CHAPTER 12:THE EARLY MIDDLE AGESSECTION 3:THE CHURCH IN MEDIEVAL TIMES

Cherry BlueWorld History Period 4

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

Men and women in the Middle ages took part in the Roman Catholic Church as members or as monks and nuns

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

•Religion in Everyday Life•Everyone was expected to go to church on Sundays and on others holy days. The parish priest was often the only educated person in the village or town. 1. His job was to perform marriages, baptisms,

and funerals as well as to teach the rules and values of the Roman Catholic Church. The services of the Church were paid for by the Parishioners.

2. They were obligated to pay to the Church a tithe, or a tax, that equaled one-tenth of their income. The Bishop was in charge of the parishes.

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

Religious Communities

1. Wealthy people often gave gifts of land to monasteries and convents in exchange for special prayers for salvation, or the saving of one’s soul.

2. Monks spent their time working and praying for the monastery. People in medieval times believed that prayer directly benefited those who had died.

3. Many monasteries and convents grew quite wealthy and powerful.

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

• The Roles of the Monasteries and Convents

1. Some men and women chose to practice their religion by withdrawing from society and joining religious communities called monasteries and convents.

2. The monastery contained a church or chapel where the monks worshiped, dormitories where they slept, and other buildings where the monks ate and worked. These monks helped convince western Europe to become Roman Catholic by 1050

3. Convents were run by nuns called abbess. The abbesses was often a woman of noble background or even a member of a royal house

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

• Benedictine Rule1. Around 530, a holy man Benedict

organized a monastery in southern Italy. During his time as abbot, he wrote a series of rules for his monks to follow.

2. These rules were called Benedictine rules and were followed by most monasteries of Europe and England for many centuries.

3. As monasteries grew wealthy, some of the abbots who ran them lived well and entertained lavishly. Many of the abbots and monks called for reform.

A. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CHURCH

• New Religious Orders1. Some monks started their own

religious orders. Some groups were very strict that they had very few members.

2. Carthusian monks lived as hermits, sheltered from the outside world.

3. The Franciscan order was another important group.

B. CHURCH, RELIGION AND POWER

During the early Middle Ages, the authority of the Church could be seen in the power of the Pope and in lavish cathedrals, while Jewish people were free to worship their own religion.

B. CHURCH, RELIGION, AND POWER

•The Pope’s Reach1. The ultimate weapon of the Pope was

excommunation, the expelling of a person or group of people from the church.

2. The Pope could also issue an order to excommunicate an entire town or kingdom.

3. Great nobles, kings, and even the toughest warriors feared the authority of the pope.

B. CHURCH, RELIGION, AND POWER•Cathedral Architecture 1. A cathedral is a church that houses a

bishop’s throne, or cathedra in Latin.2. During the early Middle Ages, churches

and cathedrals were built with round arches and heavy roofs. Their walls were thick, and the interior contained many pillars.

3. This architecture is called Gothic style and it spread across medieval Europe.

B. CHURCH, RELIGION, AND POWER

•Jewish People and European Economics1. The Middle Ages was a time of anti-Semitism,

or attacks and prejudice against Jewish people.2. The Muslims leaders were more interested in

collecting taxes than in converting Jews to their religion.

3. The protection of Jews ended around the eleventh century for several reasons. First, Christians traders became more successful and more common. Second, Foreign goods were no longer the sole property of Jewish traders

PARISHIONERS A parishioner is a member of a parish. A

parish is a territorial unit that was usually historically served by a local church. This administrative unit is typically found in Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Methodist, and Presbyterian churches. Each diocese (administrative region) is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place.