Religion in the Middle Ages The word religion is derived from the Latin noun religio, which denotes both “the earnest observance of ritual obligations, and an inward spirit of reverence.”(1999, Grolier Encyclopedia). Religion in an English sense are people’s “beliefs and opinions concerning the existence, nature, and worship of a deity or deities, and a divine involvement in the universe and human life.”(Encarta Dictionary). I believe that religion did have a lot to do with the middle ages, especially during the 13th century when most of the stories depicted Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary as people to pray and devote themselves to. Towards the early 14th century people were drawn to the Madonna and Child as a statue of hope.In the selection “Dies Irae” dated 1275,and “Stabat Mater” dated around the same time, the audiences whole perspective was of God, often depicted as “God the Father”, and of religion (pg38 packet). Both are songs that were sung by men that believed that they would be judged on the last day, “Judgement Day”(pg38). In Dies Irae, the author says that “God would gather the good souls, 1the sheep, on his right hand, and the bad souls, the goats on his left”(pg38). Depicting goats and sheep as souls were peoples beliefs. They were taught that “if you were a believer of God, and were penitent for your deeds than you would remain in heaven eternally, where as if you were sinful and did not believe in god you would be damned to hell for eternity.”(pg38). An example of this is mentioned in the Dies Irae toward the end, the speaker says: “With thy sheep, thy chosen, place me, Severed from the goats, embrace me.”(pg38). Which meant place me in heaven with the rest of the good people, and not in Hell with the ones who are not so good. Similar religion was portrayed throughout most of the middle ages. In the se...
