The
Catholic Church was the only church in Europe during the Middle Ages,
and it had its own laws and large coffers. Church leaders such as
bishops and archbishops sat on the king's council and played leading
roles in government. Bishops, who were often wealthy and came from
noble families, ruled over groups of parishes called "diocese."
Parish priests, on the other hand, came from humbler backgrounds and
often had little education. The village priest tended to the sick
and indigent and, if he was able, taught Latin and the Bible to the
youth of the village.
As the population of Europe expanded
in the twelfth century, the churches that had been built in the Roman
style with round-arched roofs became too small. Some of the grand
cathedrals, strained to their structural limits by their creators'
drive to build higher and larger, collapsed within a century or less
of their construction.
The Roman Catholic Church was
the single, largest unifying structure in medieval Europe. It touched
everyone's life, no matter what their rank or class or where they
lived. With the exception of a small number of Jews, everyone in Europe
was a Christian during the Middle Ages from the richest king down
to the lowest serf.From the moment of its baptism a few days after
birth, a child entered into a life of service to God and God's Church.
As a child grew, it would be taught basic prayers, would go to church
every week barring illness, and would learn of its responsibilities
to the Church. Every person was required to live by the Church's laws
and to pay heavy taxes to support the Church. In return for this,
they were shown the way to everlasting life and happiness after lives
that were often short and hard.In addition to collecting taxes, the
Church also accepted gifts of all kinds from individuals who wanted
special favors or wanted to be certain of a place in heaven. These
gifts included land, flocks, crops, and even serfs. This allowed the
Church to become very powerful, and it often used this power to influence
kings to do as it wanted.
MEDIEVAL MONKS
To become a monk you had to first
become an oblate (unless you were old enough to become a novice).
to become an oblate, you had to be given to the monastery by your
father. Then, if you were old enough, you could take your first vows
and become a novice. Then , after several years, if the abbot(head
of the monastety) agrees, you can take your final vows and become
a monk.Life in the monastery was very
strict. They followed "rules" that were timetables and rules.
The monks had to give everything but a begging bowl away. It was a
very busy place. They had lay brothers and servants to do heavy work
for them because they spent most of the time in prayer.The monks did
not talk in the dining room. instead, they made signals to each other.
They were allowed only one meal a day in the wintertime and two in
the summertime. There were two separate dining rooms. the monks did
not eat meat except if they were ill and on certain days.
Because religion was so important
during the Middle Ages, many people devoted their whole lives to being
closer to God and doing the Church's work. Sometimes, parents promised
their children to this religious life in order to fulfill a promise
to God and to ensure their children were never homeless or without
food. These people became monks (if they were men) or nuns (if they
were women) and lived apart from the rest of the people in special
communities called monasteries and nunneries. Monks and nuns promised
to always remain single, to be obedient to their superiors and to
live a life of prayer. They ate simple food, dressed in simple clothes
(called habits) and spent their days in silence, praying or working.
They also attended many church services. There were seven main church
services each day, the first at dawn and the last in the middle of
the night.
THE
MIDDLE AGES 
