The Catholic church was at the center of the medieval world. Unlike today, it was the only church in Europe, and all Christians belonged to it. With its own laws, lands and taxes, the church was a powerful institution. It governed almost every aspect of people's lives, from the practical to the spiritual. Most men and women, rich and poor, were baptized and married in church and attended mass every Sunday of their lives. When they died, their priest read them the last rites, and they were buried on church ground. For many, life on Earth was hard and short, but the church said that if they followed the teachings of Christ, they would be rewarded in heaven. This idea gave the Church great power over people's hearts and minds.
In medieval times, books and documents were written in Latin. Latin was known as the universal scholarly language of medieval Europe, and remained so for well over one thousand years. It later evolved in the lower levels of society into the Romance languages of Italian, French, Spanish, Portugese and Romanian.