The Role of the Church in
Medieval Europe
Presentation #3
Roman Catholic Church
Center of medieval life in western
Europe
 Sometimes known as Age of Faith
 Most villages and towns had a Church
 Larger towns had a cathedral
 Church bells rang the hours, called
people to worship, and warned them
of danger
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Center of community
Religious services were held several
times a day
 Town meetings, plays, and concerts
held in churches
 Merchants had shops around the
square in front of church
 Festivals, fairs held near the church
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Church provided education for some
 Helped the poor and sick
 So much a part of daily life that people
determined the proper time for
cooking an egg from by saying a
certain number of prayers
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World events
Thought that storms, disease, famine
were punishment from God
 Thought that religious devotion would
keep way disasters
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Fate after death

Taught that salvation came from
following the Church’s teachings
The Beginning of Christianity
Followers of Jesus
 Son of God sent to earth to save
people from their sins
 Was put to death by the Romans, rose
from the dead
 In 395, Christianity became the
religion of the Roman Empire

Persecution of Christians
Romans persecuted Christians for
their beliefs
 Despite this Christianity continued to
spread
 Persecution ended with Constantine
issuing a decree allowing them to
practice their religion

Roman Catholic Church
All Christians in Western Europe were
part of the RCC
 Church was one of the only stable
parts of society

Church provided
Leadership
 Distribution of food
 Monasteries provided hospitality to
refugees and travelers
 Copied old texts to keep learning alive
 Missionaries helped bring converts to
Church
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Hierarchy of Church
By high middle ages all members of
the clergy had a rank
 Pope – bishop of Rome and supreme
head of Church
 Cardinals – assisted and counseled
Pope – appointed by Pope – just
below the Pope

Archbishops – oversaw a large or
important area- archdiocese
 Bishops – governed diocese
 Within each diocese – local
communities- parish – served by
priest
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Power of Church
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Church acquired great economic power
By 1050 Church was the largest land owner
in Europe
Some land came
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as gifts from monarchs and wealthy lords
Force
Tithe – 1/10th of money, produce or labor
was to be given to the Church
Latin was the official language of the
Church and only common language in
Europe
 Church officials were often the only
people who could read - kept records
for monarchs and were trusted
advisors

Pope Gregory and King Henry IV
Gregory elected pope in 1073
 New reforms

Forbad priests from marrying
 Outlawed the selling of Church offices
 Banned the practice of Kings
appointing priests, bishops and heads
of monasteries

Henry was angered by not being
allowed to appoint church officials
 Henry called the council of bishops
and declared that Gregory was no
longer pope
 Gregory responded by
excommunicating Henry

Popes influence was so great that
Henry begged for forgiveness – 3
days in snow – before he was forgiven
and allowed back into the Church
 Elevated the Pope’s authority as
higher than emperor

Church on Salvation
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Soul lives on after death – salvation
Salvation – follow the teachings of Church
and living a moral life
Failing to do so - condemned to hell
Hell very vivid
Seven sacraments was essential to
salvation – grace and special blessings
Most important occasions in life
Pilgrimages
To Holy Land
 Rome
 Churches that housed relics- object
belonging to a saint
 Cathedral at Canterbury, England
 Went to show devotion, acts of
penance, or to be healed

Travel was difficult and dangerous
 Most traveled on foot
 Many banned together for safety
 Sometimes hired an armed escort
 Roads and bridges were built on
popular routes
 Monks set up hostels- guest houses a
day apart

Canterbury Tales
By Geoffrey Chaucer 1342-1400
 Book of verse about pilgrims
 Tales pilgrims told to entertain other
pilgrims while traveling to the shrine of
St. Thomas Becket in Canterbury
 Stories include a knight, miller, cook,
and prioress – head of a convent

Crusades
Military expedition to try to regain the
Holy Land from Muslim control
 Occurred between 1095 and 1270
 Several reasons for going

Wealth
 Adventure
 Guarantee salvation
 Deep religious conviction

Art
Purpose of most was religious
 Done to help people learn stories
about Christ since people could not
read

Architecture
Cathedrals built to inspire awe
 Tallest building in town
 Often 30- stories tall
 Many built in the shape of a cross
 Long section called the nave
 Shorter arms called the transepts
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Gothic style Cathedrals
Built from 1150 to 1400
Rising to heaven
Stone arches on
outside called flying
buttresses – built to
spread the massive
weight of the roof and
walls evenly
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Tall thin walls with
more windows
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Gargoyles – stone
spouts projecting
from the rain gutter
of the roof – usually
in the shape of
beasts -
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Inside is lined with
pillars
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Stained glass
windows with bible
stories depicted

Construction of Cathedrals
Took from 50 to 100 years to complete
– sometimes 200 years
 Constructed by hand
 Expression of devotion

Education
Most schooling took place in
monasteries, convents, or cathedrals
 Under Charlemagne rule – education
was encouraged
 Established new form of writing –
using lower case letters

Clergy were most likely to be
educated
 Students were sons of wealthy nobles
studying for careers in the clergy
 Spent much of their time with bible
passages

Universities
Began in 1200s
 Studied Latin, rhetoric – persuasive
writing and speaking, geometry,
arithmetic, astronomy, and music
 Books were hand copied and rare

Church was uneasy about ancient
writers such as Aristotle who taught
that reason and logic were the path to
knowledge
 Feared people would question the
church’s teachings

Thomas Aquinas
Italian scholar of philosophy and
theology
 Tried to bridge the gap
 Saw no conflict between faith and
reason – helped people discover
important truths about God’s creation
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Natural law – there is order built into
nature that can guide people’s
thinking about right and wrong
Holidays
Most holidays were connected to the
church
 Holiday comes from holy day
 Christmas and Easter were the
greatest celebrations
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Christmas
Lasted for 12 days
 No trees but people of all classes
decorated with evergreens, holly
berries and mistletoe
 Attended Mass
 Had a great feast often hosted by lord
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Easter
Day of church services
 Feasting
 Games often involving eggs – new life
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All holidays
Music
 Dancing
 Food
 Wine and ale
 Baked goods
 Fried foods
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Sometimes holidays included
Bonfires
 Acrobats
 Jugglers
 Dancing bears
 Plays – mummers- traveling groups of
actors- used masks, drums, dancers,
make-believe sword fights
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Monks
Joined monasteries – communities
devoted to prayer and service –
monasticism
 Became monks for various reasons

Seeking refuge from war, sickness or
sinfulness
 To study
 Attracted to a life of prayer and
service
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St. Benedict
Founded the monastic way of life in
the 6th century in Italy
 Became Benedictines
 Followed Benedict’s rule
 Three vows
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Poverty
 Chastity
 Obedience
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Daily life
Prayer, study, work
 Attended 8 services a day
 Cared for sick and poor
 Teaching
 Copying religious text
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Farmed land
 Tended gardens
 Raised livestock
 Sewed clothing
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Monastery
Laid out in a cloister – covered
walkway surrounding an open square
 North side Church
 South side kitchen and dining hall
 Another side dormitory – sm. Cells
with wood beds
 Fourth side scriptorium- copied books
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Convents
Many women who did not wish to
marry joined the convent – monastic
way for women
 Nuns did many of the same type of
work as monks
 Many became important reformers
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Hildegard of Germany
Founded a convent
 Wrote many letters of to popes and
church officials criticizing practices of
church
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Religious Order
Brotherhood or sisterhood of monks,
nuns, or friars – priests
 Each order had its own distinctive
rules and forms of service

Mendicants - beggars
Live a religious life without the
seclusion of monastic life
 SFA founded the Franciscans
 Traveled among ordinary people to
preach and care for the poor and sick
 Had to work or beg for food
 Believed in treating all living things
with respect
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