What is patronage?
a.
talking to someone in a condescending way
b.
financial support given by a person or organization
c.
organizing a plan to execute a project
d.
any type of emotional support

people can eat food during that time

the catholic church withhold people's access to the bible during the middle ages.

people could go to church and listen to the teachings, but it was absolutely forbidden to own and/or read the books of both the old and new testaments. it was also prohibited to translate the books (which where originally in biblical hebrew) to any other language.

this was done so the church could remain in control of what their teachings were and to enhance their importance and power, while also being able to judge people's actions through information that was unavailable for the general public.