ipl-logo

The Roman Catholic Church During The Middle Ages

1060 Words5 Pages

Is it possible for a religious order to control almost a whole continent and be the ruling power over many nations for many centuries? Imagine a world divided in factions and totally devoured by a lawless society. Who would gain the most control over this world? Mercenaries? A king? Or maybe even a religious order? During the Middle Ages, The Roman Catholic Church was one of the most widespread groups that assumed dominant power throughout most of Eastern and Western Europe. Citizens of many European nations were open to accepting very similar beliefs and values of the Roman Catholic Church as they expanded their territory. Many of the Church’s ideas and beliefs became integrated into these societies as a whole due to the positive embrace of …show more content…

During the Middle Ages, one might see Europe as a place without laws or order. One solution that the Church thought of as a way to educate society on morals and values, such as teachings of how to live a righteousness and moral life, was through the use of artistic depictions. With the growing popularity of story through image among Europeans, Roman Catholics were able to advertise their beliefs, of acting righteous and honorable before God, and subsequently, influence the people of Europe using these beliefs in art depictions to influence society’s thoughts. The Church’s art depictions, in the Middle Ages, reflected the values and beliefs that the Church wanted to uphold and advertise (Sorabella). The Roman Catholic Church’s goal to influence society throughout their many works becomes clear when you take a look at certain art pieces like Collection of Moral Tracts and the Use of Sarum. Writers from The British Library, when speaking about the Use of Sarum, said, “Here God and his angels can be seen at the top of the image in Heaven, while the fallen angels, becoming devils are seen in Hell below. Images like these emphasised the need to live a good Christian life” (Book). The Church had a clear-intended message with the creation of this art piece, wanted the viewer to imagine heaven and hell, and scared people into accepting their truth. Similarly, in the Collection of Moral Tracts, The British Library says that, as the art depicts, the nuns would gather in the Church and practice similar rituals to the monks and their practices (Collection). The Church began to use art as a new medium to not only express but also advertise their

Show More
Related
1663 Words | 7 Pages

In many way the definition relates back to the Crusades. The Crusades are a series of holy wars that involved two multi-ethnic groups (Christians and Muslims) that fought for political domination of core periphery for their own religion. The Crusades exhibited a rigorous cultural presence, which is very important when it comes to creating a successful empire. During the Crusades, Christians had the capability of persuading people to convery and accept to the new idea of their religion, Christianity (Tristano). In return to the peoples conversions, they gained allegiance and loyalty from their conveersoners, but grew further apart from their Muslim opponent (Tristano).

Read More
434 Words | 2 Pages

Throughout the period of 800 C.E. to 1750 C.E., the state of Europe cultivated with change and continuity towards its religious and intellectual development. Religiously, Christianity was crucial within the government and political leaders of Europe, yet also changed greatly in terms of exposure across the globe. Along with the religious development, there was also major intellectual change present. Intellectual thought transitioned from a more religiously bound idea to a more liberal sense of discovery, yet always held the need for knowledge in his esteem amongst its people.

Read More
618 Words | 3 Pages

Christianity eventually became adopted as the religion of the state, much like in late Chinese society which adopted

Read More
390 Words | 2 Pages

Religion has set the base on the beginning and expansion of many societies. For example, we see this in the 1600s, when Puritans and Separatists from England were moved by religion to settle towards North America in order to form their own colonies and establish their own religious rules. Ultimately, these colonies showed how religion played a key factor in the growth of society in New England, with Puritanism being the focus of the religion. In the 1530s, King Henry VIII’s daughter named Elizabeth creates an Anglican church which ends up causing problems for the Puritans.

Read More
355 Words | 2 Pages

irst Century, Peter, the first pope, and the apostles that Jesus chose were, for the most part, married men. Second and Third Century, The Roman Catholic church took on the feeling that a person cannot be married and be perfect. However, most priests were married. Fourth Century, 306-Council of Elvira, Spain, decree #43: a priest who sleeps with his wife the night before Mass will lose his job.

Read More
648 Words | 3 Pages

These different environments led to two very different subject materials: secular in Amsterdam and non-secular in Rome. Despite some similarities, these differences distinctly separate Protestant Baroque in the north of Europe and Counter-Reformation Baroque in the south of Europe and two paintings can accurately portray these differences and similarities: “The Calling of Saint Matthew” by Caravaggio and “The Art of Painting” by Vermeer. During the tumultuous changes of the 16th century, Catholic subject matter in art was equal parts pagan and Christian. After 1545, when Pope Paul III called the Council of Trent, this was changed.

Read More
138 Words | 1 Pages

Luther believed that the Catholic Church was full of falsities and clerical malpractices, and it was this belief of corruption that pushed Luther – along with the majority of Western European Civilization – to desire a reform that would correct all problems within the church (“European Religion During the Early 16th Century”). One of Luther’s main goals, which was supported by Chancellor Thomas Cromwell, during the Reformation was to translate the original text of the Bible into English, which caused many people to fear that it would take away from the original intended meaning of the biblical word; however, to their relief, the traditional church services were still held in Latin even after the Reformation. As a result of this reform movement,

Read More
1261 Words | 6 Pages

The notion that Man is saved by grace and not by works challenged the core beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church, it sparked a great religious movement throughout Britain and the thirteen colonies known as the Great Awakening. The Great Awakening, typically known now as the First Great Awakening began in the 1730s and continues through the 1740s. This movement consisted of church revivals that focused on the people’s relationship with Jesus and not how much power or money they possessed. George Whitefield, a great influencer in the movement, said, “Take care of your life and the Lord will take care of your death.” (1740)

Read More
543 Words | 3 Pages

Looking back to the beginnings of the Bronze Age (3300-1300 BCE) to around the fall of Rome (476 A.D.), religion would take a strangle hold on society and be the reason for mass migration, enslavement, revolts, wars, and even create a harmony between different cultures . The Western society would have faltered and human expansion would be nothing like it is today, if Religion and more specifically the monotheism religions such as Judaism and the Catholic Church ceased to exist and did not play the pivotal role in shaping society as we know it. To really understand the role the Catholic Church play on shaping Western civilization, one must look back to previous forms of religion and understand how faith in Gods or a single God intertwined with the daily life of most human beings. Early forms of religion were built around the belief of multiple Gods (polytheism).

Read More
366 Words | 2 Pages

3. The Crown’s offering of parliamentary sovereignty allowed the government to operate separately and this enabled a free market system to thrive, which caused leaders like Matthew Henry and Isaac Watts to encourage the people to work hard, hope for salvation in the next world and pursue efficiency and moderate prosperity in this world. Evidence suggests that Britain was strongly influenced by Christianity in the Dark Ages and Christianity was a fundamental tool for defining classes in the society (Davis 36). This is because in the Dark Ages (500 BC – 1100 BC), authority was granted to monarchs and nobles with the consent of the Pope and the Vatican Church.

Read More
424 Words | 2 Pages

The church teaching of the sacraments has changed over time especially with confession and anointing of the sick. Not all aspects of the church have been there from the beginning, some have developed and others have formed new life. During the development of the church the people have asked themselves how many sacraments are there? And what are these sacraments?

Read More
1118 Words | 5 Pages

The Medieval Roman Catholic Church and The Eastern Orthodox Church For centuries, the historical events from both the Medieval Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church have been widely studied due to the unique links between them (Hindson and Caner, 2008). The two churches have always been compared because of the religious divide during the medieval times. Each entity is derived from Christianity and shares several similarities as well as differentiations. Understanding the Medieval Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church requires an in-depth review of historical events and scriptures from throughout the ages.

Read More
2225 Words | 9 Pages

Rome to Renaissance Essay What do the sources for this course tell us about the Church and politics in the middle ages. During the Middle Ages, various events caused the Church to become gradually powerful and dominant as it was the only universal European institution. The fall of Rome resulted in the Rise of Christianity. As Rome ceased to be the political centre and was replaced by Milan and Nicomedia, Christianity slowly began to rise to prominence and by 325AD, Christianity was made the preferred religion of the empire. By 380, Christianity became the official religion.

Read More
2123 Words | 9 Pages

Connor Fitzgerald Mr. Bluhm Theology Credit Recovery 15 June 15 Theology Essay #1 - Catholic Social Justice Themes There are four main areas that emphasize Catholic social teaching. The four areas are respect for creation, economics, solidarity among nations, and love for the poor. These four areas, if we follow them, will help us live a Christ-like life and take care of not only the world that God gave us, but ourselves and our neighbors. Respect for creation means that we take care of what God gave us, and we only use a small amount of what He gave us because what God gave us, is all we have forever and for generations ahead.

Read More
310 Words | 2 Pages

The Middle Ages in Europe, a period from approximately 500 and 1400 B.C.E, is often label by a variety of terms such as the Dark Ages, Age of faith, Age of Feudalism or a Golden Age. In my opinion, the term that best describes this time period is the Age of Faith. For the following reasons, major events such as the crusades were started because of religious beliefs, in addition people reached and the Church The age of Faith inspired the crusades. In 1093, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus sent a letter to Robert, Count of Flanders, the letter was also read by Pope Urban ii.

Read More

More about The Roman Catholic Church During The Middle Ages

Related Topics

Open Document