an entire kingdom, whose ruler had refused to obey her mandate. The interdict has now passed out of use, but excommunication still retains its place among the spiritual weapons of the Church.

The secular

Position of the clergy

162. The Secular Clergy

Some one has said that in the Middle Ages there were just three classes of society: the nobles who fought; the peasants who worked; and the clergy who prayed. The and regular latter class was divided into the secular 2 clergy, clergy including deacons, priests, and bishops, who lived active lives in the world, and the regular clergy, or monks, who passed their days in seclusion behind monastery walls. It has been already pointed out how early both secular and regular clergy came to be distinguished from the laity by abstention from money-making activities, differences in dress, and the obligation of celibacy.* Being unmarried, the clergy had no family cares; being free from the necessity of earning their own living, they could devote all their time and energy to the service of the Church. The sacrament of Ordination, which was believed to endow the clergy with divine power, also helped to strengthen their influence. They appeared as a distinct order, in whose charge was the care of souls and in whose hands were the keys of heaven. An account of the secular clergy naturally begins with the parish priest, who had charge of a parish, the smallest division Parish of Christendom. No one could act as a priest priests without the approval of the bishop, but the nobleman who supported the parish had the privilege of nominating candidates for the position. The priest derived his income from lands belonging to the parish, from tithes,5 and from voluntary contributions, but as a rule he received little more

1 For two instances of this sort see page 461.

2 Latin sæculum, used in the sense of "the world."

Latin regula, a "rule," referring to the rule or constitution of a monastic order. 4 See page 344.

The tithe was a tenth part of the yearly income from land, stock, and personal industry.

than a bare living. The parish priest was the only Church officer who came continually into touch with the common people. He baptized, married, and buried his parishioners. For them he celebrated Mass at least once a week, heard confessions, and granted absolution. He watched over all their deeds on earth and prepared them for the life to come. And if he preached little, he seldom failed to set in his own person an example of right living.

The church, with its spire which could be seen afar off and its bells which called the faithful to worship, formed the social center of the parish.

Here on Sun- The parish days and holy church

days the people assembled for the morning and evening services. During the interval between religious exercises they often enjoyed games and other. amusements in the adjoining churchyard. As a place of public gathering the parish church held an important place in the life of the Middle Ages.

A BISHOP ORDAINING A PRIEST From an English manuscript of the twelfth century. The bishop wears a miter and holds in his

left hand the pastoral staff, or crosier. His right hand is extended in blessing over the priest's head.

Bishops

A group of parishes formed a diocese, over which a bishop presided. It was his business to look after the property belonging to the diocese, to hold the ecclesiastical courts, to visit the clergy, and to see that they did their duty. The bishop alone could administer the sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination. He also performed the ceremonies at the consecration of a new church edifice or shrine. Since the Church held vast estates on feudal tenure, the bishop was usually a territorial lord, owning a vassal's obligations to the king or to some powerful noble for his land and himself

ruling over vassals in different parts of the country. As symbols of his power and dignity the bishop wore on his head the miter and carried the pastoral staff, or crosier.1

Above the bishop in rank stood the archbishop. In England, for example, there were two archbishops, one Archbishops residing at York and the other at Canterbury.

The latter, as "primate of all England," was the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the land. An archbishop's distinctive vestment consisted of the pallium, a narrow band of white wool, worn around the neck. The pope alone could confer the right to wear the pallium.

The church which contained the official seat or throne 2 of a bishop or archbishop was called a cathedral. It was ordinarily the largest and most magnifi

The cathedral

cent church in the diocese.3

Decline of

163. The Regular Clergy

The regular clergy, or monks, during the early Middle Ages. belonged to the Benedictine order. By the tenth century, however, St. Benedict's Rule had lost much of its monasticism force. As the monasteries increased in wealth through gifts of land and goods, they sometimes became centers of idleness, luxury, and corruption. The monks forgot their vows of poverty; and, instead of themselves laboring as farmers, craftsmen, and students, they employed laymen to work for them. At the same time powerful feudal lords frequently obtained control of the monastic estates by appointing as abbots their children or their retainers. Grave danger existed. that the monasteries would pass out of Church control and decline into mere fiefs ruled by worldly men.

A great revival of monasticism began in 910 A.D., with the. foundation of the monastery of Cluny in eastern France. The The Cluniac monks of Cluny led lives of the utmost self-denial revival and followed the Benedictine Rule in all its strictness. Their enthusiasm and devotion were contagious; before

1 See the illustration, page 447.

Latin cathedra.

For the architecture of a medieval cathedral see pages 562-565.

long Cluny became a center from which a reformatory movement spread over France and then over all western Europe. By the middle of the twelfth century more than three hundred monasteries looked to Cluny for inspiration and guidance.

gregation of Cluny "

Each of the earlier Benedictine monasteries had been an isolated community, independent and self-governing. Consequently, when discipline grew lax or when the abbot The "Conproved to be an incapable ruler, it was difficult to correct the evils which arose. In the Cluniac system, however, all the monasteries formed parts of one organization, the "Congregation of Cluny." The abbot of Cluny appointed their "priors," or heads, and required every monk to pass several years of his monastic life at Cluny itself. This monarchical arrangement helps to explain why for two hundred years the abbot of Cluny was, next to the pope, the most important churchman in western Europe.

Other monastic orders arose in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. Of these, the most important was the Cistercian, founded in 1098 A.D. at Citeaux, not far from Cluny. The The keynote of Cistercian life was the return to a Cistercian literal obedience of St. Benedict's Rule. Hence

order

the members of the order lived in the utmost simplicity, cooking their own meager repasts and wearing coarse woolen garments woven from the fleeces of their own sheep. The Cistercians especially emphasized the need for manual labor. They were the best farmers and cattle breeders of the Middle Ages. Western Europe owes even more to them than to the Benedictines for their work as pioneers in the wilderness. "The Cistercians," declared a medieval writer, "are a model to all monks, a mirror for the diligent, a spur to the indolent."

The whole spirit of medieval monasticism found expression in St. Bernard, a Burgundian of noble birth. While still a young man he resolved to leave the world and seek St. Bernard, the repose of the monastic life. He entered 1090-1153 Citeaux, carrying with him thirty companions. Mothers are said to have hid their sons from him, and wives their husbands, lest they should be converted to monasticism

A.D.

by his persuasive words. After a few years at Citeaux St. Bernard established the monastery of Clairvaux, over which he ruled as abbot till his death. His ascetic life, piety, eloquence, and ability as an executive soon brought him into prominence. People visited Clairvaux from far and near to listen to his preaching and to receive his counsels. The monastery flourished under his direction and became the parent of no less than sixtyfive Cistercian houses which were planted in the wilderness. St. Bernard's activities widened, till he came to be the most influential man in western Christendom. It was St. Bernard who acted as an adviser of the popes, at one time deciding between two rival candidates for the Papacy, who combated most vigorously the heresies of the day, and who by his fiery appeals set in motion one of the crusades. The charm of his character is revealed to us in his sermons and letters, while some of the Latin hymns commonly attributed to him are still sung in many churches, both Roman Catholic and Protestant.

164. The Friars

The history of Christian monasticism exhibits an ever-widening social outlook. The early hermits had devoted themselves, Coming of as they believed, to the service of God by retiring the friars to the desert for prayer, meditation, and bodily mortification. St. Benedict's wise Rule, as followed by the medieval monastic orders, marked a change for the better. It did away with extreme forms of self-denial, brought the monks together in a common house, and required them to engage in daily manual labor. Yet even the Benedictine system had its limitations. The monks lived apart from the world and sought chiefly the salvation of their own souls. A new conception of the monastic life arose early in the thirteenth century, with the coming of the friars. The aim of the friars was social service. They lived active lives in the world and devoted themselves entirely to the salvation of others. The foundation of the orders of friars was the work of two men, St. Francis in Italy and St. Dominic in Spain.

1 See page 474.

3