world history

Bell Work Update your Table of Contents: P. 99 – Influence of the Catholic Church Notes

Daily Activities Influence of the Catholic Church Guided Notes Catholic Church Poster

Learning Target I can explain the importance of the Catholic church as a political, intellectual, and aesthetic institution.

Learning Target I can explain the importance of the Catholic church as a political, intellectual, and aesthetic institution.

Big Ideas The Christian Church shaped society and politics in medieval Europe. Orders of monks and friars did not like the Church’s political nature. Church leaders helped build the first universities in Europe. The church influenced the arts in medieval Europe.

Background Info Thousands of churches were built across Europe in the Middle Ages. They became the center of society. Nearly everyone living in Europe during this time was Christian. Church officials were called clergy and their teachings were very influential in culture and politics.

The Church & Society Life revolved around the local church, including markets, festivals, and religious ceremonies. Some people took long journeys called pilgrimages to see other holy cities like Jerusalem and Rome which had churches for them to visit.

The Church & Politics The church also gained political power during the Middle Ages. Many people left land to the church when they died, which gave the church land and power. Of all the clergy, bishops and abbots were most involved in political matters. Some got so involved they stopped dealing with religious matters, which bothered other Christians.

Monks & Friars People became increasingly unhappy with the political nature of the church. They thought that church should only focus on spiritual matters, and feared that the church had become obsessed with wealth and power. A religious order is a group of people who dedicate their lives to religion and follow common rules. Many new orders grew out of a desire to return to older Christian beliefs of helping the poor and not gaining wealth.

Other New Orders Some new orders had even stricter rules, including monks who took vows of silence and those who lived in tiny rooms and only left to go to church service. Although monks and nuns lived apart from society in their own religious homes called monasteries and convents, they did a great deal for their communities.

Universities Are Built While some people were living apart from society in monasteries and convents, others were looking for ways to learn more about the world. In time, their search for knowledge led to the world’s first universities. Muslim knowledge renewed interest in ancient writings. Some of the earliest universities were created by the church with the goal of teaching religion.

Universities Are Built, Continued Most teachers in these universities were clergy. Besides religion, they taught law, medicine, astronomy, and other courses. All classes were taught in Latin because it was the language of scholars and the church. Some people wondered how human reason (logic) and Christian faith were related. In the past, people had believed that some things could be proven with reason, but other things had to be taken on faith.

Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas was a teacher at the University of Paris. He argued that rational thought (logic) could be used to support Christian beliefs. For example, he wrote an argument to prove the existence of God. Thomas also believed that God had created natural law, which is law that governs how the world operates. He argued that if people learned more about this law, they could learn to live how God wanted.

The Church & The Arts The church had a strong influence on art and architecture. Religious feeling inspired artists and architects to create beautiful works of art.

Religious Architecture Many of Europe’s churches were incredible works of art. The grandest of these were cathedrals, large churches in which bishops led religious services. Starting in the 1100s, Europeans used a dramatic new style called Gothic architecture.

Religious Architecture, Continued Gothic cathedrals were not just places to pray and worship. They were symbols of the Christian faith and towering works of great majesty and glory.

Gothic Architecture What made these Gothic churches so unusual? They were much taller than older churches. The walls often rose up hundreds of feet. Huge windows of stained glass let sunlight pour in, filling the church with dazzling colors. Many of these churches still exist, and people continue to worship in them and admire their beauty.

Religious Art Medieval art included paintings and tapestries (paintings created on cloth). Monks created beautiful books called illuminations to record church history and teachings in an artful and beautiful way.

Influence of Catholic Church Poster Using your guided notes, a white piece of copy paper and your art supplies, create a poster to show one way that the Catholic Church influenced society. Must have a title, at least five facts, and two illustrations. Use the entire page!