Middle Ages

Read these selections from Bede’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People and answer the following questions: “How were the English people converted to Christianity?  What roles did the king and queen play?  To what extent did the English people themselves make this decision?  What was the status of the traditional ‘pagan’ religion after the conversion?  What do you think about the fact that this was the way in which Christianity was often spread in early Medieval Europe?” Ethelbert was an English lord who became a Christian, which end up being an essential occasion in the advancement of English national identity. Saebert of Essex and Raedwald of East Anglia also accepted Christianity afterward. When Ethelberht and Saebert died they were both followed by children who were unfriendly to Christianity and drove the evangelists out, urging their subjects to come back to their old religion. Christianity was just followed by Raedwald at that time who kept it alive. Along with Paganism he also believed in Christianity.

The Romans during their stay in Britain had become Christians, and the Britons, who imitated their lords in all things, were Christian as well. In any case, the English, Saxons, and Jutes were all pagan, and now most of Britain, which had been Christian, was gone again to heathenism. Augustine and his companions set out on their excursion, as they reached South of France they got miserable. Everybody gave them horrendous records of the Pagans that had come over and vanquished the island of Britain. The preachers halted on their way, and sent their pioneer Augustine back to Rome, with a request to Gregory that he would discharge them from their assignment. Gregory wouldn’t tune in. He sent Augustine back with a letter loaded with admonishment. Pope Gregory sent Saint Augustine and with him a few different priests, who dreaded the Lord, to spread the message of God to the English countryside. Lord Ethelbert didn’t promptly change over to Christianity, yet he treated Augustine and his partners with great hospitality. They were welcomed to live in Canterbury, the capital of Kent. Augustine and his partners held administrations in the antiquated church of St Martin’s, which is accepted to be simply the church that Queen Bertha prayed in. Ethelbert was a Pagan at the time Augustine was sent. Augustine in Kent followed the tenet and way of living of the crude church and settled his episcopal find in the illustrious city. Augustine during his stay asked Gregory for some uncertain questions. He was answered by Gregory which cleared his doubts. Pope Gregory asked from Arles Christians to help Augustine in his spread of Christianity.

The more the King knew about Christian’s way of living and saw their blessed life, the more impressed he was. He saw hope in the religion. At last, before a year had gone from their coming, he announced his transformation. On Whitsunday, the second day of June, in the year 597, he was purified through water. His followers before long followed him. On Christmas Day around the same time, ten thousand proselytes were sanctified through the water in the Swale, at the northern end, where it joins the Medway. Ethelbert had thus been in close touch with Christianity and he before long acknowledged it for himself. Augustine built up the Christian standards of unique sin, divinity, and fate. The religious parts of both Catholic and Protestant philosophies are based on Augustine’s thoughts. His thoughts likewise affected the Reformation heads John Calvin and Martin Luther, and logicians Immanuel Kant and Blaise Pascal.

In time, other Pagan English rulers were intrigued by the Roman Church’s sure help for a solid regime, people started to know about Christianity and show interest in it. These rulers acknowledged the Roman church, accepted Christianity as their religion along with their followers, family, and countrymen. Over hundreds of years, this acceptance of Christianity by hundreds of people made a strong and faithful English nation. The unequivocal move to Christianity happened in 655 when King Penda was killed in the Battle of the Winwaed and Mercia became authoritatively Christian. The demise of Penda likewise permitted Cenwalh of Wessex to come back from outcast and return Wessex, another amazing realm, to Christianity. After 655, just Sussex and the Isle of Wight remained transparently agnostic, despite the fact that Wessex and Essex would later crown agnostic rulers. In 686 Arwald, the last straightforwardly agnostic lord was killed in the fight and starting here on all Anglo-Saxon rulers were at any rate ostensibly Christian.

How Pagans became Christians among the basic populace bit by bit became historical English old stories. The triumph of Christianity over the agnostic religions of antiquated Rome prompted the best-chronicled change the West has ever observed: a change that was about faith, religion, social, political and cultural. After the transformation of the greater part to Christians, laws were actualized that nullified the marriage of a Christian with a Pagan. In contrast to Pageants, Christians asserted there was just a single God and that he ought to be loved not by penance however by legitimate conviction. Any individual who didn’t accept the correct things would be viewed as a violator before God. Religion had never advanced such a thought. Christians made a requirement for salvation that nobody realized they had. Paganism was later disallowed and individuals began complying with the standards of Christianity.

The church got predominant in Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire. The main religion perceived in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and explicitly Catholicism. Christianity in the medieval times commanded the lives of the two laborers and the respectability. Strict institutors including the Church and the cloisters became affluent and compelling given the way that the state allotted a noteworthy spending plan for strict exercises. Gregory I the Great assumed a huge job in building up a solid and powerful papacy and church apparatus. His initial phase in affirming the control of the papacy is expounded by the way that he sent priests to change over the Anglo-Saxons whom he thought about agnostic. The individuals who succeeded Gregory kept on extending the church’s impact in both the social and political parts of the medieval society. The spread of Christianity in early medieval times of Europe was because of crafted by preachers which were more which began around 500 A.D. These Missionaries were submitted Christians who needed to spread the Gospel and were generally men. They made a trip from town to town like St. Dominic in our school who charged to spread the Gospel. Numerous Missionaries were made Saints by the church to perceive their endeavors. The teachers were best when they changed over a lord to Christian since then the realm would become Christian as well. The main religion perceived in Middle Ages Europe was Christianity and explicitly Catholicism. Christianity in the medieval times ruled the lives of the royal families and workers. Religious institutors including the Church and the cloisters became rich and persuasive given the way that the state apportioned a critical spending plan for prayer.

In many eras, events happened as a reaction, and often an overreaction, to events of the prior era. In the Middle Ages, a proper education was extremely rare for the common people. As a reaction to the Middle Ages, in the early renaissance, there was a strong focus on a classical education consisting of Greek, Latin, the classics, and art. As the population and economy grew and books became more readily available, people became disillusioned with the impractical classical education, demanding an education leading to practical professions.

In the early renaissance, emphasis was redirected from clerical to secular life. The secular humanist idea held that the church should not rule civic matters, but should guide only spiritual matters. The church disdained the accumulation of wealth and worldly goods, supported a strong but limited education, and believed that moral and ethical behavior was dictated by scripture.

Humanists, however, believed that wealth enabled them to do fine, noble deeds, that good citizens needed a good, well-rounded education, and that moral and ethical issues were related more to secular society than to spiritual concerns. Humanists paid close attention to classical studies because most of the humanist philosophy was based on Greek and Roman ideas. In addition to the study of Latin and Greek, a classical education consisted of scientific matters, government, rhetoric, philosophy and art.

In the Middle Ages, the church discouraged education to keep people under the control of the church. People were guided by the teachings of the church and had little opinion to what was being told to them. Books were also very costly and were mostly written in Latin, an unfamiliar language to the common people. People were taught Greek and Latin so that they could understand the books available to them. In 1445, Gutenberg invented the printing press, making books more plentiful and therefore affordable for the educated middle class. They also began printing books in European languages.

By the late stages of the renaissance, the population started to rise dramatically and the economy started to boom. With a larger population, more merchants and tradesman and other people with practical skills were needed. With books more readily available, people demanded books in the many languages of Europe. As a result, the concentration in education focused on local languages, practical mathematics, science and trades.

Although the renaissance reversed the practices of medieval times by restoring education in the classics and gave rebirth to independent thought, the masses demanded a redirection of education to practical and useful skills. The focus on humanism forced the Church to play a secondary role in peoples” lives. Despite the changes in education and philosophy during the renaissance, Europe eventually molded itself into a well-rounded society.

Why Did Henry Break With Rome? Henry the VIII broke from Rome because of four main reasons: money, power, religion and succession. Some of the main reasons are linked together, one example is succession which is linked to power. By having a son he thought it would maintain his power at the throne when he was no longer ruler. I think that power was the most important reason. I think this because if he broke away from the Church of Rome, he could take control of the church.

This meant that he could unlock the riches that the church held. By doing this he could pay for the wars he fought and the power he had over his people. He also would have more money to leave in the treasury, not only for himself but future generations. The money would lead to power; his greatest desire. To carry this power on he wanted it to be entrusted in a son. All the reasons link together to show his need for power as king. One of the reasons why Henry broke from the Roman Church was because he needed money.

When Henry was made king he was short of money because he had fought lots of expensive wars. Henry then noticed that the church had a lot of money. If he took over the church all of its treasury would be his. Source 1 states that “monasteries were very rich and owned about a quarter of the land in the country”, so he could then close down the monasteries, take their money and sell of the land. Henry needed the money for power so that he could then build a stronger army and fight more wars.

This would then show that he was a powerful king. Money is not the most important reason but it is an important reason. Another reason he broke from the Roman Church is because he wanted power and control over his people. Henry wanted to make sure that he was in total control of England so he needed to get rid of anyone that might threaten his position including the pope. In 1534 the pope announced that Henrys marriage to Anne Boleyn was invalid. So Henry reacted by saying that the pope no longer had authority in England.