Monarchy of the Middle Ages - Essay Example

?Part One: Monarchy of the Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages ranged from 500 to 1000 CE and began with the collapse of the Roman Empire. The period was also known as the ‘Dark Ages’, a reference to the relatively little liberty that citizens had, and the low amount of cultural growth that occurred through this time. During this time, invasion by foreigners was common, and one especially strong example of this was that of the Germanic tribes. In Western Europe, the warring Germanic tribes fought for possession of territory and power, while in the East a semblance of the Roman Empire remained, known as Byzantine to historians, but with many strong similarities to the empire. At this point leadership followed the Roman standard of having an Emperor, who took power through being named as successor or through overthrowing the previous successor. At the start of the early middle ages, Justinian I (who ruled from 527-565) was able to restore some of the western territories to the empire, however most remained under Germanic control. The Macedonian dynasty rose to power in 867, cementing the influence of what remained of the Roman Empire1. Those in the West were considered to be barbarians, and any advances that they made were scorned or ignored. The Germanic monarchy in the West was formed from the leaders of tribes and this was often known as the Barbaric Monarchy. Unlike in the East, there was no single leader; instead there were multiple kings, each of whom had to follow three functions. These were: to act as a leader at the time of warfare, as a judge during assemblies and as a priest when sacrifice was needed. Unlike the system in Eastern Europe, under Germanic monarchy, all sons had equal right to rule. This often resulted in co-rulership of the tribes. Under Germanic monarchy, there were three levels, similar to the class system present in the Roman Empire; these were the king, the nobility and the free man2. The Late Middle Ages (c. 1300-1500 CE) were differentiated by a strong advancement in the level of knowledge and cultural attainment that were obtained. In addition, towns were becoming established as self-sustaining entities that were distinct from one another. Social unrest was prevalent with much of the population being lost through plagues and famines. The influence of monarchs and ruling powers over their citizens was substantially decreased as the consequent of the development of state laws3. These laws were designed to ease the growing civil unrest by providing civilians with reassurance, and by the creation of a system that was distinct from the whims and desires of the monarch. Nevertheless, the monarch remained the predominant power within the Late Middle Ages, determining which laws were established and which were not. Consequently, the Late Middle Ages differed from the Early Middle Ages through the development of more consolidated monarchies and increases in the rights of citizens. The creation of state laws allowed for the application of justice that was relevant to the case in question. Part Two: The Role of Religion on Western Civilization Religious activities have had a significant impact on the formation and development of the Western civilization between the years of 1050 and 1690 CE. One source of this influence was the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church was not the only strong religious influence of the Middle Ages, another was Judaism and Christianity in general as well as the Protestant religion. In 1054, an event known as the East-West Schism saw the division of the roman church into two divisions, the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church. This was the first development of the Catholic Church as its own entity. The Catholic Church exerted powerful influence on the lives of citizens determining many of the ways in which they interacted and what they could and could not do. An example of this is contraception. Contraception was considered immoral under the Catholic religion, and consequently no member was allowed to use any method of birth control. The result was the large families commonly associated with Catholics, which in turn meant that many Catholic families were poor. The role of the church was not limited to religious activities, but was also a major source for schooling and social activities, such as medical care. Some of the changes that are attributed to the Catholic Church include the termination of slavery, polygamy and infanticide as well as the use of human sacrifices in rituals. A second religion that played a major role in the development of Western civilization and culture was Judaism. Judaism is a branch of Christianity and shares many values with the Catholic Church and other denominations based on Christianity. In the Early Middle Ages, this was one of the dominant religious groups in Europe, although its prevalence decreased as time progressed. Christianity has influenced the values, beliefs and institutions of Western society throughout the Middle Ages and into the present day. The Protestant religion became the official religion of England during the time of King Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547 CE). Under Henry VIII’s rule, the Church of England split from the Roman Catholic Church and instigated the King as the Head of the Church of England. One of the significant consequences of this move was the legalization of divorce4. Divorce is a significant part of Western society, and the ability to end a marriage due to irresolvable differences has lead to the dissolution of many marriages, many broken families, and children raised with only one parent. Religion has had a significant role in the development of Western Civilization because of how closely it is connected to the head of state, and the role, which it plays in the values and morals of citizens. Kings often used religion as a method of controlling the populace, and religion was responsible for many institutions, such as the stigma attached to the use of contraception and the ability to both marry and divorce. Part Three: Thomas More’s Utopia and the Renaissance view The Renaissance movement began in the 14th century and concluded in the 17th. It was a cultural movement that resulted in significant changes in opinions and ideals, as well as the view of the government, citizenship and society. Thomas More’s Utopia5 is a highly influential book that told of a fictional island known as Utopia and the social, cultural, religious and political customs that were associated with the island. The society described was considered to be impeccable and unreachable in nature, hence the use of the word Utopia in modern language to mean paradise. The culture described for Utopia was substantially different from that which was present in the real world during the 1500s, yet it shared many aspects of the Renaissance view. One aspect of the perfect world that More described was the prevalence of private property. The view matches one that is present within the Renaissance view of society, that in order for society to function in an ideal manner, there must be the ability for individuals to own property. The society that More describes is one of Communist democracy. Under this society, there is no aristocracy and no ruling elite, rather people are equal. The Renaissance was a time of significant political and social upheaval and the need to have a monarchy and a ruling elite was being questioned. In Utopia More presents a view of God that was common in the Renaissance era. He considers that God designed the soul and that the soul of a human is immortal. Furthermore, God will give rewards towards people who behave in a good manner or have good virtues, and conversely punish those with bad behavior or virtues. However, despite this, there are a number of religions considered in the book. More suggests that it is important for people of different religions to get along with one another and peacefully coexist. In the Utopian society, greed is considered to be a negative trait, although wealth itself is not. For example, items that are made of gold include chamber pots and chains for slaves. More explains that this is to stop people from idolizing gold. Likewise children wear jewelry, but they grow out of this practice as they age. The views that Thomas More presents in his novel, are philosophical in nature rather than practical. It is not possible for a society to exist in the way that More describes it, yet his choice of names indicates that he was aware of this. Utopia translates literally as ‘no place’, and there are other areas in the book that have similar translations, for example Polyleritae translates to ‘much nonsense’, the river Anydrus meaning ‘no water’ and the surname of one of the key characters Raphael Hythlodaeus meaning ‘disperse of nonsense. These definitions give an indication that the work is ultimately meaningless; the society that is being described could never be reached. Nevertheless, the political and cultural ideas that he presents in his work are closely aligned with that of Renaissance Cultural Revolution. References Hunt, Lynn, et al. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures: Peoples and Cultures. (Boston: Bedford, 2005). Vol. I. 3rd ed. Lualdi, Katherine. Sources of the Making of the West, Peoples and Cultures. (Boston: Bedford, 2005), Vol. I. 3rd ed. More, T. Utopia. (Dublin, 1516). Plato. The Republic. (Harvard University press, 1937). Read More