In Germany, the study of this period has been widespread in the last twenty years. The abuses of the early Middle Ages call forth voices calling for reform on the basis of Scripture and the common welfare of mankind. The tractate literature of the fourteenth century set human rights and the principles of common law in opposition to the pretensions of the papacy and the dogmatism of scholastic systems.
Lay writers were heard as pioneers of thought and a practical view of the mission of the Church was cultivated. The hopelessness of expecting any lasting reforms from the papacy and hierarchy was demonstrated in the last years of the period, when ecclesiastical Rome offered a spectacle of moral corruption and spiritual decline that has been compared to the corrupt age of the Roman Empire. The frontiers of geography expanded with the discovery of the continent in the West.
For this generation, looking back over the past four centuries, the discovery of America and the routes to the Indies was one of the most remarkable events in history, a surprise and a prophecy. The last period of the Middle Ages was a period of intellectual dissatisfaction, of self-introspection, a period of designation and preparation for an order that she herself could not produce.
THE DECLINE OF THE PAPACY AND THE AVIGNON EXILE
The document went on to confirm the subjection of the state to the papacy. This shrewd measure cut off French contributions to the papal treasury and purged France of papal emissaries. As for the Pope's place in the Church, the Pope is the representative of the ecclesiastical body, not its master.
For the pontificate of John XXII. belongs to a second group of literary attackers of the papacy. The papacy is not an institution essential to the existence of the Church.
THE PAPAL SCHISM AND THE REFORMATORY COUNCILS. 1378–1449
Besides the acts and history of the Council of Constance, it gives many valuable contemporaries. In the war over Naples, the pope made free use of the treasure of the Roman churches. It was not until the following August that a formal announcement of the impending council was sent to the Kaufhaus.
Such a scene on such a grand scale had never been seen in the West before. Five hundred are said to have drowned in the lake during the council's progress. The vote of the majority of nations was cast in the public sessions of the council.
The Pope had no intention of renouncing the monarchical demands of the papal office.
LEADERS OF CATHOLIC THOUGHT
A multitude of gods can be proved by reason as well as the existence of the one God. In this way he contributed to the disruption of the pernicious medieval theory of the seat of authority. But Catherine, as admirable as these sentiments were, moved within the confines of the medieval Church.
Her voice was a prophet calling in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the Lord." His voice carried great weight in the settlement of questions arising from the papal schism. Thus, the council and whoever rejects the council of the Church can reject God who directs its activity.
He defended the negative side of the case, which he failed to win before the Council of Constance. When the negotiations for the confirmation of the canonization of St. Gerson taught that the Bible is the church's rule and guide until the end of the world.
Here is described the corruption of the clergy from the Pope down to the lowest class of priests. The Church is a body of believers — unitas fidelium — and is represented in the general assembly. Almost a century before Copernicus, he was concerned with the rotation of the Earth around its axis.
On the other hand, the cardinal was a complete ecclesiastic and obedient child of the Church. He was present at the siege of Belgrade and contributed to the successful defense of the city and the loss of His name is also associated with the gift of tongues and the sect of flag bearers.
THE GERMAN MYSTICS
Its appeals were addressed to laymen as well as to clerics
The mystics emphasized instruction and preaching, and, if we except Suso, withdrew the emphasis which had been laid upon the traditional
They used the New Testament more than they used the Old Testament, and the words of Christ took the place of the Canticles in
In the place of the Church, with its sacraments and priesthood as a saving institution, is put Christ himself as the mediator between the soul
A pure life is taught to be a necessary accompaniment of the higher religious experience, and daily exemplification is demanded of that
Another notable feature was their use of the vernacular in sermon and treatise. The mystics are among the very earliest masters of German
A classification of the German mystics on the basis of speculative and practical tendencies has been attempted, but it cannot be carried out strictly. Although he deals with some of the crudest truths, he betrays no ambition to display speculative subtlety. Instead of love for Jesus, the school of St.
It is one of Eckart's merits that he places so much emphasis on the dignity of the soul. The generation of the Eternal Son in the soul brings joy that no man can take away. In his treatment of Mary and Martha, Eckart seems to make a radical departure from the medieval doctrine of the superior value of pure contemplation.
Since the time of Augustine, Rachel and Mary of Bethany were considered representatives of the contemplative and higher life. It was not absorption into the divine being that involved the loss of individuality, but the acceptance of Deity, the original principle of Deity. His most obvious departure from scholasticism lies in this, that he did not stop at the sacraments and the authority of the Church.
Sensing the justice of the criticism, Tauler admitted that he had been made aware of his sins and faults for the first time. Yes, by being unduly concerned about their movements in the presence of the Lord's body, they miss receiving Him spiritually. Wisdom is not studied in Paris, but in the sufferings of the Lord,” said Tauler.
But men who dwell in the inner realm of the soul read the true Book of Life. But even with this list of suicides, Suso said, the whole story was not told. Here we have a body of experimental theology as it prevailed among the most pious souls in the German monasteries of the fourteenth century.
