The Roman Catholic Church During The Middle Ages

Is it possible for a religious order to control almost a whole continent and be the ruling power over many nations for many centuries? Imagine a world divided in factions and totally devoured by a lawless society. Who would gain the most control over this world? Mercenaries? A king? Or maybe even a religious order? During the Middle Ages, The Roman Catholic Church was one of the most widespread groups that assumed dominant power throughout most of Eastern and Western Europe. The beliefs and values of the Church were the shared ideas among the citizens of many nations that were under the Roman Catholic Church. Many of their ideas and beliefs became integrated into many societies as a whole from the use of many ideas and practices used by most …show more content…
From the many subliminal messages the church inputted into society through the use of localized churches in the towns, the church was able to assimilate into society after gaining trust and access throughout different societies. One of these areas in society, influenced by the church, was their artistic depictions and artistic works throughout Europe. Commonly throughout the Middle Ages depictions of deities, such as Mary, the disciples, and Jesus are all found throughout most of the work done in the period of history. Other art pieces also depict the actions of the church or the beliefs that the Roman Catholic Church held. The continual need to paint different depictions in the churches was fueled by the large spread of the church and its followers (Sorabella). From the many paintings of the Roman Catholic Church, like the Collection of Moral Acts and the Use of Sarum, the church, in a sense, was able to fuel its growth among Europe by free advertising by society. The perspective on the church’s visual were used to help teach and represent certain values of the church itself (Sorabella). The Church’s mission was to convert the citizens in Europe over to the Roman Catholic faith, and tried to achieve this by their advertising of the …show more content…
From the vast and widespread popularity of the Church, the beliefs and values became integrated into Middle Aged European life after the use of the church’s artistic depictions. The Roman Catholic Church essentially advertised itself by using art as a method of teaching morals and values, but to also keep art pieces as a reminder of how to live life. Through this method of assimilation into society, the The Church had assumed dominant power throughout most of Europe, and soon became the leading power during the Middle