Download THE IMPACT OF THE FALL OF ROME ON WESTERN EUROPE

*CLASS SET*
THE IMPACT OF THE FALL OF ROME ON WESTERN EUROPE
 After the Huns were turned back from China at the Great Wall, they turned westward
toward Russia and Europe.
 The Huns, combined with the Goths (from Germany) united to eventually bring down
the fall of Rome
 Loyalty to public government and written law that had unified Roman society broke
apart. Family ties and personal loyalty, rather than citizenship in a public
government/state held society together.
 Germanic peoples lived in small communities that were governed by unwritten rules
and traditions.
THE EFFECT OF INVASIONS:
 Disruption of trade- merchants faced frequent invasions, their businesses collapsed and
Europe’s cities were destroyed and abandoned as economic and political centers
 Population shifts- the population of Western Europe became more rural (country) as
Roman centers of trade collapsed. Nobles (those with money) retreated to rural areas and
the cities were left without strong leadership. Other city dwellers moved to rural areas to
grow their own food.
 Constant perils of dangerous animals, kidnappers, and every day violence
 Plagues and other diseases were recurring
 Breakdown of infrastructure- roads, drainage systems etc. and loss of the knowledge of
bricklaying
THE DECLINE OF LEARNING:
 Though Germanic invaders had a rich oral tradition of songs and legends, they could not
read or write
 Intellectual life vanished from Europe
 Romans became less literate as they moved to rural areas
 Few people except priests and other church officials could read and literacy was scorned.
 Knowledge of Greek was almost lost
 As German people mixed with the Roman population, Latin began to change until it was no
longer understood from region to region- this development of various languages added to
the break-up of the once unified Roman Empire
CHRISTINAITY AS A SOCIAL AND POLITICAL UNIFYING FORCE IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE
 The Church was an institution that survived the fall of Rome and helped carry on the
Roman tradition.
 During the time of political chaos, the Church provided order and security
 The conversion of military leaders and the work of missionaries and other church
leaders helped to expand Christianity
 The leader of the Franks, a Germanic people, Clovis helped to convert warriors to
Christianity after asking the Christian god for help. This alliance between Clovis’s
Frankish kingdom and the Church marked the start of a partnership between the two
powerful forces.
 The Church in Rome supported Christian military campaigns against other Germanic
peoples.
ROLE OF MONASTERIES
 To adapt to rural conditions, the Church built religious communities called monasteries
where Christian men called monks gave up their private possessions and devoted their
lives to serving god.
 Women who followed this way of life were called nuns and lived in convents.
 In order to maintain the message of the Bible monks opened schools, maintained
libraries, and copied books.
 Monasteries therefore became Europe’s best educated communities, preserving the
Latin language.
POLITICAL AND SOCIAL UNIFICATION OF THE CHURCH AND GERMANIC TRIBES
 At the Battle of Tours the Christian Franks (Germanic people) defeated Muslim raiders
from Spain. If the Muslims had won, Western Europe might have become part of the
Roman Empire.
 Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish King Charlemagne “Holy Roman Emperor” which
signaled the joining (unification) of Germanic power and the Church.
 Charlemagne conquered lands to both the south and east, spreading Christianity.
 He reunited Western Europe under the Church and his own rule.