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Zhou Li

HIS 4A A02 FQ 2016

Professor Sally McKee

12/05/2016

Final Exam Essay

How the Legacy of Rome Lived on during the Middle Age

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476, the legacy of ancient

Rome survived and was employed by later leaders from different regions during the

Middle Age. Leaders in the Middle Age, viewing Rome as the center of civilization,

used the Roman legacy because it is a well-developed set of cultural values,

philosophical ideas, technological achievements, and judicial systems that could work

both as a base for further development and a symbol of the greatest civilization.

The continuation of Roman Empire, the Byzantine Empire was largely

influenced by the Roman values and systems. Justinian I, aiming to restore the

Byzantine Empire, issued the Body of Civil Law in 533. The Civil Law “contain[ed]

the laws and jurist opinions of the Roman Empire and the canons issued by church

councils” (Kidner, p. 219). Justinian I needed a set of laws to stabilize his empire, and

the Roman law, which “represented…the collective will of people,” gave a model of

how the government should work and the society function. The social steadiness in

the Roman Empire proved the laws to be effective. Nevertheless, the Byzantines’

utilization of Roman law was a survival than a revival of Roman legacy. Having

citizens who had already got used to the Roman law and way of living, Justinian I

could hardly make his people adapt to an entirely new law. In this case, persisting the

essence of the Roman law was a better choice. For instance, in Byzantine families, the

Roman idea of patria potestas, “the legal head of household,” lived on (Kinder, p.
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219). Also, the marriage between families continued to be contractual. After all, the

fact that the Civil Law had remained to be the law of the Byzantine Empire until the

fifteenth century proved Justinian I’s decision to be wise. The completeness of Roman

law assisted the Byzantine leaders in ruling the Byzantine Empire.

Charlemagne, the king of the Franks, “recogniz[ing] that his authority could

not be imposed…without literate men,” initiated a cultural revival during his reign by

adopting and improving the Roman education system (Kidner, p. 261). Charlemagne

“sponsored the establishment of schools” and picked Alcuin of York, who “revived

the study of the seven liberal arts (grammar, logic, rhetoric, arithmetic, music,

geometry, and astronomy),” to director his palace school (Kidner, p. 261). Like the

Roman children, kids under Charlemagne’s reign would go to school and receive a

higher education to gain a better position in the society as well as to assist the leaders

in governance. Charlemagne also ordered scholars to copy manuscripts of religious

and classical literature, providing its citizens more accesses to acquire education.

Regarding Roman civilization as the greatest, Charlemagne and the scholars knew

that following the Roman achievements in literacy would help the revival the most.

By starting a cultural revival, Charlemagne stimulated the potential of his people and

enlarged the possibility of owning more literate men in the government to help him

rule the kingdom. In addition, since Roman literature and language had been the

essential parts of education in many kingdoms during that period, the Carolingians,

mostly uneducated in the past, now could communicate with each other as well as

people from the outside.

One of the most significant revivals of art and literature in the history, the

Renaissance happened partly because of the Roman legacy. The humanists, seeking

the definition of human, “esteemed the works of ancient Romans for their literary
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qualities” (Kidner, p. 340). They followed Cicero’s appreciation for republicanism

and “admired Cicero’s involvement in Roman public affairs and valued political

engagement in city life” (Kidner, p. 342). Studying the ancient texts to “develop

ideological support for Florence’s republican government,” the Florence humanists

gained “an opportunity to express their patriotism” (Kidner, p. 342). Filippo

Brunelleschi, an architect, painter, and engineer, studied the Roman art and

architecture and “develop[ed] the mathematical principles of linear perspective that

the Romans had used in their wall paintings to convey a sense of depth” (Kidner, p.

345). Linear perspective was employed by numerous Renaissance artists and could be

easily discovered in their works. In addition, Brunelleschi adopted and updated

“Roman engineering equipment and ancient brick and stone methods of construction”

when building the dome of Florence’s cathedral (Kidner, p. 346). The Renaissance

architects, sculptors, and painters would hardly utilize the Roman methods of

construction and ideas of aesthetics if they were not authentic or did not conform to

these artists’ tastes. Using the Roman ideas helped them better express their senses of

beauty and, at the same time, show off their exquisite techniques as artists.

The Roman legacy never faded away. Numerous people in the past, as well as

the present, benefited from the achievements the Romans had made. The Roman

civilization was one of the greatest and was worthy to be studied and adopted by

people from different periods of time.