Chapter 3 section 5

Chapter 3 section 5

During the Middle Ages, most schooling took place in monasteries,

convents, and cathedrals. This pattern was established under

Charlemagne, who encouraged the Church to teach people to read and write. During his reign, scholars developed a new form of writing that helped make reading easier. Instead of writing in all capital letters, as the Romans did, scholars began to use lowercase letters, too. We still use this system today.

Multiple Choice

_________, who encouraged the Church to teach people to read and write.

• Clovis

• Charlemagne

In medieval times, the clergy were the people most likely to be

educated. Most of the students in Church schools were sons of nobles

who were studying for careers in the clergy. They spent much of their

time memorizing prayers and passages from the Bible in Latin.

Starting in the 1200s, cathedral schools gave rise to universities.

Students in universities studied Latin grammar and rhetoric, logic,

geometry, arithmetic, astronomy, and music. Books at that time were

hand copied and very rare, so teachers often read to students.

Multiple Choice

How did students get their lessons?

• Teachers read to students

• They read from books

Ancient texts were greatly respected in the universities, but the Church

was sometimes uneasy about them. The Church taught people to be guided by faith. Ancient writers like the Greek philosopher Aristotle

taught that reason, or logical thinking, was the path to knowledge.

Church leaders feared that studying such writers might lead people to

question its teachings.

Thomas Aquinas (uh-KWINE-iss), an Italian scholar of philosophy and

theology, tried to bridge the gap between reason and faith. Aquinas

greatly admired Aristotle. He saw no conflict between faith and reason, because he believed that both were gifts from God. Reason, he believed, helped people discover important truths about God's creation. Faith, meanwhile, revealed its own truths about God.

Aquinas wrote logical arguments in support of his faith to show how

reason and religious belief worked together. For example, his concept

of natural law stated that there was an order built into nature that

could guide people's thinking about right and wrong. Natural law, he

said, could be discovered through reason alone. Since God had created nature, natural law agreed with the moral teachings of the Bible.

Aquinas's teachings unified ancient philosophy and Christian theology.

His teachings were later accepted and promoted by the Church.

Medieval Europeans enjoyed many festivals and fairs that marked

important days of the year. Most of these celebrations were connected

in some way to the Church. Almost every day of the year was dedicated to a Christian saint, an event in the life of Jesus, or an important religious idea. In fact, our word holiday comes from “holy day.”

Multiple Choice

Our word holiday comes from _______

• Latin

• “holy day.”

Two of the main medieval holidays were Christmas and Easter.

Christmas is the day when Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus.

During the Middle Ages, Christmas celebrations lasted for 12 days. On

Christmas day, Christians attended church. Then they enjoyed a great

feast, which was often held for everyone on the manor by its lord.

Easter is the day when Christians celebrate the Resurrection. In

Christian belief, the Resurrection is Christ's rising from the dead. For

medieval Christians, Easter was a day of church services, feasting, and games. Often the games involved eggs, a symbol of new life

Music, dancing, and food were all part of medieval holidays and festivals. People sang folk songs and danced. They drank their favorite beverages and they ate baked and fried foods.

Multiple Choice

Easter

• is the day when Christians celebrate the Resurrection

• celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Multiple Choice

Christmas

• is the day when Christians celebrate the Resurrection

• celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Other favorite holiday entertainments included bonfires, acrobats and

jugglers, and dancing bears. Plays were also popular. During religious

services on special days, priests sometimes acted out Bible stories. By

the 13th century, plays were often held outdoors in front of the church

so more people could watch. In some English villages, mummers

(traveling groups of actors) performed with masks, drums and bells,

dances, and make-believe sword fights.

Religion was important to all Christians in the Middle Ages. Some men and women, however, solemnly promised to devote their lives to God

and the Church.

Multiple Choice

During religious

services on special days, priests sometimes acted out Bible stories

• true

• false