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Latin was the language of the Church in Western Europe. The Vulgate Bible was the Latin translation, one of several, that were widely used in the West in the Church. Early papal communication was all in Latin, and so Latin was the established language of the Church from the beginning.
As time passes, languages change. Different dialects of the same language become less and less similar, until the people who speak them are unable to understand each other; this process usually takes about a thousand years or so. The people from different parts of Western Europe found it more and more difficult to communicate over time, and the Latin language evolved into French, Spanish, Italian, and the other Romance Language.
The Church, however, provided education in Latin, and the effect was that as the common language changed, the education remained in a rather conservative formal language that was stable. This benefited not only the Church itself, but the governments of nations, which recorded laws and did diplomacy with each other in Latin, and scholars, who could communicate with each other in Latin, regardless of where in Western Europe they lived.
In the beginning of the Middle Ages, most people in Western Europe spoke Latin, of the type called Vulgar Latin, meaning common Latin. It was recognizably very similar to Classical Latin.
Most languages change with time, and as written works age, people find it increasingly difficult to read them. By the time of Charlemagne, Latin had changed enough that most people found it difficult to read the classics without some education in classical Latin. Also, the Latin of the time of Charlemagne had changed differently in different places, so people who traveled found it hard to communicate with the people they met, even though both were technically speaking medieval Latin.
Charlemagne, as part of his promotion of education, decided that a standard form of Latin should be taught in the schools, and this conformed, more or less, to the Latin of such biblical translations as the Vulgate. The result of this was that Medieval Latin did not change much as a written language as the Middle Ages went on. This was very useful for the purposes of the Church and legal systems, because it meant that people could understand old texts.
But this language was only used by the Church and the governments; people were not teaching it to their children in their households as a spoken language. And so the medieval language of the common people evolved into languages that are derived from Latin, but are clearly not Latin. Such languages include French, Spanish, Italian, Romanian, and a number of others, in a very large number of dialects.
Ecclesiastical Latin, which is a form of medieval Latin, is still used by the Roman Catholic Church in the Vatican.
There are links below to articles on Medieval Latin and Ecclesiastical Latin.
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What political trend kept German states separate during the Middle Ages?
because
How was the lamp of knowledge kept alive in the dark ages?
It wasn't. There were no schools or education and 90% of the population couldn't read or write.
What is the modern myth about bathing in the middle ages?
There is a widespread belief that people did not bathe in the Middle Ages. This myth arises because bathing went out of practice during the Renaissance, when people worried that it was unhealthy and rich people could afford perfume. Since we have a tendency to regard the Renaissance as a period of improvement, we often ascribe anything about it that was unpleasant to the Middle Ages. During most of the Middle Ages, however, people regarded cleanliness as next to godliness, and kept themselves very clean. There is a link below.
Why did people want to become nuns and priest in the middle ages?
Monks and Nuns were important in the middle ages because they taught the priests and helped others in need of spiritual salvation at the church.Roman Catholic AnswerThe Middle Ages were a time of great faith. People's lives revolved around the Church and they realized that an eternity in heaven was something that should rule these few short years on earth. The monks and nuns kept alive learning, and history; and reproduced many books that we would have lost otherwise. They contributed to advances in science, farming methods, and kept alive many skills that would otherwise have been lost. There were few towns, and no cities in the Middle Ages, and the monasteries served as centers for a host of things. Mendicants came along towards the end, the High Middle Ages, and did a lot towards spreading faith and love of God.
The majority of people during the Middle Ages were?
90% of the population were serfs. They grew the crops, fought the nobility's wars, died by the thousands in war, disease, and accidents.
What are the two kinds of religious institutions that kept learning and books alive in Western Europe during thr Middle Ages?
monasteries and roman catholic church
Who kept learning alive in Europe during the Dark Ages?
the christian church.
What political trend kept German states separate during the Middle Ages?
because
How was the lamp of knowledge kept alive in the dark ages?
It wasn't. There were no schools or education and 90% of the population couldn't read or write.
Why were vikings so important in the Middle Ages?
wrote by a really ugly virgin no: they basically cause feudalism to start! they were VERY important
Who are 3 people who kept law and order during middle ages and what each of their jobs?
peter andrew and john
Did influenzer kill people in the middle ages?
It is possible that flu killed people in the middle ages, but it was not identified as "flu" but something else. Since no medical records were made or kept it is hard to know what people died of most of the time.
How did the Greeks keep their history alive during the dark ages?
The Oral tradition kept the history alive.Storytellers retold legends and myths of there past.
Elements that held up the middle ages?
The middle ages were kept together by a combination of things. These included the Church and faith, and the complicated system known as the feudal pyramid, in which a series of mutual obligations provided mutual support among the various classes of society.
Why were the middle colonies called the bread colonied?
They produced so much wheat that they called it the bread basket.
What is the population of females in the middle ages?
This can not be answered because no official records were kept. People couldn't read or write and most didn't know when they were born.
Why did it take so long to build castles in the middle ages?
Because cathedrals are bigger and more complicated
