The Medieval Church

Christianity• Pope helped spread Christianity• Sent missionaries,

– people who try to convert others to a new religion

• Some missionaries traveled great distances to spread Christianity.

Saint Patrick• Priest, Missionary

• Traveled alone to Ireland, 400s

• taught Christianity

• converted Irish

Monks• Word means “alone”• Religious men who devoted their lives to

God and avoid sin• Lived in monasteries

– Isolated communities • Lived the Monastic life for many reasons

– Escape war, avoid sin, education, better serve Christians

• Monasteries were found all over Europe

• Take the sacrament of Religious orders- a person dedicated to prayer and bound by vows (follow rules)

• Dedicate themselves to religion and follow common rules

• Vowed to:– Remain a monk/nun until death– Poverty– Chastity – Obedience (to the church)– Never marry– No worldly possessions

St. Benedict• Developed monasticism

– in which a person fully devote one's life to spiritual work

• Followers called Benedictine Monks

• Organized his monastery according Benedictine Rule

– Work, study, prayer

• Became model for all Monastic life

• 2:30am Wake up • 3am Prayed with

Singing• 5am Studied• 6am prayers• 7:30am Studied• 8am Mass• 945am worked in

garden or workshops• 12pm prayers

• 2pm eat daily meal• 245pm work• 415pm prayers• 615pm prayers• 7pm Bed

Daily Life

Monasteries• Contained a Scriptorium, Refectory, dormitory,

Church• Collected Ancient writings from Greece/Rome.• Self-sufficient communities

– Cooked, Build, Raised their own livestock, sewed own clothes

• Produced cheese, beer, wine as a source of income

• Some were hospitals, sheltered homeless and travelers

New religious orders• Order: an organization of people united

by a social goal

• New order of monks developed 1200s

• Friars- Wandering monks, helped common people directly

• Helped poor, built schools and churches

St. Francis of Assisi• Italian born 1181• Gave up wealth• Wandering monk• Began the new order of monks

Franciscans Friars–Dedicated to the poorest people

St. Dominic• Began another order of Friars called

Dominicans

• Devoted to education

• Believed education made better Christians

• Built schools

• Teachers

Universities• Created by churches and students 1110s• Teachers were clergy• Taught religion, math, law, medicine in

Latin (language)• Many of our customs from here (wearing

caps and gowns, class schedules, classrooms)

• New ideas developed that will lead to changes in society

St. Thomas Aquinas• Born in Italy • Dominican Friar• Famous Teacher at University of Paris • Wrote Summa Theologica

–Argued that science and religion are related

–argued that science can be used to prove that God existed.

The Church and Art• Religion influenced art and

architecture

• Church’s were Art

• In 1100s Cathedrals built Gothic style

• Symbol of faith

Religion in Medieval Europe:Cathedrals

Church Art: illuminated manuscripts• An illuminated manuscript is a

book written and decorated by hand

• written and decorated on parchment, a type of animal skin

• Talented monks copied books by hand

• Bibles, prayer books, ancient texts• Works of art

• Detailed letters, and pictures were illuminated with gold leaf

• Monks preserved religious and ancient books

• Church also preserved the Latin Language

Video clip: Medieval Manuscripts

Activity:

• Worksheet: Christianity during the middle ages (Caldwell)

• The Christian church drawings

• Ppt: medieval cathedrals

PPT Cathedrals of Europe

Read pages:269-275

• Fill worksheet: The Characteristics of Life in a Monastery and questions

Finish Working on Illuminated letter or logic problem