Role Of The Church In Medieval Europe

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.

Feudalism, during medieval society, was parallel to the existence of the Catholic Church and its influence over the population. Religion permeated all elements of society and the way in which they related to each other. The Church wasn’t only a spiritual power, but a political and economic one and the struggles between the political and religious leaders will be key factors in the development of the medieval world. The church will also be the primary keeper of knowledge in the Middle Ages, and they will accomplish most cultural advancements.

Religion was far more important in almost every aspect of Medieval life than it is in most modern societies. The majority of people in Europe followed the Christian religion under authorizing of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church in the Medieval Era possessed great wealth, political power and influence over art, architecture, community life and education. It's religious acknowledgments gave shape to the calendar and its spiritual rituals marked important moments in an individual's life (such as baptism, acceptance, marriage, forgiveness, holy orders and the last rites). Its teachings depend upon dominant beliefs about ethics, the meaning of life, and the afterlife and Churches where ultimately the only connection that the peasants and nobles shared.

In the Medieval times, the Roman Catholic Church played a great role in the development of England and had much more power than the Church of today does. In Medieval England, the Roman Catholic Church dominated everyday life and controlled everyone whether it is knights, peasants or kings. The Church was one of the most influential institutions in all of Medieval England and played a large role in education and religion. The Church's power was so great that they could order and control knights and sends them to battle whenever they wished to. The Church also had the power to influence the decision of Kings and could stop or pass laws which benefited them in the long run, adding to this, the Church had most of the wealth in Europe as the

Towards the end of the Middle Ages and into the duration of the Renaissance, the Medieval Church’s social and political power dwindled. Centuries prior the Catholic Church gained a surplus of control, largely due to the stability it maintained during the chaotic breakdown of the Western Roman Empire . Yet toward the end of the Middle Ages the Church set in motion factors that would ultimately lead to its downfall as the definitive figure of authority. However, despite political and social controversy surrounding the church, the institutions it established cleared a path for a new way of thinking, shaping society in an enduring way.

After the fall of the Roman Empire, there was no main dominating force in Europe to enforce laws and protection for the people. The Middle Ages had begun and without the Romans, life became centered around survival. The destabilization caused rates of illiteracy, disease, and deaths to rise dramatically and to remedy the average peasants worry, the feudalism system flourished and required work in exchange for the safety of manors. Yet while there was not a overlooking empire to look towards for authority, the Catholic Church served its role to bring all classes together (Document 6). The Middle Ages will be ultimately known as an age of faith because of the prevalence of violence, power of religion, and the Catholic Church’s preservation of knowledge.

The Christian impact on feudalism is most notable when looking at the incorporation of religious figures as both lords and vassals. “Along with granting land to knights, lords gave land to the clergy for spiritual services or promises of allegiance. In addition, the church held its own lands, and bishops, archbishops, and abbots and abbesses of monasteries sometimes granted fiefs to their own knightly vassals” (UWS, 235). The ownership of land by the church shows how feudalism incorporates the Christian culture because by having religious leaders in charge of land, it encourages the spread of Christianity across Europe. When talking about the influence Christianity had on feudalism, it is important to incorporate the duties tasked to the members of the clergy. Throughout the middle ages, the primary task of the clergy was to preserve the works of the both the church and the Romans. The importance placed on the preservation of Classical and Christian works in a Germanic structured political system is the epitome of feudalism’s ability to assimilate

There was one main religion in Western Europe during the Middle Ages. This religion was Roman Catholic Christianity. It was both unifying and separating in some ways. Unlike now, religion served various functions, and was the main cultural aspect in people's lives. The Christian patriarch was more powerful than European kings, and wealthier.

In the medieval Europe, the functioning of the societies across the different European regions revolved around the Christianity religion. During that period, Christianity was the main religion with the largest number of followers. The Catholic Church which oversaw the practising of the religion was a powerful international church. The Catholic Church was given importance both by the emperors and the people considering the superstitious attitude during that period. As such, the church used to give various teachings which used to be actively followed by the people. As the people had blind faith on the church, the emperors also used to give immense regard to the church and its priests. Not more than the Catholic church was not even less the power

Religion was extremely important in regard to the shaping and history of the Middle Ages in Europe. The Catholic Church, which began during the glory days of the Roman Empire, became the driving force through the Middle Ages in Europe, managing to formulate a unified religious ruling body, a deep spirituality, and oversaw cultural preservation that helped shape the history of Europe during this period. The Church managed to integrate herself into medieval society, where she could become part of the everyday life of the people. She did this through a structured hierarchy, with the Pope, or the Bishop of Rome, as her head, and other bishops were given dioceses around the world, and under each bishop were priests who would minister to the people. This structured hierarchy came about with the collapse of the Roman Empire.

Within the Middle Ages, the church became the most influential and important force for the European society. As the central governments of Europe grew weak, the church rose in strength. In result came an ever lasting battle between the two. Popes were in control of spiritual matters, and the emperor or king were in charge of political affairs. During the Middle Ages, the line in between spiritual and political was clearly not bold enough.

The church was involved in medieval law, “The Roman Catholic Church was the supreme power during the Middle Ages. It was the stabilizing force in everyday life which kept the community framework together” (Newman). The church ran the judicial system during the Medieval Ages. The church was able to convict people for all crimes including religious crimes, such as heresy (Newman). The church was able to control people through religion. During this time, the people would believe anything they were told, “The laws and rules of the land, public policies and governance of the people were all affected by religion during the Middle Ages” (Newman). People during the middle ages were very superstitious. Because of this, people would believe anything the church told them. The church was therefore able to take charge of society. Through law and government, the church was able to control the people through the fear of being charged of a crime, and the hope of being

Religion was far more important in almost every aspect of medieval life than it is in most modern societies. The vast majority of people in Europe followed the Christian religion under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The church in the medieval era possessed great wealth, political power and influence over community life, art, architecture and education. Its religious acknowledgements gave shape to the calendar; its spiritual rituals marked important moments in an individual's life (such as baptism, acceptance, marriage, forgiveness, holy orders and the last rites), and its teachings depend upon dominant beliefs about ethics, the meaning of life, and the afterlife. Churches where ultimately the only connection that the peasants and nobles shared.

During Medieval times the highest power of the time was the Christian Church. They had the power over politics, economics and culture. They had so much power being one of the only powerhouse churches of the time they were the make or break of everyone. They decide who goes to heaven and who goes to hell. They decide who leads and who is a commoner.

The conversion of Constantine created the first Christian empire in history and would be used by future Kings of Western Europe throughout the Medieval era of Western Europe. Constantine's example of building Churches and interjecting himself into the debate on Christian orthodoxy helped to create the existence of a Christian kingdom and how rulers should interact with the Church in general.