European Medieval Period Is an Age of Faith - Essay Example

European Medieval Period is an Age of Faith Every period of human history has its defining characteristics. The medieval period of Europe is not an exception in this respect. In particular, it is considered to be an “age of faith”. Being aware of the peculiarities of that time, it becomes obvious that that very concept of faith differs from our modern idea of confession. Let’s consider the precise meaning of faith for the typical medieval European Christians in theory and practice and then arrive at the conclusion whether the medieval period of Europe is truly an “age of faith”. Firstly, it must be mentioned that Christianity has passed through a long way of rooting in medieval Europe, actually being fundamentally developed there only towards the end of Middle Ages. Till that moment the religion has been coexisting alongside with remains of paganism veneered with Christianity. Still, with adoption of Christianity a new era of humanity has begun. The religion and its immediate sanctuary of numerous churches have occupied leading position in solution of most questions and issues in all areas of public and cultural life of the society. Church has dominated politics, morality, science, education and art. The entire worldview of medieval men has been theological. Such a popularity of Christian confession among people accounts for the sense of Christian faith, that is, the idea of equality of all human beings before God. This belief has given the feeling of absence of social injustice to representatives of ordinary medieval people without social status or wealth. In fact, their moral and physical sufferings from life hardships have lost their extremely negative coloring in the eyes of people who just a while ago had compared their misery with wellness of the rich and realized that contrast between them with a great intensity. The whole picture has changed with medieval people’s believing the idea that all men are just guests in this world, and regardless their social and financial state on the earth, they have a great opportunity to reach paradise, if only they think and act for the sake of everything of animate and inanimate nature. Otherwise, they are going to be buried in hell in the result of their harmful and damaging deeds. Anyway, medieval people have fallen under the strong ideological influence of Christianity, propagating an idea of salvation that may be and must be merited by every person. Thus, by getting the religion of Christianity, population of medieval Europe has accepted its key beliefs including the idea of godlessness of the entire human race infected by the original sin of Adam and Eve, and the idea of expiation of all people before God, whose saint path is available for humanity owing to the voluntary suffering and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Altogether, this faith has conquered hearts and minds of Christianity followers, mainly due to the deep influence of churches and the word of priesthood. Furthermore, there has been an additional stimulating factor of strengthening of churches’ power, namely: the intensity of belief in oncoming Judgment Day and the end of the fallen world, which are called to show who has led holy life and who has been carried away from true path by sinful life. Naturally, men have been extremely afraid of recompense for their sins. So it is obvious that the whole life of medieval European Christians has been modeled after these beliefs. Anyway, people regularly if not hourly have attended churches and temples being guided by their faith in omnipotent and omnipresent God. In this regard, men had just acutely appreciated the idea of presence in their life of the just and merciful saint Lord, that churches have become the very link with God. So, there is nothing striking in the fact that priests have turned into owners of the world. As a consequence, such a state or rather to say the role of Christianity in people’s life has defined the nature of medieval Europe and actually has given it the name of an “age of faith”. One of the specific peculiarities of religious views of medieval Europe is its belief in remission of sins by the means of indulgences buying. The thing is that churchmen have believed in their ability of complex or partial pardon of believers’ sins explaining this fact by the assertion that the huge merits of Jesus Christ, Ever-Virgin Mary and holy men before God had formed the inexhaustible supply of divine grace, which is administered by church for distribution to dignified persons only. As a consequence, people have received an opportunity to get indulgence, a kind of certificate serving as a proof of past sins absolution and selling by church to followers who had faulted. In such a manner, there is no doubt that faith in theory and practice has differed in perception of medieval European Christians. In theory they have been afraid of God’s punishment for their sins in the day of reckoning, while in practice there has been an option to buy off their sins by the means of indulgences, which nevertheless have been available not to everyone, but only to the people with money. So, the poor have again appeared in unequal social position, even through mediation between people and church, which has been seen by them as a representation of God’s will. Therefore, Christians’ belief and practice have been of somewhat different nature in reality. It is natural that all mentioned above peculiarities of medieval European Christianity have found their reflection in literary works. For the comparison between paganism and Christianity in their contrast, we may analyze the depiction of the first one in Homer’s “The Odyssey”. The poem represents the whole manifestation of pagans’ inhumane principles, including cruelty and disregard to human life. At first glance, the commandment of two faiths is the same, that is, bring good to people, don’t curse, and so on. But still, the fundamental difference is really felt. There is the one position in Christianity that is alien to paganism, namely: mercy and forgiveness. As we can see, if the enemy does not surrender, he is destroyed by pagans who then just jump on his bones and scoff at his body in every possible way. For a pagan Odyssey, the suitors are enemies and should be killed, regardless their degree of sin. If anyone has told the King of Ithaca about leniency to at least some men hed come to wonder the reasons for their mercy, as their murder is deep-righteous step according to earthly and heavenly laws (Homer). “The Divine Comedy” of Dante in its turn appears to be a kind of religious manifest of its time, representing Christian concept of eternity, which can be spend in hell, purgatory or paradise (Dante). Human passions from their mortal life are presented by the author as a direct way to one of the three destinations of another world. The typical for the poem ternary division is deeply symbolic: it embodies the Christian idea of Trinity. Making use of road of sorrows, Dante, however, doesn’t aim to show the sinfulness of earthly life and to draw peoples attention to after-life. He aspires demonstrating and eradicating of social evils, while suffering of sinners in hell are called to awaken people’s desire to improve their earthly existence. Dante doesn’t deprive readers from reality, he makes them to dive into it, to reflect on their lives, rethink it in the light of the gained knowledge. For this very reason all his characters are specific and individual, and this aspect only enhances the feeling of their real existence. Surely, the most part of their images is creation of Dante’s imagination. Still, there probably have been some prototypes in his real life, which had stimulated him for writing of the poem thundering against people’s sins. Finally, Chretien de Troyes’ “Arthurian Romances” reflect the role of Christianity in the life of medieval people. In practice, they represent paganism veneered with Christianity. There are numerous proofs of unclear dominance of any faith, since Arthur searches for the Holy Grail, the Cup from which Jesus drank during Last Supper (the manifestation of Christianity’s presence in people’s life), while after his death his body is put in a boat and sent down the river (a clear evidence of pagans’ rituals) (Troyes). One way or another, there is one strong representation of Christian teaching, which is realized in Merlin’s proclamations addressed to the knights, namely: not to commit murder, cruelty or evil, to avoid betrayal, lies and dishonor, to give mercy to those asking, and, above all, to give honor and patronage to women (Troyes). All things considered then analyzed literary works introduce clearness into the question of religious belief and practice of European Christians in Middle Ages. In particular, they reflect people’s thoughts and faith in their somewhat complicated way, for Christianity has not been adopted at once. Still, the medieval period of Europe is may be called an “age of faith”, since all areas of people’s life both in theory and practice have been penetrated by influence of religion. Works Cited Chretien de Troyes. Arthurian Romances.Trans. William W. Kibbler. Penguin, 1991. Dante. The Divine Comedy: the Inferno. Trans. Robin Kirkpatrick. Penguin, 2006. Homer, The Odyssey. Trans. Robert Fagles. Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition, 1997. Read More