Dbq Essay On The Middle Ages

The legacy of the Middle Ages, while being debatable, is most closely tied to that of an “Age of Faith” due to the Roman Catholic Church’s power over most aspects of medieval culture. From the 5th to the 15th century, Christianity reigned over any other structures that had power over the Medieval Era, allowing the church to have the most lasting impact on the age and most other time periods that followed. The church was able to outlast any dark or golden age, overpower the feudal system, and gain the complete and utter faith of most people in Europe, giving the age its ultimate title as one of faith.

Although documents 5 and 6 do show how the Middle Ages influenced great works of art and literature, the sources together prove that the time period can be defined neither as a Golden Age nor a Dark Age. Document 6, which preaches the “memories and achievements that (the age) has
The description of the government’s collapse in document 1 was the first evidence of this point. Document 4 shows the authority that the Church believed it had over military when it says “If... any castle is besieged during these (holy) days... the besiegers shall cease from attack.” Document 9 also says that while the church has rule over most of Europe, the power of the political leaders is only local. It continues to say that the church “often used its power to influence kings to do as it wanted,” and that the church (not the government) was the “single, largest unifying structure in medieval Europe.” Lastly, according to Document 7, when new cities began to develop, people began to “abandon their old roles of military headquarters and administrative centers.” While this happened, the church continued its reign as most powerful structure since the people continued to build churches within their