:++

Overview of the Period

T
hc 1200 1600 pcriod starts out with thc pin
naclc ol Papal powcr in thc high middlc agcs,
about 1200, and cnds with thc pcrmancnt
brcakup ol that Spiritual cmpirc in thc Rclormation.
Tc 14
th
ccntury was thc timc ol thc 8lack Plaguc, a
rathcr ominous timc. 8arbara Tuchman in hcr book is A
Distant Mirror, the Calamitous Fourteenth Century com
parcs that pcriod to our timcs and nds many parallcls.
Shc lccls that thc way uropc lcll to picccs as a rcsult ol
thc impact ol thc plaguc was vcry similar to thc lalling
to picccs ol thc Vcstcrn world as a rc sult ol thc impact
ol thc two world wars and thc thrcat ol a third.
8ctwccn 1200 and 1600 thcrc is a typc ol suspcnsion
bridgc. Tc ycar 1200 itscll was a ycar ol a pinnaclc ol
ccclcsiastical powcr. Tat was thc ycar that !nnoccnt
!!! put all ol Francc into an interdict, which mcans that
thc popc had thc powcr to prcvcnt cvcry Frcnchman in
Francc lrom taking com munion. Today lar lcwcr would
pay any attcntion, but it was a rcal problcm thcn, showing
an amazing contrast in thc tcmpcr ol thc timcs. !t also
shows thc kind ol papal powcr that Protcstants havc al
ways assumcd to havc cxistcd, but has vcry rarcly cxistcd.
Tis pcriod is notcd lor thc apcx ol papal powcr, thc
trcmcndous powcr ol thc Crusadcs, thc movcmcnt to
build cathc drals (all thc major cathcdrals in uropc
wcrc startcd within a 50 ycar pcriod), thc univcrsity
tradition, but, abovc all, thc cmcrgcncc ol thc lriars.
Te Friars
!n 1210 at thc Latcran Council, thc papacy nally ap
provcd Francis ol Assisi and his work. !n 1205 thcy had
allowcd him provision ally to opcratc. Now thcy grantcd
him lull rati cation, pcrhaps with a vicw that thcy could
kccp him undcr control as Francis homc basc was closc to
Romc, and Francis himscll was a much lcss thrcatcning
gurc than somc othcr, morc radical, prcachcrs ol thc timc.
Mcanwhilc, also in 1210, ominic camc down lrom
Francc, and hc saw Francis thcrc in thc \atican with
only a ropc around his waist, not a lancy lcathcr bclt.
So ominic pullcd o his nicc black bclt and cast
it asidc, and lrom thcn on thc ominicans and thc
Franciscans worc thc samc kind ol ropc lor a bclt.
How cvcr, ominic was a vcry dicrcnt kind ol pcr son
than Francis, a toughmindcd, thcological scholar who
was dctcrmincd to stamp out thc Albigcnscs (Cathari)
in southcrn Francc by thc ological argumcnt. Hc madc
surc that in cvcry onc ol thc ominican houscs, thc
communitics ol lriars had a rcsidcnt thcologian. Tcy
also wcrc thc lorcrunncrs ol thc !nquisition. Tcy wcrc
dctcrmincd to purily thc church by powcr and occa
sionally violcncc. Tcir cx ccsscs arc much ovcrblown
by Protcstants, whosc own cxccsscs in controlling thc
ncwly lrccd slavcs in thc USA by thousands ol lynch
ings arc much worsc.
Francis, on thc othcr hand, was vcry dicr cnt lrom
ominic. Hc was not inclincd to rcad books, but was
vcry much a mystical pcrson whosc lollow crs had no
writtcn rulcs. As a rcsult, thcrc wcrc many dicrcnt
splin tcrs in thc Franciscan movcmcnt cvcn bclorc hc
dicd. Today thcrc arc about 35 Franciscan groups, most
bclicving thcy arc closcr to Fran cis than thc othcrs.
8y 1250, lorty ycars lrom thc timc Francis was givcn
ocial lull rccognition, thc popc vcry wiscly rcquircd
Francis to havc a writtcn rulc or regula. His lollow
Te Fourth Four Hundred Years
(AD 12001600)
Ralph D. Winter
Rcprintcd with pcrmission lrom Vintcr, Ralph . Te Unfolding Drama f the Christian Movement. n.d., Chaptcrs 8 and 9.
:+: Tnv Foiv:n Foiv Hixbvvb Yv~vs (A +:oo+6oo)
crs patchcd it to gcthcr rathcr hurricdly, but it was not
complctc cnough or donc soon cnough to lorcstall
splintcring. Tis rcquircmcnt shows thc vcry practi
cal wis dom ol church authoritics who actually tricd to
hclp thc Franciscans at that point.
8ut thc ominicans havc not splintcrcd, thcy arc a
disciplincd, carclully organizcd group.
1

Tc lriars wcrc al ways a part ol thc church. Tcrc ncvcr
was a qucstion that thcy wcrc not part ol thc church.
Tcsc lriars wcrc mobilc cvangclists who wcnt all
around thc world. Tc lriars wcrc thc major mccha
nisms ol Roman Catholic out rcach.
Tc lriars arc a littlc dicrcnt lrom thc clerks regular.
Tis is whcrc thc Jcsuits comc into thc picturc, much
latcr, about thc timc ol thc Protcstant Rclormation.
Clerks regular is thc ocial phrasc lor an organization
likc thc Jcsuits. vcry organization sincc thc Jcsuits
has lol lowcd a pattcrn similar to thc Jcsuits rathcr than
that ol thc lriars, although cvcry organiza tion loundcd
soon altcr thc lriars lollowcd thcir organization until
thc rdcr ol thc Jcsuits appcarcd.
Tcrc arc subtlc dicrcnccs bc twccn thcsc various
traditionsthc Ccltic monks, thc carly 8cncdic
tincs, thc Cluny tradi tion, thc Cistcrcians, and thc
lriarsand thcrc is a kind ol progrcssion in tcrms ol
intcntional intcrvcntion in thc outsidc world. Vc must
not succumb to thc lacilc, simplistic stcrcotypc that thc
monas tcrics wcrc simply whcrc pcoplc cd to gct away
lrom thc world. vcn in thc vcry carlicst daysby thc
ycar 700thc 800 monastcrics sprinklcd up through
Francc and Gcrmany wcrc missionary outposts as wcll
as sourccs ol cnginccring, architcctural and tcchnologi
cal talcnt. Tcy wcrc not ccing thc world, thcy wcrc
pcnctrating thc world. Tis is dcmon stratcd by thc
simplc lact that thc world cvcn tually accrucd signi
cantly to thc organiza tional pattcrn, languagc, ctc., ol
thc monastcr ics.
!n lact, almost cvcry major city ol uropc is a grcat oak
grown lrom thc acorn ol an original monastic ccntcr,
rathcr than viccvcrsa. Tis phcnomcnon is an intcrcst
ing twist on thcsomctimcs ovcrcmphasizcdcon
tcxtualization and indigcnization approach in which
thc missionary will mix complctcly into thc culturc
without a tracc ol his own cultural background cxccpt
lor thc purc gospcl invcstcd thcrcin. !n contrast, thc
monastcrics totally ignorcd thc outsidc culturc. And
altcr a considcrablc lcngth ol timc, a thou sand ycars
somctimcs, thc outsidc culturc camc to lollow thc pat
tcrn ol thc monastcrics.
Tc monastcrics wcrc bcttcr than just mission com
pounds. Mission compounds arc not mcant to bc
scllsustaining, and thcy arc not intcndcd to acquirc
mcmbcrs lrom thc local situation or providc scrviccs
thc pcoplc will pay lor. A mo nastic structurc as a
mission outpost sccms to bc lar supcrior to thc oltcn
stcrilc mis sion compound in morc modcrn history.
2

8y contrast, in rcccnt history a mission compound is
proppcd up lrom abroad by sub sidics. Tcrclorc, it is
inhcrcntly incapablc ol growing or duplicating itscll.
!t cannot cvcn absorb its own childrcn. Tcrc was vcry
littlc contcxtualization ol thcology cspccially, or cvcn
ol church lilc. Tc monastcry carricd its own social
structurc which was cxcccdingly durablc and not casily
corruptcd, so to spcak, by thc outsidc world. Rathcr,
thc languagc and culturc ol that monastic tradition
cvcntually took ovcr thc outsidc world.
Te Black Plague
All this wondcrlul cvangclistic powcr moving lorward
into thc 12001600 ycar pcriod was strickcn with a
mighty blast whcn thc 8lack Plaguc appcarcd out ol thc
bluc. !t burrowcd into south crn Francc, !taly and ad
vanccd by dcadly wavcs, cvcntually killing o oncthird
to onchall ol thc cntirc population ol Vcstcrn uropc.
8ut it killcd o ninc out tcn ol thc Christian lcadcrs,
lriars in particular, bccausc thcy at tcndcd thc sick, and
anybody who attcndcd thc sick was bound to dic. Unlikc
thc lriars, thc Popc didnt go ncar thc sick, so hc survivcd.
Tcrc wcrc somc wcalthy aristocrats who cd to thcir
mountain rcsorts and wcrc ablc to cut o all contact with
thc outsidc world lor a ycar or so, and thcy sur vivcd. 8ut
thc pcoplc who wcrc in thc strcam ol commcrcc, thc ships
that wcnt up into southcrn ngland, ctc., carricd thc
plaguc into ngland. !t swcpt ovcr ng land and killcd
o cnormous pcrccntagcs ol pcoplc. Social structurc itscll
brokc down in many cascs. Somc ol thc monastic scttlc
mcnts wcrc so strickcn that thc mcmbcrs actually wcnt
insanc and ran nakcd in thc strccts. Tc dcmoraliza tion ol
socicty in gcncral was cnormous.
Tis was lar worsc than any \iking inva sion bccausc
thc \ikings ncvcr killcd o a third ol all thc pcoplc. !n
somc placcs thcy may havc killcd o 100 pcrccnt ol thc
pcoplc, but thcy wcrc not powcrlul cnough to kill o
Ralph D. Winter :+
as many pcoplc as thc plaguc did. Tc mi crobcs wcrc
morc powcrlul than thc \ikings.
Tc 8lack Plaguc was ablc to transmit itscll by thrcc
mcchanisms: by air, by dircct contact, and by cas that
would hop lrom onc inlcctcd rat or pcrson to anothcr
pcrson. !n lact, thcrc is no mcdical rcason why thcrc
could not bc anothcr out brcak ol this plaguc. Tcrc is
nothing wc know ol today that would havc any abil
ity to kccp thc plaguc lrom sprcading throughout thc
world todayothcr than thc castc systcm in !ndia.
Vc can only spcculatc as to why thc 8lack Plaguc
happcncd. To somc it might sccm that God chastcncd
Christianity in thc 14
th
ccnturyits bcst clcmcnts
wcrc climinatcd. Maybc God lclt that thc pcoplc didnt
dc scrvc thc lriars:
Age of Unrest
Tc drastic scarcity ol pcasants rcsulting lrom thc
Plaguc had thc ccct ol incrcasing thcir wagcs. Fur
thcrmorc, not only bccausc ol thc plaguc, but bccausc ol
thc impact ol thc 8iblc thcrc bcgan to bc a rcstlcssncss
among thc scrls. Somchow thcy scnscd that thcir grind
ing povcrty was not rcally according to Gods will.
Tc rcsult was violcnccin part promptcd by thc
8iblc! !n ngland, it startcd in Kcnt in thc Cantcrbury
arca and swcpt ovcr thousands ol acrcs. Hundrcds ol
thousands ol pcoplc gathcrcd in a mob that movcd
toward London in what is callcd thc Vat Tylcr rcbcl
lion. Tcy dcmandcd bcttcr trcatmcnt, vcry rca sonablc
and vcry much bascd on thc 8iblc. 8ccausc ol rcbcl
lions likc this, long bclorc thc Rclormation, thc 8iblc
bcgan to bc sccn as a vcry dangcrous book. Tc com
plctc 8iblc was translatcd into Gcrman lourtccn timcs
bclorc Luthcrs supcrb translation.
Tc lcrtility ol this pcriod, thc conlusion, thc brcak
down ol socicty ushcrcd in morc strongly than cvcr
thc sccular Rcnaissancc, a harsh, stri dcnt strcam which
is gloricd by sccular schol ars but which was a tragic
dcvclopmcnt in somc rcspccts. Tcrc wcrc good things
about it, but thosc good things camc lrom thc Chris
tianity which undcrlay it. 8ut thcrc wcrc also horrily
ing immoral cxtrcmcs in thc Rcnais sancc, a harshncss
and worldlincss which may bc thought ol highly by
sccular pcoplc today, but scnsitivc Christian insight
would ccrtainly not givc thc Rcnaissancc thc samc
gradcs that sccular scholars do. All ol this prcparcd in
wcstcrn uropc thc grounds not only lor thc political
rcvolt ol thc scrls who complaincd about thcir condi
tions, but also lor rcligious rc volt. Tus, thc Protcstant
rcvolt was 50 pcrccnt a political and cultural backlash
against thc Latin civilization and 50 pcrccnt part ol
thc rcligious rclorm movc mcnt that was swccping all
ol wcstcrn uropc (not just Gcrmany).
Te Friars Missionary Eorts
Tc most rcmarkablc thing in this pcriod is how thc
lriars tricd to go ovcrland to Pcking as missionar
ics. 8y 1492 toward thc cnd ol thc pcriod, Columbus
discovcrcd Amcrica. Tat was also thc ycar, roughly,
whcn Savonarola was burncd at thc stakc in Florcncc,
whcn a young law studcnt namcd Martin Luthcr was
almost struck down by lightning and dccidcd to go
into a monastcry. !t was also thc ycar whcn a saintly
clcrgyman namcd Ximcncs, who was also a grcat 8iblc
scholar, bccamc thc chaplain ol Quccn !sabclla ol
Spaina trcmcndously im portant cvcnt. 8ut cqually
important was thc lact that in 1492 thc last ol thc
Muslims, who had bccn in control in parts or all ol
Spain lor 700 ycars, wcrc now nally cxpcllcd.
!n lact, that ycar also had to do with navi gation, which
contributcd to missions. Now thc lriars could go all
ovcr thc world. Tcy tricd to go by land but could not
gct vcry lar sincc land travcl to Asia was quitc dicult.
8ut thcy nally got thcrc by ship.
8y 1535 thc univcrsity ol Mcxico City had alrcady
bccn cstablishcd by lriarstwo hun drcd ycars bclorc
Harvard in Massachusctts. A ncw contcndcr within thc
Catholic sodality systcm lor missions soon altcr was
thc Socicty ol Jcsus (thc Jcsuits). And by 1600 Mattco
Ricci, a Jcsuit, was climbing thc stcps ol thc palacc in
Pcking. Tis phcnomcnal world outrcach through thc
Catholic mcchanisms ol thc lriars and thc clcrks rcgular
had no parallcl or coun tcrpart in Protcstant tradition
lor anothcr scvcral hundrcd ol ycars. Tc ominicans
cmbraccd thc Grcat Commission 600 ycars bclorc thc
Protcstants startcd scriously thinking about missions,
whcn Villiam Carcy wcnt to !ndia. Now, grantcd that
600ycar advantagc was considcrably bluntcd duc to thc
diculty ol land travcl during thc rst hall ol it, but in
thc sccond hall thc Catholics cn compasscd thc world
by sca travcl. And though thcy pcr haps had a somcwhat
dclcctivc gospcl, ncvcr thclcss, thcy got thcrc and took
thcir lorm ol Christianity with thcm.
:+ Tnv Foiv:n Foiv Hixbvvb Yv~vs (A +:oo+6oo)
Tc 12001600ycar pcriod is lull ol cxciting and amaz
ing cvcnts. Probably thc most disastrous singlc thing,
howcvcr, was thc vio lcnt attcmpt to convcrt thc Saracens,
anothcr word lor Muslims. Tis bcgan a ccntury carlicr
than thc lourhundrcdycar markcr ol thc ycar 1200.
8y contrast, in all our prcvious 400ycar pcriods thc
major pcoplc groups wcrc con vcrtcdthc Romans, thc
8arbarians and thc \ikings. !n this pcriod, although thc
Muslims wcrc a major locus, thc convcrsion attcmpt
lailcd. Tc missionary mcthodology ol thc Crusadcs was
obviously not thc bcst mcthod to usc.
3

8y 1600 Catholic missionarics had at lcast supcrcially
baptizcd millions ol pcoplc in thc Vcstcrn hcmisphcrc
and in Asia. As in prcvious pcriods, thc nal ccntury was
onc ol an incrcdiblc ourishing ol thc laith. 8ut whilc thc
major playcrs wcrc rtho dox, Catholic and Protcstant,
only thc lattcr was uninvolvcd as yct in global mission.
Endnotes
1
! oltcn think that thcrc was a ccrtain similarity bctwccn thc
!ntcr\arsity movcmcnt and thc ominicans. Tc !ntcr\ar
sity Movc mcnt, with its !ntcr\arsity Prcss and piling up
hugc, thick thcological tomcs on all subjccts, is vcry much ol
an cgghcad movcmcnt by com parison to Campus Crusadc,
which until rc ccntly did not cvcn havc a publishing arm and
was morc ol a Franciscan typc ol opcration.
Tcsc two movcmcnts startcd out vcry dicrcntly. nc was
antiintcllcctual and wouldnt go ncar thc univcrsitics, thc othcr
was highly intcllcctual and livcd within thc univcrsity world.
Howcvcr, in thc long haul, by looking at cach othcr across thc
dccadcs, thcy cvcntually bcgan to try to kccp up with cach othcr.
And by now thcy arc vcry similar. ! think that Campus Crusadc,
now with its own scminary and its own publishing company,
will bc moving morc and morc into an aca dcmic cmphasis.
Tc point is that thc way a movcmcnt starts has littlc to
do with whcrc it cnds. Somc groups havc lookcd down
thcir noscs at Campus Crusadc bccausc ol thc simplicity
ol thc idcas it is promoting, and bccausc ol its hicrarchical
structurc. 8ut ! urgc you not to undcrcstimatc thc potcntial
ol that movcmcnt. !ntcr\arsity is also cxing its musclcs,
moving in dicrcnt di rcctions. Today it is almost as strong
on thc campuscs as Campus Crusadc. Tc only dicrcncc is
that Campus Crusadc is doing scvcnty othcrs things as wcll,
and !ntcr\arsity is still primarily a campus movcmcnt.
Navigators could bc mcntioncd as a paral lcl to thc lriars. Somc
ol thcm havc prclcrrcd to think ol thcmsclvcs as thc Jcsuits
ol thc prcscnt timc. Tat probably is a littlc bit strangc to say
considcring that thc Navigators until rcccntly havc had vcry
littlc acadcmic cmphasis, but it is a vcry nc organization.
2
8oth M and YVAM havc lorgcd a nct work in which in all
clds local pcoplc can join in. Tis is quitc dicrcnt lrom tra
ditional mis sions which cxpccts to plant a church movc mcnt
which will bc scparatc as wcll as main tain an unjoinablc
lorcign mission prcscncc which is not translcrablc.
3
!t is still truc today that any organization which uscs thc word
crusade in its titlc displays appalling ignorancc ol thc most
obvious lacts ol history, and in thc Middlc ast today this is
a tcrriblc crror.