Monday, 3.22 (Church-Medieval Euro)

According to the Bible, Eve was created from Adam's rib and, having eaten the forbidden fruit, was responsible for man's expulsion from paradise. What do you notice and wonder about the picture on the right?

This story underlined the belief that women were inferior to men, and that they were morally weaker and likely to tempt men into sin.

There were some women who exercised power, providing a challenge to the stereotypical image of medieval women as oppressed and subservient.

In the church, women could hold positions of great responsibility as abbesses of convents. In some instances, such as monasteries that housed communities of men and women, the abbess had seniority over monks.

Primary source: the lower panel of a moral compendium. "It has a representation of an earthly nunnery, housing a Cistercian abbess, nuns, and novices."

Think about how religion influences your daily life OR the daily life of people around you (family, friends, classmates, neighbors, etc.)

A medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814. In 771, he became king of the Franks. He embarked on a mission to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom, and convert his subjects to Christianity. A skilled military strategist, he spent much of his reign engaged in warfare. In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans. When he died in 814, Charlemagne’s empire encompassed much of Western Europe, and he had also ensured the survival of Christianity in Western Europe. 

"Thomas Aquinas was very important to the church because he was a scholar who wrote to defend religious ideals."

"Thomas Aquinas states that 'all decisions in medical ethics must prioritize the good of the entire person.' (...) [He stressed] the importance of the whole individual: spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental. Health isn’t just about solving one problem or directing one aspect of our lives. Rather, holistic health seeks the good of the whole person." (principle of totality)