The Church
The Church Hierarchy
Why did some people go to work for the church?
Some people went to work for the church so they could get in to heaven. They were taught to be scared of going to hell so they worked for the church to earn their way into heaven. The people also had to pay a tithe of 10% of their earnings to the church. Sacraments like baptism, marriage and burial also cost money and the people worked for the church as a way to pay for them. Some women became nuns in the church so they didn’t have to marry. If a mason worker died while working on building a church they believe that they were automatically admitted into heaven.
Pope Gregory VS Henry IV
Pope Gregory and King Henry IV fought over supremacy and power and who should have the right to appoint bishops and church officials. Henry became angry with the Pope and tried to have him removed from power. This made the Pope angry and he excommunicated King Henry IV from the church.
When the Pope did this, he also freed King Henry's vassals from the King's control making them free. After sometime King Henry realized that the only way he could regain control was if he begged Pope Gregory to forgive him and let him back in the church. King Henry traveled over the Alps in the middle of winter to apologize to the Pope in Canossa, Italy. When he got to the city gates, the Pope made King Henry wait three days in the snow before he would see him as a show of power. When he finally agreed to see the king, the pope accepted his apology and readmitted King Henry back into the church. That was not the end though. Once things returned to normal, King Henry went to Rome and threw the Pope out. Pope Gregory was forced into exile and died in Salerno. I think the Pope won the struggle because he showed the power to excommunicate the King and free his vassals from control and loyalty to the King. |
Life of a Monk
I wonder what life would have been like for Monks living in the Middle Ages. Monks had to take vows of poverty, chastity, obedience. This meant that they gave up all their worldly possessions, that they gave up marital relations and that they were faithful to God. Monks had to follow a strict life of rules set by the monastery.
Daily life of Monks was dictated by The Book of Hours, which was their main prayer book. The Book of Hours was divided into eight sections that were meant to be read at certain times of the day. The times of these prayers were called Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nones, Vespers and Compline. The Book of Hours contained prayers, psalms, hymns and other readings. The Book of Hours was used by Monks to secure their place in heaven.
When they were not praying or meditating, Monks worked doing manual labor inside the monastery walls. Monks gardened, did laundry and cooking, gave medicine to the sick, provided hospitality to pilgrims and copied books. When it was time for the next daily prayer, all work stopped and the Monks would pray. The most important job that the Monks did was to copy manuscripts and books. They did this to preserve the stories of the times and to document history. Most of the books they copied were about the Christian practices and church law but not all of them were.
Monks had one meal a day, unless they were sick and needed more nourishment. Their meals consisted mainly of bread, fish and vegetables, but no meat. Training to become a Monk began at age seven. Monks would shave the tops of their heads. I would not like to have been a Monk in the Middle Ages.
Daily life of Monks was dictated by The Book of Hours, which was their main prayer book. The Book of Hours was divided into eight sections that were meant to be read at certain times of the day. The times of these prayers were called Matins, Lauds, Prime, Terce, Sext, Nones, Vespers and Compline. The Book of Hours contained prayers, psalms, hymns and other readings. The Book of Hours was used by Monks to secure their place in heaven.
When they were not praying or meditating, Monks worked doing manual labor inside the monastery walls. Monks gardened, did laundry and cooking, gave medicine to the sick, provided hospitality to pilgrims and copied books. When it was time for the next daily prayer, all work stopped and the Monks would pray. The most important job that the Monks did was to copy manuscripts and books. They did this to preserve the stories of the times and to document history. Most of the books they copied were about the Christian practices and church law but not all of them were.
Monks had one meal a day, unless they were sick and needed more nourishment. Their meals consisted mainly of bread, fish and vegetables, but no meat. Training to become a Monk began at age seven. Monks would shave the tops of their heads. I would not like to have been a Monk in the Middle Ages.