Religion
Religion was a
crucial element of medieval life. Unlike today, when it is
thought of as largely a matter of personal conscience, medieval
religion
was very much a community affair. The clergy, literate and
well-educated,
had a different concept of it than the average person, whose religion
was
a mixture of popular belief, sprinkled with Christian traditions,
apocryphal
legends, and local custom. Pilgrimage was an element of popular
religion
that served social and economic ends as well. Canterbury and the shrine
of
St. Thomas Becket was by far the most popular pilgrimage site in
England.Almost everyone would consider themselves to be "Christian" whether they were devout or not. Jews had been officially expelled from England in 1290. There was an important reforming movement, considered a heresy by the established church, that presaged the later Reformation; John Wycliffe was its inspiration and his followers were called Lollards. The Catholic Church was torn by the Papal Schism that began in 1378 and lasted for 40 years. At one point, 3 popes were competing for jurisdiction, excommunicating each other's followers, and declaring crusades against each other, but these political struggles had little effect on the average person.
The European Medieval Pilgrimage Project
St. Thomas Becket (Lives of the Saints)
The Role of the Church in Urban Life (ORB)
Lollardy
The Western Schism (Wikipedia)
Recommended Reading
Please suggest links and resources for these pages!