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Renihan wrote: > 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. > This isn't entirely certain. It's possible they did understand. With respect to the early Middle Ages, here are five considerations. First, Latin was a living language, constantly changing and adapting, so we can't be sure when Romance languages such as French or Italian began to be distinguished from Latin. Some scholars posit the early ninth century (Elcock, Pei, Calboli), some earlier, and some later. So, we don't know when Latin became a "foreign" language. Second, some people think that French and Latin for a long time were merely two dialects of the same language. This may also be true much later for Italian and Latin. Consider that Dante called the vernacular language he spoke "latino," not "italiano." Third, we can't always assume written Latin was spoken as it was spelled, so it may be that the writing sometimes records nascent French or Italian. For example, we only just got around to spelling "night" (the "gh" was pronounced in Middle Eng.) as "nite," which is how we pronounce it today. Fourth, Latin wasn't just a written language. Jozsef Herman showed in 1988 that in the sixth century, the "populus fidelium," the Christain public, "were presented as completely able to understand biblical texts and commentaries on the Scriptures when they were read aloud to them." Fifth and finally, not all sermons were delivered in Latin. In Anglo-Saxon England, many sermons were delivered not in Latin, but in Old English. For example, we have volumes and volumes of sermons by Wulfstan, Archbishop of York (1002-23), and AElfric, Abbot of Eynsham (1005-c.20), in Old English. Anglo-Saxons certainly understood the language of these sermons. There are also poems and songs in OE which explain the mysteries of the Faith, and, as Bill East mentioned, there are paintings and carvings, too. I think that in this regard the Church made every effort to help people understand God and gain salvation, not to befuddle and control them. If you are looking for methods of social control, I would suggest first considering the realm of economics. After all, when Adam and Eve were banished from paradise, their punishment was work, not faith! I think it's great that you're introducing high school students to this sort of material. Best of luck, and I hope this has been somewhat helpful, Stephen Harris ______________________ SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY: Calboli, Gualtiero, "Aspects du latin merovingien," in Jozsef Herman, ed., _Latin vulgaire--latin tardif_ (Tubingen: Niemeyer, 1987), pp. 19-35. Elcock, W.D. _The Romance Languages_ (London: Faber & Faber, 1975). Lloyd, Paul M. "On the Names of Languages (and Other Things)" in Roger Wright, ed. _Latin and the Romance Languages in the Early Middle Ages_ (Penn State UP, 1991), pp. 9-18. Pei, Mario. _The Story of Latin and the Romance Languages_ (NY: Harper & Row, 1976). Jozsef Herman, "La Situation linguistique en Italie au VIe siecle," _Revue de Linguistique Romane_ 52 (1988): 55-67. Jozsef Herman, "Spoken and Written Latin in the last Centuries of the Roman Empire ..." in Wright, _Latin and Romance Languages_, op cit. pp. 29-43. Mantello, F.A.C. and A.G. Rigg, _Medieval Latin: An Introduction and Bibliographical Guide_ (Washington, D.C: Catholic University of America, 1996). Swanton, Michael, trans. _Anglo-Saxon Prose_ (London: J.M. Dent, 1993). %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%