Chapel

According to tradition, the chapel is pointing eastward toward Jerusalem and is divided into three parts: the nave as gathering place for worshippers, the chancel as location of the altar and holy rituals and the apse, which was presumably covered in opulent wall paintings.

During the Middle Ages, the church ruled over all areas of life. In addition to regular benedictions, everyday prayers also included those to bless a house, to ask for health, for a rich harvest, successful business dealings, and to worship patron saints and regular saints.

Many people were illiterate and therefore unable to understand the Latin in which the Bible was written and in which holy masses were conducted. Hence, a priest’s exegesis of scripture would go unchallenged.

The clergy declared the dominant social order to be the will of God. This policy was so successful that the peasantry submitted to its destiny and seldom rose up in rebellion.