FOCUS QUESTION What roles did monks, nuns, and friars play in medieval society?

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While the reforming popes transformed the Christian Church into an institution free of lay control at the highest level, leaders of monasteries and convents asserted their independence from secular control on the local level as well. Monks, nuns, and friars played significant roles in medieval society, both as individuals and as members of institutions. Medieval people believed that monks and nuns performed an important social service when they prayed, for their prayers and chants secured God’s blessing for society. The friars worked in the cities, teaching and preaching Christian doctrine, but also investigating heretics.