VIII.

The Roman Legacy

Many modern historians stress the continuity between late antiquity and the early Middle Ages. Political structures changed and cities declined, but for the 90 percent of the population who worked on the land, life continued much as always. Roman law, the Latin language, and the Christian religion provided an enormous amount of continuity, yet there were also broad changes. Greco-Roman civilization retreated to the Mediterranean, while inland areas lost the veneer of Roman culture. Buildings collapsed, local populations revived indigenous Celtic art forms, and even Latin was slowly transformed into different languages like Provençal, French, Spanish, and Catalan. The transition proceeded gradually until local creativity shaped the Roman inheritance into the distinctive cultures of medieval Europe.

The rediscovery of Greco-Roman civilization in 15th-century Italy sparked the new era or state of mind called the Renaissance. Sculptors returned to Greco-Roman models of realism, architects copied Greek columns and Roman domes, and literary figures like English playwright William Shakespeare adapted Roman comedies. Philosophers examined the Roman legal codes, and political theorists returned to Roman discussions of freedom and tyranny. Even the Latin of Cicero was revived as a more elevated language than medieval Church Latin or everyday speech. And the fascination with Roman culture continued as revolutionaries in America and France studied Roman texts and 19th-century portraitists adopted Roman styles. The collapse of the Roman political structure in 476 did not mean that the civilization of Rome was lost.