In the Medieval era, the Catholic Church was the main dominant force in religion across Europe. The church was more than just a religion as it played a significant role in determining the lives of the people who lived in this time. Its leaders ruled over many elements of the Medieval era and performed many activities that today’s governments play. It provided spiritual guidance to the individuals and the government. The population relied on the church for most things as it required the church to explain diseases, world events, and famines as they thought it was God’s punishment. During the period, beautifully decorated Catholic church art symbolized Christianity. The Catholic Church was influential in the Medieval time as it determined individuals’ economic, social, political, and religious lives.
The Catholic Church set the laws and regulations that people were to follow in society. The canon laws were established between 1100-1200 to guide the Catholics on religious teachings acceptable at that historical moment (Mckay et al. 269). The church established a court system that presided over the disputes related to ecclesiastical elections and church property. Most of the popes in the 12th and 13th centuries were canon lawyers to handle issues related to the church (Mckay et al. 269).
In this period, Innocent III became the most powerful pope in history. Popes and the clergymen used ex-communication to punish the community members who seemed to oppose them. Pope Boniface VIII used this power given to him by the church to compel King Philip IV of France and King Edward 1 of England to get his consent for the taxes that the rulers had imposed on the clergymen. There was a quest for power between the French monarchy and the papacy on their societal roles.
The church played a significant role in the spreading of Christianity in Medieval Europe. They organized for crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries to help spread Christianity (Mckay et al. 276). The movements were wars that the popes supported to reclaim some of the holy cities that the Muslims had captured, like Jerusalem. These wars represented a new understanding of the warrior noble class, which meant that the fight against the church’s enemies was a religious duty. The first crusade was successful as the society members showed devotion to winning the war against the Turks (Mckay et al. 277). The Catholic Church captured Jerusalem in 1099, slaughtered many Muslim defenders (Mckay et al. 277).
These crusades motivated the establishment of new religious orders, especially the military forces dedicated to protecting the Christian territories. Women also participated in the campaigns to help the men spread Christianity over entire Europe. The Muslim states had political fragmentation when the crusades were happening, and thus it made it easier for Christianity to lay in their territories.
The Catholic church served to advance education within Medieval Europe. In Medieval Europe, schooling usually took place within the monasteries, cathedrals, and covenants (Mckay et al. 271). The monasteries provided people with education and opportunities to improve their careers. This system was developed under Charlemagne, who encouraged the churches to teach individuals how to read and write. In this time, scholars developed new forms of writing to make reading easier. They began using lowercase letters in writing, unlike the earlier Romans, who only used capital letters. In this historical moment, the clergy were required to be educated. Most people in the schools were children of the noble studying for their careers in the clergy. They spent most of their time in memorization of the passages in the Bible in Latin and praying.
The Catholic Church contributed to an improvement in art and Christian architecture. In Medieval Europe, most of the art was created mainly for Christianity purposes. The paintings and the sculptures designed in this period reflected Jesus. The people placed these paintings outside the churches to support the worship. It helped the individuals who could not read have a better reflection of what Christianity entails.
The cathedrals that were built represented Medieval architecture as it inspired wonder. The churches constructed between 1150 and 1400 were built in Gothic style (Mckay et al. 249). Their walls were made of stones that had once been part of the castles and Carolingian walls. In the Gothic cathedrals, people saw the awesomely stained glass windows and listened to complex music within these churches (Mckay et al. 286). It significantly reflected the Medieval people’s great faith in Christianity.
In conclusion, the Catholic religion played a significant role in the Medieval period in affecting people’s lives. The church led to the dissemination of Christianity to many parts of Europe through the crusades they planned. The movements enabled them to recover their critical Christian territories from the Muslims. There was an establishment of the canon laws that handled various religions and conflicts in society. Education also spread in Medieval times as the church encouraged its population to read and write. There was a great inspiration in art as individuals built cathedrals in the Gothic style to show their strong faith in Christianity.
Work Cited
Mckay, John P., et al. A History of Western Society. 12th ed., Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.