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)?
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?
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?
Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, q. 2, art. 2, pt. 1, trans. Fathers of the English Dominican Province (London: Burns, Oates & Washbourne, 1912, reprinted in 1981 by Christian Classics, Westminster, Md.).