Religion and the Church in Norman England

• Religion in Norman England

  
• Beliefs in Norman England

  • Everyone believed in God
  • What happened to you after death was really important
  • Heaven and hell were real places
  • If you led a good life on earth, attended church and avoided sin, you would go to heaven
  • If you were a bad person, you would go to hell
• Medieval peasants couldn't read or write and they could not even understand church services because they were in Latin so most of their religious understanding came from paintings and stained glass windows
• Many people also went on pilgrimage – a journey to a religious place in order to feel closer to God
• Church


  Largest single landholder in England
• Bishops


  Feudal lords in towns and villages
• The Church became very wealthy from the people paying rent
• Some landholders bequest their land to the Church when they died, in the hope that this gift would help send them to heaven
• Tithe


  Tax paid to the Church, 10% of what they produced each year and 10% of any profits that were made
• Other taxes paid to the Church

  • Easter Dues
  • Tax paid when you died
  • Surplice for ceremonies, such as marriages and funerals
• Religion in Norman England-Politics

  Leading members of the Church advised the king on important national matters as members of the Witan. Often Archbishops and bishops and priests were part of the Witan.
• Religion in Norman England-Law

  The Church had their own court called the Church court. This was for crimes carried out on Church land(such as theft from a church or knowingly marrying a relative) or for crimes committed by members of the clergy. The Church had to obey English laws but punished people in Church courts in the King’s name.
• Religion in Norman England-Health

  Medieval people did not understand the cause of diseases and thought that they were a punishment from God. As a result, priests tried to cure the sick by praying for them or recommending pay for forgiveness through money, pain or prayer.
• Religion in norman england-Education

  The Church was the only institution to produce books. Texts and pictures were copied by hand to make new books. As well as religious texts, other important books, such as medical texts for doctors, were copied and made by the Church. In this way, the Church could control which books were published.
• CORRUPT:

  NeMaSiPl

  NEPOTISM

  Appointing unqualified family members to positions of power.
• CORRUPT:

  NeMaSiPl

  MARRIAGE

  Many priests in England were married when they were supposed to be celibate (like priests in the rest of Europe.)
• CORRUPT:

  NeMaSiPl

  SIMONY

  Positions, privileges and jobs in the Church were SOLD to people.
• CORRUPT:

  NeMaSiPl

  PLURALISM

  Some clergy held and were paid for multiple jobs.

  e.g. a priest might be in charge of a parish in the south and a parish in the north and never visit either of them!
• BACKWARD:

  The Church used English as well as Latin when they were only supposed to use Latin.

  Compared to priests in the rest of Europe, priests in England were poorly educated.
• Archbishop Stigand

  Example of where the Anglo-Saxon Church was not in line with the rest of Europe
• Stigand became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1052
• Stigand was a good administrator but not particularly religious
• Stigand concentrated on advising the King, rather than reforming the Church
• Stigand broke several Church rules (including pluralism and simony) but kept his position because Harold Godwinson supported him
• Stigand became very rich and seemed to be very concerned with his own wealth and status
• The Pope insisted that Stigand give up his multiple jobs but Stigand ignored him
• William replaced Stigand with Lanfranc
• Lanfranc became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1070
• Lanfranc was a good friend of William's and was entrusted to carry out the reforms
• Synods

  Ecclesiastical (Church) councils that helped to spread the message of reform
• Bishops holding councils twice a year


  Helped improve their authority over their diocese
• Moving cathedrals to towns and cities with larger populations

  • Bishops controlled a diocese (administrative area) from the place where the cathedral was built
  • After the Norman Conquest, one third of bishops moved, or were made to move, to more important towns and cities
  • These changes helped to centralise the Church
• Church hierarchy

  A more centralised system - each level answerable to the person above
• New appointments in the Church hierarchy

  • Archdeacons
  • Deans
• Archdeaconries and deaneries

  • Archdeaconries often covered the same land as the shires
  • Deaneries often had the same boundaries as the hundreds
  • This new hierarchy, including archdeacons and deans, gave bishops greater control of their diocese
• There were far more Parish priests than there had been previously
• Developing parishes and the role of the parish priest

  • Parish churches had started to develop before the Conquest but the number of village churches seems to have doubled between 1070 and 1170
  • Over 2,000 village churches were recorded in the Domesday Survey
• Officially ending marriage amongst the clergy
• The Council of Winchester established church courts

  1076
• Establishment of church courts

  1. Clergy (churchmen) to be tried in bishop's courts (synods)

  2. Not in lay courts (normal secular [non-religious] courts)

  3. Shire courts often worked with synods

  4. Synods could be used to push through reform