The parish church was overseen by a parish priest, whose duties were to teach the Gospel to his parishioners and help them live their lives by God’s laws. Priests in Medieval times were normal people. They held regular services which were mandatory for peasants as well as festivals and markets. At all times the priest was the person to whom people would look for advice, the solving of local disputes and money when times were hard. Often the priest ran a “school”, teaching individuals to read and write Latin. These people became Clerks or Clerics; they dealt with aspects of government, record keeping and accounts.
Because religion was so important during the Middle Ages, many people devoted their whole lives to being closer to God and doing the Church’s work. These people became monks or nuns and lived apart from the rest of the people in monasteries and nunneries. Monks and nuns promised to remain single, to be obedient to their superiors and to live a life of prayer. They ate and dressed simply and spent their days in silence praying writing or working. They attended seven main services each day the first at dawn and the last in the middle of the night.
Hundreds of such communities were set up in England after 1066. They were often built in a sheltered valley, the stream providing water for kitchens, a washing place and a system for taking away sewage. Often the monasteries were built using money donated by a rich baron or the king, as a way of giving glory to God and ensuring their place in heaven. Villagers also paid a great percentage of their money towards the building of the monasteries.
Many people went on pilgrimages to places linked to their faith that held special significance, such as Canterbury. Sometimes this was a visit to the Holy Land itself. Making a pilgrimage was long and often dangerous; almost everyone travelled on foot and bandits and pirates laid in wait for unarmed pilgrims. However people made these journeys because they believed prayers said at a saint’s tomb were especially powerful, and pilgrimage would bring them closer to God and salvation.
In conclusion then, religion was very important to people in England during the Middle Ages. The Church was the centre of the lives of ordinary people. From the moment of baptism a child entered into a life of service to God and Church. As a child grew he attended services every week and learned of his responsibilities to the Church. Every person was required to live by the Church’s laws and pay to support it. In return for this they were shown the way to everlasting life and happiness.
