The Role of the Church in Medieval Europe

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The Role of the Church in Medieval Europe
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Clergy

• Society in the Middle Ages consisted of men of
  prayer, men of war, and men of work. - Alfred
  the Great
• Clergy influenced all levels of society,
  especially kings, because they were educated

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Clergy

• Church guided life of people from baptism to
  marriage and to death
• Power to condemn or to forgive very powerful in
  peoples lives

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Church Hierarchy

•     Pope head of church, Latin for Father
•     Cardinals advisors to the Pope, controlled
  the archbishops and choose new Pope from the
  cardinals

Current Pope Benedict XVI
El Grego, Portrait of a Cardinal
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Church Hierarchy

•   Archbishops controlled
• archdiocese and bishops
• Bishops controlled diocese
• in larger cities or
• provinces made of
• many parishes

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Church Hierarchy

•   Abbots in charge of
• monasteries and local parishes
•   Priests - local church or parish led religious
  services(weddings,
• baptisms, and funerals),
• cared for sick

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Church Hierarchy Monks

• Lived in monasteries
• Hard or physical labor to support their
  communities
• Occasionally preached
• Low man on the Church Hierarchy totem pole
  but crucial since they were in contact with
  people the most.

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Monastery

• Complex community of many different buildings
• Granaries
• Breweries
• Bakeries
• Wineries
• Abbey church
• Library / scriptorium
• Hospital
• School

Self contained like a town
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Monastery

• Inside libraries monks copied manuscripts
• Wrote in beautiful handwriting
• Drew elaborate illustrations
• Illuminated letters

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Spreading the Word

• Religious communities formed
• Monks could travel, spread Christianity, and do
  good deeds for the poor
• Saint Francis of Assisi began his own group of
  monks .helping the poor and sick

St. Francis of Assisi
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Medieval Christian Church
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Church Hierarchy Women

• Women were excluded from church employment except
  as nuns or directors of Abbeys
• Nuns were Brides of Christ swore never to
  marry, devoted to charitable work

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Church Hierarchy Women

• Worked with the poor, provided shelter, medicine
  and helped their religious community
• Abbesses nuns in charge of convents---
  communities for the nuns

Illuminated letters were an art form and common
practice for nuns and monks copying texts for
sale to help the convent or monastery.
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Saint Clare of Assisi
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Power of the Church

•       Church encouraged Christians to save
  their souls by donating money to the churches
• Nobles were encouraged to leave their lands to
  the church (upon death) in return for saving
  their soulsgtgtgt increasing the churchs holdings
  and wealth

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Power of the Church

•   Clergygt most often the only members of society
  able to read and write
• Most kings were illiterategtgt clergy were advisors
  to the king very powerful

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Kings gtgt conflict with the Church

• 800 c.e., Kings and nobles tried to take power
  from church.
• Kings appointed their own people/ relatives to
  church positions, such as bishops and cardinals

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Kings gtgt conflict with the Church

• New popegt Gregory VII wanted to give back power
  to church.
• Announced that Pope was higher than king and that
  only the Pope could appoint members to church

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Kings gtgt conflict with the Church

• King Henry IV refused Popes edict (formal
  announcement)
• Pope excommunicated King Henry IV

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Education Spreads in Europe

•  Monasteries became too small to teach those who
  wanted to be educated
• Began meeting outside or in taverns .eventually
  began to construct buildings, which grew into
  universities and colleges

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Music of Medieval European Christianity
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Art of the Medieval Church

• Most art (paintings and sculptures) were
  religious and featured Christ or people from the
  Bible or lessons
• Flat, stylized art not three dimensional

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Art of the Church

• Filled with art, stained glass,, sculpture, and
  paintings
• Tribute to God .built to strike awe in those
  who viewed the art in these cathedrals