Crux Ansata: An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church

8/11/2019 Crux Ansata: An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church

1/70

Crux AnsataAn Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church

by

H.G. Wells

First published by Penguin oo!s" #ondon" $%&'First () edition* Agora Publishing Co." +e, -or!" $%&&

1


2/70

A#/ 0F C0+/+)

Introduction

I. Why Do We Not Bomb Rome?

II. The Development Of The Idea Of hri!tendom

III. The "!!ential Wea#ne!! Of hri!tendom

I$. %ere!ie! &re "'periment! In (an)! *n!ati!fied +earch ,or Truth

$. The ity of -od

$I. The hurch +alvae! /earnin

$II. harlemane

$III. Blac# Interlude

I0a. The /aunchin Of The ru!ade! By The hurch

I0b. hri!tendom (arche! "a!t

0. & atholic -entleman of 12

0I. +ocial Ine3uality In The 1th &nd 14th enturie!

0II. The Da5n Of +ocial Di!content

0IIIa. The (ental &tmo!phere Before The Reformation

0IIIb. %o5 %enry $III Became & 6rote!tant 6rince

0I$. The ounter7Reformation

0$. The 8e!uit!

0$I. The ontinual +hrin#ae Of The Roman atholic hurch

0$II. The +trule ,or Britain

0$III. +hinto atholici!m

0I0. Roman atholici!m In &merica

00. The *nited hri!tian ,ront00I. The 6reten!ion! &nd /imitation! Of 6ope 6iu! 0II

9


3/70

:ru' &n!ata;: &ora 6ubli!hin o.; Ne5


4/70

I+R01(CI0+

Written at the heiht of WW9; Crux Ansata/atin@ :The ro!! 5ith a handle:A i! an uncomprimi!in

attac# on Roman atholici!m and 6ope 6iu! 0II. Indeed !ome 5ill contend that Well! oe! too far; but

thi! boo#; it mu!t be remembered 5a! part of the 5ar effort. When it 5a! 5ritten; Well! had recently

retired from the po!ition of (ini!ter of &llied 6ropaanda; but that official retirement did not !top him

continuin that effort.

Durin tho!e rim day! of bombin and terror; many 5ealthy people fled /ondon to the !afety of

country e!tate!. But %.-. Well! refu!ed to leave /ondon. %e #ne5 that !hared !ufferin bet5een the

economic cla!!e! 5a! #ey to the 5ar effort. %e 5ould not leave #no5in that the poor had no choice

but to !tay and he meant to !hame hi! 5ealthy fello57/ondoner! by hi! re!olve. %i! front door 5a!

blo5n in !everal time! by -erman bomb!; and even thouh he 5a! in hi! late 2)! and ill health; he

Coined in the reular patrol! of the 5ar7time !treet! for fire!. It 5a! under thi! !ort of dure!! that he

5rote Crux Ansata.

In ru'; Well! u!e! hi! pulpit of public teacher to add fuel to the fire of Briti!h morale. %e prai!e! theindependant !pirit of the "nli!hman and denounce! the :!preadin octopu!: of the hurch and it!

:+hinto alliance.: %o5ever; the bul# of thi! boo# remain! a very readable hi!tory of hri!tianity; not

unli#e the !tyle of hi! famou! Outline of %i!tory; thouh it !uffer! !lihtly from a forced 3uality; almo!t

a! if he 5ere tired of recitin. It ha! occa!ional lon 3uote! by other author!; but a! 5a! nece!!itated by

the difficultie! of 5ar time; it i! a !hort boo# ter!e and to the point. There are time! thouh 5hen ru'

&n!ata d5indle! into vauene!!; and one et! a brief pa!!in feelin that %.-.)! mental !harpne!! 5a!

beinin to errode. De!pite thi!; ho5ever; ru' ha! it! !hare of po5erful 3uote! that; in part; !ave it

from bein merely a piece of 5artime propoanda.

:hri!tianity early cea!ed to be purely prophetic and creative. It entanled it!elf 5ith archaic tradition!of human !acrifice; 5ith (ithraic blood7clean!in; 5ith prie!tcraft a! ancient a! human !ociety; and

5ith elaborate doctrine! about the !tructure of the divinity. The ory entrail7!earchin forefiner of the

"tru!can pontifex maximus pre!ently over!hado5ed the teachin! of 8e!u! of NaEareth...: Crux

Ansata; pae 19A.

:"ven in compari!on 5ith ,a!ci!m and the NaEi adventure; Roman atholici!m i! a bro#en and utterly

de!perate thin; capable only of malinant mi!chief in our a5a#enin 5orld: ibid; pae =A.

:Watch a prie!t in a public conveyance. %e i! fihtin aain!t di!turbin !ue!tion!. %e mu!t not loo#

at 5omen le!t he thin# of !e'. %e mu!t not loo# about him; for reality; that i! to !ay the devil; 5ait! to!educe him on every hand. A.


5/70

I. 2 WH- 10 W/ +0 03 R03/4

I cut the follo5in pararaph from The Timesof October 9th; 1=9.

:The air raid! on Italy have created the reate!t !ati!faction in (alta; 5hich ha! !uffered !o much at

&'i! hand!. &t lea!t the Italian! no5 reali!e 5hat bein bombed mean! and the nature of the !ufferin

they have !o callou!ly inflicted on little (alta !ince 8une 19th; 1=2; 5hen they !ho5ered their fir!tbomb! on 5hat 5a! then an almo!t defencele!! i!land.

:&! that bombin 5a! inten!ified; e!pecially !ince the Italian! a!#ed -ermany)! help in their vain

attempt to reduce (alta; the people)! reaction became violent and e'pre!!ed it!elf in t5o 5ord! )Bomb

Rome); 5hich 5ere 5ritten prominently on 5all! in every locality.:

On 8une 1!t; 1=9; the enemy bombed anterbury and a! near a! po!!ible ot the &rchbi!hop of

anterbury. But 5hat i! a mere 6rote!tant &rchbi!hop aain!t %i! %oline!! the 6ope?

In (arch 1=> Rome 5a! !till unbombed.

No5 con!ider the follo5in fact!.

We are at 5ar 5ith the Findom of Italy; 5hich made a particularly cruel and !tupid attac# upon our

allie! -reece and ,rance 5hich i! the homeland of ,a!ci!m and 5ho!e :Duce: (u!!olini beed

particularly for the privilee of a!!i!tin in the bombin of /ondon.

There are al!o Italian troop! fihtin aain!t our allie! the Ru!!ian!. & thorouh bombin a la BerlinA

of the Italian capital !eem! not !imply de!irable; but nece!!ary. &t pre!ent a common per!ua!ion that

Rome 5ill be let off lihtly by our bomber! i! leadin to a reat cone!tion of the 5or!t element!. of

the ,a!ci!t order in and around Rome.

Not only i! Rome the !ource and centre of ,a!ci!m; but it ha! been the;!eat of a 6ope; 5ho; a! 5e !hall

!ho5; ha! been an open ally of the NaEi7 ,a!ci!t7+hinto &'i! !ince hi! enthronement. %e ha! never

rai!ed hi! voice aain!t that &'i!; he ha! never denounced the abominable are!!ion!; murder and

crueltie! they have inflicted upon man#ind; and the plea! he i! no5 ma#in for peace and forivene!!

are manife!tly de!ined to a!!i!t the e!cape of the!e criminal!; !o that they may pre!ently launch a fre!h

a!!ault upon all that i! decent in humanity. The 6apacy i! admittedly in communication 5ith the

8apane!e; and maintain! in the $atican an active 8apane!e ob!ervation po!t.

No other capital ha! been !pared the brunt of thi! 5ar.

Why do 5e not bomb. Rome? Why do 5e allo5 the!e open and declared antaoni!t! of democraticfreedom to entertain their +hinto allie! and orani!e a p!eudo7atholic de!truction of democratic

freedom? Why do 5eafter all the !urpri!e! and treacherie! of thi! 5arallo5 thi! open preparation

of an internal attac# upon the rehabilitation of "urope? The an!5er lie! in the deliberate blindne!! of

our ,orein Office and open! up a very !eriou! indictment of the mi!chievou! !ocial di!interation

inherent in contemporary Roman atholic activitie!.

4


6/70

II. 2 H/ 1/5/#0P3/+ 0F H/ I1/A 0F

CHRI)/+103/"T u! tell a! compactly a! po!!ible certain !alient pha!e! in the hi!tory of the hri!tian orani!ationthat led up to the breach bet5een the variou! form of 6rote!tanti!m and Rome. /i#e all human

orani!ation! that have played a part throuh many eneration!; the career of the atholic hurch ha!

pa!!ed throuh reat fluctuation!. It had pha!e! of viorou! belief in it!elf and 5i!e leader!hip it fell

into evil 5ay! and !eemed no better than a dyin carca!! it revived; it !plit. There i! no need for u! to

e'plore the early development and variation! of hri!tianity before it a!!umed it! definite form under

the patronae and very definite urency of the "mperor on!tantine. The recrimination! of the early

,ather!; their !trane idea! and !traner practice! need not concern u! here. There 5ere churche!; but

there 5a! no !inle unified hurch.

atholici!m a! 5e #no5 it a! a definite and formulated belief came into e'i!tence 5ith the formulation

of the Nicene reed. "u!ebiu! ive! a curiou! account of that !trane a!!emblae at Nicaea; over 5hich

the "mperor; althouh he 5a! not yet a bapti!ed hri!tian; pre!ided. It 5a! not hi! fir!t council of the

hurch; for he had already in >1A pre!ided over.a council at &rle!. %e !at in the middle of the ouncil

of Nicaea upon a olden throne; and; a! he had little -ree#; 5e mu!t !uppo!e he 5a! reduced to

5atchin the countenance! and e!ture! of the debater!; and li!tenin to their intonation!.

The council 5a! a !tormy one. When old &riu! ro!e to !pea#; one; Nichola! of (yra; !truc# him in the

face; and after5ard! many ran out; thru!tin their finer! into their ear! in affected horror at the old

man)! here!ie!. One i! tempted to imaine the reat emperor; deeply an'iou! for the !olidarity of hi!

empire; firmly re!olved to end the!e divi!ion!; bendin to5ard! hi! interpreter! to a!# them the

meanin of the uproar.

The vie5! that prevailed at Nicaea are embodied in the Nicene reed; a !trictly Trinitarian !tatement;

and the "mperor !u!tained the Trinitarian po!ition. But after5ard!; 5hen &thana!iu! bore too hardly

upon the &rian!; he had him bani!hed from &le'andria and 5hen the hurch at &le'andria 5ould have

e'communicated &riu!; he oblied it to readmit him to communion.

& very important thin for u! to note i! the role played by thi! emperor in the unification and fi'ation of

hri!tendom. Not only 5a! the ouncil of Nicaea a!!embled by on!tantine the -reat; but all the reatcouncil!; the t5o at on!tantinople >G1 and 44>A; "phe!u! >1A; and halcedon 41A; 5ere called

toether by the imperial po5er. &nd it i! very manife!t that in much of the hi!tory of hri!tianity at thi!

time the !pirit of on!tantine the -reat i! a! evident a!; or more evident than; the !pirit of 8e!u!.

on!tantine 5a! a pure autocrat. &utocracy had ou!ted the la!t trace! of con!titutional overnment in

the day! of &urelian and Diocletian. To the be!t of hi! liht! the "mperor 5a! tryin to recon!truct the

H


7/70

totterin empire 5hile there 5a! yet time; and he 5or#ed; accordin to tho!e liht!; 5ithout any

councillor!; any public opinion; or any !en!e of the need of !uch aid! and chec#!.

The idea of !tampin out all controver!y and divi!ion; !tampin out all independent thouht; by

impo!in one domatic creed upon all believer!; i! an altoether autocratic idea; it i! the idea of the

!inle7handed man 5ho feel! that to et anythin done at all he mu!t be free from oppo!ition and

critici!m. The !tory of the hurch after he had con!olidated it become!; therefore; a hi!tory of theviolent !trule! that 5ere bound to follo5 upon hi! !udden and rouh !ummon! to unanimity. ,rom

him the hurch ac3uired that di!po!ition to be authoritative and un3ue!tioned; to develop a centrali!ed

orani!ation and run parallel 5ith the Roman "mpire 5hich !till haunt! it! mentality.

& !econd reat autocrat 5ho pre!ently empha!i!ed the di!tinctly authoritarian character of atholic

hri!tianity 5a! Theodo!iu! I; Theodo!iu! the -reat >=7>=4A. %e handed all the churche! to the

Trinitarian!; forbade the unorthodo' to hold meetin!; and overthre5 the heathen temple! throuhout

the empire; and in >=2 he cau!ed the reat !tatue of +erapi! at &le'andria to be de!troyed. %enceforth

there 5a! to be no rivalry; no 3ualification to the riid unity of the hurch.

%ere 5e need tell only in the broade!t outline of the va!t internal trouble! the hurch; it! indie!tion!

of here!y of &rian! and 6aulician!; of -no!tic! and (anichaean!.

The denunciation of here!y came before the creed! in the formative pha!e of hri!tianity. The hri!tian

conreation! hadintere!t! in common in tho!e day! they had a !ort of freema!onry of common

intere!t! their eneral theoloy 5a! 6auline; but they evidently di!cu!!ed their fundamental doctrine!

and document! 5idely and !ometime! acrimoniou!ly. hri!tian teachin almo!t from the out!et 5a! a

matter for vehement di!putation. The very -o!pel! are rife 5ith un!ettled arument! the "pi!tle! are

di!putation!; and the !earch for truth inten!ified diverence. The violence and intolerance of the Nicene

ouncil 5itne!!e! to the doctrinal !tre!!e! that had already accumulated in the earlier year!; and to theperple'ity confrontin the !tate!men 5ho 5i!hed to pin the!e 5arrin theoloian! do5n to !ome

dominatin !tatement in the face of thi! theoloical Babel.

It i! impo!!ible for an intellient modern !tudent of hi!tory not to !ympathi!e 5ith the underlyin idea

of the papal court; 5ith the idea of one univer!al rule of rihteou!ne!! #eepin the peace of the earth;

and not to reconi!e the many element! of nobility that entered into the /ateran policy. +ooner or later

man#ind mu!t come to one univer!al peace; unle!! our race i! to be de!troyed by the increa!in po5er

of it! o5n de!tructive invention! and that univer!al peace mu!t need! ta#e the form of a overnment;

that i! to !ay; a la57!u!tainin orani!ation; in the be!t !en!e of the 5ord reliiou!a overnment

rulin men throuh the educated co7ordination of their mind! in a common conception of humanhi!tory and human de!tiny.

The atholic hurch 5a! the fir!t clearly con!ciou! attempt to provide !uch a overnment in the

5or1d. We cannot too earne!tly. e'amine it! deficiencie! and inade3uacie!; for every le!!on 5e can

dra5 from them i! nece!!arily of the reate!t value in formin our idea! of our o5n international


8/70

relation!hip!.

III. 2 H/ /))/+IA# W/A6+/)) 0F CHRI)/+103&ND fir!t amon the thin! that confront the !tudent i! the intermittence of the effort! of the hurch to

e!tabli!h the 5orld7ity of -od. The policy of the hurch 5a! not 5hole7heartedly and continuou!ly

!et upon that end. Only no5 and then !ome fine per!onality or !ome roup of fine per!onalitie!

dominated it in that direction. :The fatherhood of -od: that 8e!u! of NaEareth preached 5a! overlaid

almo!t from the beinnin by the doctrine! and ceremonial tradition! of an earlier ae; and of an

intellectually inferior type. hri!tianity early cea!ed to be purely prophetic and creative. It entanled

it!elf 5ith archaic tradition! of human !acrifice; 5ith (ithraic blood7clean!in; 5ith prie!tcraft a!

ancient a! human !ociety; and 5ith elaborate doctrine! about the !tructure of the divinity. The ory

entrail7!earchin forefiner of the "tru!can pontife' ma'imu! pre!ently over!hado5ed the teachin! of8e!u! of NaEareth the mental comple'ity of the &le'andrian -ree# entanled them. In the Canle of

the!e incompatible! the hurch; tryin de!perately to et on 5ith it! unifyin ta!#; became domatic

and re!orted to arbitrary authority.

It! prie!t! and bi!hop! 5ere more and more men moulded to creed! and doma! and !et procedure! by

the time they became pope! they 5ere u!ually oldi!h men; habituated to a politic !trule for

immediate end! and no loner capable of 5orld5ide vie5!. They had forotten about the ,atherhood of

-od they 5anted to !ee the po5er of the hurch; 5hich 5a! their o5n po5er; dominatin men)! live!.

It )5a! Cu!t becau!e many of them probably doubted !ecretly of the entire !oundne!! of their va!t and

elaborate doctrinal fabric that they 5ould broo# no di!cu!!ion of it. They 5ere intolerant of doubt! and3ue!tion!; not becau!e they 5ere !ure of their faith; but becau!e they 5ere not. The un!ati!fied huner

of intellient men for e!!ential truth !eemed to promi!e nothin but perpetual diverence.

&! the !olidarity and domati!m of the hurch hardened; it !louhed off and per!ecuted heretical

bodie! and individual! 5ith increa!in enery. The credulou!; naive and 5orthy &bbot -uibert of

Noent7!ou!7oucy; in hi! pricele!! autobioraphy; ive! u! the !tate of affair! in the eleventh century;

and reveal! ho5 varied and abundant 5ere both the internal and e'ternal revolt! aain!t the hardenin

authoritariani!m that %ildebrand had implemented.

&bbot -uibert him!elf i! an incipient internal rebel 5ith critici!m! of epi!copal and papal corruption

that already anticipate the /ollard! and /uther; and the !torie! he tell! of devil! diabolical po!!e!!ion

and infidel death7bed!; 5itne!! to the 5ide prevalence of !coffin in hri!tendom even at that early

time.


9/70

!eparation had !till to be di!covered. +coffer! miht !coff; but they came to heel on the death7bed. ,our

lon centurie! of mental travail had to intervene before the!e tie! 5ere bro#en.

But by the thirteenth century the hurch had become morbidly an'iou! about the na5in doubt! that

miht pre!ently lay the 5hole !tructure of it! preten!ion! in ruin!. It 5a! huntin every5here for

heretic!; a! timid old ladie! are !aid to loo# under bed! and in cupboard!. before retirin for the niht.

I5. 2 H/R/)I/) AR/ /7P/RI3/+) I+3A+8) (+)AI)FI/1 )/ARCH F0R R(H

/"T u! e'amine !ome of the broad problem! that 5ere producin here!ie!. hief of the heretical !tem!

5a! the (anichaean 5ay of thin#in about the conflict! of life.

The 6er!ian teacher (ani 5a! crucified and flayed in the year 9. %i! 5ay of repre!entin the !trulebet5een ood and evil

5a! a! a !trule bet5een a po5er of liht and a po5er of dar#ne!! inherent in the univer!e. &ll the!e

profound my!terie! are nece!!arily repre!ented by !ymbol! and poetic e'pre!!ion!; and the idea! of

(ani !till find a re!pon!e in many intellectual temperament! to7day. One may hear (anichaean

doctrine! from many hri!tian pulpit!. But the orthodo' atholic !ymbol 5a! a different one.

(anichaean idea! !pread very 5idely in "urope; and particularly in Bularia and the !outh of ,rance.

In the !outh of ,rance the people 5ho held them 5ere called the athar!. They aro!e in "a!tern "urope

in the ninth century amon the Bularian! and !pread 5e!t5ard. The Bularian! had recently become

hri!tian and 5ere affected by duali!tic ea!tern thouht. They in!i!ted upon an e'ce!!ive !e'le!!ne!!.

They 5ould eat no food that 5a! !e'7 beottene!; chee!e even; 5ere taboo but they ate fi!h

becau!e they !hared the common belief of the time that fi!h !pa5ned !e'le!!ly. Their idea! Carred !o

little 5ith the e!!ential! of hri!tianity; that they believed them!elve! to be devout hri!tian!. &! a

body they lived live! of o!tentatiou! purity in a violent; undi!ciplined and viciou! ae. They 5ere

protected by 6ope -reory $II %ildebrandA; becau!e their vie5! enforced hi! impo!ition of celibacy

upon the clery of 5hich 5e !hall tell in hapter $IIA in the eleventh century. But later their

e'periment! in the !earch for truth carried them into open conflict 5ith the con!olidatin hurch. They

re!orted to the Bible aain!t the prie!t!. They 3ue!tioned the doctrinal !oundne!! of Rome and the

orthodo' interpretation of the Bible. They thouht 8e!u! 5a! a rebel aain!t the cruelty of the -od of

the Old Te!tament; and not %i! harmoniou! +on; and ultimately they !uffered for the!e diverent

e'periment!.

lo!ely a!!ociated 5ith the athar! in the hi!tory of here!y are the Walden!e!; the follo5er! of a man

called Waldo; 5ho !eem! to have been comparatively orthodo' in hi! theoloy; and le!! in!i!tent on the

=


10/70

:pure: life; but offen!ive to the !olidarity of the hurch becau!e he denounced the riche! and lu'ury of

the hiher clery. Waldo 5a! a rich man 5ho !old all hi! po!!e!!ion! in order to preach and teach in

poverty. %e attracted devoted follo5er! and for a time he 5a! tolerated by the hurch. But hi!

follo5er! and particularly tho!e in /ombardy; 5ent further. Waldo had tran!lated the Ne5 Te!tament;

includin the Revelation; into 6rovenal; and pre!ently hi! di!ciple! 5ere denouncin the Roman

hurch a! the +carlet Woman of the &pocalyp!e. Thi! 5a! enouh for the /ateran; and pre!ently 5ehave the !pectacle of Innocent III; after attempt! at arument and per!ua!ion; lo!in; hi! temper and

preachin a ru!ade aain!t the!e trouble!ome en3uirer!. The !tory of that cru!ade i! a chapter in

hi!tory that the Roman atholic hi!torian! have done their be!t to obliterate.

"very 5anderin !coundrel at loo!e end! 5a! enrolled to carry fire and !5ord and rape and every

conceivable outrae amon the mo!t peaceful !ubCect! of the Fin of ,rance; The account! of the

crueltie! and abomination! of thi! cru!ade are far more terrible to read than any account of hri!tian

martyrdom! by the paan!; and they have the added horror of bein indi!putably true.


11/70

%e 5a! Coined by number! of di!ciple!; and !o the fir!t ,riar! of the ,ranci!can Order came into

e'i!tence. &n order of 5omen devotee! 5a! !et up be!ide the oriinal confraternity; and in addition

reat number! of men and 5omen 5ere brouht into le!! formal a!!ociation. %e preached; unmole!ted

by the (o!lem! be it noted; in "ypt and 6ale!tine; thouh the ,ifth ru!ade 5a! then in prore!!. %i!

relation! 5ith the hurch are !till a matter for di!cu!!ion. %i! 5or# had been !anctioned by 6ope

Innocent III; but 5hile he 5a! in the "a!t there 5a! a recon!titution of hi! order; inten!ifyin di!ciplineand !ub!titutin authority for re!pon!ive impul!e; and a! a con!e3uence of the!e chane! he re!ined it!

head!hip. To the end he clun pa!!ionately to the ideal of poverty; but he 5a! hardly dead before the

order 5a! holdin property throuh tru!tee! and buildin a reat church and mona!tery to hi! memory

at &!!i!i. The di!cipline! of the order that 5ere applied after hi! death to hi! immediate a!!ociate! are

!carcely to be di!tinui!hed from a per!ecution !everal of the more con!picuou! Eealot! for !implicity

5ere !coured; other! 5ere impri!oned; one 5a! #illed 5hile attemptin to e!cape; and Brother

Bernard; the :fir!t di!ciple:; pa!!ed a year in the 5ood! and hill!; hunted li#e a 5ild bea!t.

Thi! !trule 5ithin the ,ranci!can Orr i! intere!tin; becau!e it fore!hado5ed the reat trouble! that

5ere comin to hri!tendom. &ll throuh the thirteenth century a !ection of the ,ranci!can! 5ere!trainin at the rule of the hurch; and in 1>1G four of them 5ere burnt alive at (ar!eille! a!

incorriible heretic!. There !eem! to have been little difference bet5een the teachin and the !pirit of

+t. ,ranci! and that of Waldo in the t5elfth century; the founder of the ma!!acred but uncon3uerable

!ect of Walden!e!. Both 5ere pa!!ionately; enthu!ia!tic for the !pirit of 8e!u! of NaEareth. But 5hile

Waldo rebelled aain!t the hurch; +t. ,ranci! did hi! be!t to be a ood child of the hurch; and hi!

comment on the !pirit of official hri!tianity 5a! only implicit. But both 5ere in!tance! of an outbrea#

of con!cience aain!t authority and the ordinary procedure of the hurch. &nd it i! plain that in the

!econd in!tance; a! in the fir!t; the hurch !cented rebellion.

& very different character to +t. ,ranci! 5a! the +paniard +t. Dominic 11271991A; 5ho 5a!; above allthin!; orthodo'. ,or him the hurch 5a! not orthodo' enouh. %e 5a! a reformer on the Riht Win.

%e had a pa!!ion for the arumentative conver!ion of heretic!; and he 5a! commi!!ioned by 6ope

Innocent III to o and preach to the &lbien!e!. %i! 5or# 5ent on !ide by !ide 5ith the fihtin and

ma!!acre! of the cru!ade. Whom Dominic could not convert; Innocent)! ru!ader! !le5.


12/70

5eepin. But accordin to th proverb of my.country; )Where ble!!in can accompli!h nothin; blo5!

may avail); 5e !hall rou!e aain!t you prince! and prelate!; 5ho; ala!)J 5ill arm nation! and #indom!

aain!t thi! land;... and thu! blo5! 5ill avail 5here ble!!in! and entlene!! have been po5erle!!.:K1L

K1L "ncyclopaedia Britannica; art. :Dominic:.

5. 2 H/ CI- 0F G01

+o the intolerance of the atholic hurch drove !teadily to5ard! it! o5n di!ruption. Neverthele!! for

nearly a thou!and year! the idea of hri!tendom !u!tained a conception of human unity more intimate

and far 5ider than 5a! ever achieved before.

&! early a! the fifth century hri!tianity had already become reater; !turdier and more endurin than

any empire had ever been; becau!e it 5a! !omethin not merely impo!ed upon men; but inter5oven

5ith their deeper in!tinct for rihteou!ne!!. It reached out far beyond the utmo!t limit! of the empire;

into &rmenia; 6er!ia; &by!!inia; Ireland; -ermany; India and Tur#e!tan. It had become !omethin no

!tate!man could inore.

Thi! 5ide!pread freema!onry; 5hich 5a! particularly !tron in the to5n! and !eaport! of the collap!in

"mpire; mu!t have had a very !tron appeal to every political orani!er. The hri!tian! 5ere e!!entially

to5n!men and trader!. The countrymen 5ere !till paan! paani M villaer!A.

:Thouh made up of 5idely !cattered conreation!;: !ay! theEncyclopaedia Britannicain it! article

on :hurch %i!tory:; :it 5a! thouht of a! one body of hri!t; one people of -od. Thi! ideal unity

found e'pre!!ion in many 5ay!. Intercommunication bet5een the variou! hri!tian communitie! 5a!

very active. hri!tian! upon a Courney 5ere al5ay! !ure of a 5arm 5elcome from their fello5

di!ciple!. (e!!ener! and letter! 5ere !ent freely from one hurch to another. (i!!ionarie! and

evaneli!t! 5ent continually from place to place. Document! of variou! #ind!; includin o!pel! and

apo!tolic epi!tle!; circulated 5idely. Thu! in variou! 5ay! the feelin of unity found e'pre!!ion;; and

the development of 5idely !eparated part! of hri!tendom conformed more or le!! clo!ely to a

common type.:

Idea! of 5orldly rule by thi! !preadin and ramifyin hurch 5ere indeed already prevalent in the

fourth century. hri!tianity 5a! becomin political. +aint &uu!tine; a native of %ippo in North &frica;

5ho 5rote bet5een >4 and >2; ave e'pre!!ion to the political idea of the) hurch in hi! boo#; The

ity of -od. The ity of -od lead! the mind very directly to5ard! the po!!ibility of ma#in the 5orld

into a theoloical and orani!ed Findom of %eaven.. The city; a! &uu!tine put! it; i! :a !piritual

!ociety of the prede!tined faithful; but the !tep from that to a political application 5a! not a very 5ide

one. The hurch 5a! to be the ruler of the 5orld over all nation!; the divinely7led rulin po5er over a

reat leaue of terre!trial !tate!.

19


13/70

+ub!e3uently the!e idea! developed into a definite political theory and policy. &! the barbarian race!

!ettled and became hri!tian; the 6ope bean to claim an overlord!hip of their Fin!. In a fe5

centurie! the 6ope had become in /atin atholic theory; and to a certain e'tent in practice; the hih

prie!t; cen!or; Cude and divine monarch of hri!tendom hi! influence; a! 5e have noted; e'tended far

beyond the utmo!t rane of the old empire. ,or more than a thou!and year! thi! idea of the unity of

hri!tendom; of hri!tendom a! a !ort of va!t &mphictyony; 5ho!e member! even in 5artime 5erere!trained from many e'tremitie! by the idea of a common brotherhood and a common loyalty to the

hurch; dominated "urope. The hi!tory of "urope from the fifth century on5ard to the fifteenth i! very

larely the hi!tory of the failure of thi! reat idea of a divinely ordained and rihteou! 5orld

overnment to reali!e it!elf in practice.

5I. 2 H/ CH(RCH )A#5AG/) #/AR+I+G

I, the dar# di!order! of the decline and fall of the Roman "mpire; the ne5ly orani!ed atholic hurch

played an important role in the pre!ervation of learnin and !ocial idea!. +t. Benedict and a!!iodoru!

in particular !et them!elve! to the !alvae of boo#! and teachin; and amon their immediate follo5er!

5a! one of the fir!t reat 6ope!; -reory the -reat. In tho!e day! the local hri!tian prie!t 5a! often

too inorant;to under!tand the /atin phra!e! he mumbled and muttered at hi! !ervice!. -reory)!

educational enery corrected that. %e re!tored the prie!t!) /atin. +o that later the atholic hurch

retained it! 5ide!pread !olidarity in !pite of the mo!t e'traordinary happenin! in Rome. It 5ould no

doubt have preferred to #eep it! /atin lanuae 5ithout the /atin cla!!ic!; but their u!e 5a!

unavoidable if the lanuae 5a! to be !teadied and !u!tained.

+t. Benedict 5a! born at +poleto in Italy; a youn man of ood family. The !hado5 of the time! fell

upon him; he conceived a di!u!t for the evil in life; and; li#e Buddha a thou!and year! before him; he

too# to the reliiou! life and !et no limit to hi! au!teritie!. ,ifty mile! from Rome i! +ubiaco; and there

at the end of a ore of the &nio; beneath a Cunle ro5th of 5eed! and bu!he!; ro!e a de!erted palace

built by the "mperor Nero; overloo#in an artificial la#e that had been made in tho!e day! of departed

pro!perity by dammin bac# the 5ater! of the river. %ere 5ith a hair !hirt a! hi! chief po!!e!!ion;

Benedict too# up hi! 3uarter! in a cave in the hih !outh5ard7 loo#in cliff that overhan! the !tream;

in !o inacce!!ible a po!ition tat hi! food had to be lo5ered to him on a cord by a faithful admirer. Three

year! he lived here; and hi! fame !pread a! Buddha)! did; a! a reat !aint and teacher.6re!ently 5e find him no loner enaed in !elf7torment; but controllin a roup of t5elve

mona!terie!; the re!ort of a reat number of people.


14/70

beautiful mountain in the mid!t of a reat circle of maCe!tic heiht!. %ere; it i! intere!tin to note that in

the !i'th century &.D. he found a temple of &pollo and a !acred rove; and the country!ide !till

5or!hippin at thi! !hrine. %i! fir!t labour! had to be mi!!ionary labour!; and 5ith difficulty he

per!uaded the !imple paan! to demoli!h their temple and cut do5n their rove. The e!tabli!hment

upon (onte a!!ino became a famou! and po5erful centre 5ithin the lifetime of it! founder. (i'ed up

5ith the imbecile invention! of marvel7lovin mon#! about demon! e'orci!ed; di!ciple! 5al#in on the5ater; and dead children re!tored to life; 5e can !till detect !omethin of the real !pirit of Benedict.

6articularly !inificant are the !torie! that repre!ent him a! di!courain e'treme mortification. %e !ent

a dampin me!!ae to a !olitary 5ho had invented a ne5 deree in !aintline!! by chainin him!elf to a

roc# in a narro5 cave. :Brea# thy chain;: !aid Benedict; :for he true !ervant of -od i! chained not to

roc#! by iron; but to rihteou!ne!! by hri!t.:

Ne't to the di!couraement of !olitary !elf7torture; Benedict in!i!ted upon hard 5or#. Throuh the

leend! !hine the clear indication! of the trouble made by hi! patrician !tudent! and di!ciple! 5ho

found them!elve! oblied to toil in!tead of leadin live! of lei!urely au!terity under the mini!tration! of

the lo5ercla!! brethren.

& third remar#able thin about Benedict 5a! hi! political influence. %e !et him!elf to reconcile -oth!

and Italian!; and it i! clear that Totila; hi! -othic #in; came to him for coun!el and 5a! reatly

influenced by him. When Totila retoo# Naple! from the -ree#!; the -oth! protected the 5omen from

in!ult and treated even the captured !oldier! 5ith humanity. Beli!ariu!; 8u!tinian)! eneral; had ta#en

the !ame place ten year! previou!ly; and had celebrated hi! triumph by a eneral ma!!acre.

No5 the mona!tic orani!ation of Benedict 5a! a very reat beinnin in the We!tern 5orld. One of

hi! prominent follo5er! 5a! 6ope -reory the -reat 427H2A; the fir!t mon# to become 6ope 4=2A

he 5a! one of the mo!t capable and eneretic of the 6ope!; !endin !ucce!!ful mi!!ion! to the

unconverted; and particularly to) the &nlo7+a'on!. %e rule! in Rome li#e an independent #in;

orani!in armie!; ma#in treatie!. To hi! influence i! due the impo!ition of the Benedictine rule upon

nearly the 5hole of /atin mona!tici!m.

-reory the -reat ruled in Rome li#e an independent #in orani!in armie!; ma#in treatie!. It 5a! he

5ho !a5 t5o fair captive! from Britain; and; havin a!#ed 5hence they came and bein told they 5ere

&nle!; !aid they miht be anel!non Angli sed Angelirather than &nle! if they had the ,aith. %e

made it hi! !pecial bu!ine!! to !end mi!!ionarie! to "nland. Thi! i! a hih 5ater mar# in the

che3uered hi!tory of the Roman hurch. ,rom -reory I it pa!!e! into a pha!e of decadence not only at

Rome but throuhout it! entire !phere of influence.

1


15/70

5II. 2 CHAR#/3AG+/

&N intere!tin amateur in theoloy 5ho 5a! de!tined to drive a 5ede into the !olidarity of the

hri!tian !y!tem 5a! the "mperor harlemane; harle! the -reat; the friend and ally of Fin &lfred

of We!!e'. The 5ede 5a! unpremeditated. The learned; inve!tin hi!tory 5ith the unde!erved dinity

their !cholarly mind! craved; have endo5ed harle! 5ith an almo!t inhuman fore!iht. %e 5a! the !on

of 6epin; 5ho had been (ayor of the 6alace to the la!t of the (erovinia Fin!; and; on the !trenth of

hi! bein de factoFin; he appealed to the 6ope to tran!fer the ro5n to hi! head. Thi! the 6ope did.

"very5here in "urope the a!cendant ruler! !eiEed upon hri!tianity a! a unifyin force to cement their

con3ue!t!. hri!tianity became a banner for are!!ive chief!a! it did in *anda in &frica in the

bloody day! before that country 5a! anne'ed to the Briti!h "mpire.

harlemane 5a! mo!t !imply and enthu!ia!tically hri!tian; and hi! di!po!ition to !in! of the fle!h; to

a certain dome!tic la'ityhe i! accu!ed amon other thin! of ince!tuou! relation! 5ith hi! dauhter!

merely !harpened hi! redeemin Eeal for the hurch. &n are!!ive hurch had lon !ince decided

that !in! of the fle!h are venal !in! 5hen 5eihed aain!t unorthodo'y; and he 5a! able to offer up va!t

hecatomb! of con3uered paan! to appea!e the more and more complai!ant atholic hurch. %e

in!i!ted on their becomin hri!tian!; and to refu!e bapti!m or to retract after bapti!m 5ere e3ually

crime! puni!hable by death. &fter he 5a! cro5ned "mperor he oblied every male !ubCect over the ae

of t5elve to rene5 hi! oath of alleiance and underta#e to be not !imply a ood !ubCect but a ood

hri!tian.

& ne5 6ope; /eo III; in =4; made harlemane "mperor. %itherto the court at ByEantium had

po!!e!!ed a certain Indefinite authority over the 6ope. +tron emperor! li#e 8u!tinian had bullied the

6ope! and oblied them to vi!it on!tantinople 5ea# emperor! had annoyed them ineffectively. The

idea of a breach; both !ecular and reliiou!; 5ith on!tantinople had lon been entertained at the/ateran; and in the ,ran#i!h po5er there !eemed to be Cu!t the !upport that 5a! nece!!ary if

on!tantinople 5a! to be defied.

+o upon hi! acce!!ion /eo III !ent the #ey! of the tomb of +t. 6eter and a banner to harlemane a! the

!ymbol! of hi! !overeinty in Rome a! Fin of Italy. $ery !oon the 6ope had to appeal to the protection

he had cho!en. %e 5a! unpopular in Rome he 5a! attac#ed and ill7treated in the !treet! durin a

proce!!ion; and oblied to fly to -ermany ==A. "inhard !ay! hi! eye! 5ere oued out and hi!

tonue cut off. %e !eem!; ho5ever; to have had both eye! and tonue aain a year later. harlemane

brouht him bac# to Rome and rein!tated him G22A.

Then occurred a very important !cene. On hri!tma! Day in the year G22; a! harle! 5a! ri!in from

prayer in the hurch of +t. 6eter; the 6ope; 5ho had everythin in readine!!; clapped a cro5n upon hi!

head and hailed him ae!ar and &uu!tu!. There 5a! reat popular applau!e. But "inhard; the friend

and biorapher of harlemane; !ay! that the ne5 "mperor 5a! by no mean! plea!ed by thi! coup of

6ope /eo)!. If he had #no5n thi! 5a! to happen; he !aid; :he 5ould have not entered the hurch; reat

fe!tival thouh it 5a!.:

14


16/70

No doubt he had been thin#in and tal#in of ma#in him!elf "mperor; but he had evidently not

intended that the 6ope !hould ma#e him "mperor. %e had had !ome idea of marryin the "mpre!!

Irene; 5ho at that time reined in on!tantinople; and !o becomin monarch of both "a!tern and

We!tern "mpire!. But no5 he 5a! oblied to accept the title in the manner that /eo had adopted; a! a

ift from the 6ope; and in a 5ay that e!traned on!tantinople and !ecured the !eparation of Rome

from the ByEantine hurch.&t fir!t ByEantium 5a! un5illin to reconi!e the imperial title of harlemane. But in G11 a reat

di!a!ter fell upon the ByEantine "mpire. The paan Bularian!; under their prince Frum; defeated and

de!troyed the armie! of the "mperor Nicephoru!; 5ho!e !#ull became a drin#in cup for Frum. The

reat pat of the Bal#an penin!ula 5a! con3uered by the!e people. &fter thi! mi!fortune ByEantium 5a!

in no po!ition to di!pute thi! revival of the empire in the We!t; and in G19 harlemane 5a! formally

reconi!ed by ByEantine envoy! a! "mperor and &uu!tu!.

The defunct We!tern "mpire ro!e aain a! the :%oly Roman "mpire:. While .it! military !trenth lay

north of the &lp!; it! centre of authority 5a! Rome. It 5a! from the beinnin a divided thin; a claim

and an arument rather than a nece!!ary reality. The ood -erman !5ord 5a! al5ay! clatterin over

the &lp! into Italy; and mi!!ion! and leate! toilin over in the rever!e direction. But the -erman!

never could hold Italy permanently; becau!e they could not !tand the malaria that the ruined; nelected;

undrained country fo!tered. &nd in Rome; a! 5ell a! in !everal other of the citie! of Italy; there

!mouldered a more ancient tradition; the tradition of the ari!tocratic republic; ho!tile to both "mperor

and 6ope.

In !pite of the fact that 5e have a.life of him 5ritten by hi! contemporary; "inhard; the character and

per!onality of harlemane are difficult to vi!uali!e. "inhard 5a! a poor 5riter he ive! many

particular!; but not the particular! that ma#e a livin fiure. harlemane; he !ay!; 5a! a tall man; 5ith

a rather feeble voice and he had briht eye! and a lon no!e. :The top of hi! head 5a! round;:

5hatever that may mean; and hi! hair 5a! :5hite:. 6o!!ibly that mean! he 5a! a blond. %e had a thic#;

rather !hort nec#; and :hi! belly too prominent:. %e 5ore a tunic 5ith a !ilver border; and artered

ho!e. %e had a blue cloa#; and 5a! al5ay! irt 5ith hi! !5ord; hilt and belt bein of old and !ilver.

%e 5a! a man of reat animation and hi! abundant love affair! did not interfere at all 5ith hi! ince!!ant

military and political labour! %e too# much e'erci!e 5a! fond of pomp and reliiou! ceremonie!; and

ave enerou!ly. %e 5a! a man of con!iderable intellectual enterpri!e; 5ith a !elf7confident vanity

rather after the fa!hion of William II; the e'7-erman "mperor; 5ho died at Doorn !o unimpre!!ively

the other day.%i! mental activitie! are intere!tin; and they !erve a! a !ample of the intellectuality of the time.

6robably he could read at meal! he :li!tened to mu!ic or readin; but he never ac3uired the art of

5ritin :he u!ed;: !ay! "inhard; :to #eep hi! 5ritin boo# and tablet! under hi! pillo5; that 5hen he

had lei!ure he miht practi!e hi! hand in formin letter!; but he made little prore!! in an art beun too

late in life.: %e certainly di!played a huner for #no5lede; and he too# pain! to attract men of

1H


17/70

learnin to hi! ourt.

The!e learned men 5ere; of cour!e; clerymen; there bein no other learned men then in the 5orld and

naturally they ave a !tronly clerical tine to the information they imparted. &t hi! ourt; 5hich 5a!

u!ually at &i'7la7 hapelle or (ayence; he 5hiled a5ay the 5inter !ea!on by a curiou! in!titution

called hi! :!chool:; in 5hich he and hi! erudite a!!ociate! affected to lay a!ide all thouht! of 5orldly

po!ition; a!!umed name! ta#en from the cla!!ical 5riter! or from %oly Writ; and di!cour!ed uponlearnin and theoloy. harlemane him!elf 5a! :David:. %e developed a con!iderable #no5lede of

theoloy; and it i! to him that 5e mu!t a!cribe the propo!al to add the 5ord! filioque to the Nicene

reedan addition that finally !plit the /atin and -ree# hurche! a!under. But it i! more than

doubtful 5hether he had any !uch !eparation in mind. %e 5anted to add a 5ord or !o to the reed; Cu!t

a! the "mperor William II 5anted to leave hi! mar# on the -erman lanuae and -erman boo#!; and

he too# up thi! filioqueidea; 5hich 5a! oriinally a +pani!h innovation. 6ope /eo di!creetly oppo!ed

it. When it 5a! accepted centurie! later; it 5a! probably accepted 5ith the deliberate intention of

enforcin the 5idenin breach bet5een /atin and ByEantine hri!tendom.

The filio3ue point i! a !ubtle one; and a 5ord or !o of e'planation may not !eem ami!! to tho!e 5ho are

unin!tructed theoloically. /atin hri!tendom believe! no5 that the %oly -ho!t proceed! from the

,ather and the +on -ree# and "a!tern hri!tian!; that the %oly +pirit proceed! from the ,ather;

5ithout any mention of the +on. The latter attitude !eem! to incline a little to5ard! the &rian point of

vie5. The atholic belief i! that the ,ather and the +on have al5ay! e'i!ted toether; 5orld 5ithout

end the -ree# orthodo' idea i! tainted by a very human di!po!ition to thin# father! ouht to be at lea!t

a little !enior to their !on!. The reader mu!t o to hi! o5n reliiou! teacher! for preci!e in!truction

upon thi! point.

The di!po!ition of men in po!ition! of !upreme educational authority in a community; to direct thouht

into !ome particular channel by 5hich their e'i!tence may be made the more memorable; i! not

uncommon@ The "mperor William; for in!tance; helped to ma#e the -erman! a people apart; and did

much for the !pectacle7ma#er! of -ermany; by u!in hi! influence to !u!tain the heavy Teutonic blac#

letter and in!i!tin upon the reCection of alien 5ord! and root! from the ood old -erman vocabulary.

:Telephone: for in!tance 5a! anathema; and :Fernsprecher: 5a! !ub!tituted and 5irele!! became

:drahtlos:. +o nationali!m in -ermany achieved the !ame end a! the re!i!tance of "nli!h !tupidity to

orthoraphic chane!; and made the lanuae difficult for and repul!ive to foreiner!.

The normal !peech of harlemane 5a! ,ran#i!h. %e may have under!tood /atin; more particularly if

it 5a! u!ed 5ith con!ideration; but he could have had no opportunity of -ree#. %e made a collection ofold -erman !on! and tale!; but the!e 5ere de!troyed by hi! !on and !ucce!!or; /oui! the 6iou!;

becau!e of their paani!m.

1


18/70

5III. 2 #AC6 I+/R#(1/

,OR a very lon time the hold of the "mperor! and the 6ope! upon the ity of Rome 5a! a very

in!ecure one. (any of the !urvivin patrician familie! and al!o the Roman mob claimed the mo!t

conflictin privilee! in the election and removal of the 6ope!; the -erman "mperor claimed !imilar

riht!; and on the other hand the pope! 5ould a!!ert their riht! to depo!e and e'communicate

emperor!. In thi! confu!ion pope! multiplied; even a layman; 8ohn 0I0; 5a! made pope; and there

5ere overlappin pope! incon!iderable abundance. In 124 there 5ere three pope! !trulin in Rome;

the notoriou!ly viciou! Benedict I0; +ylve!ter III and -reory $I. -reory $I bouht the 6apacy from

Benedict; 5ho !ub!e3uently 5ent bac# on hi! barain.

%ildebrand became 6ope -reory $II. %e !ucceeded 6ope &le'ander; 5ho; under hi! in!piration; had

been attemptin to reform and con!olidate the hurch orani!ation. %e impo!ed celibacy on the clery

and !o cut them off from family and !ocial tie!. It con!olidated the hurch but it dehumani!ed the

hurch. %ildebrand fouht a lon fiht 5ith the "mperor %enry I$. %enry depo!ed him and -reory

depo!ed and e'communicated the "mperor; 5ho repented and did penance at ano!!a. &fter5ard!

%enry reretted hi! humiliation and created an &nti76ope; lement III. %e be!ieed -reory 5ho held

out in the a!tle of +t. &nelo. Robert -ui!card; a Norman freebooter; 5hom 6ope Nichola! n had

made :Du#e of &pulia and alabria and future /ord of +icily by the -race of -od and +t. 6eter:; came

to the re!cue; drove out the "mperor and &nti76ope and incidentally !ac#ed Rome. &fter 5hich

-reory 5ent off under the protection of the Norman! and died at +alerno; a hated and unhappy man; a

ood and reat7!pirited man defeated by the uncontrollable comple'itie! of life.

+o the !tory of !chi!m! and conflict! run! on throuh the record! of the hurch. (any of the pope!

fouht for po5er for the vile!t end!; but 5e do !uch men a! -reory $II and *rban II the 6ope of the

,ir!t ru!adeA the ro!!e!t inCu!tice if 5e inore the fact that behind thi! barbaric !trule for po5erthere could be lon vie5! and di!intere!ted aim!. onformity to the concept! of hri!tendom or a

merely brutal life impul!e 5ere the alternative uide! bet5een 5hich men had to choo!e in the

atmo!phere of that period. (en :!inned: violently and defiantly and yet 5ere !uper!titiou!ly

afraid.Death7bed! enerally ree#ed 5ith penitence; abCect confe!!ion! and piou! be3ue!t!. It i! difficult

for a modern mind to imaine ho5 much in that ae of confu!ion men could believe; and ho5 little

dinity; coherence and critici!m there 5a! in their belief!.

%o5 far thin! could o 5ith the 5ea#; the viciou! and the in!olent i! !ho5n by one pha!e in the

hi!tory of Rome at thi! time; an almo!t inde!cribable pha!e. The decay of the "mpire of harlemane

had left the 6ope un!upported; he 5a! threatened by ByEantium and by the +aracen! 5ho had ta#en+icilyA; and face to face 5ith the unruly noble! of Rome. &mon the mo!t po5erful of the!e noble!

5ere t5o 5omen. Theodora and (aroEia; mother and dauhter;K1L 5ho in !ucce!!ion held that !ame

a!tle of +t. &nelo; 5hich Theophylact; the patrician hu!band of Theodora; had !eiEed toether 5ith

mo!t of the temporal po5er of the 6ope. The!e t5o 5omen 5ere a! bold; un!crupulou! and di!!olute a!

any male prince of the time could have been; and they are abu!ed by ma!culine hi!torian! a! thouh

1G


19/70

they 5ere ten time! 5or!e. (aroEia !eiEed and impri!oned 6ope 8ohn 0 =9GA; 5ho !peedily died under

her hand!. %er mother; Theodora; had been hi! mi!tre!!. (aroEia !ub!e3uently made her illeitimate

!on 6ope; under the title of 8ohn 0I.

K1L -ibbon mention! a !econd Theodora; the !i!ter of (aroEia.

&fter him her rand!on; 8ohn 0II; filled the chair of +t. 6eter. -ibbon)! account of the manner! and

moral! of 8ohn 0II i! !uffu!ed 5ith blu!he! and ta#e! refue at la!t beneath a veil of /atin footnote!.

Thi! 6ope; 8ohn 0II; 5a! finally deraded by the -erman "mperor Otto; !cion of a ne5 dyna!ty that

had ou!ted the arlovinian!; 5ho came over the &lp! and do5n into Italy to be cro5ned in =H9. %ar!h

critic! of the hurch call thi! pha!e in it! hi!tory the pornocracy.

That :pornocracy: !ound! much more a5ful for the atholic hurch than 5a! the reality. It ha! very

little controver!ial 5eiht if our critici!m i! to be Cu!t. It 5a! a purely Roman !candal; and the ,aithful

throuhout hri!tendom probably never heard a 5ord about thi! :pornocratic: pha!e. They 5ent about

their !imple reliiou! dutie! a! they had been tauht. It 5a! not an ae of ea!y travel; and practically

nobody in the tenth century 5ent to Rome or heard 5hat 5a! happenin there. That !ort of !tre!! 5a! tocome later.

I7a 2 H/ #A(+CHI+G 0F H/ CR()A1/) - H/CH(RCH

IN thi! brief hi!tory of the comple' effort of the human mind and 5ill to !ecure !ome ma!tery over it!

internal and e'ternal perple'itie!; the ru!ade!; and particularly the ,ir!t ru!ade; demand ourparticular attention. The ,ir!t ru!ade di!play! :hri!tendom: at it! ma'imum effectivene!! a! a

con!olidatin and Cu!tifyin idea; and it !ho5! al!o ho5 the e!!ential in!tability of the Roman

leader!hip and the ideoloical frea#i!hne!! of harlemane combined 5ith the inherent !elf7!ee#in

and confu!ion in the human .mind at lare to defeat every ostensible purposeof thi! reat ea!t5ard

drive. "very o!ten!ible purpo!e. But the reaction of the minlin of idea! and purpo!e! hat en!ued had

unfore!een con!e3uence! in the di!interation of hri!tendom that 5a! pre!ently to en!ue.

The ru!ade! 5ere the direct 5or# of the hurch. It had been con!olidatin it!elf !lo5ly fro the

uncertaintie! of the earlier Dar# &e!. The e!tabli!hment of clerical celibacy in the ninth and tenth

centurie! 5a! i!olatin it from the !ocial ma!!; and the retreat from the pa!!ionate !ide of life to

mona!tici!m dotted the 5e!tern 5orld 5ith centre! of indu!triou! hu!bandry; 5hich availed them!elve!

of the protection of the developin feudal orani!ation and provided retreat! from 5hich men of

con!iderably riper year! emered a! mini!ter!; councillor!; educator!. Bec#et 5a! about fifty 5hen he

5a! #illed; &n!elm lived to be !eventy7five; /anfranc)! ae i! uncertain; but it 5a! !ome5here about

eihty. No 5onder they carried 5eiht in a enerally puerile 5orld.

1=


20/70

& man i! a! old a! hi! arterie!; 5e !ay no5aday!; but the #ey to a real and authoritative old ae for

the!e divine! of the Dar# &e! 5a! probably the inherited !oundne!! of their teeth. Tho!e 5ho!e teeth

decayed cea!ed to !pea# 5ith dinity and authority. There 5a! no denti!try e'cept e'traction..

:Benefit of clery:; 5hich 5or#ed out at la!t a! a convenient mitiation of har!h penal la5!; aro!e out

of the claim of the con!olidatin hurch to ta#e cleric! out of the hand! of the temporal po5er and deal

5ith them in it! o5n fa!hion. But the mona!terie! 5ere only are!!ive 5hen they dared they 5ere notimmune from local di!order! and had to be !teered 5ith di!cretion. There 5a! ince!!ant bic#erin;

robbery and 5arfare; and intermittent local famine; and the !tandard of life ro!e and fell here and there

and from time to time.

In the eleventh and t5elfth centurie!; the civili!ation of We!tern "urope probably di!played far le!!

!ocial in!ecurity and ine3uality; and far le!! ro!! brutality; than in the !ucceedin period. There 5ere

reion! and pha!e! of comparative health and vitality. But !uch pha!e! meant the accumulation of

lootable re!ource!; and opened the 5ay to conception! of con3ue!t upon a larer and more lucrative

!cale. The Norman on3ue!t of "nland 5a! a con!iderable achievement for that ae. The tradition of

the Roman "mpire; the tradition of reat and rich citie! to the !outh7ea!t; !till haunted men)!

imaination! and did much to prepare them for the reater adventure of the ru!ade!.

The older and 5i!er head! 5ho 5ere con!olidatin a rena!cent /atin hurch in the tenth and eleventh

centurie! 5ere !trulin aain!t the ince!!ant bic#erin 5arfare of the time!. The hurch then 5a!

!omethin very different from 6ope 6acelli)! hurch of to7day. In it! rea5a#ened eleventh7century

form; under the direction of that reate!t of papal !tate!men; 6ope -reory $II %ildebrandA; it 5a! the

mo!t civili!ed and civili!in thin in the We!tern 5orld. It 5a! at it! be!t. Not only the Roman hurch

a! 5e #no5 it; but all the 6rote!tant !ect!; are derived from it. It had tried variou! e'pedient! to put a

truce upon local violence; and it !eiEed upon the Tur#i!h ill7treatment of pilrim! to the %oly +epulchre

a! an incentive. The!e Tur#! had !ma!hed the ByEantine armie! and driven them out of &!ia (inor.

They !at do5n in Nicaea; oppo!ite ByEantium it!elf. In thi! e'tremity &le'i! omnenu!; the ByEantine

"mperor; appealed to 6ope -reory $II for help; and the /atin7!pea#in We!t re!ponded promptly and

viorou!ly. Both the We!tern "mpire and the hurch !a5 plainly before it the !ubCuation of the

"a!tern 5orld by the We!t.

I7b 2 CHRI)/+103 3ARCH/) /A)T%" incitement to cru!ade arou!ed a !tupenpdou! and varied re!pon!e. It relea!ed all the latent

unifyin force! that had accumulated about the idea of hri!tendom.

In the beinnin of the !eventh century 5e !a5 We!tern "urope a! a chao! of !ocial and political

frament!; 5ith no common idea nor hope; a !y!tem !hattered almo!t to a du!t of !elf7!ee#in

92


21/70


22/70

had been a pe!tilence and famine from the +cheldt to Bohemia; and there 5a! reat !ocial

di!orani!ation.

:No 5onder;: 5rote (r. "rne!t Bar#er; :that a !tream of emiration !et to5ard! the "a!t; !uch a! 5ould

in modern time! flo5 to5ard! a ne5ly di!covered oldfielda !tream carryin in it! turbid 5ater!

much refu!e@ tramp! and ban#rupt!; camp7follo5er! and huc#!ter!; fuitive mon#! and e!caped

villein!; and mar#ed by the !ame motley roupin; the !ame fever of life; the !ame alternation! ofaffluence and beary; 5hich mar# the ru!h for a oldfield to7day.:

But the!e 5ere !econdary contributory cau!e!. The fact of predominant intere!t to the hi!torian of

man#ind i! thi! 5ill to cru!ade !uddenly revealed a! a ne5 ma!! po!!ibility in human affair!.

The fir!t force! to move ea!t5ard 5ere reat cro5d! of undi!ciplined people rather than armie!; and

they !ouht to ma#e their 5ay by the valley of the Danube; and thence !outh5ard to on!tantinople.

Thi! ha! been called the :people)! cru!ade:. Never before in the 5hole hi!tory of the 5orld had there

been !uch a !pectacle a! the!e ma!!e! of practically leaderle!! people moved by an idea. It 5a! a very

crude idea. When they ot amon foreiner!; they did not reali!e they 5ere not already amon theinfidel. T5o reat mob!; the advance uard of the e'pedition; committed !uch e'ce!!e! in %unary;

5here the lanuae 5a! incomprehen!ible to them; that they 5ere ma!!acred. & third ho!t bean 5ith a

reat porom of the 8e5! in the Rhineland; and thi! multitude 5a! al!o de!troyed in %unary. T5o

other !5arm! under 6eter him!elf reached on!tantinople; to the a!toni!hment and di!may of the

"mperor &le'iu!. They looted and committed outrae!; until he !hipped them acro!! the Bo!phoru!; to

be ma!!acred rather than defeated by the +elCu#! 12=HA.

Thi! fir!t unhappy appearance of the :people: a! people in modern "uropean hi!tory 5a! follo5ed in

12= by the orani!ed force! of the ,ir!t ru!ade. They came by diver!e route! from ,rance;

Normandy; ,lander!; "nland; +outhern Italy and +icily and the 5ill and po5er of them 5ere theNorman!. They cro!!ed the Bo!phoru! and captured Nicaea; 5hich &le'iu! !natched a5ay from them

before they could loot it.

Then they 5ent to &ntioch; 5hich they too# after nearly a year)! !iee. Then they defeated a reat

relievin army from (o!ul.

& lare part of the cru!ader! remained in &ntioch; a !maller force under -odfrey of Bouillon 5ent on

to 8eru!alem. To 3uote Bar#er aain@ :&fter a little more than.a month)! !iee; the city 5a! finally

captured 8uly 14th; 12==A. The !lauhter 5a! terrible the blood of the con3uered ran do5n the !treet!;

until men !pla!hed in blood a! they rode. &t nihtfall; )!obbin for e'ce!! of Coy); the cru!ader! came to

the +epulchre from their treadin of the 5inepre!!; and put their blood7!tained hand! toether in prayer.

+o; on that day of triumph; the ,ir!t ru!ade came to an end.:

The authority of the 6atriarch of 8eru!alem 5a! at once !eiEed upon by the /atin clery 5ith the

e'pedition; and the Orthodo' hri!tian! found them!elve! in rather a 5or!e ca!e under /atin rule than

under the Tur#. There 5ere already /atin principalitie! e!tabli!hed at &ntioch and "de!!a; and bet5een

99


23/70

the!e variou! court! and #in! bean a !trule for a!cendancy. There 5a! an un!ucce!!ful attempt to

ma#e 8eru!alem a property of the 6ope. The!e are complication! beyond our pre!ent !cope.

/et u! 3uote; ho5ever; a characteri!tic pa!!ae from -ibbon; to !ho5 the drift of event!@

:In a !tyle le!! rave than that of hi!tory; I !hould perhap! compare the "mperor &le'iu! to the Cac#al;

5ho i! !aid to follo5 the !tep! and devour the leavin! of the lion. Whatever had been hi! fear! and

toil! in the pa!!ae of the ,ir!t ru!ade; they 5ere amply recompen!ed by the !ub!e3uent benefit!

5hich he derived from the e'ploit! of the ,ran#!. %i! de'terity and viilance !ecured their fir!t

con3ue!t of Nicaea; and from thi! threatenin !tation the Tur#! 5ere compelled to evacuate the

neihbourhood of on!tantinople.

:While the ru!ader!; 5ith blind valour; advanced into the midland countrie! of &!ia; the crafty -ree#

improved the favourable occa!ion 5hen the emir! of the !ea coa!t 5ere recalled to the !tandard of the

+ultan. The Tur#! 5ere driven from the i!land! of Rhode! and hio! the citie! of "phe!u! and +myrna;

of +arde!; 6hiladelphia and /aodicea; 5ere re!tored to the empire; 5hich &le'iu! enlared from the

%elle!pont to the ban#! of the (aeander and the roc#y !hore! of 6amphylia. The churche! re!umedtheir !plendour the to5n! 5ere rebuilt and fortified and the de!ert country 5a! peopled 5ith colonie!

of hri!tian!; 5ho 5ere ently removed from the more di!tant and danerou! frontier.

:In the!e paternal care! 5e may forive &le'iu! if he forot the deliverance of the holy !epulchre but

by the /ain! he 5a! !timati!ed 5ith the foul reproach of trea!on and de!ertion. They had !5orn

obedience and fidelity to hi! throne but he had promi!ed to a!!i!t their enterpri!e in per!on; or; at lea!t;

5ith hi! troop! and trea!ure! hi! ba!e retreat di!!olved all their old ain! and the !5ord; 5hich had

been the in!trument of their victory; 5a! the plede and title of their Cu!t independence. It doe! not

appear that the emperor attempted to revive hi! ob!olete claim! over the #indom of 8eru!alem; but the

border! of ilicia and +yria 5ere more recent in hi! po!!e!!ion and more acce!!ible to hi! arm!. Thereat army of the cru!ader! 5a! annihilated or di!per!ed the principality of &ntioch 5a! left 5ithout a

head; by the !urpri!e and captivity of Bohemond hi! ran!om had oppre!!ed him 5ith a heavy debt and

hi! Norman follo5er! 5ere in!ufficient to repel the ho!tilitie! of the -ree#! and Tur#!.

:In thi! di!tre!!; Bohemond embraced a mananimou! re!olution; of leavin the defence of &ntioch to

hi! #in!man; the faithful Tancred of armin the We!t aain!t the ByEantine "mpire; and of e'ecutin

the de!in 5hich he inherited from the le!!on! and e'ample of hi! father -ui!card. %i! embar#ation

5a! clande!tine and if 5e may credit a tale of the 6rince!! &nna; he pa!!ed the ho!tile !ea clo!ely

!ecreted in a coffin. &nna onpena add! that; to complete the imitation; he 5a! !hut up 5ith a dead

coc# and conde!cend! to 5onder ho5 the barbarian could endure the confinement and putrefaction.Thi! ab!urd tale i! un#no5n to the /atin!.A...:

+o -ibbon; cau!tic but veraciou!; dete!tin Roman and ByEantine 5ith an impartial dete!tation; bear!

hi! 5itne!!.

It 5a! in thi! 5idenin conflict of the /atin and the -ree# that that theoloical frea# of harlemane;

9>


24/70

the filio3ue clau!e; became important politically.

We have traced the ro5th of thi! idea of a reliiou! overnment of hri!tendomand throuh

hri!tendom of man#indand 5e have !ho5n ho5 naturally and ho5 nece!!arily; becau!e of the

tradition of 5orld empire; it found a centre at Rome. The 6ope of Rome 5a! the only We!tern

patriarch he 5a! the reliiou! head of a va!t reion in 5hich the rulin tonue 5a! /atin the other

patriarch! of the Orthodo' hurch !po#e -ree# and !o 5ere inaudible throuhout hi! domain!; and thet5o 5ord! filio3ue; 5hich had been added to the /atin creed; no5 !plit off the ByEantine hri!tian! by

one of tho!e impalpable and elu!ive doctrinal point! upon 5hich there i! no reconciliation. The final

rupture 5a! in 124.A

The broad reality of the ru!ade! 5a! that all the !urplu! enery of the We!t; in a pa!!ion of reed;

piety and virtuou! indination; poured do5n upon the far more !ophi!ticated /evant and returned 5ith

a thou!and hitherto unheard7of thin!. (o!t of the ran# and file 5ere #illed off :The men 5ere

!plendid:A; but the #niht! and noblemen 5ho returned 5ith their retinue! came bac# 5ith !il# and

velvet; dye! and chain armour; and cravin! and conception! of lu'ury that had been !ubmered in the

mind! of 5e!tern men !ince the collap!e of the Roman "mpire.

7. 2 A CAH0#IC G/+#/3A+ 0F $&&9

/"T u! no5 !#etch the face and 3uality of human life in "urope at that time; in the fourteenth and

fifteenth centurie!. We mu!t clear our mind! of the popular per!ua!ion that the people 5ho 5ent to and

fro in the to5n! and villae! 5e inherit 5ere very much li#e the people 5ho 5al# about our !treet! to7

day; e'cept that they 5ore different co!tume!. That i! a complete delu!ion. There 5a! no !uch fancy

dre!! ball. The!e fifteenth7century people 5ere; on the averae; t5enty year! youner; they 5ere le!!

healthy loo#in; and they !tan# 3uite abominably. The barbari!m of the period 5a! not primitive. It had

ari!en out of the decadence of a precedin !ocial order. The reat public bath! of the Roman tradition

had faded out of the crumblin !ocial edifice. Not only are 5e mi!led by the natural

anthropomorphi!m; !o to !pea#; that ma#e! u! imae the cro5d! in the pa!t e!!entially li#e the cro5d!

of to7day; but 5e are al!o mi!led by the picture! and record! 5hich mi!repre!ent the !pectacle of the

time!.

The printed boo# had !till to da5n upon the 5orld; and 5hatever record 5a! made of the !ho5 of

thin! 5a! #ept by mon#i!h chronicler! employed by the 6rince! and 6otentate! of the time. The!e

#eeper! of the record! !at and toiled to ma#e their manu!cript! a! briht and plea!in to their employer!

a! po!!ible. +o that our vi!ion of that time i! maically illuminated by their art. & ree#in !lum of

human indinity i! lit up by the flatterin brihtne!! of the !ub!ervient chronicler and the blaEon! of

heraldry; and it i! only 5hen 5e !ubCect them to a clo!er !crutiny that 5e are able to ra!p the !3ualid

9


25/70

fact! of human life durin that period.

Then a! no the 5orld had it! o5n loveline!!; !unri!e and !un!et; the loriou! on!et of !prin; the olden

autumn; the 5hite fro!t flo5er! upon the branche!; but the dye! and fabric! of thirteenth7 and

fourteenth7century clothin in hri!tendom had none of the ilt and !hinin pimentation of the

illuminator. lothin mu!t have been !till crude in colour and !tale and dirty in !ub!tance. The normal

!pan of life 5a! brief and men 5ere flim!ier. We find the arm our of our ance!tor! too !mall and tihtfor even puny men to7day. But then; one may a!#; 5a! it 5orn by real ro5n7up men? The!e people

5ere often married at thirteen; they 5ere 5arrior! and leader! in their later teen! they became cruel old

!atyr! at !i'7and7thirty. In fact they never re5 up either phy!ically or mentally. They lived in a 5orld

of 5itle!! lord!hip and puerile melodrama.

,rom thi! di!illu!ionin dire!!ion upon the brilliance in the fifteenth century; 5e can turn to one

e'ceptionally :brilliant: youn man; -ille! de Rai!; a type of hi! time; of 5ho!e life 5e have by

variou! accident! an e'ceptionally full record. %e 5a! married to a rich heire!! at !i'teen after t5o

earlier attempt! to ma#e a match for him the earlie!t at thirteenA had fallen throuh. %e 5a! a boy not

only of e'ceptional enery but of e'ceptional ift!. %e patroni!ed mu!ic. %e illuminated and bound

boo#!. &nd from the out!et he 5a! 5hat people call :unbalanced:.

+ome people may be di!po!ed to account for hi! peculiar aberration! by !ayin he Cu!t :5ent mad:. But

madne!! i! a! pitile!! and con!i!tent a proce!! a! anythin el!e that can happen; the !e3uence of idea!

in tho!e 5e call in!ane i! a! inevitable; you can find their oriin! and their a!!ociation!; and no5aday!

5hen 5e are all out of harmony 5ith our condition! of !urvival; to !ay merely that he :5ent mad: doe!

not even put him out!ide the pale of normal e'perience. "'ceptionally 5ealthy at the out!et; hi! mental

liveline!! made him a !pendthrift. /i#e many youn!ter! born rich; he could not imaine bein hard up

until he 5a!. %e li#ed to ive e'travaant entertainment!; my!terie! and moralitie!. ,rom fir!t to la!t he

5a! a ood atholic; con!cientiou!ly and unfeinedly reliiou!. But for that he miht never have been

hun. %e dabbled in alchemy and the blac# art! there 5a! no (onte arlo for him in tho!e day! and

no turfand he tried to ma#e up for hi! maic by e'travaant charity and !pecial ma!!e!.

&ll thi! i! the behaviour of an uncontrolled upper7form !choolboy 5ith a belief in hi! luc#; an uncritical

piety of the :On5ard hri!tian +oldier!: type; and an unanaly!ed di!po!ition to torment fa!. It mu!t

be cited to place him definitely in relation to our o5n mind!; but not in any 5ay a! a condonation of

5hat he did. %e 5a! cruel by all our !tandard! he 5a! hideou!ly cruel he delihted in the tormentin

of children and the point! be!t 5orth di!cu!!in about him here are; first, 5hether he 5a! an

e'ceptional !inner; or 5hether hi! crime! 5ere the outcome of a mental di!po!ition that ha! al5ay!been operative !ince that 5retched cone!tion of man#ind 5hich i! called civili!ation bean and

secondly; and more important for our pre!ent purpo!e; ho5 far the reliiou! belief! and practice! of

atholic hri!tendom in the fifteenth century really condemned hi! abomination!.

The hri!tian! before the day! of on!tantine the -reat had !tood out valiantly aain!t the crueltie! of

the arena and for the practical brotherhood of man; but 5a! the hurch !till doin !o 5hen -ille! de

94


26/70

Rai! 5a! a reat nobleman? The record! tell that he 5a! hun for the torture and murder of 12

children to 5hich he confe!!ed; in the year 12. %e had committed !acrilee and infrined clerical

immunity by enterin the hurch of +t. "tienne de (er (orte Cu!t after (a!! and drain out a

certain 8ean de ,erron 5ho 5a! #neelin there in prayer. Thi! precipitated the ho!tility and !u!picion

that 5a! accumulatin aain!t him. &! a !e3uel to thi! outrae he 5a! arre!ted and cited before the

Bi!hop of Nante! on variou! chare!; of 5hich !acrilee and here!y 5ere the chief and the!e murder! a!condary i!!ue; & parallel en3uiry 5a! made by 6ierre de l)%tpital; 6re!ident of the Breton parlement;

by 5ho!e !entence he 5a! finally condemned. %i! piety and abCect confe!!ion !aved him from torture;

of 5hich he probably 5ent in profound dread becau!e of the fa!cination it had for him.

%e 5a! hun; :hou!ell)d; appointed; anel)d:; more fortunate than %amlet)! father; and hi! body 5a!

!aved from bein burnt by :four or five dame! and demoi!elle! of reat e!tate:; 5ho removed hi! body

from the flame! of the pyre built !o that he 5ould fall into it. (anife!tly they thouht no reat evil of

5hat he had done. %i! t5o a!!ociate! had no !uch !ocial !tandin; and their bodie! 5ere burnt. Thi!; I

under!tand; 5ill cau!e them con!iderable trouble at the Re!urrection from 5hich the ari!tocratic -ille!

5ill be e'empt.

%e bean life brilliantly and honourably. %e mu!t have !eemed a !plendid youn man to the 5orld

about him; and by every current !tandard he 5a! !plendid. %e 5a! a clo!e ally and !upporter of 8oan of

&rc; 5ith 5hom he fouht !ide by !ide at Orlean! and later at 8areau and 6atay. %e carried out the

coronation of harle! $II at Reim!; and he 5a! made marichal of ,rance upon that important occa!ion.

Thi! riddle of condonation of !ocial ine3uality and cruelty confront! u! at every !tae of the lon

:(artyrdom of (an:. (an i! evidently an animal 5hich 5ill fiht; and on occa!ion fiht de!perately;

but 5hich prefer! to fiht at an advantae. %e ha! been readier to u!e moderation and ma#e

conce!!ion! 5hen fihtin aain!t hi! 3ua!i7e3ual! than aain!t tho!e 5ho are altoether helple!!; and

al5ay! he ha! !ho5n little or no reard for hi! inferior!; the ran# and file; !till le!! for the feeble fol#

5ho et in hi! militant 5ay. When a !corched earth policy had to be underta#en; or if they 5ere 8e5! or

infidel!; they counted for nothin at all.

The erchant of !enice; the dulle!t play perhap! produced by the +ha#e!peare roup; e'hibit! an

internal !trule bet5een a liberal7minded and a preCudiced element in the roup of player! 5hich

vamped up that fundamentally dreary !tory of hate aain!t hate. The !trule bet5een the!e t5o

element! oe! on in every human roupin; not only bet5een one man and another; but bet5een 5hat

5e are apt to call a man)! better !elf and hi! lo5er nature bet5een hi! !en!e of rihteou!ne!! and hi!

even more deeply rooted preCudice!. It run! throuh the entire hri!tian !tory; and our ca!e aain!t theatholic hurch i! that; albeit it oriinated in a pa!!ionate a!!ertion of the conception. of brotherly

e3uality; it relap!ed !teadily from the broad nobility of it! beinnin! and pa!!ed over at la!t almo!t

completely to the !ide of per!ecution and the plea!ure! of cruelty.

9H


27/70

7I. 2 )0CIA# I+/:(A#I- I+ H/ $&H A+1 $;HC/+(RI/)

B< the on!et of the fifteenth century; the enerally youthful population of hri!tendom had achieved

it! ma'imum comple' of human ine3uality; and di!played an intricacy of !ocial !tratification that only

ca!te7ridden India could e'cel. If one turn! over the picture! of tho!e admirable compilation!; (.&.

Racinet)!"e Costume #istorique; or; !till better; &dolf Ro!enber)! $eschichte des %ostums; one can

!ee the 5hole proce!! of an incoherent barbari!m pa!!in vi!ibly into an inten!ely !ophi!ticated !ocial

!tructure; 5ith an ever 5idenin ap bet5een cla!! and cla!!; in the cour!e of three centurie!. The

common people !till o half na#ed; or they 5ear !#in! and have rude puttee! 5rapped bout their feet.

+o the ma!! remain! but pre!ently intermediate !trata appear. Belo5 the !trenuou! manificence of the

nobility) and entry appear craft!men !ub!ervin the e'pandin need! of their !uperior!. *pper !ervant!

appear; and attendant! made pa!!able in their appearance! and even 5earin liverie!.

Nobody catered for the ordinary man)! clothin. %e 5ore old ca!t7off !tuff. "ven to7day there i! !till a

reat mar#et for ca!t7off clothe!. Riht do5n to the meddle nineteenth century :6addy: 5a! 5earininappropriate !econd7hand!. %i! tail coat and debo!hed top7hat 5a! part of the fun the "nli!h made of

him. Belo5 the level of entility nobody thouht of caterin for the lo5er7cla!! body or the lo5er7cla!!

home. I am no5 nearly !eventy7!even and I 5a! brouht up in a home in 5hich everythin; carpet!;

bed! and all; e'cept for a mu!lin curtain or !o; had been bouht at !ale!. It 5a! an indinant

philanthropi!t at 6lymouth 5ithout any thouht of ain 5ho re!olved to ma#e furniture that 5ould meet

the need! of the poor home; lo5er7middle7cla!! chiefly. %e blundered into a fortune and launched

+hoolbred)!; (aple)!; %eal)! and all the re!t of them on their va!t pro!perou! career!. In the period of

-ille! de Rai!; no :inferior: dared enCoy anythin until it had done it! !ervice at the rich man)! table. To

everyone in the 5orld; thi! !eemed altoether natural. (eanly and dirtily dre!!ed; ill7nouri!hed; ill7hou!ed and de!pi!ed that 5a! the lot of the vular. Witne!! our :myriad7minded: +ha#e!peare. %o5

!ome one in that :myriad: could de!pi!e their :rea!y cap!: and moc# their poor effort! to imitate and

propitiate their better!J

Dirt and mutual contempt; !mothered re!entment! and crinin ac3uie!cence!. +uch 5a! !ocial reality

in the fifteenth century; in 5hich -ille! de Rai! lived; in!anitary finery above broodin over reat

!3ualour. +uch 5a! the !ocial atmo!phere of the !upreme di!ruptive pha!e in hri!tendom.

"ven 5hen one !crutini!e! the !ort of thin the fourteenth and fifteenth centurie! e!teemed finery; there

i! a cheapne!! of invention and a factor of animal a!!ertion that Car! upon the dinity and re!ervation!

of our maturer mind!. The cod7piece; often formidably enlared; 5itne!!e! to the !e'ual ob!e!!ion! of

the!e adole!cent ance!tor! of our!; and !ue!t! the graffitiof the public urinal 5hich relea!e! the

a5a#enin mind! of contemporary youth.

&part from that; a!pect of the fourteenth and fifteenth centurie!; the co!tume of the middlin !ort

di!play! a re!ort to pin#in; puffin; !la!hin; le! of different colour! and the li#e feeble device!.

9


28/70

+ome5hen about thi! time there came a 5ave of better ta!teI thin# out of entral &!ia. It came 5ith

playin card!. The pin#in and puffin and !la!hin; the !illy lon7toed !hoe! ad !o forth; pre!ently

vani!hed before it! influence for a time. The court card! of the normal pac# fore!hado5 the dre!! of

the !eventeenth century. Thi! 5ave of better ta!te did not come 5ith the returnin ru!ader!; but by

!ome more northern route; about 5hich I am e3ually curiou! and inorant. With it! on!et a certain

!obriety impo!ed it!elf upon the co!tume of the intermediate cla!!e!. Their !uperior! !oon returned tothe ruff! and beCe5elled embroidery. Their inferior! remained !3ualid. &! they are to thi! day.

7II. 2 H/ 1AW+ 0F )0CIA# 1I)C0+/+

No5 it happened that t5o very con!iderable !tre!!e! in the common 5ay of livin in "urope occurred

in the middle fourteenth century. &t fir!t they had little to do 5ith each other or 5ith the reliiou!

development of hri!tendom. /ater they 5ere to revolutioni!e it altoether. They both came from the"a!t. One 5a! the Blac# Death the other 5a! the manufacture of paper and the obviou! po!!ibility it

brouht 5ith it of printin uniform boo#! from movable type. The one made labour dear the other

made boo#! and #no5lede cheap. The fir!t; a! 5e !hall !ee; launched !ociali!m upon the 5orld the

!econd liberated the critical intellience of man#ind. %itherto the !ubCuation of the common people

had been an ea!y matter. There 5ere plenty of them; and if they 5ould not 5or# for the /ord of the

(anor or hi! !ub7tenant!; they could freeEe and !tarve. Then came deliverance out of the "a!t and

found a ready !oil in the filthy to5n! and dirty villae! of the mediaeval country!ide; the -reat

6e!tilence.

Never 5a! there !uch a pe!tilence. It came and it returned. It 5ell nih blotted out man#ind. (ore thanhalf of the three or four million! 5ho formed the population of "nland 5ere !5ept a5ay. There 5ere

no hand! to till the !oil there 5ere none left 5ho could drive the !trayin cattle out of the field! and

corn.

,or the fir!t time in the hi!tory of hri!tendom there follo5ed a !trule bet5een property and the

5or#er. 6roperty; in accordance 5ith it! ae7lon e!tabli!hed ideoloy; could find no better 5ay of

dealin 5ith the univer!al di!tre!! than to a!!ert that the 5or#er! mu!t toil very much harder. The

propertied cla!!e! of the de!olation after the Blac# Death tried to tie !uch 5or#er! a! there 5ere to their

Cob!; by forbiddin miration; fi'in 5ae! belo5 !tarvation level; and !o forth; and bein very

implacable about it all.

The vaue indination of popular common !en!e found e'pre!!ion in the preachin of one 5hom the

courtly ,roi!!art called :a mad prie!t of Fent:; 8ohn Ball.

:-ood people;: cried the preacher; :thin! 5ill never o 5ell in "nland !o lon a! ood! be not in

common; and !o lon a! there be villein! and entlemen. By 5hat riht are they 5hom 5e call lord!

9G


29/70

reater fol# than 5e? On 5hat round! have they de!erved it? Why do they hold u! in !erfae? If 5e all

came of the !ame father and mother; of &dam and "ve; ho5 can they !ay or prove that they are better

than 5e; if it be not that they ma#e u! ain for them by our toil that they !pend in their pride? They are

clothed in velvet and 5arm in their fur! and their ermine!; 5hile 5e are covered 5ith ra!. They have

5ine and !pice! and fair bread and 5e oat7ca#e and !tra5; and 5ater to drin#. They have lei!ure and

fine hou!e! 5e have pain and labour; the rain and the 5ind in the field!. &nd yet it i! of u! and of ourtoil that the!e men hold their !tate.:

&nd !o to the plain challene of

:When &dam delved and "ve !pan; Who 5a! then the entleman?:

the ,rench 8ac3uerie 5a! !imultaneou! and all of a piece 5ith the primordial !ociali!m of 8ohn Ball. &t

that time Fent and the !outh7ea!t of "nland 5ere far more clo!ely lin#ed 5ith the north7ea!t of ,rance

in thouht and !ocial life than 5ith the land! behind either reion. There 5ere parallel movement! in

,lander!; and e!pecially -hent and Brue! and


30/70

6rote!tanti!m from an ever more reactionary hurch; 5ho had the Bible tran!lated into the vular

tonue; and; toether 5ith hi! pupil; 8an %u!!; beot the Reformation.

The !pirit of 6rote!tanti!m !pran from men 5ho too# their un3ue!tionin atholic faith 5ith !uch

!eriou!ne!! that they could not but prote!t aain!t the evil thin! they beheld about them. In the le!!

critical eleventh century; in the day! 5hen %ildebrand 6ope -reory $IIA 5a! bracin up the !olidarity

of the hurch by in!i!tin on prie!tly celibacy and the complete detachment from normal human livinthat thi! involved; there had been an e'traordinary 5illinne!! to believe the atholic prie!thood ood

and 5i!e. Relatively it 5a! 5i!er and better in tho!e day!. -reat po5er! beyond her !piritual function!

had been entru!ted to the hurch; and very e'traordinary freedom!. The traedy of the hurch i! that

!he put her !piritual influence to evil end! and abu!ed her freedom! 5ithout mea!ure.

The 6ope 5a! the !upreme la5iver of hri!tendom; and hi! court at Rome the final and deci!ive court

of appeal. The hurch levied ta'e! it had not only va!t propertie! and a reat income from fee!; but it

impo!ed a ta' of a tenth; the tithe; upon it! !ubCect!. It did not call for thi! a! a piou! benefaction it

demanded it a! a riht. +teadily more and more of the nation)! property fell into the dead hand

(ortmainA of the hurch and paid it! tribute to +t. 6eter. The clery; on the other hand; claimed

e'emption from lay ta'ation.

Thi! attempt to trade upon their peculiar pre!tie and evade their !hare in fi!cal burden! 5a! certainly

one con!iderable factor in the ro5in di!!ati!faction 5ith the clery. &part from any 3ue!tion of

Cu!tice; it 5a! impolitic. It made ta'e! !eem ten time! more burthen!ome to tho!e 5ho had to pay. It

made everyone re!ent the immunitie! of the hurch.

&nd a !till more e'travaant and un5i!e claim made by the hurch 5a! the claim to the po5er of

di!pen!ation. It did not interpret riht and 5ron no5 it 5a! above riht and 5ron and it could ma#e

5ron riht and riht 5ron. The 6ope in many in!tance! !et a!ide the la5! of the hurch in individualca!e! he allo5ed cou!in! to marry; permitted a man to have t5o 5ive!; relea!ed men from vo5!. The

hurch)! cro5nin folly in the !i'teenth century 5a! the !ale of indulence 5hereby the !ufferin! of

the !oul in puratory could be commuted for money payment.

By the da5n of the !i'teenth century; the hurch; blindly and ra!hly; had come to a final partin of the

5ay!. The force of prote!t; that i! to !ay of 6rote!tanti!m; 5a! atherin aain!t it; and the alternative!;

5hether it 5ould moderni!e or 5hether it 5ould .domati!e or fiht; 5ere before it. It cho!e to fiht

and tyranni!e.

Before the thirteenth century it had been cu!tomary for the 6ope to ma#e occa!ional in3ue!t! or

en3uirie! into here!y in thi! reion or that; but Innocent III found in the Dominican! a po5erful

in!trument of !uppre!!ion. The In3ui!ition 5a! orani!ed a! a !tandin en3uiry under their direction

and 5ith fire and torture the hurch !et it!elf; throuh thi! in!trument; to a!!ail and 5ea#en the human

con!cience in 5hich it! !ole hope of 5orld dominion re!ided. Before the thirteenth century the penalty

of death had been inflicted but rarely upon heretic! and unbeliever!. No5 in a hundred mar#et7place! in

>2


31/70

"urope the dinitarie! of the hurch 5atched the blac#ened bodie! of it! antaoni!t; for the mo!t part

poor and in!inificant people; burn and !in# pitifully; and their o5n reat mi!!ion to man#ind burn and

!in# 5ith them into du!t and a!he!.

haucer; one of the mo!t typical and commandin fiure! in "nli!h literature; in hi! anterbury Tale!;

ive! incidentally and inadvertently a picture of the !tate of opinion about the hurch on the very eve

of the impendin Reformation. We have a company of pilrim! oin to anterburyfor a pilrimae5a! then the only 5ay of ta#in a holiday in comparative !ecurity and they are all; li#e haucer

him!elf; nominally ood atholic!. They are; !o to !pea#; provi!ionally atholic!; there bein no

alternative. "'cept the enthu!ia!m of /ollardry. 1


32/70

:&n Indian 5ould !ay that +ha#e!peare had not probed far enouh into the human !oul and the Over7

+oul 5e call -od. No5 the Oriental thin#er i! profoundly concerned not only in under!tandin the!e

principle! but in findin a relation bet5een them. The fundamental thouht of the *pani!had!

5ritin! containin the mo!t occult and my!tical idea! of the %indu!con!i!t! in the reconition of the

onene!! of the Brahman and &tman; of -od and the +oul. Thi! i! al!o the 3uinte!!ential principle of the

$edanta !y!tem. )Who could breathe 5ho could e'i!t;) declare! the Fena *pani!had; )if there 5ere notthe bli!! of Brahma 5ithin the ether of hi! heart?) +ir "d5in &rnold rihtly aue! the Indian !pirit

5hen he !ay! that thouh inconceivable to the mind; thi! all comprehen!ive Bein i! !till a nece!!ity of

true thouht; and veritable beyond every other conception of reality).

:The %indu dharma declare! that man doe! not live by hi! appetite! alone@ he mu!t live by hi! life of

!pirit al!o. (o#!ha i! the oal indicated. (o#!ha i! freedom from the perpetuity of incarnation. It i! in

the end the union of the finite 5ith the Infinitethe merin of the individual !oul 5ith the illimitable

ocean. In other 5ord!; thi! i! the nirvana of the Buddha....

:To the Oriental mind; reliiou! my!tici!m i! a !heer Coy. The entire literature of India i! !teeped in thi!

element. But 5hen the Indian turn! to +ha#e!peare he find! that thi! my!tic 3uality i! utterly ab!ent... .

:Devotee! of "a!t and We!t declare that no Coy tran!cend! that 5hich i! derived from my!tical

e'perience. Roumi; Fabir; (ei!ter "c#hart; +5edenbor; +t. There!a; +t. 8ohn of the ro!!; and many

other!; all bear 5itne!! to the !ame effect. +urely; there i! nothin finer or hiher for man than to #no5

5hat; )in the la!t analy!i!; hold! the univer!e toether.) Thi! i! the 3ue!tion that ,au!t a!#! him!elf; and

!o doe! every my!tic. ,or $ive#ananda; a! for Rama#ri!hna; hi! ma!ter; )the #no5lede of Brahma i!

the ultimate end; the hihe!t de!tiny of man)...

:(r. (iddleton (urry; in harmony 5ith the ancient!; con!ider! the poet a! a &ates sacer; bearin a

direct me!!ae from -od....

:)The poetry of my!tici!m;) !ay! (i!! "velyn *nderhill; )miht be defined on the one hand a! a

temperamental reaction to the vi!ion of Reality on the other; a! a form of prophecy. &! it i! the !pecial

vocation of the my!tical con!ciou!ne!! to mediate bet5een t5o order!; oin out in lovin adoration

to5ard! -od and comin home to tell. the !ecret! of "ternity to other men !o the arti!tic !elf7

e'pre!!ion of thi! con!ciou!ne!! ha! al!o a double character. It i! love7poetry; but love7poetry; 5hich i!

often 5ritten 5ith a mi!!ionary intention.)

:The Indian fail! to find anythin of thi! #ind in +ha#e!peare. %i! poetry i! not an outbur!t of ec!ta!y

and e'altation. We di!cover thi! combination in the 6er!ian my!tic!; in the +ufi poet!; in a fe5 We!tern

bard!; and in the hri!tian !aint!. We al!o detect thi! fu!ion in Fabir. /et u! li!ten to one of hi! poem!

tran!lated by the united effort! of Rabindranath Taore and (i!! "velyn *nderhill@

Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale.From what land do you come, O Swan?

To what shore will you fly?Where would you take your rest, O Swan,

>9


33/70

And what do you seek?

Even this morning, O Swan, awake, arise, follow meThere is a land where no dou!t nor sorrow have rule"

Where the terror of #eath is no more.

There the woods of s$ring are a%!loom,And the fragrant scent &'e is (& is !orne on the wind"

There the !ee of the heart is dee$ly immersed,And desires no other )oy.

,rom 'ongs of %abir. Tran!lated by

Documents

Crux Ansata: An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church