How did people’s religious beliefs change in the Middle Ages?

The religious beliefs of medieval people have been completely externalized and changed. The religious beliefs of medieval people have been completely externalized and changed, and they usually live in a lazy state of this belief. Their firm beliefs caused fear and joy, but ordinary forms of religion could no longer make mediocre-minded people ask questions, nor could they make them engage in spiritual struggles like the Protestants. Spasmodic fanaticism alternates between a sense of comfort and lack of religious awe, a sense of daily contentment, and an extremely fanatical display of popular sincerity. The strength and weakness of religious tension presents a lasting contrast, and the contrast between strength and weakness cannot be demarcated by dividing two types of people. We cannot divide people into two main categories: pious people and secular people: those who follow a strict religious life unswervingly, and those who are only outwardly pious.

Our sense of the late Middle Ages in northern Holland and Low Germany can easily lead us to erroneous conclusions. To be sure, clerical circles were insulated from "modern piety" movements in secular life such as the Brethren of Life and Windsham; within clerical circles, persistent religious tensions became the norm, and as devout believers , they form a strong contrast with most people. In contrast, throughout France and the southern Netherlands there were almost no religious movements. Yet even in these two areas, the sentiments that were the basis of the "modern piety" movement can still be seen on the banks of the placid Ise River. In southern Europe, formal separation of religious life from secular life never occurred; fervent piety was always an integral part of ordinary religious life, sometimes climaxing in short violent outbursts.

In our 20th century, the same emotional differences separate Latin peoples in the South from their brothers in the North; brothers in the South are more receptive to contradictions and differences. They find it unnecessary to follow the same path and find it easy to combine the relaxed skepticism of everyday life with the heightened religious sentiments of times of agitation. Throughout the Middle Ages, individual clergy were less respected, but monks as a class were. Investigating the reason, I am afraid that this has something to do with the secular behavior of the senior clergy, and the lowering of the status of the lower clergy. It may also be the result of ancient pagan instincts.

Because the minds of the people were not fully Christianized, the antipathy towards the clergy, who were not allowed to fight and who had to observe chastity, was never completely lost. The pride of knights distanced them from religious life. Because this kind of pride was rooted in bravery and love, they rejected religious life just like ordinary people without cultivation. The corruption of the clergy was also one of the reasons why they were less respected. For thousands of years, both upper and lower classes have talked about unchaste monks and fat, degenerate priests. There was always an underlying hatred for the priests. The more vigorously the preacher attacks his rank, the more he attracts his congregation. Bernard of Siena tells us that whenever the preacher attacks the clergy, the congregation forgets what they have learned; whenever the congregation is drowsy or uncomfortable because of the weather being too hot or cold, it is best to stir up emotions. The way to do that is to bash the priests.

As soon as the audience heard the criticism of the priests, their sleepiness disappeared and they became energetic. On the one hand, because of the popularity of itinerant preachers, there were dramatic religious movements in the 14th and 15th centuries, which began with the revival of the dervishes; on the other hand, because of the dissolute lifestyle of these mendicants , they themselves became the object of ridicule. Priests in popular literature resemble humble servants who say mass for a few pennies and serve as confessors in order to "forgive every believer." Such figures were often dervishes. Morinette was pious in every aspect, but in his New Year's greeting he said: May the Jacobins eat the Augustinians. May the Carmelite monks be hanged by the ropes of little monks.

After the Christian concept of poverty was integrated into the Dervish Order, it could no longer meet people's spiritual needs. The spiritual idea of ??poverty as a formal symbol was replaced by actual social suffering. This new insight occurred in England at the end of the 15th century. They saw the economic factors in social life earlier than people in other countries. A magical, dreamy and hazy poem takes the lead in focusing attention on the working people. The poem is titled "Vision Concerning Piers Plowmen". The poet Langland hates dervishes, idlers, and pretended disabled people. He hated the able-bodied dervishes because they were the bane of the Middle Ages, and he praised the sanctity of labor.

Even theologians of the highest order, such as Pierre D'Ery, did not shy away from comparing paupers with dervishes. There is no doubt that the seriousness of the "modern piety" movement contrasts sharply with its adherents and the dervishes. Daily life as we know it shows the alternation of decisively opposite poles. Ridicule and hatred of priests and monks are one extreme, and universal and profound love and reverence for them are at the other extreme. One extreme is merely the alternation of the other. An innocent sense of religious duty can likewise quickly give way to extreme piety. In 1437, when the King of France returned to the capital, he held a burial ceremony for the Duke of Armagnac. The assassination of the Duke had caused a period of tragic years. Parisians flocked to see this event. But viewers were generally disappointed because no one got the handout they were counting on.

A Parisian citizen described in a casual tone that among the spectators present, if they had known that no one would give alms, at least 4,000 people would not have gone. It turned out that those who prayed for the king in turn cursed him. But these Parisian citizens burst into tears during countless parades. When listening to the dervishes' traveling sermons, they were so moved that they could not restrain themselves. Gilbert de Lannoy witnessed a miracle when he was in Rotterdam. A priest calmed down a mob by administering Holy Communion. There are major contradictions and drastic changes in religious tension, which are very obvious among classes with different levels of education. Religious epiphanies came again and again in sudden shocks.

It is always a less powerful repetition of the epiphany experience of St. Francis, who took the words of the Gospels as direct commands. A knight may have heard the formulas in the baptismal ceremony many times, but when he heard the baptismal words for the twentieth time, he suddenly fully realized the sacredness and magical practicality of these words, and was determined to expel the devil, but he did not Not making the sign of the cross, just remembering his own baptism. The book "Youth" describes a duel. Both sides are prepared to defend the fairness of their positions on the body. The knight suddenly realized that one of the parties must be wrong, and one of the parties must be condemned, so he said, you don't need to swear, just bet 500 shillings, don't swear.

The piety of the upper class is manifested in excessive extravagance and pursuit of happiness, so it has a false nature, which is the same as the falseness of ordinary people's piety. King Charles V of France often stopped suddenly when hunting was at its peak in order to go to mass. Bedford's bride, Anne of Burgundy, was the regent of France, which had just been conquered by England at the time. While riding a horse, Anne splashed roadside filth on passers-by, making the Parisian citizens very angry. . However, one time when the palace celebration was in full swing, she suddenly left at midnight to listen to the morning prayers of the nuns at the Selestan Convent.

The reason why she died young was because she contracted the disease while visiting patients in the poorhouse. Louis of Orleans was a puzzling combination of piety and sin. He was extremely extravagant, followed by followers, and was the best in the world in both luxury and piety. He even learned martial arts and refused to give up. However, he was extremely devout, setting aside a room in the Selestan Convent to participate in the monastic life of the nuns, listening to their morning prayers at midnight, and sometimes going to mass five or six times a day. Gil Ray also combines piety and sin. In the process of killing children, he blessed the murdered children and also blessed his own soul. He was actually shocked when the judge convicted him of heresy.

Many people who participate in pious religious activities are certainly less sinful than he is. Many people had an extremely pious worldly attitude, and we could cite many examples: the savage Gaston Phèbus, the bishop of Foix, the frivolous King René, the elegant Charles of Orleans. The most feared and ambitious John of Bavaria went to Schiedam to visit Lidwiener and ask her about the soul. Jean Coustain, the attendant of Philip the Good, betrayed his master and did not believe in God. He almost did not attend mass and never gave alms. However, before his execution, he passionately begged God in a heavy Burgundian accent to allow him to believe in religion.