Similarities Between Roman Society And The Middle Ages

The main similarity between the Roman society and the Middle Ages was the similar social hierarchy that took place but also how this social class played in part with the economy of each society. For all three societies, there was evidence of a higher class or the “leadership class.” In the Roman Republic the highest individual was the King. We see this is evident in the (“The Rape of Lucretia,” pg. 2) “I swear before you, O gods, to chase the King Lucius Tarquinius Superbus.” The King controlled and was the head over everyone in the earliest part of the Roman society. The Roman empire transformed the highest individual from King to an emperor. In the lecture in class from September 23, we learned that the new empire adopted emperors. The First

In the Roman society the chief officials were known as “magistrates.” There was a herichary in the politics in Roman society. (The Shaping of Western Civilization, pg. 95) the power goes from consuls to praetors to the aediles then to the quaestorship. In Roman politics the laws are made by a assembly of popular vote of men. But this led to the creation of the Senate in Roman politics. This was the governing group of Rome and they were voted every year into office by the people of Rome. (The Shaping of Western Civilization, pg.96) the role of the Senate was to advise people and magistrates but also carry out laws that are made and put in place by the popular assembly. This was very different from the political structure of the early Middle Ages in what is known as Feudalism. Instead of putting power into the hands of a group of people, feudalism puts the power into the individuals hands. The King gives power and land to the lords who will then be in charge of citizens who are in a lower class such as peasants. (Medieval Sourcebook: Charter of Homage and Fealty, pg.1) “I swear upon these four gospels of God that I will always be a faithful vassal to thee and to thy successors.” Political power in feudalism equates to the social status that you earn. The more social status that you have the more political power you

Roman religion was highly influenced by the Greeks, the the sense that there were multiple gods who controlled different aspects of the world. (The Twelve Caesars, pg.103) “As for Augustus’ attitude to religion: he is recorded to have been scared of thunder and lightning.” This shows that thunder and lighting were considered to be entities higher than what the leader of Rome was, and that it was good to be the positive sides of the gods. During the time of Augustus as emperor the rise of Christianity began but also the shift from a polytheistic view to a monotheistic view. This shift was very concerning to the Romans, so bad that they began to persecute Christians. (Shaping Of Western Civilization, pg. 146) “This persecution made sense to Romans for various reasons. First Christianity was as insistently monotheistic… This belief could only be an affront to all the other gods.” Christianity believed that God was one entity and was above the rest, but the Romans viewed this as almost a sign of treason to the rest of the gods. To the Romans cultus was considered to be a public thing, while the Christians wanted their cultus to be private which made the Romans question the Christian faith. The Fall of the Roman Empire lead to the full shift from a polytheistic view to the establishment of Christianity.