AQA A-LEVEL (7042)HIS2D – Religious Conflict and the Church in England,

c1529–1570________________________________________________________________

SECTION 1 The Church in c15294 The Liturgical Year

To what extent did religion shape Medieval ‘rhythms of life’?

Holy DaysThe Church was powerful because it provided a link between God and human beings, who could only reach heaven through membership of the Church. Participating in the large number of Christian Holy Days was one of the ways that salvation could be achieved. These Holy Days fitted into the cycle of the agricultural year. On Holy Days, the whole community would stop work and come together in celebration.

Festival Meaning/Significance

&Preparations for the coming of Christ; celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ;

Epiphany

The last day before Lent (a solemn time of penance, repentance, self-denial).

The first day of Christ’s 40 days in the wilderness, being tested by Satan (Lent).

Christ’s entry into Jerusalem; beginning of Holy Week (last week of Jesus’s life).

The occasion of the Last Supper (Maundy refers to foot washing). The Eucharist is

established.(Part of Holy Week)

The Crucifixion of Christ

(Part of Holy Week)The Resurrection of Christ

(Part of Holy Week)

These days involve processions and ‘beating the bounds’; ties in with farming

The descent of the Holy Spirit on his followers (Birth of the church?). A happy

festival.A jubilant festival to proclaim the truth of the transubstantiation of bread and wine

into the actual body of Christ during Mass. Falls between late May and the

middle of June. In essence, it is a second celebration of the Eucharist at a ‘happier’

time than Holy Week.

&

The day after All Hallows' Eve (Hallowe'en). An opportunity for

believers to remember all saints and martyrs, known and unknown, throughout Christian history/

The day after. It is an opportunity to remember the dead and pray for their

soul to get them out of purgatory.

Source: A procession to celebrate Rogation Sunday.Source: An account of his recollections of the Church by Roger Martyn, who grew

up in Long Melford in the 1520s and 1530s, later becoming its churchwarden.On Corpus Christi Day the people of the parish carried the Blessed Sacrament in

procession about the streets. I think they went in procession ringing hand bells on St Marks Day. In Rogation Week, they beat the bounds of the town, praying for rain or for good weather as the time required. There was a bonfire on Midsummer Eve and on St James’ Eve there was a bonfire and a tub of ale and bread given for the poor. On St Thomas’ Eve there were also bonfires and on tables there was mutton and peas set out with bread and ale. At these times my grandfather invited friends

and the more respectable poor neighbours to eat with us.

Source: From various churchwarden’s accounts of St James Parish Church in Louth (1515).

The fifteenth Sunday after Holy Trinity this year the weathercock was set upon the spire of the church. Will Appelby, the parish priest, was there and many of his

brother priests were present to consecrate the said weathercock and the stone that it stands on. It was carried onto the top of the spire. The priests sang ‘Te Deum

Laudamus’ [Now Thank We All to God] whilst the organs played. The Churchwardens rang all the bells and provided all the people there with bread and

ale. All this was for the glory of our loving God, Our Lady and all the Saints.

Lay Religious GuildsIn the early-sixteenth century, the wealthy were able to finance the building of personal chantry chapels where a priest would be employed to say masses for the souls of the individual and their family to speed their journey through purgatory.

For the vast majority who could not afford this privilege, lay religious guilds provided a chapel and a priest for anyone who contributed to the common fund. Many of these guilds were based on crafts, but there were also fraternities open to both men and women. They were formed regularly throughout this period and, if they could afford it, people often joined more than one.

The religiosity of the members and their desire for a personal reward in the afterlife were reflected in the activities of the fraternity, such as assisting with burials, attending the burial mass, volunteering in the local hospitals, organisation of and participation in religious festivals, giving dowries for local orphans, selling and preparing bread used for Holy Days and other charitable acts as deemed appropriate by the parish priest. In the absence of government social programmes, these lay organisations were crucial to maintaining the welfare of ordinary citizens based on the ‘neighbour helping neighbour’ theory.