During the Medieval Age, the churches were very important because they were the center of learning, and they held a majority of the money in the town. In fact, the Churches were very powerful during that time, but what made some unique are the writings and drawing on their
ceilings and walls, which brings to mind the question: Can you read a building? The answer to the question is yes. In medieval times, architects wrote and drew on the many churches and buildings for symbolic reason, and the drawings can still be read and seen even to this very day.
On way churches and buildings can be read is by looking at their architecture and drawings on the outside in the entrances and above. Before a worshiper entered a church,
they would be able to see sculpture of saints and sinners, and people being punished. These sculptures where there to serve as a reminder to hold God in the highest importance in your life. Another way the architects made their sculptures come to life were the use of Gargoyles. These were original made to drain the water from the top and the sides of the buildings, but where later thought the terrifying sculptures were made to keep evil away, and another later theory was the remind all sinners of their fate. (http://www.robinurton.com/history/medieval.htm)
Another way people now days can read buildings are through the way they were designed. For example if a church had open window and the inside where open, they were opening up the church and the building to the light and to God. Some the entrances tell it all. In some entrances, you see a depiction of Jesus’ last time here on Earth, which was to remind people of their death. Other churches were built to remind people of the good they should be doing on Earth. The afterlife was a very important aspect to the people in medieval times, and it gave people hope that there was something else more powerful then them waiting on the other side.
"According to the general disposition of God, the souls of all the saints who departed from this world before the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ and also of the holy apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins and other faithful who died after receiving the holy baptism of Christ—provided they were not in need of any purification when they died, or will not be in need of any when they die in the future, or else, if they then needed or will need some purification, after they have been purified after death—and again the souls of children who have been reborn by the same baptism of Christ or will be when baptism is conferred on them, if they die before attaining the use of free will: all these souls, immediately (
mox) after death and, in the case of those in need of purification, after the purification mentioned above, since the ascension of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ into heaven, already before they take up their bodies again and before the general judgment, have been, are and will be with Christ in heaven, in the heavenly kingdom and paradise, joined to the company of the holy angels. Since the passion and death of the Lord Jesus Christ, these souls have seen and see the divine essence with an intuitive vision and even face to face, without the mediation of any creature by way of object of vision; rather the divine essence immediately manifests itself to them, plainly, clearly and openly, and in this vision they enjoy the divine essence . Moreover, by this vision and enjoyment the souls of those who have already died are truly blessed and have eternal life and rest. Also the souls of those who will die in the future will see the same divine essence and will enjoy it before the general judgment." (
http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/B12BDEUS.HTM)
The churches were very important for people, because without them they
would have nothing to
believe in and the structure of churches they were important on telling people how they should live their lives and where they will be going after their death.
Churches were also very symbolic to the people in olden times. Back then everyone believed in Heaven and Hell, and they believed that they only way into either was through the entrance and acceptance of the Church. Back then, they believed that, if someone went and started to build a church, and somehow managed to die on the job, their soul would be welcomed into heaven without any questions . Also, in the olden time, people listened to what the church wanted because they held most of the money of the towns. They were like the rulers and they controlled who paid them what. (http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_church.htm)
Reading churches can be interpreted in many ways such as actually looking up at the church and seeing written words that have been written when the church was built, and they describe a certain part of time in the medieval history. Or reading a church could also be looking at the way it is built and seeing that they way it is open and letting the sun in, and they way people view the church as they key to the afterlife. Churches were very powerful back in the olden days, and they where looked upon with great care, people today still look at the churches and their amazing sculpture., and today, we still read the churches and look into their past while learning new things every day.
The Medieval Church." History Learning Site. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_church.htm
Eyeconart: Medieval Art." Robin
Urton: Original Paintings, Prints, & Pendants. Web. 20 Apr. 2010. http://www.robinurton.com/history/medieval.htm
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neo-gothic_church_at_Kylemore.jpgWeb. 20 Apr. 2010. http://www.ewtn.com/library/PAPALDOC/B12BDEUS.HTM - the medieval
spurcebook
e traditional monastic life, encouraging art, and caring for the poor." During the height of the reform, it was one of the largest religious forces in Europe.William of Aquitaine formed the first cluny in 910. Late his cluny invaded thousands of monasteries. Because of the reform, people demanded more altar vessels of gold, fine tapestries and fabrics, stained glass, and polyphonic choral music to fill the churches. Also the Cluniac reform was one that was expressed with the architecture, and was on of the more important reforms that contributed to the advancement of architecture.
