Chapter 10 – The Later Middle Ages, Section 3 – Christianity and Medieval Society

Christianity and Medieval Society

Main Ideas

• The Christian Church significantly shaped society and politics in medieval Europe.
• Orders of monks and friars expressed concerns about the Church's political involvement.
• Church leaders played a crucial role in establishing the first universities in Europe.
• The Church profoundly influenced the arts in medieval Europe.

The Church Shapes Society and Politics

• Church officials, known as clergy, and their teachings held considerable sway over medieval European culture and politics.
• Daily life was centered around the church, serving as a venue for markets, festivals, and religious ceremonies.
• People undertook pilgrimages to sacred sites in Jerusalem, Rome, Compostela (northwestern Spain), and Canterbury (England).
• Many individuals bequeathed land to the church upon their death, leading to it becoming one of the largest landholders in Europe.
• Bishops and abbots were deeply entrenched in political affairs.

Monks and Friars

• Some believed the church's focus should be on spiritual matters, not wealth and power.
• In the early 900s, French monks established a monastery in Cluny, adhering to a strict schedule of prayers and religious services, largely detached from the outside world.
• The changes at Cluny resulted in the establishment of a religious order known as the Cluniac monks.
• A religious order is defined as a group of individuals dedicating their lives to religion and adhering to common rules.
• New religious orders emerged with even more stringent rules.
• Communities of nuns, known as convents, also emerged across Europe.
• Not all members of religious orders desired to live in seclusion from society.
• Some sought to reside in cities and disseminate Christian teachings.
• The Dominican and Franciscan orders were founded in the early 1200s.
• Members of these orders were friars, not monks, as they did not reside in monasteries; instead, they lived and worked among the general public.
• Friars lived simple lives, wearing plain robes and no shoes.
• Friars did not own property and traveled around preaching and sometimes begging for food.
• Friars were sometimes referred to as mendicants, derived from a Latin word for beggars.

The Church and the Arts

• Beginning in the 1100s, Europeans constructed cathedrals in a new and dramatic style known as Gothic architecture.
• Gothic churches were significantly taller than their predecessors, supported by buttresses, and featured walls with expansive stained-glass windows that allowed ample sunlight to enter.
• Medieval churches were adorned with beautiful paintings and carvings.

Universities are Built

• Some of the earliest universities were established by the church, with the majority of teachers being members of the clergy.
• In addition to religion, schools offered instruction in law, medicine, astronomy, and other subjects.
• All classes were taught in Latin.
• Thomas Aquinas, a Dominican philosopher and teacher at the University of Paris, posited that rational thought could be employed to support Christian beliefs.
• Aquinas asserted that God had established a law that governed the world's operation, referred to as natural law.