The Medieval Church played a significant role on the people of the times, be they a peasant or nobility, more so than it does today. In this paper, I will relay to you the conditions, rules, and impacts of the Church on Medieval Society.
From the earliest ages, the people were told that the only way to get to Heaven was if the Roman Catholic Church would allow them. On a weekly basis, society was informed of the atrocities that awaited them in Hell (via services,) to the point, they were terrified of it, and would do anything to be obviated from this devastation. This you see is how the Church controlled every aspect of their lives, from start to finish. .
Every class of people from the Medieval Hierarchy was affected in this control, specifically the peasants. They would work the Church land voluntarily, when their time may have been better spent on their own plots, supporting their families. .
In Medieval England, peasants lived in cruck houses. These were grimy, usually no more than two rooms, with a wooden frame covered with wattle and daub (a mixture of mud, straw and manure.) None of the cruck houses exist now; most of them collapsed after a while as they were so poorly built. However, there are many Medieval churches around. The way they were built and have lasted for centuries is an indication of how well they were built and the money the Church had to invest in these buildings.
Every year, ten percent of their earnings were paid to the Church, a tax called tithes. Being as poor as the peasants were, most of these taxes paid to the church, were paid in animals, grains, and seeds, all of which were needed for the next year's harvest by the peasants. If the tithes were not paid, you were inevitably going to Hell, as was said by the Church. To make matters worse, the tithes were kept in barns called tithe barns, which contained all tithes collected; the barn's contents were usually eaten by rats, or contaminated by their urine.
