Rediscovering the Dark Ages and Beyond: The Christian Oppression of Ancient Writings Essay Example

plague and cold weather causing sickness, the absence of a Roman Emperor in the western (Holy) Roman Empire, frequent warfare, and decline of urban life all played a role.

During the middle ages, Emperor Flavius Juvianus commanded the burning of the Antioch Library, resulting in a significant loss of ancient critical texts and numerous destroyed books. In addition to this destruction, pagan temples and libraries were widely looted and burned. Despite these events, according to Vlasis G. Rassia (2000), the church was able to maintain its power over humanity and the world during this time period. There are approximately 200 gospels, epistles, and other books about Jesus Christ's life estimated to exist. Writing about Jesus Christ was a popular literary genre in ancient times, particularly during the 2nd century.

Despite criticism claiming that these writings were pious fantasies competing with Greek romantic fiction, political factors in ancient times influenced the selection of only four approved gospels and the rejection of others. However, after three centuries of pressure, the Church finally accepted twenty-three additional books as appropriately inspired by divine intervention, declaring the rest as fraudulent works.

In the early Dark Ages, powerful Christian society considered classical writings like Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Juvenal, Ovid, and Horace as valuable educational resources. Christians believed these texts held allegorical meanings, which philosophers and poets also recognized. However, it is important to note that the Christian community widely rejected knowledge and practical learning. Even ordinary individuals with knowledge were forbidden from accessing scriptures. Despite the fall of the western Roman empire, the Roman Catholic Church survived.

Although the empire declined, the Roman Catholic church was the

only institution to survive and remain intact. It played a crucial role in consolidating and influencing Western culture by preserving Latin education and writing skills. Furthermore, during the Early Middle Ages, the Roman Church maintained its centralized governance through a hierarchy of bishops consecutively ordained, who held authority over urban areas.

The oppression of non-believers by Christians is evident in various examples. These include the severe persecution of individuals who did not follow Christianity, such as the burning of philosopher Simonides and the decapitation of another philosopher Maximus. Furthermore, there was a prohibition on studying books that were pagan or non-Christian, which carried the punishment of death, even for Christian bishops. Emperor Theodosius II took this to an extreme level by ordering the burning of all books that were not Christian. In 529 CE, Emperor Justinian closed down the Platonic Academy in Athens and confiscated its properties.

The Roman Church's tyranny led to the suppression of all literature that contradicted the Bible. Emperor Valens ordered a massive persecution of Gentiles in the eastern Empire. In Antioch, former governor Fidustius and priests Hilarius and Patricius were executed, along with many other Pagans. Numerous books were burned in the public squares of cities in the Eastern Empire. Anyone associated with Julianus faced persecution, including Orebastius, Sallustius, and Pigasius. Philosopher Simonides was burned alive and philosopher Maximus was beheaded.

The church denounced ancient culture as misleading, injurious, and dangerous. However, simultaneously in the scriptoria ecclesiastic, the preservation, copying, reading, analysis, and study of these ancient works occurred. This enabled the recovery and discovery to enhance wisdom and culture, as well as add poetic elegance to imitate the

ongoing tradition of classical rhetoric.

During the time of Saint Jerome and Saint Columban, the church's attitude towards suppressing different types of knowledge changed. Esteemed by humanists such as Erasmus, these two individuals recognized the potential worth in considering alternative sources. This change was especially significant for members of the religious hierarchy, who had theological expertise that could challenge ancient myths.

The Irish Saint Columban (543-615 A.D.) played a key role in renewing interest in ancient culture. He saw studying and discovering it as more than just imaginative work. Columban believed that rigidity was not the right approach to engage with the ancient culture. He was highly regarded as an abbot, writer, and one of the most influential missionaries of the Celtic church. His efforts sparked a revival of spirituality across Europe.

The valuable source of knowledge for comparing Christian morals lies in the narrations of poets, which encompass mythological stories. The idea put forth by Saint Columbanus served as the foundation for the cultural renewal led by Charlemagne and Otto II, who reigned as emperors around 1000. This renewal, known as the Carolingian Renaissance, brought about advancements and changes in sensibility, taste, society, and emotion.

According to Schutz (2004), the Carolingian Renaissance, which was referred to as "renovatio" by contemporaries, should not be labeled as a revival of classical Rome. Instead, it involved the synthesis of Christian, classical, and Germanic elements promoted by the Carolingians. Charlemagne played a significant role in this movement. This period saw the flourishing of important works, including European masterpieces.

Regardless of their authors being ecclesiasts or not, these works, such as The Song of

Roland, Chanson de Geste, The Song of the Nibelungs, and El Cid Campeador, were significant. Among them are also the chivalric poems of Chretien de Troyes which, though initially grounded in secular values, ultimately delve into the allegorical-Christian quest for the Holy Graal. Lastly, Dante's Commedia stands out as a prominent example of medieval literature.