Church and the Rise of
Cities
Coach Parrish
OMS
Chapter 14, Section 2
Church in the Middle Ages
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Most gothic cathedrals were built
between 1100 – 1400 AD. Gothic is a
style of architecture. Most people in
western Europe were Roman Catholic.
The “Church” was powerful for the
reasons on the following slides.
Reims Cathedral - France
Reims Cathedral - Interior
Religious and Economic
Power
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1.
2.
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People followed the Church. Why?
Promise of Rewards
Threat of Punishment
The Church gained great wealth by
charging taxes. The Church took
fiefs in exchange for religious
services performed by clergy –
persons authorized to perform
religious services.
Political Power of the
Church
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The Church set up laws and put
together courts to enforce them.
People who did not obey were
threatened with excommunication expelled from membership in the
Church.
High Church officials were advisors to
kings and lords. The Church used its
power to limit warfare.
Church Organization
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The Church was highly organized.
Almost every village had a priest. A
bishop supervised several priests. An
archbishop supervised several bishops.
The archbishops answered to the
Pope. The papacy, or government of
the Church, was based in Rome.
Church in Everyday Life
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The Medieval Church touched nearly
all aspects of life. During the Middle
Ages, the clergy were almost always in
attendance to offer a blessing or to
perform a service.
The clergy listened when people
confessed their sins and forgave them.
Monasteries and Convents
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Monasteries were communities where
men who had dedicated their life to
God lived together. Women who had
dedicated their lives to God lived in
convents.
Men were called monks and women
nuns. They were better educated
than most and invented new ways of
growing crops.
Scholasticism
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Scholasticism used reason to support
Christian beliefs. The Church asked
that people believe things on faith
even though some had taken up Greek
reason.
Scholasticism was a method to try and
eliminate contradictions between the
Church and philosophy.
Early school practicing
scholasticism
Growth of Towns
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As trade increased, villages turned into
larger trading towns. Traders
gathered at convenient locations to
help their sales.
Manors were becoming overcrowded,
and lords encouraged peasants to
move to the growing towns.
Trading Routes
Rise of Middle Class
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Town life was far different than manor
life. Towns existed because of the
exchange of goods and services.
A new class of people developed,
made up of merchants, traders, and
craft people. They became the
“middle class.”
Role of Guilds
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In many towns, the middle class
formed guilds – medieval organization
of crafts, workers, and merchants.
Example: Shoemaker guild
Guilds set prices and prevented people
from outside the town to sell their
goods. Guild members paid dues
which went for needy members or
loved ones who died.
Role of Guilds, cont.
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Joining a guild took time. Between
the ages of 8 and 14, a boy who
wanted to learn a certain job became
an apprentice – unpaid worker being
trained.
He lived with a training master for up
to 7 years. He then became a
journeyman, or salaried worker. After
time, he could join the guild.
Guild Coat of Arms
Overcrowding and
Disease
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Medieval towns and cities were
extremely overcrowded. The lack of
sanitation caused diseases that spread
very quickly. One disease, the
bubonic plague, wiped out 1/3 of
Europe’s population in just 4 years.
Called the Black Death, it was spread
by fleas living on rats.
Medieval Culture
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Chivalry – code of honorable conduct
by which knights were supposed to
live.
Troubadours – traveling poets and
musicians. They went around singing
about brave missions performed by
knights.
Troubadours