Medieval Cathedrals Research
The Wonder of Cathedrals
Since the beginning, man has always had some form of faith. Whether it was worshiping rocks or praying to God. No matter what faith, they’ve always had a center of worship. Well when the middle-ages came around, Christian’s centers were the cathedrals where the bishops were placed. Cathedrals were the pinnacle of the European churches. They demonstrated the wealth and the power of the city’s Christian church. But with such extravagant attention placed into these structures, one can only wonder what it must have taken to create such detail and why these were built the way they were. Cathedrals are mainly churches that were built rather large, but they were also small at times. The main idea was to have a bishop placed on a throne in the cathedral. An early decree stated that a bishop’s Cathedra, or office, could not be placed in the church of a village, but only in a city ("Middle Ages.net"). With abundant towns and cities being centers for Christianity, this wasn’t much of a problem for Europe. But this wasn’t the case for the British Isles, because their towns were few and the bishops were bishops of tribes, instead of having of having jurisdiction over separate areas. These Bishops were involved with groups such as the South Saxons, West Saxons, Somerseats, and many other groups. Also, instead of having their established churches, these bishops were often migratory. Most European bishops must have been happy with their arrangement, because if they were placed in a nice cathedral then they could stay there until they died. But if a bishop’s Cathedra were to be removed from the church, then this action would deprive the church of its Cathedral dignity ("Middle Ages.net"). It seems that having a bishop must have been a big deal for cities. The Cathedrals were the most obvious symbol of a church’s wealth. It must have been a competition of who had the nicest and largest Cathedral. In 1163, Notre-Dame in Paris was the highest at 34m tall
Since the beginning, man has always had some form of faith. Whether it was worshiping rocks or praying to God. No matter what faith, they’ve always had a center of worship. Well when the middle-ages came around, Christian’s centers were the cathedrals where the bishops were placed. Cathedrals were the pinnacle of the European churches. They demonstrated the wealth and the power of the city’s Christian church. But with such extravagant attention placed into these structures, one can only wonder what it must have taken to create such detail and why these were built the way they were. Cathedrals are mainly churches that were built rather large, but they were also small at times. The main idea was to have a bishop placed on a throne in the cathedral. An early decree stated that a bishop’s Cathedra, or office, could not be placed in the church of a village, but only in a city ("Middle Ages.net"). With abundant towns and cities being centers for Christianity, this wasn’t much of a problem for Europe. But this wasn’t the case for the British Isles, because their towns were few and the bishops were bishops of tribes, instead of having of having jurisdiction over separate areas. These Bishops were involved with groups such as the South Saxons, West Saxons, Somerseats, and many other groups. Also, instead of having their established churches, these bishops were often migratory. Most European bishops must have been happy with their arrangement, because if they were placed in a nice cathedral then they could stay there until they died. But if a bishop’s Cathedra were to be removed from the church, then this action would deprive the church of its Cathedral dignity ("Middle Ages.net"). It seems that having a bishop must have been a big deal for cities. The Cathedrals were the most obvious symbol of a church’s wealth. It must have been a competition of who had the nicest and largest Cathedral. In 1163, Notre-Dame in Paris was the highest at 34m tall
Cited: Page Carr, Karen. "Medieval Cathedrals - History for Kids." Kidipe - History for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan 2011. . "Cathedrals : : The Middle Ages." The Middle Ages.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan 2011. . "Medieval Gothic Cathedrals." Medieval Spell. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan 2011. . Trueman, Chris. "Medieval Cathedrals." History Learning Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jan 2011. .