The Popes of the Crusades

There were many popes during the time of the crusades. The main ones were Pope Gregory the seventh, Pope Urban the second, Pope Eugenius the third, Pope Gregory the eighth, Pope Innocent the third, and Pope Nicholas the fourth. These were the most important and most remembered popes of the time. The ones that I find most interesting are Gregory the seventh, Pope Urban the second, pope Innocent the third and Pope Gregory the eighth .

Gregory the seventh was born in Sovana, Italy in 1020. He was the son of Bunicus. Gregory came to Rome at an early age for his education. He is considered the most important of the popes. In Cologne he was wanted to pursue his studies; he had an interest in the elevation of the Church. Gregory become pope and helped the church out and created a stronger church.

Pope Urban the second was born around 1035 to a noble family in northern France. He was educated at a school associated with the Reims cathedral. Urban worked in Germany as a papal legate, who supported for Pope Gregory VII in the struggle with the Holy Roman Emperor. After the death of Gregory, Urban was elected pope on March 12, 1088, but was in exile at the time. Urban was a member of a reform movement that wanted the clergy to be more removed and from this it brought him closer to life in a monastery.

Pope Innocent was one of the greatest popes of the Middle Ages. He was the son of Count Trasimund and was born 1160 or 1161 at Anagni. Innocent had an his early education at Rome, in which he studied theology at Paris, and became a theologian and one of the greatest jurists of that time. Innocent had tried to improve the church discipline and to root out all corruption don to the local level. He was very concerned about the unprofessional behaviour in the clergy. The necessary foundation of all achievements according to Innocent was the reconstruction of the administration of the church. (Cantor Norman 419 and 501)

Pope Gregory was born in Albert de Mora and was the Pope from October 25, 1187 until his death. He was a well-educated noble who became a monk at a very young age. Pope Gregory the eighth was also known as Gregory the Great. he was nit only a pope but also a apostle of English. He is considered one of the most important popes and influential writers of the Middle Ages. He was the son of a Roman senator and entered the service of the State at a very young age. In 573 he sold most of his properties and founded six monasteries in Sicily and the seventh in Rome. Gregory did not live to see the third crusade because he died of fever that same year. (Bookrags)

Cantor, F, Norman. The civilization of the Middle Ages. New York. 1993. Harpercollins publishers, Inc.
Online Book: Bookrags: http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Pope_Gregory_VIII

The Reign of Justianian!!!

The Emperor Justinian ruled from 527 to 65. He expanded an extensive area of territory and military for the Byzantine Empire. Justinian started one of the most aggressive and greatest military programs in Medieval history. His reign is known for the record of architectural and artistic production. During Justinian's reign, the Hagia Sophia was being rebuilt in Constantinople from 532 to 537. Around 480 a young peasant boy was born in the northern region of the Roman Empire known as Thracia. His name was Petrus, but he would be known by historians as Justinian. His uncle Justin, assured Justinian that he would have a successful career in the military.

The reign of Justinian was a significant period because it marked the final end of the Roman empire and the establishment of the new Byzantine empire. Although much is told about Justinian's reign, there is a great deal more to be known about Theodora, his wife. Justinian's armies invaded the Vandal, Ostrogoth, and Visigoth kingdoms and this led to a series of bitter wars. He reconquered much of the Mediterranean lands of the West and it almost seemed as if he had no choice in the matter. During the wars, Justinian had bought peace with the Persians through regular payments of gold.

Justinian succeeded his uncle, Justin, in 527 AD. Before becoming emperor, he married Theodora. In 532 AD, Justinian made peace with the Sassanids which then had made it possible for him to send Roman troops to reconquer, Italy from the Ostrogoths, Africa from the Vandals, and Spain from the Visigoths. This time in history is called the Byzantine Reconquest. In 542 AD, there was a terrible plague that had broke out throughout the Empire, which some historians believe may be the first appearance of the bubonic plague. Justinian had made a law or code for the people of that time to follow. Out of his code would eventually grow the legal systems of modern Europe. The Byzantine Empire reached its greatest expansion under Justinian's rule. He wanted to retake all the Roman territory that had been lost in the previous years. Justinian is known has one of the most successful rulers of the Early Middle Ages. Though a lot of this success was from what he did, a lot of his success was because of his wife Theodora. (Corrick, James 80 & 81)

In the final years of Justinian's reign, misfortune came to the empire. In 556 there was another Samaritan revolt and the next year, a great earthquake shook Constantinople and caused damage. Then the following year, the dome of the new Hagia Sophia collapsed, and had to be rebuilt with a entire new design and around the same time, the plague returned to Constantinople. Another problem that occurred was street violence and there were bread shortages and water shortages. And in late 562, there was a conspiracy which almost succeeded in killing Justinian.

The emperors after Justinian never had the strength to reconstruct the Roman Empire. After him the Byzantine Empire just drifted farther and farther away from the European culture to one of its own. The Justinian code is the last written product of the Byzantine letters to be written in Latin. Justinian was the greatest emperor since Constantine. Justinian's code is known to maybe be the most outstanding accomplishment in history. The law consists of legal life of a great world empire over many years. (Norman Cantor 125 & 131)

Cantor, F, Norman. The civilization of the Middle Ages. New York. 1993. Harpercollins publishers, Inc.
Corrick, A, James. "The Early Middle Ages. San Diego. 1995. Lucent Books, Inc.

William the conqueror

William was the son of Robert the Duke of Normandy, and Herleva of Falaise. He was born in 1027. In 1035, Robert went on a pilgrimage, but before he settled out on his he forced his lords to swear to protect William. It is said that William was illegitimate, and though he was, he was the only living son of Robert. Robert of Normandy died in 1035 on his way to pilgrimage. Robert had left him several Norman guardians to watch over him. Many Normans did not want an illegitimate son as their leader and in 1040 some people made an attempt to kill William. The plan failed but they did manage to kill his guardians. Shortly after, William was forced to accept Ralph of Wacy as his guardian and leader of his armed forces. He was not happy with this because Ralph had been involved in the plot against him.

In 1047, the same people rebelled against William again. They, once again failed but these two situations taught him to trust no one. William believed that if someone betrayed him, then he should show no mercy to them in return. William is well known as a violent leader. When William had taken over a town, he ordered that those who had abused him should have their hands and feet cut off. Sometimes it was worse then this. In 1051, William met Edward the Confessor, the King of England. William had claimed that Edward promised him the throne of England. But at the meeting of Edward's death there were no witnesses at the meeting.

In 1053, William married Matilda of Flanders, the daughter of Count Baldwin of Flanders. They had nine children. During the reign of William, his power in Normandy was constantly under threat. William and Matilda eventually married, and they seemed to have been quite happy together. They had at least four sons and five daughters. The pope didn't agree with the marriage because William and Matilda were distant cousins. The King of England promised to make William king after he had died. He also promised to marry William's daughter Agatha. But King Harold broke both of these promises, which would start the Norman invasion of England.

One feature of William’s reign as king was his reorganization of the feudal and administrative systems. He introduced the Continental system of feudalism, also establishing that a vassal’s loyalty to the king was far more greater then his loyalty to his lord. William also did another outstanding accomplishment which was the economic survey undertaken and incorporated in 1086. William and his sons had great financial resources not only because of England's wealth but because money was needed to support the king and his family, and everything else. William set up a taxation inauguration which became the important key to the political history of the Middle Ages. (Norman Cantor)

Though he is well known as one of the greatest rulers of the middle ages, William's later years were sad, hard ones. He lost his wife, Matilda in 1083 and grew so very fat that while on a military campaign in the year 1087,he fell of his horse and injured his stomach on his saddle horn. The wound never healed and this led to an illness from which he never recovered from. On September 9, 1087, William died. His body had become so bloated and big from the swelling that the people had a hard time fitting him into the tomb. While they struggled to wedge it in, his body burst open, and puss squeezed out everywhere. The whole church had filled with the smell of the rotting body. (book rags)

Online book: http://www.bookrags.com/research/william-the-conqueror-scit-0212345/
Cantor, F, Norman. The civilization of the Middle Ages. New York. 1993. Harpercollins publishers, inc.

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