Could the Middle Ages Be Considered an Age of Faith?

The Middle Ages can be called an Age of Faith. Religion dominated all aspects of life from architecture, literature, art and music making this the Age of Faith. Everything citizens did revolved around their religion and Christianity became the dominant religion during this time. The Pope, head of the Christian religion, had total control and final say in both the church and in political matters. Many people would listen to the Pope before they would listen to the Emperor because the Pope had a connection with God. The Pope was even able to control how the Emperor ruled and how much power he would exert over the people. The Pope was able to convince people to fight the Holy Crusade Wars with promises that God would forgive them of their sins. The Middle Ages was the Age of Faith.

There is a letter from Pope Gelasius I to Emperor Anastasius (494) evidencing the dominance of the church and faith. Pope Gelasius explains to the Emperor that while there are two powers, sacred authority and royalty, the obvious dominant one is the sacred authority. He explains that this is because priests must judge over the kings of men and therefore they, the clergy are more powerful. This is why the people of the Middle Ages listened to the church leaders more than the political rulers; faith was the most dominant force during these times. The Pope, the priests, and the bishops were connected to God.

Another example why the Middle Ages were the Age of Faith is through a review of the speech by Pope Urban II that called for the first holy crusade. Pope Urban's speech implores Christ's heralds to carry aid to the Christians in the holy land and destroy the infidels from the land of our friends. He claimed that he spoke from God and that Christ commanded this action. It was the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus that was asking for the Pope's help against the Muslims knowing that the citizens' faith in the religious leaders would advance his cause. Again the Middle Ages were an Age of Faith as there were many Crusades fought in the name of Christiandom.

Another example why the Middle Ages were the Age of Faith was the impact religion had on the progress in architecture. One thousand AD marked the beginning of a vast building program throughout Europe. During this period some of the most beautiful buildings ever built were done in the name of God. Some of them were Notre Dame Cathedral, St. Benoit-sur-Loire and the Cathedral at Reims. These buildings included intricate carvings of religious symbols, scenes, and saints also stained glass windows depicting scenes from the Bible. The clergy allowed this to be possible, in the early Middle Ages, by allowing the depiction of religious scenes. It was believed that since the majority of the population was illiterate visual images would have more of an impact and would aid the teachings of the church. There are many other examples of religion's impact on the arts, music and daily life which is why the Middle Ages are most definitely the Age of Faith. Religion and the people's belief in the church and God dominated their everyday lives, caused them to willingly go to foreign lands and fight those with different religious beliefs and to obey religious leaders over political ones. This great belief in faith led to the great cathedrals being built to honor religion and there were many magnificent works of religious art and music produced during this time as well. Faith was a driving force throughout the Middle Ages, hence the Age of Faith.