Medieval tithe barn (Germany) In the Middle Ages, the Catholic church in Europe collected a tax of its own, separate from the kings' taxes, which was called a tithe. Tithe means "one-tenth", because people were [...]
The first view of the pilgrimage: Chartres on the horizon Who went on pilgrimages? In the Middle Ages, many people - both men and women - went on short or long [...]
Mary's tunic, preserved in a glass case in the treasury of Chartres cathedral in France Romantic story of Mary's dress About 800 AD, Empress Irene was ruling the Roman Empire in Eastern [...]
Mary window at Chartres Cathedral People think of the Middle Ages as a very religious period, when the Christian Church was the most important institution and everybody prayed all the time. Certainly [...]
Francis of Assisi gives his father back his clothes (Giotto, in Assisi) Who was Francis of Assisi? By 1200 AD, the Catholic Church was very powerful. Bishops and popes were often rich men. They cared more about [...]
Nativity mosaic (St. Maria in Trastevere, Rome ca. 1300 AD) showing the birth of Jesus on Christmas When did people start to celebrate Christmas? Beginning about 300 AD, people began to [...]
Albigensians were also called Cathars This story starts about 1050 AD, not long after the Capetians took power in northern France. Some Christian people in the south of France began to think differently about God from the [...]
Egyptian caves where early monks and nuns lived The first Christian nuns, like the first Christian monks, lived in Africa - they lived alone in the desert in Egypt in the 300s and 400s AD, where they [...]
Christian monks: A monk shaving another monk What is a monk? Sometimes when a little boy seemed especially smart, his parents would take him to a monastery and leave him [...]
Early Japanese religion: Ujigami Shinto Shrine (Japan, 1300s AD) Where did the Shinto faith come from? The earliest people in Japan probably brought with them ancient religious ideas from Africa. [...]
