The Role Of The Church In The Middle Ages

Beginning in the Middle Ages and through the seventeenth centuries, witch trials occurred in Europe. Many people were accused of being witches some of these people were accused of being witches for not following Christian beliefs at that time and others followed witch prosecutions for goods and money. Furthermore, the stereotypes of witches at this period also had a role in causing witch prosecutions. In this essay I argue how these three components led to the death of so-called witches. Firstly, I will discuss how the Catholic Church had an impact on most prosecutions. Secondly, I will explain how social stereotypes of that period have also influenced with the causes of prosecution of many alleged witches. Thirdly, I will discuss how

The church taught that illness was a punishment from God, and people saw no point in trying to find cures because they naively agreed with the church (Gates 9). If the people tried to find a cure, they would be accused of making a move against God by the church. Instead, the Church just wanted prayer, devotion, and faith and the Church discouraged the use of herbal remedies. This caused friction between the Church and physicians (Nordqvist).

The bio-medical model of ill health has been at the forefront of western medicine since the end of the eighteenth century and grew stronger with the progress in modern science. This model underpinned the medical training of doctors. Traditionally medicine had relied on folk remedies passed down from generations and ill health was surrounded in superstition and religious lore with sin and evil spirits as the culprit and root of ill health. The emergence of scientific thinking questioned the traditional religious view of the world and is linked to the progress in medical practice and the rise of the biomedical model. Social and historical events and circumstances were an important factor in its development as explanations about disease

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

Although the Christian church was very involved with public health, it wasn’t the only church embracing science. In fact, medicine and public

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.

-It was the beginning of looking for the cause of disease in the body than believing that the disease was caused by sin or God’s punishment.

In this essay I will be looking at the different aspects of medicine in the Middle Ages and accessing how the church helped or hindered their development. As there was a lot of unrest at the start of the middle Ages the church is important because it preserved a lot of things. It also provided a way of life, so it was very influential.

There is irrefutable evidence that over the period of the Middle Ages, both Christianity and Islam have been anchors in both shaping and influencing governance of kingdoms and empires comprising Western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and territories ruled by Islam. Religion during this period was widely used to set laws, influence culture, justify armed conflicts, and pronounce punishment on citizens domiciled within the geographies depicted within this essay. I will attempt to illuminate the geopolitical climate, territorial demarcation, and religious influences that depicted life circa 500 – 1517 CE. From the background material submitted, I will directly answer the following questions:

During the time of the early middle ages, religions seemed to be at its peak. Religion was at the forefront of people’s mind and with that came arguments about which is the true religion. Once again we will conflicts and possibility war between the religions, both fighting for their beliefs. It was during the time that bishops and popes a lot of the influential power when it came to religion. The people hung on every word and are inspired by these religious leaders. The most prominent example of the demonstration of power held by religious leaders is the speech held by Pope Urban II. His speech gave rise to the first crusade and influence 7 more to follow. The following paper will support and argue His justification for these crusades was to

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

Hospitals have been discovered from as early as 4000 BCE. These hospitals were more of “last resort” facilities; reserved for those dying or who had an infectious disease. They were more focused on caring for the patient instead of trying to heal them. Hospitals were mainly established by religious organizations and were staffed more with monks and nuns than professional doctors. At the end of the Middle Age, hospitals moved away from religious institutions to charity driven facilities. By the 1800’s advancements in technology and science changed hospitals and the staff to more professional doctors and nurses focusing on surgical procedures (Hospitals, 2017).

Religion experienced a lot of progress and transformation throughout the Middle Ages. Christianity held consistent popularity and other religions such as Islam were on the rise in participation. After the fall of Rome, there was no unified state or government in Europe and the Catholic Church used that opportunity to become a large powerhouse. The Roman Empire had effectively split into three different worlds: Muslim, Byzantine, and western European. Various Kings, Queens, and other leaders looked to the Catholic church for power and protection in exchange for alliances. Meanwhile, the Islamic religion was growing in wealth, power, and people. With the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632, Muslim groups took under large parts of land and united them under a single caliph. The Byzantines were still operating from Constantinople, just under a smaller rule and rural life assumed greater importance in the backbone of their society. Religion was largely involved in the Middle Ages’ art and architecture. Massive Cathedrals were built and even books were a work of art before the invention of the printing press. In addition, their economy was directly affected by religious activity such as missions and conquests. Overall, the general trends marking the progress religion in the Middle Ages are inclusion of everyone, a building of a community, and the opportunity of becoming equals with other practitioners.

There have been many clashes between the Bible and modern works of science in the Dark Ages. During this time, modern science was not accepted in that society because the many beliefs of people were solely based on the Bible. When the plague struck in 1347, many people contracted the disease. They would go see religious doctors who would tell them to pray and based medical assumptions on astrology. The doctor would not look at the symptoms of the patient but by the position of the stars to cure the sick. (Doc 7) The Muslims used modern tools and advancements in healthcare to treat their patients as well as recorded their findings in encyclopedias. (Doc 8) They had special diagrams of the human body (Doc 13) to track a specific spot on the body for treatment. Both Europeans and Muslims had some form of medical science to treat patients. The Europeans used

The Muslims made much significant advancement in the medical field. The rulers of the Muslim Empire encouraged this research in the medical field. They wanted people who knew about diseases and medical procedures treating them were they were ill. This made the Muslims much more advanced and knowledgeable in medicine than other parts of the world. In fact, Muslim cities boasted some of the best hospitals in the world. One reason they were so efficient is that doctors and pharmacists were required to complete a specific course of study and pass a formal examination before being able o practice medicine. However, this knowledge was not exclusive to the Muslim Empire, but rather it was translated into Latin and was used in European schools. The spread of this knowledge made Europe significantly more knowledgeable regarding diseases and medical procedures than they were prior to them receiving this information. In addition to advancements in the medical field, other scientific advancements were made. The created the practice of the experiment as well as a method of classification into three distinct categories: animal, vegetable, or mineral.