Defining the Changes in the Middle Ages - Term Paper Example

 «Defining the Changes in the Middle Ages» The rivalry between the Papacy and the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages created fluctuations in society and the expectations that were surrounding the culture, economy and political concepts. The rivalry that was created was significant in creating new systems and in altering the expectations within society. The demands of the rivalry transformed powers that were a part of the Holy Roman Empire and transferred the power to the Papacy. From the power shift, a new system and set of regulations that were a component of society and which created new reforms by the 16th century. The result was a forced change in society, culture, economy and politics, all which transformed society during the Middle Ages. The loss of power from the Roman Empire and the forced occupation by the Papacy is one that moved outside of religious beliefs and instead associated with a monopoly that dominated over Europe and transformed the land into modern functions and expectations within society. The falling of the Roman Empire was the first noted change, which began in the 5th century. This led to the Middle Ages, also which is referred to as the Dark Ages. During this time, there were boundaries and separations which began to occur within society, specifically in areas of religion, politics and culture. The alteration which occurred was known to be a link between the ancient world of the Romans and the new age which was based on Christianity and new political governance. The resistance of the ancient beliefs and the push into modernism created the main referral to the Dark Ages as a quest for power and accepting new components to society built levels of resistance and acceptance. At the same time, it created a new formation within culture and society, specifically by blending various cultures. “The Middle Ages of Europe were a continuation and formation. They were a continuation of old Rome in race, language, institutions, law, literature, the arts. They were also a continuation of cultures independent of Rome” (Bishop, 7, 2001). The changes that were occurring in society then were met with both ancient concepts of Rome as well as the newer aspects of society that were disconnected from the Roman Empire. These two types of cultures created conflict as well as a reformation of culture within Europe through the Middle Ages. The specific cultures which were affected throughout the Middle Ages began with the Holy Roman Empire and the division of land as the Romans fell from power. However, the transition involved several cultures which began to create rivalries to take the power from the Romans. This began in the 8th century as bishops of Rome created a holy liturgy and appointed a station for Christianity. The papalism which was defined during this time showed a new sense of power that was developed from Catholic belief while using both religion and society to create a bridge between the Roman Empire and the new terms of Christianity. More important, the doctrine that was created was a transition from the ancient beliefs where religion was a part of everyday life and didn’t have a distinguished movement of power. In ancient Rome, religion was not distinguished from the state; however, having a Christian priest broke the traditions of ancient times. This began the resistance of cultures and began to work with changes in both religion and society in Rome (Partner, 2, 1992). The rivalry which began between the Papacy and Holy Roman Empire was then linked to the change in structure and function in both religion and in society. When the Papacy grew into a sense of power in the 8th century, it began to change the political realm as well as the religious beliefs in Rome. The first way in which this began to occur was through the separation of politics from religion as well as the interventions which began to take place from the Pope in relation to politics. The Papacy became an advisor to the political realm; however, there was a separation of the holy worship and the political movements. This formed a sense of power that was outside of the Holy Roman Empire, specifically by allowing the significant changes to be supported by religion while the other political decisions were separate from religion. There were several instances where the power of the Papacy was used in politics specifically to help in waging wars and to change the political decisions for the future. For instance, the Crusades and Holy Wars of the 11th century were done with the assistance of Pope Urban II as he called it a Holy War and blessed the warriors that defended the nation. However, this was done specifically because the church was defending land which they believed belonged to the Papacy. Declaring a Holy War and following this with a sense of power over the land then created a division between the Holy Roman Empire that had been on the land before and the Papacy that created a rivalry by declaring the land as belonging to the church (Contamine, 279, 1986). The rivalry that was created was one that allowed gaining of power in two ways. The first was by warriors beginning to believe in the church and desiring to have the blessings from the Pope. The second was the dominance over the land and the ability to defeat the Holy Roman Empire, which created a belief among society and culture that the Christian church was a dominant and universally accepted religion. The political rivalries which began created boundaries between the ancient Roman Empire and the push toward Christianity that occurred with the transitions of the Middle Ages. The political rivalries which continued in this respect created more divisions between the Roman Empire and the Papacy. As this continued, legalities, regulations and political divisions began to form and transition the old Roman Empire into a different state. As the ancient beliefs of the Holy Roman Empire tried to maintain the power and the implications of their land and politics, it pushed the Papacy into the creation of new regulations, policies and laws that were led by both religion and politics. The Crusades was the defining point of this and was followed by movements of power that declared certain political wars as holy, all which led to more power that was held by the Papacy. It was the events from the 8th century and until the 16th century that led the political empire into acceptance of Christianity and Papacy, while causing the Holy Roman Empire to lose the powers which were associated with the ancient politics of Rome (Matthew, 363, 1992). The powers that were a part of the Papacy were also linked specifically to the change in politics from the European powers. Several empires were struggling for power but were more interested in the international economy and the exchange of goods. This interest stopped them from intervening with wars, rivalries and other aspects of politics that would typically lead to power and rule. The powers in politics were more interested in were executed specifically with the ideology of taking more land within certain empires while continuing with the international exchange and development for economics. The two agendas which were in politics limited the amount of power that was exercised from the changes in Rome. The result was jurisdictions which were taken over by the Papacy. As the Papacy continued to express political power, were distinct changes in the development of the empire as well as a change from the religious politics from one which was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire to one which exercised separate political power over the empires which were currently in reign (Krey, 1992). The lack of intervention from other political powers then began to change the way in which the rule was incorporated over the land as well as how wars and other rivalries were created through the empire. Cultural and Religious Changes in the Middle Ages The rivalry which was created politically from the rise to power of the Papacy and through the Crusades was followed with cultural and religious implications. As the political powers began to change through the rivalries, many in society began to change the concepts of culture and religious values that were practiced. The concept of transition at this level was followed by religious changes that began to affect what was valued. The rise of the Papacy took the ancient beliefs of Rome and created a stigma surrounding it that was based on a sense of damnation. Those which continued to believe in the ancient traditions were condemned and marginalized within society specifically because of the questions of how this affected religion and closeness to God. Others that were within society grew in belief that conformity to the Christian religion would also create a stronger connection to God, while staying outside of this would cause condemnation. The Papacy created specific powers that were based on a monopoly of having a close tie to God. Others which were in society then began to look at the Papacy as one which held ultimate power. Changes in culture, such as beliefs, religious ceremonies, festivals, marriage and family life changed from the Roman ancient beliefs into the cultural aspects that were a part of the Papacy. This began specifically after the Crusades with the ideology that the winning of the war led to an ultimate sense of power while those outside of this belief would be led into damnation (Richards, 1, 1994). The authority which was taken through the Papacy not only began to change the beliefs of several because of the powers which were created. Civilization and culture began to be influenced by the sense of power and consent that was expected. The 8th century saw slight alterations in the amount of power from the Holy Roman Empire and Papacy. However, by the 11th century and the end of the Crusades, there was a sense of dominance by the church and distinct marginalization within society. The concept of secular and sacred rule was combined with a sense of power, all which led into the culture conforming to the newer religious aspects within society. “Rulers were still obliged to protect and support the Church within their lands; in return, the higher clergy confirmed and sanctified their authority. Both churchmen and laymen attached great importance to the elevation of secular power into something holier and greater than mere rule by brute force or even by consent” (Holmes, 176, 2001). The changes which were made first politically then through the social and cultural aspects forced many to conform to the power of the church. The secular began to mix with the sacred by causing those who still believed in the Holy Roman Empire and ancient times to conform to the modern ways of the Christian church. As the Papacy grew in power, specifically until the 16th century, was a transformation from the older cultures of Rome and into the expectations of the Christian lifestyle and beliefs which were taken by a sense of power from the Papacy. Significance of the Rivalry of the Middle Ages The transformation which began in the Middle Ages was one which redefined the ancient structure of the land into a modern era that was led by the Papacy. The rivalries that occurred between the Holy Roman Empire and the Papacy led into a change of power between the political and cultural realms. By the end of the Middle Ages, the power caused a transformation within society, specifically where it was expected that individuals abide by the laws of the church and the modern way of living. The law, legal concepts and the expectations with lifestyle were all transformed through the rivalries. As the Holy Roman Empire continued to lose in the battle of religious belief, was also a loss of power that was given to the Papacy and which forced the transition into the Christian held empire of Rome (Kern, Chrimes, 2005). The division of unity between the two empires, movement into the Crusades and the forced dominance of power from the Pope not only were significant with the transformation that it created within the Roman Empire. Law, art and science also became affected by the changes in power and the expectations in society. The change in society led to an acceptance of ideologies which were specifically linked to the church. Instead of reflections of expression in science and the arts that was based on ancient traditions and the Holy Roman Empire, there was an alteration into the newer beliefs that the Papacy was divine and holy. This began to transform the cultural values and society, while creating a different political understanding of rulers because of the powers which were created. “In theory, the temporal power of the Holy Empire was universal, while the spiritual power of the Pope remained unique, unquestioned and also universal…. From the 15th century on, however, the political power and warlike force of politicians, permanently aspiring to the Imperial Catholic crown, empowered the Holy Emperor with respectability and authority” (Toscano, Filho, 960, 1996). Even though there was still some belief in the Holy Empire, there was also acceptance that the power of the Papacy had authority over the Holy Emperor. This led into an alteration of political powers as well as an acceptance of the Christian belief as the main authority and power. As those in the land were converted to this belief, there was the ability to create a change in religion, belief, culture, societal acceptance and political laws. Another aspect that was transformed with the rivalry between the Roman Holy Empire and the papacy was based on the international developments and relations that took place during the transformation. The economics from the past were based on international exchange and the Roman Empire as a main hub for the interchange. The economics of the land prospered and had a different influence over the land. When the transformation occurred, the economics also changed, specifically because of the continuous need to open the relations with the other countries as well as the changes in power from the Papacy. As the rivalry continued, the economic shift also moved to the Papacy. State formation and new rules for economics were formed. The main consideration was to create boundaries and marginalization between the different areas. The power and meaning of economics transformed into one which was divided by territories and which had a closed component to the economics which were a part of the land. By doing this, there was the ability to create a sense of superiority over the economic rule of the land while showing that the main powers were in the hand of the Papacy. The change in economics which led to boundaries and shifts in the land were furthered by interdependencies which were broken creating the economic divisions to allow wealth into the hands of the Papacy while others outside of this division were led away from economic growth (Bax, 1, 1987). The economic growth was further counteracted with the monopoly that the Papacy began to create as a result of the changes from the rivalry. As the Papacy gained power of the Holy Roman Empire, there was the ability to develop different focuses that allowed dominance over various sectors of life. Three areas of rule and power resulted from the rivalries, including the Eastern Schism, Great Papal Schism and Protestant Reformation. These three events were important as they led to the complete downfall of the Holy Roman Empire and forced society and culture to turn to the Papacy as the main authority and power. As the land was further marginalized and divided, a monopoly market was able to take effect. The Papacy first divided each region then conquered each section, all which resulted in the loss of ancient traditions and the Holy Roman Empire. “Following the fall of Rome, political entities aligned themselves with the Roman Catholic Church in exchange for a license to promote the Christian brand name. The Roman Church was the franchisor; the secular leaders were the franchisees. The secular leaders were able through the coercive power of government to enforce a monopoly in the supply of this franchised religious product” (Terkun, 3, 2003). The concept of the monopoly that was created led to the complete transformation not only of Rome, but also of Europe. As the land was divided and conquered and as secular leaders enhanced the transformation of society, culture and economics, was also a complete alteration in society. The loss of the ancient concepts of the Holy Roman Empire then led into modernized beliefs and lifestyles that were a part of the ways of living and the expectations not only within Europe but also which continues to affect the world internationally. Conclusion The end aspect of the transformation was one which created a monopoly through religious, cultural, social, economic and political powers. The rivalry continued to cause the Holy Roman Empire to lose power until the ancient beliefs and functions were completely lost. At the same time, the Papacy was able to come into a universal power that dominated over Europe and the different lands that were marginalized through the economic and political rule. The power was then able to turn into a monopoly. By the end of the 15th century, the Roman Church was able to dominate and control over the land. The opportunistic behaviour that had been used before this time is what led to the overall change in society and created a different sense of power to lead into modern acceptance of specific traditions and ways of power. The change in society during this time created a loss of power in the Holy Roman Empire and in return transformed the main way in which politics, economics and society functioned and continues to function with relations throughout Europe. References Bax, Mart. (1987). “Religious Regimes and State Formation: Towards a Research Perspective.” Anthropological Quarterly (60), (1). Bishop, Morris. (2001). The Middle Ages. New York: Mariner Books. Contamine, Philippe. (1986). War in the Middle Ages. Massachusetts: Blackwell Publishers. Holmes, George. (2001). The Oxford History of Medieval Europe. New York: Oxford University Press. Kern, Fritz, SB Chrimes. (2005). Kingship and Law in the Middle Ages: Studies. New Jersey: the Lawbook Exchange. Krey, August. (1992). “The International State of the Middle Ages: Some Reasons for Its Failure.” The American Historical Review (28), (1). Matthew, DJA. (1992). “Reflections on the Medieval Roman Empire.” History (77), (251). Partner, Peter. (1992). The Land of Saint Peter: the Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance. California: University of California Press. Richards, J. (1994). Sex, Dissidence and Damnation: Minority Groups in the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge. Terkun, Kristina. (2003). “Franchise Conflict: The Tide of Antipopes in the Aftermath of the Eastern Schism.” Religious Economics. Toscano, Marcilio, Franca Filho. (1996). “Westphalia: a Paradigm? A Dialogue Between Law, Art and Philosophy of Science.” German Law Journal (8), (10). Read More