Sunday, October 26, 2008
12th Century Renaissance
It was interesting to read the turning point of Christian faith in the 12th Century, to see the thirst and knowledge for truth in that time. Even before the reformation, people were in search for not only a more personal relationship to God, but also in pursuit of truth and justice. As I was reading I couldn't help but wonder if there was a face behind this renaissance? In the Reformation we have the face of Luther, the father if you would of the Reformation..this makes me wonder who was the "Luther" of this renaissance? Was there one? Especially in regards to the thirst for knowledge and the movement toward a more personal Christianity. It's also interesting to read how this renaissance really led way to an overall movement toward a more personal and almost democratic system of justice. I also thought it was awesome to learn more about the formation of Universities and just the formation of a lot of the words that are used so commonly today in the academic world.
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Not one single figure; rather, several. The Cistercian Order, founded early in the century, produced a number of significant figures, most important of which was St Bernard.
But reform wasn't a great theme, even though the word was used a lot. The real theme in religion was regularization. This can be seen in the Decretalists, who sought to bring order to a thousand years of theological writings and papal decrees. It can be seen in attempts by the Church to formalize rules regarding marriage (including priestly marriage). And it can be seen in the obverse side of regularization: the rise of heresy (the Waldensians, the Cathars).
So, it was reform of a sort, but it was reform in the formal side of the Church, in the attempt to make the rules clear and explicit, and to hold its own clergy accountable. It's easy, of course, to view that movement as increasing authoritarianism and oppression, especially if you found yourself arbitrarily defined as now being outside those rules.
It's a complex and much-debated topic. The main thing to remember is that the 12thc was indeed a watershed in the development of the Catholic Church. But, to return to your original question, there's no one single figure to point to in that development in the way we can point to Luther in the Reformation.
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