The Middle Ages in the European history

Many people refer to the Middle Ages in the history of Europe as a time of “intellectual stagnation,” while others believe that it was a time of Christendom. During this time, religion began to spread throughout all of Europe, with the Catholic Church continuing to be at the heart of these new developments. According to what will be revealed in this literary masterpiece, the church is considered to have been a significant factor in establishing the limitations on intellectual thought. The Mendicant Orders of the Franciscans, who made a vow to live in utter poverty and rely heavily on the unwavering will of their followers, serve as the foundation for the case. The Dark Ages fundamentally refers to the structural modifications that swept across Europe following the collapse of the Roman Empire. Following this fall, the political, social and economic orientation of this continent experienced tremendous changes in the socio-political landscapes with the church being viewed as a key influence in modern civilization. The church was known to offer such essential services such as schools and hospitals and, in fact, rose to replace the Roman Empire. It was viewed as the only unifying factor in Europe as the citizenry had lost much of their faith in the political outfits. The church, through some of its branches such as the Mendicants, had been regarded as the custodian of cultural influence and most cathedrals had iconic structures that largely contributed to this view.

It should be noted that during the fall of the Roman Empire, the church was seen as the tool to preserve the literacy of the European world; a reason why it had the audacity to replace the empire soon after it was dismantled. However, when scholars refer to this period as the ‘dark period’ in the European history, they fail to understand that the role played by the church (especially the Mendicant Orders) was massively significant. Many of the social institutions that remain iconic to date were established by the church to help promote civilization that swept the entire globe for millennia. Such social institutions as universities, churches, and schools have contributed largely to the so-called modern civilization the world enjoys today through transmission of knowledge as well as health care among other fundamental services. In fact, the term ‘university’ bears its origin to the Medieval Christians who were spearheaded by the Mendicant Orders among other small Christian groups in Europe. It was to be viewed as the ‘torch’, which was meant to ‘light’ the entire world; bearing in mind the fall of the Roman Empire was mainly a result of ignorance. This new translation brought a lot of unity in the entire Europe even as the church took control of major economic, social and political pillars of the continent; playing a pivotal role towards modern civilization.

The teaching of this group is believed to have strongly contributed to the change of mindset in many of Europe’s scholars, activists as well as philosophers. Many of the preaching were based on the Bible that was later transmitted to the daily affairs of the people living in Europe. For instance, the teaching of Jesus on the Good Samaritan was meant to show how equality is relevant for human coexistence, therefore, rubbing off the mindsets of the political class towards the ordinary citizens. The long-term preaching on Christianity and sexuality have helped save millions of lives not only during the “Dark Age’ but also in the current 21st century. The Mendicant Orders of the Franciscans spearheaded the fight against abuse human life through rituals such as sacrifices, slavery, and polygamy, among others. They openly condemned such vices as divorce, abortion, birth control mechanisms among other vices that had taken Europe by storm. They also fought hard to ensure equality was being practiced as discrimination against women and children was a century-long practice. This change of mindset led to the growth and expansion of activists who fought with the church to help bring a ‘new dawn’ to the entire European continent and the world at large. Women have been seen to play a pivotal role in the upbringing of families that later translate into societies; a move that was first realized after the Franciscans sensitized many of their followers on the tenets of a strong cohesive family. The church was, during this period, against vices such as oppression, colonization, human rights abuse, slavery among others; despite the criticisms labeled against them.

Concisely, the middle ages cannot be referred to as the ‘dark age’ in the history of Europe especially when the church through the Mendicant Orders is included. The definition could as well suit the period depending on the variable chosen; however, the Mendicant orders could not sit back and watch the atrocities, which the Roman Empire had initiated being meddled on the people. In fact, it had to rise to the occasion and replace the ‘mad and ruthless’ leadership and instead offer a more holistic and humane leadership to the Europeans. The reason why this paper refutes the claims to refer to this period as the dark ages in the European history. The fact the Franciscans ran their systems on a democratic basis made the whole of Europe ‘enjoy’ a period of political tranquility immediately after the fall of the Roman Empire. The entire church was seen as an advocate of peace, love and harmonious coexistence among the people; therefore, the Dark Age was meant to be the time before the collapse of the empire. The laws of the church were a single universal representation of the will of God to the people making the church as the single most powerful instrument in the new world. Additionally, the fact that equality started being realized in Europe, which had for a long time marginalized particular groups of people, was a major breakthrough on the road towards social, economic and political freedom.

To conclude, the spread of religion alongside education must have been the reason why many of the European became civilized before any part of the world and thus, this period cannot afford to be called a ‘Dark Age’ along this line. Many of these transformations, which were brought about by the church through its various branches, later became formidable and actualized in the other parts of the world making it easier for generations to live harmoniously. In all these new establishments, the Mendicant Orders of the Franciscans who had vowed to live and remain poor, are cited to have played a bigger role towards the seemingly ‘New World.’ Their locations within the European cities was a big advantage as this made it easier for them to reach out to many who had been disadvantaged by the fallen Roman Empire. Therefore, as we talk about the ‘Dark Age’ in the history of Europe, we need to consider the variable used to measure this aspect. When the argument lies in the church, it is a fact that this cannot be referred to as the dark period since a lot of transformations that came to existence were pegged on the church which had assumed leadership after the fall of the dictatorial regime.

Bibliography

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