▪ COMPARATIVE QUESTIONS ▪

1. Taken together, what do the following tell you about the nature of medieval Christianity: Pope Urban II’s call for a crusade (Document 14-1); the story of the Virgin Mary, the monk, and his lover (Document 14-3); and Thomas Aquinas’s proof of the existence of God (Document 14-5)?
2. Compare and contrast the Magna Carta (Document 14-4) with the law of the Twelve Tables (Document 6-1). How did each use the regulation of legal procedures to help define the relationship between individuals and government authorities?
3. How might Thomas Aquinas (Document 14-5) have responded to the story of the Virgin Mary, the monk, and his lover (Document 14-3)? Would he have viewed it as a harmless and amusing tale or as evidence of popular misunderstanding and distortion of Christian theology?