The Church in the Middle Ages Pages 330-335

Objectives Describe the role of monasteries, convents, and cathedrals in society Analyze the Crusades and their effects on Europe Explain the effects of the Black Death on Europe

The Spread of Christianity King Charlemagne brought Christianity to conquered lands In Ireland, priests brought the new religion Eventually, Christianity became central to life to almost everyone in Europe

What role do you predict Christianity might play in European civilization during the Middle Ages?

Other Religions in Europe Not all Europeans were Christian Jews lived in villages and towns since the early days of the Roman Empire Muslims had come to Spain around 700 A.D.

An “Age of Faith” Christianity spread gradually throughout Europe Over time, most people of other religions began to accept the Christian faith The Christian belief became so strong that the Middle Ages became known as the “Age of Faith”

Life in Europe Revolved Around Religion Monks: men who devoted their lives to religion Monasteries: communities where monks lived Nuns: women who vowed to devote their lives to religion Convents: communities where nuns lived Many people entered convents and monasteries at young ages and stayed their until death

Monks Italian monk Benedict wrote the first plan for monasteries in the 500s A.D. Monks had to obey the head monk, who was called an abbot

Life in Monasteries Served as centers of learning in the Middle Ages Scriptorium: a room for making books All books were carefully copied by hand Monks wrote books of prayer and poetry Copied Greek and Roman texts Beautifully decorated books are called manuscripts

Checkpoint What are monasteries and convents? Monasteries: communities where religious men live and work Convents: communities where religious women live and work How were monasteries and convents similar to manors? Both were self-contained worlds that could supply their own needs What attitude did monks have toward learning? How do you know? They considered it important; they preserved ancient knowledge by copying it and recorded new knowledge that they developed

The Roman Church For years, there was tension between the Pope in Rome and other Christian leaders in Constantinople 1054: tensions split the Christian church The Church based in Constantinople was called the Eastern Orthodox Church The Church based in Rome was the Roman Catholic Church

Cathedrals Grand churches Began to be built when towns grew in size and wealth Skilled craft workers created stained glass windows to show scenes from the Bible Slideshow of Cathedral images: https://www.youtube.com/watc h?v=O5Z1gxGhRQQ

Chartres (SHAHRT) Town in France Chartres Cathedral took 36 years to build Other cathedrals took longer to build: some up to 400 years! Many cathedrals still stand as the great legacies of the Middle Ages

Saints and Pilgrimages Christians showed their devotions through pilgrimages Europe’s Christians traveled great distances to Rome or Jerusalem Pilgrims also traveled to shrines, or special buildings that had been built for saints Saints are men and women considered to be especially holy One of the most honored saints of the Middle Ages was Francis of Assisi Devoted his life to serving the poor and sick in Italy Followers were known as Franciscans

Checkpoint What is a cathedral? A grand church Why did people of the Middle Ages want to build cathedrals? To express their religious beliefs How might cathedral building have reflected both the pride of towns and rivalry among them? Cathedrals gave townspeople a way to show their success, and they strove to build a bigger, more beautiful cathedral then the next town

The First Crusade 1095: Pope Urban II called for Christians throughout western Europe to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem Also urged pilgrims to capture Jerusalem from the Seljuk Turks, who were Muslim Thousands of Europeans responded to the Pope’s call Those who went with the Pope were call Crusaders

The First Crusade Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fyndhJqJReA Crusaders attacked others who were not Christian as they marched through Europe One shocked Christian wrote: “They should have traveled their road for Christ. Instead they turned to madness and shamefully, cruelly cut down the Jewish people in the cities and towns through which they passed.” Battled Turkish armies before even reaching Jerusalem The Crusaders suffered hunger and sickness on their journey; half died before reaching Jerusalem Succeeded in capturing Jerusalem

Checkpoint What generalization can you make concerning ideas the pilgrimages, shrines, and saints reveal about life in Europe during the Middle Ages? The period was marked by a strong drive to be holy and to do holy things How would you support the generalization that the Crusaders were not always true to Christian teachings as they went on this march? The recorded slaughter of Jews along the way does not seem to be in keeping with Jesus’ teaching of love for all

Other Crusades Others took place over the next 200 years Most failed With more people passing through, however, trade routes were established With changes in economy, the system of feudalism was gradually breaking down

The Bubonic Plague Siena, Italy was bustling with activity – trade flourished, people had been building a cathedral since the 1100s Cathedral remains unfinished to this day… its construction was halted in 1348 A plague hit Europe: a plague is a terrible disease that spreads very quickly The plague was caused by bacteria that was spread by rats and fleas

The Black Death At the time, no one knew how disease was spread The Black Death wiped out one third of Western European population In Siena, 2/3 of the people died Towns in France flew black flags from church towers to warn travelers of the plague Nearly 130 years would pass before the plague was completely gone from Europe Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kS cxc9DPrnY

The Black Death Plague article: http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2014 /01/plague-dna-found-in-ancient- tooth-suggests-black-death-isnt- dead-yet/

Checking for Understanding What Christian institutions served as centers of faith and learning? Monasteries, convents What did Christians accomplish in the first Crusade? Capturing Jerusalem from the Muslims What did the Black Death do to the population of Europe? Killed 1/3 What was the greatest religious influence on Europe during the Middle Ages? The Christian Church What architectural works remind us of the “Age of Faith?” cathedrals