The time period known as The Middle Ages lasted for approximately 1000 years...?

Question

The time period known as The Middle Ages lasted for approximately 1000 years. What characteristics of the time period contributed to its lengthy existence?

Answer 1

One thing that makes this a difficult question is that, in many ways, the label "Middle Ages" is quite artificial, lumping together a diverse and changing period. The name --and esp. the notion that this was a "backward" period when few advances were made -- was invented by people of a later era who believed their OWN period was much more advanced than that of their forebears.

At any rate, the biggest unifying factor of the period from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the "modern period" (whenever exactly you date that), was the Church.

Unfortunately, this figures into the mythology of the Middle Ages, for those who advanced this view were often extremely harsh critics of the Church, seeing its failings but unable to acknowledge all the good that it did.

In fact, there were MANY intellectual, technological and economic advances that took place during these centuries, and much of it under the influence of the Church (see some of the links below).

Another piece of this mythology is that this "backward" period ended with the Italian Renaissance in the 14th century. But nowadays the general view of scholars who study this late medieval period is that this cultural flowering was built on the much more significant "Twelfth-century Renaissance". That was about the time of the establishment of the modern university system, the scholastic method and the foundations of modern science -- all the outgrowth of CHURCH schools.
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Here's some material on the PROGRESS of the Middle Ages, in a number of areas:

Rodney Stark, *For the Glory of God* (Ch 1-2).
Stark, "False Conflict", http://www.taemag.com/issues/articleid.17713/article_detail.asp
"The Rise of the Universities"
http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/universities.html

http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/peasants.html =Improvements in Agricultural Technology
*Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel: Technology and Invention in the Middle Ages*, by Frances & Joseph Gies

(12th to 13th century) The foundations of the modern system of investment, including stock companies and "limited liability" (basis of wealth-producing sytems, including modern capitalism)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stock_market#History

"The Rise of Commerce and Towns" (ca. 1000)
http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/towns.html

SOCIETY & GOVERNMENT
http://www.ku.edu/kansas/medieval/108/lectures/medieval_achievements.html

Answer 2

Changes happened a lot slower back then mostly because of several factors 1) the Catholic church didn't look kindly on education to furthering ones self or enlightenment so advancements in knowledge wore limited. 2) most people didn't read and write. 3) most people had the same "job" as their father or mother did and so there wasn't much expansion as far as knowledge in learning some other trade then what your family already did. 4) what new knowledge there was usually came from the returning crusaders bringing back items or ideas from the middle east.
Hope that helps.

Answer 3

the middle an prolonged time is in many situations dated from the autumn of the Western Roman Empire in 476 to the autumn of the jap Roman Empire in 1453. the thought of the middle an prolonged time arose interior the Renaissance era and grew to become into used to indicate the era in betwwen classical antiquity and the Renaissance. via political disintegration of the Roman Empire, the Church grew to become into the only great company left so it assumed a management functionality. additionally, training (and the renovation of historic manuscripts) fell interior the purview of the Church, as they have been the only literate ones left. With the give way of centralized political potential, lifestyles grew to become extra violent, extra nasty & brutish, and the biggest nearby thug ought to cut back definitely anyone else to submission, in this occasion putting himself up as a count variety or a duke. as quickly as the belief of the three orders - the clergy (who pray for God), the the Aristocracy (who combat for God), and the third supplies (who artwork for God) - were better by the Church, it had staying potential because of the fact the suitable thank you to get the wide-unfold public to not question an thought is to tell them God reported so.

Answer 4

Just about, although scholars disagree on the time. But generally it is considered to be from the 5th to 15th centuries.

Here is a good site to explore for other information you might need....
http://www.themiddleages.net/

Answer 5

the pope was basically the king of europe.

Answer 6

disease outbreaks, selfish rulers..etc..?