A LIFE IN THE CHURCH
From cradle to grave
No matter who you were or where you came from, the Church was always there to mark life’s big events
1. BAPTISM
The Church was a constant presence in medieval society, celebrating life’s biggest events with blessings and rituals. Within hours of their first breath, babies were baptised into the Church, a rite that ensured eternal salvation should the infant die. “The first known infant baptism in England was that of Eanfled, daughter of King Edwin of Northumbria in AD 625,” says Professor Nicholas Orme, author of Going to Church in Medieval England, “and by the 12th century, the ancient tradition of waiting until Easter Eve or Pentecost Eve to christen a new baby had been replaced by immediate baptism on the day of birth.”
Baptisms were also naming ceremonies; a baby’s forename would be announced at the beginning of the service by the senior godparent of the infant’s gender, after whom, incidentally, the baby was usually named. “Baptism, like the services of churching and marriage (see boxes 2 and 5), was a rite of transition that brought the recipient from outside to inside the church,” comments Orme. “Standing outside the church doors, the priest would perform a series of ritual actions, saying prayers and exorcisms to ensure the child was fit to enter the church. The outdoor part of the service is one of the main reasons church porches were built, to provide shelter from adverse weather.”
Inside, the baptismal party would gather around the font where three godparents (two of the baby’s gender and one of the opposite gender) would make their baptismal vows. The infant was then fully immersed, three times in consecrated water, and wrapped in a ‘chrisom’ cloth.
2. CHURCHING
One notable person missing from medieval baptisms was the baby’s mother. Jewish tradition regarded them as ritually unclean for several weeks after giving birth. The Christian Church modified this view but asked mothers to attend church after 40 days for ‘purification’ –a rite commonly known as ‘churching’.
Carrying a candle, the new mother would wait outside the church doors, accompanied by two matrons and her midwife. After sprinkling her with holy water, the priest would lead her into the church, after which mass was celebrated. The chrisom cloth would also be returned and a monetary o ering made.
“There was no formal ban on women entering church after giving birth, but it was a custom that was certainly encouraged, and one that the Virgin Mary is described as having followed in the New Testament,” says Orme.
3. CONFIRMATION
Unlike the rites of baptism and churching, which took place at specific points in life, confirmation – performed by a bishop as the Church’s o cial validation of a person’s Christian status – could take place at any time.
“In the very early days of Christianity in England, when bishops travelled around as missionaries, it’s likely that baptism and confirmation were performed at the same time,” says Orme. “But by the 12th century, bishops were typically absent from their dioceses for considerable periods of time, making it harder for people to receive confirmation.”
When a bishop could be found, the confirmation service itself was relatively straightforward. A sponsor for the child was enlisted (an adult of the same sex as the individual being confirmed) and all involved were required to fast beforehand. The bishop would anoint his thumb with chrism (holy oil) and make a cross on the individual’s forehead, saying the required words. After their anointing, the newly confirmed child would tie a bandage around their head to keep the chrism in place and return to the church 3–8 days later to have their forehead washed in the font.
4. COMMUNION
“Although puberty was considered the point at which young people became fully involved in church duties, there was no formal ceremony to mark this transition from childhood to adulthood,” comments Orme. “The likelihood is that upon reaching puberty, a parent, godparent or parish priest would suggest that an adolescent attend confession at Lent and receive communion.”
From 1215, all adult parishioners were expected to receive communion at Easter and attend confession once a year. Communion itself took place after the priest had consecrated the bread and wine at mass – at which point both elements were believed to have become, in a physical sense, the actual body and blood of Christ. From the 12th century, however, the consecrated wine was withheld from the laity – partly to avoid sacrilegious spillages – while a towel was held beneath the chins of communicants to catch any crumbs that might fall as they received the consecrated bread in the form of a wafer.
5. WEDDINGS
Like baptism and churching, the marriage rite began outside the church doors with a public exchange of vows, made ‘before God, the priest, and the people’. From 1200, three public announcements of marriage had to be made in church before a couple could wed – later known as ‘banns’ – and weddings were not permitted to take place during the three penitential periods of the year, which included Advent and Lent.
“It was common for churches to be decorated for weddings; there are records of fresh rushes being strewn on the floor, with special hangings and lights. But they could be expensive occasions, too: some churches had to keep a bridal veil or jewels that could be lent to those who could not afford to have them,” comments Orme.
6. DEATH
“If a parishioner was believed to be near death, a member of the clergy would be summoned so that psalms, intercessions and a litany of prayers for the soul could be said over the individual,” explains Orme. “Distance and even negligence, though, could see churchmen fail to make it in time, and it was not uncommon for an individual to die without receiving confession or communion.”
Deaths were marked with the ringing of the ‘passing bell’ at church – two rings for a woman, three for a man – and further prayers and psalms were said over the dead body, which would be washed and wrapped in a linen shroud. Later that day or the next, the body would be taken to church, accompanied by family and other acquaintances, where a funeral mass of requiem would be said before burial.
“Funerals could place a vast financial burden on poor parishioners,” says Orme. “Despite a ban on charging for funerals, monetary o erings from those attending the requiem were expected, while the burial itself could be an expensive outlay.
“Conversely, funerals were also opportunities for some families to flaunt their wealth – from providing the clothes of those attending to paying huge sums for masses to be said for the deceased.”
