Balderas 1

Clarissa Balderas
Professor Varghese
ENGL 2322, 2:30-4 M-W
21 October 2015
The Evolution of Religion
The Middle Ages, or better known as the Middle English time period, lasted from the 5th
century to the 15th century. Throughout this time period, Christianity was the dominant religion
of Europe, and to this day most people associate the word crusades with the Middle Ages,
which started in 1095. Crusades, also referred to as the Holy Wars, were imperative throughout
this time period, given the fact that the Holy Land was at the verge of being placed in the hands
of others. The Holy Wars between the Christians and Moslems was due to the significance the
City of Jerusalem had to the Christians. The city of Jerusalem was where the crucifixion of
Christ transpired and where his tomb was situated. This city held a special significance to
Pilgrims that visited and all Christians. In fact, religion in the Middle English time period is
when the ideology of crusading as vengeance and the concept of zeal grew. Another liturgical
event associated with the Middle Ages is the Office of the Dead.
Vengeance is very similar to revenge; it consists of a retaliation imposed to the opposite
party in return for wrong. Retaliation is typically utilized to hurt a specific group of people for a
particular purpose. Christians linked vengeance with crusading for two different reason;
intellectual and emotional pursuits (Hyams & Throop par. 6). Intellectually motivation was
attributed to the manner in which Christians communicated with God; for example, if fear is
followed by joy, we know that the help of God has come to us If, on the contrary, the fear
remains, then the enemy is present, (Hyams & Throop par. 4). This indicates that their
communication with God was obscure and is not constant. Vengeance also became more

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associated with the emotional terminology of zeal which may have been due to the act that there
were already these established patterns of thought tying together love of God, anger at sin, a
passion for justice and the vocabulary of vengeance,(Hyams & Throop par. 2). According to
Paul R. Hyams and Susanna A. Throop the emotional component sustaining and igniting
Christians vengeance flourished from feelings of hatred, anger, and jealousy, which was the
reason Christians associated with crusades and vengeance (Hyams & Throop par. 4). Certain
moral behaviors directed Christians to vengeance. Christians found reasons to link zeal,
crusading and vengeance; which was a powerful motivation tool used to encourage crusading
movements (Hyams & Throop par. 5).
As a matter of fact, Hyams and Throop explain that the concept of zeal was linked with
crusading due to the emotional terminology of vengeance encompassing zeal (par. 5, 6). Zeal
signifies passion; a strong determination to do something. In the Middle Ages it was perceived as
a good quality to go crusading, given the fact that the act was good and it was honorable due to
the morals and ways of the society (Hyams & Throop par. 7). Nonetheless, it carried the weight
of a double edge sword since it was righteous, meaning that even if it promoted a bad action the
person that caused the action was still not blamed for it (Hyams & Throop par. 8). The authors,
Paul R. Hyams and Susanna A. Throop, also mentioned that the Zeal for God and intention were
set apart from knowledge of God and action, which meant that even God is excused for any
intentions that were provoked (par. 7).
Additionally, the Office of the Dead was also a significant event that had a particular
section in the prayer books and formed a focus on funeral rituals. Within the enactment it
explained the intermediary space between before and after where the living and dead exist
in the same physical environment, but adjust their ways to fit in in the social environment

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(Richards, Anderson, & Cardarelli 71). John Richards, Emily Jane Anderson, and Sandra
Cardarelli explained that the Liturgical Office held an important duty within the social settings in
which the people lived (71). The prayer books not only indicated that a funeral was an important
religious event but also indicated that the church was a place where social gatherings vary where
ideas and culture are shared (Richards, Anderson, & Cardarelli 72). Babies were taken to church
to be christened and the dead to be buried in the churchyard; everyones life revolved around the
church, beginning and ending next to it.
Vengeance, zeal, and the Office of the Dead were essential concept and events that
shaped the Middle Ages. The clergy was in charge of the Catholic Church and the priest had
authority over the people. The Catholic Church was the only church of Europe and it possessed
its own laws, lands, and taxes. This era vested an immense amount of power to the Pope that he
had the ability to excommunicate a king. Excommunication meant that the Pope could take away
the kings kingship and would expel him from the Catholic Church. It is because the church had
so much dominion over the king and its people that it became the locus and the foundation of
Europe.
Although the Church was an important aspect during this time period, the concepts and
ideologies were the essential components in the culture that transformed the people and history
itself. Albert Classen and Connie Scarborough agree and state that medieval society was not at
all as homogenous as we regularly assume, so tensions between majority and minority groups in
religious terms could easily erupt violently, (133). This means that the society was not made up
of the same types of people and therefore disagreement and violence was normal in the
communities. As an example Christians hating the Jewish communities, because of the
different concepts that both groups believed in (Classen & Scarborough 133). This eras center

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point was the ideology that the peoples action generated the events that occurred in the past, or
in other words history.
The aforementioned concepts: vengeance, zeal, and the Office of the Dead, were decisive
concepts that molded the history of Europe and the Middle Ages time period as a whole. The
concept of vengeance propagated extensively for the crusading movement and united
Christendom. Zeal of God was also linked to crusades but intentions and actions were set apart
within its religious context. On the other hand, the Office of the Dead did not directly associate
with crusading but was an essential concept that Christians enacted and it became an important
role and religious event in Christianity. All three concepts constructed history to this day but
were they the defining philosophies that generated what Christianity is today?
Word Count: 1,097

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Works Cited
Classen, Albrecht, and Connie Scarborough. Crime And Punishment In The Middle
Ages And Early Modern Age : Mental-Historical Investigations Of Basic Human
Problems And Social Responses. Berlin: De Gruyter, 2012. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 12 Oct. 2015.
Hyams, Paul R., and Susanna A. Throop. Vengeance In The Middle Ages : Emotion,
Religion And Feud. Farnham, Surrey, England: Ashgate, 2010. eBook Collection
EBSCOhost). Web. 10 Oct. 2015.
Richards, John, Emily Jane Anderson, and Sandra Cardarelli. Art And Identity : Visual Culture,
Politics And Religion In The Middle Ages And The Renaissance. Newcastle upon Tyne:
Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 10 Oct.
2015.