The Role Of Christianity In The Early Middle Ages

Religion is an important feature in most cultures throughout time. Different religions have been more prominent than others, one of the most popular being Christianity. Christianity developed during the time of the Roman Empire. It began as a minority religion and grew into something much more than that. Christianity’s importance to the empire increased over time. At first, Christian values seemed different than those of pagan Roman civilization and Romans were not sure how to react to this growing minority religion. The difference between the two religions became clearer as Christianity became more prominent.

Christianity and the Roman Empire shared an important bond. Christianity offered the Roman Empire joy, hope, a shift in their world view, and a monotheistic God. Rome offered Christianity a more efficient way of spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Europe during the 8th century was in a time of transition known as the Middle Ages.. The Roman Empire had controlled most of Europe until fell in the 5th century, in part due to the rise of Christianity and the encroaching barbarians which lead to an unstable Europe. There were many separate and independent kingdoms scattered around Europe,including the Saxons, Huns, and most importantly, the Franks (“Fall of the Roman Empire”). This disunity paved the way for the Franks and their Christian faith to unify and civilize Europe, which was achieved under the guidance of a Frankish leader called Charlemagne. Charlemagne united a divided Europe through his military conquests. He connected the people throughout his empire with a common Christian

The invaders also eventually converted to Christianity, which had become the major religion of Rome. The church became the one thing that everyone had in common. The pope was the head of the Christian church. He and other church leaders became very powerful. Few people outside the church could read or write during the early Middle Ages. Religious communities called

Religion spread across Europe and people followed different ones. Because there were so many religions, it became harder to unite since each had different beliefs. Christianity was a major religion that spread during the year 380 AD, and it was a major contributor to the fall of Rome. Christians were being persecuted because leaders didn't believe in such a religion which caused a division between Christians and other people in Rome. Christians also believed that their leader should've been the leader of Rome which also caused a division for those who believed that and those who didn't.

From being a persecuted religion, Christianity rose up to be an official religion of Rome with the support of the Emperor Constantine and Theodosius I in the fourth century. By the early Middle Ages, the Church had become extremely powerful and was one of the two dominant forces that controlled the entire Europe, with the other being the State. Although the popes and the kings were ought to be supportive of each other, there usually existed between them a constant struggle for ultimate authority over the kingdoms. More than often, these conflicts created tension between the State and the Church eventually resulted in the people's sufferings.

Looking at European “Christendom” of the Middle Ages and considering the concept of “Christian America,” what lessons might believers learn today from the strengths and pitfalls too closely aligning the Church with culture and society?

The beginning of the Middle Ages (500-1050) can be defined by the disintegration of the Roman Empire in the fifth century AD, the establishment of Germanic kingdoms, and the rise of Christianity. New European civilizations emerged (Byzantine, Islam, and Western Europe) that integrated Christian, Greco-Roman, and Germanic elements. In the east, Byzantine and Islam were culturally and economically superior to Latin Christendom, due to Germanic invasions. In the fifth century, German tribes began to found kingdoms on what was once land that belonged to Rome. Germanic leaders, although attracted to Roman rule and culture, were unable to maintain Greco-Roman culture. The Roman Empire had been organized around cities that were economic, cultural, and political centers. Germanic Tribes were unprepared culturally to save the dying civilization. Urban life declined, and shifted to a primarily rural focus. Eventually, Roman law began to fade and Greek language almost vanished completely. During this time of cultural decline, the church rose to power, which had retained and preserved most elements of Greco-Roman civilization. The church

In Medieval Europe, the church played a critical role in shaping government and society. Most of the contemporary leaders were drawn from the church and contributed in championing the ideals of the church, leading to the papacy. During the papacy, the Pope of the Catholic Church assumed the position of the world leader, administering over the church flock and the non-Christian subjects. However, before the church rose to this eminent posit, its relationship with the government was tumultuous. Often, the people who professed the Christian faith were publicly persecuted.

By The Middle Ages, one understands a relatively long historical period extending from the end of the Roman Empire to the 1500's. The conquest of The Roman Empire by Germanic tribes, and synthesis of Germanic and Roman ways of life formed the civilization which we call medieval (medieval-from Latin words; medium (middle) and aevum (age)). Medieval civilization was greatly influenced by the Muslims in Spain and The Middle East, and by Byzantine Empire and Christians in Southeast Europe.

In the middle ages, Christianity was at the heart of politics and thus acceptance of the Christian faith was indeed a political matter in many respects. For many political leaders in the early period, acceptance of the Christian faith was used as a means to shape political image, as was clearly shown most famously by Clovis I. Further, acceptance of Christianity was also political in that it created ties with Rome which helped set the precedent of an incredibly influential papacy throughout the medieval period. It also notable that the conversion of ‘barbarian nations’ such as Denmark, signified cultural development and advancement for many people in Europe at the time and helped form the early form of a unified Europe by the early Middle Ages.

Religion is often a driving force behind civilizations, and Christianity is no different. During the Middle Ages in Europe when chaos and instability ruled, Christianity was a guiding light in the darkness. Shaping the European continent, Christianity affected it in ways that paved the road to the modern-day Western civilizations. After the fall of Rome in 476 CE, anarchy erupted in Western Europe. Christianity rose to power as the single dominating and unifying central authority, acting as a government in many aspects, helping preserve history and progressing Western Europe into a more developed age. On the other side of the continent, the Byzantine Empire was continuing on in relative peace. Yet during the reign of Justinian, a deadly plague, known as the bubonic plague swept through the empire. The plague killed half of the empire’s population and without the manpower to run the empire, left the infrastructure in ruins. Politically and economically weakened, the Byzantine Empire was on its knees. Christianity helped support the Byzantine Empire forward in many regards, but because of the hierarchy of the Eastern Orthodox Church compared to the singular Pope in the Roman Catholic Church, Christianity left a more lasting effect in the West than in the Byzantine Empire. Especially in the West, having combined the forces of emperors and the church working together, which benefited politically and economically, influencing art and culture, and increased the domain of the

During the Middle Ages religion was extremely important to everyone. At that time it was Christianity that people followed, they were greatly influenced by the Christian Church. The church hindered the medical progress by forbidding dissection of human corpses, insisting that people agree with the writings of Galen, encouraging people to rely on prayers to the saints and superstition to cure them of disease and encouraging the belief that disease was a punishment from God - this prevented investigation into cures.

All through the Middle Ages, religion was a solid, inescapable power in the public arena. Most people were more worried about God and the likelihood of existence in the wake of death than they were with current human issues, says Encylopedia Britannica. When the Renaissance happened, this social mentality was starting to change. Religion was as yet honed, yet individuals started to be more centered around mainstream or humanist esteems, instead of most profound sense of being, right now.

The single most important aspect of European empires, beginning just prior to the fall of Rome, is the spread of Christianity to all areas of the continent in as little as a few hundred years. Many theologians state that Christianities spread is the indirect influence of God and the adoration of people to one true faith. Though it is true that Christianity has brought about people that even atheists could call saints, it is unquestionable that Christianity was so monumental because it united larger groups of people and its spread is contributed to adherence to local customs and its lack of new ideas in comparison to other religions of the day.