te 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....
