The two sides of the Middle Ages in Europe (Part I)

It would be difficult to find period in human history provoking greater criticism than the Middle Ages themselves. They are mostly referred to as a time when dark clouds shrouded the sky above mankind and forced him to live in humbleness and acceptance of what he already has, leaving the desire for scientific research, adventurous exploration and philosophical questioning of his surroundings beyond his grasp.

Instead of repeating how awful it was to live during the Middle Ages, let’s take a look at the bright side: while the Western civilization’s development was quite feeble, some other nations in the East of Europe managed to thrive throughout these troubled times.

The fall of the Roman Empire

Roughly speaking, the Middle Ages started with the decline of the Roman Empire, which had been previously split into two separate states. Historians try to convince us this happened due to some political and religious reasons but frankly, it happened thanks to the insatiable human desire for seizing power. Rather than being mutual partners, the Western Roman Empire and Byzantium soon became rivals trying to establish their own spheres of influence, much like the Soviet Union and the West did after the end of WWII.

Gradually, Rome became weaker than ever and it was eventually destroyed by the “barbarian” invasions of the Huns (though Rome and Constantinople developed great civilizations, they proved to be quite ignorant when referring to the outsiders as mere “barbarians”). After the last Roman Emperor was dethroned in 476 AD, the political situation in the West became complex, if not chaotic. Several “independent” states popped out in present-day Italy and Spain, while in the North Frankish and Germanic tribes were more than happy to feed on the territories left behind by Rome.

Not only did the fall of the Roman Empire introduce major political changes, but it also led to a continuous adjustment of the values of Western society. The infiltrating “barbarians” started to blend in the society, bringing their own traditions and set of values. With time, the Latin language evolved into several separate languages and people eventually abandoned the classics of Latin literature. People became more interested in religious rather than secular affairs and the Catholic Church soon started to interfere into political affairs rather than dealing with faith-related matters only.

What it was like in the East

While the Pope was busy with organizing several coup d’états and telling the rulers of Western states how to their job, the Orthodox Church was in a completely different position. In the Byzantine Empire it was used as an instrument for conducting the state’s foreign policy, while in the Bulgarian Empire it helped for the developing and sustaining the national identity.

 











The Orthodox Church did not meddle in worldly affairs
 
The Byzantine Empire got its first higher education institution in 425 AD during the rule of emperor Theodosius II. The University of Constantinople offered courses in Greek and Latin grammar, literature, music, rhetoric, philosophy, theology, law, astronomy, geometry and arithmetic. There were several other higher education institutions in Athens, Alexandria, Antioquia and Beirut, each of them was specialized in teaching a specific set of subjects.

Though apparently not everybody could go to the university, most ordinary citizens could afford to go through 4 years of worldly education. In schools they used to read the writings of Aeschylus, Euripides, Herodotus, Aristotle, Plato, Homer, etc. At the same time, the West was covered with the darkness of illiteracy and ignorance, which were actively supported by Pope Gregory I (590-604 AD) who claimed that “ignorance is piety”.

Ancient knowledge was condemned by the Vatican because "it was pagan"

A mere comparison between the East and the West at that time would make fun of today’s Western civilization which considers itself as the key element in the development of contemporary society. While scholars were already crawling all around Constantinople in the 425 AD, Western Europe got its first university six centuries later. The University of Bologna was founded in 1058, the Oxford University in 1168, Cambridge University in 1209, the University of Paris in 1215, the University in Leipzig in 1409, a millennium later than the one in Constantinople.

To be continued...