FIVE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT...Going to church in the Middle Ages
BBC History Magazine|November 2021
From social interaction to confessing your sins, Nicholas Orme reveals why the church HistoryExtra played such a central role in medieval life PODCAST INTERVIEW BY DAVID MUSGROVE
Nicholas Orme
FIVE BIG QUESTIONS ABOUT...Going to church in the Middle Ages

1 Why was attending church so important?

In the Middle Ages, going to church offered a lot more than merely a way of connecting with God. Christianity was not only a religion, but an entire worldview that sought to explain a great deal more than people's relationship with God. Church-going encompassed ethics, telling you how you should behave, and entire areas of study that we would now separate off as science, sociology or politics. Even history was a part of it; medieval histories of the world took a lot from the Bible.

The importance of the church in the lives of medieval people went far beyond theology. In fact, the church fulfilled a lot of functions which we would now look to the government to carry out. This comprised a huge infrastructure to deal with things like education, morality and charity in the parish.

It also played a valuable social role. Nowadays, there are plenty of other things you could be doing on a Sunday morning, but imagine living in a scattered rural hamlet in the Middle Ages. You might not encounter many people, and so the church offered a wonderful opportunity to meet others. It was a place where you could organise your own social group. Hence you saw the emergence of groups formed from, for example, the young men, wives or "maidens" of the local parish.

2 Were people forced to attend?

In theory, everybody was meant to be in church on Sundays and festival days, of which there were about 40-50 annually. That meant that on at least 90 days of the year, you would be expected to be present for at least the morning service.

Denne historien er fra November 2021-utgaven av BBC History Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra November 2021-utgaven av BBC History Magazine.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA BBC HISTORY MAGAZINESe alt
The King They Couldn't Kill -Want to know why Henry VII is remembered as an intensely suspicious king, wracked by paranoia? The answer, writes Nathen Amin, lies in his death-defying rise to power
BBC History UK

The King They Couldn't Kill -Want to know why Henry VII is remembered as an intensely suspicious king, wracked by paranoia? The answer, writes Nathen Amin, lies in his death-defying rise to power

Henry’s wary nature is typically attributed to his shaky claim to the throne. The first Tudor monarch was unable to escape the taunt that he was a usurper with no right to call himself king. In fact, his renowned paranoia was the inevitable consequence of a traumatic youth – a trait ingrained long before he harboured ambitions to wear a crown. If we delve deeper into Henry’s background, we can draw a fuller picture of one of our most circumspect of monarchs – one that might elicit sympathy for a long misunderstood king.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
The Spy Who Hoodwinked Hitler - Dummy tanks at El Alamein. Bogus generals in Algiers. Sham armies on D-Day. All were ruses masterminded by Dudley Clarke. Robert Hutton tells the story of the British soldier who made an art form of duping the Nazis
BBC History UK

The Spy Who Hoodwinked Hitler - Dummy tanks at El Alamein. Bogus generals in Algiers. Sham armies on D-Day. All were ruses masterminded by Dudley Clarke. Robert Hutton tells the story of the British soldier who made an art form of duping the Nazis

Examining the reconnaissance photos, Behrendt was convinced that the Allies weren’t in any hurry. They were constructing some kind of pipeline towards the southern end of their line, probably to carry water, which was barely halfway completed. There were supply dumps appearing in the south as well – always a telltale clue about where an attack would come. True, a large number of trucks were parked at the northern end of the line, about 25 miles back from the front, but they hadn’t moved for weeks.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
"People have achieved all kinds of crazy things at the age of 18″
BBC History UK

"People have achieved all kinds of crazy things at the age of 18″

ALICE LOXTON talks to Danny Bird about her book on 18 individuals who left an indelible mark on British history before they were out of their teens

time-read
10+ mins  |
September 2024
Parthian chicken
BBC History UK

Parthian chicken

ELEANOR BARNETT recreates an ancient Roman dish that borrowed flavours from a rival neighbouring empire in the Middle East

time-read
2 mins  |
September 2024
"We need a meaningful story for the new generation - our composite union"
BBC History UK

"We need a meaningful story for the new generation - our composite union"

WHAT A SUMMER IT’S BEEN SO FAR, WITH AN astonishing election result.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 2024
A Pole apart
BBC History UK

A Pole apart

ROGER MOORHOUSE is absorbed by a little-known but politically significant Polish princess whose life encompassed the major events of the later 18th and 19th centuries

time-read
4 mins  |
September 2024
Medieval England's p olitical miracle
BBC History UK

Medieval England's p olitical miracle

From Magna Carta to parliament, taxation to the law courts, the 13th and 14th centuries laid the foundations for the modern British state

time-read
9 mins  |
September 2024
EASTERN PROMISES
BBC History UK

EASTERN PROMISES

Lured by rich trading prospects, from the 17th to the 19th centuries Britain attempted to cultivate relations with China sometimes successfully, but often disastrously. Kerry Brown explores the troubled but ultimately vital links between two ambitious realms

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2024
THE GENIUS IN THE SHADOWS
BBC History UK

THE GENIUS IN THE SHADOWS

Æthelstan is one of the greatest of all Anglo-Saxon monarchs. So why, asks Michael Wood, does the first king of the English remain so fiendishly elusive?

time-read
10 mins  |
September 2024
The long road back The election was tough for the Conservatives - but the past holds clues on how parties can return from the brink
BBC History UK

The long road back The election was tough for the Conservatives - but the past holds clues on how parties can return from the brink

It’s election night 1997, and Jeremy Paxman is grilling Tory grandee Cecil Parkinson.

time-read
6 mins  |
September 2024