Kenny Martin’s Blog

Charles became king in 768 A.D., after his father Pepin died. Charles was the first Carolingian of that dynasty. He was handsome, and soon he earned the title “The Great,” or in French “Charlemagne.” Charlemagne conquered for fifty years, since he was surrounded by enemies. He was very cruel. In fact, once he killed 4500 surrendered rebels. He conquered an incredible amount. By 800 A.D., “… Charlemagne ruled the largest area in the West since the Roman emperors of the A.D. 300s.” History Book, page 162. Charlemagne also forced Christianity on his conquered peoples under penalty of death. He realized how religion effected politics. However, since forced belief is not belief at all, the Saxons, one of the defeated peoples, often renounced their faith. But Charlemagne would simply defeat them yet again, and force them all over again to claim Romanism.

On Christmas Day in 800 A.D., Pope Leo III surprisingly crowned Charlemagne “Charles Augustus, emperor of the Romans.” Although it seemed as if the old Roman Empire of Constantine had been revived, there was one difference between Charlemagne and Constantine. Charlemagne had been crowned emperor by the pope, while Constantine had not. Charlemagne’s empire required cooperation between the pope and the emperor. But Charlemagne soon decided that he was above the pope, in both political and church matters. He kept all his power to himself. He considered himself to be very great, and forced all people above 12 years old to “… promise ‘fidelity to the emperor lord…’”, History Book, page 163, and also to God and his commandments. I think that Charlemagne effected the world in that he conquered so much territory, including lands now called France and Germany.

Charles Martel was born in about 688 A.D.. His father was a powerful Mayor of the Palace, which was a person who would take over an irresponsible king’s duties during the Middle Ages. Charles’ father died in 714 A.D., leaving Charles as Mayor of the Palace. It was hard to keep the kingdom together, so he joined with the Roman church. He also supported Bishop Boniface’s missionary work. He hoped that with the church’s alliance, it “… would help him hold on to his conquests.” History Book, page 161., and wanted support from the church if he went against his enemies in the south. Charles also won the Battle of Tours in 732 A.D., fighting against Muslims who were advancing north, bringing their religion with them. This victory has extra significance because it kept Islam from spreading into Europe. If it had, Christianity might have been almost wiped out. 

After this battle, Charles earned himself the title “The Hammer,” or “Martel.” His victories also advanced the opportunity for his son Pepin to join politics and religion, and “… reviving the old Roman Empire.” History Book, page 161. I think Charles Martel greatly effected world history, specifically because he won the battle that was vital to the strong existence of Christianity, the Battle of Tours.

 The Franks were a Germanic tribe that settled in Western Europe. Their name, “Frank”, means free, because they had broken out of Rome’s rule. The Franks loved their freedom. “The Franks established the first large empire in the western Europe after the fall of Rome.” History Book, page 159.

Clovis began the Merovingian line of royalty, and was “… the first great Frankish military and political leader,…” History Book, page 160. Clovis received his kingship at age fifteen from his father in 481 A.D.. Clovis was an evil man, and these attributes he used as he united the Franks like they never had been before. His domain covered the area of Gaul.

Clovis called himself a Christian by 498, and was baptized with 3000 of his soldiers on Christmas Day in 498. Clovis joined politics with religion, like Constantine, and began the Council of Orléans, a church council, in Orléans, in 511. The church enjoyed having Clovis with them, because they shared in his accomplishments, increasing its wealth and power. Clovis also had an advantage from joining with the church, because the people thought that his actions were approved by God. Clovis died in 511.

The Merovingians, the line of Frankish royalty started by Clovis, was an increasingly sinful family. They became irresponsible, and acted sinfully. They ruled until 751 A.D. over a sometimes unstable, sometimes strong kingdom. Although they claimed to be Christian, that title lost its significance because of how the people who claimed that name acted.

The Mayors of the Palace were “… officials who took over the king’s duties.” History Book, page 161. Since the kings were too irresponsible, the Mayors of the Palace took over their positions for them. One of the greatest Mayors of the Palace was Charles Martel, who led an army against the Muslims in the Battle of Tours, and also allied with the church. His son, Pepin the Short, was also a very great Mayor of the Palace.

Pepin became king in 741 A.D., after his father’s death. He was doing the job of the king, the king wasn’t, and Pepin thought that the king should be the one who does the work. He knew he needed God’s consent in order to convince the people he was king, and realized that he needed the Pope to agree with him. Pope Zacharias, the current pope, did agree with Pepin, and “… Bishop Boniface crowned Pepin king in 751.” History Book, page 161. Pepin was crowned again by Stephen II, who said that anyone who disagreed with Pepin’s kingship would be excommunicated. Pepin returned the favor by giving the pope military support.

Their deal was also a good one because he could make his kingdom strong, while Pope Stephen II got the power to choose kings, and received the Papal States, a piece of Lombardic land Pepin had captured. Pepin also ended the Merovingian dynasty, beginning the Carolingian dynasty, which was named after either his father of son, both being named Charles.

All of these people effected the world in one way or another. The Franks showed that freedom from Rome was possible, Clovis “… united the Franks…” History Book, page 160, the Merovingians were immoral, but did allow some great leaders, the Mayors of the Palace, some of whom were very talented, take charge.

The Roman Catholic Church was the product of several unbiblical theories. First, Apostolic succession, which is the belief that the Apostles pasted some or all of their authority down through unwavering lines of bishops. Second, the Petrine theory, the theory that since Peter passed his power down through the bishops of Rome, and since he was the leader of the Apostles, that the Church of Rome had authority over all of the churches in Christendom. Therefore, the pope had total control over the Roman Church, being “the mouthpiece of God.”

The Roman Catholic Church grew more and more unbiblical, going from simple church worship, to elaborate masses, and from the church being separate from the government, to joining with the government, some just for political power. During the Middle Ages, people were often uneducated, while the priests and other religious authorities were. The priests preached to the people in Latin, which meant that no one could understand what Christianity was at all, true or not. The church also went on holy wars, the Crusades, against the Muslims in the name of Christ. It wasn’t until true Christians like Martin Luther and Peter of Bruis when the truth of catholicism’s false claim to be biblical. Also, the church was very violent with what they called heretics, or an official member of the church who disagreed with any church teaching.H owever, the Roman Church is still around hundreds of years after these Christians.

But the Roman Catholic Church did do some remarkable things throughout history. It had elaborate churches such as the Sistine Chapel built, and won the Battle of Tours in 732 A.D..

The pope got his power from the Petrine theory. They eventually claimed to have the authority to send a soul to eternal damnation, or excommunication. They had total control over almost every aspect of your life in the Middle Ages. Since people were afraid of the penalty of sin, they went to the pope for help. If you were a monk, you might be ordered to pay penance. And if you were a common person, you would either be forgiven of your sins, or be offered the chance to buy an indulgence, basically a “get out of Purgatory free card,” which supposedly allowed the owner to spend less time in Purgatory for all the sins he or her had committed. Popes had control over almost everything in the church because he claimed that he was the supreme leader of the church, chosen by God.

Both of these topics have greatly effected and still effect our world today. The pope is the ultimate leader of the Roman Catholic Church, and the Roman Catholic Church, though not excommunicating people for the most part, still is around and is still thriving with all of its unbiblical teachings. This is a perfect example of how much a religion can effect our world.

The crusades were the Roman Church’s holy wars against the Muslims. The Christians of the day actually thought that fighting crusades was a way to spread the good news of Jesus. That is how twisted the Bible had been translated to mean. The first official crusade’s goal was to drive the Muslims out of Israel, and to recapture Jerusalem. This crusade was supported by Pope Urban II, who saw the crusades as a way to increase their power, as did other popes. This was the only successful European crusade out of the many attempted. The crusaders accomplished everything they planned. The rest of the crusades were pitiful in comparison to the first official crusade. One crusade, the Peasants’ Crusade, occurred before the official first crusade, but the crusaders were slaughtered by a Turkish military men. The second (1147-1149 A.D.), third (1189-1192 A.D.), and fourth crusades (1202-1204 A.D.) all accomplished nothing, or a remarkably small amount.

There were several other pitiful crusades, such as the Children’s Crusade (1212 A.D.), when several thousand French and German children travelled to the Mediterranean Sea. They thought God would part the sea and let them pass on to Israel, but when they got to the sea, a group of slave traders, pretending to be seamen, offered to sail them across the sea. The children were sold to North African Muslims as slaves. The crusades last about 200 years, from roughly 1100 to 1300 A.D., and only one of them really affected our world, the official first crusade which captured Jerusalem and drove the Muslims out of Israel.

The churches in Constantinople and Rome had disputes, and in 1054 A.D. the catholic church split into the eastern church and the western church. The popes hoped that the crusades would bring the eastern church back under their control, and strengthen their leadership over the western church. However, in 1453 Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople, which ended the Eastern Roman Empire.

I think that the crusades definitely shaped our world because these wars, unfortunately, give non-Christians a “reason” why Christians are bad. They also affected our world because they sparked an interest of trade with the Orient, which led to more trade during the Renaissance. I also think that the city and churches of Constantinople affected world history while they were around when the church separated from the catholic church, and because the city was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The posts below are the hundred history essays I did for Mr. Butterfield. There are some references to chapter blank, and this refers to the history book I am studying at NHCA. I know that should be italicized, but the transfer from a document on Textedit to Wordpress removes things like indentation and italicized words. Enjoy!

Mohammed was born in about 570 A.D. in Mecca, the son of a wealthy merchant. Mohammed claimed to have strange visions from Gabriel around the age of forty. At first he thought he was demon-possessed, but after consulting with his wife, decided that he was Allah’s special prophet, greater than all of those from the Old and New Testament, including Jesus. He claimed that whoever believed in Mohammed and Allah, and followed their teachings would get into heaven.

Because of some of the merchants’ opposition to Mohammed’s new religion, he decided that he and his followers should flee to Yathrib. The religion was accepted in Yathrib, and soon Yathrib was known as Medina. Mohammed rose in both political and religious power in Medina, to the point of total control. Mohammed led the first jihad, holy war, with 10,000 men against Mecca in 630 A.D., “purifying the city.” Mohammed’s religion became known as Islam, and its followers Muslims. “In the remaining two years of his life, tribe after tribe of Arabs submitted to Mohammed and his new religion.” Chapter 10, page #150.

The teachings of Mohammed were compiled into the Koran. Christianity and Islam disagree strongly against with each other. One believes that Christ is God’s son, for example, but the other believes that Jesus was merely a prophet. These disagreements, along with other issues, led to the Crusades. I think the Islamic belief definitely effects our world today, as one third of Earth’s population believes it. Plus, violent Muslims have destroyed the Twin Towers, and the U.S. are currently in a war against them. This is yet another example of the power of religion.

Johann Gutenberg, born in about 1440, is credited with inventing the most important invention in world history: the moveable-type printing press in about 1440 A.D.. Gutenberg began printing Bibles so others could read the Word, which was completely against Church doctrine at the time. He also printed newspapers, and books.

Gutenberg’s invention effects our world today because with his printing press he revived reading and writing, and also brought people to realize that the Church was not biblically supported. “The Protestant Reformation grew out of the Northern Renaissance, partly because of the printing press.” Chapter 13, page #206. Gutenberg helped the Roman Catholic Church’s unbiblical teachings to be revealed.

Many great Christians died because of the Roman Catholic Church and what it established in the mid-1200’s, the Inquisition. The Inquisition was basically a church court; The Inquisition’s job was to investigate and punish heretics, who were “… any baptized members of the Roman church who disagreed with any official church opinion.” Chapter 13, page #205. The Inquisitor, who’s job was very respected, would hear reports of possible heretics, then would confirm whether or not those people were as they were suspected to be. They would be forced to admit the heresy in secret (the Inquisition sometimes tortured their heretics to determine if they really were as they were accused of being), with the inquisitor being the judge, prosecutor, and jury, while the convicted had no lawyer to defend themselves. If they were found guilty, the heretics were killed, often burned at the stake, or other horrendous punishments.

Unfortunately, some of the heretics were true Christians, who believed that what the Church was doing was unbiblical, and acted on that belief. Among these were Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, William of Ockham, and many others, not to mention these peoples’ followers. The Inquisition lasted until the 1600’s, and took place mainly in southern France, then in Spain. Many great Christians died in that long period; the Inquisition shows us just how different the Roman Catholic Church’s actions were from the Bible.

When the Inquisition took place, it greatly effected our world. Many honorable men and women died for their faith, and their bravery to face death for God is something admired and should, in my opinion, be imitated.

Peter of Bruis, Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, and John Huss were all Christian martyrs during the Middle Ages. They all went against the Roman Catholic Church, proclaiming that what the Roman Catholic Church said was extremely different from what the Bible said, or they broke one of the church’s unbiblical rules, such as reading the Bible without the church’s consent.

“Peter of Bruis was a Roman priest in the early 1100’s” Chapter 13, page 202. Peter began reading the Bible, and came to realize that the Roman Catholic Church was not following the Scriptures. He preached in Southern France for 20 years, then was burned at the stake around 1129 A.D. for what the church called heresy.

Peter Waldo, a French merchant, also realized that the Bible was not supporting most of what the church said it did at about 1170 A.D.. He paid for the Bible to be translated in French and other languages. He didn’t believe that the church was correct when it said that ordinary people would be corrupted if the read the Bible. For his belief, he was burned at the stake in 1170 A.D.. In fact, his followers, Waldensians were crusaded upon by the pope!

John Wycliffe, born in 1329 A.D., a professor at Oxford University, found the Roman Catholic Church to be unbiblical as well, and “… had the entire Bible translated into English for the first time.” Chapter 13, page 203. He was harassed by the religious leaders, but never killed. He died peacefully in 1384, but the church dug up his bones and desecrated him.

Lastly, John Huss, a philosopher and theologian, was born in 1374. He believed that only God could forgive sins, not priests. Huss became dean of the University of Prague, and also preached at Bethlehem Chapel, in Prague. “Soon, a movement for true Christianity broke out in the country of Bohemia.” Chapter 13, page 204. In 1415 A.D., Huss was invited to the Council of Constance to defend his faith, with a “safe-conduct guarantee.” He did, but when he finished, he was condemned to die at the stake.

All of these men are the same in that they all found the truth of the Bible, and that they made lasting impacts. I think that this day and age would be very different if it hadn’t been for the “pioneers of Christianity,” if you will, men who truly gave up their lives to follow God.