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The Roman Empire had been the authority in Europe for more than 400 years when its collapse in the west finally came about. As a result of this 400+ year span of time that Rome dominated the region, it has lasting effects on the peoples of Western Europe after its collapse. The ‘barbaric’ peoples of Europe, be it the Goths, the Visigoths, the Franks, or the Huns, or any more in a series of indigenous European peoples from the North of Rome, at some level filled the power void in the west after Rome’s collapse. For the years between the collapse of Rome and the rise of Charlemagne’s Holy Roman Empire, these barbaric peoples controlled Western Europe. The rise of Christian culture is taking place at the same time that Rome is declining. Whereas Rome was the thing that bound the peoples of Western Europe together during its rule, Christianity becomes the unifying element of Europe after Rome’s fall. A combination of the aforementioned three elements created what historians today call the Middle Ages. Rome can be classified as an empire in a stage of decline and then eventual collapse after the second century ACE. Rome experienced a civil war during the 3rd century and this nearly caused an internal collapse of the Roman Empire. It took a strong revivalist movement from internal Rome to bring about peace and restore order to the collapsing empire. As a result of this civil war and the reform needed to restore order to the Empire, Rome had undergone a series of changes that played a major role in the demise of the Western Empire. The first major change was the adoption of Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, which did not aid in the collapse of Rome. The second major change was a new pattern of government and new ways of economic life. The 5th century saw more radical change, which was met with barbarian invasions on Rome’s borders. Rome, as a result of these Barbarian invasions, finally collapsed in or around 476 ACE. Rome’s influence was still greatly felt by the peoples of Europe after its collapse. Rome was the first structured government ever to be put into place in what is present day Great Britain, France and Spain. Rome was the first organized form of high civilization for most all peoples of Western Europe. Rome is also responsible for the rise of Christianity, under the Emperors Diocletian and Constantine, and more so under Symmachus. Rome saw a decline in trade as the Western Empire neared its end and as a result of this decline in trade, the peasant peoples of the Empire became more dependent on what they could produce on their own; thus the rise of a rural based farming economy. Rome’s long drawn out collapse made people learn how to survive on what they, themselves, could produce, which, in turn, was what Western European peoples reverted to after the actual collapse of the Western Empire. The barbaric peoples of Europe invaded the Roman Empire and were the key physical factor in the collapse of the Empire. The largest problem that Rome had in surviving these barbarian attacks was that there were so many different barbaric peoples on the outskirts of the empire and these ‘barbarians’ were not regionalized in one part of the Empire but rather, they were spread all over the empire, Britain, Gaul, present day Germany, and Eurasia. Consequently, the Roman Legions were bound to be broken by the invaders. There were too many of them and too little army to go around the Empire. Throughout the invasions of the Barbarians, many new kinds of settlements arose in Roman lands. In Britain, for instance, the Angles and the Saxons drove out virtually all other inhabitants of the island and erased virtually all signs of Roman culture.1 The truth of the situation in regards to the barbarian invaders of Rome is that they had their own culture and their own civilization. The barbarians essentially crushed the Roman Empire and created their own regional societies. Barbaric culture, be it Goths, Vandals, Visigoths, Angles, Saxons, Huns, etc. had no dependence on Roman culture or society. They had a system that worked for them already in place. When Rome does fall though, regionalism in Europe takes place. Whereas the typical European was living under one banner, Rome, now lived under regional secular authority of whatever barbaric people had conquered their region. This regionalism remains the situation in Western Europe up until the Holy Roman Empire and then again when the Holy Roman Empire is broken down into many separate regions. Christian culture becomes the force that binds Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Christianity begins its escalation in European culture in the 5th century and its status increases throughout the medieval era. Christianity, simply put, becomes the tie that binds European culture from the fall of Rome into the medieval era. Christian culture becomes the one and only outlet for education in the post-Roman world. Monastic life sees a great increase because it provided some sense of structure to its members and the ability to be educated. Christianity also sees a rise in its power on another level of education. The only educated peoples were the Christians and so the only things being read and/or written were Christian in nature. It is a great way to become instantly influential in any culture, having your doctrines and beliefs being the only accepted thing and nobody to debate it. Education equaled power to the Christians. With the power of their education, nobody could effectively refute Christian ideology because they were the only educated and the only educators. Another reason Christianity was able to rise in power during this period leading up to what is considered the Middle Ages is that the Christians had the sense of mind to form ties with secular powers. The Christians put forth the extra effort to convert the barbarian hoards as a means of solidifying their claim in Western Europe. As a result of this association with the secular powers and Christianity being the only means of education in the western world at the time, Christianity became a very powerful influence in the lives of the people and shaped the development of Medieval Europe. The resultant society of the combination of these three elements is one that is extremely regional and pius. The Roman Empire’s lasting influence on Western Europe was that it provided the first structured government and led its people down the line towards a subsistence economy of farming what is to be lived on during its decline. This system of rural farming to survive remains in place throughout the medieval era until trade is reestablished during the late Middle Ages and the beginning of the Renaissance. The Barbarians, upon their seizure of control of what Rome was, regionalized Europe. Europe remained a regional society up until and even after the formation of modern nation states. Medieval society was very regionalized and virtually no contact or commerce existed between any village or town. Christianity became the one thing that every European had in common. Christianity exerted its influence throughout all of secular Europe. The combination of these three elements, remnants of Rome, ‘barbaric’ societies and the rise of Christian culture shaped and molded the Middle Ages in Europe. Bibliography: Word Count: 1272
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