Louis VI’s Political Reshuffle and the Rise…

The Jurchens invade again in 1127, capturing not only the Song capital at Kaifeng, but the retired emperor Huizong, his successor Qinzong, and most of the Imperial court, remnants of which flee south, including much of the populace and communities such as the Kaifeng Jews.

(It is surmised that a small community of Jews, most likely from Persia or India, had arrived either overland or by a sea route, and settled in the Sung capital, a cosmopolitan city on a branch of the Silk Road.)

The remaining Song forces regroup under one of the Song emperor’s sons, the self-proclaimed Emperor Gaozong, and withdraw to Nanjing, then retreat further south.

Some of the buildings constructed by the Karakhanids still survive today, including the Kalyan minaret designed by Bako and built in 1127 by Mohammad Aslan Khan (r. 1102–1129).

A minaret of the Po-i-Kalyan mosque complex in Bukhara, present Uzbekistan, it is today one of the most prominent landmarks in the city.

An earlier tower collapsed before completion.

Made in the form of a circular-pillar baked brick tower, narrowing upwards, it is 45.6 meters (149.61 ft) high (forty-eight meters including the point), nine meters (29.53 ft) diameter at the bottom and six meters (19.69 ft) overhead.

The body of the minaret is topped by a rotunda with sixteen arched fenestrations, from which the muezzins summon the Muslims in the city to prayer.

There is a brick spiral staircase that twists up inside around the pillar to the rotunda. (Once the minaret was believed to have had another round section above the rotunda, but now only the cone-shaped top remains.)

The tower base has narrow ornamental strings belted across it made of bricks which are placed in both straight or diagonal fashion.

The frieze is covered with a blue glaze with inscriptions.

Constantinople becomes the largest city of the world in 1127, taking the lead from Kaifeng, former capital of China’s Northern Song Dynasty.

Bohemond besieges and captures Kafartab in 1127, killing all the inhabitants.

He also attacks Shaizar, and Usamah ibn-Munqidh supposedly meets the prince himself in battle (and frightens him off, if Usamah is to be believed).

Mahmud II rewards the loyal Zengi with the governorship of Mosul in 1127 following the failed rebellion of Caliph al-Mustarshid.

The key city of Aleppo submits to Zengi's authority to secure military protection against a possible Frankish crusader conquest.

Abdul-Qadir Gilani had spent his early life in Na'if, the town of his birth.

In 1095, at the age of eightees, he had gone to Baghdad, where, he had pursued the study of Hanbali law.

Abu Ali al-Mukharrimi gave Al Gilani lessons in Fiqh.

He was given lessons about Hadith by Abu Bakr ibn Muzaffar, and was given lessons about Tafsir by Abu Muhammad Ja'far, a commentator.

In Tasawwuf, his spiritual instructor was Abu'l-Khair Hammad ibn Muslim al-Dabbas.

After completing his education, Gilani left Baghdad to spend twenty-five years as a reclusive wanderer in the desert regions of Iraq.

Al Gilani returns to Baghdad in 1127 and begins to preach to the public.

He joins the teaching staff of the school belonging to his own teacher, al-Mukharrimii, and delivers a discourse on the science of the heart and the virtues of the Qur'an.

He is said to have been a convincing preacher and to have converted numerous Jews and Christians.

His preaching strength lies in the reconciling of the mystical nature of the Sufi and strict nature of the Qur'an.

He feels it is important to control egotism and worldliness in submission to God.

Diego Gelmírez, Bishop of Compostela and the count of Traba, had crowned six-year-old Alfonso King of Galicia in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in 1111.

His mother, having two years earlier succeeded to the united throne of León-Castile-Galicia, wished to assure her son's prospects and groom him for his eventual succession.

By 1125, he had inherited the formerly Muslim Kingdom of Toledo.

On March 10, 1126, after the death of his mother, he had been crowned in León and immediately began the recovery of the Kingdom of Castile, which was then under the domination of Alfonso the Battler.

By the Peace of Támara of 1127, the Battler recognizes Alfonso VII of Castile.

The territory in the far east of his dominion, however, had gained much independence during the rule of his mother and experienced many rebellions.

After his recognition in Castile, Alfonso fights to curb the autonomy of the local barons.

Bernard of Clairvaux and the Debate Over Church Decoration: The Apologia (1127 CE)

In 1127, Bernard of Clairvaux, the leading advocate of monastic austerity and spiritual purity, delivered a forceful critique of artistic embellishment in churches, particularly in monastic architecture, through his treatise, the Apologia.

Bernard sought to define the proper relationship between art and worship, denouncing the excessive adornment of sacred spaces, which he viewed as a distraction from true devotion. His argument was particularly aimed at Cluniac monasticism, which had embraced richly decorated churches, elaborate sculptures, and opulent furnishings.

Bernard’s Criticism of Artistic Excess

• Bernard condemned ornate architecture, lavish sculptures, and excessive decoration in monasteries, arguing that they led monks away from spiritual contemplation and toward vanity.

• He believed that overly adorned churches turned places of worship into spectacles for the senses rather than spaces for humble devotion.

• He specifically criticized the use of grotesque sculptures and elaborate carvings, stating:

  “What is the point of these ridiculous monstrosities… foul and deformed figures… beautiful deformities and deformed beauties?”

Bernard insisted that the purpose of religious art should be to serve devotion, not distract from it.

Bernard’s Acknowledgment of the Argument for Rich Church Decoration

Despite his staunch opposition, Bernard recognized the theological justification for richly decorated churches. He acknowledged the powerful argument that:

• Since Christ is believed to be physically present in the church through the miracle of transubstantiationduring the Mass, then:
• No sacrifice is too great in the effort to enrich and glorify that sacred moment.

This argument reflected a fundamental tension between monastic simplicity and the grandeur of ecclesiastical worship, particularly in the growing movement of Gothic architecture, which sought to elevate the experience of the divine through soaring spaces and radiant light.

Impact and Legacy of the Apologia

• Bernard’s critique played a significant role in shaping Cistercian architecture, which embraced simplicity, functionality, and the rejection of elaborate ornamentation.
• His vision led to the construction of austere yet beautifully proportioned monasteries, emphasizing spiritual focus over sensory indulgence.
• However, his concessions to the liturgical argument for grand church decoration revealed that even the strictest critics of ornamentation could not dismiss the role of art in deepening religious experience.

While Bernard’s vision of monastic austerity influenced Cistercian architecture, his acknowledgment of the sacred role of beauty in worship foreshadowed the continued rise of ornate medieval cathedrals—monuments to both spiritual devotion and artistic splendor.