Lecture Notes
History 361: Witchcraft and Heresy in Europe
Lecture 3: “The Evolution of Christianity in Western Europe through the 11th Century”
1.During the era 850-1100, Christianity as it was practiced in Europe was dominated by monks and monasteries. The world was wicked and filled with pollution. Those concerned with their salvation had to flee the world and then seek to cleanse themselves from its pollutions. Monasteries were understood to be places separate from the world where individuals could go to seek self-purification
2. Monasteries were organized like other feudal estates. Most monasteries were founded by kings, queens and nobles. In this sense most abbots were like the vassals of great lords. In fact some abbots were warriors and fought for the lords. Most though, dedicated themselves to prayer for the souls of the lord and his dependents. The relationship between the abbot of a monastery and the peasants attached to monastery lands was the same as the relationship between any landlord and his serfs.
3.Monks were men who lived by a rule or a written out code of conduct. For this reason they were know as “regular” clergy. The rule was understood to be a path toward spiritual perfection. At the heart of most rules was a vow of “stabilitas,” a vow to remain stationary in a given location. The opposite of monks were hermits, men who roamed around in the “desert,” actually the woods, as a path toward spiritual perfection. In Western Europe almost every monastery followed the Rule of St. Benedict of Nursia (6th century). In his rule St. Benedict set out simple rules emphasizing manual labor for monks to follow. No distinction based upon wealth was made between brothers. The rule of St. Benedict of Nursia was reformed by St. Benedict of Aniane in the 9th century. St. Benedict of Aniane made distinctions among brothers, basically pushing most of the manual labor off on poor brothers and servants, giving the full members the task of daily rituals of collective prayer. At the beginning of the eleventh century, Europe was dominated by two confederations of monasteries, those centered around Cluny in France, and those centered around Gorze in the Holy Roman Empire (Germany). Cluny insisted upon its independence of political authority, though in practice this meant that Cluniac monasteries were friendly to all individuals with power. Gorze and its daughter houses were under the supervision of the Emperor.
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.
Quinn, Patricia A. Better Than the Sons of Kings: Boys and Monks in the Early Middle Ages. (New York,
closer to God. The monasteries were a place to get away from evil and anything
In Dr. Osman’s lecture and in Life and Miracles of St. Benedict, monasteries were portrayed as places for people to escape the harsh times and live together worshipping God. In The Dark Ages, the narrator discusses how many nuns and monks would try to escape because they were forced to go there, some even going as far as scaling the walls of their convent or monastery. These holy places offered many people the escape and religious freedom that they craved, but not everyone loved the strict life that monks and nuns lived. (The Dark Ages, “Marriage of Monks and
One of the biggest spiritual reforms was the development of monasteries. Before this time monasteries were a place for social revolutionaries and rejects, but St. Benedict set up a code of values for these monasteries that emphasized such values as prayer, poverty, obedience and chastity. Therefore, monasteries became an acceptable way to show devotion to God and the church.
Late in the fifth century the son of a well-off family in Italy left for isolation on his mission to truly seek god. This man was St. Benedict, who is credited with the first establishment of the concept of withdrawing from all temptation for Christian beliefs in the west. St. Benedict left his home and went to the top of a mountain, where he established a monastic community. In this community the individuals who resided there, constantly reiterated their faith. They sacrificed whatever they may have had to prove their true commitment to God. This became an early ideal of Christianity, that one must suffer loss and sacrifice to prove their loyalty to the faith. It was believed in this time period that if one is content with only what they truly need one is freer to think about other people and to think about God . These individuals were called Regular Clergies (monks) and were considered heroes of the faith.
The main strenghts of cluniac monasticism lay in its independence, it’s early spiritual energy, it’s observence of the benedictine rule and it’s sainly abbots. These provided very well for Cluny for a significant period, but over-growth of the order led to a slackening in observence of the Rule, and with the disasterous abbacy of Pons and a basic shift in religious opinion these strenghts became weaknesses that
The differences between the laity and monastic worshippers within Buddhist tradition are distinguished by the extent to which these two groups are willing to follow the middle-way as taught by Buddha. Typically, in order to have a functional Buddhist society, there must be the devout, and those who support the devout, giving aid in the form of food, monies, shelter, transportation, etc. The devout who sacrifice the purity of a true monastic lifestyle in order to support the community (who in turn are the recipients of merit or punya; a bank of ‘good’ actions tied to ‘good’ karma) (Gethin 101), from the monastic worshippers, are called the laity; upasakas (men laity) and upasikas (women laity). The monastics, or Bhikkhus (monks) and Bhikkhunis (nuns) are responsible for accepting the devotion shown by the laity, reciprocally, the laity are obliged to maintain devotion for “in order to be free from guilt […] the bases of a clear conscience [is] generosity and good conduct” (Ibid 83) . Good conduct is the realization and active partaking of the “eight significant dimensions [the Noble Eight-fold Path] of one’s behavior” (Ibid 82), which constitute right (in all actions of) understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration (although not limited to, rather expanded upon realization). The importance of a laities duty within society is to support, through their livelihood, the only traditional Buddhist teaching available to them (Ibid 92). In order to adapt a Buddhist ideology, some conducts were left out of lay worship to support a less strenuous spiritual life (putting the emphasis on merit earned) in pursuit of maintaining a functional community. The purpose, to establish the five lay percepts ...
Many Christians today know very little if anything about Monasticism. Some probably have never heard of the term before. Monasticism also referred to as monarchism is the act of living alone. It is a religious practice where one fully devotes one’s life to those things that are wholly spiritual.
...le. This sovereignty emphasises an essential notion that differed the Cluniac rule to that of previous monasteries incorporating the Rule of St. Benedict with the alterations of Duke William I. The Cluniac monks became renowned for their prayers for the dead, which attracted more and more attention throughout the lay people gaining the monastery popularity and subsequently wealth. In the monasteries attempt at the monks living an isolated life with uncompromising respect for monastic purity, the attraction of lay people forced the monks to interact and become involved with temporal matters consequently contradicting entirely the Foundation Charter. The Cluniac Monastery attracted a lot of attention across the Kingdom of France and other European Kingdom’s, which greatly influenced the Foundation Charter’s expanding influence and therefore significance historically.
Many bishops and abbots (especially in countries where they were also territorial princes) bore themselves as secular rulers rather than as servants of the Church. Many members of cathedral chapters and other beneficed ecclesiastics were chiefly concerned with their income and how to increase it, especially by uniting several prebends (even episcopal sees) in the hands of one person, who thus enjoyed a larger income and greater power. Luxury prevailed widely among the higher clergy, while the lower clergy were often oppressed. The scientific and ascetic training of the clergy left much to be desired, the moral standard of many being very low, and the practice of celibacy not everywhere observed. Not less serious was the condition of many monasteries of men, and even of women (which were often homes for the unmarried daughte...
My home church is United Methodist. I have gone there ever since I was a child because that is where my mother went to church. Through researching this paper I found many interesting things about my church. There are many points and issues I agree with and many I disagree with. Writing this really made me think about my denomination closely and if it’s the right one for me.
In the middle ages Friars, Monks and Prioresses had very specific roles in society. A Friar had to follow the mendicant order while living off of charity, preaching, educating, attending to the sick and absolving people from their sin. The Prioress was the head of a group of nuns. She would have had a low social standing as she belongs to the Theocracy. Her roles included growing vegetables and grain, producing wine and honey, providing medical care for the community and being in charge of the Priories. Lastly, the Monk’s role was to remain in his cloister and study religious texts; “And that a monk uncloistered is a mere/ Fish out of water, flapping on the pier…”(177-178). All of these people were supposed to model holiness; they were bound to the community and had no personal possessions. They are supposed to be selfless Christians dedicated to the Church.
The Episcopal Church was founded in the 16th century during the Protestant Reformation on the belief to spread Christianity and worship . The Episcopal church originated from the Church of England that modeled much of it’s religious beliefs from the Roman Catholic Church. Episcopalians (followers of the Episcopal Church) refer to their religion as “Protestant, yet Catholic,” (Wikipedia). I had the privilege to interview one of my teachers from middle school, Erin Havens. She grew up as a conservative Episcopalian, and described that experience as being almost identical to, “The way the Roman Catholics hold their masses, holidays and how they practice their beliefs,” (Havens). Which is true, because most of the modeling of the faith is role modeled after the Catholic Church other than some key differences.
The Church was organised into a hierarchical system that sustained the Church’s stability and control over the people and lower clergy, by organising them into different groups. First there were the ordinary believers, the citizens of the kingdom who followed the Christian faith. Then there was the clergy, the members who devoted their lives to the church. Each group of the clergy was assigned specific functions by the clergy nobles to help run the Church competently. Amongst all the clergy associates, the Pope was at the top, he had the equivalent if not more power than the ruling monarch and was in charge of all political affairs and administered the clergy. He was able to dictate political laws and even comment on the Monarch’s decisions. Under the Pope, there were the bishops. The bishops directed church courts and managed cases correlated to the public such as marriage, wills and other public predicaments. Priests held religious services that consisted of sacraments, baptisms and the usual Sabbath services. The monks and nuns received manual labour that required helping clean the monasteries and assist the needy. Educated monks copied manuscripts of medieval and ancient knowledge in the Scriptorium. Finally...