Traditions and Encounters, 4th Edition (Bentley)

Chapter 17: THE FOUNDATIONS OF CHRISTIAN SOCIETY IN WESTERN EUROPE

Overview

While other parts of the world were experiencing unprecedented prosperity during the postclassical era, Europe's economy underwent a sharp constriction with the fall of the Roman Empire. Long-distance trade did not entirely disappear, significant developments took place in agricultural production, and there were brief periods of government consolidation; nevertheless, early medieval Europe was a world dominated by rural self-sufficiency and political decentralization. In spite of its seeming "backwardness" compared to the other great empires of the postclassical world, Europe was laying the foundation for the development of the powerful society that would emerge during the high middle ages. That foundation rested on

• Hard-won political order, restored out of disruption caused by the fall of the Roman Empire, centuries of destructive invasions, and dramatic depopulation. This order was based on a highly decentralized but flexible system that vested political, military, and judicial authority in local and regional rulers.
• A long, slow process of economic recovery based first on increased agricultural production within the rural manorial system to be followed by gradually increasing trade, industry, and commerce and the eventual reurbanization of Europe.
• The cultural unity provided by the Christian church based in Rome. During this period Roman Christianity provided the impetus for cultural continuity and unity in Western Europe. The office of the papacy and the monastic movement were two powerful institutions that helped to preserve Roman traditions and develop and consolidate a uniquely European culture.