How did the Roman Catholic Church influence the middle ages socially?

Answer 1

The Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages in Europe is too broad a topic to completely answer your question. You would need to read several volumes on that topic. The Roman Catholic Church influenced on many levels, in different regions and at different times. The following are a few highlights.

The Church had a longstanding negative view of women and sex that began to develop early in its history even though it was through the help of wealthy women, who held meetings in their homes, that Jesus first began his ministry. The early Church "mothers" who had been so active in the formation of the early church were eventually told that to serve God they should "go home and pray." The symbolic images of women included Eve, the evil temptress who disobeyed God, and Mary, the pure mother of Jesus who conceived without sin (intercourse).

That extremely conservative attitude of the Church toward women continued from the early Middle Ages onward and was typified by the writings of the theologian Thomas Aquinas who took a rather misogynistic view of women. He was the major theological writer of the thirteenth century and his views helped form the doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church. He taught that women should be meek and submissive and preached a doctrine of male dominance. He followed the views of Aristotle and Tertullian by declaring that women are "defective and misbegotten": that males are the perfect form and female children are simply defective males.

Cleric's of the time were still ignorant of a woman's role in the reproduction of the species.

The prevailing view was that women were morally weak, lacked judgment and were created to be man's helpmate. Aquinas' audience within the Church was predominately male and celibate (or supposed to be) and fortunately, that female-focused negativity didn't always dominate outside the Church. In fact, clerics who gave raging sermons about the evils of women to male audiences, often softened their words for a female audience taking some care to not go too far in insulting their female supporters.

In spite of Church teachings, there were many happy marriages that although not founded on love grew into loving relationships in spite of the Church's view of women as weak, inferior and sinful. And, the Church's attacks on human sexuality could never succeed in making average, healthy men give up their relationship with women.

Education was difficult to acquire for women in the Middle Ages and educated women were uncommon. Early schools barred female students. A woman's education depended on the attitude of her father and there were many father who did not buy into the prevailing negativity about women, recognized their daughters' intelligence and educated them.

In a curious turnabout, a nunnery could be a refuge for a woman who was an intellectual and she could continue to study in a convent. A convent was also a refuge for a non-conformist, non-marriageable woman, as an alternative to marriage or as the next role for a widow. The most learned women of the Middle Ages were nuns and in the early Middle Ages to mid, novices were supplied mostly from the aristocracy. Later, women from the gentry were acceptable. Some nunneries required dowries of land, cash, furniture, livestock, etc. However, life was hard, days were filled with work, visitors were not allowed, physical punishment was meted out and once a women entered she rarely left. Nunneries, on a limited basis, took boarders and pupils, worship, ritual and prayer filled the hours, help was given to the poor and the nuns were self-supporting. Some queens founded abbeys that were ruled by abbesses of royal blood who had considerable power and influence that reached their highest points of power in the tenth and eleventh and centuries.

Early Thirteenth Century England supported over 600 monasteries for men with 14,000 inhabitants. There were about 140 convents for women with around 3000 residents. The male houses were much better endowed and men had more freedom of movement.

Answer 2

The Roman Catholic Church was both the religious and the political power of the Middle Ages. They had the power to tell even the kings of Europe what to do. Pope Urban II commanded that the kings of Europe work together to fight in a holy crusade against the Muslims in the Holy land. The church controlled large amounts of land across Europe and were extremely wealthy.

Roman Catholic AnswerDuring the Ages of Faith, the people, in general, had a more realisitic view of life: that this life was just a short preparation for an eternity with God, or an eternity of hell. Thus, for the most part, they lived lives more in concert with the Church and it played a much larger role in their lives.

Answer 3

Barbarians invaded cities and led the peasants to cower in the mountains... trade went to a stand still and burned down the city.