The role and influence of the Church Flashcards
The majority of Western Europeans were Catholic. Where was the Catholic Church based?
Rome.
What did Medieval people see as their life’s purpose?
Getting to Heaven.
How were people reminded of the dangers of living a sinful life?
Churches were full of Doom paintings, detailing these kinds of scenarios.
The Church dominated every aspect of people’s lives, socially and financially. What 4 things were people expected to do to show their devotion?
1) Attend religious services
2) Participate in the seven sacraments
3) Pay tithes
4) Participate in feast days
Give two examples of things people could do, besides what was expected of them, to show their devotion?
1) Go on pilgrimages (religious journeys)
2) Go crusading (fighting for Jerusalem, the Holy land)
What were sacraments?
Seven rules for being a good Christian, outlined by the Church.
List the 7 sacraments.
- Baptism
- Confirmation (after baptism, done to strengthen faith)
- Eucharist (consuming bread and wine)
- Penance of sins
- Prayers for the sick
- Marriage
- Last Rites (prayers for the dying)
What were tithes?
“Tithe” literally meaning “one tenth”, these were taxes which collected 10% of people’s earnings for the Church. Not paying resulted in excommunication.
What were the ranks within the Catholic church?
1) Pope (head of the whole international Church)
2) Archbishop of Canterbury (head of English Church)
3) Archbishop of York
4) Bishops (who managed dioceses - local areas)
5) Priests + monks
What was the term for the local areas which Bishops managed?
Dioceses.
What was the Church’s main function within the Feudal system?
To care for people’s spiritual needs. Bishops and Archbishops also held land as the King’s vassals, and collectively owned about 20% of the land in England.
Bishops and Archbishops held land as the King’s vassals, and collectively owned about __% of the land in England.
20%.
What two things was the Church expected to do in return for the land it held (which couldn’t be taken away)?
1) It was expected to provide services.
2) Archbishops, bishops and abbots had to supply Knights, just as lords did.
Why did the Pope hold so much power? What did this mean?
He was viewed as God’s representative on Earth, meaning even Kings were subject to his authority. It was impossible for the Pope not to get involved in affairs of individual countries, so there was a strong crossover between politics and religion.
Despite the Pope’s authority, kings did have some control over the Church in their own country. Give one example of this and a problem which arose from it.
The appointment of key officials like archbishops and bishops. Decisions on these matters sometimes led to conflict with the Pope (like with John).
