preview

How Did Religion Shape The History Of The Middle Ages

Decent Essays
Open Document

Religion was extremely important in regard to the shaping and history of the Middle Ages in Europe. The Catholic Church, which began during the glory days of the Roman Empire, became the driving force through the Middle Ages in Europe, managing to formulate a unified religious ruling body, a deep spirituality, and oversaw cultural preservation that helped shape the history of Europe during this period.
The Church managed to integrate herself into medieval society, where she could become part of the everyday life of the people. She did this through a structured hierarchy, with the Pope, or the Bishop of Rome, as her head, and other bishops were given dioceses around the world, and under each bishop were priests who would minister to the people. This structured hierarchy came about with the collapse of the Roman Empire. When the Emperor Constantine came to power, “he recognized and supported Christianity, and he created a new capital for the empire in the east.” These two actions allowed the Church and the Pope in Rome to grow in power, firstly because Constantine declared Christianity to be legal, so they could openly practice their religion, and secondly because he moved the capital and …show more content…

Much knowledge of the ancients should have been lost, but thanks to the Church and her monasteries they were not. Many monasteries were built in Europe, and a mix of prayer and manual labor could be found in each. Some of the manual labor the monks performed was the copying of books onto more durable surfaces to be preserved. “They chiefly reproduced the Bible and holy books, but they also made copies of the works of pagan antiquity,” which allowed much ancient writing to be carefully preserved. This had a large effect on the history and shaping of Europe, because it preserved the light of civilization during the Middle

Get Access