The Emergence of Europe
The Emergence of Europe In the Early Middle Ages:
The Germanic Tribes, the Roman Legacy, and the Christian Church
Marina Lundstrom
History 114 – Western Civilization & The World I
Due: November 8, 2014
After the fall of the Roman Empire around the fifth century, it took “hundreds of years” for the western part of Europe “to establish a new society.”1 The emergence of this new European civilization during a period known as the Early Middle Ages, included three major components: the Germanic tribes, the bequest of the Romans, and the legislation of the Christian Church. Although these three chief elements contributed to the new medieval empire in the west, the Germanic tribes devastated the seized Roman territory more than providing any kind of economical, legal, or political stability.2 The Roman legacy struggled to survive even as Germanic Europe attempted to rebuild civilization by merging Roman customs with their own “incoherent jumble of laws and customs, difficult to adjust to each other and hard to understand.”3 In the midst of this disorganization, the Christian Church made the most helpful contribution to this new medieval empire— the development of a new government and the monastic movement.4
In search of larger territories for their overpopulated tribes, the restless Germans struggled to take possession of the Roman Empire near the Mediterranean. While their invasions persisted with impelling forces, these violent endeavors to take over the land were futile. It was until the Germans’ slow infiltration of the Roman Empire that the tribes were able to invade the region. An example of one of these infiltration strategies was through Julius Caesar’s Gallic campaign to invade Gaul:
It was the beginning of the age of conquest, but the empire was already largely German. Julius Caesar had begun the practice of enlisting German auxiliaries in the Roman armies, and, although the practice had grown very slowly at first, in the later
The Germanic Tribes, the Roman Legacy, and the Christian Church
Marina Lundstrom
History 114 – Western Civilization & The World I
Due: November 8, 2014
After the fall of the Roman Empire around the fifth century, it took “hundreds of years” for the western part of Europe “to establish a new society.”1 The emergence of this new European civilization during a period known as the Early Middle Ages, included three major components: the Germanic tribes, the bequest of the Romans, and the legislation of the Christian Church. Although these three chief elements contributed to the new medieval empire in the west, the Germanic tribes devastated the seized Roman territory more than providing any kind of economical, legal, or political stability.2 The Roman legacy struggled to survive even as Germanic Europe attempted to rebuild civilization by merging Roman customs with their own “incoherent jumble of laws and customs, difficult to adjust to each other and hard to understand.”3 In the midst of this disorganization, the Christian Church made the most helpful contribution to this new medieval empire— the development of a new government and the monastic movement.4
In search of larger territories for their overpopulated tribes, the restless Germans struggled to take possession of the Roman Empire near the Mediterranean. While their invasions persisted with impelling forces, these violent endeavors to take over the land were futile. It was until the Germans’ slow infiltration of the Roman Empire that the tribes were able to invade the region. An example of one of these infiltration strategies was through Julius Caesar’s Gallic campaign to invade Gaul:
It was the beginning of the age of conquest, but the empire was already largely German. Julius Caesar had begun the practice of enlisting German auxiliaries in the Roman armies, and, although the practice had grown very slowly at first, in the later
Bibliography: Adams, George Burton. Civilization During the Middle Ages. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922. Beck, Roger B. et al. World History: Patterns of Interaction. Evanston: McDougal Littell, 2005. Cantor, Norman F. The Civilization of the Middle Ages. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1993. ——. The Meaning of the Middle Ages: A Sociological and Cultural History. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, Inc., 1973. Duiker, William J., and Jackson J. Spielvogel. The Essential World History, Volume I: To 1800. 7th ed. Vol. 1. Boston: Wadsworth, 2013. Hoyt, Robert S. Europe In The Middle Ages. 2nd ed. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966. Le Goff, Jacques. Medieval Civilization. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1990. Southern, R. W. The Making of the Middle Ages. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.