What time period extended a thousand years, and created such legacies as Camelot, chivalry, and the Gothic style of architecture (Corbishley 34-35)? The answer, of course, would be the Middle Ages, which spanned from the fall of the Roman Empire in 476 to the exploration of the New World in the 1500’s (Hartman 15). In these times, Europe went from the urbanized, structured Roman government to the loose ties of the feudal system, which incorporated kings, knights, lords, and peasants. Many of the advantages a centralized government had brought Rome was lost, and the many breakthroughs in economy, education, science, and politics that had been made were lost (Briquebec 10). The Middle Ages was a time of economic and creative standstill, held captive to a system of feudalism that allowed little progress to be made.

The transformation of life from urbanized Rome to the farming communities that trademarked medieval life did not occur instantly (Corbishley 14). For centuries, Rome had lived in fear of invasion from the numerous barbaric tribes that wanted land (Corbishley 15). When Emperor Romulus Augustulus lost power to a king of a German tribe, the Roman Empire

The feudal system that developed through trusts and military allegiances served as a temporary and somewhat archaic way for Europe to recover from the fall of the Roman Empire. These times of little progress were harsh, dreary, and unpleasant, but painstakingly small increments bridged the gap from ancient to modern. People saw no need to improve their lives, further slowing progress. Centuries passed with little change, as opposed to our times today of constant change and new ideas. The system of feudalism kept life moderate and normal, and people were fairly content with things and saw no real need to question it. Only over the thousand-year time period could very subtle recovery in economy and creativity produce a Europe that was ready to explore the world and modernize to what we know today.

The church also provided the only unifying cause in the Middle Ages- the praise of Jesus Christ (Hartman 109). The great power of the church, and the people’s blind ambition of a good post-worldly life were perfectly illustrated by the Crusades for the Holy Land that began in 1095 (Briquebec 26). The Crusades offered salvation for those who fought for the cause of holiness, and it served to be the sole uniting force in a chaotic Europe (Hartman 152). Through promises of salvation and words of hope, the Church gained immense power in Europe during the first millennium AD, and took a great role even in the feudal system of controlling land (Hartman 113).

While the warring fief-holders and nobility fought for power, the remaining commoners had little to no political power, and were forced to do the physical work (Gies 128). As Hartman says, “The nobles did no useful work. They did not cultivate the fields, and they made nothing that they needed. They spent their time, as we have seen, in fighting, feasting, jousting, and in other ways considered fitting the life of a gentleman” (87). On the manors, the peasants were forced to farm the miles of fields that surrounded the luxurious castles of the rich-blooded (Hartman 87). The peasants received only a small amount of farmland on which to grow food for their families and keep whatever farm animals they could aff

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