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Many people during this time period became monks which meant that they devoted themselves to God. Some of these people moved to rural areas to leave the temptation of cities behind. Meanwhile, others became pillar saints which meant that they went to tall pillars to pray and meditate. Others went to live in monasteries which were communities exclusively for monks devoted to the Order of the Benedictines.
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Muhammad was said to be the Prophet of God and gained popularity in the Arab world. After his death the Arab world formed a religious caliphate that invaded Europe. This empire successfully conquered Northern Africa and then Spain before being turned away by the Franks which ensured that Northern Europe would stay Catholic/Christian and not become Islamic.
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Charlemagne ,ruler of the Franks, wanted to unite all of his people under one single identity, Christianity. He brutally killed many Saxons in order to turn that area of his kingdom Christian. Charlemagne became the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire after the Pope recognized him as the defender of Christians. After Charlemagne's death the empire fell apart.
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Otto the Great became the new Roman Emperor after the pope crowned him in 962. Otto began to appoint bishops which made the pope unhappy and lead to Investiture Controversy. This was between the new emperor and the new pope, Henry IV and Gregory VII, which eventually resulted in the pope becoming the lord of Christendom.
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Knights were servants of God and their duty was to fight for God and Christendom. These Knights went to liberate Jerusalem from the Arabs in a conquest known as the Crusades.
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Multiple emperors oversaw the Crusades and the power struggle between them and Rome. One pope, Pope Innocent III, was able to obtain almost all of the power within the church and was even able to excommunicate King John and he subsequently lost all of his power. This order of things came crashing down after the Mongols invaded Europe and left destruction in their wake.
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Craftsmen,Burghers, and the rest of the villagers would come together in order to build a church in the center of their town. Each town would compete to see who would have the bigger Church and they would hire stonemasons,painters,and carpenters to build the Church. This community built Church was seen as a communal offering to God and united the whole town.
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The advent of the Renascence Era brought an end to the Church's sole domination over someone's life. People's goals were not exclusively to be a monk,priest,or knight. People became more interested in art,science,and intellectual thought but it did not stop artists from building and decorating some of the most iconic Churches in the world.
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When Spain discovered the Americas one of their major goals was to convert the native population to Christianity. Additionally, the European conquers believed that everything they did against the Native Americans was done for Christendom.
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Martin Luther led a protest against the Church by releasing his Ninety-Five Theses. He became very popular and when he was excommunicated from the church many joined him. However, splits in his movement occurred when many became violent against the established order. Overall, however, Luther's protest led to the splitting of the Church.
