The Medieval Church part 2
While bishops and priests worked among the people, guiding them toward God, another group chose a more secluded path. These men built monasteries, dedicating their lives to prayer, work, and worship. By the 12th century, monastic life had become increasingly popular, leading to the construction of many new monasteries across England and Europe. Unlike priests, who focused on helping others, monks devoted themselves entirely to preparing their own souls for God.
Each monastery was led by an abbot, and all monks followed three sacred vows: obedience, poverty, and chastity. There were several types of monasteries, each with a different focus:
- Benedictines: Scholars and scribes, they meticulously copied and preserved books, ensuring knowledge was passed down through generations.
- Cistercians: They embraced extreme simplicity, believing that self-denial brought them closer to God.
- Carthusians: Hardworking and self-sufficient, they devoted themselves to labor, tending to farms and gardens.
Monastic life wasn’t just for men. Women also chose to dedicate themselves to God, living in nunneries as nuns. In fact, it’s believed that nunneries existed even before the first monasteries. By the 12th century, most of the hundred or so nunneries in England were Benedictine, following the same scholarly traditions as their male counterparts.
These religious communities played a crucial role in medieval society, preserving knowledge, practicing faith, and shaping the spiritual landscape of their time.
