Sinai 669the king. He eagerly sought reconciliation with Henry. He
even assembled the Great PARLIAMENT of 1265, which
included, for the first time, representatives of the shires
and boroughs, all in the hope of securing his position and
obtaining a lasting peace. The king refused to compromise
on royal rule and power. Simon quarreled with his leading
ally, Gilbert de Clare the Red, earl of Gloucester (d. 1295).
Edward escaped from custody May 28. Simon was
defeated and killed at the Battle of Evesham on August 4,
- His tomb soon became a place of pilgrimage.
Further reading:R. F. Treharne and I. J. Sanders,
eds., Documents of the Baronial Movement of Reform and
Rebellion, 1258–1267(Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1973);
Margaret W. Labarge, Simon de Montfort(New York: Nor-
ton, 1963); J. R. Maddicott, Simon de Montfort(Cam-
bridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994); R. F.
Treharne, Simon de Montfort and Baronial Reform: Thir-
teenth-Century Essays,ed. E. B. Fryde (London: Hamble-
don Press, 1986).
Simone Martini SeeMARTINI,SIMONE.
simony The idea of simonywas taken from the New
Testament (Acts 8:81–24). There the magician Simon
Magus tried to buy priestly power. ISIDORE OFSEVILLE
discussed a HERESYof the Simoniacs. The councils of
Orléans in 533 and 549 and of Clermont in 535, deposed
candidates who had bought their election. This practice
was further denounced by GREGORY OFTOURS, Pope GRE-
GORYI THEGREAT, and Pope GREGORYVII. In the 11th
century, imperial interventions in the life of the church
were denounced once again in 1049. Although simony
doubtlessly was still practiced, this prohibition was main-
tained throughout the Middle Ages: One should not buy
or sell an ecclesiastical benefice or its revenue.
See alsoBENEFICE;GREGORIAN REFORM; INVESTITURE
CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTES; PATRONAGE.
Further reading:Joseph H. Lynch, Simoniacal Entry
into Religious Life from 1000 to 1260: A Social, Economic,
and Legal Study(Columbus: Ohio State University Press,
1976); Raymond A. Ryder, Simony, an Historical Synopsis
and Commentary(Washington, D.C.: The Catholic Uni-
versity of America, 1931).
sin Sin from the time of Saint AUGUSTINEof Hippo was
considered to be “that which is willfully, freely, and vol-
untarily done, said, or willed against the law of GOD.” It
would have a legal, psychological, and theological dimen-
sion. One’s intent became more paramount from the 12th
century onward. Sin was a disorder, a human act, and a
sign of a disharmony between human reason and the will
of God and humankind. It was done against the good,
including one’s own good, a fault against God. One was
supposed to know and seek only the best. All sin was
transgression of the LAW, but not all transgression against
the law was sin. WILLIAM OFOCKHAMwould say that sin
was human will’s transgressing God’s will. Islamic ideas
about sin were not much different. In Muslim legal prac-
tice, serious sins were associated with hadd,punishment
under the legal system or shariah. A sinner was held
accountable for his or her actions of omission and com-
mission. Mortal sin was the most serious category of sin.
It must be committed with full consent of the will and
involve a grave matter. Venial sin disposed the SOULto
DEATHand was the greatest of all evils except mortal sin.
But unlike mortal sin, it did not wholly deprive the soul
of sanctifying GRACEand lead by itself to eternal damna-
tion. Sincere repentance might mitigate some of the con-
sequences of all kinds of sin. In ISLAM, polytheism,
however, might not be forgiven, according to the QURAN.
See alsoPENITENTIALS;REDEMPTION; SEVEN DEADLY OR
CAPITAL SINS; SEVEN SACRAMENTS; VIRTUES AND VICES.
Further reading:Étienne Gilson, Moral Values and
the Moral Life: The Ethical Theory of St. Thomas Aquinas,
trans. Leo Richard Ward (1931; reprint, Hamden, Conn.:
Shoe String Press, 1961); Ralph M. McInerny, Ethica
Thomistica: The Moral Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas
(Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press,
1997); Richard Newhauser, The Early History of Greed:
The Sin of Avarice in Early Medieval Thought and Litera-
ture (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000);
Siegfried Wenzel, The Sin of Sloth: Acedia in Medieval
Thought and Literature(Chapel Hill: University of North
Carolina Press, 1967).Sina, Ibn SeeIBNSINA, ABUALI AL-HUSAYN.Sinai The Medieval Sinai was the mountainous and
arid peninsula between the modern states of Israel and
Egypt. Mount Sinai was in this region. It was sacred in
Christian and Islamic traditions from its associations
with Moses. There he met the burning bush that told
him to return to EGYPT, where he received the command-
ments or the Law. The body of Saint Catherine of
Alexandria (4th century), according to legend, was car-
ried there by ANGELSwhere it was maintained by HER-
MITS and monks from at least the fourth century. A
fortified monastery, Saint Catherine’s, was built there
under the emperor JUSTINIANin 530. Its sixth-century
MOSAICof the TRANSFIGURATIONsurvives in the main
church. This monastery has an important collection of
rare ICONSfrom the period before ICONOCLASM. It also
possessed an extremely important collection of similarly
ancient manuscripts.
Further reading:C. Bailey, “Sı ̄na ̄,” Encyclopedia of
Islam9.625; James Bentley, Secrets of Mount Sinai: The
Story of the Codex Sinaiticus(London: Orbis, 1985); John
Galey, Sinai and the Monastery of St. Catherine(Garden
City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980).