Considering the last of the 4 answers is by one Dennis Gardner who was pastor for 43 years and it is so ignorant of history, they are the kind of problem now that they pretend and for some priests perhaps rightly so there was of ignorant priests.
Two of the answers illustrated a blatantly protestant ignorance about Medieval conditions, and I commented under them, but the first, Alec Cawley, at least is not supposed to be a pastor!/HGL
- Q
-
Did all churches have a Bible in Middle Ages?
https://www.quora.com/Did-all-churches-have-a-Bible-in-Middle-Ages
- C on Q
- I’m not sure if even smaller churches in small villages had one. Books were expensive at that time , before Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450.
What (do you/do we) know about this ?
- Answers:
- I
- Alec Cawley
- I
- Read a bit, learned a bit. Much more to read, much more to learn.
- Answered 15h ago
- Yes, it is true that not all churches had Bibles, and doctrine said they didn’t need them - studying the Bible was the province of professional clerics and ordinary folk should not read them lest they get mistaken ideas. And also, the Bible could only be distributed in Latin, which the common folk could not understand but was spoken by clerics.
The teaching medium for the common people was essentially the equivalent of comic books - stained glass, and simple representations of favorite Bible stories. The rest would have been passed on by the village priest, who might, or might not, have had some sort of Book of Hours or compendium of prayers.
The more or less simultaneous arrival of native language translations and of a printed Bible which could be distributed to all churches (and of printing generally, which sharply increased literacy and general inquiry) was an earthquake which shook the Church and, among other things, split off the Protestant churches.
- Hans-Georg Lundahl
- 14h ago
- “doctrine said they didn’t need them - studying the Bible was the province of professional clerics and ordinary folk should not read them lest they get mistaken ideas.”
This is a bit summary about doctrine.
ALSO, every Church HAD one professional cleric at least, the Parish priest.
“And also, the Bible could only be distributed in Latin, which the common folk could not understand but was spoken by clerics.”
There were approved Bible editions in some languages, though this is correct for England between roughly 1401 and Reformation.
Understanding of Latin was not strictly limited to clercics, but varied among diverse commoners.
“The teaching medium for teh common people was essentially the equivalent of comic books - stained glass, and simple representations of favourite Bible stories.”
Comic books are however a great medium for teaching Biblical history.
Genesis flows fine as it is, but try getting the rest of Pentateuch as history directly from Bible without being distracted by all the laws … I am thankful for Bible comics.
“The rest would have been passed on by the village priest”
Even that would have been passed on by the village priest who was after all a professional cleric. Assume you had a stained glass window, it was he who explained what was happening.
Assume you had a Rhymed Bible - translated from Historia Scholastica - in the parish, you can’t read, he can, guess who reads what to whom?
“who might, or might not, have had some sort of Book of Hours or compendium of prayers.”
He needed a book of hours, a book for Mass and also a Bible, in order to fulfil the duty of studying all of the Bible.
“The more or less simultaneous arrival of native language translations and of a printed Bible which could be distributed to all churches (and of printing generally, which sharply increased literacy and general inquiry) was an earthquake which shook the Church”
It was the Church who did it.
“and, among other things, split off the Protestant churches.”
Not by itself.
- II
- Benjamin Peterson
- I've read C. S. Lewis
- Answered 15h ago
- In England, all churches had a bible (barring accidents). The scriptoria of major monasteries constantly produced new bibles, often with specific quirks and stardards unique to that monastery. Many of these centers of production were in France, and bibles were often shipped a long distance if a church required one; on the other hand, even relatively small centers sometimes produced their own bibles. Over time, bible production was refined; the earlier middle ages tended to have massive, multi-volume bibles but by the mid-1200s, portable single volume bibles were common. The vast majority of bibles were based on the Vulgate, St. Jerome’s Latin translation — not because it was the only permitted text but because the effort of duplicating St. Jerome’s effort was too huge. The middle ages being as they were, scholars were often busy enough just trying to keep faithful to the original Vulgate.
These bibles were indeed very expensive, and they tended to be extremely durable and to be chained to the church as a result!
Pedantry: I should point out that Gutenberg only invented printing *in the West*.
- III
- Hans-Georg Lundahl
- History buff since childhood. CSL & Eco added to Medieval lore. + Classics.
- Answered 15h ago
- I think all Churches had one Bible, as well as one Missal and one Breviary.
The priest was obliged to read the Bible continuously.
As to expensive books before Gutenberg, there was an activity invented a bit earlier, at the start of the High Middle Ages, which made books a bit cheaper.
The book from which a copy was made was divided into peciae, these were then distributed among several copyists (12 peciae = > 12 copyists) who would take turns copying each the same peciae.
But before that, in the Dark Ages? I don’t know.
- IV
- Dennis Gardner
- Master's in Biblical Studies, 43 years as a pastor and student of the Bible
- Answered 7h ago
No. Very few churches had even a part of the Bible. The Pope made sure that only the priests would have control of the Bible so they could tell people what it said. The people had little choice but to believe their words. It’s also true that many people didn’t know how to read or write.
Yes, Gutenberg’s press made a very tremendous difference in the world. There were also churches other than RC churches that had a portion of the Bible. Some of these were heretical in their teachings, and many were truly Christian orthodox in their teachings. Gradually when the world came out of the Dark Ages, more copies of the Bible were available and more people were beginning to learn to read and write.
- Hans-Georg Lundahl
- Just now
- Hans-Georg Lundahl
- “The Pope made sure that only the priests would have control of the Bible so they could tell people what it said.”
But there was a priest in each Church, for starters!
Also, it is not quite true.
A priest was obliged to read the Bible and obliged to be able to explain it to laymen. But laymen were not strictly speaking obliged to not read the Bible.
Under certain circumstances, “pirate translations” had been abused by heretics, and so there was a requirement for a layman to get permission before reading the Bible.
If you have seen “Sceptics’ Annotated Bible” you may realise why this is a good idea.
“The people had little choice but to believe their words.”
This is even Biblical, since they are successors of Apostles Luke 10:16.
“There were also churches other than RC churches that had a portion of the Bible.”
Can you enumerate?
“ Some of these were heretical in their teachings,”
I say amen to that, except for calling them Churches …
“and many were truly Christian orthodox in their teachings.”
Namely?
“Gradually when the world came out of the Dark Ages”
What Dark Ages? The militarily dark ones for Christendom which ended with beginning Reconquest of Sicily and Spain and First Crusade in 1033 and 1089? Or did you mean sth else?
“more copies of the Bible were available and more people were beginning to learn to read and write.”
Much thanks to the efforts of the RC Church.
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