Transcript The Church - EgaHistory

The Church
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The Church was the single most dominant institution in
medieval life, its influence pervading almost every
aspect of people's lives. Its religious observances gave
shape to the calendar; its sacramental rituals marked
important moments in an individual's life (including
baptism, confirmation, marriage, the eucharist,
penance, holy orders and the last rites); and its
teachings underpinned mainstream beliefs about
ethics, the meaning of life and the afterlife.
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With it's own laws, lands and taxes The Catholic church
was a very powerful institution. The Catholic Church
also imposed taxes. In addition to collecting taxes, the
Church also accepted gifts of all kinds from individuals
who wanted special favours or wanted to be certain of
a place in heaven. The power of the Catholic Church
grew with its wealth. The Catholic Church was then
able to influence the kings and rulers of Europe.
Opposition to the Catholic Church would result in
excommunication. This meant that the person who was
excommunicated could not attend any church services,
receive the sacraments and would go straight to hell
when they died.
The Pope
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The headquarters of the western
Church was Rome. For most of the
medieval period, this was the chief
residence of the Pope, who was
regarded as the successor of St Peter.
Christ had appointed Peter the chief
apostle, and gave him the 'keys to the
kingdom of heaven (Gospel of St
Matthew 16:19) which, according to
tradition, were inherited by his
successors.
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The western church maintained the
status and powers of St Peter devolved
to his papal successors; however, the
primacy of the Pope was rejected by
the Eastern Church, which had a
distinct hierarchy, theology and liturgy.
Church Organisation
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The success of the Church as a dominant force can be
attributed in no small measure to its highly developed
organisation, which over the course of the Middle
Ages developed a sophisticated system of governance,
law and economy.
The institutional Church can be divided into two
unequal parts: the larger of the two was the secular
church, and the other was the regular church, so
called because its members followed a monastic rule
(regula, in Latin). The secular church, attended by the
general population, was carved into regions governed
by Archbishops, and their territory was in turn divided
into areas known as diocese, which were
administered by bishops. The parish church was the
basic unit of the Christian community, providing the
sacraments required by the lay community. For most
medieval Christians, religious experience was focused
on a parish church which they attended, at least in
theory, on Sundays and religious festivals.
The regular church, by contrast, consisted of men and
women who had sworn vows of obedience, celibacy
and poverty. Most of these people lived in
communities governed by a 'rule', a book of
instructions. The most influential and widespread rule
was the Rule of St Benedict (c.620-630), which set out
a detailed routine consisting of manual labour, prayer
and study.
Pilgrimage
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Pilgrimages to holy places
enabled the faithful to atone
from their sins, seek miraculous
cures and extend their
experience of the world. Bodily
remains of saints, and also
objects associated with them
(such as the Virgin's mantle, the
holiest relic at Chartres
Cathedral), were the star
attractions for pilgrims.
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Pilgrims might travel relatively
short distances to see and touch
the shrines of local saints, or
undertake more ambitious (and
dangerous) journeys. The most
popular destinations were Rome,
Santiago de Compostela in Spain,
the Holy Land, and Canterbury.
Dissent
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The Church aggressively struggled against dissenters
within and without: Christians who disagreed with the
Church's teachings were considered heretics, and could be
physically punished or even killed. Those of other faiths
were also treated harshly. Jews who lived within Christian
territories were, at best, tolerated, though episodes of
extreme anti-Semitism are numerous; even after Jews
were expelled from England by Edward I in 1290, they
remained a focus for popular hatred and vilification. The
series of Crusades against non-Christians and heretics
began in 1095, with an armed mission to the Middle East.
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In the past, the Middle Ages was often characterised as
the 'Age of Faith', but now it is recognised that this
moniker conceals the complexity of the medieval religious
culture. Christianity was the dominant religion, but not
everyone followed the faith with the same intensity:
judging from legislation and sermons encouraging lay
people to attend church and observe its teachings, many
people were lukewarm in the faith, while others were
openly or covertly sceptical
Monasticism
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Monasteries were religious communities where people lived by very
strict religious rules. There were different ‘rules’ or orders, for
example Benedictines and Cistercians. Each community had an
abbot, it was the abbot who had sovereignty over the community -he was elected for life and could not be replaced. A monk could
neither leave the community nor could he refuse obedience.
Monks exerted a very powerful influence over all facets of society.
As managers of large estates they were able to set an example of
sound farming practice. Monks and nuns performed many practical
services in the Middle Ages, for they housed travellers, nursed the
sick, and assisted the poor; abbots and abbesses dispensed advice
to secular rulers. Monasticism also offered society a spiritual outlet
and ideal with important consequences for medieval culture as a
whole. Monasteries housed perhaps the most literate of all
members of medieval society. Monasteries contained libraries
and scriptoria, or writing rooms, in which manuscripts were copied.
Donations from wealthy patrons were made in exchange for the
monks praying for your soul.
Over time, powerful medieval families began to construct
monasteries on their own estates. Whether their motivations were
spiritual or not, it is clear that having a monastery on one's estate
was a sure sign of grace. The abbots were frequently related to
these powerful families and so it happened that the monastic
estates were managed in the interests of these powerful families. In
this way, monasteries very quickly became integrated into the
power relations of medieval society.
Beliefs
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During the Middle Ages religion was
everything. It was not unusual for
people to go to church everyday and
pray five times a day. People believed
that all the good things in life were
due to the bounty of god and that the
evil events of the times were due to
their sins.
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Priests’ sermons would endlessly
bombard people with images of hell
in order to encourage them to lead a
pious life. These were supported by
‘doom paintings’ for the mostly
illiterate society – the pictures on this
sheet are examples.
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People acutely believed sins would
result in going to hell and the only
way to save your soul was through the
church. As a result many people
would make large donations to the
church and often left their
possessions and land to the church on
their death.