>hello everybody...
>I am doing a study on Religion's Control Over Society throughout time, and
>one of the areas I am looking at is medieval religion.
>By control, i mean the way the masses were kept in their place through
>religion, by awe, fear, reverence, whatever.
>I have noted that the fact that in medieval europe literacy was only
>previlent among the people of the church and possibly very upper-class
>people definetly controlled the masses. The fact that they could not learn
>many things put them at a disadvantage, surely.
>Also, as church sermons were done in Latin, none of the serfs understood the
>sermons, and it was a very strange thing for them. This awe kept them
>confused about religion, and made it seem very mystical.
>The fact that cathedrals themselves were so large and imposing is another
>example.
>Anyway, any input or thoughts anyone has on this topic is GREATLY
>appreciated. Thank you.
>ren
Your presuppositions show a number of misconceptions about the Middle
Ages--something we have discussed at length on this list before, and which,
alas, are still with us--aparrently with high school history classes and
their teachers.
First, be very careful about things such as "religious control over society."
Certainly in the MA, religious institutions exercised great control, but the
Catholic Church in the MA was hardly monolithic, nor did it control every
aspect of religious, social, political, or economic life, much as some popes
may have wanted to--but then, there were some Holy Roman emperors who fought
the popes over these same things, wanting to control them themselves.
With regards to medieval religious life, one of the growing areas of
scholarly study among medievalists is what is known as "popular religion"--
the religious practices of the masses, apart from or alongside the "official"
religion propagated by the Catholic church. Some practices were sanctioned
by religious authorities, some weren't, but that never stopped them from
spreading. Some things the church just couldn't control--contrary to your
hypothesis. The masses did not always allow themselves "to be put in their
place," and frequently had their own opinions.
Literacy is another problematic area, and has also been the subject of
considerable research. Some scholars argue that the masses weren't as
illiterate as we have thought previously. At any rate, illiteracy should not
be seen as a plot by the upper levels of medieval society, the church
included, to keep people in their place. It should be seen in practical
terms--books were ***extremely*** expensive to produce, there was no
printing, they all had to be made by hand out of very expensive and rare
materials. Plus, given the subsistence level of medieval life, who had time
to read anyway, apart from clerics? It just wasn't regarded as important, and
people had other ways of learning and communicating information.
Sermons were not always in Latin. Many were, but many--and I do mean
***many***--were preached in the vernacular languages, and aimed at common
people, for their instruction (and not merely their repression).
Cathedrals were built to be imposing, but not necessarily to control the
masses. Their very structure, layout, and decoration were intended, among
other things, to instruct the people as well as to reflect the order of the
universe--which certainly included a prescribed social order.
Certainly medieval society was very hierarchical, and the church, being at
the top of the hierarchy, attempted to enforce order. However, you should
avoid applying modern notions about enforcing social order and misconceptions
about the Middle Ages to your studies. Order was enforced, not merely for
the sake of repression, but for the common good, as the people of the MA
perceived it. without that order, ordained by God, as, again, they perceived
it, chaos would have resulted. Sometimes the people acquiesced, sometimes
they didn't--witness the english Peasnts' Rebellion of 1381, which had strong
religious overtones, by the way.
Hope this helps.
Steve Cartwright
Western Michigan University
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