Religion in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages was an era that extended from approximately the fifth century to the fifteenth century in Western Europe. It was a time of change like many other periods in our history. With careful reading, I have come to realize that the lives of many people in the Middle Ages were highly influenced by religion, especially Christianity, and reflected their beliefs and moral values. The Gothic cathedral symbolized the primary role of the Christian church in medieval life. Here, the priests conducted their worship services, baptized babies, and married young people. The church grew great and powerful, and had its own courts and laws. The cathedral was to be the most beautiful structure on earth, and was the largest building in the center of town because people believed "the church held the keys to the kingdom of heaven and provided the only way to salvation." (Matthews & Platt, Western Humanities) It was decorated with many sculptures and stained glass windows that told stories from the Bible since many peasants were unable to read. For example, in the photo on p
3.) The Middle Ages. Yahoo! Internet Web site. Http://www.learner.org/exhibit/middleages/ 2.) Jacobsen, Aaron H. "Middle Ages, Art and Architecture of The." The New Book of Knowledge. Danbury: Grolier Incorporated, 1987. The highly religious lifestyle of the Christians in the Middle Ages reveals their strong belief in God. Architecture and literature were only a few of the critical aspects of their religious life. By using religion, they gave themselves something to have faith in, and with faith, they believed one could reach a feeling of inner majesty like God. People believed that height and light were symbols of the divine, and so they built the cathedrals tall with many windows. For example, the church of St. Denis in Paris, which was the first church to be built using the Gothic style, presents an overwhelming image of God's majesty and the power of the church. The vertical spires of the Gothic exterior brought your eyes up towards the ceiling as if you were looking up to heaven, and the interior surrounded you with beautiful colored lighting, and the very high ceiling was to fill you w
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Approximate Word count = 750
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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