What were the benefits of being a clergy in the medieval era?

You had the possibility to help people rather directly as there were more little towns.

People were much more receptive to your preaches. You had a rather large freedom of speech especially if you were a bishop. (This is not in middle ages but the priest that lead Louis XIV burial mass said in his preach “Only God is great !” (Implicitly saying that the king was a standart man that was confronted to the same necessity than other people).

You had access to a good education (and to some boos, what was rather scarce before the XVIth century) hence, you were one of the few litterate persons allowing you to teach people how to read and write. You could have an intellectual influence and a social influence by teaching the local lord’s children how to read and sometimes give political pieces of advice to the local lord.

You could yourself be a local lord as bishop / head of an abbey.

You could be the head of a local charity (origin of hospitals).

In France you didn’t pay taxes. On the contrary, you received one tenth of peasants’ crops.

If you were an eminent bishop / cardinal, or if you were the Pope you could have tremendous spiritual and political power.

You could get married while being a catholic priest (before the XIIth century, before 1123 precisely).