Hi James: There is a proverb that states that absolute power corrupts absolutely. This can be said of the Medieval Church to a certain degree. Understanding that the majority of the great unwashed were without reading skills they knew about God and what God had to say by the way of the Church. This of course leads to great possibilities for corruption that did in fact take place. Things like the inquisition and the Holy Crusades are but two of the examples. It took the invention of the printing press to change all of this and start both the Protestant reformation and a couple of generations of war over issues spiritual. You are correct the Church was the major of repository of those things you mention but it was also the major repository of Western Civilization after the fall of Rome. But as stated earlier it was also vulnerable to being corrupted and also capable of corrupting. It (The Church) did play a pivotal part in most of the life in Western Europe. It was not until Henry VIII decided to challenge the authority of the Church by declaring himself the supreme head of the Church in England did the mortar that held Medieval Christianity under the thumb of Rome start to crumble, and the corruption of that institution begin to be known by an increasingly educated population.
Vance Wood. ----- Original Message ----- From: "James A Stimson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "Herbert Ward" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, January 28, 2004 10:43 PM Subject: Re: Church authority in the Renaissance. > > > > > Dear Herbert and All: > Apparently in early medieval France the church was the principal source of > concepts of law, justice, and rightness, and one of the few checks on the > caprices of despots. I think it must have played a more central role in > society than it does today (excepting such current utopias such as Iran). > Yours, > Jim > > > > > Herbert Ward > <[EMAIL PROTECTED] To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > exas.edu> cc: > Subject: Church authority in the Renaissance. > 01/28/2004 01:12 > PM > > > > > > > > My history book paints the Church as the major civilizing force after the > fall of Rome. It maintained learning, cared for orphans, helped to hold > political units together, and did much other useful work which no one else > did. > > But, alongside this, the Church was often corrupted, with selling of > offices, and more notably, its dreaded Inquisition and the burning of > heretics. > > These latter items, barbaric and authoritarian in the extreme, persisted > into the Renaissance. Their alienness to the modern idea of religion and > liberality makes me wonder whether it might not be useful to players of > historical music to understand better the mindset which supported them. > > My history book talks much of politics, social structures, dates, and > wars, but there is little that satifies a musician's longing to enter that > world emotionally. > > So, how does one solve the problem? Are there relevant James Michener > novels? Is there a book "A Day in the Life of an Inquistion Court Clerk"? > Do famous 16th century lutenists mention "that cursed Church spy" in their > letters? > > > > > >
