Christendom was a multinational society comprising the Christian community. It was a multi-ethnic brotherhood between all Christians, regardless of their nationality, ethnicity, gender, etc. But it was more than just a brotherhood. It was a single nation built up of various nations.
Monks and bishops traveled between countries preaching. They were not missionaries to foreign lands. The purpose of the relocation was to educate and help churches spread throughout the West. Bishops were so open to moving because everyone was under Christendom, the “World Order” under God.
There was also an international scholarly community. Men were entitled to teach at any university they wanted to so long as they possessed a master’s degree. Nationality was not considered when choosing a professor, only their level of education. That resulted in a high turnover of diverse professors because they constantly traveled to various universities. The student body was similar. While they did not travel as much as their professors, they were very diverse. The diversity in professors and students caused the scholars in Christendom to become one single community where everyone knew everyone.
Popes were the face of Christendom. The Catholic world believed the popes inherited Peter’s metaphorical keys to the kingdom of heaven. As Peter’s successors, they possessed immense authority in guiding the church. The First Crusade was a mission to reclaim religious lands conquered by the Muslims. The Pope declared war, not any king. A few nobles participated in the crusade, but it was by and large a movement instigated by the Pope. People from various nations participated in the movement. That was Christendom.
The sanctions implemented by the Pope and his bishops included excommunication and interdicts. Excommunication was when a Pope barred someone from participating in the sacraments. The three most prominent sacraments are the Lord’s Supper/communion, baptism, and marriage. The purpose of excommunication was to lead someone to repentance for a heresy or sin. Whenever a bishop or a pope excommunicated someone and they did not repent, that was a sign of failure on the part of the church official. Interdicts were excommunications over an entire region. They were usually used to punish the civil magistrate over that region. If all the Christians in a given town could not participate in the Lord’s Supper and none of them could be baptized or married, they put immense pressure on the civil magistrate. Between excommunication and interdicts, the church possessed a lot of power over Christendom.
In conclusion, Christendom was a unified society that spread across borders and races. Monks and bishops liberally traveled to various churches within Christendom because of the unity. There was also an international scholarly community between university professors and students. Finally, the Pope was the face of Christendom, and the church used excommunication and interdicts as negative sanctions.
Asher Sisneros 