Religious faith was a determined motivating factor behind everything (Macaulay, “Cathedral”). The invasion of the barbarians and the plague of diseases had taken their toll on the medieval citizens. Hence, their primary source of strength was faith. Christian faith was highly important in the pious middle ages. It serves as a driving force for people to go on with their lives, not only during the middle ages but also in the modern era. Additionally, faith also served as a lucky charm amongst merchants who craved for more riches. By building a cathedral within a town, it only means that a town is prosperous and wealthy enough to finance the cathedral building. In fact, cathedral building is an expensive and tedious task, even today. Securing funds in order to build a great place of worship would call for more wealthy citizens, large army of builders and patrons such as the kings and other noblemen.
In this paper, I would like to argue that the building of cathedral became the turning point in enhancing both the Christian faith and the economy. As Macaulay presented, people who lived during the Middle Ages are more prone to sickness, poverty, illiteracy and death. They manage to cope up with their lives through their strong faiths and beliefs in God. Because of their faith, bishops, and clergymen commissioned building cathedrals in order to maintain the sanity of the community by bringing them closer to God. Cathedrals served as a home for the homeless, and a place of charity. Additionally, these holy buildings also houses vast records in history particularly the art of different periods, tombs of famous kings and queens, and tombs of wealthy people. Cathedrals became the known as the house of art because literally most of them are decorated with lavish sculptures with intricate designs and architecture reflecting the time periods. The word cathedral was derived from an old Latin word cathedra, which means the throne of the bishop (Macaulay, “Cathedral”). According to Macaulay, cathedrals are the important place in a city not only as a site of pilgrimage but also for economic prosperity. The building of cathedral draws more and more people to worship and stay within the town borders wherein they can erect homes closer to their faith. Cathedrals also function as the city administrative centres, which are above the diocese and is the spiritual centre for regions. Crusades were also a part of the Dark Ages. Kings and their followers journeyed to the Holy Land to fight off the Muslims in order to reclaim the Holy Land. Upon their adventures, they brought with them lots of finest holy relics such as the skull of St. John the Baptist at the Amiens Cathedral in France (Macaulay, “Cathedral”).
Preserving these relics are important in the medieval faith. The relics of the saints are considered the life and blood of the Christian ceremonies; the cathedral itself is also considered a relic. Feasts relating to the saints and Holy Masses were celebrated. Throngs of people often come to visit, admire and above all worship the displayed relics with utmost serenity and obedience. One such example is the Durham Cathedral in Durham, England. According to history, the cathedral preserved the remains of St. Cuthbert. Medieval narratives stated that when the bishop presented the remains of the saint, people rejoiced, cried and all fell flat to the ground reciting liturgical prayers. Since in the Middle Ages, cult of saints was quintessentially a public phenomenon (Abou-el-Hai, 3). Pious people such as the noblemen and women also came to cathedrals to contribute money for the preservation and maintenance of the building. Additionally, cathedrals serves as a charitable institutions wherein rich people can drop off their donations which are then divided equally to the poor families. Cathedrals also helped strengthen the political connections. One must remember that during the Middle Ages, religion rules above the rest and in order to gain popularity and votes, political families of Europe often visited cathedrals not only for worship but also to secure an alliance with the archbishop. Archbishops holds eminent power; remembering England’s history, the Magna Carta helped people to gain their rights. Cathedral relics only served as their magnets to attract merchants who are willing to contribute large sums of money for their faith; rich nobles who wanted to secure their place in heaven and also relics became the treasure of the church. Highly valuable relics were enshrined in huge cathedral such as in Amiens and Notre Dame of Paris. For medieval society, preserving relics is their way of praising God and His blessings. Furthermore, the evolution of cathedral building resulted in a new style of architecture: the Gothic style. Gothic architecture is simply fascinating; unlike the early Romanesque churches with its massive walls and small windows, Gothic architecture simply plays the illumination of light due to its highly decorative stained-glasses which produces the dramatic effect. Vaulted ceilings with flying buttresses secured the cathedral in place and prevented the whole structure from further damage such as wind and the weight of the structure. Examples of Gothic cathedrals are the Reims Cathedral (1209-1290), Bourges Cathedral (1195-1255), Chartres (1194) and Laon Cathedral (1153-1223). Cathedrals are the mighty edifice of the Christian belief, the central focus of the medieval life that symbolizes the prosperity and pride of a town.
Works Cited
Abou-El-Hai, Barbara. 'The Audiences for the Medieval Cult of Saints'. Gesta 30.1 (1991): 3. Web.
“Cathedral” Writ. David Macaulay. Dir. Tony White. PBS, 1986. DVD
