Monasticism And Intellectual L Essay example - 799 Words

Religious and intellectual institutions underwent significant changes throughout the middle ages. In some cases, advances were made, and in others, there was a major decline. Through all of these times, the people of the middle ages learned what didn’t work, what did, and how to progress once they found what did work. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The true form of monasticism in the western Christian church was founded by Saint Benedict of Nursia. He wrote the famous quot;Benedict’s Rulequot; between 520-530. The fundamentals of the rule was that each day was divided into a series of activities with an emphasis on prayer and manual labor. The monks would all gather together seven times each day for prayer. These were all male†¦show more content†¦These were schools attached to cathedrals where religious and secular men could be trained. By the thirteenth century, there were different religious orders among the monasteries. Two main orders were the Franciscans and the Dominicans. The Franciscan order was founded by Saint Francis. They took vows of poverty and lived among the poor. They preached repentance and aided the poor. This order was attractive to many people who were disgusted with the opulent lifestyles many other religious societies lived. The Dominicans were founded by Saint Do minic. This order was made up of mendicant, or begging friars. These were learned men who wanted to protect the teachings of the church from heresy. The Dominicans established schools and also had a representative government for themselves. These were both all male orders, but new establishments for women, called Beguines, were also developed in the thirteenth century. These were poor women who were devout Christians and dedicated to prayer. They lived together and supported themselves by begging and working menial jobs. They took no religious vows, however, and were free to leave as they pleased. They were accepted by the church until the fourteenth century. A religious order that was not accepted by the church were the Waldensians. This order was founded by Peter Waldo in southern France. Waldo was very similar to Saint Francis in his beliefs. He preached the