The customary event marking the beginning of the Early Middle Ages is the “fall” of the Roman Empire. It is interpreted that the beginning of the Early Middle Ages is not one dramatic event, but of several long-term trends, including the unadorned economic decline of the later Roman Empire and the incursions and settlement of Germanic peoples within the West. For the next five hundred years, Western Europe remained essentially a primitive culture, elaborate culture of the Roman Empire was never entirely forgotten. After the fall Roman Empire, social life and customs of the people were deeply influenced by periods of war and political changes. As a result, the Early Middle Ages were basically a mixture of Roman, Germanic and Christian customs.
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We can first see the European civilization in the reign of Charlemagne in his empire, a new model of kingship arose and a new political and social association, known as Feudalism, took root. Rome and its culture did not dissipate overnight, taking centuries for Germanic peoples to migrate into Europe and change it. The period of gradual transformation in the West, the slow blending of traditions, was part of a larger Mediterranean wide period called “Late Antiquity.” The Germanic people made Europe different, their migration into the western provinces of the Roman Empire began a steady transformation. Thus, we have Charlemagne to acknowledge for much of our understanding of the classical past. Charlemagne believed in education and he wanted his people to learn too, so he then started a school in a royal palace with a scholar named Alcuin. Although he hardly reacts as a Roman emperor to us, Charlemagne did continue the traditions of the Roman Empire. Early medieval kingship nicely sums up the cultural accomplishment of the Early Middle Ages; it shoes how Germanic traditions, Christianity and the remains of the Roman culture came together to form something new. They formed new kingdoms that were the basis of European political development in the Middle Ages. Germanic kings viewed their territories as …show more content…
For example, in the Eastern Roman Empire, learning was maintained at a higher level than in the West. The classical education system, would persist for hundreds of years. By the fourth century, this education system was Christianized. There is no denying that Christianity was a unifying force in this world. Although hordes of Germanic invaders conquered much of Northern Europe in the early Middle Ages, it was ultimately Christianity that dominated them. They had various reasons for doing so, including trade and politics. Yet as Christian tradition took hold, it covered a rich body of customs and practices that had once reflected a distinctive view of life. Early medieval Christians inherited a church united by major creeds, a stable Biblical canon, and a developed philosophical practice. The institutional structure of Christianity in the west during this period is different from what it would become later in the Middle Ages. The divide between Eastern and Western Christianity widened, paving the way for the East-West Schism in the 11th century. In the West, the power of the Bishop of Rome expanded and the conversion to Christianity took place gradually. In fact, it was not fully comprehensive until the 1100s. Conversion was a complicated process involving more than simply substituting one religion for another. The Germanic
We can first see the European civilization in the reign of Charlemagne in his empire, a new model of kingship arose and a new political and social association, known as Feudalism, took root. Rome and its culture did not dissipate overnight, taking centuries for Germanic peoples to migrate into Europe and change it. The period of gradual transformation in the West, the slow blending of traditions, was part of a larger Mediterranean wide period called “Late Antiquity.” The Germanic people made Europe different, their migration into the western provinces of the Roman Empire began a steady transformation. Thus, we have Charlemagne to acknowledge for much of our understanding of the classical past. Charlemagne believed in education and he wanted his people to learn too, so he then started a school in a royal palace with a scholar named Alcuin. Although he hardly reacts as a Roman emperor to us, Charlemagne did continue the traditions of the Roman Empire. Early medieval kingship nicely sums up the cultural accomplishment of the Early Middle Ages; it shoes how Germanic traditions, Christianity and the remains of the Roman culture came together to form something new. They formed new kingdoms that were the basis of European political development in the Middle Ages. Germanic kings viewed their territories as …show more content…
For example, in the Eastern Roman Empire, learning was maintained at a higher level than in the West. The classical education system, would persist for hundreds of years. By the fourth century, this education system was Christianized. There is no denying that Christianity was a unifying force in this world. Although hordes of Germanic invaders conquered much of Northern Europe in the early Middle Ages, it was ultimately Christianity that dominated them. They had various reasons for doing so, including trade and politics. Yet as Christian tradition took hold, it covered a rich body of customs and practices that had once reflected a distinctive view of life. Early medieval Christians inherited a church united by major creeds, a stable Biblical canon, and a developed philosophical practice. The institutional structure of Christianity in the west during this period is different from what it would become later in the Middle Ages. The divide between Eastern and Western Christianity widened, paving the way for the East-West Schism in the 11th century. In the West, the power of the Bishop of Rome expanded and the conversion to Christianity took place gradually. In fact, it was not fully comprehensive until the 1100s. Conversion was a complicated process involving more than simply substituting one religion for another. The Germanic