How Important to Medieval Society Were the Religious Orders - Essay Example

?The Importance of Religious Orders to Medieval Society Introduction Religion has been a fundamental part of everyday life since time memorial1. However, its importance during the medieval times was particularly profound. According to research, religion in Europe during the middle ages revolved around Christianity, which was the only recognized religion in the form of Catholic. As such, the lives of people during the medieval times were dominated by the church. Accordingly, from birth to death, regardless of whether one is a serf, King, peasant or noble, their lives revolved around the church and the medieval religion. Research indicates that various religious institutions such as convents and monasteries became extremely important, powerful, and influential. In this regard, the lives of most medieval people including the orders of nuns and monks were dedicated to religion and the Catholic Church2. Because of the influence of religion during the medieval times, most people such as the peasants, nobles, and Kings spent their lives working and sleeping in churches. The religious influence gave a majority of people in society during the medieval times the opportunity to aim for things they believe would be good for them. In fact, in the afterlife, people were considered equal regardless of their titles3. Religion also played a leading role in preventing peasants from becoming rebellious during the middle ages. This helped in maintaining peace in the countries and preventing them from anarchy due to the fear of waiting in the afterlife. In addition, being religious during the middle ages did not just act as guideline to people, but also provided a social network for peasant and those ranked lower in the hierarchy. However, the most striking feature of middle age is that people were organized in different religious groups known as religious orders. Some of the religious orders of this period include the crusades, Knights Templar, Benedictines, Franciscans, Dominicans, Augustinians, and Cistercians. This paper seeks to explore the importance of religious orders to the medieval society. The lives of people during the middle ages revolved around religion, especially the Catholic Church, which was the dominant church during the time. Accordingly, the Catholic Church was the only church in Europe. Therefore, all the laws and important roles in the government were left at the hands of the church leaders like bishops and archbishops. Research also indicates that the Pope had immense powers during this time to the extent that he could excommunicate a king for misdeed. As earlier stated, religion had a great influence on every aspects of human live during this period. However, people organized themselves around religious groups known as religious orders, which played an important role economically, socially, culturally and politically4. The religious orders had profound impacts on the economy of Western Europe in the medieval era. Research indicates that the society of Western Europe in the medieval times were largely agrarian with a population consisting of tillers of land, which was the basis of wealth creation and political power. The manor was the basic unit of such a society. The manor in this case refers to the agricultural land reserved to a lord. The manor mainly consisted of peasants whose main duty was to till the land for the lord’s benefit. However, since religion dictated how everything was to be done, lands where crops are grown were being cultivated in accordance with the three-land system5. The religious orders, especially the Benedictine played a leading role in ensuring that the society become food sufficient and economically stable. This is particularly evident with the Benedictine in the 12th century France, where the need to feed, clothe and house the monks increased the need to have a stable economy with enough food surplus, decent shelter and clothing. In this regard, the Benedictine monk ensured people ploughed land and engaged in productive activities to ensure that society has enough food. Additionally, a monastery was expected to ensure that everyone in society has food. Further, the Benedictine ensured that the economy is stabilized by operating the vineyards, as well as opening workshops. However, since donations were not enough, monastery cultivated plants, reared livestock, and attempted to generate as much surplus as possible, with excess being sold to the rest of the population. This enabled the monks to buy what they do not produce and sell surplus to others. This helped in stimulating the economy, which later became stable with enough food surpluses to feed the monk and the population6. However, not only did the Benedictine contributed to the economic growth of the western Europe during the medieval era, but also the Carthusians, Cistercians, Dominicans and Franciscans which were formed thereafter at a time when religion was very close to the hearts of the people during this period. The economic contributions of these new religious orders were also immense. This is because they aided the development of guilds and crafts in the towns. For instance, apprenticeship became the norm for youths wishing to acquire knowledge on craft but only the most experienced was considered a master artisan. The contributions of these religious orders greatly spurred the economic growth as well7. The religious orders also had a huge impact on the social order in the medieval era. This is evident from the monasticism of the middle age, which provides number of examples to this effect. It is evident that the religious orders of the medieval period emphasized on the need to care for every person in society both physically and spiritually. To provide the necessary care needed, hospitals, and hospices had to be operated from homes. In addition, people from all walks of life had to be provided with food and shelters. This is evident since even the passersby were being given food and shelters. In additions, to boost the literacy level of people in society, people of this era operated schools. In fact, those who could not afford fees were allowed to attend schools without being required to pay tuition fees. This explains why people of the medieval era had high literacy levels than their predecessors8. Regarding the missionary, certain orders appears to have been very active. This especially evident with early Franciscans which consisted mostly of mendicant preachers. Nevertheless, almost every order had some members committed to missionary work in the medieval period. As a result, a significant development was realized, which might surprise the modern observer like the union hall, formerly the Irish monestary9. The Franciscans also contributed to the formation of a new social class, transforming the knighthood from its low position of the early centuries to fundamental aspect of society. In this regard, it is noted that even though knights tried at one time to become lords, now all the feudal lords were transformed to become knights, a system which was consecrated by the Catholic Church, which required knights to vow and live in accordance with code of chivalry10. The religious orders of the middle ages also contributed greatly in shaping the culture of the people during the time. This is evident from the fact that it contributed immensely in the creation of great artworks and illuminated manuscript. It is notable that the development in urban society and the tension between order and spirituality in the church during the medieval period contributed immensely to the development of new creative styles in visual arts, literature, music, and architecture. Stylistic changes were also took place in visual arts as was evident in through paintings, metalwork, sculpture, architecture, stained glass and performing arts, such as drama and music. The gothic art also has its origin in the medial era. The religious orders also led to the spread of culture centered on Christianity. As a result, Christianity became the dominant culture of the western civilization. Research indicates that the religious orders during the medieval era forbid associating with religions other than Christianity. In this regard, those found showing allegiance to other religions were to be prosecuted or disbanded from the community. Therefore, the origin of Christianity can be said to have originated in the middle ages11. Conclusion Religion played an important role in the medieval period. We realized that religion during the middle age revolved around the Christianity, especially the Catholic Church. As such, lives of people in the middle ages revolved around the church and medieval religion. However, people during this era were organized into different religious orders, which played a major role in enhancing the economic, social, and cultural aspects of society. It is, however, evident that the religious orders were not similar and played different roles. Benedictine, for example, played a major role in enhancing the economy of the Western Europe during the medieval period. This is because it advocated for farming, manufacturing, and producing surplus food for the population. The Franciscan also played an important role during the middle age by influencing heavily the social aspects of live during the medieval era. This is evident from the fact that the Franciscans were dedicated to missionary work, which included helping the needy through provision of food, clothing, and shelter. Other orders religious orders such as the crusades, Knights Templar, Dominicans, Augustinians and Cistercians also played an important role economically, socially, culturally and politically. Bibliography A Vauchez. "La cathedrale." In: Pierre Nora, ed. Les Lieux de Memoire. Paris: Gallimard, 1997. Vol. III. pp. 3122. C F Barnes. "Cathedral." In: Joseph Strayer, ed. Dictionary of the middle Ages. New York: Scribner’s, (1938). Vol. III. pp. 191. F Heer. The Medieval World: Europe 1100-1350. Winnipeg, Canada: Mentor Books, 1961. Pp. 13. K Tankard. “The Medieval World: Europe during the Middle Ages.” The Time Traveller. (1999). Web. 9 Aug. 2013, http://www.worldhistory.knowledge4africa.com/medieval/overview.jsp. S M Stuart. Women in Medieval Society. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1976, pp. 14. U Richard. "The Medieval Cathedral: From Spiritual Site to National Super-Signifier." The Year's Work in Medievalism 15 (2001), pp.127. Read More