7 - Material support I: parishes

Summary

The thirteenth century saw the triumph of the Gothic style in architecture in the building of great cathedrals all across Europe, a phenomenon much celebrated by modern art historians. ‘The Gothic Image’ seems to capture the spirit of the ‘Age of Cathedrals’ with its intellectual ambitions, artistic development and the craftsmanship available in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Europe. But who paid for it all? The material support offered to ecclesiastical institutions is probably most often explored by historians with regard to aristocratic patronage and to donations made in connection with the preparations for a ‘Good Death’. Yet the perpetual daily provision of ecclesiastical services to the community, the sustenance and education of the church personnel as well as the construction, daily running and repair of complex and expensive buildings required more and regular provision. From its origins, the church depended on a robust economic foundation and persistent support from the community in order to guarantee its services; this need led to the establishment of a series of practices and rules for both obligatory and voluntary contributions, thus creating a complicated framework of links and interdependences between the laity on the one hand, and the church’s many institutions, from cathedrals and parish churches to monasteries or hospitals, on the other.