holdon Anglo-SaxonEngland, a hold which was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy.Christianity was to becomefirmly established only as a result of Irish efforts, who from centers inScotland and Northumbriamade the common people Christian, and established on a firm basis theEnglish Church.At all levels of society, belief in a god or gods was not a matter ofchoice, it was a matter of fact.Atheism was an alien concept (and one dating from the eighteenth century).Living in the middle ages,one would come into contact with the Church in a number of ways.First, there were the routine church services, held daily and attendedat least once a week, and thespecial festivals of Christmas, Easter, baptisms, marriages, etc.. In thatrespect the medieval Churchwas no different to the modern one. Second, there were the tithes that theChurch collected, usuallyonce a year. Tithes were used to feed the parish priest, maintain the fabricof the church, and to helpthe poor. Third, the Church fulfilled the functions of a 'civil service' andan education system. Schoolsdid not exist (and were unnecessary to a largely peasant society), but theChurch and the governmentneeded men who could read and write in English and Latin. The Church trainedits own men, and thesewent to help in the government: writing letters, keeping accounts and so on.The words 'cleric' and'clerk' have the same origin, and every nobleman would have at least onepriest to act as a secretary.The power of the Church is often over-emphasized. Certainly, the latermedieval Church was rich andpowerful, and that power was often misused - especially in Europe. Bishopsand archbishops wereappointed without any training or clerical background, church officeschanged hands for cash, and so on.The authority of the early medieval Church in England was no different tothat of any other landowner.So, the question that haunted medieval man was that of his own salvation.The existence of Godwas never questione...
