Europe

Founding of the Order of the Benedictines

600

Around this time period, the Christian monk population started growing in size and more monasteries began to be built. The majority of Europe was illiterate at the time, but people in poverty began seeking homage at monasteries where they were fed and educated. This trend sparked a growth of religious beliefs and set Europe up for a future of Christianity and later conflicts involving the religion.

The Emigration

Jun 16, 622

After Muhammed was sentenced to execution by the priests of Kaaba, he and all of his followers fled to Medina. He taught them that a brave warrior who dies fighting for Allah will go to Heaven, while cowards will go to Hell. Even after he died, this mindset continued on, creating a violent group of people that had no hesitation or remorse in conquering new places. This led to the spread of the Arab empire and the loss of other cultures that had been either burned or forgotten by the Muslims.

Pope crowned Charlemagne the new Roman emperor

Dec 25, 800

The Pope crowned Charlemagne the Roman emperor, chosen by God to preserve the peace of the empire. His mission was to restore the power of the Roman Empire, but this time the rulers would be Christian Germans. Charlemagne came the closest to achieving this goal of any later rulers. His biggest impact was that he created a positive relationship between the Christians and the Muslims. Caliph Harun al-Rashid send gifts to him, and even allowed Christians to visit Christ's tomb in Jerusalem.

Pope crowned Otto the Great the Roman emperor

962

Unlike when the Pope crowned Charlemagne the emperor, Otto the Great was unable to maintain peace between the government and the Church. There was conflict over who should choose which of the priests should become bishops, the Pope or Otto. This conflict became known as the Investiture Controversy. Eventually the decision was made that bishops were chosen by the Church, and the emperor was only allowed to say if he agreed with the Pope or not. This decision gave the Church much more power.

The Great Schism

1054

The Great Schism was the divide of the Church into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church. This religious divide additionally led to a political divide between the West and the East that would affect European relations and religion for the rest of time.

The First Crusade

1096

Godfrey of Boullion, a French knight, led an army to Jerusalem with the aim of liberating the land in which Christ's cross once stood. At this point, that land was under the rule of the Arabs. They were successful in capturing the sacred land, but in doing so they massacred all the Muslims and committed hideous atrocities. This action was very contradictory, since they claimed they were conquering the land in the name of God. One positive was that the Christians finally discovered Arab culture.

The start of the Bubonic Plaque

1347

Black Death, a deadly disease that was caused by bacteria from rodents, killed roughly 1/3 of the world. The extremity of this situation led to many effects, but one important one was it's effect on religion. People began to blame the Jews for this disease, leading to a massive wave of anti-semitism. This discrimination set the precedent for hundreds of years of Christians, Muslims, and people of any of any other religion blaming Jews for various misfortunes.

Christopher Columbus discovers the New World

1492

Christopher Columbus was an Italian explorer who went to the King and Queen of Spain to get permission to sail to India. Once he got permission, he set assail and arrived at what he thought to be India, but was what we now know as the Americas. The people who inhabited this land had never interacted with Christianity. Since his voyage was done in the name of this religion, he and the other Europeans that eventually joined him violently forced many of the inhabitants to convert to Christianity.

Martin Luther posts the 95 Theses

Oct 31, 1517

Around this time period, Martin Luther, a Augustinian monk, began noticing the corrupt practices within the Church. He wrote out all the issues he found and posted them on a door of a church. The people who read it were enraged and spread the word, leading to the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. This was a time period of reform in the traditional Church system.

Start of the Catholic Reformation

1545

This time period was the Catholic resurgence in response to the Protestant Reformation. There was a man named Ignatius of Loyola who started the Jesuit Community. They valued giving back to others and a good education.