Week 1 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Beginning of the Middle Ages and the Development of the Papacy
The formation of the papacy-centered structure under figures like Leo I and Gregory I.
Week 2 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Medieval Worldview and the Church's Position
The dualism of the sacred and the secular, sacrament-centered faith, and the church in a feudal system.
Week 3 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Carolingian Renaissance and Attempts at Church Reform
Charlemagne's empire, Christian education, and monastic reforms.
Week 4 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
Scholasticism and the Systematization of Theology
Anselm, Abelard, and Thomas Aquinas; the tension between reason and faith.
Week 5 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The East-West Schism (1054)
Papal authority, the Filioque controversy, and differences in the understanding of the Eucharist.
Week 6 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Crusades and the Politicization of the Church
The attempts to reclaim Jerusalem, and the stated and actual reasons for the holy wars.
Week 7 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
Suppression of Heresy and the Inquisition
The Albigensians, Waldensians, and the Dominican order's role in the trials of heretics.
Week 8 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
Medieval Sacramental Theology and the Understanding of Salvation
Penance, the Eucharist, and a critique of the concept of salvation by works.
Week 9 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
Monastic Movements and Attempts to Restore Spirituality
The Cistercian and Cluny monasteries, and the Franciscan and Dominican movements.
Week 10 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Zenith of Papal Power and the Avignon Papacy
Pope Boniface VIII, and the corruption and power struggles of the papacy
Week 11 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
Popular Piety and Superstitious Phenomena
Veneration of relics, worship of saints, and the spread of Marian devotion.
Week 12 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Emergence of Reformers: Wycliffe and Hus
Bible translation, criticism of the church, and the spark of martyrdom and gospel restoration
Week 13 Lecture on Medieval Church History - Professor Koo Sung-chan
The Late Middle Ages and the Eve of the Reformation
Understanding the background of the Reformation, and the legacy and lessons of the medieval church for today.
