Britain 12 -15 th th

Centuries
10.7 – Religious Life
NIKITHA A DAS 6D CAIE
Religion played a very important role in the lives of the
people of Britain.
People believed that if they led honest lives, they would go
to heaven. They thought that sinners would go to hell, where
they would suffer for their sins. So, people went to church so
that they could pray to God.
Everybody had to pay a tithe to the church. A tithe was a tax
of one-tenth of a person’s produce or income.
Many of England’s churches were built in the Middle Ages.
Most of them contain amazing brasses or monumental tombs,
which remind us about the very rich and powerful people
from that time and lived in that area.
The organization of the churches and
monasteries. The Pope was the head
of the church. The
Abbots were heads of
the monasteries.
Archbishops and
bishops owned a lot of
land. The Archbishop
was the chief bishop for
a large district, like
Canterbury. The monks
were people who
completely dedicated
their lives to God. The
parish was the centre
of the village life.
Parish priests were
local priests who
headed the sermons
given in the church.
Monks and Nuns

People who completely dedicated their lives to God were called

monks(for men) and nuns(for women). They went to live in monasteries
and nunneries. Each had their own set of strictly followed rules.
The monks prayed 8 times a day, along with other duties. They were
highly educated(which was uncommon in those times) and spent a lot of
time copying out religious books. The monks were divided into 3
categories: Friars(travelling monks), Lay brothers(monks who were not
trained as priests), and Novices(apprentice monks). The lay brothers
grew the food. Travellers could stay at monasteries and nunneries. Sick
people were tended to in the infirmary. They herded sheep and sold
their wool to make money for the upkeep of the monasteries and
nunneries.
Parish/local priests

Everyone went to church on Sundays to listen to the sermons given

by the local priests.
The life of a priest was very hard. They were often extremely
poor. They had to do all the work in the church. They farmed the
church land and carry out repairs to the church. Along with their
priest duties, they had to act as social workers. The priests would
have to visit the old and sick, and give alms(food and clothing) to
the poor. They also had to teach, sanctify and govern the parish.
A priest would perform the 3 most important rites in a person’s
life: their christening, marriage and burial.