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Many early Christian men and women chose to live in isolation so that they could dedicate themselves to God. In the 4th century AD, St. Anthony founded the first monastery, a commuunity of monks who lived, worked and prayed together. This practice took root in the whole of Europe and many monasteries were founded hereafter. Many monks lived by the rules of St. Benedict, who told them to work in the fields, copy religious manuscripts for the library and spend time teaching young monks. During most of the Middle Ages, monks were the only ones who were able to read and write, the only cultured ones. |
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St. Benedict was a monk who lived in Italy in the 6th century and established a very strictly disciplined routine of labour and prayer. However, as Bishops and Abbots - the heads of monasteries - were in fact landowners, they were in every way equals of the barons, attending the councils of the king. |
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So, the foundation of the Cistercian Order was an attempt to return to a purer form of religious life. They were called the White Monks, and their aim was to be self-sufficient in an attempt to withdraw from the world. |
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But as time went by, they proved to manage their lands so efficiently that they became very wealthy. Cistercian cathedrals are evidence of the enormous profits that were made. But not everything was so virtuous. The Inquisition was established by the Papacy in the Middle Ages, in 1231. It was a judicial institution in charge of seeking out, judging and sentencing people guilty of heresy. At the beginning, the usual penalty for heresy was excommunication, and it was even applied to princes, if necessary. But soon heretics came to be considered enemies of the state. That's when some of the inquisitors were accused of cruelty and other abuses, as they used to torture the suspects of heresy until they got a confession. |
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Oral activity Look for more information about the Inquisition. Write down the most important facts and explain them to your classmates. |
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Everyday life activities Now that you know how the people in the Middle ages used to live, explain what your character does evey day. Take into account everything you have been reading these days and all the information you have found. |
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