After the fall of the Western Empire society had to adapt to a life without a singular unifying force. Although life did change drastically there were already systems in place to allow for successor kingdoms to work together. It is known that Germanic peoples had been neighbors with the Empire and in many cases in close contact with the Roman people, there were also instances where Germanic settlers or the Germanic foederati lived among the Roman population; from this many societies emerged as an amalgamation of both Roman and Germanic beliefs. In the “barbarian” successor kingdoms the Germanic peoples most often followed their own faith and beliefs which allowed for cooperation between different kingdoms without it being for the good of the Empire. This type of aid can be seen in Beowulf when Beowulf travels from Geats to Danes to aid in the removal of Grendel, in this section Hrothgar recounts
“Your father struck up the greatest of feuds, when he killed Heatholaf by his own hand… later I settled the feud with fee-money; I sent the Wylfings over the crest of the waves ancient treasures; he swore oaths to me”
From this we can see the reflection of how new kingdoms might have operated, in the form of oaths and debts; it is shown in the text that these could be repaid by helping out kingdoms in need when they have helped you in the past. We can also see that many ruling families had ties going back generations and these ties could often help kingdoms work together to defeat enemies as there is a mutual respect between these groups.
After the fall of the Western Empire there was no mandate for Christianity to be the official religion of these regions in the West, this meant that Christianity had to establish itself as a dominant religion. During this time church members made many crucial decisions in the way Christianity would be shown to the masses. One of these instances was the use of mosaics as a primary medium for Christian art; these mosaics were visibly different from the sculptures used by the followers of pagan faiths. They also served as a teaching tool for illiterate followers of the faith; showcasing biblical stories that they were unable to read themselves. Through mosaics Christians were able to spread the story of Christ to people without having to have someone physically there to recite the story from the Bible. In addition to the mosaics there were also many missionaries who brought Christianity to the pagan population of the early Middle Ages. These missionaries were able to bring Christianity to these remote places in Europe as the Church during this time was very decentralized and many decisions were left up to local bishops, this mean that all Christians were able to promote Christianity to the pagan population with the approval of their local bishop and did not have to wait for approval from the Pope. The decision to allow missionaries to speak on behalf of the Church and God meant that Christianity had the ability to spread further as missionaries were willing to travel and spread the word of God to all who did not believe.
Christianity had to make itself appealing to non-believers as many of Europe’s population at the fall of the Western Empire were pagan, they did this in a variety of ways. One such way was the use of old pagan temples, it was believed that by using pagan temples instead of destroying them to build Christian churches instead “they will be able to banish error from their hearts and be more ready to come to places they are familiar with” , this belief allowed for pagans to return to places that they are familiar with for worship which allowed for them to be more accepting of the new religion that is being proposed to them. Another big part of Christianity was the introduction of saints, people who were favoured by God. These people were often worshiped by the masses and were a way for non-believers or new converts to see the manifestation of God’s love in a person. Saints often had special abilities an example of which is Saint Genovefa who helped all people regardless of what they had done she was described as helping people “with prayer and the sign of the cross” by showing her help as coming from symbols of God (prayers and the cross) it showcases that God is an celestial being that people should follow as he is able to channel his power through others who are devoted to him.
The Church learned a great many things from its time within the Roman Empire one which it carried forward after the fall of the Western Empire was the belief that important information should be written and kept but this is not to be done by clergymen. This is shown in Sidonius’s letter to Leo in which he says
“we record the past without advantage and the present from imperfect knowledge; we
write what is untrue to our disgrace, and what is true at our peril… Historical writing,
then, is quite incompatible with our religious profession”
This belief that history is important but unfruitful work is carried on from the Roman Empire and used through the Church in the Middle Ages. By carrying this belief, the Church can appeal to new believers as they have historical text to refer to that is unbiased and still promotes the Church.
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