Rome: Catacombs
Passage with tombs Rome: Catacomb of Saint Domitilla	Burial chamber with tomb recess and wall painting showing Christ Raising Lazarus Rome: Catacomb of Via Latina

Catacombs: Subterranean burial chambers used during the period of persecution of Early Christianity (mainly 2-4 c. A.D.). Catacombs were used for burial, not only by Christians, but they are usually associated with Christianity because the Christians held services in the catacombs while they were still persecuted by the Romans (first to the early fourth centuries A.D., though persecution was not always severe at all times during that period). Some of the catacombs are decorated with paintings depicting Old and New Testament subjects, or Christian figures or symbols.

Pope (from the Greek 'papas,' father):  Head of the Roman Church, successors to St Peter to whom Christ entrusted the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven and the power to remit sins .

Clergy: the estate or office of a cleric of clerk in ecclesiastical orders; men set apart by ordination for religious service in the Christian church (as opposed to the laity).  Deacons, priests, bishops, archbishops, are members of the clergy.

Cathedral:  A church which is the official seat of an archbishop or bishop and the principal church of an archdiocese or diocese  (see below).

Archbishop:  The ruler of a large division of the Roman Church called a province or archdiocese.  Archbishops are responsible to the Pope.

Bishop:  The head of a smaller division of the Roman Church called a diocese.  A bishop is responsible to the archbishop of the province or archdiocese in which his diocese is located.  He is ordained with the power to perform the Sacraments of Confirmation and Ordination (for the others, see priest below).

Canon: St Augustine of Hippo (354-430) established for himself and his friends a quasi-monastic life where study and conversation flourished.  This kind of community life was adapted for members of the clergy attached to collegiate churches (also known as houses of canons) and cathedrals.  Members of colleges or communities of women living according to similar principles were known as canonesses.

Priest:  a member of the clergy who has been ordained with the power to perform the Sacraments of the Christian Church (baptism, the celebration of the Eucharist, confession, marriage and extreme unction (except confirmation and ordination which are performed by a bishop).  The head of the smallest division of the Roman Church, the parish.  The priest of a parish is responsible to the bishop of his diocese.

Deacon: a member of the clergy who has been ordained with the power to baptize and to preach.

Abbot:  Head of a monastery.

Prior:  Head of a priory, subject to the abbot of a related abbey.

Monk: a male member of a monastic community devoted to the religious life.  Also called a 'religious.'

Nun:  a female member of a monastic community devoted to the religious life.  Also called a 'religious.'

Monasticism
 

Beehive monastic cell Ireland: Island of Skellig

Hermit monasticism: Earliest form of monasticism; it developed primarily in the desert of Egypt under Sts Paul (d. c. 346) and Antony (251-356), and spread to Ireland, and from there, at uncertain dates, to Scotland and Northumbria. The hermit monk retired to an isolated area and led a solitary life devoted to prayer.  Hermit monks are also known as anchorites or recluses and their female counterparts as anchoresses or also as recluses.
 

Illuminated manuscript of the Lives of Sts. Benedict, Maurus and Scholastica Vatican, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Vat. lat. 1202

Benedictine monasticism: Saint Benedict of Nursia (c. 480-547) founded c. 525-529 A.D. the monastery of Monte Cassino and wrote a Rule for monks. His sister Scolastica was the first Benedictine nun.  This type of monasticism placed less stress on isolation and individuality and more emphasis on a corporate existence of prayer. Benedictine monasteries were cut off from the world in that they were economically self- supporting. Benedictine monasticism dominated Europe from the seventh century A.D. onward.
 

Abbey of Cluny
Plan of the third monastery  and abbey church	Capital from the third abbey church	The abbot of Cluny (Peter the Venerable ?) kneeling before the Virgin and Child Offices of Cluny, Paris, BNF lat. 17716, f. 23v

Cluniacs: A reforming branch of the Benedictines founded in the tenth century A.D. and centered at the abbey of Cluny in Burgundy.
 

Cistercian monasticism
St Bernard, founder of Clairvaux Dijon, Musée des Beaux-Arts 15th c.	Fontenay Abbey church, nave to west

Cistercians: A monastic movement founded by Robert of Molesmes which completely broke away from the Benedictines in the late eleventh century.  Their mother-house was at Cîteaux in Burgundy.  The most famous figure was St Bernard (1090-1153), abbot of ClairvauxThe Cistercians preferred a more complete separation and austere existence. There architecture is also noted for its simplictiy and lack of ornament. To avoid  the secular world, they often located their monasteries in more isolated areas, concentrating on agricultural activities.  They were  noted for their technological innovation - many improved agricultural techniques and such innovations such as improved mill-wheels were spread by the Cistercians. Their frugal ways and technological innovations often brought the order great wealth- this wealth caused them conflicts in the later Middle ages.

Mendicant friars: Monks whose lives were devoted to individual preaching and teaching in an urban setting. They depended on alms for a living and did not isolate themselves in a monastery. Orders of mendicant friars were formed in the early thirteenth century.
 

St Francis of Assisi
Italy: Assisi	St Francis preaching to the birds Marseille, BM 111

Franciscans: An order of mendicant friars founded by Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), whose major mission was among the rich laity in cities.  The Poor Clares or Minoresses, a female order, was founded according to the rule of St Francis by St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253).

Dominicans: A mendicant order founded in 1206 by St Dominic de Guzman (1170-1221), whose mission was among the intellectuals, especially at the universities.  The Dominicans also played an important rôle in the Inquisition.

Military Orders:

Templars: Founded in 1118 in Jerusalem, the initial goal of this order was to protect the pilgrims visiting the hold places in Jerusalem. They were housed on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem- hence the name "Templars"  Over their armour, they wore white mantles with a red Crusader cross. The Templars took part in many of the major military engagements in the Hold Land. Later, they helped facilitate travel to the Holy Land by allowing pilgrims to deposit funds with a local branch of the Templars in their home countries and to draw out the funds when they reached the Holy Land.  They soon spread throughout Europe, often building  churches that were round in plan as a reference to the Temple in Jerusalem. The order of the Templars became very wealthy and powerful. In 1312, they were brutally  suppressed  by Pope Clement V at the instigation of King Philippe le Bel of France on charges that they condoned blasphemy and homosexuality.

[optional] History to the Templars by William of Tyre

[optional] More information about the Templars
 

Hospitalers of St John of Jerusalem: Founded in Palestine in the early years of the 12th century, they at first established a hospice for ill pilgrims. Though they continued to maintain such institutions, they also became a military order to protect pilgrims. They wore a black robe with a white cross. They were the rivals of the Templars. With the fall of Acre, a major Crusader fortification, they  moved to Cyprus, then Rhodes,  where they guarded many of the convoys of ships bearing pilgrims to the Holy Land. They were the recipients of much of the property of the Templars when that order was suppressed. They  later moved to Malta.

Teutonic Knights: founded c. 1128 by the Crusaders, active particularly in Germany until the Reformation.