The short answer to the question of salvation in the Middle Ages is that Christians were expected to do exactly what the Roman Catholic Church directed them to do. The church claimed to have the keys to Heaven and adherents believed this to be true. Through a system of indulgence and penance, parishioners could pay their priests or bishops to have their sins forgiven. Followers were also required to donate a tenth of their earnings to the church if they were expecting to get to Heaven.
In addition to the wage tax, peasants were expected to perform free work for the church. This required great sacrifice because it took time away from the maintenance of their own farm and family. Christians also needed to receive sacraments of the church to reach eternal salvation. The church charged a fee for the performance of sacraments. During the Middle Ages, a shift occurred in which the church would decide who was saved with eternal salvation and those that would be damned to Hell.
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