Unit 5 Day 38: Middle Ages Christianity
Building Castles! We are building castles on Thursday, March 10! Please bring materials to build with that are NOT TOO MESSY DO NOT BRING: (including but not limited to) 1. Styrofoam 2. Glitter 3. Sand 4. Liquids/gels 5. Electric cutting tools If you make a mess, YOU WILL CLEAN IT UP YOURSELF!
Medieval Church = essential to daily life Priests administered sacraments: sacred rites Explain Bible, preach, offer guidance & help Bible written in Latin only Village church: largest public building Daily life revolved around church Relics: possessions/remains of saints Large churches = cathedrals Doctrine: men & women equal before God Women on earth were weak, easily led into sin, need guidance of men; ideal woman = Mary
Monasteries (Monks) and Convents (Nuns) Benedictine Rule (530): 3 vows 1. Obedience to abbot or abbess 2. Vow of poverty 3. Vow of chastity (purity) Divided day in work, study, worship Labor: experiment w/ crops, improve economy Provide basic health/educational services in MA Also gave lodging/food to travelers and pilgrims Kept learning alive: libraries (Greek/Roman works) Hand-copied books, wrote histories Nuns have freedoms in early MA church
Church Power Grows Medieval church = most powerful secular (worldly) force in Europe Papal Supremacy: pope’s authority over secular rulers Pope owned land in central Italy: Papal States Monasteries owned large land, economic/political power Canon Law: church body of law, based on religious teachings (dealt with marriage, morals, wills) Excommunication: no sacraments or Christian burial, condemned to hell Interdict: excommunicating an entire town, caused revolts Declined warfare during 1100s in Europe b/c of Church
Corruption/Reform Priests focused less on church, more on family Abbot Berno (900s): reformed Cluny in France Revived Benedictine Rule Pope directly protected Cluny monastery For next 200 yrs, monasteries/convents copy reforms Gregory VII (1073) former monk, became pope Limit secular influence on Church Church alone chooses officials like bishops Outlawed marriage for priests Prohibited simony: selling of Church offices
Friars Monks who didn’t live in isolated monasteries Franciscans: first order of friars in Italy St. Francis of Assisi: gave up rich life, devote to preaching gospel and doing good works Preached poverty, humility, love of God Dominican order, St. Dominic (Spanish priest) Dedicated to teaching official Christian beliefs to combat heresies (doctrines that differ from church teaching)
Agriculture and Trade Better technology, better farming, population grows Iron plows pulled by horses (instead of oxen) Crop rotation: three-field farming = more food 1. Grain, 2. legumes, 3. unplanted Soil rests, gains nutrients, rotate each season Trade routes expand Towns/Cities grow Richest = in Northern Italy and Flanders (ends of trade routes) Charters (written documents that set up rights and privileges of town, in return for yearly fee) set up towns
Commercial Revolution Trade revives, use of $ increases Need for capital (investment $) stimulates growth of banks Merchants extend credit to one another Partnerships: merchants join up, pool $ to finance venture that would be too expensive alone Develop system of insurance to reduce business risks $$ Practices adopted from Muslim merchants 1300, most W. Europe peasants were: Tenant farmers (Paid to rent land) or Hired farm laborers Church forbade loaning $ at interest, so Jews became moneylenders (increased resentment)
Rise of Middle Class Social class between nobles and peasants Merchants, traders, artisans These groups formed associations called guilds Guilds represent workers in one occupation Cooperate to protect own economic interests Prevent competition, limit guild membership Rules protect quality of goods, hours of labor Guilds operated schools/hospitals, looked after needs of members, support widows/orphans Apprentice (7) journeymen (salaried workers) Guild masters (rarely achieved) Women could join, even be masters
Get out a piece of notebook paper Fold in half (long-ways) On one side, write “Already Knew” On other side, write “Just Learned” Fill out completely and turn in after video is finished “Plague”