A fascinating eyewitness account of the Fourth Crusade and the infamous siege and sack (A.D. 1204) of Constantinople. Image above links to Google Books entry. ISBN recommendation: 0-231-13669-2. See also Appendix I, Memory and Reconciliation, for a reflection upon historic grave violations of charity by representatives of the Catholic community.
The Third Lateran Council (A.D. 1179), was convoked by Pope Alexander III after the Battle of Legnano and the surrender of Emperor Frederick I. The primary object of the council was to end the nearly 20 year schism supported by the Emperor against Alexander. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2
The Second Lateran Council (A.D. 1139) was convoked by Pope Innocent II after the death of the antipope, Anacletus II (Peter Leoni). The Council sought to consolidate unity and reestablish ecclesial discipline. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2
The First Lateran Council (A.D. 1123), convoked by Pope Callistus II immediately after the Concordat of Worms, marks the beginning of the movement towards separation of Church and State. Image above links to Tanner translation of the Council decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2
The First Crusade was initiated, in the name of Christ by Pope Urban II, for the recovery of Romanian (Byzantine) territory (including the Holy Land) from the Turks and Arabs. Fulcher of Chartes was a participant in the Crusade and served as chaplain to Baldwin I. A History of the Expedition to Jerusalem (Gesta Francorum Iherusalem peregrinantium) provides an absorbing chronicle of the martial pilgrimage. Image links to Edward Peters edition. ISBN recommendation: 0393094235
Recognized as a Doctor of the Church and celebrated by many as the progenitor of Scholasticism, Anselm is a preeminent representative of philosophical theology. In the Proslogion (originally titled: Fides Quaerens Intellectum [Faith Seeking Understanding]), Anselm “aims at proving in a single argument the existence of God”. Written during 1077-78, it remains his most renowned work. Image links to Hopkins and Richardson translation. ISBN recommendation: 0889460000
Anselm’s An Example of Meditation on the Grounds of Faith (Monologion) is a philosophic soliloquy upon the highest of all existing things (God) and prepares the foundation for the Proslogion. It was written during 1075-76 and relies heavily upon writings of St. Augustine and Boethius. Image links to Hopkins and Richardson translation. ISBN recommendation: 0889460000
A brief report from the papal embassy to Constantinople of the events which precipitated the Great Schism: the separation of great portions of the Eastern Church from union with the See of Rome. Image links to W. L. North translation.
Presided over by the legates of Pope Hadrian II, this council condemned Photius (Photios I of Constantinople), whom the Eastern Orthodox uphold as a great saint. Though self proclaimed the “eighth universal synod”, according to the eminent western canonist St. Ivo of Chartes: “The synod of Constantinople which was held against Photius must not be recognized. Pope John VIII wrote to the patriarch Photius (in 879): ‘We make void that synod which was held against Photius at Constantinople and we have completely blotted it out for various reasons as well as for the fact that Pope Hadrian did not sign its acts'”. I include it as an illustration of the tumultuous and vacillating relationship then existing between the Sees of Rome and Constantinople. Image above links to Tanner translation of the decrees. ISBN recommendation: 0-87840-490-2
A near contemporary account of additional anecdotes regarding Charlemagne and his reign. Supplements Einhard’s chronicle. Image links to Grant translation. ISBN recommendation: 0140455051