History Book Review: Going to Church in Medieval England by Nicholas Orme

This is a book about worship and attendance of the medieval church in England. Specifically, the book focuses on parish worship, that is, worship for the populace in villages and towns (as opposed to monasteries and cathedrals, where worship was for their members). It consists of nine chapters: Origins and the Parish, The Staff of the Church, The Church Building, The Congregation, The Day and the Week, The Seasons and the Year, The Life Cycle, The Reformation and Reflections.

It is a very detailed study and can be a bit dry at times. The breadth of information however, is incredible. The author researched numerous primary sources to get a broad idea of how people really responded to the church’s demands (tithes/taxes, holy days, weekly worship). Some were pious, others rebellious.

Rather than a chronological overview, the book tackles a subject and shows how it changed over time. I personally found the two chapters on liturgy and how it worked from day to day and over the course of the year (chapters 5 and 6) the most fascinating. It’s really hard to get a firm understanding of how church practice occurred beyond reading primary sources (like the missal or breviary), so a book explaining now only how the services went, but also how they differed as they year progressed was very helpful. The book includes a lot of details about various ceremonies (baptism, marriages, etc) as well.

There are a decent number of colour illustrations throughout the book.

I learned so much from this book. From seemingly simple things like the difference between a rector and a vicar, to how much medieval practice survived the Reformation’s attempts at reform. If you’re interested in the Catholic church, how churches were run in the middle ages, or liturgy and religious practices in England, you really need to pick this up.