Religion was an important part of everyday life for all levels of society at this time. Almost every castle and manorial complex had its chapel and chaplain, every town and parish its churches and priests, while monasteries (and the growing number of nunneries) provided an increasingly popular cloistered lifestyle away from the dangers, temptations and evils of the world, completely devoted to the worship of God. The first half of the twelfth century saw the greatest ever expansion in monasticism as the nobility donated land and money for new religious houses to be built, largely as a result of the increased wealth available for charitable purposes and the growing belief that a person's spiritual wellbeing in the hereafter was dependant on regular prayers being offered on their behalf.

 

In England, as across almost all of Europe, there was only one Church, headed by the Pope. As an institution, the Church was wealthy, powerful and influential with its extensive landholdings, properties and incomes. At the lower end of the monastic hierarchy, by contrast, monks and nuns were sworn to poverty, chastity and obedience, meaning that they could have no personal possessions of their own and certainly no money.

 

Archbishops and bishops were often appointed on the basis of their kinship or political leanings - for example king Henry I had bishop Robert Bloet of Lincoln as his chief minister, while during king Stephen's reign the bishop of Winchester was another Henry, Stephen's own brother.

 

The Church was structured in two hierarchies: the relatively simple monastic line had at its head Abbots (who were responsible directly to the Pope), with Priors and sub-Priors subordinate to them. Below were the monks, novices and lay brothers. Abbots had charge of Abbeys, usually with a Prior to assist them, while Priories were subordinate houses headed by a Prior. Nunneries were also often established as subordinate houses to the Abbeys and were headed by an Abbess or Prioress.

 

The second line was a little more complex: the archbishops of Canterbury and York were at the top (responsible again to the Pope), with bishops below them. Each bishop's diocese held a varying number of archdeaconries; below these were many different officials all with the title dean. Below were village and urban churches, each with its own hereditary parson, stipendiary priest, chaplain or vicar. Subject to the priests were six grades of clerics or clerks, ranging from deacon to doorkeeper.

 

Church or canon law, which operated in parallel with civil law and regulated not just the clergy but also many aspects of their parishioners' lives (such as ensuring that the prices of foodstuffs or goods were not artificially inflated), was dispensed by the bishops and their staff. These were legal courts, using a variety of ordeals to establish guilt or innocence and with the power to impose punishments or fines.

 

All drawings, paintings and photographs on the Church pages are originals by Dave Rayner. Please don't copy them without asking first.