Churches

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Churches in the Middle Ages

Introduction In Europe during the Middle Ages they had lots of churches. Many people went to the church to pray for good luck and good life. Lots of sick people went to the church to pray to god to make them better. During that time there were lots of diseases and the convents, where the nuns lived, became like a hospital. In the church there were stained glass that had stories of Jesus’ life.

About the church

The fanciest church was called a cathedral. Five hundred cathedrals were built and 1000 parish churches were built during the Middle Ages. In the church they had beautiful stain glass windows with pictures that had stories of Jesus because people didn’t know how to read. The glass was made out of colored glass and very beautiful. The people prayed in a room called chapels and some nobles came to pray. Churches were very important and had great power so Christian churches were found everywhere in Europe. Churches had to approve punishment and behaviors. The convent had to be near because nuns knew how to cure diseases.

Rules

There were lots of church rules during the Middle Ages. First, the pope was the highest and most powerful ruler in the church. Some popes became a saint. Women couldn’t be priests. Priests, monks and nuns couldn’t marry, they were married to god. Nuns and monks always prayed every night and had seven main church services. They attended the first service at dawn and the last service at the last night. The main thing for the nuns and monks was to not talk. They lived apart from each other at the monastery and the nunneries. Nuns wore white cloth wrapped around the neck and face; monks wore loose brown robes tied at the waist. The thing was they could not own things. The monks and nuns ate simple foods, had habits that are normal and worked silently. The nuns and monks shaved their hair totally bald. Who became a nun or monk were the people who had no education. Nuns had active lives because nuns prayed, spun, weaved and taught other people skills.

People

Everyone was a Christian in Europe. The people elected first Pope in 1073 who was named Gregory and he created church councils. Another important part was that the kings also had to be a Christian or else sometimes the peoples might do bad things to him. Even the nobles came to pray in the chapels.

Conclusion If I were a person living in a Middle Age as a nun, I wouldn’t like it because I wouldn’t like to shave my hair. Also right now I’m not a Christian and it would be strange for me because it would be new to be one. That is why I wouldn’t want to be a nun in the Middle Ages.

Research sources:
Books: Macdonald, Fiona. The middle Ages Crab Tree1993

Websites:
The Church [] = Churches in the Middle Ages By Doug and Autumn [] =

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Ji Won