Chapter 8

Chapter 8

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In the eleventh century, reformation had begun to spread to the wider
cultures and was not limited to just the monastic life. This created a huge
spiritual change transforming the Western Church and the spirit of Western
culture. Because of this, it was not so reliant upon the Empire, and had its
own authority.

The new feudal states created out of the ruins of the Carolingian state were
created by war and for war. Their whole structure evolved around the
military aspect of life. The rising of feudalism shows us a mark in the
return of barbarianism, which had previously disappeared. After the feudal
principalities were firmly established, the population went up, the roads
became more traveled by traders, and towns and markets were revived once
again.

The anarchy of the feudal system was balanced by the vitality of the new
type of society. From the beginning of the eleventh century, the Western
feudal society showed extraordinary power of expansion.

"According to the Foucher of Chartres, the Pope associated his appeal with
the ideas of the peace movement and the Truce of God, and called on the
peace-breakers and men who lived by the sword to win pardon for their sins
by becoming soldiers of Christ and shedding their blood in the service of
Christendom."

"So long as the Crusades continued, the unity of Christendom found
expression in a dynamic militant activity, which satisfied the aggressive
instincts of Western man, while at the same time sublimating them in terms
of religious idealism."

Every great world civilization have had to answer to the problem of
reconciling the ethos of the warrior with the ideals of a religion.
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