Gabriella Firpo
December 7, 2014
Dr. Cammin Humanities 1A Term Paper
Worldviews in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages also known as "The Age of Faith" was a period when religion was the dominant force in all aspects of life. Because Catholicism was such a driving force their power was often abused in more ways than one. Indulgences, Relics, and pilgrimages were just a few of the ways the Catholic Church demonstrated their power as well as by putting the fear of God into the people they presided over. Dante's Inferno is an example of how the Church exploited the populations fears of ending up in hell by describing the inferno dramatically in order to lead people to a life carrying out the will of the Catholic Church. The story is a interpretation of the souls journey through the different levels of hell with many themes represented. The perfection of God, the righteousness of the church, evil …show more content…
This reflects the thoughts of the population at this time perfectly because as we have learned the people were usually uneducated and didn't use common sense for decision making, like many of us they had a fear of the unknown and because someone superior told them they would live happily in the afterlife if they lived a Catholic life they blindly followed. Fear can be a very powerful thing as well as faith, the Church used these two things to convince the ignorant population that they would have a spot in heaven if they lived a righteous life which many times included, giving money, punishing themselves for their sins (penance), and fighting in wars in the name of God. As we have learned throughout the quarter both literary works and art works can be interpreted to be more than what meets the eye, they symbolize a lifestyle, they portray core values of European people during this time, and they lead us to understand the tactics the
December 7, 2014
Dr. Cammin Humanities 1A Term Paper
Worldviews in the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages also known as "The Age of Faith" was a period when religion was the dominant force in all aspects of life. Because Catholicism was such a driving force their power was often abused in more ways than one. Indulgences, Relics, and pilgrimages were just a few of the ways the Catholic Church demonstrated their power as well as by putting the fear of God into the people they presided over. Dante's Inferno is an example of how the Church exploited the populations fears of ending up in hell by describing the inferno dramatically in order to lead people to a life carrying out the will of the Catholic Church. The story is a interpretation of the souls journey through the different levels of hell with many themes represented. The perfection of God, the righteousness of the church, evil …show more content…
This reflects the thoughts of the population at this time perfectly because as we have learned the people were usually uneducated and didn't use common sense for decision making, like many of us they had a fear of the unknown and because someone superior told them they would live happily in the afterlife if they lived a Catholic life they blindly followed. Fear can be a very powerful thing as well as faith, the Church used these two things to convince the ignorant population that they would have a spot in heaven if they lived a righteous life which many times included, giving money, punishing themselves for their sins (penance), and fighting in wars in the name of God. As we have learned throughout the quarter both literary works and art works can be interpreted to be more than what meets the eye, they symbolize a lifestyle, they portray core values of European people during this time, and they lead us to understand the tactics the