were therefore connected to the martyrs who they replaced. The rise of severe monasticism and relic worship however was quite controversial -- Both the worship of relics and ascetic monasticism however became a pillar of this Medieval religion, and the idea that monks were a new form of martyr persisted over time. Both monks as well as martyrs were looked upon as holy men. There is also a monk in Chaucers works. The monk, another holy character in The Canterbury Tales, shows how the church is not corrupt. He is someone who combined godliness and worldliness into a profitable and comfortable living. He was the outrider or the person in charge of the outlying property....which lead him to enjoy hunting, fine foods, and owning several horses. Monks renounced all their worldly belongings and by taking vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, joined a community of monks. Their lives were spent in communal worship; devotional reading, prayer and manual labor all under the authority of the abbot of the monastic house. Particular monks often had particular jobs. Monks were nearly always of noble ancestry (one had to have wealth in order to give it up) but could also be given to the monastery as children to be brought up as monks. The traditional thought of the monk has blurred our vision of the Medieval monk and the result is that the modern Christian mindset has condemned him for his selfish escape from the world of reality and for his apparent neglect of those who needed Christ outside of the refuge. The Medieval mindset was very different. The monastery was an integral part of the local community -- it probably owned most of the farming land in the area- and the fortunes of the people in any area were bound up with the spirituality of its religious house. The monks were on the front line of the spiritual battle-it was they who did battle in prayer for their community, who chased off devils and demons and who prayed tirelessly for t...
