Why Europe Isn't Very Interesting In The Sixth Century

Why Europe Isn't Very Interesting In The Sixth Century

The long night of the "Dark Ages" descends on Europe. The Sixth through the Eighth centuries is a time of endings and forgettings. The numerical population of Europe falls to half what it has been. The few vestiges of social order remaining are in scattered locations in Italy, France and Spain. The Franks seal the Visigoths in Spain, where they try to bring some order out of the chaos.

481 - 511 In France, Clovis* (later to be known as "Louis") becomes king of half the Franks and extends his kingdom. He is followed by a number of Merovingian kings (when Colvis* dies his kingdom is divided among his four sons) who attempt to maintain some kind of order. Their efforts are largely futile, but they do begin a system which will gradually evolve into something that will come to be called feudalism*.

Feudalism is essentially a system of obligations. The king needs help to keep order and fighting men to defend (and enlarge) his kingdom. But everybody is busy trying to make ends meet and put food on the table so there are no available people to serve in specialized areas such as an army. A system of temporary service evolves, where those in authority can call on those under them for armed assistance from time to time. In order to make this work, the king creates "Counts", who, in turn, create "knights." In return for service, the king rewards each Count with land and plunder and the Count does the same for his knights. All of them depend on the people who are bound to the land. These guys will soon be known as serfs, or villeins. The land they have to deal Feudalism is essentially a system of obligations. The king needs help to keep order and fighting men to defend (and enlarge) his kingdom. But everybody is busy trying to make ends meet and put food on the table so there are no available people to serve in specialized areas such as an army. A system of temporary service evolves, where those in authority can call on those under them for armed assistance from time to time. In order to make this work, the king creates "Counts", who, in turn, create "knights." In return for service, the king rewards each Count with land and plunder and the Count does the same for his knights. All of them depend on the people who are bound to the land. These guys will soon be known as serfs, or villeins. The land they have to deal

The roads are disappearing in the encroaching forests and the only things moving regularly are lions, bears, wolves and wild boar. Communication is only through the church, by means of the brave monks who travel on foot, occasionally actually arriving at their destination. Literacy vanishes outside the church. As we move into the sixth century there are two centuries of intermittent plagues.

The only bright spots are in agriculture and the church. In agriculture there are two discoveries. The moldboard plough (which can deal with European soil in a way the Mediterranean scratch plough never could) and the switch from oxen to horse power help clear the forests and increase production by fifty percent. The introduction of legumes (peas, beans, that stuff) improves nutrition considerably. Gradual improvement of horse power includes the development of the horse collar and horseshoes.

The church benefits by being the only going concern in sight. All literacy, records, organization, skills and usable property is concentrated in the church. Particularly, through the increasing number and industry of the Orders of monks and nuns, the survival skills of productive labor and knowledge is spread, ever so slowly.