Medieval Christian Church
Summary
TLDRIn this engaging podcast, Mr. Zer delves into the pivotal role of the Christian medieval church in shaping society, highlighting the church's hierarchical structure with the Pope at its apex and Parish priests as its foundation. He explains the church's influence on daily life, from birth to death, and its unique meritocracy allowing social mobility within its ranks. The script also underscores the church's formidable powers, such as excommunication, which was a severe punishment in the feudal era, and the concept of heresy, emphasizing the church's centrality in medieval life.
Takeaways
- π° The Christian medieval church was central to medieval society, influencing both social and religious aspects of life.
- π Men of prayer, war, and work were the three parts of medieval society, with the church focusing on the men of prayer.
- π The term 'clergy' refers to religious officials who work for the church, distinct from other roles like scribes.
- π The Pope held supreme authority in the Christian church, making both religious and political decisions.
- π Parish priests were at the bottom of the church hierarchy, overseeing local church services and religious instruction.
- π¨β𦱠Bishops managed a group of parishes, known as a diocese, and had significant influence in feudal society.
- π Archbishops were above bishops in the hierarchy, overseeing a group of dioceses known as an archdiocese.
- π Cardinals were the Pope's advisers, providing guidance on spiritual, political, and legal matters, and electing the Pope.
- π The church offered a merit-based system for advancement, unlike the rigid class structures of political society.
- π« Excommunication was a powerful tool of the church, effectively removing individuals from the central institution of life.
- π· Heresy, the denial or disbelief in church teachings, was a serious crime punishable by excommunication.
Q & A
What is the central theme of Mr. Zer's social studies podcast?
-The central theme of the podcast is the Christian medieval church and its structure and influence on medieval society.
According to King Alford the Great, how can medieval society be divided?
-King Alford the Great suggests that medieval society can be divided into three parts: men of prayer, men of war, and men of work.
What is the role of the Christian Church in medieval society?
-The Christian Church is at the center of medieval society, influencing both social and religious aspects of life from birth to death.
What does the term 'clergy' refer to in the context of the Christian Church?
-The term 'clergy' refers to religious officials who work for the church, specifically those who are religious leaders.
Who is at the top of the hierarchy of the Christian Church?
-The Pope is at the top of the hierarchy of the Christian Church, holding supreme authority over both religious and political decisions.
What is the role of Parish priests in the Christian Church hierarchy?
-Parish priests oversee a local church or parish, conducting church services and supervising religious instruction.
What is the term used for a group of parishes managed by a Bishop?
-A group of parishes managed by a Bishop is called a diocese.
What is the term for a group of dioceses overseen by an Archbishop?
-A group of dioceses overseen by an Archbishop is called a province or an archdiocese.
Who are the advisers of the Pope, and what is their role?
-The advisers of the Pope are called Cardinals, who provide spiritual, political, and legal advice, and also select the Pope when necessary.
How does the church offer opportunities for advancement that are different from the rest of medieval society?
-The church offers a merit-based system where individuals can be promoted through its hierarchy, unlike the rigid social structure of feudal society.
What is the significance of the church's power to excommunicate in medieval society?
-Excommunication, or expulsion from the church, was a significant punishment in medieval society, as the church was central to life, and being removed from it had severe social and religious implications.
What is the definition of heresy in the context of the medieval church?
-Heresy is the crime of denying or not believing in the teachings of the church, which could lead to excommunication if the individual is found guilty.
Outlines
π° Introduction to the Medieval Church Hierarchy
This paragraph introduces the Christian medieval church as a central institution in medieval society, emphasizing its role in both social and religious life. King Alford's quote categorizes medieval society into 'Men of Prayer,' 'Men of War,' and 'Men of Work,' with the focus on the 'Men of Prayer.' The term 'clergy' is introduced to describe religious officials working for the church. The paragraph outlines the hierarchical structure of the Christian church, starting with the Pope at the top and descending through Archbishops, Bishops, and Parish priests at the bottom. The unique opportunity for social mobility within the church is highlighted, contrasting with the rigid social structure of the rest of medieval society.
π The Church's Power and Influence in Medieval Society
The second paragraph delves into the powers and influence of the church in medieval society. It discusses the potential for clergy to advance within the church hierarchy based on merit, a stark contrast to the hereditary social structure outside the church. The church's authority to excommunicate individuals, effectively removing them from social and religious life, is underscored as a significant power. Heresy, the denial of church teachings, is identified as a serious crime punishable by excommunication. The paragraph concludes by connecting the church's structure and powers to its overarching influence on daily life during the medieval period, setting the stage for further discussion on the church's role in society.
Mindmap
Keywords
π‘Christian medieval church
π‘Clergy
π‘Hierarchy
π‘Pope
π‘Parish priests
π‘Bishops
π‘Archbishops
π‘Cardinals
π‘Excommunication
π‘Heresy
π‘Merit-based system
Highlights
Introduction to the Christian medieval church and its central role in medieval society.
Explanation of King Alford the Great's quote dividing medieval society into men of prayer, war, and work.
The Christian Church's omnipresence in medieval life from birth to death.
Definition and role of clergy as religious officials working for the church.
Hierarchy of the Christian church, starting with the Pope at the top.
Description of the Pope's supreme authority over religious and political decisions.
Role of Parish priests as overseers of individual churches and their communities.
Bishops' responsibility for managing groups of parishes within a diocese.
Archbishops' oversight of groups of bishops and their respective dioceses.
Cardinals as the Pope's advisers and their role in selecting a new Pope.
Opportunity for advancement within the church, unlike the rigid social structure of feudal society.
The appeal of working for the church for those not of noble birth due to merit-based promotion.
The church's power to condemn or forgive sinners, central to medieval life.
Political power of the church and its influence on medieval citizens' beliefs and actions.
Excommunication as a severe punishment for heresy, severing ties with the central church.
Definition of heresy as the denial or disbelief in the church's teachings.
Essential question posed: How was the Medieval Church structured and how did it influence medieval life?
Summary of the church's structure and its influence on daily life and decision-making power in medieval Europe.
Transcripts
[Music]
greetings students and welcome to
another edition of Mr Zer social studies
podcast I'd like to begin today by
talking about the Christian medieval
church and we're going to start out with
a quote this is a quote by King Alford
the great and he said this about
medieval Society he said you could
divide it up into three different parts
we're talking about men of prayer Men of
War and Men of work now today we're
going to be talking about our men of
prayer and the church that they make up
here now if you're talking about the
Christian Church you need to remember
that it is at the center of medieval
Society we said nearly every Manor is
going to have a Christian Church on it
but even more than that at the center of
your life in medieval times as the
Christian church from baptism at Birth
to marriages to funerals your social
life as well as your religious life is
tied to the Christian church now if
we're talking about people there's a
term that I need you to know and this
term is called clergy something called
clergy now I need to make sure that you
grab a pencil because you're definitely
going to want to write this down the
term clergy simply means religious
officials who work for the church now I
want to I want to make sure that we
understand we're talking about religious
officials here um so not the scribes or
anything like that um but the people who
who are actually religious leaders so I
tell you what why don't you pause while
you write this down and then unpause it
when you're ready to
go all right um now let's start to talk
a little bit about these religious
officials and figure out who they are
and how they fit into the hierarchy of
the Christian church when you see that
word hierarchy we're talking about the
different levels that people are going
to make up so we've got our hierarchy
that's on our notebook page so I want
you to once again you're going to want
to write this down because this is
definitely a main idea I want to start
out at the top at the top of the
hierarchy of the Christian church is the
pope now the pope holds supreme
authority over the church he makes the
religious decisions as well as the
political decisions he's in charge he's
at the very top now I tell you what if
we jump all the way then down to the
bottom at the very bottom we have our
Parish priests our Parish priests
oversee you see this word over here a
parish um so that's just going to be
like one individual church maybe they're
the religious leader over one uh
particular manner or one particular Town
um they conduct church services uh and
supervise that religious instruction if
we work our way up this chart then the
next group that we would come to would
be the Bishops now the bishop Bishops
manage over a group of parishes remember
that Parish the parish is the individual
unit the Bishops manage a group of
Parish parishes and this is called a
dasis um actually in the early days of
feudal society this bishop over here
he's probably a feudal Lord in and of
himself um but they oversee all the
local Parish priests above our Bishops
then come our
archbishops and so we notice we've got
this little prefix over here the
archbishops oversee a group of Bishops
if a bishop
oversees a group of parishes called a
dasis then the Archbishop over here he
oversees a group of dases called an arch
dasis so he has control over this group
of Bishops in his area that leaves only
one group left um right below the pope
and indeed these are the advisers of the
Pope they're called the Cardinals um
they're sometimes referred to as the
curia or the College of cardinals
they're going to advise the pope um
they're going to provide spiritual
advice political advice legal advice and
indeed they're going to choose the pope
um when a once the pope dies and they're
in need of selecting an additional Pope
that's our hierarchy as it's set up here
um now there's something that I want to
note about the church that's very
different from the rest of society here
um in
the church Society you are able to be
promoted and work up these levels as we
go that's very different from political
Society if you are the Lord of a manner
then your son is going to be the Lord of
a Manor if you are a peasant living on
that manner guess what you have no hope
of someday becoming a lord very
different situation here um when we're
talking about the church so there's a
think question I want you to answer and
it says well why might working for the
church have appealed to people not of
noble birth and it's because they have
an opportunity for advancement um so if
we take our Parish priest over here and
here he is I'm moving him around um if
he does a good job there's a possibility
that he might be appointed to become a
bishop someday and that Bishop might
someday work their way up to Archbishop
and maybe if they've got the right
connections and maybe a little luck on
their side they might someday make it
into the College of Cardinals and if
that happens who knows maybe someday
that person is going to work their way
up into the pope so we've got a kind of
a merit-based system uh one where you
have an opportunity to advance which is
very different than some of our other
parts of society that we see during
feudal times I want to switch gears now
and I want to talk about the powers of
the church because you need to
understand that when we're talking about
some of our citizens here um they look
at that church as as their their Central
guiding force um and they believe that
they're spending just a little bit of
time here on Earth and then someday only
a few of them are actually going to make
their way up into heaven and so the
power to either condemn people or to
forgive Sinners makes the church really
a considerable force in medieval Society
so many people entered into the clergy
because they had these deeply held
beliefs but we've also got um a lot of
political power that they can exercise
as well and you notice that we've got
our powers of the church over here and
there's one in particular that I want to
emphasize to you and that's this idea of
excommunication over here um
excommunication means not allowing
someone to be a member of the church um
now because the Christian church was
Central to Medieval life this is really
like throwing them out of the church
maybe there's a there's a visual I want
you to think of that maybe is going to
help you if you're thinking about
throwing somebody out of the church the
way I think of this is we've got our
umpire over here and he's going to say
you're out of the church why is this a
big deal if you drive around town you
will see an Episcopal Church a
Presbyterian Church a Catholic Church a
Baptist Church it goes on and on right
you don't see that in feudal society at
this time remember there is only one
church if it's Central to your life if
it is your social as well as your
religious Center then if you are removed
from that that's a big deal and so that
punishment would be given to a group um
who who commit the crime of heresy and
this is the last box that we need to
fill in on this page here's what heresy
is heresy is a crime heresy is denying
or not believing in the teachings of the
church if you commit heresy um you and
are found guilty of this crime that's
when you might be excommunicated uh
which would have been a terrible
terrible terrible punishment during this
time period here um so why don't you
pause make sure you've got that unpause
it when you're ready to go
all right I'd like to finish today by
talking about our essential question our
essential question is how was the
Medieval Church structured and how did
the church influence medieval life well
there are a couple things that we can
think about in trying to answer that
question first of all in terms of the
structure of the church remember we
outlined the five levels of that
hierarchy and remember we said these
These are levels um when we mean
hierarchy we we mean each one is on top
of the so the pope is on the top at the
very bottom we've got our Parish priests
these guys are still very important um
there are a lot of these Parish priests
and they're the ones who interact with
most of the people but in terms of the
decision-making power of the church
which was very very great remember the
church is the one thing that ties all of
Europe together during this time um the
pope really is in the Supreme uh point
of power here the other part of the
question um in terms of how does it
influence daily life I want you to think
about a couple things um I want you to
think about how we say said it the it is
very Central speaking of the church to
to life how you know you've got that
church that's at the center of all these
feudal manners that exist there um and
then the other thing maybe to consider
would be the powers of the church and
that'll set you up for some discussions
that we're going to have and I think
that'll help you answer this essential
question I hope you have enjoyed today's
podcast continue to study the social
studies and I'll see you in class
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