Change of Perspective: Europe from 1350 to 1600

As the population in Europe started to finally experience the last days of the famous dark ages and pushed into a new and revitalized Renaissance, many important changes began to take place within society itself. The actions of Constantine and other important people of his time created a large religious movement as more and more people left their ancient pagan beliefs and turned instead to Christianity. The Papal Revolution then took place, forever altering the religious structure that made up the Christian Church. Other key shifts that occurred during the time period from 1350 to 1650 CE include: a major change in the way that government interacted with their people, the Enlightenment which saw many people observe life through a more scientific lense, and finally the lack of a single, centralized power that caused countries to attempt to outdo each other to remain relevant. All of these and more helped people to take the step from the Middle Ages into an age of great thinkers, artists and craftsmen. Without that incredibly important step, the modern world as we know it would have a far different appearance.

Constantine was an extremely influential emperor who almost single-handedly altered the religious makeup of his kingdom. Although at first he attempted to refrain from picking sides publicly by continuing to allow the numerous pagan cults to continue, the pendulum slowly shifted to Christianity despite the fact that the majority of the population was pagan at the time as his overall message became clear: “Paganism was a false “error” and sacrifice a “foul pollution.” (Reader 27) As the years slowly went on, Constantine slowly began to influence the change that he wanted to see by increasing the funding available to almost al...

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...the world. Among these inventions was the improved usage of gunpowder and cannons, better rudders and navigational instruments, and finally new and complex battle strategies. Without warfare in the late Middle Ages, many critical innovations would have gone undiscovered.

The time period from 1350-1600 CE was one of the most important phases in the evolution from the dark ages into what would eventually become what we currently see in our daily lives. Some of the most important alterations include: Constantine slowly influencing a change from Paganism to Christianity, the Papal evolution and everything it brought along with it, and finally the Enlightenment mentality that caused shifts in government and the warfare that was a byproduct of that change. All and all, these milestone events helped people to take the first steps into the creation of the Industrial Era.