The Importance of Christianity in the Middle Ages Crown vs Church

Why are so many of the surviving buildings from the Middle Ages Churches? Insert a modern picture of Rochester, Kent showing a castle and church in the same location

Why are so many of the surviving buildings from the Middle Ages Churches? This is Rochester in Kent – the main buildings surviving from the Middle Ages are . . . ? Castle and Church

Why are so many of the surviving buildings from the Middle Ages Churches? Insert a picture of Wharram Percy showing the Church as the only remaining building

Why are so many of the surviving buildings from the Middle Ages Churches? This was the village of Wharram Percy, what is the only remaining building?? The Church

Why are so many of the surviving buildings from the Middle Ages Churches? So, back to the question . . . Why do we have few examples of Medieval houses, but a surplus of Castles and Churches?

St. Martin’s Church, England - 597 Insert photo of church

The Cenacle(First Christian Church), Jerusalem – c. 139 Insert photo of church

Aya/Hagia/Sancta Sophia, Istanbul – 537 -1453 Insert photo of church

Pantheon, Rome - 126 Insert photo of church

Dura-Europos, Syria - 229 Insert photo of church

Church of St. Domnius, Croatia - 305 Insert photo of church

Rotunda of St. George, Thessaloniki - 306 Insert photo of church

Cathedral of Trier, Germany - 340 Insert photo of church

Monastery of St. Anthony, Egypt - 356 Insert photo of church

Church of St George, Bulgaria – 4th C Insert photo of church

Basilica of St Servatius, Netherlands – c. 550 Insert photo of church

Analyse your Map What can you determine about the spread of Christianity from the points you have made on your map? What you are viewing on your map is Christendom.

What is Christendom? Christendom loosely refers to the areas where Christianity was the ONLY religion. Throughout the Middle Ages, only one thing came close to uniting all of Europe and that was Christianity and specifically the Catholic Church.

What is Christendom?

Hierarchy and Key Positions The Church Hierarchy and Key Positions

Church Hierarchy The medieval Church, much like today, was run in a strict hierarchy. At the top of the structure was the Pope.

Church Hierarchy Coronation of Pope Celestine V – we will look at the importance of the Pope later.

Church Hierarchy The medieval Church, much like today, was run in a strict hierarchy. At the top of the structure was the Pope. The Pope was advised by Cardinals, who in turn were in charge of Archbishops. The Archbishops controlled the Bishops, who oversaw the religious activities of towns. The activities observed by the Bishops were often performed by Priests who ministered to the people by performing the mass.

Church Hierarchy Medieval Catholic Mass

Church Hierarchy The medieval Church, much like today, was run in a strict hierarchy. At the top of the structure was the Pope. The Pope was advised by Cardinals, who in turn were in charge of Archbishops. The Archbishops controlled the Bishops, who oversaw the religious activities of towns. The activities observed by the Bishops were often performed by Priests who ministered to the people by performing the mass. Other activities were performed by Monks who lived in monasteries run by the Abbot. Some monks did not live in a monastery but were hermits or travelled as beggars. These wanderers were called Friars.

Bishops Bishops were powerful people within the Church. As part of their office they were entitled to rich vestments and other benefits. Notice the rich vestments in the opposite picture – the mitre (hat) and the gold chasuble he wears around his neck.

Parish Priest The priest was the link between God and the Pope, and the people. His duties included: Performing Baptisms and Weddings Healing the Sick Burying the dead Leading Mass services in the Parish church Visiting locals and talking to them about any problems Hearing confessions Keeping village records Making sure tithes were collected Teaching rich children to read and/or write. Growing crops in the Churchyard Informing people about Heaven and Hell

Parish Priest What building dominates village life? What does this tell you about the importance of religion in the lives of the people of this time?

Monasteries, Monks and Abbots In early times, monasteries were places where monks cut themselves off from the world to focus on prayer and meditation. Later, monks played a big role in spreading Christianity throughout Europe.

Monasteries, Monks and Abbots The monastery was made up of several buildings, usually surrounded by a wall, with the cathedral or church at the centre. Near the main gate would be an almonry where the poor could receive food and clothing. Nearby there would be an infirmary where the sick could be treated by the monks. There would also be a refectory, dormitory and chapter house where the monks would discuss the organisation of the monastery with the abbot.

Life in a Monastery The monks would rise at 2am for prayers or Matins. Lauds would be sung at sunrise. Other prayers would take place at 6am, 9am, noon and 3pm. Vespers would then be performed at sunset and Compline at nightfall. The rest of the day was spent : Washing and cooking for the monastery Raising the necessary supplies of vegetables and grain Reaping, Sowing, Ploughing, Binding and Thatching, Haymaking and Threshing Producing wine, ale and honey Providing medical care for the community Providing education for boys and novices Copying the manuscripts of classical authors Providing hospitality for pilgrims

Life in a Monastery Most of the day was spent in silence due to the Benedictine rule that monks must be strict with themselves with no talking, few meals, but plenty of work and prayer. Monks held three important vows: Chastity Poverty Obedience

Work of the Monks Each monastery had a guest room where travellers could spend a night. The monks worked to preserve ancient books and manuscripts, by copying them by hand. They made their own parchment from animal skins as well as their own ink and pens. Months were spent copying the books into Latin and decorating the capital letters – this became known as illumination. The monks also offered the only real schooling of the time, it was conducted in Latin and focused on religion.

The Work of Monks Show clip “funky monks” from Horrible Histories

Friars Not all churchmen were devoted to God, many used their positions to gain great wealth and build large estates. These people led many to criticise the Church and some devout believers preferred to leave the cathedrals and monasteries and preach directly to the people instead. The friars had the same ideals as Monks – poverty, chastity and obedience, but they could beg for food.

Women in the Church Women could also have an important role in the Church. In many ways, the Church provided women with greater opportunities and freedoms than the outside world. Just as a monastery was run by an Abbot, an Abbess ran a convent of Nuns. Life in a convent provided women with the only opportunity for schooling, especially in theology and medicine.

Task: Relationship with the Church Form into pairs. You will receive a role – peasant, monk/nun, priest, king or Pope. Based on your role you will be creating a poster about the Medieval Church. One side of your poster should contain at least 10 facts about the Medieval Church. The other side should contain at least 10 facts on the Church’s impact on your role. You need to include illustrations.

Why did people make the Church the centre of their lives? The Church played a major role in the lives of all Medieval Europeans – nobility and peasants. What do you think is the main reason for this? Below is a hint . . .

Heaven and Hell People in the Middle Ages attended church regularly to ensure they would go to Heaven. The Catholic religion believes in Original Sin, this means that everyone is born with sin as passed down by the sin of Adam and Eve. To be saved from sin and its consequences (Hell), Christians need to receive God’s grace. This was done by accepting God’s love and forgiveness through the belief that Jesus died on the cross and by being baptised. Confession and atonement of sins were also strongly encouraged. If you died and your soul was not clean then you would go to Purgatory or straight to Hell.

Sins Can you name the seven deadly sins – what do you think their punishments are? Sin Definition Punishment in hell Pride Tied to a wheel on a heavy cart which is rolled around Envy Being jealous Put into freezing water until your limbs snap off Greed Wanting to many possessions Put into boiling water Lust Loving others too much Coated in fire and brimstone Anger Being cruel and harsh Ripped apart limb from limb while still alive Gluttony Eating and drinking too much Forced to eat raw rats, toads and snakes while they are alive Sloth Being lazy Thrown into a pit of poisonous man-eating snakes Horrible Histories: Cash my sins

Belief in Heaven and Hell In front of you, you have the below image. I want you to closely analyse this picture and label everything you see. This is a Doom painting from Chaldon, Surrey

Doom Painting Can you find and label these aspects? Murderers being placed into a pot of boiling water. A money lender burning in flames, still counting his gold. A bridge of spikes for dishonest tradesman. Demons pulling people off the ladder. A woman being examined by a devil. A drunk pilgrim drinking from a wine bottle.

Bridge of spikes Murders in boiling water Pulling people off the ladder Drunk man Money lender Devil inspecting woman

Belief in Heaven and Hell The top half of this image demonstrates Heaven, what can you see in this image?

Doom Painting Can you find and label these aspects? Christ defeating the devil with hands tied. St. Michael weighing people’s goodness to see whether they go to Heaven or Hell. Angels helping people up the ladder.

Angels helping people up the ladder St. Michael weighing souls Christ defeating the devil Bridge of spikes Murders in boiling water Pulling people off the ladder Drunk man Money lender Devil inspecting woman

Heaven and Hell This painting was displayed inside a church. Others like it appeared in other churches throughout Christendom. What affect do you think these images had on people? Would you pay the Church to take away your sins?

Flagellants Flagellantism was a movement in the 13th and 14th centuries and was later condemned by the Catholic Church. Flagellants believed that whipping themselves would earn forgiveness for their sins.

Pilgrimage Another way to show religious devotion was to embark on journeys to sacred places. Christians often made pilgrimages to shrines of saints to ask for forgiveness and to pray for cures for illnesses. Relics played an important part in Christianity and were often why people went on pilgrimage. A relic was often the remains of a saint. We will soon learn more about pilgrimage.

Source Analysis “People in the Middle Ages went to Church because they had to.” Do you agree? (Answer by giving both sides of the argument and also doing some extra research – “On the one hand... on the other hand?). Don’t forget your conclusion/Judgement.