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Lesson – Medieval Christianity, 11th-13th centuries [CA v1.5] Table Vocabulary...........................................................................................................2 Introduction.........................................................................................................3 1. The Roman (Catholic) Church..........................................................................4 1.1. The Clergy.................................................................................................4 1.2. Evangelization..........................................................................................8 2. Christian Life....................................................................................................9 2.1. A Christian World......................................................................................9 2.2. A Gothic Church: Westminster Abbey.....................................................11 Conclusion.........................................................................................................20
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Vocabulary Abbey [fr. abbaye] : a monastery run by an abbot [fr. abbé] or a convent run by an abbess. Bishop [fr. évêque]: a clergyman ranking above a parish priest and governing a diocese. Canon Law [fr. droit canonique]: body of laws established for church governance. Cardinal: since 1059 the cardinals' duties include electing the pope (since 769 only cardinals have been eligible), acting as his principal counsellors, and aiding in the governance of the Roman Catholic Church. Cathedral: a church that is the official seat of a diocesan bishop. Church (pl. Churches): - a body of religious believers [fr. Église] - a building for Christian worship [fr. église] Clergy [fr. clergé]: people who are the leaders of a religion and who perform religious services. Estate: a landed property. Faith: belief in the existence of God. Funeral [fr. funérailles]: a ceremony held for a dead person. Heaven: the place where God lives and where good people go after they die. Hell [fr. enfer]: the place where the Devil lives and where evil people go after they die. Holy: having a divine quality. Laity [fr. laïcs]: the people of a religious faith as distinguished from its clergy. Mass (pl. Masses) [fr. messe]: a celebration of the Eucharist [= Holy Communion ; fr. eucharistie]. On the night before his death, Jesus consecrated bread and wine and gave them to his disciples, saying “this is my body” and “this is my blood.” The Eucharist traditionally involves consecration of bread and wine by the clergy and their consumption by worshippers. Medieval: relating to the Middle Ages. Middle Ages: the period of European history from A.D. 476 to 1492. Monk [fr. moine]: a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. Nun [fr. moniale]: a woman belonging to a religious order. Parish [fr. paroisse]: an area that has its own local church Parish Priest [fr. curé] Penance [fr. pénitence] Pilgrimage [fr. pèlerinage]: journey to a sacred place undertaken to gain divine aid, as an act of thanksgiving or penance, or to demonstrate devotion. Pope [fr. pape]: the bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman (Catholic) Church. Priest [fr. prêtre]: one authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion especially as a mediatory agent between humans and God. Religious Order: a religious community requiring members to take solemn vows. Relics: an object (such as a piece of clothing or the bone of a saint) that is considered holy. Shrine: a place connected with a holy person or event where people go to worship. Sin [fr. péché]: transgression of the law of God. Soul [fr. âme]: the spiritual part of a person that is believed to give life to the body and to live forever. Worship (to): a form of religious practice with its creed and ritual.
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Introduction
The Roman Catholic Church was the single largest unifying organization in medieval Europe. Religion In Medieval Europe [4 min.] Questions: 1) What is the clergy? 2) What is a cathedral? 3) What will happen on Judgement Day?
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1. The Roman (Catholic) Church 1.1.
The Clergy
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Eternal Soul: where your soul spends eternity (heaven/hell) is determined by your relationship to God. At the end of time, there will be a Judgement Day.
•
The Bible is a collection of texts considered sacred in Judaism as well as in Christianity. The first part of Christian Bibles is the Old Testament. Second part is the New Testament.
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The clergy: people who are the leaders of a religion and who perform religious services.
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The Pope [fr. pape]: the bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman (Catholic) Church. He is regarded as the successor of the apostle St Peter. The headquarters of the western Church is Rome.
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•
Cardinal: since 1059 the cardinals' duties include electing the pope (since 769 only cardinals have been eligible), acting as his principal counsellors, and aiding in the governance of the Roman Catholic Church.
Secular Clergy: • Bishop [fr. évêque]: a clergyman governing a diocese. They generally lived with the same luxuries as the nobles in the Middle Ages. • Parish Priests: head of a parish church. They administered sacraments, absolved men and women of their sins through confession. Regular Clergy: • Monks were often scholarly and could read and write in Latin. Monks lived in monasteries and served as examples of the perfect Christian life. They were scholars who copied the books of the Bible by hand. • Nuns [fr. moniale]: women belonging to a religious order and living in a convent.
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Illustration 1: Cistercian nuns, c.1290 (src)
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1.2.
Evangelization
it's the preaching of the Christian Gospel. The Conversion of Pomerania (1124-1128) by Bamberg (1060-1139), a german bishop and missionary
Otto
of
There was not wanting a miracle to confirm the truth of Otto's preaching and this must here be related in due sequence. For there was in the same town of Gamin a certain woman of rank and wealth, who, being seduced by the persuasion of the Evil One, had despised the teaching of the most holy apostle and had put aside and refused to follow his instructions. To mention one of the instances in which she showed her contempt and disobedience ; whilst all were engaged in keeping the Lord's Day [= Sunday], she herself went out into the fields to reap and, although the members of her family disapproved and objected, she remained unabashed, and went on with the work which she had begun. But the good Lord […] became by means of a manifest miracle, which was worked for the correction of the rest, the avenger and the punisher of this contempt. For whilst she was intent upon her evil work and was upbraiding and threatening the members of her family for neglecting to help her, she suddenly fell back, and, expiring more quickly than can be described, struck with great horror those who were standing near. […] Whilst this manifest judgment of God caused fear to all, they were more and more strengthened in the Christian belief and religion. (The Life of Otto, apostle of Pomerania, 1060-1139, New York, The Macmillan company, 1920, p. 55)
Apostle: the first prominent Christian missionary to a region or group Avenger: someone who exact satisfaction for (a wrong) by punishing the wrongdoer. Contempt: a lack of respect for. Despise (to): to look down on with contempt or aversion. Disobedience: refusal or neglect to obey. Miracle: A wonderful to supernatural powers.
event
occurring
in
the physical world
attributed
Missionary: a ministry commissioned by a religious organization to propagate its faith. Neglect (to): to fail to take care of or to give attention to (someone or something). Preaching: to make a speech about religion in a church or other public place. Punish (to): to make someone suffer for (a crime or bad behavior). Rank: a position in a society, organization, group, etc. Reap (to): to cut and collect (a plant, crop, etc.) from a field. Unabashed: not embarrassed or ashamed about openly expressing strong feelings or opinions. Upbraiding: to speak in an angry or critical way to (someone who has done something wrong). Wealth: the value of all the property, possessions, and money that someone or something has.
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2. Christian Life 2.1.
A Christian World
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A Christian Calendar: each month there was some type of religious festival. For example, they celebrated St. Valentine’s Day in February with singing, dancing and games.
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A Relic: is a supposed part of the body of a saint or a venerated person. The Crown of thorns:
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2.2.
A Gothic Church: Westminster Abbey
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Westminster Abbey is a large, mainly Gothic, church in London, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. Construction of the present church began in 1245 and continued until 1517.
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(src) ; in 3D
(src) It is one of the most notable religious buildings in England and is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English monarchs.
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Illustration 2: Westminster North Entrance (src)
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Ogive: The secant ogive is a surface of revolution forms a Gothic arch
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Flying Butress: The purpose of any buttress is to resist the lateral forces pushing a wall outwards by redirecting them to the ground. The defining characteristic of a flying buttress is that the buttress is not in contact with the wall like a traditional buttress; lateral forces are transmitted across an intervening space between the wall and the buttress. Flying buttress systems have two key components - a massive vertical masonry block (the buttress) on the outside of the building and an arch bridging the gap between that buttress and the wall (the "flyer"). Stained Glass: [fr. Vitrail] stained glass is glass that has been coloured by adding metallic salts (ex. : copper => a very dark red) during its manufacture. The coloured glass is crafted into stained glass windows in which small pieces of glass are arranged to form patterns or pictures, held together by strips of lead [fr. Plomb].
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the stained glass window high above the entrance to Westminster Abbey (src)
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(src) Aisle: [fr. Bas-Côté ou Collatéral] Altar: [fr. Autel] Ambulatory; [fr. Déambulatoire] Choir: [fr. Choeur] Transept: makes the cross shape. Nave: [fr. Nef] The nave is where people stand in a church.
Conclusion
