Medieval Times: Role of the Church

[Music] thank you [Music] Medieval Europe was an area made up of great Estates belonging to powerful noblemen of numerous small villages dotting the countryside and a few cities Rising where trade and commerce were concentrated but no matter where medieval man lived he could be sure of finding a Christian Church Christian influence was everywhere in medieval Europe whether represented by a cathedral with soaring Towers stained glass windows and magnificent sculpture or by a much simpler Parish Church for 13 centuries Christianity had been growing rapidly since its beginning in Palestine about 50 A.D the teachings of Christianity had spread to Rome which was to become the center of the Christian World in Western Europe from Rome Christianity spread to areas that became Italy England France Germany Spain and other nations of Western and Eastern Europe by the middle 1300s the height of the Middle Ages all this area of Europe and the near East was influenced by the Christian church what needs did the Christian Church satisfy for all medieval peoples for every station of life what did the Christian Church offer the rich and Powerful noblemen what was its value to learned and educated men such as the nobleman's Scribe or secretary promise to the Christian Church hold for the illiterate and the poor such as these peasants halting their work in the fields for prayer and what did the church hold for the members of the clergy themselves such as this Parish priest for all medieval Europeans the Christian Church through its clergy offered salvation the acceptance of the human soul into the glories of heaven after death no matter what their particular station in life medieval people look to the Christian church as the Earthly instrument by which salvation might be gained in a sense the doors of their churches were the portals of salvation above the portals of many churches were carved scenes of the last judgment scenes that would remind the people that one day the dead shown here would be called from their tombs to assemble along with the Saints and the apostles for the last judgment those who had been faithful to God and the ideals of Christianity would gain salvation from the Creator and enjoy the Eternal glories of Heaven The Souls of those who had not been true to Christian ideals would be chained together and carried off by the Demons of Hell to endless torment the concepts of Salvation Heaven and Hell were a main concern of medieval peoples their deep Faith was an indication of this concern in their churches medieval peoples reaffirmed their faith in Christian salvation they built their churches with soaring architecture to uplift the spirit and put into the walls Great Windows which flooded the interior with light medieval peoples decorated the churches with statues of biblical characters or Saints people who had lived good lives in seeking salvation medieval people also sought to do good works here in a luminous stained glass window The Devout medieval man who was the donor of this class kneels in prayer other winners portrayed for medieval men who could not read biblical stories in pictures which could be easily understood medieval man of all classes sought salvation through the church not only by performing Good Deeds but also by receiving the sacred sacraments or special blessings of the church the baptismal font was a symbol of the first Sacrament baptism the dedication of the infant to God before the altar medieval couples knelt to receive the sacrament of consecrated marriage of the seven sacraments the last was extreme unction received before death the rich and Powerful were buried in elaborate tombs bearing their Effigies or statues in the church Crypt while the people of the poorer classes were given much simpler resting places in the church graveyard so from birth to death the Christian faith with its promise of Salvation influenced the lives of every class of medieval Society the largest class was that of the peasantry The Peasant LED an extremely hard life of working the soil he had few Pleasures or entertainments as a rule about all he could call his own was his family but disease or famine might easily rob a man of his family so the medieval peasant had little security and many problems problems which troubled him deeply he might be called from his fields to fight battles for the feudal Lord who held the land The Peasant worked if his crops failed there would be starvation for himself and his family Little Wonder then that the medieval peasant felt the need for something someone to give him guidance and comfort guidance and comfort were generally close by at the close of the day at the Parish Church the medieval peasant might tell the priest of his problems and receive counsel and advice so to the peasant the Christian church was a Haven a refuge from the insecure life he faced every day to the priest the Christian Church meant something else it was his duty he knew to help guide his own parishioners to Salvation he also knew that it was the task of the Christian church as a whole to bring all men to Salvation to do this Christian churchmen had developed a large strong organization the small area for which the simple country priest was responsible was but one of many each of these areas was called a parish parishes were grouped together into a larger area called a bishopric the chief religious authority of a bishopric the bishop conducted services and the Affairs of his domain from an impressive church called a cathedral in the Middle Ages Bishops were usually drawn from powerful noble families those men who formed the next highest rank in the organization of the church the archbishops also came from noble families the importance and power of the archbishops was indicated by their Monumental Cathedrals which proclaimed a medieval Society the power of the Christian church the Archdiocese was the large area in which the Archbishop was the highest religious Authority the Archdiocese consisted of a number of bishoprics each Bishop was responsible to the Archbishop of the Archdiocese in turn each of the archbishops of Europe was responsible to the temporal head of the church organization the Pope in Rome within such a complex organization archbishops and other high-ranking cheshmen possessed a great deal of power many commanded their own armies governed the use of land belonging to the church and supervised the levying and the collecting of the traditional Church Tax called the tithe such activities often brought high-ranking secular nobility to meet with leaders of the church since in the Middle Ages there was no clear distinction between the duties of state and church matters such as the tithe collection might bring conflict between the clergy and the secular nobility many noblemen were often greatly influenced by the secular powers of the clergy in governing their states numbers of educated men such as the nobleman's Scribe were influenced by the church in another way learned men look to the Christian church as The Guiding Spirit of education and knowledge during the Middle Ages most Scholars received their training at universities such as the one at Padua Italy these universities had sprung up about centers of church learning much of this learning originated in monasteries or religious communities where groups of churchmen called monks received their religious training medieval monks belong to certain orders or groups some Monastery orders devoted their lives to Humble work to prayer and to cultural achievements of a religious nature monks preserved much of the culture of the Middle Ages for the Christian Church greatly encouraged learning and culture monks worked zealously copying writings of ancient Scholars and books of philosophy or religion such manuscripts they often embellished with intricate illustrations Miniatures and decorations art forms which required hours of painstaking work other monks Advance the art of music by composing hymns and anthems and still others supervised the work of medieval sculptors here in stone is the portrayal of a Biblical theme the nativity in the building and decoration of their churches medieval Craftsmen and artists were affected by Christian influences and they produced masterpieces of beauty and inspiration some masterpieces were paintings others were jewel encrusted sculptures and still others were luminous stained glass windows to Medieval people these masterpieces were symbols of the glory of God and of the Christian church an institution that influenced all classes of medieval Society among these classes were the nobility the scholars the peasants and the clergy though each class had a different relationship with the church medieval Europeans considered it the Earthly instrument by which their salvation might be gained thus the Christian Church touched every life and played a complex role during the Middle Ages a role that shaped European civilization and history then and during the centuries that followed foreign [Music]