The Church in Daily Life. As a landlord, institution, and spiritual guide, the Church was an integral part of the daily lives of all people in medieval Europe. Yet, the Church also had its own material culture, which shared aspects of the lives of nobles and peasants but had distinctive characteristics as well. Monasteries were in principle separate from the rest of the community, and their structures and the lives of their residents were designed to be self-contained. In practice, however, medieval monasteries fulfilled many important roles in the daily lives of the entire Christian community. Churches also had a central role in medieval villages and cities, and the construction of the most dramatic structures in medieval Europe— Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals—highlights the value of the church in urban communities and the integration of clergy and laity in medieval...