Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • Free Essays • My Term Papers • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - English Medivial Christianity Medivial Christianity In discussing Chaucer's collection of stories called The Canterbury or illustration of the Medieval Christian Church is presented. However, voice in the affairs of government, the church became corrupt -- this crooked society. Nevertheless, there is no such thing as just church church can never be studied in isolation, simply because it has always and political context of the day. In history then, there is a two way influence on the rest of society and of course, society influences the it is the people from a society who make up the church....and those same personalities that created these tales of a pilgrimmage to Canterbury. The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England was to take place in a but this was not because of the success of the Augustinian effort. Indeed, mission had an ambivalence which shows in the number of people who hedged practicing both Christian and Pagan rites at the same time, and in the promptly apostatized when a Christian king died. There is certainly no conversion of the common people to Christianity at this time. Augustine was of men, and managed to antagonize many people of power and influence in them the native British churchmen, who had never been particularly eager to Anglo-Saxons who had brought such bitter times to their people. In their had maintained older ways of celebrated the major festivals of Christianity, compel them to conform to modern Roman usage only angered them. When time between 604 and 609 AD), then, Christianity had only a precarious hold England, a hold which was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy. firmly established only as a result of Irish efforts, who from centers in made the common people Christian, and established on a firm basis the At all levels of society, belief in a god or gods was not a matter of Atheism was an alien concept (and one dating from the eighteenth century). one would come into contact with the Church in a number of ways. First, there were the routine church services, held daily and attended special festivals of Christmas, Easter, baptisms, marriages, etc.. In that was no different to the modern one. Second, there were the tithes that the once a year. Tithes were used to feed the parish priest, maintain the fabric the poor. Third, the Church fulfilled the functions of a 'civil service' and did not exist (and were unnecessary to a largely peasant society), but the needed men who could read and write in English and Latin. The Church trained went to help in the government: writing letters, keeping accounts and so on. 'clerk' have the same origin, and every nobleman would have at least one The power of the Church is often over-emphasized. Certainly, the later powerful, and that power was often misused - especially in Europe. Bishops appointed without any training or clerical background, church offices The authority of the early medieval Church in England was no different to So, the question that haunted medieval man was that of his own salvation. was never questioned and the heart-cry of medieval society was a desire to intimacy with the divine. Leading a life pleasing to God was the uppermost diversity of medieval piety is simply because people answered the question, life?' in so many different ways. Beginning with "The Pardoner's Tale", the paramount. Chaucer, being one of the most important medieval authors, uses to make a statement about buying salvation. The character of the pardoner is despicable pilgrims, seemingly "along for the ride" to his next "gig" as the entente is nat but for to winne,/ And no thing for correccion of sinne," prologue. As a matter of fact, the pardoner is only in it for the money, as I wol none of the Apostles countrefete: I wold have moneye, wolle, cheese, and whete, Al were it yiven of the pooreste page, Or of the pooreste widwe in a village -- Al sholde hir children sterve for famine. And have a joly wenche in every town. In his tale, the Pardoner slips into his role as the holiest of holies and consequences of gluttony, gambling, and lechery. He cites Attila the Hun grete conquerour,/ Deide in his sleep with shame and dishonour,/ Bleeding at dronkenesse". The personification of the deadly sins, along with his story men that eventually perish at the hands of their sin is a distinct medieval Chaucer adds to the device, though, is that the Pardoner in himself is as evident from the passages of his prologue. At the conclusion of his tale, mankinde, how may it bitide/ That to thy Creatour which that thee wroughte,/ herte blood boughte,/ Thou art so fals and unkinde, allas?". He then goes on pilgrim a place...for a price, of course. The Pardoner's place in Chaucer's idea of redemption becomes evident in After offering the host the first pardon ("For he is most envoluped in equivalent of Chaucer), the host berates the pardoner, saying, "I wolde I myn hond,/ In stede of relikes or of saintuarye./ Lat cutte him of". By pardoner as the most important man on the pilgrimage is brought to fruition main point of this tale: Salvation is not for sale. Another example of the However, some did not accept this and questioned the church -- It was than "a holy life with a Old-Testament God"; That style of thinking mother-figure" as a goddess -- The Cult of the Virgin. The eminent question would people change from a long-lasting, Old-Testament God to a mother-like is simply because they thought their "new found Goddess" would never be as often criticized male like aspect of God. In both current Catholicism and Mary is worshipped with more fervor than even God or Jesus. Church after erected in her name. Her likeness graced statues and stained glass with as bloody head. The worship of Mary is fervent, institutionalized, and approved Is she not a goddess? Mary simply took the place of the female aspects of worshipped as Roman or Anglo-Saxon goddesses. The medieval period, stretching approximately from the late seventh was bound together under one constant--Roman Catholic Christianity. But Christianity" many legends were being formed and passed down, as old pagan assimilated into a newly Christian society. The two religious forms were seemed at this time to be tolerant of each other, not entirely distinct. A processes are not easily changed, and being that the Anglo-Saxons of Britain the mid-600's, a period of transition can be expected . At least, a fascination with their pagan ancestors existed, at most, the practice of the old ways. Examples of a fascination than one god-like figure, and a continuing love for worshipping goddesses, this period. Yet, this does not mean that every village had a sorceress in usually reflects the society within which it emerges. At the time of The people who were Christians officially, politically, and in most cases at of paganism and sorcery which is tolerated and respected. The society in stories is Christian as well, politically and spiritually--could it be that paganism and magic? Perhaps the separation of the two is not necessary and Not only was magic a pagan tradition that persisted throughout the changing at the time, reflected the transition from worshipping the unseen gods, to one, omnipotent God. Although the people were Christians, they took powers far beyond the creation the Trinity. The specific powers or emphasis carries on even into today's Catholic tradition. The medieval period may (although many of the saints were not even born yet...) but in their powerful creatures are found. This form of Paganism existed in Britain of spiritual beings, full of magic, alive with heavenly power existing on Earth. It has been the nature of the Christian men in power through the ages to, for fear, deny their people the richness in their ancestry, and so the traditions that were not masked as of Christian history and literature. But it seems this period had not seen The two ways of the world were not quite so separate then, and matters of labeled as evil. This again implies that perhaps the two forms of religious completely separate. There are strong similarities for them to coincide and other, and for an entire people trying to make the Christian transition, necessary. However, the age of forceful patriarchy and witch-burning would Each new way of leading a "holy life" was thought to be progressively by its proponents than the ones that had gone before. Such 'new ways' were desire to break away from the corruption and worldliness which was percieved established forms of Godly living. These new ways often became corrupt breakaways from them were hailed as a newer and more perfect way of roller-coaster ride of corruption and reform is basically the story of battled to define and discover what it really meant to be a Christian. In an effort to escape persecution, but to also flee the evil, prevalent in free from many ' worldly ' distractions, monks began to assemble as communities, although they had little organization, were regarded as by having a solitary, ascetic, celibate existence where the ' world ' had been entirely replaced with heavenly contemplation. These ' new ' martyrs monks: theirs was a life of daily martyrdom as they constantly died to self The monks paid particular veneration to the physical remains of the martyrs connected to the martyrs who they replaced. The rise of ascetic monasticism was quite controversial -- Both the worship of relics and ascetic mainstays of this Medieval religion, and the idea that monks were a new form over time. Both monks as well as martyrs were looked upon as holy men. In relating this solitary world to readers, there is also a monk in who combined godliness and worldliness into a profitable and comfortable outrider or the person in charge of the outlying property....which lead him and owning several horses. Monks renounced all their worldly belongings and chastity and obedience, joined a community of monks. Their lives were spent devotional reading, prayer and manual labour all under the authority of the Particular monks often had particular jobs- the cellarer or the infirmarer for example, and these like every aspect of monastic life were laid down in the 'Rule'. Monks were nearly always of noble extraction (one had to have wealth in order to give it up) but could also be given to the Hindsight has blurred our vision of the Medieval monk and the result is mindset has condemned him for his selfish escapism from the world and for who needed Christ outside of the cloister. The Medieval mindset was very an integral part of the local community -- it probably owned most of the fortunes of the people in any area were bound up with the spirituality of were on the front line of the spiritual battle-it was they who did battle in warded off devils and demons and who prayed tirelessly for the salvation of community. Rather than being the cowards of Christianity unable to take the life in the real world, the monks were like spiritual stormtroopers interceeding for an area against its supernatural enemies in mudh the same way as a local lord in his castle physical enemies. The people gave gifts to both lord and abbot in return for The Pardoner also represents the tradition of faith -- in respect to the church of his time. The Pardoner is representative of the seamy side of the corrupt church and a broken or faith of a bureaucracy, which is what the church had become. The Pardoner had the authority to forgive those who had sinned by selling pardons and the Pardoner was a church official, he was clearly in the "church" business Pardoner, a devious and somewhat dubious individual had one goal: Get the almost any means of coercion necessary. A twisted and ironic mind, has his work for a similarly corrupt church. In contrast, the Plowman has uncomplicated and untwisted faith. The Plowman has the faith of a poor bureaucracy of the church. The Pardoner is probably on this journey because by the church or he sees some sort of economic gain from this voyage, most forgiveness to the other pilgrims. The Plowman on the other hand is probably his sincerity and faith in its purpose. While this was the story of religion at 'grass-roots' level, at the organisational and hierarchical level, the church developed along a different line. It became more organized, more more centralized and basically more powerful on a European scale. This by the papacy and reached its pinnacle under Pope Innocent III in the early what became known as the 'papal monarchy' - a situation where the popes own world. The relative importance of spiritual and secular power in the the middle ages with both secular emperors and kings, and the popes divine authority with God's commands for God's people proceeding out of church is hard to exaggerate: its economic and political influence was huge, like the crusades, and even the number of churches that exist from this By the early 10th century, a strange malaise seems to have entered the comments from this time of a decline in learning among churchmen and an things of this earthly world. Even more of these lax standards had begun a of the church which included a decrease in acceptable behavior amongst of church institutions by lay people as a means of evading taxes. Christianity affected all men in Europe at every level and in every way. to much diversity and the shaping of Medieval religion into a land of man's feelings of extreme sinfulness and desire for God are quite evident Still, we are told that history repeats itself because nobody listens to it, history repeats itself because man is essentially the same from one the same aspirations, fears and flaws; yet the way that these are expressed This is why each period of history is different. The fact that man is the makes the study of the people who formed the medieval church directly applicable to Christians' lives and experiences today. Bibliography: Word Count: 3104
Copyright © 1998-2008 College Term Papers, INC All Rights Reserved. DMCA Notifications and Requests