There were also two kinds of clergy, parish priests and monks. The priests were pastors of ordinary parishes, but the monks lived in groups in buildings called monasteries. Sometimes their purpose was to dwell far from the bustle and wrongs of ordinary life and give themselves to prayer and fasting; sometimes they acted as a brotherhood of teachers in barbarous communities, teaching the people better methods of farming, and carrying the arts of civilized life beyond the borders of the empire. QUESTIONS 1. Where did the Jews live in Ancient Times? 2. Do you remember any of the stories of David? 3. What finally became of the kingdom over which David ruled? 4. What era in the history of the world begins with the birth of Jesus Christ? 5. Why did the Romans forbid the Christians to worship? How did the Romans punish them? How long after the birth of Christ before the emperors allowed the Christians to worship undisturbed? [Illustration: A MONASTERY IN THE MIDDLE AGES Abbey of Saint-Germain des Pres as it appeared in 1361 with wall, towers, and moat or ditch] 6. What is the name of the first Roman emperor who became a Christian? What name was soon given to the worshipers of the old Roman gods? 7. By what titles were the leaders of the Christians named? What two kinds of clergy were there? _Important date_: 325 A.D., when the Roman Empire became Christian. CHAPTER X EMIGRANTS A THOUSAND YEARS AGO THE MIDDLE AGES. It was more than a thousand years from the time of Constantine to the time of Columbus. This period is called "Mediaeval," or the "Middle Ages." During these long centuries the ancient civilized world of the Roman Empire was much changed. The Roman or Greek cities on the southern shores of the Mediterranean were captured by Arabs or Moors. The Moors conquered the larger part of Spain. The eastern lands of Palestine and Asia Minor fell into the hands of the Turks. The Turks, the Moors, and the Arabs were followers of the "prophet" Mohammed, who died in the year 632. The Mohammedans were enemies of the Christians. WESTERN EUROPE. The other part of the European world was also changed. The countries on the shores of the Atlantic were now more important than those on the shores of the Mediterranean. The names of the different countries were changed. Instead of Gallia or Gaul, there was France; instead of Britannia, England; for Hispania, Spain; for Germania, Deutschland or Germany. Italy, the center of the old empire, was finally divided into several states--city republics like Genoa and Venice, provinces ruled by the pope, and other territories ruled by dukes, princes, or kings.