideal place for the election, but if circumstances did not permit for them to vote in Rome, the cardinals were allowed to assemble and elect the new pope anywhere.
The new pope would then assume his responsibilities and the powers that came along with the position. He should also send a message to the Holy Roman Emperor as a courtesy.

References:
Picture By Artaud de Montor (1772–1849) – http://archive.org/details/thelivesandtimes00montuoft, Public Domain, Link Artaud de Montor (1772–1849) – http://archive.org/details/thelivesandtimes00montuoft, Public Domain, Link
Guruge, Anura, and Matt Kirkland. The Next Pope. Alton, NH: WOWNH, 2011.
Mann, Horace K., and Johannes Hollnsteiner. The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages: The Popes of the Gregorian Renaissance. Vol. VI. London: B. Herder, 1925.
“Medieval Sourcebook: Decree of 1059: On Papal Elections.” Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Accessed October 19, 2016. http://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/papal-elect1059.asp.
Weber, Nicholas. “Pope Nicholas II.” The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 11. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1911. 19 Oct. 2016 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/11055a.htm>.

Posted on March 29, 2017June 6, 2019 by Kat Cendana — 1 Comment

Order of Dominicans and Inquisition Formally Established

Dominic, a Castilian priest, founded the Order of the Dominicans around 1216, and it was legalized by Pope Honorius III in the same year. The Dominican priests later became leaders in the Papal Inquisition after it was authorized by Pope Gregory IX through a papal bull in 1233 which is where it is recorded on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History.

Saint Dominic and the Order of Dominicans

Dominic was born in the Spanish town of Calaruega around 1170. He studied at the University of Salamanca before he became a priest in Osma. He became a chaplain when he came with the bishop of Osma to the south of France. There they preached against the Albigensian heresy. They were later allowed to set up the first Dominican convent for women at Prouille in Languedoc, France. For the next seven years, Dominic worked hard in France to bring back the Albigensians under the influence of the Catholic Church.

The first Dominican monastery was established in Toulouse in 1215. Pope Honorius III legalized the Order of the Dominicans in 1216. He established Dominican monasteries in France, Spain, and Italy in the years that followed. He died in the Italian city of Bologna in 1220. He was later canonized by Pope Gregory IX as a saint in 1234.

order_of_dominicans — “Pope
Honorius III”

The Inquisition

The Dominicans were great students and preachers which made them valuable to the Pope each time he wanted them to preach the Crusade. Since their Order depended on alms, they were also useful when the Pope needed to collect donations and taxes. In 1233, Pope Gregory IX authorized the Inquisition and allowed the Dominicans to get rid of the Albigensian and Waldensian heretics in southern Europe.

The Dominicans initially used teaching and preaching to win over the people they knew as heretics. They convinced them to confess to the Dominicans and those who did were punished lightly. Those who did not confess were brought to the priest and then interviewed by the church authorities. In 1252, Pope Innocent IV allowed the use of torture to get the suspected heretics to confess. As the years passed, the punishment for heresy became more brutal. Many people the Inquisitors suspected as heretics were tortured, imprisoned, or worse, burned to death. “Lesser” penalties for heretics included whipping, prayer, pilgrimage, and confiscation of properties.

References:
Douglas, J. D., and Earle E. Cairns, eds. The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub., 1978.
Graves, Dan. “Dominicans Became Dreaded Inquisitors.” www.christianity.com N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.
Kibler, William W., Grover A. Zinn, John Bell Henneman, Jr., and Lawrence Earp, eds. Medieval France: An Encyclopedia. New York: Routledge, 1995.
McDonald, James. “Inquisition against the Cathars of the Languedoc.” Cathars and Cathar Beliefs in the Languedoc. Accessed November 16, 2016. http://www.cathar.info/cathar_inquisition.htm.

Posted on March 28, 2017March 16, 2017 by Kat Cendana — Leave a comment

Gregory VII

Gregory VII was elected as pope in 1073 (which is where is he recorded on the Bible Timeline Poster with World History) and ended his papacy in 1085 after a falling out with the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV. Although his tenure as pope ended in his exile, Gregory VII was one of the popes who introduced enduring papal reforms after years of corrupt clerical elections and appointments.

Early Life

Gregory VII was born around 1020 in the town of Sovana (Soana) in Southern Tuscany. According to tradition, his father, Bonizo, worked either as a carpenter, a goatherd, or a blacksmith. His parents christened him the name Hildebrand. Despite his humble origins, they sent him to Rome to be educated in the Cluniac Benedictine monastery of Santa Maria del Priorato on the Aventine Hill. Hildebrand as a monk was deeply influenced by Cluny’s reformist movement of caring for the poor and restoration of monastic discipline.

He was later sent to the Schola Cantorum in Rome and trained under the popes who served before him which included John XIX and Pope Gregory VI (John Gratian). He was particularly close to Pope Gregory VI who appointed Hildebrand as Papal Capellanus (chaplain) in 1045 and guardian of the altar of Saint Peter. In 1046, Gregory VI was compelled to resign after the Council of Sutri deemed his “election” as invalid after he was found guilty of simony (the purchase of clerical office) and he returned to Germany with the loyal Hildebrand at his side. Gregory VI died in Cologne shortly after his resignation and in 1048, Hildebrand entered the Cluny Abbey in France. He accompanied Prior Hugh of Cluny later to Worms where he met Bruno of Egisheim-Dagsburg (later Pope Leo IX) and agreed to return to Rome with him.

Election as Pope

In Rome, Hildebrand became an adviser to a number of popes, which included Nicholas II, Pope Victor II, and Alexander II. He became a subdeacon under Pope Leo IX, an archdeacon under Nicholas II, and retained his high position during the reign of Victor II. Alexander II died on the 21st of April, 1073, and Hildebrand was proclaimed as pope on the following day after a surprisingly quiet election. He was unanimously elected because of his popularity. He took the name Gregory VII to honor his mentor, the deceased Gregory VI. Pope Gregory VII’s consecration was held on the 30th of June in the same year at Saint Peter’s Basilica. His election was later confirmed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV.

One of the first things Pope Gregory VII took care of was to reconcile the competing factions of nobles which dominated Italy. He also curbed their powers to prevent them from interfering with religious matters which sometimes led to simony and other such abuses. These reforms did not sit well with Emperor Henry IV who wanted to appoint his own clerics, but Gregory insisted he, as pope, had the sole right to confirm a bishop and grant him the office after he was elected by the local clergy.

Henry’s defiance of Gregory earned him an excommunication that was issued in 1076 (Henry was only absolved after his penance) and another in 1080 after Gregory was entangled in Henry’s war against the Saxons. The emperor also retaliated by assembling a synod made up of German bishops and branded the Pope as a “false monk.” The synod then deposed Gregory and elected in his stead the antipope Clement III in 1084. His Roman allies abandoned Gregory after Clement’s election. The pope’s Norman allies, particularly Robert Guiscard, had to evacuate him from Rome after he fled to Civita Castellana in Viterbo.

He died in exile on the 25th of May, 1085 in the coastal city of Salerno.

References:
Picture By user:GDK – Own work: unknown 11th-century manuscript, Public Domain, Link
Cowdrey, H. E. J. Pope Gregory VII, 1073-1085. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1998.
Doran, John. “Gregory VII.” Oxford Bibliographies. Accessed November 2, 2016. http://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195396584/obo-9780195396584-0131.xml.
Kelly, J. N. D., and Michael J. Walsh. The Oxford Dictionary of Popes. New York, NY.: Oxford UP, 2010.
Mann, Horace K. The Lives of the Popes in the Early Middle Ages. Vol. VII. London: Kegan Paul, Trench, Trubner, 1925.