QUAESTIO : WHAT ROLES DID THE CHURCH PLAY IN MEDIEVAL LIFE? NUNC AGENDA : EXAMINE THE PYRAMID DIAGRAM ON YOUR SHEET AND ANSWER THE QUESTIONS THAT FOLLOW.
THE LOCAL CHURCH IN MEDIEVAL LIFE During a time of political and social division, the Church was a unifying force in Western Europe The priest of the village church administered the sacraments, or sacred rites of the church, to the people, including baptism at birth, holy communion, confession, marriage, and last rites at death
THE LOCAL CHURCH IN MEDIEVAL LIFE Western Christians believed that, in order to be saved in the afterlife, they required faith, good works, and participation in the sacraments Peasants required to pay tithe, or tenth of the their wealth, to the local church Higher level clergy, such as bishops and even popes, often held major political power
CHURCHES & CATHEDRALS Run by Priest Run by Bishop
MONKS & MONASTERIES Monks = members of a Christian religious community who devote their lives to prayer, fasting, and knowledge, living in a monastery Followed strict rules of discipline and took vows of poverty (no wealth), chastity (no sex), and obedience to their abbot, or leader
MONKS & MONASTERIES Monasteries often provided medical and educational services Monks preserved religious and secular knowledge, even from Greek and Roman authors, by hand copying texts in scriptoria, or writing rooms
MONKS & MONASTERIES Monastic communities were often self-sufficient, with monks laboring in the fields and workshops
SCRIPTORIUM CHALLENGE Your group of four is now a monastery, and you are monks working in a scriptorium Copy your assigned text IN OBEDIENT SILENCE and read for understanding The abbot of the group will not copy, but instead write 2 questions per reading to test the monks after
SCRIPTORIUM CHALLENGE Your group is now a monastery, and you are monks working in a scriptorium Copy your assigned text IN OBEDIENT SILENCE and read for understanding Create one key question about your reading that addresses the main idea