The West in the World, 4th Edition (Sherman)Chapter 7:
The Struggle to Bring OrderChapter Summaries
After the disruptions of the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, western Europeans struggled to restore order to their societies. A new social order emerged, in which all members of society were tied to one another through mutual obligations. The basis for the new culture that accompanied this social system was a mixture of Germanic, Christian, and Roman traditions. Early Germanic kings struggled to bring stability to their lands with the use of written law codes. Kings also encouraged intellectual activities, which flourished with their patronage and participation. In Anglo-Saxon England, the blending of customary law with the other traditions planted the seeds of a constitutional government. On the continent, under Frankish rulers, this blending of traditions met with the most success. Cooperation between church and state gave Charlemagne's dynasty great legitimacy. The peace and prosperity of these newly consolidated and centralized kingdoms was short-lived, however, as invasions of new peoples in the tenth century undermined the achievements of the preceding centuries.
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