Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie
There were no Western civilizations during the Dark Ages that were in a position to flourish. The Catholic Church was in control.
As I said earlier...I'm gonna go with the 4 college semesters of Western Civ that taught me history. And also the 4 semesters of Humanities (the arts) to form my educated thoughts.
I'm not the one trying to re-write history.
As far as our "greatness". It stems from the Renaissance and a rediscovery of what the Greeks and Romans did.
If not for the Greek and Roman forms of govt. there wouldn't even be a Republic like the one we live in now.
And the Romans were so far ahead technologically that it's ridiculous what happened to mankind during the Dark Ages.
This subject isn't one that I would think you'd want to spend a lot of time researching. But since I had to do it to get my degree (as do all liberal arts students), I know the history of Western Civilization pretty well.
Can't speak for the civilizations of Asia or Africa.
But Western Civ? Every person here who went to college knows what I'm talking about.
Western Civ and Humanities were required courses for a liberal arts degree.
|
Pretty much - western civ lost so many things during the dark ages, when the church had complete control. Roman architecture, metallurgy, agriculture, glassware, refining, engineering, etc was only really exceeded in the 1800 - 1900s.
All one has to do is look at the treatment of Galileo or Giordano Bruno to see what happened to innovators. That is why society stagnated, plagues were common, child death was over 50%, serfdom and starvation were common. Only after people stopped believing and started resisting the power of the church did good things begin to happen.
England is a great example. A regional power, after the dissolution of the monasteries gave the monarch control of its wealth, elizabeth I created the most powerful navy in the world. You no longer had a bunch of old pedophiles living off sinecurial incomes, you had money going to people who produced.
There may have been "other factors" but the church was the vehicle that drove it all.