The Power of the Church in Medieval Scotland - Essay Example

The Power of the Church in Medieval Scotland The Power of the Church in Medieval Scotland Introduction The church in medieval Scotland had all kinds of Christian denominations. The Roman soldiers who had settled in the north province of Britannia introduced Christianity to the region. When the British administration collapsed in the fifth century, it was so that Christianity only survived among the British settlers who were in the south of Scotland. Irish Mission majorly dealt with the diversification of the Christian church in medieval Scotland (Barrow, 2003). In the progressive centuries, Christianity continued to spread in medieval Scotland. A more organized set of leadership came up where there were successive popes, bishops, other church heads, and new monastic rules. These rules aimed at cleaning the communities, reduce the influence secular power had on the people, and convert more Christians (Barrell, 2000). In the middle age of Christian evolution in medieval Scotland, there came up festivals and beliefs in the religion. By this time, Catholic religion was wide spreading, and many people were, dedicating their lives to God joining monasteries and nunneries. There were festivals that spread out in the whole of the Catholic calendar. Services in the Churches held in Latin, religious places converted to sacred sites and sacred well that pagans worshiped turned into holy wells in tribute to the Virgin Mary. As the monastic communities became wealthier due to the wool trade, Catholic churches continued to be established. Another reason that may have led to the rapid expansion of the Catholic churches was that the church had influential patrons that gave generously to ensure a place in heaven (Foghlam Alba, 2015). The church of medieval Scotland has to date fully developed monastic layout enrooted to the customs of the people. This deep roots demonstrate the power that the church in medieval Scotland had. The effects are evident in the present times. The assignment aims to explore the church in medieval Scotland and understand its role in general governance. The Church and its Role in Medieval Scotland The pope alone was at the top of the church. Under him were few cardinals who were in charge of all churches. The Bishops who were controlled by the archbishops followed in hierarchy and each a monastery. The church had enormous power. The church and the religious leaders told the kings, other leaders, as well as the ordinary people what to do in terms of ‘what God wanted’. As a result of the fear that the people in these times had in God, they followed what the religious leaders said (Europe, 2015). In Scotland, Margaret, queen of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada (Malcolm III), is credited with the introduction of reformed monasticism. Though the church organised itself during this period, 1093- 1200AD, no archbishop could act in superiority over the others. Toward the end of the 12th century, Scottish Bishops had to refute claims that they exercised metropolitan powers over the other Bishops of Scotland. However,an agreement in 1192 was reached where an agreement that the diocese of Galloway remains under York, and the remaining Bishoprics would only be subject to the Rome as ‘Rome Daughters’ was agreed. As a result, by the thirteenth century beginning the medieval church in Scotland occupied a very exceptional position in Latin Christendom (Pictish Monastery, 1715). The church entails of peoples who say they are Christians, the come together to participate in sacrament and to praise. The visible church does not actually comprise of believers only but also non-believers and have not received salvation. Hence, the church is when believers come together to take part in worship, praise and to read the word of God that comes from the Bible (Slick, 2015). The church does not grant salvation it is by glorifying God and teach others of Christ’s ways (Compelling Truth, 2015). The church involved itself extensively in the lives of the civilians. It included itself in both the political and cultural parts of their lives. The church had a structure of justice and played a key role in key administration activities. The church had major roles in national politics. The church in the medieval times played a very crucial role. Since the church was fast growing and influential, it played a significant role in providing employment and lifetime careers for many locals. Scots would land jobs in the church management and the subordinate staff. The church used to be a justice structure to offer fair hearing and help solve disputes (Stevenson, 2014). The church was also responsible for the spreading of Christianity and dominated almost everyone’s life. Its control over people was total to an extent that people worked if church fields for no pay. People gave tithe in for of money or goods (this was 10% of their earnings) so as to avoid their souls from going to hell when they died. It was a role for the church to spread Christianity and to convert as many as they could to God (History Learning, 2015). Furrrthermore, the church provided a career path. It was also a place for rest and a place where storage of books occurred. In this time kingship was the chief form of leadership and the church accepted papal authority, this was in the eleventh century. At these time, wars had stopped and hence the church leadership structure that was in place successively bloomed. Roles The Papacy Papacy in terms of the Catholic Church means the office of the pope together with the whole authority of his desk. In historical context, it refers to the name of the pope in the office or the effect that the Catholic Church has had down history land (Catholicsm, 2015). During the middle age, the pope was the leader of the Christian church, and since everyone went to church, the pope had considerable influence. Believers viewed the pope as the representation of God on earth. They went to pray and seek guidance from him. It was the role of the pope to decide the preaching in the church. Popes wrote bulls (letters that explained the teachings and outlined church policies. It was also the pope’s decision to make if one was acting against the church. He came up with suitable punishment or even excommunication. These meant that one was not to go to heaven. It was the pope’s role in medieval society to show a figure of spiritual authority. Later, these went wider and the popes, since they were leaders of the biggest following, they took the places of kings and emperors. They titled their argument the ‘doctrine of swords’. It stated that the Pope had authority over the church and the state. The Papacy also had the role of housing the clergy (Newman, 2015). One with the responsibility of leading overseeing a group of ministers or priests in Christian gatherings is the bishop. In the Catholic Church, they are successors of the apostles. The bishop oversees his congregation (Elwell, 1997). The Saints These saints played an significant role in establishing Christianity in the Scotland region (Irvin, 2006). Scotland however, had a great share of patron saints. Pilgrimage occurred in these times coupled with the encouragement of the development of a cult of saints who could help strengthen the strength of the new church converts. Their burial area became known quickly as sources of miracles (SCARF, 2015). In the medieval times, the saints were beatified people. The exceptional person had achieved something was deemed truly amazing by the society or has experienced the same. They had to have experienced something divine in origin or a sort of a miracle. These people in the medieval society was only beatified after their death. In the Scottish medieval times, such saints include Saint Margaret, who was a Scottish queen and a patron of the church in her life. In these times, the Saint was of great importance to the society. They were seen as proof and as a source of inspiration to the largely illiterate population (Foghlam Alba, 2015). The Bishops The bishops were powerful people in the church. Bishops entitlements included rich and beautiful vestments, the hat, and the stoles they wore on their necks, also to other power trappings. While they were respected, these trappings of power sometimes angered the other people in the church. According to (Snell, 2015) a medieval history expert, the church served as the office of the bishop. He baptized, settled disputes controlled the finances of the church and even dealt with all matters about the business of the church. The Pope would assigned Bishops though secular leaders also appointed the bishops (Snell, 2015). The Monasteries The early monasteries originated from Egypt and spread. These monks lived in solitude though they met in a joint chapel. Through the 15th century, monastic movement by the monks spread as the monks set out to convert people to Christianity. At around 400AD establishment of the first Monastery in Scotland occurred (Britain Express, 2015). The monastery was simply a place where people could live and could be a simple house or a vast complex of buildings. These people had devoted their lives to religion. Monasteries enforced strict rules about who joined and the new joiners had to surrender all of their personal possessions. An example of monastic orders was the Benedictines. The name of these monastic orders was after the saint they followed as their figurehead. These monasteries built abbeys in Scotland. The saint, Queen Margaret’s son, David, brought many monastic orders to Scotland (Foghlam Alba, 2015). The church in medieval Scotland exercised control over all aspects both religious and political. However, its core area of control was the religion; it however extended to the political sphere in terms of advice to the political leaders. As mentioned above they exercised control in terms of ‘what God wanted to do’ (Dingwall, 2003). After the Roman Empire collapsed, the power of the pope over the bishops declined and the bishops operated on their own. The result was the mixing of the secular and religious activities. The secular activities gained ground in a religious society. The result was the protest against the misuse of power. The results were the introduction of reforms. These transformations included the monastic reforms. Because of the reorganizations, the church later became more organized, and there was a power shift. The power moved to the bishops from the monasteries. The result was that the church grew stronger because it had more power (Budde, 1550). The Collegiate Church The construction of the collegiate church in Scotland represented the acme of provision for the afterlife. Collegiate churches were so called because they housed a community of priests. They could be called on to say masses and prayers for the eternity of the founder (Cowan, & Henderson, 2011) (Aosmhor, 2014). In most cases, they were brought by the local landowner to pray for their salvation (Aosmhor, 2014). Conclusion In medieval Scotland, the church of all institutions showed a lot of power in terms of the influences it had in all spheres of the society political economic and religious. Its power emerged in terms of the influence the Bishops had on matters about politics for example by influencing policy decisions. It also helped in the governance of the people by organizing them and ensuring the society operated within the bounds of the Christian teachings. The papacy, bishops, saints and the monasteries had significant roles to play in the society. Finally, in the 12th century there were reforms that saw the church gain more power and even the emergence of the collegiate church. The Church therefore, had enormous power in the medieval Scotland, and this helped the Scotland of today. Reference List Aosmhor, A., 2014, Seton Collegiate Church. [Online] Available at: http://www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/propertyabout?PropID=PL_243 [Accessed 4th June 2015]. Barrell, A. D. M., 2000, Medieval scotland. London: The Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge. Barrow, G., 2003, The Kingdom of the Scots. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Britain Express, 2015, Life in a Medieval Monastery. [Online] Available at: http://www.britainexpress.com/History/medieval-monastery.htm [Accessed 4th June 2015]. Budde, P., 1550, The Rise and Fall of the Catholic Church 1000 – 1550 : Misuse of religious power. New York: Paul Budde History Files. Catholicsm, 2015, Papacy. [Online] Available at: http://catholicism.about.com/od/organization/g/papacy.htm [Accessed thursday june 2015]. Compelling Truth, 2015, What is the definition of the church. [Online] Available at: http://www.compellingtruth.org/definition-church.html [Accessed 4th June 2015]. Cowan, E. J., & Henderson, L., 2011, A History of Everyday Life in Medieval Scotland, 1000 to 1600. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Dingwall, H. M., 2003, A History of Scottish Medicine: Themes and Influences. s.l.:Edinburgh University Press. Elwell, W. A., 1997, Definition of bishop. Bible study tools. Europe, M., 2015. Middle Ages for Kids: Abbots , Bishops, Cardinal ,Pope. [Online] Available at: http://medievaleurope.mrdonn.org/bishops.html [Accessed 4th June 2015]. Foghlam Alba, 2015, Education Scotland. [Online] Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/medievallife/religionfestivalsandbeliefs/ [Accessed Thursday June 2015]. Foghlam Alba, 2015, Monastic orders. [Online] Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/scotlandshistory/makingthenation/monasticorders/index.asp [Accessed 4th June 2015]. History Learning, 2015, The medieval church. [Online] Available at: http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_church.htm [Accessed 4th June 2015]. Irvin, L., 2006, Medieval Scottish Saints. [Online] Available at: http://www.electricscotland.com/history/articles/saints.htm [Accessed 4th May 2015]. Newman, S., 2015, Popes of the middle age. The finer times. Pictish Monastery, 1715, The Meidval Church in Scotland, London: Cambridge University. SCARF, 2015, Pilgrimage in Medieval Scotland. In: N. P. Mark Hall, ed. Medieval:Scottish Archaelogical Research Framework. Slick, M., 2015, What is the church, Christian apologetics and research ministry. Snell, M., 2015, Bishop, About Education. Stevenson, K., 2014, Power of Propaganda. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Read More