Unity of Western Christendom
Important ceremonies/rituals
Church's authority challenged
Declined power of the church
Structure of the church
100
Who were the Monasteries/Friars?
Monasteries and Friars were both Christians that retreated from society to practice their religion that both helped unify the church and commoners under Christianity by keeping its knowledge going, converting the Celt and Germans, and providing comfort and aid to those who provided the Friars hospitality.
100
What is Baptism?
Gateway to life in the spirit and the door to the other sacraments. Process of being immersed in water and the beginning of a lifetime knowing, loving and serving Jesus.
100
Who was Jan Hus?
Jan Hus was a preacher who actively gained following under his preachings against the worst abuses of the Roman Catholic Church, and was excommunicated by the Pope. He gained fame through the papacy's attempts to snuff him out making it easier for him to gain a following. 
100
What was the Investiture Controversy?
The Investiture Controversy was the most significant conflict between the church and state where a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies. It began as a dispute in the 11th century between the Holy Roman Emperor Henry Ⅳ and Pope Gregory Ⅶ over question of who would control appointments of bishops and led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany.
100
What is a clergy?
The top rank of the Clergy is the Pope, followed by the cardinal, archbishop, bishop, and priest. The clergy consists of any religious leader in the church and they oversaw important religious ceremonies and delivered teachings.
200
Who were the Franks and Magyars?
Franks and Magyars were both groups that converted to Catholicism. As a result, the church would improve their literacy, transportation and education, reinforcing their relationship with the Germanic tribes.
200
What is Eucharist?
Source and summit of Christian life and completes Christian initiation.
200
Who was John Wycliffe?
Reformer who published his writings calling for an abolishment of the papacy. He believed in reinforcing morals over the church and bringing it back to the sacred image it lost. He challenges the church's rights to the money it demanded and publicly questions the authority of the Pope while exposing the clergy's immoral behavior. He gained following through not only commoners but nobility and royals as well who were interested in gaining the church's wealth. His followers would be known as Lollards, who radicalized, militarized, and organized the publishing of two books about Lollardy fighting back, continuing the cycle of rebellions. 
200
Who was King Henry Ⅷ?
Henry Ⅷ was another famous emperor who broke the Catholic Church. During the Reformation, the king replaced the Pope as Head of the Church in England, diminishing some of the church's power.
200
What is lay investiture?
The appointment of religious officials by secular subjects, normally kings or nobles, rather than the church. The church was displeased with the idea that they couldn't control the appointment of bishops as this challenged the church's authority over the monarchy since only emperors or other high ranks were allowed to control the bishops.
300
What were the Cluny Reforms?
The Cluny Reforms were a series of changes within medieval monasticism of the Western Church focused on restoring the traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor. The Cluniac Reforms under Pope Gregory VII included banning lay investiture within their monasteries, meaning that abbots were only allowed to be appointed by religious figures, and again the church would regain power over other authorities.
300
What is anointing of the sick?
Anointing of the sick is another prosperous ritual that consists of giving to all those who are seriously ill oil blessed by the bishop so they can grant said ill person spiritual and physical strength.
300
What was the Flagellant Movement?
Many Christians turned their anger towards the Catholic Church as they were helpless to stop the Black Death. Many local priests either died of the plague or abandoned their perishes when it hit. The church's failure led to thousands of people joining the Flagellant Movement, which was a direct challenge to the church’s authority where people whipped each other to atone for their sins in order to beg for God’s forgiveness. The Black Death led to a decline in the church’s power and eventual splintering of a unified christian view.
300
Who was Martin Luther?
Martin Luther is well known as his writings were responsible for fractionalizing the Catholic Church and sparking the Protestant Reformation. In other words, the religious revolution.
300
What is the Roman Curia?
Roman Curia was the official body that governs an entity within the Catholic church. The clergy was also a department of the Roman Curia.
400
What was the Holy Roman Empire?
The power the Pope possessed led to the creation of the first Holy Roman Empire by the crowning of Charlemagne under Pope Leo Ⅲ, securing the Church’s relationship with the emperor. This new empire would unite all of the Germanic tribes under one rule and encouraged the influence of the Church.
400
What are the sacraments?
Sacraments are religious ceremonies of rituals, consisting of 7 parts: Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist, Reconciliation(confession), Anointing of the sick, Matrimony(marriage), and Holy Orders.
400
What were the issues of marriage and simony?
There were differing views of marriage in the church. In the late Roman Period, the church had largely operated on the principle that a good marriage was simply an illusion of perfection and a distraction. Thus, ideally all clerics should remain unmarried. This wasn’t widely accepted however, especially amongst the Germanic people. They continued their previous traditions despite accepting Christianity. To them, the widespreadness of polygamy was a bigger matter of concern than the issue of clerical abstaining of marriage. Simony is the buying and selling of church offices, but was very controversial as it was seen as a great sin to take gifts given by the Holy Spirit, issued by Saint Peter even though it was disregarded by most later on. Higher church leaders began to demand payment for the granting of offices. Later, secular leaders(no religious connection) started demanding similar tributes to be paid to them by church leaders.
400
What was the Protestant Reformation?
The Protestant Reformation was one of the main causes for the breaking of the Church’s power. People believed the church to be corrupt and conflicts between the papacy and the monarchy over political matters made many lose their faith in the church.
400
Who were the religious leaders?
The order of their rank goes from Pope to Priests. The Pope is the head of the church and has the most religious power. Below them are Cardinals, who serve as advisors to the pope and administrators of the church. Next are the Archbishops and the Bishops. The Archbishops have more authority over the bishop and have the power to supervise the bishops while the bishops cannot do the same. Bishops are religious leaders of a specific region. Last are the Priests, who are religious leaders over a parish, village, or town church.
500
Who was the Pope?
The biggest bringing of order to Western Christendom however was that the people of Europe began to unite under a common ground with religion. Christianity held the countries and continent together, and since religion was a powerful bond, the Catholic Church and especially the Pope had great power. When Europe fell apart after the fall of Rome many people looked for reassurance and guidance in the Pope.
500
What is canon law?
The body of ecclesiastical law that developed within Roman Catholicism, governing internal hierarchy and administration of the church. However, many canon laws that were upheld by the church were not followed by the religious leaders, especially concerning matrimony(marriage) and simony(buying and selling of church offices).
500
What is corruption?
Many people believed the clergy were acting unfairly and that they were corrupt. As stated by John Wycliffe, the church holds itself to fake holiness. He complains that any other man who tries to teach and maintain God's law is accused of being evil and is excommunicated by the church. Along with this, the bishop of high priest also brings false witnesses and notaries against the accused in his absence, in order to prove the man of teaching heresy. He criticized the church as they put themselves above everyone else in the name of holiness, despite their unjust view of power. Wycliffe claims the church uses Christ’s name in an ill manor to excuse their awful actions. It would make sense for the bishops and high priests to denounce and slander “true men” who maintain God’s law as they would be the only influential body to educate the teachings of Christ, increasing their power as a central place along with their wealth, as everyone in the church had to pay a portion of their salary to the church (Document A).
500
What was the Great Schism of the Catholic Church?
A major decline of the Church’s power by the 1400’s was the Great Western Schism of the Catholic Church where rival popes with their own following fought for the ultimate claim to power. The split greatly weakened the Church. It ended in 1414 when the Holy Roman Emperor, ruler of much of central Europe, brought both sides together. At this meeting Church officials forced out the French pope and convinced the Roman pope to resign. In 1417 officials elected a new pope based in Rome. This schism helped European laymen and women open their eyes to what exactly was wrong with the Church structure. They began to actively seek out their own ways to learn and interpret the faith and bring it out of the sole control of Church officials, declining the universal power the church used to have. The schism in the Western Roman Church resulted from the return of the papacy to Rome under Gregory XI on January 17, 1377, ending the Avignon Papacy, which had developed a reputation for corruption that alienated major parts of western Christendom.
500
How powerful was the Church in Medieval times?
While there is no direct answer to this question, the church was still a unifying force across many countries, and due to religion being a powerful bond, the Pope was able to establish great authority. He was a highly respected figure looked to for guidance and assurance in times of need and viewed as God’s representative on Earth.