Editing Christendom (section)

==Classical culture==
{{Further|Middle Ages|Renaissance|Theological aesthetics|Role of the Catholic Church in Western civilization|Christian culture}}
[[File:Wien - Stephansdom (1).JPG|thumb|[[St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna]]]]

[[Western culture]], throughout most of its history, has been nearly equivalent to [[Christian culture]], and many of the population of the Western hemisphere could broadly be described as [[cultural Christian]]s. The notion of "[[Europe]]" and the "[[Western World]]" has been intimately connected with the concept of "Christianity and Christendom"; many even attribute Christianity for being the link that created a unified [[European identity]].<ref name="Dawson 1961 108"/> [[Historian]] Paul Legutko of [[Stanford University]] said the [[Catholic Church]] is "at the center of the development of the values, ideas, science, laws, and institutions which constitute what we call Western civilization."<ref name="National Review Book Service"/>

Though Western culture contained several polytheistic religions during its early years under the [[Ancient Greece|Greek]] and [[Roman Empire]]s, as the centralized Roman power waned, the dominance of the Catholic Church was the only consistent force in Western Europe.<ref name="autogenerated1994">{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Carl|title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission|year=1994|publisher=St. Mary's Press|location=Early Middle Ages|isbn=978-0-88489-298-4|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch}}</ref> Until the [[Age of Enlightenment]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Koch|first=Carl|title=The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission|year=1994|publisher=St. Mary's Press|location=The Age of Enlightenment|isbn=978-0-88489-298-4|url=https://archive.org/details/catholicchurchjo00koch}}</ref> Christian culture guided the course of philosophy, literature, art, music and science.<ref name="autogenerated1994"/><ref name="Crisis in Western Education"/> Christian disciplines of the respective arts have subsequently developed into [[Christian philosophy]], [[Christian art]], [[Christian music]], [[Christian literature]] etc. Art and literature, law, education, and politics were preserved in the teachings of the Church, in an environment that, otherwise, would have probably seen their loss. The Church founded many [[cathedrals]], [[university|universities]], [[Monastery|monasteries]] and [[Seminary|seminaries]], some of which continue to exist today. [[History of Christianity during the Middle Ages|Medieval Christianity]] created the first [[Medieval university|modern universities]].<ref>Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. xix–xx</ref><ref>{{harnvb|Verger|1999}}</ref> The Catholic Church established a hospital system in medieval Europe that vastly improved upon the Roman ''valetudinaria''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/valetudinaria|title=Valetudinaria|website=broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk|language=en|access-date=2018-02-22|archive-date=2018-10-05|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005164628/http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/techniques/valetudinaria|url-status=dead}}</ref> These hospitals were established to cater to "particular social groups marginalized by poverty, sickness, and age," according to historian of hospitals, Guenter Risse.<ref>{{cite book |title=Mending Bodies, Saving Souls: A History of Hospitals |last=Risse |first=Guenter B |date=April 1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |page=59 |isbn=978-0-19-505523-8}}</ref> Christianity also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts.<ref>Karl Heussi, ''Kompendium der Kirchengeschichte'', 11. Auflage (1956), Tübingen (Germany), pp. 317–319, 325–326</ref>

Christianity had a significant impact on education and science and medicine as the church created the bases of the Western system of education,<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67592/Forms-of-Christian-education Britannica.com] Forms of Christian education</ref> and was the sponsor of founding [[Medieval university|universities]] in the Western world as the university is generally regarded as an institution that has its origin in the [[History of Christianity|Medieval Christian]] setting.<ref name="Rüegg, Walter 1992, pp. XIX">Rüegg, Walter: "Foreword. The University as a European Institution", in: ''A History of the University in Europe. Vol. 1: Universities in the Middle Ages'', Cambridge University Press, 1992, {{ISBN|0-521-36105-2}}, pp. XIX–XX</ref><ref name=verger1999>{{cite book |last=Verger |first=Jacques |date=1999 |author-link=:fr:Jacques Verger|title=Culture, enseignement et société en Occident aux XIIe et XIIIe siècles |edition=1st |language=fr |publisher=Presses universitaires de Rennes in Rennes |isbn=978-2868473448 |url=https://openlibrary.org/works/OL822497W |access-date=17 June 2014 }}</ref> Many [[List of Roman Catholic cleric-scientists|clerics]] throughout history have made significant contributions to science and [[List of Jesuit scientists|Jesuits]] in particular have made numerous significant contributions to the [[History of science|development of science]].<ref>Susan Elizabeth Hough, ''Richter's Scale: Measure of an Earthquake, Measure of a Man'', Princeton University Press, 2007, {{ISBN|0691128073}}, [https://archive.org/details/richtersscalemea00houg/page/68 p. 68.]</ref>{{Sfn|Woods|2005|p=109}}<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/302999/Jesuit Britannica.com] Jesuit</ref> The cultural influence of Christianity includes [[social welfare]],<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67594/Church-and-social-welfare Britannica.com] Church and social welfare</ref> founding [[hospitals]],<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67597/Care-for-the-sick Britannica.com] Care for the sick</ref> economics (as the [[Protestant work ethic]]),<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67599/Property-poverty-and-the-poor Britannica.com] Property, poverty, and the poor,</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weber|first=Max|title=The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|year=1905}}</ref> [[natural law]] (which would later influence the creation of [[international law]]),<ref>Cf. [[Jeremy Waldron]] (2002), ''God, Locke, and Equality: Christian Foundations in Locke's Political Thought'', Cambridge University Press, Cambridge (UK), {{ISBN|978-0-521-89057-1}}, pp. 189, 208</ref> politics,<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67577/Church-and-state Britannica.com] Church and state</ref> architecture,<ref name= BF>Sir [[Banister Fletcher]], ''History of Architecture on the Comparative Method''.</ref> literature,<ref>Buringh, Eltjo; van Zanden, Jan Luiten: "Charting the 'Rise of the West': Manuscripts and Printed Books in Europe, A Long-Term Perspective from the Sixth through Eighteenth Centuries", ''The Journal of Economic History'', Vol. 69, No. 2 (2009), pp.&nbsp;409–445 (416, table 1)</ref> [[Ablution in Christianity|personal hygiene]],<ref>{{cite book|author=Eveleigh, Bogs|title=Baths and Basins: The Story of Domestic Sanitation|publisher=Stroud, England: Sutton|year=2002}}</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/christianityinac0000gari <!-- quote=Christianity in Action: The History of the International. --> Christianity in Action: The History of the International Salvation Army] p.16</ref> and family life.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/115240/Christianity/67603/The-tendency-to-spiritualize-and-individualize-marriage Britannica.com] The tendency to spiritualize and individualize marriage</ref> Christianity played a role in ending practices common among [[pagan]] [[societies]], such as [[human sacrifice]], [[slavery]],<ref>Chadwick, Owen p. 242.</ref> [[infanticide]] and [[polygamy]].<ref>Hastings, p. 309.</ref>

===Art and literature===
====Writings and poetry====
{{Main|Christian literature|Christian poetry}}

[[Christian literature]] is writing that deals with Christian themes and incorporates the Christian world view. This constitutes a huge body of extremely varied writing. [[Christian poetry]] is any [[poetry]] that contains [[Christianity|Christian]] teachings, [[theme (arts)|theme]]s, or references. The influence of Christianity on [[poetry]] has been great in any area that Christianity has taken hold. Christian poems often directly reference the [[Bible]], while others provide [[allegory]].<ref>Watson Kirkconnell (1952), ''The Celestial Cycle: The Theme of Paradise Lost in World Literature with Translations of the Major Analogues'', [[University of Toronto]] Press. Pages 569-570.</ref>

====Supplemental arts====
{{Main|Christian art}}

[[Christian art]] is art produced in an attempt to illustrate, supplement and portray in tangible form the principles of [[Christianity]]. Virtually all Christian groupings use or have used art to some extent. The prominence of art and the media, style, and representations change; however, the unifying theme is ultimately the representation of the life and times of [[Jesus]] and in some cases the [[Old Testament]]. Depictions of saints are also common, especially in [[Anglicanism]], [[Roman Catholicism]], and [[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodoxy]].<ref name=":1" />

====Illumination====
{{Main|Illuminated manuscript}}

[[File:Codex Bruchsal 1 01v cropped.jpg|thumb|Picture of [[Christ in Majesty]] contained in an illuminated manuscript]]
An [[illuminated manuscript]] is a [[manuscript]] in which the [[Writing|text]] is supplemented by the addition of decoration. The earliest surviving substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period [[AD]] 400 to 600, primarily produced in Ireland, [[Constantinople]] and Italy. The majority of surviving manuscripts are from the [[Middle Ages]], although many illuminated manuscripts survive from the 15th century [[Renaissance]], along with a very limited number from [[Late Antiquity]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Rholetter |first=Wylene |date=2018 |title=Written Word in Medieval Society |journal=Salem Press Encyclopedia}}</ref>

Most illuminated manuscripts were created as [[codex|codices]], which had superseded scrolls; some isolated single sheets survive. A very few illuminated manuscript fragments survive on [[papyrus]]. Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on [[parchment]] (most commonly of [[calfskin|calf]], sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called [[vellum]], traditionally made of unsplit [[calfskin]], though high quality parchment from other skins was also called ''parchment''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-15 |title=Differences between Parchment, Vellum and Paper |url=https://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/paper-vellum.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160615030013/http://www.archives.gov/preservation/formats/paper-vellum.html |archive-date=15 June 2016 |access-date=2021-11-21 |website=National Archives |language=en}}</ref>

====Iconography====
{{Main|Iconoclasm|Religious image|Christian icons|Christian symbolism|Saint symbology|Iconography}}
[[File:St. Theodor.jpg|thumb|There are few old ceramic icons, such as this [[St. Theodor]] icon which dates to {{Circa|900}} (from [[Preslav]], [[Bulgaria]]).]]

Christian art began, about two centuries after Christ, by borrowing motifs from [[Ancient Rome|Roman]] [[Roman Empire|Imperial]] [[imagery]], [[classical Greek]] and Roman religion and popular art. [[Religious images]] are used to some extent by the [[Abrahamic religion|Abrahamic]] Christian faith, and often contain highly complex iconography, which reflects centuries of accumulated tradition.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web |title=Answering Eastern Orthodox Apologists regarding Icons |author-first1=John B. |author-last1=Carpenter|url=https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/answering-eastern-orthodox-apologists-regarding-icons/ |website=The Gospel Coalition}}</ref> In the [[Late Antique]] period iconography began to be standardised, and to relate more closely to [[Biblical]] texts, although many gaps in the [[canonical Gospel]] narratives were plugged with matter from the [[apocrypha|apocryphal gospels]]. Eventually the Church would succeed in weeding most of these out, but some remain, like the ox and ass in the [[Nativity of Jesus in art|Nativity of Christ]].

An [[icon]] is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, from [[Eastern Christianity]]. Christianity has used symbolism from its very beginnings.<ref name=":1">{{CathEncy|wstitle=Symbolism}}</ref> In both East and West, numerous iconic types of [[Christ]], [[Mary (mother of Jesus)|Mary]] and saints and other subjects were developed; the number of named types of icons of Mary, with or without the infant Christ, was especially large in the East, whereas [[Christ Pantocrator]] was much the commonest image of Christ.

[[Christian symbolism]] invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas. Christianity has borrowed from the common stock of significant symbols known to most periods and to all regions of the world.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jenner |first=Henry |title=Christian Symbolism |publisher=Kessinger Publishing |year=2004 |page=xiv |author-link=Henry Jenner |orig-year=1910}}</ref> [[Religious symbolism]] is effective when it appeals to both the intellect and the emotions. Especially important depictions of Mary include the [[Hodegetria]] and [[Panagia]] types. Traditional models evolved for narrative paintings, including large cycles covering the events of the Life of Christ, the [[Life of the Virgin]], parts of the Old Testament, and, increasingly, the lives of popular [[saint]]s. Especially in the West, a system of [[emblem|attributes]] developed for [[Saint symbology|identifying individual]] figures of saints by a standard appearance and symbolic objects held by them; in the East they were more likely to identified by text labels.<ref name=":1" />

Each saint has a story and a reason why he or she led an exemplary life. [[Symbols]] have been used to tell these stories throughout the history of the Church. A number of Christian saints are traditionally represented by a symbol or [[Icon|iconic motif]] associated with their life, termed an attribute or [[emblem]], in order to identify them. The study of these forms part of [[iconography]] in [[Art history]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Eiland |first=Murray |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.30861/9781407360713 |title=Picturing Roman Belief Systems: The iconography of coins in the Republic and Empire |date=2023-04-30 |publisher=British Archaeological Reports (Oxford) Ltd |isbn=978-1-4073-6071-3 |doi=10.30861/9781407360713}}</ref>

====Architecture====
{{Main|Church architecture}}
[[File:Gotic3d2.jpg|thumb|The structure of a typical Gothic cathedral]]

[[Christian architecture]] encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Christianity to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in [[Christian culture]].<ref name="BF2">Fletcher, Banister. ''A History of Architecture''</ref>

Buildings were at first adapted from those originally intended for other purposes but, with the rise of distinctively ecclesiastical architecture, church buildings came to influence secular ones which have often imitated religious architecture. In the 20th century, the use of new materials, such as concrete, as well as simpler styles has had its effect upon the design of churches and arguably the flow of influence has been reversed.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Derrick |first=Andrew |date=2017 |title=19th- and 20th-Century Roman Catholic Churches |url=https://historicengland.org.uk/images-books/publications/iha-19th-20th-century-roman-catholic-churches/heag159-roman-catholic-churches-iha/ |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Historic England}}</ref> From the birth of Christianity to the present, the most significant period of transformation for [[Christian architecture]] in the west was the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic cathedral]]. In the east, [[Byzantine architecture]] was a continuation of [[Roman architecture]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cartwright |first=Mark |title=Byzantine Architecture |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Byzantine_Architecture/ |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=World History Encyclopedia |language=en}}</ref>

===Philosophy===
{{Main|Christian philosophy|Scholasticism}}

[[Christian philosophy]] is a term to describe the fusion of various fields of [[philosophy]] with the [[Theology|theological]] doctrines of Christianity.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Murray |first1=Michael J. |url=https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/christiantheology-philosophy/ |title=Philosophy and Christian Theology |last2=Rea |first2=Michael |publisher=Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University |year=2016 |editor-last=Zalta |editor-first=Edward N.}}</ref> [[Scholasticism]], which means "that [which] belongs to the school", and was a method of learning taught by the [[academic]]s (or ''school people'') of medieval [[university|universities]] c. 1100–1500.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Scholasticism |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13548a.htm |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref> [[Scholasticism]] originally started to reconcile the [[philosophy]] of the ancient classical philosophers with medieval Christian theology. Scholasticism is not a philosophy or theology in itself but a tool and method for learning which places emphasis on [[dialectical reasoning]].<ref name=":2" />
{{Further|Christian apologetics|History of science in the Middle Ages}}