The transition from Rome to the Early Middle Ages

Em estrangeiro:

The transition from Rome to the Early Middle Ages was not a sudden change, but occurred over time. It was not due solely or even primarily to attacking, warring hordes of barbarians, but driven by the decay of an extended empire, with citizens accustomed to living from the sweat of conquered slaves. The Romans attempted to prolong the Empire via inflation, price controls, work rules, and taxation. As the citizens could – and in order to survive – they left, withdrawing their consent. They found better prospects outside of the protection of the centralized state.

At the same time, individuals from the Germanic tribes were migrating closer to Roman territory, and even within it. Rome negotiated treaties with these tribes in an effort to maintain some control over the territory. Eventually, the decay of Rome overcame the value of the treaties.

Via a firm belief in private property and the role of the Church in a more voluntary form of organization, the roots of the Middle Ages were formed. The so-called apathy of the Merovingians was, in fact, the victory of a decentralized, voluntary society.

"The Church contributed in large measure to the rescue of town life by fitting her temporal government into the framework bequeathed her by the Roman Empire, and it will soon become evident that the cities survived by what amounted to a process of substitution. On rural life too, though for quite different reasons, her influence made itself felt, and in a manner no less unexpected.

The Church then became a great administrative body, with divisions based closely on those of the state…. The Church became a moral entity endowed with juridical power."

The wealthy donors previously had received from Rome, as part of the treaties established while Rome still had marginal power, vast swaths of land – land that proved too large to manage. It was from such sources that the donations were made. Often, the land was fallow or forests previously used for hunting. Credit is due the monks for turning such land into productive ground.

The author attributes this generosity to the guilt of the wealthy – a hope to buy salvation, to avoid eternal punishment. Whatever the reason, the payment was voluntary. “Thus the institution of monasticism acquired in less than two centuries a vast number of estates….” With this wealth, and with the infrastructure provided by the Church…

"…the bishops [took] on a host of varied responsibilities which in normal times would be assumed by the public services of the state…"

This included the building of aqueducts, assistance to the poor, and hospitality to travelers and the sick. Notably, the Church did not provide for a standing army, monopoly over coinage, or monopoly over law and justice.

"Religious and ecclesiastical activity saved the lives of a host of Gallo-Roman cities, the existence of which was threatened by Merovingian apathy…. The presence of a religious element ensured the survival of old urban centres threatened with slow decay, and even brought others into existence." Germanic Roots, Jonathan Goodwin, LRC