ReligionThe Catholic Church
• As noted before, Western Europe broke down after the Fall of the Roman Empire.
• Only one organization provided a sense of stability and identity across all of Western Europe – The Catholic Church.
What was the only organization after the Fall of the Roman Empire that provided and sense of unity and identity in Europe?
ReligionCatholic Church
• The Catholic Church saw itself as the “bride” of Christ, the guardian of his teachings, and responsible for the diffusion of Christianity.
• During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church was an important part of every person’s daily life. The most important part of a person’s life was their salvation.
How does the Catholic Church view itself?
What was the most important thing to every person during Medieval times?
ReligionSt. Benedict
• St. Benedict lived right after the Fall of the Roman Empire and witnessed the chaos.
• He chose to leave the struggles of life behind him, and built a community of men dedicated to one thing – living a holy life.
• St. Benedict is Europe’s Patron Saint because these communities he created help heal some of the chaos in Europe.
Who was St. Benedict and what did he do?
ReligionMonastery
• Monasteries began to spring up all over Europe based on St. Benedict’s model.
• These monasteries provided a place for men and women (convents) to separate themselves from the world, so as to dedicated themselves to God.
What was a monastery?
ReligionMonastery
• These monastic communities also guarded and spread the Christian message.
• Monasteries fulfilled this role in two ways.1. They preserved Christian writings2. Became centers of learning
What are the two ways monasteries protected and spread the Christian message?
ReligionPreserving Religion
• Monasteries would have monks spend hours in the scriptorium copying by hand important books like the Bible or other writings by early Christians.
• Monasteries created some of the Middle Ages greatest art when they used “Illumination” to decorate the text.
What did monks do in a scriptorium?
What kind of art did monasteries create?
ReligionCenter of Learning
• Monasteries answered the call of Charlemagne when he issued an order to better educate boys for the priesthood.
• Monasteries created schools that at first only taught Christianity, but eventually taught many subjects.
• The first university in Europe was created from the monastery schools around France’s famous cathedral Notre Dame.
What did monasteries begin to create after a decree of Charlemagne for better educated boys?
Where did the first university develop in Europe?
ReligionReligious Orders • Monasteries could belong to different
religious orders (a group who follow common rules and serve Jesus), but overtime new religious orders began to form that were not part of a monastery.
• St. Francis of Assisi started the Franciscan Order; they dedicated their lives to poverty and serving the poor.
• St. Dominic started the Dominican Order; they dedicated their lives to teaching, especially about Christianity.
What is a religious order?
What were the Franciscan and Dominican Orders?
1. What was the only organization after the Fall of the Roman Empire that provided and sense of unity and identity in Europe?
2. How does the Catholic Church view itself?3. What was the most important thing to every person during Medieval times?4. Who was St. Benedict and what did he do?5. What are the two ways monasteries protected and spread the Christian message6. What did monks do in a scriptorium?7. What kind of art did monasteries create?8. What did monasteries begin to create after a decree of Charlemagne for better
educated boys?9. Where did the first university develop in Europe?10. What were the Franciscan and Dominican Orders?
