What was the role of the bible and church in making laws in the middle ages?

Answer 1

The ultimate threat of the Church was to do either of two things: it could have someone such as a heretic burned at the stake, or it could excommunicate a person. Kings were subject to the later, and to be excommunicated was a serious problem for them because it freed anyone who had obligations of loyalty from those obligations, and it often gave rival kings licence to invade.

There were milder penalties, such as making a person do penance, which could be anything from making that person go on a crusade or into a monastery (the more severe penalties) to lesser penalties such as saying their rosary a number of times. I know of one penance that consisted of saying the shortest Psalm, which was two lines long, one time. The penance for the knights who killed Thomas Becket included spending a number of years as crusaders.

Answer 2

Since people couldn't read the Catholic church had to teach the bible in different ways. They used stain glass to tell some of the stories, put on passion plays, and had the stations of the cross. As far as making "laws" the Church dictated to the society the moral laws of God and that people were suppose to follow them if they didn't they were excommunicated( including Kings). The State and the Church were not separate, but one unit. The Church told the State how to act and what to do, so "law making" was not a uniform extension of a body of people ( like Congress). Laws were not equal nor fair in many cases and followed the whims of the Church and King.