Boniface was born around 675 in Devonshire to a very noble family, and his given name was Winfrid (Duckett 340). He was sent to school to be taught by the monks. His parents wanted him to pursue monetary gains, but Winfrid felt called to do religious work thanks, in part, to the monks who often visited him. He fought with his father over his future, but obtained his father's permission and went to the monastery of Adescancastre. Here, he studied under Abbot Wolfhard, "and about seven years later he went to the Abbey of Nhutscelle between Winchester and Southampton" ("Catholic"). There, he studied under Abbot Winbert. Under the guidance of these men, Winfrid became very knowledgeable in numerous subjects including rhetoric and poetry. "At the age of thirty he was ordained priest. Through his abbot the fame of Winfrid's learning soon reached high civil and ecclesiastical circles ("Catholic"). But he did not want to have high civil standing and notoriety. He only wanted to share the gospel with his kinsmen in Germany. He pleaded on numerous occasions to his Abbot, and he finally gave his consent (Duckett 355).
He set out on his mission to Friesland in 716. His trip was cut short, though, due to political differences in the area. "Towards the end of 717 Abbot Winbert died, and Winfrid was elected to succeed him, but declined and induced Daniel, Bishop of Winchester, to influence the monks to elect another ("Catholic"). During his brief return to England, he resumed his duties as a preacher and pastor, but decided he wanted to visit the Pope in Rome for mission duties (Duckett 362). Upon his visit to Pope Gregory II, the Pope gave him full authority to preach the gospel to everyone in Germany. He worked under Saint Willbrord for three years, and then was summoned by the Pope for further instructions. In the year 722, Pope Gregory ordained him as a regional Bishop, and gave him the name of Boniface. Gregory sent him to Hessia and asked Charles Martel to protect Boniface ("Catholic"). In Lower Hessia, Boniface destroyed the idol of the pagan god, Thor, and made a chapel out of the wood that was destroyed. He converted many people with this tactic showing the pagan god was nothing compared to the Christian God.
“He was born soon after 770 and was given his father’s name. The family sent him as a boy to the great monastery of Fulda, where he was educated, and made a grant to the abbey of land which they held in the Maingau. In the 790’s he was sent by the abbot to Charlemagne’s court, where he became the pupil of Yorkshireman Alcuin who had gone to teach there, and succeeded him as teacher at the palace school.”
In 1709, French monarch Louis XIV ordered police to the abbey of Port-Royal des Champs in an attempt to control the Jansenists; followers of a spiritual movement founded by Cornelius Otto Jansen, also known as Jansenius (1585-1638). Monarchial fears of Jansenism persisted, and two years later the abbey would be destroyed completely, the bodies of Jansenists exhumed, and the area converted into farmland. Although Louis XIV believed he had successfully destroyed the potential Jansenist threat to his authority, the movement would later reemerge, and in 1762 the parlement of Paris was considered a Jansenist stronghold. Once established in the Paris parlement, the Jansenists would dissolve the Jesuit Order, or Society of Jesus, labeling the organization as perverse and destructive of religious principle. The Jansenist campaign for Jesuit persecution was interpreted by many French intellectuals, including the famous philosopher Voltaire, as revenge for the Order's endorsed destruction of the abbey Port-Royal des Champs.1
Saint Gregory of Tours was born around the year 538 at Arverni, which is now Clermont-Ferrand. He belonged to the Gallo-Roman family, which was a very prestigious family. He was also related to the houses of Gaul. Gregory’s original name was Georgius Florentius. He took the name Gregory to honor his late grandfather who was named Gregory. His Grandfather was the Bishop of Langres. When Gregory was young, his father died and he went to live with his Uncle. His uncle, Gallus, was the Bishop of Clermont. Gallus educated him until his death in 554. Gregory’s mother left to live with friends in Burgandy and left her son to Avitus who became Bishop of Clermont after Gallus. Avitus taught Gregory all about the Scriptures. Gregory was not too impressed with the scriptures. Gregory got seriously ill and wasn’t supposed to recover. He did recover though and this made him more mindful of God and the scriptures. Gregory then became a friend with the Bishop of Tours whose name was Euphronius. Euphronius died in 573 and Gregory succeeded him as Bishop of Tours.
Saint Fancis of Assisi Saint Francis was born in 1182, in Assisi Italy. His real name is Giovanni Francesco Bernardone, but his father wanted him to be called Francis. He received very little education as a child, even though his father was a rich merchant. His father, Pietro di Bernardone, was a wealthy merchant, and his mother's name was Pica.
He will travel to church every so often to maintain a close relationship with the pope. This is not the only detail that provides that he did more than just this for the Christian faith. Charlemagne, according to Notker, wanted to set an example of what a good Christian person is. Like taking food during Lent and doing certain processes in order that he does not break the fasting code (). Charlemagne is described with many adjectives of his behavior. Einhard and Notker seem to both establish he is a man that did care for the nature of his kingdom. It is noted that Einhard elaborates more on the personal life of Charlemagne. Einhard personally knew the family of Charlemagne. Notker on the other hand, often mentions people that Charlemagne appointed during his reign.
Francis of Assisi is one of the most influential personalities in the entire world. In the book ‘Francis of Assisi: Performing the Gospel Life,’ Cunningham recounts the life of this humble monk who lived in the medieval times, and shaped the Christian life, which spread in Western culture throughout the rest of history. I believe Cunningham accurately accounts for the life of Francis of Assisi, and in doing so; he provides a trajectory of the Christian faith from its early and historical proponents through its fusion with western culture, and its subsequent spread throughout the world.
He became a monk and changed his career of being a philosopher to theology. His wife Heloise became a nun and lasted for a couple of years. As he was developing his career of being a monk his peers began to be jealous and concern about what he believes and the way he acts. They were judging about what he wrote book about theology. People began to read it and became popular. Even though the members of the council were against it and took an action to burn his book. His reputation was sent to Abbey where he started again from zero and started to teach. Additionally, he wanted to move due to how many people hated him because of his work. The relationship between the students from Abbey was different when he was teaching with William the kids love him and adore him. The students began to complain because Abelard was not doing much for them and negatively on him began to start again. He was accused for false teaching on philosophy and theology and it went to the court. These accusations that Peter Abelard had concerning on the way he was teaching it was just the jealousy of his peers. It shows the fear of Abelard’s work and ideals on the faith of Christianity. The council wanted to ban him for being a member of the Christianity faith because monks are not allowed to have relationship with a women or have a baby. That was against the law. Later on,
The early life of Charlemagne is really very unknown. Charlemagne was born to the King of Franks Pepin the Short, and his wife, and future Queen Bertrada most likely on April 2, 745. It is unknown where Charlemagne was born because of the the lack of written statistics, but it is likely he was born in Aachen in current day Germany because that is where the the Carolingians had come from. Charlemagne's education had also very little known about it. Although most likely because of his ability to read well, and to write a little he was most likely sent to a Catholic Monastery where a priest could give him some education for a year, or so. Since there were no public, or even private schools in the early middle ages the only other options were priests who were the only educated people in Europe at this time.
Armand was extremely intelligent and at the age of nine was sent to College de Navarre in Paris. Originally, Armand was to have had a military career and his older brother Alphonse was to have a religious life, but Alphonse suffered mental problems so, at the age of seventeen, Armand began to study theology seriously, in order to keep the Bishopric in the family. Armand's mother had fought hard for this title and would not let it go easily. He took to his religious studies easily and because of his health problems was ideally suited to this life. In 1606 then Abbe Armand de Richelieu was appointed Bishop of Lucon and in 1622, Pope Gregory appointed him a Cardinal.
His crowning also had a major impact on the church, both east and west, in several different aspects. One of these aspects was the upkeep and reconstruction of sacred buildings to the Christian religion, such as the Basilica of the Holy Mother of God at Aix-la-Chapelle (Duiker and Spielvogel). Another aspect that impacted the church was his generosity especially for other Christians that were living in poverty in the countries of Syria, Egypt, and Africa, at Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Carthage (Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne). He often would often send money and other goods to help those that were living in poverty (Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne). Lastly, Charlemagne could often be found in the church praying multiple times a day, which some might interpret as his devotion to the church (Duiker and
The relationship between politics and faith in the age of Charlemagne would not have been possible or necessary without the people's true belief in their religion. Einhard himself reveals the depth of his faith when he sites the numerous omens foretelling Charles' death, as well as speaking of the "Divine ordination, (page295)" of Louis. The business of religion was taken seriously by all parties mentioned in Einhard's Life, and the church, being an integral part of the western world, could thus hardly have been ignored. In addition, the strong forces of competing religions made the question of faith one of great import in the West, making a solid Catholic union absolutely necessary. The alliance of Rome and the Frankish Empire was not entirely without its drawbacks, but its rewards are seen in the survival of Charlemagne's name into the present.
When thinking about a medieval monastery the first thing that comes to mind is the origin of the word monastery which comes from the Greek monos, meaning alone. Monasticism in itself is a way of life that is devoted to God in seclusion. A large part of monasticism is isolation, not only from the neighbors but from family. When taking the vows to be a monk one not only completely devotes ones life to God but all friends, family and earthly possessions are left behind. Taking the vows of monasticism takes brutal dedication and severe strength. What pushed Guibert of Nogent into monasticism is that his mother withdrew from the world after his father’s death. During that time he was left alone and became very rebellious. He also was drawn to the medieval reform of monasticism which gave it a more community aspect. Thirdly, literature and history became a large part of the monastery during the middle ages and Guibert wanted to be a successful writer and historian. When Guibert joined the monastery he joined a strict religious order that had come along way form the time of hermits and the reforms where relevant to him, for the most part. Guibert of Nogent became a monk because he was suited for monastic existence and to give himself the restraints and success he wanted from life.
Saint Augustine of Hippo was born on November 13, 354, in the town of Thagaste, which is now located in Algeria. His father was a pagan who converted on his death bed, and his mother was Saint Monica, whom was a devout Christian. In 370, he went to the University at Carthage to study rhetoric and wanted to become a lawyer. He gave up on law, and later on abandoned his Christian faith. He had a mistress with who he lived with for fifteen years and he had a son out of wedlock as well. He later, returned to his Christian faith, and on the death of his mother he returned to Africa, sold his property, gave all of his income to the poor, and founded a monastery at Tagas...
First, John Milton was born to John Milton Sr. and Sara Milton on December 9th, 1608. Around 1620, Milton begins to study at St. Paul’s School. Milton would go on to attend Cambridge: Christ’s College from 1625 to 1632 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Masters of Arts. Milton decides to retire to his family homes at Hammersmith and Horton; where he would study for five years. Milton was supported by his father during his five year study. After his mother’s death, Milton makes the choice to travel around Europe but mainly focusing on Italy. While traveling,
Thomas Aquinas was born in 1225 into a noble family, where he lived in southern Italy. His family decided that he would be a church leader so at the age of six they sent him to the Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino, and at fourteen he was sent to the University of Naples for further studying. When he joined the scholarly dominican order at the age of 20, he wanted to pursue