The System of Medieval Cathedrals in Churches

In the medieval era, church was a prominent body in Europe, which would take the decision in significant aspects of the society. In various parts of the continent in the early medieval era, it had the responsibility to educate people. Quite obviously, the need of proper governance of the churches was felt. A new system came in existence, which was known as the cathedral. The cathedral was a seat in the church, which was the chair of a bishop. This bishop had the governance of a diocese for the purpose of teaching and preaching. Authority or apostolic succession was represented by the cathedral. Its prominent tasks included welcoming the new bishops, ordination, Chrim Mass and diocesan celebration.

Cathedrals in the middle ages usually belonged to the religious sections of the society. During the early middle ages, the religious seats were in the limelight. But, a lot of change was witnessed in the late medieval era. Some secular cathedrals also came in the existence. Such chairs had the posts like dean, precentor, chancellor and treasurer.

Ten monks would work under the dean. His purpose was supplying the place of the provost in the internal management of the church, as well as the internal management of the chapter. Dean had the responsibility to lead every secular church in England. He was elected by the chapter. Bishop used to approve the dean. The dean also had the charge of performance of the services in the principal festivals. He would sit on the chief stall in the choir.
The position of precentor would come next to dean. He had the special duty of regulating the musical part of the services. The things were controlled by the precentor in the absences of dean. He took the corresponding stall in the left side, in such a situation. Some exceptions also existed such as in places like St. Paul. Archdeacon has the second place instead of precentor at these places.

The third person in the ranking was chancellor (not to be confused with the chancellor of the diocese). He had the charge the oversight of its education centers. The divinity lectures were read by him. Besides, he also had to superintend the lections of the choir. He also had some other responsibilities. One of his responsibilities was correcting the reader in case if something was going on wrong. Moreover, he was also a librarian and the secretary. He would act as president if the dean or precentor would be absent. He had to handle the easternmost stall, which was on the side of the choir of the dean.

The treasurer was the fourth person, whose responsibility was to manage clothing, ornaments and furniture of the church. Besides, he also had a duty to provide bread and wine for Eucharist. The matters like ringing the bells were also regulated by the treasure. His stall used to be opposite to the chancellor.

This trend continued in the later ages also, and you can find it in some forms in the modern times also. Like medieval clothes, culture, sculptures and paintings etc., it is also one of the best aspects that old age societies have given to us.

Development of Science during Middle Ages

The advancement of science and technology that you observe today is not an affair of a few days. This is the work of various scholars since thousands of years. Immediately after the middle-ages, scientific revolution took place from 1500 A.D, which further became the reason for the development of modern science.

The roots of this development can be found in the ancient times. Some scientific researches could be witnessed during the period of Roman Empire. The Roman imperialism ended in the Europe in 5th century, and it was the beginning of the end.

During the Roman Empire, Greek was the language of science, but the knowledge of Greek declined during the transition. Moreover, the scope of education was reduced due to de-urbanization. In the 6th century, education was moved to churches and cathedrals, which had the complete focus on teaching the doctrines of Bible. Italy, Spain and southern parts of Gail were the places, where the education was going on modestly. These were the places where influence of the Roman Empire was most long lasting. Learning started to emerge in Ireland and Celtic lands. At these places, Latin was thought to be a foreigner language, and people had a huge interest in learning and teaching the Latin texts. Until this time, people’s interest towards the study of nature was limited to the practical aspects rather than abstract ones in various countries. For instance, monks showed their interest in the motion of stars in order to compute the exact time of prayer.  Similarly, motions of sun and moon were determined for calculating the date of Easter.

English monk Alcuin of York was assisted by Charles the Great in 800 A.D. for the educational reforms. The study of astronomy was concerned with this reform, which was meant for both practical and theoretical reforms. From 787, laws were passed for the restoration of the old schools and the establishment of new ones.  These schools were under the responsibility of monasteries and cathedrals.

In 1050, which was the beginning of the high, European scholars started seeking the knowledge in the existing texts of Greek and Arabic. A number of Arabic texts were available during that era, which were full of scientific knowledge. Many of these texts were translated into Latin by the scholars like Gerard of Cremona.  The new medieval universities were benefitted from the translated texts. The works of Aristotle were also rediscovered, and the scientific studies of the motion of earth and heavenly bodies were conducted.  The first half of the 14th century, which is counted under the late middle-ages, the scientific work of some great thinkers was witnessed, like William of Ocean, John Philoponus etc.

With the end, scientific revolution began, but there was definitely some role of middle times in the later scientific developments.
Despite the less scientific progress, the people of the middle-ages seem progressive in their lifestyles in various aspects. Their clothing styles are still the allure for the people. The medieval clothing has been adopted by the fashion industry of today because of its elegance.

You can acquire some brilliant medieval dresses and accessories on our website. The costumes of distinct community of that era can be witnessed on the aforesaid website.