A New Christendom I

In this opening anecdote of a new reflection in the podcast, Fr. John examines a famous account of a medieval English knight's pilgrimage to Ireland and vision of purgatory there, relating how it documents the rise of a new type of piety in western Christendom.


http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/paradiseutopia/a_new_christendom_I





Notes:

Sir Owain's pilgrimage

Battle of Hastings: William the Conqueror 1066 invasion of England was successful
Philip the 2nd of Spain attempts invasion in 1588: Spanish Armada goes down
Napoleon of France attempt invasion battle of Trafalgar in 1805 is a defeat for France
Adolf Hitler of Germany attempts invasion 1940: Battle of Britain
 (Operation Sea Lion)


Henry II has Thomas Becket Archbishop of Canterbury (1170) put to death
Wars of the Roses (dynastic wars for the throne of England) 1455-1487
100 years' war (1337-1453) France vs England

Church schism of west and east 1054

Growing Christianization of violence

Traditional Christianity saw violence as a crime against God for which penance was required

What factors or realities during this era would produce a change in this view of violence against man? Is Christian violence a paradoxical statement? Thou shalt not kill.

Did Ancient Christianity attempt to downplay the veneration of soldiers during battle? Why would the emperor want soldiers that died in battle to be recognized as martyrs?

Patriarch of Constantinople cites Basil's canon which censored religions violence and demanded penance for this who commit it.

Military violence begins to get Christianized in the west during the Crusades.
Monastic Knights: The Templars

Pope Urban II:  Plenary Indulgences
Heroic Christian Knights
Doctrines of Purgatory and horror, suffering for the typical Christian. How would this affect the typical Christian in this West, this suffering torment in Purgatory? How would he view heaven and hell, God and his faith? What would be the effects of such a view on Western man?