Church and State in the Medieval Ages

Monica Gallen

SLA 200 02

Professor Cary

December 4, 2017
 1

The Medieval Ages were much different than our world today. Life was dictated by wealth,

social status, and power. The relationships people had were predetermined by their family’s status.

The church and religion were largely involved in everybody’s lives. There was no separation of

church and state, the court and the church were closely related and worked together. They were

living in a time of feudalism. This was good for people in the upper class, but not very good for

those in the lower class. At this time women had no power. They listened to and followed the

direction of the man of the house. This was either her husband, father, or brother. When women

were old enough, they would marry a man usually based on his wealth. The women did not have

the choice of who they were going to marry, and they would usually have to stay with that man

for the rest of their lives. Women had no rights, so if they left their husband, they would be left

with nothing.

Men knew that they had so much power over their wives, so they could do whatever they

wanted. It was typical for men to physically harm their wives, but the women did not want to leave

because they would have nothing and no one to support them. Even when the men wanted to leave

their wives, the women would try to stop them. This went on for a while until some women decided

they did not want to live like that anymore. They decided to run away. This was extremely risky

because they would take very little with them and would not be given help from the court or church.

These women would usually become adulterers to make some money so they could survive. The

court did not allow women to return or inherit their husband’s money and property unless he

forgave her before he passed away, so the women rarely benefitted from that. Also, the church was

determined to keep marriages together, so they did not approve of women running away. If and

when the women were caught, it was because their husbands wanted them to return. “Church courts
 2

sometimes used threats of excommunication to coerce wives into returning to their marriages.”1

The husband would go to the court looking for his wife, and the court would use their weapons

and other tools to force the woman back into her marriage.

The church not only controlled marriages, they also suggested that Christians make

pilgrimages to shrines throughout their lives. The church would celebrate and send their pilgrims

out with a ceremony. Some of the people travelling were good Christians and others would not as

good. “The pilgrim fitted into the surrounding social and institutional landscape, and left traces of

himself in a wide variety of records.”2 The pilgrims were aided by people of the church on their

journey. Not all of the pilgrims survived, but those that did brought souvenirs with them to share.

These souvenirs began to be manufactured and sold throughout the towns. The pilgrimages were

life changing for those who completed them.

Superstition was another aspect that the church did not agree with. Although the church

had always been concerned with superstition, but it peaked in the Medieval Ages. “During this

period, the church became increasingly involved in the quotidian religious practices of laity

through mechanisms as diverse as parish clergy, sacramental confession, and inquisition.”3 The

church began to condemn people and were worried about witchcraft. Women were being accused

of witchcraft. “Joan of Arc…was taken prisoner following her own involvement in combat, though

1
Butler, Sara. 2006. "RUNAWAY WIVES: HUSBAND DESERTION IN MEDIEVAL
ENGLAND." Journal Of Social History 40, no. 2: 337-359. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost
(accessed November 11, 2017).
2
Webb, Diana. 2001. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in the Medieval West : In the Medieval West.
London: I.B.Tauris. Accessed November 13, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.
3
Bailey, Michael D. 2008. "Concern over Superstition in Late Medieval Europe." Past & Present
115-133. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed November 11, 2017).
 3

she was treated, after her surrender, not as a prisoner of war but as a suspected witch and heretic.”4

These accusations went on for a while and women were confined and abducted. The treatment that

women endured made them afraid an caused them to try to escape from their captors.

Christianity was the only religion recognized during the Medieval Ages. All citizens lived

their life by Christian beliefs. The people wanted to remain sin free and have very religious lives.

This idea is even seen through the practice of penance. This practice is bearing to burden for

someone else. Due to everybody wanting a sin free life, they would try to give spiritual benefit

through service to those who needed it. Unfortunately, not everybody received the relief of their

actions. “In the early church, there was little room for proxy penance primarily because penance

could only be completed once in a lifetime and represented one’s reintegration back into the fold

of the church.”5 The church held a high power throughout the people living in the Medieval Ages.

There were many people of power working through the church. Although there were powerful

people, the laity, or ordinary citizens, still had some say in people related to the church. “In the

matter of episcopal elections in the early Church, the laity approved of the candidate…The Church,

which occupied a favorable position in the Western kingdoms, treated the lay powers as an

instrument to fulfill its mission.”6 There was much interaction between the church and the citizens.

Both the church and the citizens relied on one another to live and survive. The Church was much

4
Seabourne, Gwen. 2011. Imprisoning Medieval Women : The Non-Judicial Confinement and
Abduction of Women in England, c.1170-1509. Farnham: Taylor & Francis. Accessed
November 11, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.
5
Fort, Gavin. "Penitents and Their Proxies: Penance for Others in Early Medieval Europe."
Church History 86, no. 1 (March 2017): 1-32. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed
November 13, 2017).
6
"Laity in the Middle Ages." New Catholic Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (November 13,
2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-
maps/laity-middle-ages
 4

more involved in the life of the common people during the Medieval Ages. It had more control

over the citizens and created a structure for everyone to live by.
 5

Bibliography

Bailey, Michael D. 2008. "Concern over Superstition in Late Medieval Europe." Past & Present

115-133. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost (accessed November 11, 2017).

Butler, Sara. 2006. "RUNAWAY WIVES: HUSBAND DESERTION IN MEDIEVAL

ENGLAND." Journal Of Social History 40, no. 2: 337-359. Academic Search Elite,

EBSCOhost (accessed November 11, 2017).

Fort, Gavin. "Penitents and Their Proxies: Penance for Others in Early Medieval Europe."

Church History 86, no. 1 (March 2017): 1-32. Academic Search Elite, EBSCOhost

(accessed November 13, 2017).

"Laity in the Middle Ages." New Catholic Encyclopedia. . Encyclopedia.com. (November 13,

2017). http://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-

maps/laity-middle-ages

Seabourne, Gwen. 2011. Imprisoning Medieval Women : The Non-Judicial Confinement and

Abduction of Women in England, c.1170-1509. Farnham: Taylor & Francis. Accessed

November 11, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.

Webb, Diana. 2001. Pilgrims and Pilgrimage in the Medieval West : In the Medieval West.

London: I.B.Tauris. Accessed November 13, 2017. ProQuest Ebook Central.