The Church's Influence On European Society During The Middle Ages

The fall of a single empire shook the world. The Roman Empire, more specifically the Western Europe Empire, unable to keep up with foreign threats, economic distress, and political instability, ended in 476 CE. The end of the Western Roman Empire signaled the start of the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages, also referred to as the “Dark Ages,” was a period in European history when the Church rose to power and the Crusades emerged. The impact of these events shaped the European society during the Medieval Times. To begin, after centuries, the Roman Church had significant political and economic authority in Europe. It was believed that because all people sinned, if one did not participate in the sacraments of the Church, that person would have eternal suffering. Having acquired such a vast amount of the population, the Church created their own set of laws, that governed aspects of life including marriage and wills. These laws, when broken, resulted in consequences, the most severe being death. To add, the Church was involved in political affairs as well. Many times, clergy were

These goods increased the trade in Europe. As the demands for luxuries were already present in Europe from the Byzantine empire, trade for such goods flourished. In efforts to acquire more goods from Jerusalem, nobles needed money to fund the crusaders’ journey to the Holy Land. Thus, an economic system was established, where peasants were due to pay rents in money rather than in grain or other goods. As a result, the method of bartering soon became unfavored. In the drawing, a peasant, using the established economic system, is shown paying the noble her house rent in cash. All in all, the Crusades had a significant economical impact on Europe, for an economic system was established consequently for their arrival