Michael Frassetto | |
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Born | Michael Frassetto December 3, 1961 Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States |
Occupation | Historian, writer |
Alma mater |
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Subject | History of medieval Europe |
Michael Frassetto (born December 3, 1961) is an American historian, university professor and author.
Michael Frassetto was born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to Eugene Frassetto, a computer programmer, and Joy Frassetto. [1]
He married Jill R. Allen on September 8, 1984. [1] He resides in Medford, New Jersey. [2]
Frassetto earned his bachelor's degree from La Salle University in 1983, and his master's degree from Michigan State University in 1985. He was awarded a Fulbright scholarship, undertaking research for his dissertation in Berlin in 1989 and 1990, and received his doctorate from the University of Delaware in 1993. [3] [1] His dissertation was on Ademar of Chabannes. [4]
Frassetto is a contributor to the Encyclopedia Britannica and has been their religion editor. [1] [5]
He is an adjunct professor in the Department of History at the University of Delaware. His special interests are medieval European history, the history of Christianity, and interfaith relations during the Middle Ages. [3] [6]
Frassetto has authored a number of books which include:
Published works of which Frassetto was the volume editor include:
Chapters by Frassetto in edited works include:
Frassetto has contributed essays or chapters to a number of collections of which he was also the editor (or co-editor). These include:
Articles by Frassetto that have appeared in scholarly journals include:
Catharism was a Christian quasi-dualist or pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a heretical sect by the Catholic Church, its followers were attacked first by the Albigensian Crusade and later by the Medieval Inquisition, which eradicated the sect by 1350. Many thousands were slaughtered, hanged, or burnt at the stake, sometimes without regard for age or sex.
Dhimmī or muʿāhid (معاهد) is a historical term for non-Muslims living in an Islamic state with legal protection. The word literally means "protected person", referring to the state's obligation under sharia to protect the individual's life, property, as well as freedom of religion, in exchange for loyalty to the state and payment of the jizya tax, in contrast to the zakat, or obligatory alms, paid by the Muslim subjects. Dhimmi were exempt from military service and other duties assigned specifically to Muslims if they paid the poll tax (jizya) but were otherwise equal under the laws of property, contract, and obligation.
The Fourth Council of the Lateran or Lateran IV was convoked by Pope Innocent III in April 1213 and opened at the Lateran Palace in Rome on 11 November 1215. Due to the great length of time between the council's convocation and its meeting, many bishops had the opportunity to attend this council, which is considered by the Catholic Church to be the twelfth ecumenical council.
Albert the Magnanimous, elected King of the Romans as Albert II, was a member of the House of Habsburg. By inheritance he became Albert V, Duke of Austria. Through his wife he also became King of Hungary, Croatia, Bohemia, and inherited a claim to the Duchy of Luxembourg.
People of the Book, or Ahl al-Kitāb, is a classification in Islam for the adherents of those religions that are regarded by Muslims as having received a divine revelation from Allah, generally in the form of a holy scripture. The classification chiefly refers to pre-Islamic Abrahamic religions. In the Quran, they are identified as the Jews, the Christians, the Sabians, and—according to some interpretations—the Zoroastrians. Beginning in the 8th century, this recognition was extended to other groups, such as the Samaritans, and, controversially, Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs, among others. In most applications, "People of the Book" is simply used by Muslims to refer to the followers of Judaism and Christianity, with which Islam shares many values, guidelines, and principles.
Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world, with approximately 2.3 billion and 1.8 billion adherents, respectively. Both religions are Abrahamic and monotheistic, having originated in the Middle East.
Religious tolerance or religioustoleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". Historically, most incidents and writings pertaining to toleration involve the status of minority and dissenting viewpoints in relation to a dominant state religion. However, religion is also sociological, and the practice of toleration has always had a political aspect as well.
Adémar de Chabannes was a French/Frankish monk, active as a composer, scribe, historian, poet, grammarian and literary forger. He was associated with the Abbey of Saint Martial, Limoges, where he was a central figure in the Saint Martial school, an important center of early medieval music. Much of his career was spent copying and transcribing earlier accounts of Frankish history; his major work was the Chronicon Aquitanicum et Francicum.
The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the period of European history that lasted from AD 1000 to 1300. The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended around AD 1500.
Peter the Venerable, also known as Peter of Montboissier, was the abbot of the Benedictine abbey of Cluny. He has been honored as a saint though he was never canonized in the Middle Ages. Since in 1862 Pope Pius IX confirmed his historical cult, and the Martyrologium Romanum, issued by the Holy See in 2004, regards him as a blessed.
Abu al-Hasan Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Ishaq al-Rawandi, commonly known as Ibn al-Rawandi, was a scholar and theologian. In his early days, he was a Mu'tazilite scholar, but then rejected the Mu'tazilite doctrine. Afterwards, he became a Shia scholar; there is some debate about whether he stayed a Shia until his death or became a skeptic, though most sources confirm his eventual rejection of all religion and becoming an atheist. Although none of his works have survived, his opinions had been preserved through his critics and the surviving books that answered him. His book with the most preserved fragments is the Kitab al-Zumurrud.
Richard Allen Landes is an American historian and author who specializes in medieval millennial thinking. Until 2015 he taught at Boston University, and then began working at Bar-Ilan University.
The history of Christian thought has included concepts of both inclusivity and exclusivity from its beginnings, that have been understood and applied differently in different ages, and have led to practices of both persecution and toleration. Early Christian thought established Christian identity, defined heresy, separated itself from polytheism and Judaism and developed the theological conviction called supersessionism. In the centuries after Christianity became the official religion of Rome, some scholars say Christianity became a persecuting religion. Others say the change to Christian leadership did not cause a persecution of pagans, and that what little violence occurred was primarily directed at non-orthodox Christians.
In contrast to the views of Muhammad in Islam, the Christian views on him stayed highly negative during the Middle Ages for over a millennium. At this time, Christendom largely viewed Islam as a Christian heresy and Muhammad as a false prophet.
The Orléans heresy in 1022 was an early instance of heresy in Europe. The small heretical sect at the center of the event had coalesced around two canons, Stephen and Lisios, who expressed ascetic and possibly dualist beliefs. The sect leaders and their followers were tried and condemned by the Council of Orléans, excommunicated and "all but two members were locked in a cottage outside the city walls and burned alive."(A History of Medieval Heresy and Inquisition p 19). This is believed to be the first recorded execution by burning for the crime of heresy in the medieval West.
Heresy is any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs or customs, particularly the accepted beliefs or religious law of a religious organization. A heretic is a proponent of heresy.
An auto-da-fé or Spanish: auto de fe meaning 'act of faith'; was the ritual of public penance, carried out between the 15th and 19th centuries, of condemned heretics and apostates imposed by the Spanish, Portuguese, or Mexican Inquisition as punishment and enforced by civil authorities. Its most extreme form was death by burning.
Imam Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab Mosque is the national mosque of Qatar. It is named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab, a Sunni Muslim preacher, scholar, and theologian from the Najd region in central Arabia, founder of the Islamic revivalist and reformist movement known as Wahhabism.
The Church of the Holy Sepulchre, churches, synagogues, Torah scrolls and other non-Muslim religious artifacts and buildings in and around Jerusalem, were destroyed starting on 28 September 1009 on the orders of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, known by his critics as "the mad Caliph" or "Nero of Egypt". His son, the Fatimid Caliph Al-Zahir, allowed the Byzantines to rebuild the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in 1027–28. The construction of a much diminished ensemble was wrapped up by 1048. This was the second of the two times the church was seriously damaged, the first being in 614 during the Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628.
Leutard of Vertus was a French peasant who was denounced as a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church. He is recorded in an account by the chronicler Rodulfus Glaber who states Leutard's beliefs began after dreaming his body had been invaded by bees. Leutard went on to deface a crucifix and speak out against church tithes. He was summoned by the Bishop of Châlons who spoke against Leutard's interpretation of scripture and persuaded his followers to return to the church's teachings. Leutard is afterwards said to have committed suicide by throwing himself down a well.