Medieval / Renaissance Questions?

Question

1. Why were the pagan gods still so appealing during the medieval period?
2. Explain the origin of sainthood.
3. In what pagan way(s) were saints used?
4. Prior to the development of hereditary monarchy, who had to approve of each king prior to his coronation?
5. How did the Renaissance challenge the ideas of the Church?

Answer 1

Wow, you've placed a tall order! Permit me to at least try to fill it.

1. Pagan gods had the appeal of the familiar. Christianity was still a bit of a novelty--especially in rural areas. Many of the country folk still held to the old ways of ensuring fertility to their fields and livestock by the use of ancient charms, even after Christianity had become well-established. In fact, these charms were sometimes given a Christian overlay--instead of invoking The Goddess, the charms were addressed to the Virgin Mary or to local female saints.

2. "Saints" were originally all members of the Christian church (see Acts 9:13, 9:32, 9:41; Romans 1:7, 16:15; 1 Corinthians 14:33, and 2 Corinthians 13:13, to cite only a few). As the persecutions of the early Christians increased and continued, off and on, until the fourth century or thereabouts, special honor was shown to the memory of martyrs who had died--sometimes in pretty gruesome ways-- rather than renounce their faith. As the persecutions waned with the establishment of Christianity as the official religion in the Roman Empire, martyrdom became less common, and individuals whose lives had been considered to be exemplary began to be honored as well. Orignially, there was no formal process for this such as there is nowadays in the Roman Catholic Church--basically, if a person lived a life that was a monument to virtue, he or she would often be declared a saint in the locality where he or she had lived--and if miracles were reported to have occurred at the site of the interment, it made it pretty much a done deal.

3. It wasn't just the saints who were used in pagan ways (see above concerning fertility charms)--often pagan holidays were given a Christian explanation and adapted to Christian usages. Christmas replaced the Roman Saturnalia and other winter solstice celebrations, Easter replaced spring festivals, and the feast of All Saints (to honor all who were in heaven, whether or not recognized as saints in the sense of which your second question was addressed) was held the day after the autumn festival of Samhain (our modern Halloween, corrupted from All Hallows Eve), which was a time when, it was believed, the spirits of the dead came back to visit their earthly homes.

4. It made sense for most kings to have the support of the clergy--in some cases this was the Pope, and more often the bishops and archbishops of his territory. The crowning of the monarch took on a religious significance, even though clashes between the secular authority (represented by the king or emperor) and the spiritual authority (represented by the high ranking clergy) were fairly common. The prime example of this conflict is personified in Henry II of England and Thomas Becket, who became Archbishop of Canterbury at the king's behest.

5. The Renaissance saw the rise of Humanism. The ancient philosophers, particulary those of the Greeks, were rediscovered and, with their ideals of how human beings could keep improving and growing, provided a whole new set of ideas that were in contrast to those of the medieval Church.

The Greeks saw humanity as noble and the notion of needing salvation was in about diametric opposition to this idea. The entire spirit of inquiry that the study of these philosophers engendered led to people beginning to question things such as church hierarchy and just how far it had come away from the church as it was in the Apostolic age.

Hope these are of some help to you!

Answer 2

Each question needs research and full answers, I give you an example of one - question 5
The Renaissance
As well as the power struggles which racked the Church during the 14th and 15th centuries, the Church itself was going through a time of change and particularly of secularisation. A major influence in this was the Renaissance. The Renaissance was a rebirth of knowledge and science. It brought into focus a rationalistic way of looking at life. The Renaissance coincided with - if it did not cause - the rise of the middle classes. The merchant class with their new wealth chose to spend much of that wealth on education, art, literature rather than on the Church. The spread of the newly invented printing press did much to encourage this thirst for knowledge. It made possible the distribution of the Bible and other Christian literature and at the same time it enabled people to read critical literature which was often anti-church or, at least, anti-clerical
http://www.eaglewing.org.uk/theology/history/decline.html

Good luck.

Answer 3

2. The concept of sainthood is rooted in the Judeo-Christian concept of the immortality of the soul. This belief postulates that, upon the death of the physical body, the soul of an individual is translated into some other plane of existence. From early days of Christianity, Paul the Apostle and others used the word "saint" to refer not only to all living believers (as in Philippians 4:21-22 or Revelation 20:9) but, at times, also to those in heaven (as in 1 Thessalonians 3:13). As Christianity developed, the word "saint" became to be used more commonly to designate specific individuals who were held to be exemplars of the faith, and who were commemorated or venerated as an inspiration to other Christians. Initially, the term was used to describe those who had been martyrs for the faith. Initially, other believers would gather at the grave of the venerated person, and celebrate the Eucharist there. The ceremony did take the form of a celebration, as the individual was remembered with rejoicing and triumph. The first instance of such a ceremony recorded dates to the second century, with the annual celebrations at the grave of Polycarp. From the beginning of Christianity, Christians sought the intercession of their departed friends and relatives. This quickly extended to those individuals regarded as saints. Rather quickly, the saints' intercession was sought more frequently than that of one's own departed friends. Bishops and martyrs tended to be the most frequently venerated people during these early years. Examples of such earlier requests for intercession can be found in the Catacombs of Rome.

Shortly thereafter, another type of person began to be recognized as a saint. This was the anchorite or hermit, of the type of Anthony of Egypt. Although they did not die in the gross physical sense, they did resolve to die to the pleasures of the world, making them a form of effective martyr. Subsequently, after the formation of monasteries, other people more often came under consideration as saints. When convents were formed, nuns began to be canonized. Also, outstanding laymen became more frequently considered as saints.

To assist in the differentiation of the various kinds of people who came to be regarded as saints, various terms began to be used to help differentiate between the various types of people were regarded as saints. In addition to the existing bishop, martyr, and hermit, Virgin and Matron for women, Confessor, Abbott and Abbess, Priest, and other words began to be used. Over time, the various churches have gone on to create additional such terms to assist in differentiating the ever-increasing number of saints.

Within the Roman Catholic tradition, a formal process of canonization developed for identifying individuals as saints. Within Orthodox tradition, there are saints universally recognized while other, local churches define and remember their own saints.

Within some Protestant traditions, "saint" is also used to refer to any born again Christian.