Medieval christendom

1. Text, listen carefully and fill in the blank :

Religion in medieval Europe

« In medieval times, nearly everyone in Western Europe beloned to the ……………………………. and although not every person was a sincere…………... This was a time when most people held deep………………......... In fact about about one out of ten medieval people became ……………. or ………….. devoting their entire adult life to the service of god, locked away behind the walls of …………………..

800 years ago, lords and ladies supported the Church with income from Manor lands and often paid the wages of ………… as well. Noble families helped to maintain …………….churches in the villages under their states. In part because they believed that such acts of generosity would help them reach ………………, wealthy nobles also paid to have beautiful funeral monuments made and to have ……….. and …………….for the souls of their families after death.

Even the poor ………… were expected to give one ten of their crops to support the village church even though it was a great hardship for them.

And although travel was dangerous in medieval times, some people made long ………………. to …………………… as act of religious devotion. But what medieval people are really the most famous for are the huge cathedrals they built all across Europe. These cathedrals with their soaring towers and delicate stone work are not only great monuments to faith, they are equally great monuments to the skill of medieval architects, artists and builders. It took hundreds of years to construct most medieval cathedrals but when they were done, they were truly magnificent places in which to worship, places that filled people’s heart with the mystery and glory of god.

Their towering walls held brilliantly colored stained glass windows depicting secret images and stories from the Bible. These windows served to instruct churchgoers in religion because back then most people could not read or write.

Sculptors were kept very busy, carving stone for new churches and their incredible designs give us a glimpse into the medieval imagination.

Directly over the doorway of this French cathedral is a ………………………….. with a powerful reminder about the consequences of ……... It shows the day of judgment, here god is depicted as the large figure in the centre. At his left hand, those who led lives of sin are being condemned to an eternity of suffering in ………. While on his right hand those who led good lives are being rewarded with an eternity of happiness in …………………. It is interesting that unlike ordinary people most members of the …………… could read and write and then a time before the invention of the printing press it was the …………….. who copied the books by hand. It was also during the medieval era, the be catholic church founded nearly all of the great European universities.

In medieval society, a cathedral like this one was the special church of a …………. . ……………… held the high position in the church and belonged to the same …………… class as the noble lords. They also possessed great political power because in medieval Europe the catholic church was more powerful than any …………… states. »

2. How to describe a medieval monument

Nantes Cathedral is in the gothic architectural tradition. Construction of the church began in 1434, on the site of a romanesque cathedral, and took 457 years to finish, finally reaching completion in 1891.

The reconstruction of the cathedral commenced during the early to mid-15th century during a time when Nantes and Brittany were commercially prosperous, initiating such large-scale architectural projects on a wide scale, partly owing to the opportunist and skilful diplomatic policy of John V in a period of political turmoil and conflict with England.

The front of the cathedral

The nave

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