How do you get out of Purgatory (and into

Heaven)?
Getting out of Purgatory is different for everyone-
it depends on how much wealth you have.

Imagine it is a holy day. Everyone in the Totinges

(Tooting in Old English) is celebrating with a feast.

You are going to look at people who would attend

this feast and what each of them is doing to get out
of Purgatory.
Task 1: How do you get out of Purgatory?

1. On the next slide you have a table of 7 different Medieval people from
different classes in society.

2. Using the information on ways to get out of Purgatory on Slides 4, 5

and 6 to complete your tables. Finish each row with a check mark( ✓ )
or an X if your person could do it or not.
Medieval Person Donate food Go on a Go on a Become a Go to Pay for Pray for the
Description & clothes Crusade Pilgrimage monk or Church Prayers souls of the
nun poor
The King of England

Dame Eleanor Percy. A wealthy

widow who owns farmlands in
several parts of the south of
England.

Stephen Peterson. A shop owner

in the town of Doncaster, selling
boots, shoes, and other leather
goods. He is quite well-off, but not
rich.

Margaret Paston. You are the

widow of a landowner in Norfolk
in East Anglia. She is well-off but
not nearly as rich as the dukes
and lords.

Walter Bates. He broke his leg

when a cart fell on him and he
can’t work. He is now elderly and
have to beg for money or get help
from the local monastery (where
monks live).

The Duke of Lancaster, one of the

wealthiest noblemen in the
country.

Matilda. A 70 year old widow

without much money.
Task 2: Comparing How to get out of Purgatory
Use the information on the previous three slides and your
table to complete this.
What can they do to get out of Purgatory?

Women

Men

Rich

Poor

Middling
wealth (not too
rich, not too
poor)
Final Questions: How to get out of Purgatory
1. Who has the most options for getting into
Heaven? Why?
2. Which groups have the fewest options?
Why?
3. Which options could everybody do?
Why?
4. Why do you think people worked so hard
to get out of Purgatory and into Heaven?
5. What do you think this tells you about
the role Christianity played in people’s
lives during the Middle Ages?