ORGANISATION, LIFE, AND INSTITUTIONS OF THE CHURCH, SIXTH TO NINTH
CENTURY
OUTLINE: I.--Organisation of the papal hierarchy. II.--Moral
condition of the clergy and laity. III.--Great activity and
wide influence of the Church. IV.--The ordeals and the Church.
V.--Church discipline--excommunication and interdict--and
penance. VI.--Worship--the mass--preaching--hymns. VII.--The
sacraments. VIII.--Relics and saints. IX.--Sources.
The Roman Catholic Church, based on the Bible and tradition, satisfying
the religious needs of the age, and moulded by the historical forces of
the period, changed from the democratic, apostolic Church to the
powerful monarchial hierarchy of the Middle Ages, by a natural,
historical process. The Pope, the Bishop of Bishops, stood at the head
of the well organised hierarchy as the source of faith, the supreme
law-giver, the distributor of justice, the resort of last appeal, and
the grantor of offices, honour, and favours. He came to hold the balance
of power in the world-politics and claimed supremacy in secular affairs.
To enforce his will he had an army of priests and monks, the sanctity
and prestige of Peter's Chair, and the formidable weapons of
excommunication and interdict. To assist him in his multitudinous
duties, an extensive papal court had been gradually built up.
Just below the Pope in the hierarchy came the archbishops, or primates,
or metropolitans.[348:1] After the third century, the term metropolitan
in the East meant the bishop who lived in the capital of a province. The
Council of Nicæa recognised the office and gave the metropolitan the
right to ordain bishops.[348:2] The Council of Antioch clearly defined
the jurisdiction of the metropolitan.[348:3] He ruled the suffragan
bishops, conducted episcopal elections, confirmed and ordained bishops,
called and presided over annual episcopal synods. Somewhat later he came
to exercise the right of deciding appeals.[348:4] Gradually the name and
prerogatives were extended to the West, where about the seventh century
the metropolitans were very powerful,[348:5] but by degrees they lost
their power when secular princes, like the Merovingian kings, usurped
their functions. Even the bishops adopted the short-sighted policy of
preferring to have their superior at Rome instead of in their own
province. Under the Carolingians, especially Charles the Great, and the
Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals, however, they regained something of their
earlier prestige. But they were subjected to the direct control of the
Pope and existed as useful intermediaries between Rome and the ordinary
bishops. In that limited sphere of activity, however, there were still
many important duties left to the metropolitan of the Middle Ages. As
early as the sixth century the Pope at Rome, as patriarch, claimed the
right to sanction the election of a metropolitan by the clergy of the
province, and bestowed the "pallium" upon the candidate. The
metropolitans, it must be remembered, were not generally separated from
archbishops in the early history of the Church. When the differentiation
did evolve, the archbishop became superior to the metropolitan.
The title archbishop was unknown in the Church before the fourth
century. At first it was used as a sign of honour without implying
superior jurisdiction over bishops. Perhaps Athanasius first used it in
speaking of Bishop Alexander of Alexandria. Then Gregory Nazianzen
applied it to Athanasius himself. Soon it came to be used in connection
with the bishops of the most important sees in the East. Liberatus gave
all the patriarchs the title of archbishops. The Council of Chalcedon
even applied the name to the mighty patriarchs of Rome and
Constantinople. When the Empire was divided into dioceses, which in turn
were subdivided into provinces, an exarch or vicar was placed in the
capital of each diocese. In conscious imitation, the Church established
ecclesiastical exarchs or patriarchs in these local capitals. Archbishop
was a common title for this office. The archbishop ordained the
metropolitans, convened diocesan synods, received appeals from the
metropolitan and his provincial synod, and enforced discipline in his
diocese. In the West in the seventh century Isidore of Seville ranked
the archbishop higher than the metropolitan. The precise distinction
between the two offices, however, was not very clear and, finally, was
lost entirely. These officers usually sided with the secular authorities
against the Pope and tended to favour the organisation of national
Churches with patriarchs at their head. They attempted likewise to
subject the bishops and priests to their rule and thus curtail the power
of the Pope. The Popes, however, saw the danger and sought to avert it
by appointing several archbishops in each country, and bestowing upon
one of them the title of "primate" with the delegated powers of the Holy
See. Thus England had the archbishops of Canterbury, the oldest (seventh
century) and most important,[350:1] and of York (eighth century).
Germany was ruled by the archbishops of Mayence, who was "primus" and
who served as imperial chancellor until the time of Otto the
Great,[350:2] Trier (eighth century), Cologne (eighth century), Salzburg
(eighth century), Hamburg-Bremen (ninth century), and Magdeburg (tenth
century).[350:3] France possessed the archbishops of Rheims, who was
recognised as primate,[350:4] Aix, Aux, Bordeaux, Bourges, and Rouen. In
Italy the Pope had a continual struggle with the archbishops of Milan,
who claimed as their founder the apostle Barnabas, Aquileia, and
Ravenna. The use of the title primate does not come into ordinary use,
it seems, until after the appearance of the Pseudo-Isidorian Decretals.
Next in the hierarchy came the bishops. They resented, as a general
rule, the pretensions of both the metropolitans and the archbishops and
recognised the Pope as their friend and superior. Since all western
Europe was divided up into episcopal dioceses, with one bishop in each
diocese, they were both very numerous and very powerful, particularly
in local affairs.
For the first five centuries of the Christian era the election of
bishops in the Church followed one general pattern. The neighbouring
bishops nominated while the local clergy and laity approved the election
and gave the requisite testimony of character. But with the evolution in
the organisation of the Church, and as a result of the close alliance
with the state, a series of important changes occurred. (1) With the
rise of the metropolitans there appeared a new factor in the selection
of a bishop. The metropolitan usually conducted the election, and
confirmed and ordained the candidate. This came to be regulated by
Church canons. (2) With the ascendancy of the state over the Church the
selection of bishops was practically transferred to the laity. At times
Emperors alone nominated. After the sixth century, the right of royal
assent was generally acknowledged. It was but a short step to convert
that secular assumption into a right of nomination. Thus the ruling
power had come to control the election of bishops quite generally
throughout the mediæval Church. Among the chief qualifications for the
office were, in addition to a good character, an age limit of fifty
years, ordination as priest, or at least as deacon, and membership in
the local clergy. But these requirements were often broken and waived.
The bishop occupied an office of arduous duties and grave
responsibilities. It might be said that he was the powerful ruler of his
province. He administered all the Christian sacraments. He enforced
discipline. He received all income and offerings, and managed all the
ecclesiastical business of his diocese. He exercised the power of
ordination and confirmation, and thus perpetuated the Christian
ministry. He did all the formal preaching and by visitation kept an
oversight of the whole Church under his care. He was the natural medium
of communication to and from his people and clergy. He was also an
important factor in the local synod and served as the ecclesiastical
judge of his district. All such matters as liturgy, worship, alms,
dedication of churches, patronage, and protection of minors, widows, and
the unfortunate came under his jurisdiction. Nor did his cares end here.
Through the synod he helped to rule the province and through the general
council he participated in the government of the Church at large.
The bishops controlled the priests, who were found in every section of
Christendom in the sixth century, and who came into vital touch with the
masses of the laity. As early as the third century, indeed, all churches
began to conform to a single type. The independence of the presbyter of
the early Church disappeared with the rise of the episcopal system. The
subordination of the priest became, by the sixth century, complete. This
result was inevitable because of the rise of the synodal system, the
assimilation of the organisation of the Empire, and the development of
the parochial system, which subdivided the diocese into smaller sections
in the hands of priests.[352:1] The priests administered the sacraments
to the people to whom they were the very bread of life and the means of
salvation, heard them in their confessions, inflicted penances and gave
them counsel, baptised their children, confirmed them, watched over all
their deeds on earth, closed their eyes in death, and prepared them for
the world to come, and even through prayers and masses interceded for
their forgiveness in purgatory. Working side by side with the priests
were the countless monks and nuns fairly swarming over western Europe,
who also came into intimate touch with the masses. They were the
teachers and preachers of the common people. In the hands of these
priests and monks rested almost entirely the humane and charitable
institutions of the Middle Ages. The true religion of Jesus was likewise
in their hands rather than in the hands of the higher clergy.
At the bottom of the hierarchical pyramid were the laity, who by the
twelfth century included all the people of western Europe, except a
portion of Spain. Both canon law and imperial law forbade their
performing any sacerdotal functions and ordered them "to be obedient to
the order handed down by the Lord."
From the standpoint of morality,[353:1] this period was one of
pronounced contrasts. Christian virtues and heathen vices, the strictest
asceticism and the grossest sensuality, tyranny and crude democracy, all
existed side by side with apparently no serious conflicts. It was an age
of anarchy, confusion, lawlessness, immorality, and highway robbery on
land and sea, accompanied by boldness, chivalry, and heroism. In the
East, the Church had to contend with "the vices of an effete
civilisation and a corrupt court." In the West, many of the old Roman
vices were continued and even invigorated by fresh barbaric blood. It
would be difficult to imagine anything more corrupt than the Merovingian
court.[353:2] Of the whole period Gibbon declares that it would be
impossible "to find anywhere more vice or less virtue."
The people at this time might be called more religious than moral. A
little piety would cover a multitude of sins in the eyes of even the
best. A whole life of wickedness and evil-doing was all wiped out and a
home in heaven assured by the building of a church, monastery, shrine,
or hospital, or by deeding property to the Church, or by doing some
pious deed. An exaggerated belief in the supernatural and miraculous was
universal. A physical hell, heaven, devil, and angels were just as real
to the people as the earth, day and night, the sun and moon, and the
seasons. The worship of saints and relics was very common, and
particularly in favour with the most wicked. The seventh century had
more saints than any preceding, except possibly the fourth. Under these
circumstances, it was not uncommon to find good used as a cloak for evil
and the greatest apparent sanctity united with the worst
licentiousness.[354:1]
The clergy led society and set moral standards which the masses followed
without question. They embraced all social ranks from the sons of kings
to the sons of slaves. Politically they shared with the kings and nobles
the rule of the people. The upper clergy had huge estates like the
landed nobles, and were, in fact, recruited largely from the younger
sons of noblemen. The clergy were everywhere immune from taxation and
military service. Charles the Great and his successors gave them all the
privileges granted by the Eastern Emperors from Constantine on. They
could not be tried or sued before civil courts, but had their own
tribunals. They were supported by the income from landed estates, gifts
from the pious, and legally established tithes. Morally, they were as a
rule superior to their flocks, although there are many disgraceful
exceptions. Europe was cursed at this time with tramp priests without
churches who swarmed over Europe demanding a livelihood because of the
sanctity of their office. Contrary to law, bishops wore swords and lost
their lives on battle-fields--even Popes engaged in warfare.[355:1]
Drunkenness was not infrequent among the clergy and licentiousness was a
common complaint against them.[355:2] The minutes of Church synods are
full of censures and punishments for clerical sins and vices like
fornication, intemperance, avarice, hunting and hawking, gambling,
betting, attending horse races, going to theatres, keeping houses of
prostitution, and others.[355:3] Celibacy was the prescribed rule of the
West, but many of the clergy were either married or lived with
mistresses. Hadrian II. was married before he became Pope and his
son-in-law murdered both the Pope's wife and daughter (868).[355:4] But
there were of course many noteworthy examples of purity in all ranks of
the clergy. Married laymen upon entering the priesthood or a convent
gave up their wives. The lowest depths, perhaps, were reached in the
tenth and eleventh centuries, when even the Popes themselves, who should
have stood for all that was best, set the example for the greatest evil.
Reform did not appear until the coming of the monastic order of Clugny,
the German Emperors, and the Hildebrandine Popes.
The Church, however, during this trying, formative period was the moral
ark of safety for Europe. It fought vice and encouraged virtue. It was
the only promoter of education and culture. It taught the Apostles'
Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and along with them
were learned lessons of faith and duty. It emphasised both the need and
importance of prayer, fasts, charity, pity, hospitality, and other
virtues. Its ideals were always high--far above the masses of the Church
members--though in practice the clergy did not always conform to the
ideals. The Church was the one great light that pointed the people of
this epoch to a brighter day and a better civilisation. The sanctity of
the home life for the laity and of celibacy for the priests was
asserted. Divorce was seldom permitted.[356:1] Woman's position and
property rights were advanced. The Virgin Mary was constantly extolled
as the incarnation of womanly purity, love, and devotion. Much wise and
ennobling legislation on the subject of marriage was enacted. There are
many instances, too, where the head of the Church, or one of his
officers, bravely protected injured innocence, even against kings.
Polygamy, concubinage, secret marriage, the marriage of relatives, and
marriage with Jews, heathen, or heretics were forbidden.[356:2]
The Church inherited the patristic conception of Rome in regard to
slavery. Jesus had made no direct reference to the social organisation.
St. Paul, however, spoke of the relations of slave and master.[356:3]
"The world into which Christianity was born recognised slavery
everywhere."[357:1] The early Church tolerated slavery, but emancipation
was held to be an act of Christian charity[357:2]; hence converted
Christians often freed their slaves on baptism.[357:3] The Church
Fathers recognised the institution of slavery as a moral wrong
established on a legal basis, but called Christian slaves brothers.
Lactantius told Constantine that slaves were brothers in Jesus.[357:4]
Ambrose suggested that the slave might be even superior to his
master.[357:5] Augustine held that slavery was a sin which originated in
the Noachian curse, but that Christ's sacrifice freed slaves,
consequently the curse would disappear.[357:6]
The mediæval Church, inheriting the patristic view, sought not to
abolish slavery, but to ameliorate it. Masters were requested,
therefore, to provide spouses for their slaves.[357:7] Prayers were
offered up constantly for the removal of their hardships.[357:8] They
were granted all the Church feast and fast days.[357:9] Among the
Christians there were many acts of manumission.[357:10] Constantine and
his successors enacted many laws favourable to slaves.[357:11] The
barbarian invasion, however, postponed for a thousand years the general
emancipation of slaves. The Church itself was a slave-owner and slaves
were found on the lands of convents, bishops, and Popes.[358:1] Even
one of the Popes, Calistus, had been a slave.[358:2] But at the same
time the Church was always an asylum for slaves and sought to protect
them from cruel masters. Gregory the Great declared that all slaves held
by Jews were free[358:3] and also emancipated heathen slaves upon
turning Christian.[358:4] Thus both by precept and example the Church
was the one great force paving the way for the gradual abolition of
slavery.[358:5]
The Church, as the great advocate of peace and order, strove to abolish
family feuds, blood-revenge, and private wars by substituting legal
action and legal penalty against the author of crime.[358:6] The synod
of Toledo in 693 forbade duels and private feuds.[358:7] The synod of
Charroux in 989 and the Bishop of Puy in 990 proclaimed the "Peace of
God."[358:8] The synod of Poitiers in 1004, in proclaiming the "Peace of
God," decided that law should replace force in determining questions of
justice. The synod of Limoges in 1031 issued an interdict against bloody
feuds. The Church everywhere sought to have disputes settled by fines
rather than fighting, by arbitration rather than litigation, by
witnesses rather than by duels. The efforts of the Church in this era of
lawlessness, of wanton bloodshed, and of insecurity of property, to
maintain peace and to secure justice form one of the most glorious
chapters in her remarkable career. The Popes wrote letters and published
encyclicals to recommend vows and habits of concord to all Christian
nations. Great councils were called to spread abroad ideas of amity and
brotherly love. The clergy preached it and enthusiastic monks went from
village to village to proclaim it in the name of the "Prince of Peace."
A veritable crusade of peace swept over Europe, and denounced war as
anti-Christian. Brotherhoods of the Peace of God were formed to curb the
militant feudal barons and to protect commerce, agriculture, women,
children, travellers, strangers, and holy clerks. When the whole
ecclesiastical machinery of the Church, with its power to withhold
salvation gained through the holy sacraments and with its mighty weapons
of excommunication and interdict, was wielded in behalf of peace, it was
a force that could not easily be resisted.[359:1] To the Church,
therefore, must be given the credit of making the first determined
effort to limit, if not to abolish, the ravages of private war.
The famous "Truce of God," which originated in Aquitania in 1033, marks
a new era.[359:2] Private war was the curse of the Middle Ages and the
Church made an effort to check the evil. According to its provisions,
bishops and abbots were to see to it that all feuds should cease from
Wednesday evening till Monday morning. The penalty for violating the
truce was at first excommunication, but later expulsion from a
bishopric, loss of a benefice or property, severance of the right hand,
decapitation, scalping, and other punishments were added. Archbishop
Raimbald of Arles with other bishops and abbots asked the Church in
Italy in 1041 to adopt the "Truce of God."[360:1] Pope Nicholas II.
(1059) and Alexander II. (1068) made public proclamation of the peace,
and, as a result of all these endeavours, it soon spread over
France,[360:2] Italy,[360:3] Burgundy, Spain, and Germany.[360:4] Rulers
were not slow to sanction and to enforce these peace measures. Emperor
Henry IV. issued an edict in 1085 to enforce the "Truce of God" under
frightfully severe penalties.[360:5] Pope Urban II. in the Council of
Clermont, held a decade later, made it the general law of the
Church.[360:6] The time was extended to the periods between Advent and
Epiphany, Ash Wednesday and Easter, Ascension Day and Pentecost.[360:7]
Various festivals and vigils were also included. If strictly enforced
the "Truce of God" would have given Christendom peace for about 240 days
out of the year. Its operation was preceded by the ringing of bells. The
first Lateran Councils (1121, 1139, 1179) confirmed it and made it a
part of the _Corpus Juris Canonici_. The "Truce of God" later helped to
produce the "land peace" in various parts of the Empire.[360:8]
The Church sanctioned and used the "judgment of God" or the ordeal as a
better means of obtaining justice than by war.[361:1] This process of
justice was not new, but had prevailed in the Orient and among the Celts
and Teutons. It rested on this fundamental principle that the accused is
guilty until he proves himself innocent and that God, as the source of
justice, will protect the innocent. "Let doubtful cases," ran a
Carolingian capitulary, "be determined by the judgment of God. The
judges may decide that which they clearly know, but that which they
cannot know shall be reserved for divine judgment. He whom God has
reserved for His own judgment may not be condemned by human means."
There were four different kinds of ordeals: by water, by fire, by
battle, and by some sacred emblem.[361:2] The ordeal by hot water was
the oldest form in Europe.[361:3] It typified the deluge and hell.
Hincmar of Rheims appears to have recommended it first. The accused was
compelled, with naked arm, to find a stone or ring in a kettle of
boiling water, or merely to thrust his arm into it. If his arm was
scalded he was guilty, if not, innocent.[361:4] The ordeal by cold water
was probably introduced by Pope Eugenius II. (824-827). The theory was
that pure water will not receive a criminal, hence it was believed that
the guilty would float and the innocent sink. The accused, therefore,
was bound and thrown into the water, but held by a rope with which to
pull him out.[361:5]
The ordeal by fire was performed either by hot iron or stones, or by a
pure flame of fire. The accused was compelled to walk barefooted over
six or twelve red-hot ploughshares, or to carry a piece of red-hot iron
in his bare hand nine feet or more. The unburned, of course, were
innocent.[362:1] Or the accused was asked to stick his hand into a
flame, or walk with bare feet and legs through the fire.[362:2]
The battle ordeals were very old and widespread in Europe although not
introduced into England until the Norman Conquest. They were used for
both personal and international disputes. The right to contest was
usually restricted to free men, but the young, sick, old, female, and
clergy could furnish substitutes. Here again God, the Judge in all these
cases, gave victory to the innocent.[362:3] The Church regarded this
form of ordeal with disfavour. Both councils and Popes declared boldly
against it. Innocent II., Alexander III., Clement III., Celestine III.,
and Innocent III. were outspoken in their opposition. It was expressly
forbidden the clergy to engage in these combats without special license.
Christian burial was even refused to those who fell in such combats.
Civil law enforced the ecclesiastical opposition and thus gradually
secured the elimination of the evil. This ordeal did not die out until
the sixteenth century.
The sacred ordeals had to do with religious emblems. In the ordeal of
the cross both the accused and the defendant stood before a cross with
uplifted arms while special divine service was performed, or the arms
were extended in the form of a cross. The arms of the guilty person
dropped first. Pepin first used it for divorce cases (752). Charles the
Great extended it to territorial disputes (806). Louis the Pious
abolished it in 816 because it brought the holy symbol into disrepute.
The eucharist was likewise employed to protect the innocent and punish
the guilty. The synod of Worms in 868 enjoined it upon bishops and
priests accused of murder, adultery, theft, and sorcery. In the trial
the eucharist was swallowed with this adjuration from the priest: "May
this body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ be a judgment to thee this
day." In the famous encounter of Hildebrand and Henry IV. at Canossa,
the Pope challenged the Emperor to undergo this ordeal, but the wily
German refused.[363:1] A use was also made of relics for similar
purposes--a test that was probably of ecclesiastical origin. The accused
placed his hands on the sacred relics and made an oath of his innocence.
The Church played a very conspicuous part in all these ordeals. Church
councils sanctioned them[363:2] and the clergy favoured them.[363:3] Not
infrequently they were used to further the interests of the Church and
to punish heretics. Priests usually prepared the contestants by fasts,
prayer, and special service, presided over the trial, and pronounced
judgment in God's name. This method of securing justice, however,
provoked considerable opposition within the Church. As early as the
sixth century Bishop Avitus of Vienne opposed the battle ordeal in the
Burgundian Code. St. Agobard of Lyons (d. 840) wrote two enlightened
treatises against the duel and the whole system of the ordeal.[364:1]
Occupants of St. Peter's Chair like Leo IV., Nicholas I., Stephen VI.,
Sylvester II., Alexander II., Alexander III., Celestine III., Honorius
III., all condemned the institution.[364:2] The famous fourth Lateran
Council held under Innocent III. in 1215 forbade the use of religious
ceremonies in these trials and thus practically abolished the
institution. Secular rulers also sought to end the practice.
Unfortunately, the Inquisition, which employed methods somewhat similar
to the ordeal, followed too closely in its wake.
Perhaps the most important service of the Church to the civilisation of
the Middle Ages was the extensive cultivation of charity, "the queen of
the Christian graces."[364:3] Both the example and teachings of Jesus
served as a model and were supplemented by the words and work of the
Apostles, particularly Paul. In the early Church charity was a cardinal
principle.[364:4] At first the remnants of the eucharistic feasts were
employed as sources of relief to the poor and needy; later free-will
offerings given to the bishop and collections taken in the churches were
employed to the same end. Usually seven deacons distributed these
contributions to the poor, sick, and needy in each congregation.[364:5]
In Rome the organisation of charity was begun comparatively early. The
parish was introduced in the third century and in the fourth century
Pope Anastasius divided Rome into fourteen "regions" and in them founded
and endowed deaconries. Gregory the Great in the sixth century created
seven districts in Rome ruled over by seven deacons and an archdeacon,
built a hospital in each district, controlled by a deacon and a steward
for the poor, sick, and orphans; and formed thirty parishes with
thirty-six priests. He sold his extensive possessions and gave the
proceeds to charity. Many of the great Fathers of the Church made
similar sacrifices and never wearied of enjoining the duty of charity on
Christians. The churches of Rome had large estates, especially in
Sicily. One third of their income was given quarterly to
charities.[365:1] Pope Gregory the Great also made monthly distributions
of food to the poor, and each day sent part of his meals to feed the
needy at his door. This model arrangement for charitable purposes in the
capital of Christendom was copied quite extensively elsewhere and
enlisted the services of thousands of priests, monks, and nuns in all
sections of western Europe.
After Constantine legalised Christianity, charity became institutional
and endowed, first in the East, then to the westward.[365:2] Perhaps the
first public hospital was founded in Rome by Fabiola, a Roman lady, in
the fourth century. St. Pammachus established another in the Eternal
City. Paulinus built one in Nola. Still others were planted in Naples,
Sicily, and Sardinia. Poorhouses, orphanages, and homes for the aged
were likewise begun in this early period. As Christianity was spread
over Europe by the missionary monks these charitable institutions were
planted by it to help and comfort thousands in this period of war,
famine, and pestilence, and to remain as the choicest heritage to the
modern from the mediæval Church. In theory, mediæval charity was made
one of the chief acts of piety, the most certain means of salvation, and
perhaps emphasised too much the benefits to the donor and to his dead
relatives, rather than to the worthy recipient.
Church discipline originated in the "power of the keys" and in the
control of the sacraments. In the early Church it was a "purely
spiritual jurisdiction."[366:1] After Constantine, however, it touched
the civil and social status of the delinquents. During the entire Middle
Ages it was a tremendous power because it was believed that the Church,
ruled by the divinely appointed Pope and his army of ecclesiastics, was
the "dispenser of eternal salvation" and that exclusion from her
communion without repentance incurred eternal damnation. Discipline was
administered either directly by the Pope or by the bishops and their
representatives, the archdeacons, or in each congregation by the priest.
Civil authorities aided the Church in enforcing discipline. Charles the
Great ordered the bishops to hold annual public synodical courts to try
cases of incest, murder, adultery, robbery, theft, and other vices
contrary to God's laws.[366:2] The clergy and laity alike were
investigated. Seven irreproachable synodal judges from each congregation
reported to the synod on the state of morals and religion.[366:3]
Similar synods were held in Spain and England and soon came to be
common throughout Europe. The ordinary penalties inflicted were fines,
fasting, pilgrimages, scourging, imprisonment, and deeds of charity.
Obstinate cases incurred excommunication. The penalties inflicted on the
clergy were more severe than those on the laity.[367:1] About the same
time developed the practice by which the priest heard the
confessions[367:2] of his flock and doled out the punishment for their
private offences. But by the ninth century confession to a priest had
not yet become compulsory.
The most severe punishment on the individual was excommunication.[367:3]
It could be pronounced by the Pope against a layman, either king or
common man, or against a bishop or priest; or by a bishop against a
layman or a priest. Its operation was direct and its effects severe. It
cut the excommunicate off from the sacraments which alone could insure
his salvation and subjected him to temporal punishments. As long as he
was under the ban, he was a social outcast, like an outlawed criminal or
a dangerous wild beast, debarred from all social greetings, food,
shelter, and all intercourse. To kill him was not murder and he was left
to die in lonely starvation. By the secular law, too, he lost all civil
rights, could be seized and thrown into prison, and forfeited to the
state all his property.[367:4] His whole family, likewise, were subject
to the same disabilities.[367:5] If a king, his subjects were all
released from allegiance to him. He was consigned to everlasting
punishment, often with the most terrific curses, which were frequently
written down with sacred wine and ink. This terrible fate dangled over
the head of every member of the Church, dead as well as alive, but, of
course, it followed only after the proof of guilt had been established
in a careful, formal trial and after earnest entreaties to repent had
been made. The theory, however, was too often abused.[368:1] With
sincere repentance the punishment ceased and absolution followed.[368:2]
There are examples almost without number of the employment of
excommunication, but a few conspicuous examples will suffice to show its
operation. Ambrose in 383 excommunicated Maximus for murdering Gratian,
the Emperor.[368:3] Gregory the Great excommunicated Archbishop Maximus
of Salona and forced him to repentance (600).[368:4] The Archbishop of
Sens (seventh century) launched the curse against unknown robbers of his
church.[368:5] Pope Benedict VIII. excommunicated the despoiler of the
monastery of St. Giles.[368:6] There were very many cases against kings,
criminals, heretics, etc., and the punishment was even applied to
animals. Thus in 975 the Archbishop of Treves excommunicated the
annoying sparrows. Caterpillars which were ravishing the diocese of Laon
were put under the ban in 1120 by the bishop. Even St. Bernard, on an
occasion which may have been justifiable, pronounced an anathema in 1121
on a swarm of flies which bothered him while he was making a pious
speech.[369:1] Not only was this ecclesiastical cudgel used with the
most telling effects in enforcing the law of the Church upon the
disobedient and unbelieving, but it was not infrequently abused for
personal revenge and spite or for other low motives.[369:2]
The interdict was another form of punishment, issued by a Pope or a
bishop, against a city, diocese, district, or country, and involved the
innocent along with the guilty. It had a counterpart among the barbarian
tribes which made the family responsible for the crimes of individual
members. This may have been its origin, for the Church adopted the same
idea in applying excommunication to the barbarians. It began in a mild
form as early as the fifth century, but ere long was a common
punishment. The city of Rouen was put under the interdict in 586 for the
murder of its bishop.[369:3] The Bishop of Laon in 869 pronounced the
interdict on his diocese, but Archbishop Hincmar of Rheims removed it.
The synod of Limoges enforced the "Truce of God" in 1031 by this
means.[369:4] Gregory VII. applied it to the province of Gnesen to
punish King Boleslaw II. for the crime of murder, and Alexander II. in
1180 thus afflicted all Scotland because the ruler expelled a papal
bishop. Innocent III. in 1200 suspended it over France, because of the
marital faithlessness of Philip Augustus, and for six years enforced it
in England (1208) to humble King John. Its operation was very severe.
All religious worship was suspended, the churches were closed, priests
refused to perform marriage and burial ceremonies, the people were
ordered to fast as in Lent and were forbidden to shave or cut their
hair.[370:1] Only the sacraments, of baptism and extreme unction could
be administered and then always behind closed doors. Penance and the
eucharist could be extended alone to the mortally sick. All inhabitants
of the afflicted region were ordered to dress in mourning, fast, and act
in humility. Church bells were tolled at certain hours in the day, when
all people were to fall upon their knees in prayer for the removal of
the causes of the interdict. With such thunderbolts as the
excommunication and interdict in the hands of the great High Priest of
the Church, which could be hurled at will against any individual or
people, and when the people blindly and unquestionably submitted to
them, it can be seen how the power of the Papacy was augmented and the
subjection of the clergy and laity alike increased.
The mass was the very centre of all Church worship. Pope Gregory I.
established its mediæval form. The celebration of the mass was the
bloodless sacrifice of Christ to God for the world's sins, a
reconciliation of heaven and earth, of benefit to the living and to the
pious dead. It is no wonder then that the mass was celebrated several
times daily with the greatest ritualistic pomp and display. Masses for
the dead, too, became popular as the doctrine of purgatory
developed[370:2] and were usually celebrated as solitary masses. Lullus
even ordered masses and fasts in order to obtain good weather.[370:3]
The dogma of transubstantiation while generally held had not yet become
Church law. Church worship throughout western Europe was conducted in
Latin, and consequently was little understood by the masses of the
laity.
Although preaching was not a necessary part of the regular Church
service, still it was not an unusual feature. Pope Gregory I. frequently
preached with great earnestness, although his successors did not follow
his example. Bishops were required to preach, but their negligence was
proverbial.[371:1] The priests were commanded to explain to their people
the Apostles' Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the nature of the
sacraments. The models recommended were the homilies,[371:2] and the
sermons of Gregory I.[371:3] The vernacular was used of course in all
preaching and cathedral instruction.
The Church hymns of this period reflect the Christian life and worship.
In the Latin Church the hymns are divided into three periods: the
patristic epoch to Gregory I. (d. 604); the mediæval epoch to Damiani
(d. 1073); and the classical epoch to 1300. These Latin hymns possess
much fervour and some genius, and have a very pronounced character. Most
of them were inspired by the Blessed Virgin and next in favour came the
saints. There were many beautiful products like _Te Deum
Laudamus_.[371:4] In the early churches no organ was used.[371:5] Pope
Vitalian (657-672) probably first employed one, while Pepin and Charles
the Great both received presents of this instrument from the East. After
the eighth century it was generally used during the Middle Ages.[372:1]
Church bells gradually came into use after the time of Constantine and
were very numerous during this period.[372:2]
The origin of the term sacrament is not very clear. The Latin
_sacramentum_ meant the military oath of allegiance and the early
Fathers apparently used it in that sense.[372:3] It was also spoken of
as _mysterium_ in the New Testament.[372:4] _Sacramentum_ was thus early
united with _mysterium_ to denote the solemn, instructive, semi-secret,
external religious rites of worship. Augustine's definition, "the
visible form of invisible grace," or "a sign of a sacred thing," has
become classic and was accepted for centuries. The number of sacraments
was an evolution. Tertullian mentions but two, the eucharist and
baptism. Cyprian spoke of a third, confirmation. The Vulgate apparently
added a fourth, marriage.[372:5] Augustine mentioned the Lord's Supper
and baptism particularly as sacraments but used the word in many other
applications. The old "sacramentaries" of the eighth century and later
extend the word sacrament to a great variety of rites such as blessing
of the holy water, dedicating churches, etc., and have prayers and
benedictions for the same. Robanus Maurus (d. 856) advocated four and
Paschasius Rodbertus (d. 865) two sacraments, while Dionysius
Areopagite believed in six and Peter Damiani (d. 1072) enumerated
twelve. Hugh of St. Victor (d. 1141) asserted that there were thirty,
but Peter Lombard (d. 1164) and Thomas Aquinas (1274) fixed on seven as
the number, though they were not officially adopted by the Church until
1439.
The sacraments were the means of grace and spiritual food for the soul.
They met the child at birth in baptism, accompanied him in life, and
closed his eyes with extreme unction in death.
The most important of the sacraments was the eucharist. This solemn
festival seems to have been at first a regular meal, probably the
principal meal of the day in each family, at which the commemorative
breaking of bread and partaking of the cup was a part. Subsequently,
however, the local congregation met on this common basis. Certain abuses
which resulted[373:1] led to the early separation of the agape, or
love-feast, from the ministration of the eucharist of the bread and
wine. Henceforth the eucharist became a distinct institution celebrated
soon with solemn pomp by the priesthood alone. It was regarded as the
symbol of unity among believers and of communion with the Deity. It
became the test of Christian fellowship and membership. In the hands of
the mediæval priesthood, it was a most effectual power, since the Church
could withhold it and thus make those deprived of it outcasts certain of
eternal damnation. Because of its grave importance, the Church made
participation frequent and obligatory--and even administered it to
infants and to the dead. In the early Church the eucharist was
celebrated every Lord's Day and on the anniversaries of the martyrs.
Later it was offered every day and after the time of Leo the Great
several times a day as a daily sacrifice for daily sins. The celebration
of the eucharist was called the mass--the culmination of all Christian
worship--to which, however, only those fully initiated into Church
membership were admitted.[374:1]
Baptism was likewise a very important sacrament. Although there is no
evidence that Jesus ever performed the rite, still the New Testament
shows that the Apostles and evangelists did.[374:2] Immersion and
sprinkling were both early employed. The priest of course performed the
rite, though in cases of urgency any person using the proper formula
could do so. The effects produced by baptism were: regeneration; the
infusion of sanctifying grace; the gifts of faith, hope, and charity;
the remission of all sin, both original and actual, and also of all
penalty due to sin, both temporal and eternal. Because of the great
efficacy and the indelible character imparted by this sacrament, also
its absolute necessity to salvation, it was common for catechumens to
postpone the rite until the end of life drew near--as did Constantine
the Great--for then it would wipe away all past records. Elaborate
ceremonies in connection with baptism early developed. Candidates for
the rite, called catechumens, were forced to undergo a long course of
instruction. They could not witness the mysteries of the eucharist, but
were dismissed after the response and genuflections. After baptism,
which was administered usually on great Church festivals, especially
Whitsunday, the catechumens were received, given Christian name, turned
to the west to renounce the "devil and his works," exorcised by the
priest, anointed with holy oil, and instructed in the fundamentals of
Christian doctrine. Often an entire day was consumed in these
ceremonies. The act of baptism with consecrated water was performed at
the entrance to the church and usually the baptised received a white
garment in token of his purity.[375:1] Beautiful baptisteries were early
built either within the church or very near to the entrance.
In the Apostolic Church baptism was invariably connected with the
imposition of hands.[375:2] Later, however, the two acts were separated.
The laying on of hands in point of time came soon after the rite of
baptism.[375:3] All priests could baptise, while only the bishops could
perform the ceremony which gradually developed into the sacrament of
confirmation. The permanent separation of baptism and confirmation did
not occur, it seems, until the thirteenth century. The rite of baptism
was ordinarily performed only in special baptismal churches and at
certain stated periods. In popular opinion the baptised were placed
under the protection and consecration of the divine power. The rite also
signified subjection to the Church.
Penance was a sacrament and a pronounced institution of the Church of
the Middle Ages. The New Testament has in it but little on the subject
of discipline.[376:1] In the early Church penance was exclusively
spiritual, was not compulsory but had to be sought, occurred but once,
was extended only to baptised communicants, always followed public
confession before the whole congregation, and varied with the offence.
The penitents removed all ornaments from their persons, dressed in
sackcloth, the men shaved their heads and faces and the women wore
dishevelled hair, put ashes on their heads, abstained from baths and all
normal pleasures, and lived on bread and water. They were divided into
four classes: (1) The weepers, who could only stand at the church doors
and beg for prayers. (2) The hearers, who could enter the church for the
scripture lesson, but had to leave before the eucharistic service began.
(3) The kneelers, who could witness the first part of the eucharistic
office and then departed with the catechumens. (4) The standers, who
could remain during the whole service but were not permitted to
communicate.
Out of these earlier conditions, penance came to be regarded as a
sacrament instituted by Jesus for removing sins committed after baptism
but involving contrition of heart and private confession to a priest as
prerequisites,[376:2] and for the performance of good works, such as
fasting, almsgiving, pilgrimages, endowing institutions of the Church,
self-flagellation, etc. The priest then solemnly absolved the penitent.
The Middle Ages produced regular "penitential books,"[376:3] that is, a
code of penalties for sins like drunkenness, fornications, avarice,
perjury, murder, heresy, idolatry, and other crimes. These regulations
were compiled from the Church Fathers, the Church synods and councils
down to the seventh century, and other collections of authoritative
sources. Nearly every diocese had its own special penitential code, but
the general character and spirit were essentially the same all over the
Church. Out of the system of penance grew the practice of indulgences,
which was simply the substitution of a payment in money for the penance.
Archbishop Theodore of Canterbury is usually credited with originating
the principle of penance and the institution of indulgences,[377:1] but
the system did not gain prominence until the time of the
Crusades.[377:2]
Ordination was the sacrament of the hierarchy by which baptised persons
were consecrated to perform the duties of priesthood. Like baptism it
conferred an indelible character, hence could not be repeated. The
sacrament of extreme unction was at first merely the use of consecrated
oil to heal the sick.[377:3] But before long such veneration was
bestowed upon the holy oil that as early as the fourth century people
broke into the churches and stole the oil out of the lamps in order to
use it for the working of miraculous cures. It was employed not alone by
the priests, but by all Christians. It did not really become a sacrament
until the time of Peter Lombard. Marriage was also held to be a
sacrament, through which the priesthood controlled legitimacy,
inheritance, and the validity of wills.
Out of pagan idolatry, hero-worship, and the veneration for the martyrs
of the early Church grew both the practice of saint-worship and the use
of relics. The day of the martyr's death was made a festival and the
place of his burial was sanctified. It was believed that the martyrs had
the power to intercede with the Divine Powers for the answer of prayers.
Churches and shrines were built over the tombs of the martyrs, or their
bones were carried into churches. These relics were thought to possess
miracle-working power. Those places not blessed with relics felt it to
be a great disadvantage, consequently imported the remains of martyrs
and saints to meet the need. Regular calendars of saints appeared and
children were named after them with the expectation of lifelong
protection and assistance from the patron.
By the fourth century it was believed that the blessed martyrs, through
communion with our Lord, shared in his attributes of omnipresence and
omniscience. Prayers in behalf of the saints changed to prayers to them
for help. This transition was particularly easy for those who were won
from paganism because they were already accustomed to similar practices.
A festival of All Saints was instituted by Pope Boniface IV. in 610,
when the Pantheon was dedicated as a Christian church, though it was not
commonly observed until the ninth century, when Louis the Pious made it
general in the Empire. The festival of All Souls supplemented it in the
tenth century and became very popular. Every day in the calendar was
dedicated to one saint or more. Down to the tenth century individuals
renowned for some pious deed or for some suffering on account of the
Christian faith were exalted to sainthood by the voice of the people
with the consent of the bishop. Later, however, the bishops nominated
the saints and the Pope conferred the honour. The first instance of
papal canonisation was that of Ulrich, the Bishop of Augsburg, by John
XV. in 973. Pope Alexander III. (1170), in the period when the Papacy
was becoming all-powerful, seized this great prerogative into his own
hands.[379:1] Each nation, district, city, and individual church had its
saint. The fame of the saints was perpetuated by legend, hymn, painting,
sculpture, and the sacred edifices built to their memory and honour.
Consequently the tales and beliefs connected with the saints produced
most of the literature of the Middle Ages--the poetry, the song, the
history, and the subject of common thought, conversation, and feeling.
Closely connected with saint-worship was the universal use of sacred
relics and a belief in their miraculous power. The dominant interest of
popular piety circles around the saints and their relics. The relics in
the church were the greatest treasure of the community, and the
reliquary was the choicest ornament of the private room of the lady, in
the knight's armory, in the king's hall, and in the bishop's palace. The
use of relics and images developed comparatively early in the life of
the Church.[379:2] By the time of Constantine the practice was common
and approved by the Fathers. In fact, so wild were the people of the
West for relics that imperial law had to prohibit the cutting of the
corpses of martyrs into pieces for sale.[380:1] The great Ambrose
refused to consecrate a church which had no relics. When the Pantheon
was dedicated by Pope Boniface IV. twenty-eight cartloads of bones of
martyrs were transferred to that building from the various
cemeteries.[380:2] The seventh œcumenical council of Nicæa (787)
forbade bishops to dedicate a church without sacred relics under penalty
of excommunication. Traffic in relics became a regular business. St.
Augustine reproved the wandering monks for selling bogus relics. Gregory
the Great refused to send relics of St. Paul to the Empress of
Constantinople, yet he very jealously distributed the filings of the
chain of St. Peter. The relics increased until western Europe was full
of them and every community had miracle-working wonders--the products of
excessive piety, fraud, and credulity. All Christians believed in relics
for it was an impious thing to doubt. The wood of the true cross "grew
into a forest"; the nails were very numerous; at Sens was found the rod
of Moses; at Aachen the swaddling clothes of Jesus; at other points a
feather plucked from the wing of the angel Gabriel, the tears of Jesus,
the milk of the Virgin, the emblems of the Passion, a piece of wood from
the temple which St. Peter intended to build on the Mount of Olives; and
the bones, hair, teeth, and garments of saints without number. These
relics were employed to convert the heathen,[380:3] to heal diseases, to
ward off danger,[380:4] to punish the wicked, to protect the innocent,
and to bring good luck and general blessing.
The worship of Mary the Mother of Jesus became very pronounced after
the fourth century. Tertullian put Eve and Mary alongside of Adam and
Jesus. She was called the Blessed Virgin and the Mother of God. The
festival of the Annunciation held in the fifth century soon led to the
festival of the Purification of Mary, or the Candlemas of Mary. About
the end of the sixth century developed the feast of the Ascension of
Mary, to be followed the next century by the celebration of the birthday
of Mary. High above all the saints and martyrs was the rapturous
adoration of the "Queen of Heaven." After Gregory the Great the Virgin
played a constantly increasing part in the Church of the West. Churches
were erected in her honour everywhere and every church had at least a
chapel consecrated to Our Lady.
Hell, heaven, and purgatory were very real indeed to the mediæval mind.
Their location, form, and inhabitants were known exactly through
mediæval credulity. Devils and angels were in constant communication in
one way or another with the inhabitants of earth. All these forces and
influences formed the mediæval mind and produced the mediæval
civilisation.
SOURCES
A.--PRIMARY:
1.--The Church Fathers. See Chap. X.
2.--The Acts of Church Councils. See Chap. IX.
3.--The Early Church Historians. See Chap. XIII.
4.--Gee, H., and Hardy, W. J., _Documents Illustrative of English
Church History_. Lond., 1896. I., 59.
5.--Henderson, E. F., _Select Historical Documents of the Middle
Ages_. N. Y., 1892.
6.--Ogg, _Source Book_.
7.--Robinson, J. H., _Readings_, i.
8.--Thatcher and McNeal, _Source Book_.
9.--Univ. of Penn., _Translations and Reprints_.
Bibliographical Note:--The original sources for this phase of the
history of the Church are nearly all in Latin: 1.--Migne,
_Patrologia_. 2.--Mansi, _Sacrorum Conciliorum
Collectio_. 3.--Pertz, et al., _Monumenta Germaniæ
Historica_. 4.--Muratori, L. A., _Rerum Italicarum
Scriptores_. Med., 1723-51. 28 vols. 5.--Jaffé,
_Bibliotheca rerum Germanicarum_. 6.--Watterich,
_Pontificum Romanorum_. 7.--Duchesne, _Le Liber
Pontificalis_. 8.--Bouquet, M., _Rerum Gallicarum et
Francicarum Scriptores_. Paris, 1868 _ff._ 23 vols.
9.--_Rerum Historica Britannica_. Lond., 1858 _ff._
10.--Jaffé, _Regesta Pontificum Romanorum_.
11.--Potthast, A., _Regesta Pontificum Romanorum_
(1198-1304). 12.--Pflugh-Harttung, J. v., _Acta
Pontificum Romanorum Inedita_. Tub., 1881. Stutg.,
1884-8. 13.--Mirbt, _Quellen zur Geschichte des
Papsttum_.
B.--SECONDARY:
I.--SPECIAL:
1.--Andrews, W., _Curiosities of the Church_. Lond., 1891.
2.--Balmes, J., _European Civilisation: Protestantism and
Catholicism Compared in their Effects on the Civilisation
of Europe_. Lond., 1849.
3.--Baring-Gould, S., _Curious Myths of the Middle Ages_.
Lond., 1869.
4.--Bethune-Baker, J. F., _The Influence of Christianity on
War_. Camb., 1888.
5.--Brace, C. J., _Gesta Christi_. Lond., 1886.
6.--Buckle, H. T., _History of Civilisation in England_. N.
Y., 1878. 3 vols.
7.--Cox, G. W., and Johns, E. H., _Popular Romances of the
Middle Ages_. Lond., 1880. 2 vols.
8.--Cunningham, _The Growth of the Church in its Organisation
and Institutions_. Lond., 1886.
9.--Cutts, E. L., _Scenes and Characters of the Middle Ages_.
Lond., 1872.
10.--Döllinger, J. J. I., _Fables Respecting the Popes of the
Middle Ages_. N. Y., 1872.
11.--Hatch, E., _The Growth of Church Institutions_. N. Y.,
1887.
12.--Lacroix, P., _Manners, Customs, and Dress of the Middle
Ages_. Tr. N. Y., 1874. _Military and Religious Life in
the Middle Ages._ Lond., 1879.
13.--Lea, H. C., _Studies in Church History_. Phil., 1869.
_Superstition and Force._ Phil., 1871. _Sacerdotal
Celibacy._ Bost., 1884. _Auricular Concession and
Indulgences._ Phil., 1896. 3 vols.
14.--Lecky, W. E. H., _European Morals_. N. Y., 1877. (To 9th
cent.)
15.--Lewis, _Paganism Surviving in Christianity_. N. Y., 1892.
16.--Maitland, S. R., _The Dark Ages_. Lond., 1845.
17.--Marshall, _Penitential Discipline of the Primitive
Church_.
18.--Poole, R. L., _History of Mediæval Thought_. Lond., 1872.
19.--Trench, R. C., _Lectures on Mediæval Church History_. N.
Y., 1878.
20.--Walcott, M. E. C., _Traditions and Customs of Cathedrals_.
Lond., 1872.
II.--GENERAL:
Adams, _Civ._, ch. 3. Addis, ch. 7. Adeney, ch. 11, 12. Alzog,
ii., 111-118, 243-256, 257-292. Bouzique, ii., ch. 2, 3.
Butler, ch. 32, 33, 36-39, 58, 60, 64. Cheetham, ch. 13. Coxe,
lect. 1-4. Döllinger, ii., ch. 5, sec. 11-20; iii., ch. 4, sec.
2, 3, 5, 7. Fisher, 110, 155, 175. Foulkes, ch. 5-11. Gieseler,
ii., 310, 318, 420, 431-446. Gilmartin, i., ch. 12-15, 36, 40.
Guericke, sec. 76-80. Kurtz, i., 352-396, 496-514, 516-526.
Milman, bk. 3, ch. 5. Moeller, ii., 111-121, 210-221, 292-320,
321-345. Neander, ii., 661-678; iii., 91-106, 123-141, 425-456.
Pennington, ch. 2. Robertson, ii., 186-244, 493-546. Schaff,
iv., 326-355, 379-470, 571-581, 621.
FOOTNOTES:
[348:1] Hatch, _Growth of Church Institutions_, Lond., 1887, 121; Smith
and Cheetham, art. on "Metropolitan."
[348:2] Canon VI. See IV. See also Canon XIX of Council of Antioch.
[348:3] Canon IX.
[348:4] Cod. Justin, i., 4, 29.
[348:5] Guizot, _Hist. of Civ. in Fr._, ii., 46.
[350:1] See article on Theodore Torens in _Dict. of Nat. Biog._
[350:2] Boniface (d. 735) was the greatest.
[350:3] Hauck, _Kircheng. Deutschl._, ii.
[350:4] This office was held by Hincmar (d. 882), the greatest man of
his time. Prichard, _Life and Times of Hincmar_, 1849; Noorden,
_Hincmar, Erzbischof von Rheims_, 1863.
[352:1] Hatch, _Growth of Church Institutions_, contends that the parish
was of German origin, and not Roman.
[353:1] _Acta Sanctorum_; Greg. of Tours, _Hist. of France_; _Mon.
Ger._; Mansi; Harduin; Hefele, iii., iv.; Lecky; Guizot; Balmes.
[353:2] Greg. of Tours; Milman; Lecky; Hallam; Gibbon.
[354:1] Butler, _Lives of Saints_; Lecky.
[355:1] Schaff, iv., 331.
[355:2] Greg. of Tours.
[355:3] Hefele, iii., 341.
[355:4] _Ibid._, iv., 323.
[356:1] See the effort of Nicholas I. to protect the divorced wife of
King Lothair. Greenwood, bk. vii., ch. 4.
[356:2] Lecky, ii., 335; Schaff, iv., 333; Brace, ch. 11.
[356:3] Philem. 10-21; 1 Tim. vi., 1-2; Eph. vi., 5-7; Col. iii., 22;
Tit. ii., 9; 1 Pet. ii., 18.
[357:1] Lea, _Stud. in Ch. Hist._, 524.
[357:2] Lactantius, _Inst. Div._, vi., 12; _Apostolic Constitutions_,
iv., 9.
[357:3] Baronius, _Ann._, 284, No. 15.
[357:4] _Inst. Div._, v., 14, 15.
[357:5] _De Joseph Patriarch._, ch. iv., § 20, 21.
[357:6] _City of God_, xix., 15.
[357:7] _Apostolic Constitutions_, viii., 38.
[357:8] _Ibid._, viii., 13, 19.
[357:9] _Ibid._, 39.
[357:10] Sozomen, i., 9.
[357:11] Lea, _Stud. in Ch. Hist._, 542.
[358:1] Gregory I., _Ep._, x., 66; ix., 103.
[358:2] Hefele, iii., 611. Slaves and serfs were admitted to priesthood.
Leo I. objected to the practice (letter 4).
[358:3] See letters of Gregory I., iv., 9, 21; vi., 32; vii., 24; ix.,
36, 110.
[358:4] For a statement of his attitude toward slavery and for an
example of his manumission, see book vi., letter 12; book viii., letter
21.
[358:5] Balmes; Brace, ch. 21; Schaff, iv., 334; Lecky, ii., 66.
[358:6] Brace, ch. 12.
[358:7] Hefele, iii., 349.
[358:8] Thatcher and McNeal, Nos. 240, 241.
[359:1] Brace, ch. 13.
[359:2] Hefele, iv., 698; Thatcher and McNeal, No. 242.
[360:1] Ogg, _Source Book_, § 39.
[360:2] Thatcher and McNeal, Nos. 240-244.
[360:3] _Ibid._, No. 248.
[360:4] Robinson, _Readings_, i., 187; Thatcher and McNeal, Nos.
245-250; _Transl. and Rep._, i., No. 2.
[360:5] Migne, cli., 1134; Henderson, 208.
[360:6] Munro, _Urban and the Crusaders_; _Transl. and Rep._, i., No. 2,
p. 8.
[360:7] Thatcher and McNeal, _cf._ Nos. 243 and 244. Hefele, iv., 696.
[360:8] Fisher, _Med. Europe_, i., 201; Thatcher and McNeal, Nos.
248-250.
[361:1] Lea, _Superstition and Force_.
[361:2] Ogg, _Source Book_, § 33.
[361:3] Lea, _Superstition and Force_, 196. There are references to this
form in the Salic Law.
[361:4] Greg. of Tours, quoted in Lea, 198; Thatcher and McNeal, No.
234.
[361:5] For cases, see Lea, 228, 229; Thatcher and McNeal, No. 236, 237.
[362:1] Lea, 201; Thatcher and McNeal, No. 235.
[362:2] Peter Ingens and the monk Savonarola were examples. Lea, 209.
[362:3] Lea, 75-174, gives cases.
[363:1] For other cases, see Lea; Thatcher and McNeal, Nos. 238, 239.
[363:2] Mainz, 880, Tribur, 895, Tours, 925, Auch, 1068, Grau, 1095,
etc.
[363:3] Hincmar, Burckhardt of Worms, Gregory VII., Calixtus II.,
Eugenius II., St. Bernard, etc.
[364:1] Given in Migne, civ., 113, 250.
[364:2] Read Lea, 272.
[364:3] Lecky, ii., 84; Uhlhorn, _Christ. Char. in the Anc. Ch._, bk.
iii.
[364:4] Chastel, _Historical Studies in the Influence of Charity_. Tr.,
Phil., 1857.
[364:5] Schaff, ii., 374; Justin Martyr, _Apol._, i., ch. 67.
[365:1] Milman, ii., 117.
[365:2] Smith and Cheetham, _Dict. of Christ. Antiq._, art. "Hospitals."
[366:1] Matt. xviii., 15-18.
[366:2] Gieseler, ii., 55.
[366:3] Moeller, ii., 115.
[367:1] Milman, i., 551.
[367:2] See _Cath. Encyc._ for the origin of the confessional.
[367:3] Lea, _Stud. in Ch. Hist._, 236.
[367:4] _Ibid._, 296, 416.
[367:5] _Ibid._, 393.
[368:1] Lea, 264, 266, 303, 343, 345, 347, 362, 382, 421.
[368:2] The anathema was used in a sense and manner similar to
excommunication. See _Cath. Encyc._ for an excellent discussion.
[368:3] Lea, 282.
[368:4] _Ibid._, 298.
[368:5] _Ibid._, 303.
[368:6] _Ibid._, 337; Schaff, iv., 377.
[369:1] Lea, 428.
[369:2] _Ibid._, 416; Gregory the Great, bk. ii., Letter 34.
[369:3] Greg. of Tours, bk. viii., ch. 31.
[369:4] Gieseler, ii., 199, n. 12; Hefele, iv., 693-695; Schaff, iv.,
380.
[370:1] Harduin, vi., 885.
[370:2] Gregory I. is usually credited with introducing this mass.
[370:3] Moeller, ii., 113.
[371:1] Hefele, iii., 758, 764; iv., 89, 111, 126, 197, 513, 582; Mansi,
xiv., 82.
[371:2] _Mon. Ger. Scrip._, vi.-ix., 45-187; Wattenbach, _Deutschl.
Geschichtsq._, i., 134.
[371:3] Hefele, iii., 745.
[371:4] Stephenson, _Latin Hymns of the An.-Sax. Church_; Trench,
_Sacred Latin Poets_; Chandler, _Hymns of the Prim. Ch._; Mant., _Anc.
Hymns from the Rom. Breviary_; Cazwell, _Lyra Catholica_; Neale,
_Mediæv. Hymns_; Schaff, _Christ. in Song_.
[371:5] This is the practice of the Greek Church to-day, and also in
several Protestant bodies.
[372:1] Hopkins and Rimbault, _The Organ, its Hist. and Const._, 1855.
See art. in Smith and Cheetham.
[372:2] See art. in Smith and Cheetham.
[372:3] Tertullian, _Ad. Mort._, iii.; Vulgate iii., 16; Rev. i., 20;
xxviii., 7.
[372:4] Rom. xvi., 25; 1 Cor. xiii., 2.
[372:5] Eph. v., 22.
[373:1] 1 Cor. ch. xi.
[374:1] The catechumens, pagans, and heretics were not admitted. From
the words used in dismissing the catechumens, when the mysteries were
about to be celebrated,--_Ite, missa est_,--probably arose the use of
the word "mass."
[374:2] Acts ii., 38-41; viii., 16, 37, 38; xix., 3-5; Matt. xxviii.,
19.
[375:1] This robe, after being worn for some time, was frequently hung
up in the church after the ceremony to remind the baptised one of his
new status.
[375:2] Acts viii., 12-17, xix., 5, 6.
[375:3] Council of Elvira (306), canon 38. See Tertullian for one of the
earliest explanations.
[376:1] Matt. xviii., 17, 18; 1 Cor. v.; 2 Cor. ii., 6-10.
[376:2] Mansi, _Coll. Concil._, xiv., 33d canon of Council of Chalons
(813).
[376:3] The best known of these books was compiled under the direction
of Theodore, the Archbishop of Canterbury (669-690). It is given in
Haddan and Stubbs, iii., 173. The Venerable Bede also made a similar
collection. _Ibid._, 326. See quotations in Schaff, iv., 374. See
Marshall, _The Penitential Discip. of the Prim. Ch._, Lond., 1814; new
ed. in _Lib. of Cath. Theol._, Oxf., 1844.
[377:1] Haddan and Stubbs, iii., 371.
[377:2] See Green, _Indulgences_, etc., Lond., 1872, and Gibbings, _The
Taxes of the Apost. Pen._, Dub., 1872.
[377:3] See Mark vi., 13; Jas. v., 14, 15; Tertullian, _Ad. Scap._, 4;
Chrysostom, _Hom._, 32.
[379:1] Mabillon, _Act. St. Benedict_, v., Pref.; Mansi, xix., 169-179.
[379:2] See Chap. XIV. for a full account of the origin of
image-worship.
[380:1] Cod. Theod., ix., 17, 7.
[380:2] This statement is given in Baronius.
[380:3] Lea, _Stud. in Ch. Hist._, 305.
[380:4] Greg. of Tours, bk. i., ch. 84.