The Romance of the Rose, Part 2

The title of this blog post is almost "literal" in the sense that the Roman de la Rose was written in two parts: one by Guillaume de Loris in the first half of the 13th century and the second by the poet Jean de Meun in the second half. Jean saw nothing wrong with taking what Guillaume had written and adding to it—in fact, adding four times the number of lines as the original—but also changing its themes to those of personal interest to him.

Jean added new allegorical figures such as Nature and Genius, and continued the conversation about the nature of Love and its affect on the narrator. More than that, however, was a cynical approach to other topics, mocking many of the people and conventions of his society.

He attacks the priesthood, monastic orders, and the papacy, considering the Church's fairly recently push to outlaw clerical marriage. He attacked the mendicant orders: they had begun to push into the universities, becoming teachers and threatening the seniority of the secular clergy. He also mocks the nobility and the pretensions of royalty in a pre-echo of the 14th century's peasant's cry of "When Adam delved and Eve span, who was then the gentleman?"

He also took the opportunity to express cynical views on women and marriage. He offered his list of women's vices and how men could avoid their traps. Although this may have been entertaining to some readers, as the work became popular it was attacked by many writers of the 14th century, such as by Jean Gerson, Christine de Pizan, and Pierre d'Ailly.

One of its aspects that may have helped its duplication and distribution is that the (second) author had a broad knowledge of current scientific and literary knowledge. He packs into the total work a lot of references to classical authors and historical events. In fact, it is a reference to a specific event that helps place the composition: the execution of Conradin by Charles of Anjou in 1268, so the poem was completed after that date and before Jean's death in 1305.

Despite the hostility it received from some quarters, it was enormously popular. Chaucer made a translation called The Romaunt of the Rose, which he mentions in his poem The Legend of Good Women, but the extant version of The Romaunt of the Rose that we have may not have been produced by Chaucer, since parts of it differ stylistically from Chaucer's other works.

Back to the hostility, however, and a contemporary of Chaucer: Christine de Pizan is considered one of the earliest feminist writers, and we should talk about her more. We'll start that conversation next time.

The Romance of the Rose, Part 1

Let's talk about the most popular secular literary work in the Middle Ages. More manuscripts have survived of the Roman de la Rose than just about any other non-religious work. It has a few other notable aspects. One is its length: 21,782 lines! The other is that it is an unintended collaboration by two men who never met.

Guillaume de Lorris (c.1200 - c.1240) was a French scholar and poet who wrote 4,058 lines of a romantic poem called the Roman de la Rose c.1230. That is all we know about him; we would know even less if not for Jean de Meun. Jean de Meun (c.1240 - c.1305) was a Parisian writer who picked up Guillaume's work and added 17,724 lines. The only reason we know the name "Guillaume de Lorris" is that Jean de Meun names him as the man who started the poem that de Meun continued.

"Continued" should not be construed to mean "carried on in the same vein as the original." Guillaume's section takes place in a walled garden, a stereotypical locus amoenus ("pleasant place") for medieval lovers. The narrator describes a dream he had as a young man, finding the garden with carvings on the outside of the wall of women representing vices such as Cruelty, Covetousness, and Avarice.

When I the age of twenty had attained –
The age when Love controls a young man’s heart –
As I was wont, one night I went to bed
And soundly slept. But there came a dream
Which much delighted me, it was so sweet...

Inside the garden, however, he finds a different situation. A beautiful woman named Idleness introduces him to a young man named Pleasure, who in turn introduces the narrator to Love, Joy, Courtesy, and Pleasant Looks. After spending some time with them, the narrator goes for a walk, unaware that he is being stalked by Love. He comes to a pool in which he glimpses a beautiful rose. Just then, Love shoots him with five arrows— Beauty, Simplicity, Courtesy, Company, and Fair Seeming—and then demands the narrator become a servant to Love.

The narrator's goal then is to pursue the rose (which represents a lady as well as female sexuality). Reason appears and tells the narrator to abandon his quest for the rose. Friend comforts the narrator, who goes back to kiss the rose, but Jealousy builds a castle around the rose to keep the narrator away.

It doesn't seem likely that that is where Guillaume meant his poem to end, but that is all we have from him. When Jean de Meun came across it and decided to add more, he changed the tone a bit (he also might have edited the original, so we cannot be certain we know exactly what Guillaume wrote). Tomorrow I'll tell you how he changed the direction and used it to criticize more than just the act of falling in love.

When a Love Affair Goes Public

The story of Abelard and Heloise—revealed through their own writings and love letters—have intrigued people since the 12th century. They not only reveal the details of their relationship and feelings toward each other, but they also discuss and analyze love and related topics in philosophical terms.

These long letters, it is assumed, were kept by Heloise at the Abbey of the Paraclete, founded by Abelard and conceded to her when her convent was expelled from its original home by Abbot Suger. Their contemporary, the English anecdotalist Walter Map, mentions their story. It is possible that the letters were read by others during the process of delivery.

Eventually, the originals were uncovered at the Abbey of the Paraclete and someone decided they should be read more widely. The earliest manuscript collections are from the later 13th century. Some scholars think that the wounding of the Grail King in Chrétien de Troyes was influenced by Abelard's situation.

Their love story makes it into Jean de Meun's part of the Roman de la Rose ("Romance of the Rose"). Chaucer's Canterbury Tales mentions Heloise in the Wife of Bath's prologue, referring to her husband's book of "wicked wives" in which is mentioned "Heloise, that was abbess not far from Paris."

A 1616 Latin translation in Paris led to several versions in different European languages and kept their story alive into the 18th and 19th centuries where its popularity really took off. They were considered tragic lovers—rebelling against the restrictions of their time and society—who were united in death. Their remains were taken from the Abbey of the Paraclete and re-interred in the Père Lachaise Cemetery, established by Napoleon and housing many famous French citizens.

Speaking of long writings about love, the reference to Jean de Meun's "part" of the Roman de la Rose needs explanation. I'll explain that, and what the Roman was, tomorrow.

Abelard and Heloise, the Letters

The relationship of Abelard and Heloise was not only one of the great (true) "forbidden love" stories of the Middle Ages, it was also one of the greatest intellectual couplings of history. Had the two been able to spend their lives together, they would surely have produced some groundbreaking philosophical works.

Two works provide us with insight into their lives and thoughts. One is the Historia Calamitatum of Abelard, the "History of my Calamities" that explains the origin and downfall of their love affair. The second (and, in manuscripts, always appended to the Historia) was a collection of seven long letters (three by Abelard, four by Heloise), exchanged after they were living separate lives. There is actually a third source: an exchange of letters between Heloise (one letter) and Peter the Venerable (three letters), that have survived.

We learn a lot of their two natures and temperaments. The first letter in the series, from Abelard, refers to their last time together when she expressed how miserable she was and he tried to comfort her. Failing to do so, he tries again to make her feel less sad about her condition in the most arrogant way imaginable, by telling her that her troubles are nothing compared to his life:

The last time we were together, Philintus, you gave me a melancholy account of your misfortunes. I was sensibly touched with the relation, and, like a true friend, bore a share in your griefs. What did I not say to stop your tears? I laid before you all the reasons Philosophy could furnish, which I thought might anyways soften the strokes of Fortune: but all endeavors have proved useless: grief I perceive, has wholly seized your spirits: and your prudence, far from assisting, seems quite to have forsaken you. But my skilful friendship has found out an expedient to relieve you. Attend to me a moment; hear but the story of my misfortunes, and yours, Philintus, will be nothing, if you compare them with those of the loving and unhappy Abelard. Observe, I beseech you, at what expence I endeavour to serve you: and think this no small mark of my affection; for I am going to present you with the relation of such particulars, as it is impossible for me to recollect without piercing my heart with the most sensible affliction. [Gutenberg Project]

Her response was much more kind-hearted than one would expect:

I do not, however, reproach you for the innocent artifice you made use of to comfort a person in affliction, by comparing his misfortune to another much greater. Charity is ingenious in finding out such pious artifices, and to be commended for using them.

But she has accepted her fate, although she did not choose it and does not enjoy it:

You know it was neither zeal nor devotion which led me to the cloister. Your conscience is too faithful a witness to permit you to disown it. Yet here I am, and here I will remain; to this place an unfortunate love, and my cruel relations, have condemned me. But if you do not continue your concern for me, If I lose your affection, what have I gained by my imprisonment? What recompense can I hope for? The unhappy consequence of a criminal conduit, and your disgraces, have put on me this habit of chastity, and not the sincere desire of being truly penitent. Thus I strive and labour in vain.

She is far more mature and far less self-centered than the man she fell for.

The letters not only give insight to their relationship, but also comments that explain monastic life. Still, it is the love story that captured the attention of centuries to come. I'll talk a little more about their letters and story next time before we move on.

Abelard and Heloise, After the Fall

After the lives of Peter Abelard and Heloise d'Argenteuil took a catastrophic turn, they both entered cloistered settings.

Abelard retired as a monk at the Abbey of Saint-Denis near Paris, refusing to discuss his actions with the public that had revered him as a scholar and debater. He could not stay away from intellectual pursuits, however, and eventually left Saint-Denis and opened a school in a priory owned by the Abbey. He lectured more on theology and the spiritual, rather than Logic and Dialectic. He discovered what he considered many inconsistencies in church writings, and produced a work he called Sic et Non ("Yes and No") to explain them.

It was another work, the Theologia Summi Boni ("Theology of Supreme Good") that got him in trouble. His explanation of the Trinity differed from the accepted dogma, and he was charged with thinking there was only one person in the Trinity, not three separate entities working as one. His teaching was condemned at a synod in 1121, and he was forced to burn a copy of the Theologia himself. He was sentenced to remain always in a monastery not his own, but it must have been revoked because he quickly returned to Saint-Denis.

In 1122, the newly appointed Abbot Suger allowed Abelard to go live wherever he wished. Suger likely did not want the controversial figure under his roof. Besides, he was annoying his fellow monks with frivolous conjectures about the founding of the monastery. He went to a deserted area of Champagne, built a cabin of reeds, and created a rough oratory dedicated to the Trinity. When his presence became known, students flocked to him for learning. He began to teach again, and the revenue and donations that came as a result led to a building of wood and stone, the Oratory of the Paraclete. He founded a Benedictine monastery there, and taught there for five years

Meanwhile, Heloise was a nun. He had strongly urged Heloise to take vows; she did not have many options in 12th century France. She quickly rose in the ranks, becoming a prioress at Argenteuil, but it was seized by Abbot Suger in 1128 for his monks, offering nothing to the nuns resident there in exchange. Abelard offered her the Abbey of the Paraclete (illustrated above from a 19th century history of France), re-dedicating it as a nunnery, and he moved on to the Abbey at Saint-Gildas-de-Rhuys in Brittany. Heloise remained Abbess of Paraclete for the rest of her life.

Saint-Gildas was in a rough area, full of lawlessness; the abbey itself was undisciplined. Abelard did not enjoy his time there, and started teaching again. He must have been back in Paris teaching by 1136, because John of Salisbury mentions listening to him there.

During all the time, he was writing. He revised the Theologia, and wrote other works that also proved to be controversial. Heloise also wrote, and the two wrote letters to each other that were so intellectually stimulating that they actually put them together for publication to educate theorists world about love and theology. I'll tell you more about them next time.

Abelard and Heloise

When Peter Abelard met Heloise d'Argenteuil in 1115, he was a famous teacher approaching 40 years of age whose lectures drew hundreds from all over Europe. She was a 15-year-old girl known for being an excellent scholar, her young age making her rather famous.

She was too old for the convent education available to young girls, and too female for university education, so her uncle Fulbert, a canon of Notre-Dame, arranged for private instruction for her with Abelard. Abelard needed a place to live, and Fulbert took him in in exchange for tutoring. Abelard was enamored of his new clever student. He admitted, in his autobiographical writing, Historia Calamitatum ("The History of My Calamities"), that he embarked on a plan of seduction with her.

When Fulbert found out that their relationship was going beyond that of teacher-student, he sent Abelard from the house and forbade them from continuing. The relationship carried on in secret, however, and came to light again when Heloise became pregnant. Abelard protected Heloise by getting her out of Filbert's home and sending her to Abelard's sister, Dionysia in Brittany. The boy to whom she gave birth was named Astrolabe, after the astronomical instrument. (After what followed, Astrolabe was raised by Dionysia.)

Fulbert wanted the two to marry, and Abelard agreed to the union if Fulbert would keep it secret to protect Abelard's career. Heloise also wanted the marriage secret to protect Abelard's reputation. Abelard had been named a canon of the cathedral of Sens in 1115, and the Church was moving toward forbidding any clerical marriage. Heloise returned from Brittany to Fulbert's home. Soon, however, Fulbert reneged on the agreement and spread the knowledge of Abelard's affair and marriage.

Heloise denied this information, angering Fulbert. Abelard once again took her away and sent her to the convent at Argenteuil, the site of her first years of education. She dressed as a nun and lived among them. Fulbert arranged for a band of men to break into Abelard's place one night and castrate him. This was satisfying for Fulbert, but was illegal. The men were punished, and Fulbert was put on leave; his name does not appear in records for several years.

Abelard, disgraced in his career and by his castration, became a monk. Heloise became a nun; there were few other options available to her: living with Fulbert, retreating to Abelard's family in Brittany, or divorcing and finding another husband.

Separate living situations did not end the relationship between the two. I'll talk about Abelard and Heloise, post-split, tomorrow.

Heloise d'Argenteuil

Heloise d'Argenteuil (c.1100 - 1164) was the daughter of a woman named Hersinde. Her parents have been speculated to be Hersinde of Champagne and Gilbert Garlande, which would place her among the nobility, but she herself made a statement that contradicts that idea.

Alternately, she may be the daughter of a nun called Hersinde at the convent of St. Eloi, which could be the source of the name Heloise.

It is certain that she was raised by her uncle, Canon Fulbert of Notre-Dame. Her surname is from the convent of Argenteuil outside of Paris, where she studied as a child under the nuns. She became a scholar of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. In her mid-teens, Fulbert brought her to live with him and study at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame.

She became known throughout France as a scholar of language and writing. She wrote poems and plays, a few of which have survived.  Peter the Venerable writes that he was aware of her fame when she was still very young. She is also said to have learned medicine.

In 1115, she met Peter Abelard. He was a master at the cathedral school of Notre-Dame, and so became her teacher. He was at the height of his fame, with a reputation that drew hundreds to come and learn philosophy and theology from him. He was very much drawn to this highly intellectual girl who was at least 20 years younger than he. In his autobiographical writing, Historia Calamitatum ("The History of my Calamities"), he admits that he embarked on a plan of seduction. He used example phrases in his teaching such as "Peter loves this girl," and began to write poems and songs about love that were copied and shared.

Heloise herself wrote about their relationship, declaring it a mutual attraction between equals. Unfortunately, Fulbert discovered their relationship, and forbade them from seeing each other. They continued the relationship, however, meeting in secret.

Then Heloise became pregnant, and things got really wild. See you next time for more.

Peter Abelard

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy called Peter Abelard "the pre-eminent philosopher and theologian of the twelfth century. The teacher of his generation, he was also famous as a poet and a musician." Seems like someone we should get to know a little better.

Born about 1079 in the Duchy of Brittany to a minor French noble and soldier, Peter proved to be a clever boy who was encouraged by his father to study the Liberal Arts. He chose the path of academic over his father's military career. Around 1100 he went to Paris and started calling himself Peter "Abelard." The reason for the name change—and the etymological source of the surname itself—is unclear. In Paris he studied under one of the great French teachers of the age, William of Champeaux. Abelard's own account of his time there claims that his master's attitude turned to hostility when Abelard proved to be smarter and better at debate than William. Abelard began to make a career out of arrogantly quarreling with anyone and everyone.

He decided he should become the master, and so he established his own school, first away from Paris at Melun, and then between 1102 and 1104 moving nearer Paris to provide competition for the schools there. He found willing students, but the stress of running a school himself led to a nervous breakdown, so he went home to Brittany for several years.

He returned to Paris after 1108, setting up a rivalry between his school and that of William of Champeaux. One of the big philosophical quarrels was over the topic of universals. Abelard defeated William in a debate on the topic so efficiently that he was in line to be offered a position at the school at Notre-Dame, but William's influence managed to prevent Abelard from being allowed to teach in Paris. Abelard returned to Melun to run his school, but did manage to move it to a hill overlooking the left bank of the Seine, overlooking Notre-Dame.

He attended theological lectures by Anselm of Laon, but was unimpressed and started lecturing on the book of Ezekiel himself, but Anselm forbade him from teaching his way, so Abelard abandoned Laon for Paris. In 1115, he was offered the position of master of the Cathedral school of Notre-Dame.

At this point, he was a well-established and popular teacher in his late 30s. Into his social sphere came a girl of about 15 named Heloise d'Argenteuil. We need to talk about her next.

Peter the Venerable

Peter of Montboissier was born to a woman who was called "Blessed Raingarde" (she was revered as saintly but not formally canonized).

His mother dedicated him to God and handed him to a Cluniac monastery early in his life. By the time he was twenty years old he was the prior of a monastery at Vézelay. He was so good at his job that by the age of thirty he was named abbot general of the Cluniac Order, and embarked on a campaign of reform and stricter discipline.

Peter favored education, and promoted learning in his monasteries. This put him at odds with Bernard of Clairvaux, who preferred the life of a monk to be spent in prayer and manual labor. He charted his own course in other ways: he supported the election of Pope Innocent II against that of Pope Anacletus, even though Anacletus also began as a Cluniac monk, like Peter. Peter also protected Peter Abelard when he was being persecuted for his Trinitarianism (more on that later).

He was prominent in many religious councils, such as Pope Innocent II's Council of Pisa, where he supported Innocent's reforms. He tried to persuade the political figures of Europe that the Crusades should be nonviolent missionary campaigns, not military campaigns intended to subjugate.

His defense of Christianity against other religions was fierce. He wrote treatises against Jews. He called for the Koran to be translated into Latin (which was completed in 1143) so that it could be debated properly, meaning refuted properly. He traveled to Spain (possible Toledo) to meet the translators. Later scholars criticized the translation for its errors.

His responses to the translated texts were two treatises, the the Summa totius heresis Saracenorum ("The Summary of the Entire Heresy of the Saracens") and the Liber contra sectam sive heresim Saracenorum ("The Refutation of the Sect or Heresy of the Saracens"). He essentially labels them heresies so far from Christianity that they are equivalent to paganism.

Peter died on Christmas Day 1156. Peter was thought of as a saint, but was never canonized. As of 2004, the Roman Catholic Church considers him "Blessed."

I now want to turn to his support of Peter Abelard, another French scholar who caused a stir in religious circles. See you tomorrow.

Alberic of Ostia

Alberic started in Beauvais in France but went everywhere once he became a papal legate. Born in 1080, he entered Cluny and became a Benedictine monk, becoming prior of Saint-Martin-des-Champs in Paris. Cluny's abbot, Peter the Venerable, brought him back in 1126 to help restore Benedictine discipline.

In 1135, he attended the Council of Pisa, called by the newly (and suspiciously) elected Pope Innocent II. This brought him to Innocent's attention, and Alberic was named Cardinal-Bishop of Ostia in 1138. Innocent immediately sent him as a papal legate to England.

This was important because papal legate authority had been given to the Archbishop of Canterbury at the strong request of King Henry II. The recent Archbishop, William of Corbeil, had died, and the post was vacant due to the ongoing period called the Anarchy. Alberic helped negotiate a resolution to the war between Stephen of Blois and David I of Scotland (who supported Empress Matilda). Afterward, Alberic visited abbeys and churches and convened a council that elected Abbot Theobald of Bec as Archbishop of Canterbury.

Alberic brought Theobald and others back to Rome in January 1139 where they attended the Second Lateran Council. He was then sent to repeat his English success in Bari on the Adriatic, where the citizens refused to accept Roger II of Sicily as their ruler. He failed that time: the citizens wouldn't allow him into the city.

Still, Innocent relied on him to build deeper ties to the Armenian Church, that had split centuries earlier from Rome over doctrinal differences. There he met with the Armenian Catholicos (leader) Grigor III Pahlavuni. The two traveled on pilgrimage to Jerusalem where, at the Templum Domini, the Dome of the Rock, Grigor pledged to improve relations with Rome.

In the summer of 1144, Alberic was in France, traveling round and resolving ecclesiastical disputes. While there, he persuaded Bernard of Clairvaux to preach against heresy in the Southwest of France. Alberic then returned to Rome in time to help plan the Second Crusade.

Alberic died on 20 November 1148 and was buried in Verdun Cathedral. Bernard of Clairvaux said Mass at his grave, calling Alberic "the venerable Bishop of Ostia, a man who has done great things in Israel, through whom Christ has often given victory to His Church."

It's nice to be considered venerable, even nicer when you are so respected that Venerable becomes part of your name, such as the Venerable Bede. Another person so highly respected was Peter the Venerable, and I'll tell you more about him tomorrow.

The Dome of the Rock

When the First Crusade captured Jerusalem, they took over the Dome of the Rock, a temple built on the site where tradition said God created the world and Adam. Also, it was the traditional site where Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac. For Muslims, it is believed to be the site from which Muhammad began the spiritual Night Journey around the world.

It had been the site of the Second Jewish Temple (c.516BCE) that was built to replace Solomon's Temple (between 10th and 6th centuries BCE). The Second Jewish Temple had been destroyed by the Romans in 70CE. The 5th Umayyad Caliph built on that site the Qubbat aṣ-Ṣaḵra, the Dome of the Rock, the oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture. The leaders of the Crusade in 1099 called it the Templum Domini, the "Temple of the Lord," and handed the management of it over to the Augustinians.

The actual rock was originally left exposed, but later covered with white marble. In 1138 the Temple Domini was given the status of an abbey. A few years later, on 1 April 1141, the church was dedicated by the papal legate Alberic of Ostia (on pilgrimage there with Armenian Catholicos Grigor III Pahlavuni).

An adjacent mosque became a royal palace for the King of Jerusalem and the image of the dome became an important symbol of the Jerusalem royalty. When a new royal palace was built, the old palace became the local headquarters of the Knights Templar, who provided protection to pilgrims. The design of the Dome of the Rock became copied by the Templars for their round churches across Europe.

The general shape has not changed over 13+ centuries. It is an octagonal structure with a dome. It displays the earliest public inscriptions of the sayings of Islam and Muhammad. The traveler Ibn Battuta in 1326 said:

Any viewer's tongue will grow shorter trying to describe it. This is one of the most fantastic of all buildings, of the most perfect in architecture and strangest in shape.

 It is still one of the most visited places on earth.

This is the second time that the papal legate Alberic of Ostia has appeared (although in reference to the same event), and I'd like to look at his life and travels next time.

Armenian-Roman Relations

When Pope Innocent II decided to try to reconcile the Roman Catholic Church with the Armenian Apostolic Church, he wrote to its current head, the Catholicos Grigor III Pahlavuni (1093 - 1166).

The Armenian Church had split in its doctrine from the Roman Church after the Council of Chlcedon in 451 over monophysitism. At Chalcedon it was affirmed that, in the person of Jesus, there were two distinct aspects, both the human and the divine. Armeni embraced monophysitism, declaring that Jesus was wholly divine.

The two Churches remained in communication, however. Grigor, for instance, participated in a council at Antioch presided over by the papal legate Alberic of Ostia in November 1139. Grigor accompanied Alberic on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem where, in April 1141, he attended a synod at the Templum Domini ("Temple of the Lord") at the Dome of the Rock. While there he vowed to reconcile the Armenian Church with Rome. Alberic reported this to Pope Innocent, who sent Grigor a letter and a pallium, conferring on Grigor a high rank.

With travel to the East becoming common due to the Crusades, envoys from Rome followed along and went to Armenia, continuing dialogue. According to the Armenian Church's own website:

Pontifical Envoys from Rome established continuous contact with the clergy of the Armenian Church, who were hoping to receive political and economic support from the Pope and the Western powers for the Armenian Kingdom. During this period, the Armenian Church adopted some Catholic Church ritual traditions, and Western culture left a tangible trace on Armenian science, art, miniature painting, literature, as well as in various spheres of public life. [source]

The "political and economic support" would have been helpful against enemies both foreign and domestic. Not only were there foreign invaders to contend with, but also the Armenian government could be a problem. The secular ruler of Armenia in 1037, King Hovhannes-Smbat, deposed the Catholicos Petros and appointed a replacement (we'll call him an "anti-catholics," since there were "anti-popes"). The rest of the clergy were so overt in their condemnation that Petros was re-instated.

By the 14th century, a reconciliation between the two entities had been firmly established, and doctrinal differences were being overlooked in order to maintain healthy relations. (The Second Vatican Council in 1962 - 1965 confirmed the reconciliation.)

The Dome of the Rock has been a important site for many groups over the centuries; next time, let's talk about the place and the temple there.

The Armenian Church

According to tradition, the apostles Bartholomew and Jude Thaddeus (the double name was to distinguish him from Judas Iscariot and from stories of Jude the brother of Jesus) preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Edom, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Libya. They were the first to bring Christianity to Armenia. Jude Thaddeus is said to have cured Abgar V of Edessa of leprosy by exposing him to the Image of Edessa.

There is also an "Apostle to the Armenians," Saint Gregory the Illuminator (pictured in a Constantinople mosaic), who converted the Armenian king in 301CE thereby stopping his persecutions of Christians. The king, Tiridates III, made Christianity the official state religion. This was not that radical a change, since Christianity had been growing steadily since the 1st century. Tiridates declared Gregory the Illuminator to be the first Catholicos, a term used to denote the head of a church in some of the Eastern Christian traditions.

In 325, at the First Council of Nicaea designed to create consensus among the Christian world (where Arianism was literally slapped down by Santa Claus), the Armenian Catholicos (Gregory's son Aristaces) attended. At that time, the Armenian Church was subordinate to the Bishop of Caesarea, where Tiridates had sent Gregory to be consecrated and where Gregory adopted the Byzantine rites. Over the following years, however, Armenia started adopting Antiocian/West Syriac rites, which blended with the Byzantine rites to create the Armenian Rite.

Translation of the Bible into Armenian in the early 400s helped Christianity spread faster. Over time, however, differences arose between what was being practiced/believed in Armenia and the West. The biggest difference was over monophysitism; that is, the divine nature of Jesus. Eastern Orthodox churches professed monophysitism, the idea that Christ had a single nature, that of the divine. The Council of Chalcedon in 451 approved that Christ had two inseparable natures: human and divine. The Armenian Church severed ties with Rome in 610 over this difference.

It was Pope Innocent II who tried to reconcile Rome and Armenia. To do that, he knew he could not simply order the Armenian Church to fall in line; he had to work with his contemporary, the Catholicos Grigor III Pahlavuni. We'll talk about that process tomorrow.

Pope Innocent II

Gregorio Papareschi was a Cluniac monk who was made a cardinal deacon in 1116 by Pope Paschal II. After Paschal, Pope Calixtus II sent him on various important missions, including to the Concordat of Worms. In 1124, Gregorio as an advisor to Pope Honorius II.

Honorius died on 13 February 1130, and six cardinals quickly appointed Gregorio as the next pope, consecrating him the very next day and supported by the powerful Frangipani family. This was highly irregular (only six cardinals!), and a larger group of cardinals chose Pietro Pierleoni, whose family was the enemy of the Frangipani, as Pope Anacletus II. Anacletus was able to drive Innocent from Rome.

The conflict between the two went on for years until Anacletus died in 25 January 1138. This did not make Innocent's life conflict-free, however. Roger of Sicily opposed him, especially after Innocent had him excommunicated at the Second Lateran Council (Innocent was not alone in objecting to Sicily being in Roger's possession). Roger's son, Roger III of Apulia, captured Innocent and forced him to acknowledge the kingship of Sicily.

Among Innocent's decisions was a papal bull in 1139 declaring that the Knights Templar should be only answerable to the papacy. He established ties with Armenian Catholics and began the process of ending the schism between Armenia and Rome. He also made cardinals of several of his nephews.

The Second Lateran Council (or "Second Council of the Lateran") was Innocent's attempt to unify policy across Roman Catholicism. Some of the canons established were mentioned here. Besides the prohibition against tournaments and jousts,

Kings were to dispense justice with the advice of bishops
Lay people who did not pay tithes were to be excommunicated
After a bishop died and a church was vacant, a replacement must be found within three years
The use of bows or slings against Christians was prohibited.
Clergy were not allowed to accept a benefice from a layman that would obligate them to the layman.

When Innocent died on 24 September 1143, he was interred in a sarcophagus the supposedly once held the body of Emperor Hadrian.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle says that the original Britons came from Armenia, and Armenia has been mentioned many times over the course of this blog, but we've never talked about the Armenian Church before today. Next time, let's look at where it came from and its connection (or lack thereof) to Rome.

The Joust

The Joust was a specific kind of tournament, and was one of the few types of military contests that had to be on horseback and involved only two combatants at a time. This one-on-one duel involved two men, each mounted, riding at each other with lances, attempting to unseat the other or break their lance. In some cases, a wooden barrier was placed the length of the lists to prevent the horses from colliding.

In the 12th century, jousting was sometimes not allowed because it distracted from the excitement of the other events, especially the mêlée, but Edward II of England in 1309 banned all forms of tournament except the joust. For him, it was more exciting to watch than the Pas d'armes or Tupinaire or Quintain, easier to see than the Mêlée because the men were higher off the ground and there were only two, a bit safer because there was a specific goal.

Some people spoke out against any form of tournament. Pope Innocent II at Clermont forbade Christian burial for anyone killed in a tournament. He was all for warfare against the heathen, but did not want Christians endangering each other's lives. And tournaments could be dangerous; just a few posts back we learned of someone dying because of a tournament. Henry II imposed a ban on tournaments because knights traveling from far and wide to join one were indulging in harassment of the population along the way. His son Richard, however, loved fighting, and established six locations where they were permitted to hold tourneys (and established a fee structure—payable to the Crown—for those who wanted to hold them and participate).

Richard's brother, John, and John's son, Henry III, made jousting more difficult with restrictions that encouraged safety but limited the excitement. Some of the rules that developed over time were necessary, to help figure out who won. After a day of pairs of knights going against each other, the winners could be declared as follows:

1st place: unhorsing the opponent; extra if the horse falls down.
2nd place: breaking lances
3rd place: most striking of the opponent's visor (this was particularly dangerous, but got you points)
4th place: breaking the most spears

There were also rules that could disqualify you:

Striking a horse
Striking a man's back from behind him

You could also be penalized for breaking your spear on the opponent's saddle (a forbidden target).

Some of the last tournaments and jousts took place during the reign of Henry VIII, who used elaborate ones to celebrate momentous events, such as the birth of a son.

Next time, I want to talk about Pope Innocent II and his Second Lateran Council that forbade jousts and tournaments.