History (western civilization) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

History (western civilization) - Essay Example Ancient civilization is built on the ruins of over ten thousand years of advanced cultures. Medieval era is the longest major period in the history of Europe. It set in from the 5th century through the 15th century. Civilization is taken to refer to the duration of time immediate subsequent to the Iron Age. It is also that period which witnessed the caving in of the renowned Western Roman Empire as well as the big European migration. It precedes the early modern era. It is overly complex and the developments that took place during these times form key elements that separate it from the classical civilization of Greece and Rome that it replaced and today’s world. Life during the medieval era was perceived to be ruder and primitive than that of periods of classical civilization. During the medieval era, the society was dominated by a militant, single exclusive religion, there was great difference given to authority and there was a decline of the centralized rule which led to the development of petty principalities. (histclo.com, 2010) POLITICAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS OVER THE PERIOD OF ANCIENT AS WELL AS MEDIEVAL TIMES The medieval as well as the ancient eras are taken to mean not only a period of time but also a situation of consciousness; that is, a cultural situation of humans. Three preeminent cultural influences were experienced in western civilization between BC 3250 and AD 1500. The early civilization of imperial Rome left traces of a cultural impact that was proven very powerful. The Germanic tribes also left a major cultural imprint forming the hallmarks of western civilization. The church-The coming of the religion of Christianity The historical Rome Empire is regarded the core of the Christian Church founding. During the reigns of emperors, Christians were constantly suppressed. The old fathers of the church carried out their operations in this chaotic environment. With the Constantine’s arrival, the church started being the official r eligion practiced in that empire. The church, being the official religion, started suppressing other rival creeds. It brought about new ethical concepts which resulted into moral responsibilities for individuals which were previously missing. The worldliness of pagan culture was strongly rejected by the church’s asceticism because of the influence the church got from the empire. Most of the aspects of the church’s organization were a mirror to the empire’s organization. The setting of Christian dioceses clearly represented the political structure of the empire. Important local officials found it necessary to have powerhouses in their territories. The winning barbarian side took over Christianity which happened apparently be a religion losers’ empire. This happened as on of the most remarkable of the triumphs by Christianity. Leaders were converted to Christianity through persuasion in the form of princely fiat, election, shamanistic vision and missionary zeal. Only a few Europeans were Christianized by conquest. Many features of the church differed from those of the ancient church. The cult of saints and the confessions were some of the major differences. Previously, confessions were done by the most deeply pious and it had the aspect of tarriffed penances based on penitentials. The survival of medieval penitential’s provided a wealthy source of information to socialists concerning the intimates