Name: ____________________________________________
Date: __________________
History 103
Westmount High
Ms. D. Schwartz
Inquiry 5: The Christianization of the West (Pg. 149-177)
Dossier 2.1
How did the Church Influence Medieval Society? (Pg. 165-167)
-
The Church in medieval Europe showed its power and influence by:
o Building large places for the people to worship.
o Supervising education
o Controlling science.
o Caring for the sick and poor.
Places of worship.

The Church used its wealth which was donated by the king and lords to build
places of worship:
o Churches.
o Cathedrals.
o Abbeys.
o Monasteries.
Church:
 Main place of worship in villages and small cities.
 Priests celebrated religious services here.
 Could be used as shelter.
o Poor and sick.
o Pilgrims.
o Asylum for people who were being prosecuted.
Cathedral:
 Main place of worship in big cities.
 A bishop led services in a cathedral.
 Place for education.
 Hosted religious plays (mystery plays).
 Bigger than a church.
 Used as a place of refuge (Asylum).
Abbey and Monastery:
 Men and women who wanted to live in a community, cloistered from the
outside world, used Abbeys and Monasteries.
o Monks.
 A Monk is a religious man living in a monastery or abbey.
o Nuns.
 A Nun is a religious woman living in a monastery or abbey.
Name: ____________________________________________
Date: __________________
History 103
Westmount High
Ms. D. Schwartz
 Abbeys were bigger than monasteries.
 Abbeys and monasteries were also used as places of refuge.
Ex: The Abbey of Cluny.
- Founded in the 10th century by William the pious.
- Largest abbey in the medieval world.
- Destroyed mostly in the 19th century. (1800s)
Religious architecture.

Churches, cathedral, abbeys, and monasteries were built according to Roman
or Gothic style.
o Roman art was usually the art of churches.
o Gothic art was usually the art of cathedrals.
Roman Art
Gothic Art
Period of
1000-1100 AD
1150-1250 AD
development
Several
- Low, thick walls.
- High, thinner
characteristics
- Few windows.
walls.
- Large stained
glass windows.
- Abundance of
sculptures.

Churches were built in the shape of a cross.
o Worshippers were seated in the central nave.
o Priests led the service from the choir in front of the altar.
o The ambulatory allowed people to move around the altar.
In Roman art sculpture is used to teach Jesus’ message and life to ordinary
people who could not read.
o The tympanum: The sculptural elements above the main entrance
door.
o The Capital: The topmost part of column that has sculptural
decorations.

Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres.
 Gothic cathedral.
 Has the widest nave in any cathedral in France. (16.4 M)
 The building measures 130M long and 32M tall.
 Has some of the oldest stained-glass windows in France.