Christianity became increasingly popular during the Roman occupation with the first churches being built in England in the second half of the 4th century which were overseen by a hierarchy of bishops and priests and many of the existing pagan shrines were converted so they could be used by Christians.
The movement towards Christianity halted after the Romans left, particularly with the influx of Vikings and Germanic people, who brought their own Gods with them, leading to a resurgence of paganism across Eastern England. In more western areas, particularly places like Gloucestershire, Christianity remained strong and picked up again in the 6th and 7th centuries with the arrival of Augustine, who became the first Bishop of Canterbury.
The building of churches boomed particularly after 1066 with extensive areas of land being dedicated to monasteries. Within 70 years, the majority of England’s religious buildings were controlled by monks and bishops became powerful figures, even owning and commissioning their own castles and raising armies against the Scottish.
Denominations of Christianity
From the 12th century onwards, new orders began to come to England. The Augustinians were already in place, but the French Cluniac order started to become fashionable and following them, the Cistercians, Dominican and Franciscan orders arrived in England.
During this time, religious military orders also became popular, giving to a rise of Templars, Teutons and Hospitallers.
Church and state
The Church had a close relationship with the state throughout the Middle Ages in England. The bishops had a lot of power and played roles within the national government, local authorities and King’s council, these bishops often oversaw large territories and managed local laws and taxation.
William the Conqueror manged to gain control of England because of support from the church – he promised ecclesiastical reform in return for encouraging parishioners to support his right to rule.
Pilgrimages and Crusades
Pilgrimages were a popular religious practice throughout the Middle Ages, continuing on from the Roman period. Typically pilgrims would travel to a shrine or a church to do penance, seek relief or to prove their faith in God. Many pilgrims travelled around Britain, particularly to places like Glastonbury, Canterbury and Winchester, but some went further afield, travelling across the European continent and onwards into the Middle East.
Many of the places visited had collected relics, supposedly from saints or figures from the bible, which increased their popularity.
Another religious practice during these times were crusades, which was also a form of pilgrimage. The first known English participation took place between 1095 and 1099 and is imaginatively known as the First Crusade. The Second, Third and Fifth Crusades all saw England playing a prominent part.
Jewish people in the Middle Ages
The Jewish community played an important role in England throughout the Middle Ages, it is believed that the first Jews arrived in England after the Norman invasion, after being brought over from wealthy areas of Roeun to settle in England to support the new king. From then on, the community expanded across England and provided essential money lending and banking services that were banned under Christian law.
During the 12th century, the Jewish financial community operated under royal protection and provided the king with a steady source of credit. All major towns had Jewish centres and were often visited by travelling merchants.
This changed under Henry II, who ceased to borrow from the Jewish community, instead using taxation and fining them to earn money. Richard I then began a series of pogroms against Jewish people and many were persecuted, something that although ceased under King John, was common place from 1215 onwards. Henry III restored protection for them but the entire community became increasingly hated and impoverished, resulting in being expelled from England in 1290 by Edward I.
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