Cultural Development During The Carolingian Renaissance

The Church was the absolute most predominant foundation in medieval life, its impact invading practically every part of individuals’ lives. Its religious observances often shape to the plan; its customs checked every minute in a person 's life; and its lessons supported standard convictions about morals, the significance of life and existence. Church in Western Europe was recognized as the Roman Catholic Church went from the religion of the Roman Empire to the official religion and the most powerful institution of the Middle Ages. All of Europe had been converted to Christianity by the year 1000. Although this process was peaceful at times but other times it got downright ugly.

The positive influence of Christianity is far reaching especially in the rich history and culture of Western Civilization despite a long standing ignorance or adamant denial of its contributions. The Bible itself is responsible for much of the language, literature, and fine arts we enjoy today as its artists and composers were heavily influenced by its writings. Paul Maier, in writing the forward to the book How Christianity Changed the World by Alvin J. Schmidt, says this about the profound impact Christianity has had on the development of Western Civilization:

As a religious/philosophical system, Christianity is one of the most prominent on Earth today. From 30A.D. to 1000A.D., Christianity had undergone some of its most vigorous changes while maintaining its core qualities through the Apostolic/Ante-Nicene Period, the First Seven Ecumenical Councils, and the Middle Ages.

Music is an important aspect of every society. Music can tell stories, release emotions, build bridges and break down barriers, but above all music is entertaining. There are various forms of music but not many have as rich a history as gospel music. The importance of gospel music has been relevant in American music for more than a century and its importance to society is still relevant to this day (See Appendix A). Gospel music helped slaves escape to freedom and paved the way for other styles of music. It promotes a spirit of hope and provided an outlet to worship God. So how exactly has Gospel music impacted today’s society?

The Carolingians extended their rule over most Western and central Europe in much less than one 1/2 of a century and became seemed as the renewers of the Roman Empire after the Imperial coronation of Charlemagne in 800. The Carolingian Empire carried out its best territorial extent throughout the reign of Charlemagne (768-814) who added Lombardy, Saxony, Danubian simple and Spanish March to the realm of the Franks. but, Charlemagne’s empire began to say no already below his successor Louis the Pious (814-840) and collapsed via the stop of the ninth century.

The Christian Crusades were the biggest cause of the spread of Christianity. The many nations converting to Christianity changed the entire workings of their governments, leading to the creation of many laws still in place today.

Historically, there was economic, social order, and governmental upheavals that occurred before the renaissance began such as the spread of the Bubonic Plague in the 14th century. The beginning of the renaissance was introduced by the Italian renaissance since they experienced a period of academic changes throughout Europe. However, the Northern renaissance came along that started in France with particular types of strengths and traits involved. Equally important, the Northern renaissance was the expansion of goals, mainly from Italy and then to the rest of Northern Europe while the Italian renaissance was more secular. For that reason, social with political improvement led to the values of christianity and the reform of the church.

Gospel music is an elegant form of worship. It has been used to speak out against oppression and to advocate for freedom and equality for all. Gospel Music is exemplary of music being used to change the world. Gospel music and the various artists associated with it have had a monumental impact on the face of our

The Carolingian Empire was inherently unstable due to its vast size, duration, and legacy of Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald. Lothar, son of Louis the Pious and brother of Charles the Bald attempted to conquer his brothers and fathers kingdom in order to become the next Holy Roman Emperor. In addition, it attracted the invaders, such as the Vikings . The empire, composed of many generations, strived to achieve Charlemagne’s longevity as king through accomplishments . Lastly the Carolingians were more concerned with who would be the next Holy Roman Emperor of the Empire rather than acting as protector of the realm.

The people in the medieval society used to diligently follow the religion and therefore Christianity performed a huge role in shaping the society. The church defined the social classes within the society and the roles & responsibilities of each social class. The Christianity had emerged as a common force which united the lower class of the society with the upper class. As the people used to believe and practise the teachings of the church, there was little or no rift in the

Christianity has a vast influence on individuals, society and the way christians go about their everyday life. By providing ethics, morals and practices, christian are guided everyday through their lives. The impact and effect of Paul of Tarsus is represented through his contribution towards theology and sacred texts which has led him to being referred to as the founder of Christianity, and the most significant figure in Christianity after Jesus Christ.

It also allowed for mass production which put the Bible and other literature in the hands of a much larger audience. The effects on society were that common people were getting more educated on their own, and didn’t need the Church for guidance to run their lives. It also encouraged more people to learn how to write because there was a wider market for their words and opinions. Religion became more accessible to the common people. This allowed for people to come up with their own opinions on the translation of the Bible. The people began to challenge the Church’s authority because they no longer needed a Priest to translate to them. This would end up causing the Catholic Church to lose power.

This also challenges the presupposition behind the question, that music was not historically seen as essential. In the New Testament era of Church history, the Levitical Jewish traditions of music and hymn singing in corporate worship continued and relied heavily on this Old Testament basis (Guiver, 2009:14). You can identify potential candidates for hymns in Phil. 2:6-11 ; Col. 1:15-20; Eph. 5:14, and possibly 1 Cor. 13 (White, 1993:37), and find designated hymns in Luke’s gospel (of Elizabeth, 1:42-45; Mary, 1:46-55; Zechariah, 1:68-79; and Simeon, 2:29-32). ‘All of these combine the language of Jewish history and personal experience of the singer’ (White, 1993:37).

Music not only has issues in discrimination and racism but also in religion. In an article by Lake State Publications (2002), the transformation of music started during the early Christian era. It said that only Gregorian Chants were recognized in sacred ceremonies. However, secular and non-religious songs became rampant when the church had an unlikely encounter with the French Nobles called troubadours causing them to write the very first secular songs and ask the ministers to sing them to the public. Secular music continued to gain importance to the masses and vocal music became more important

The influence that Churches have created throughout the course of history has greatly impacted lives of many people. Catholic, protestant, Christian, and Islamic churches have all had an effect towards the way their people live, think, and behave. Churches in each society have an effect that positively influences people. When people know that they have a God and savior who is at their side they feel comfortable, this keeps people together. Many societies base their whole life around their religion. Their religion is the rulebook, their faith, and their go to when in need of help.