The Influence Of The Christian Church During The High Middle Ages

The Church was the absolute most predominant foundation in medieval life, its impact invading practically every part of individuals’ lives. Its religious observances often shape to the plan; its customs checked every minute in a person 's life; and its lessons supported standard convictions about morals, the significance of life and existence. Church in Western Europe was recognized as the Roman Catholic Church went from the religion of the Roman Empire to the official religion and the most powerful institution of the Middle Ages. All of Europe had been converted to Christianity by the year 1000. Although this process was peaceful at times but other times it got downright ugly.

The rise of Christianity and Islam happened during a turbulent time in history, when major civilizations like the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire were in decline due to political infighting, disease, and outside barbarians constantly applying pressure. Christianity was adopted in the heart of the Roman Empire, as a way to continue the influence of Rome, while not being able to control all of Europe militarily. (Rise of Christianity, 2012) Therefore, early Christianity, as adopted by Rome, was about maintaining influence in the continent through the use of priests and monarchs under a feudalist system of control. The main benefit of Christianity came from its use of Latin and the Bible, a common language across the old Roman Empire, as well as a new technology in books that enabled priests to record extremely deep and convincing stories in an easily index able format. The Roman pagan religion used tablets for its mode of communication, tablets which could not hold very much information at all, and that lost legitimacy compared to the life of Jesus and the depth of the biblical writing style. Christianity rose during an age of danger in Europe, and the feudal system with knights and castles was simply the most beneficial system of governance that humanity had. (Stark, 1996)

As the tenth century rolled about, the power of the Roman Catholic Church grew steadily stronger, the church had an argument with the normal Kingdom over who should rule supreme out of the Pope or the King, the church believed that the Pope who is the voice of God on Earth should be the ruler of the world while the peasants thought that the King should, the power struggle eventually ended with the Church coming out as the dominant force in the West. The Church passed a law that stated that everyone (mostly peasants) is forced to pay 10% of their income to the Church. The church had the ability to stop any laws that they did not like or make some new laws that benefited them, they were a very powerful group that could manipulate the peasants and knights in any way they liked, in Church there were photos of people being tortured in hell, this intensified the peoples longing for heaven and therefore extended the power and influence of the church. All Christians were expected to attend the mass and, by the 13th century, were expected to take the Eucharist at least once a year.

The development of christianity under the empire undoubtedly changed the relation between the political and spiritual spheres in following centuries. In fact, this transpires in how often emperors and empresses played dominant roles in the Eastern church after Constantine I's reign. In many

During the Medieval Era in Europe, Christianity was seen as a threat to the Roman Empire due to Christians refusing to worship other gods or the emperor. As a result, many Christians were persecuted due to their refusals. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire, the church became dominant in Europe. Christianity (Catholicism) was the only religion that was recognized during this specific era. Christianity began its spread from the north and to the west into Europe. It was carried mostly by merchants, missionaries, and soldiers, which they believed helped to guarantee their freedom. Moreover, Christianity played a major role within the Medieval Era in Europe, which saved many lives and freed many people.

The power of The Church, in The Middle Ages, was enormous. It touched almost everyone's life in many important ways. The Church baptized a person at birth, performed the wedding ceremony at people' marriages, and

The Christian religions rise to supremacy in the middle ages was the result of several factors. Christians had long been persecuted by the Roman Empire because the Romans felt that Christianity challenged and offended the Greco-Roman Gods and the Christians were prone to revolt against Roman rule. Christianity survived because it had many teachings that appealed to the downtrodden in Roman society, these teachings being that even though they were suffering they would gain equality and possibly superiority in the next life, Christianity gave them hope.

The Roman Catholic Church was very influential during the Middle Ages. The church contained many religious aspects and cultures that develop this religion, which is currently practiced today. The Church was connected with the state, in order to sustain authority and power over the Roman Catholic Church. Due to the systems of medieval Europe, powers and roles of the Church affected the Roman Catholic Church, because it influenced Medieval Europe by religious freedoms and aspects, political powers, and the effect on the crusades.

Religion is a defining factor of what gave people a common identity; so in order to feel connected with one another, rulers would take it upon themselves to unite their kingdoms and establish a universal religion. During the late middle ages Christianity was on the rise. It was widely accepted and appealed mostly to women and slaves, but everyone had their benefits from the new religion. This change in religion was evident through artwork at the time, and the construction of churches across Europe.

All through the Middle Ages, religion was a solid, inescapable power in the public arena. Most people were more worried about God and the likelihood of existence in the wake of death than they were with current human issues, says Encylopedia Britannica. When the Renaissance happened, this social mentality was starting to change. Religion was as yet honed, yet individuals started to be more centered around mainstream or humanist esteems, instead of most profound sense of being, right now.

People in the middle ages were very religious. People believed that Roman Catholic Church represent God. The church had a big influence on the content spread in the Middle Ages, and they were content with religious or moralistic. The only religion recognized in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and specifically Catholicism. Christianity in the middle ages dominated the lives. The life of the medieval people was dominated entirely by the church and many religious institutions gained power and wealth. It was single the larges institution in west of Europe. It touched everyone’s life no matter what rank in social class they lived in. Everyone in western Europe was Rome Catholic Christian at that time. From the reaches king all the way down.

During the high Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic Church became organized into an elaborate hierarchy with the pope as the head in western Europe. He establish supreme power. Many innovations took place in the creative arts during the high Middle Ages. Literacy was no longer merely requirement among the clergy. New readings were addressed to a newly literate public that had both the time and the knowledge to enjoy the work.

In 312 CE, Roman Emperor Constantine achieved a victory at the Milvian Bridge. The night previous to this battle, Constantine dreamt of a cross inscribed in hoc signo vinces, in this sign you will conquer. As trivial as this dream may seem, it ultimately signified the beginning of the rise of Christianity. With his victory, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and supported and encouraged it throughout the empire. In 313 CE, another milestone occurred as the emperors, both Constantine I of the West and Licinius of the East, signed the Edict of Milan declaring that the Diocletianic Persecution would end, and Christianity would be tolerated in the Roman Empire. This religion began to flourish as people quickly converted from pagan

The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.

Religion in the Middle Ages takes on a character all of its own as it is lived out differently in the lives of medieval men and women spanning from ordinary laity to vehement devotees. Though it is difficult to identify what the average faith consists of in the Middle Ages, the life told of a radical devotee in The Book of Margery Kempe provides insight to the highly intense version of medieval paths of approaching Christ. Another medieval religious text, The Cloud of Unknowing, provides a record of approaching the same Christ. I will explore the consistencies and inconsistencies of both ways to approach Christ and religious fulfillment during the Middle Ages combined with the motivations to do so on the basis of both texts.