Church, Money and Power in Medieval Times

With the fall of Rome, the world saw the rise of Christianity, specifically the Roman Catholic Church, which was created when a Roman Emperor named Constantine adopted Christianity as his own personal and the Roman Empire's official religion. From that time through the middle ages, Christianity grew in power and influence, the church enjoying a cozy relationship with the state. By the early fifth century, a mere one hundred years after Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, the church and state's power structure were deeply intertwined.

This had a profound impact on the way society was arranged. Feudalism and the decentralization of power was occurring at this time politically. With the fall of the Roman Empire, various kingdoms were emerging. A king would divide his kingdom between a few nobles who would oversee a section and report directly to him. These nobles would in turn divide up their areas of control, assigning the smaller sub-sections to lesser aristocrats. The result was a patchwork of fiefdoms run by lords who all answered to the king, but had direct control over their various regions. The people they ruled over were called serfs, and their lives were completely devoted to serving the king. These lower class peasants would farm their land and give a portion of their crop to their lord as a tribute. This tribute was payment for the actual, or hypothetical protection that the serfs needed from the various invading armies roaming the countryside. In return for their regular tribute, the king would maintain an army to protect the serfs from invasion or attack.

This system, which had miserable conditions for the serfs, was propped up in part due to the fact that the church supported it. The church bols...

... middle of paper ...

...orers could only charge for the amount of materials used in a project and what it cost to feed one's self and family. The result of these regulations on the skilled labor market was a very static economic system where no one is building any wealth, except perhaps for those receiving regular donations.

By the emergence of the Renaissance the guilds were waning in power. Banks, and interest bearing currency was coming into their own. The Catholic Church resisted these economic developments by declaring the charging of interest on loans a sin. This sin, called usury, was criminal by order of the church, since one was making money on what should have been an opportunity to perform an act of Christian charity. Even as the middle ages faded away, the church was suppressing the economic system. In this way they consolidated and maintained power throughout the era.