QUESTION: Why and in what ways was religion important in

the Middle Ages?

Kushagar Maini
10FZK
The Middle Ages or usually referred to as The Dark ages, is a
period of time lasting from 440AD up until the early 15th century,
subsequent to the fall of the western Roman empire. This is
characterized by order as well as a dramatic increase in fighting and
all that has been learnt in the classical times is lost. Survival is all
that the average person can aspire to do. There are numerous
components of the Middle Ages, religion being one of the most
important of them. Religion was given much importance in the
Dark ages as people of this period were prepared to sacrifice their
lives for it. Churches dominated village life. This essay, will
therefore, be discussing the importance of religion; that gave people
hope, had power, helping the people as well as providing vague
answers to their questions.
First and most important of all, due to the numerous wars which had
begun all across Europe scientific discoveries that had been made
by the Ancient civilizations were lost, therefore, books of religion
were looked upon for the answers to questions of the average
Middle Ages mans mind. Due to the limited knowledge of the
Middle ages it is quite commonly referred to as the Dark ages. A
period, in which people followed the explanations written in the
books of god and nowhere else did they even attempt to search
answers for. The age-old question for example, how was the
universe created? A rather ongoing question whose logical answer
or rather theories we have only have discovered in the last 20 or so
years. Followers of the church were also introduced to the ideology
of heaven and hell as well as for religious reasons for the occurrence
of death and disease. To all questions however, only one answer was
found, God. It was and still is for some is still believed that he had
been the one who created the world and everything else within it.
Ignorance and the passive attitude towards science of the people
led to very little developments, researches and inventions being
made in this field. Without guidance from the bibles the people of
this era simply could not have survived as their minds enquired too
much, to which short were they of answers. Hence, religion was
important, as it seemed to fill up gaps, which had been left in
medieval knowledge.
Furthermore, since the dawn of time churches have been known to
provide help for those in need of it, the Middle Ages being a period
much affected by this. For the poor and sick of the Middle Ages the
church accommodated them with housing and in times of war,
refuge. Widely amongst the community was healthcare provided by
the church. Moreover, prior to the complicated education systems,

which are found in the modern world churches, were the only form
of schooling found. However, only upper class boys were able to be
fortunate enough to receive proper schooling. Therefore, without the
legacy of the church the ability to read and write would not have
existed in the Middle Ages. Also in the church, the exchange of
wedding vows would take place, marking the beginning of a
prosperous relationship. This increased the importance of religion,
as the process of holy matrimony was not performed elsewhere.
Holidays the term the modern defines as being certain days of the
year people are permitted an extended time of leisure and
recreation is derived from the Middle Ages in which it was referred
to as holy days, celebrating auspicious days such as the birthdays
of renown saints. Slaves and peasants being given a few days off
from their mind numbing, work. To conclude, the help religion
offered was necessary for medieval society as they were to yet
discover, medicine, public transport and professional schooling.
More importantly, living in constant fear of either disease or death,
people of the period were in need of a support system to provide
hope for them. Religion was therefore looked upon. The Black Death
was an airborne disease that rapidly spread throughout Medieval
England, killing off over 40% of the total population. Clearly, in this
time of despair and chaos the people required for someone to
console them and bring rays light into their much-darkened world.
Religious figures such as popes would give sermons on the issue,
convincing the people that even though they were to die if they
prayed and kept faith in God, their afterlife would be spent in
heaven. A sense of purpose to those enduring the disease was
given. They were gifted with words, the meaning of life. For those
who were forced upon doing backbreaking repetitive labor for most
days of the week the two hours on Sunday were most probably the
only sense of hope they received. The Crusades, known to be the
mightiest wars to be held on the land of Christ, Constantinople were
much influenced by priests as well as various other religious figures.
In order to accumulate army popes across gave sermons that if a
man if he shall draw his last breath on the battlefield they may
travel directly to Heaven. This also showed the desperation of the
people to reach the mighty land of God and if be give their life. All
those who complied with the church were promised a higher quality
life in their next life. Hope provided by the medieval church was
essential as the period in which they inhabited consisted of much
chaos from the constant fighting and spreading of deadly diseases.
On top of this, the power of the church played a vital role in keeping
control in the medieval times. The church had immense power over
the people so much that they it had its own tax and set of rules, the
cannon rules. Religion played a major role in maintaining feudal
system without which there would be no law and order. Kings and
emperors also relied heavily on the church to claim their divine right
to rule. As the Church supported was in favor of the divine right,
peasants, knights, tenants and many others gave respect and
loyalty to kings whole-heartedly Members of the church who wished

to secure their positions within heaven had various methods of

doing so. Firstly, they were rather forced to donate tithes, 10% of
there perishes. Priests and other religious figures also sold positions
in heaven referred to as indulgences. Moreover, the medieval
church had such a strong grasp on its people that for their God
civilians were willing to give up their own lives. However, due to this
much religion based rule people of the Middle Ages were forced
upon a rather Theocracy, in which they were to live by the Bible and
be punished based on wrongdoings against the Bible. Nevertheless,
the Catholic Church managed to maintain law and order within the
people. For all those who did not comply with the church however,
wistfully were they out casted from society. Hence, some were
forced to believe in Christ. Personally, I feel that as the Feudal
system was encompassed around the Catholic Church its absence in
Medieval England could have been led to mass destruction, as
alternative forms of government had not yet been created.
In conclusion, the question Why and in what ways was religion
important in the Middle Ages is quite vital to answer, understand
and comply with as it allows historians and others to interpret
medieval life. Hope from the church gave society a new meaning of
life. This was essential, especially for peasants as their current lives
consisted of nothing to live for. The Middle Ages revolved very
much around religion. However if the Catholic Church was to be
erased from Medieval England this period of time would simply
become insignificant as it was religion whom people, lived for, lived
by and if need be died for.