1. The Dark Ages of Europe World History Chapter 9

2. 410 A.D. saw the final phase of the Roman empire. The last emperor was deposed by Alaric the Goth. Many groups such as the Vandals, Goths, and Visigoths has all invaded and laid waste to Rome

3. For a city that had boasted more than 1,000,000 people around 200A.D., Rome had fewer than 10,000. No longer an empire it was not even that much of a city.

4. While the Romans as an empire and a people ceased to exist, they left many legacies, some which people use right up until the present.

5. Although the buildings, law systems, roads, bridges, aqueducts, and baths remain, there is no central authority over Europe at this time. It breaks up into dozens of small “Kingdoms” or principalities.

6. Most of these kingdoms had been invaded at one point or another by Germanic peoples. Many different languages were being spoken and fewer people spoke Latin. The one thing which truly unified Europe during this time was the Roman Catholic Church.

7. The Catholic Church (then known as the Christian Church) was overseen by one person. His title was and is the Pope, or Vicar of Christ on Earth. He was also called the Bishop of Rome. Europe was divided up into Bishoprics which were territories that were under the control of Bishops. Bishops were in charge of the spiritual needs of all of the people in their territory.

8. The church developed a method of converting pagans (non-believers), that was known as monasticism. Groups of men (& women) who wanted to devote their life to God, gave up their possessions and joined a service which focused on prayer and manual labor. They lived in monasteries or nunneries. Through their hard work, prayer, and conversations with pagans, they were able to convert most of Europe.