Editing Middle Ages (section)

=== Western society ===
{{See also|Early medieval European dress|medieval cuisine}}

In Western Europe, some older Roman elite families died out while others became more involved with ecclesiastical than secular affairs. Values attached to [[Latin literature|Latin scholarship]] and [[Education in Ancient Rome|education]] mostly disappeared, and while literacy remained important, it became a practical skill rather than a sign of elite status. In the 4th century, [[Jerome]] (d. 420) dreamed that God rebuked him for spending more time reading [[Cicero]] than the [[Bible]]. By the 6th century, [[Gregory of Tours]] (d. 594) had a similar dream, but instead of being chastised for reading Cicero, he was chastised for learning [[shorthand]].<ref name=Brown174>Brown ''World of Late Antiquity'' pp. 174–175</ref> By the late 6th century, the principal means of religious instruction in the Church had become music and art rather than the book.<ref name=Brown181>Brown ''World of Late Antiquity'' p. 181</ref> Most intellectual efforts went towards imitating classical scholarship, but some [[Early medieval literature|original works]] were created, along with now-lost oral compositions. The writings of [[Sidonius Apollinaris]] (d. 489), [[Cassiodorus]] (d. {{circa|585}}), and [[Boethius]] (d. c. 525) were typical of the age.<ref name=Brown45>Brown "Transformation of the Roman Mediterranean" ''Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'' pp. 45–49</ref>

Changes also occurred among laypeople, as aristocratic culture focused on great feasts held in halls rather than on literary pursuits. Clothing for the elites was richly embellished with jewels and gold. Lords and kings supported the entourages of fighters who formed the backbone of the military forces.{{efn-ua|Such entourages are named ''[[Comitatus (classical meaning)|comitatus]]'' by historians, although it is not a contemporary term. It was adapted in the 19th century from a word used by the 2nd-century historian [[Tacitus]] to describe the close companions of a lord or king.<ref name=Dict80>Coredon ''Dictionary of Medieval Terms'' p. 80</ref> The ''comitatus'' comprised young men who were supposed to be utterly devoted to their lord. If their sworn lord died, they were also expected to fight to the death.<ref name=Geary56>Geary ''Before France and Germany'' pp. 56–57</ref>}} Family ties within the elites were important, as were the virtues of loyalty, courage, and honour. These ties led to the prevalence of feuds in aristocratic society, including those related by Gregory of Tours in [[Merovingian]] Gaul. Most feuds seem to have ended quickly with the payment of some [[weregild|compensation]].<ref name=Wickham189>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' pp. 189–193</ref> Women took part in aristocratic society mainly in their roles as wives and mothers of men, with the role of mother of a ruler being especially prominent in Merovingian Gaul. In [[Anglo-Saxon]] society, the lack of many child rulers meant a lesser role for women as queen mothers, but this was compensated for by the increased role played by [[abbess]]es of monasteries. Only in Italy does it appear that women were always considered under the protection and control of a male relative.<ref name=Wickham195>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' pp. 195–199</ref>

[[File:Frühmittelalterliches Dorf.jpg|Reconstruction of an early medieval peasant village in Bavaria, Germany|thumb|left]]

Peasant society is much less documented than the nobility. Most of the surviving information available to historians comes from [[archaeology]]; few detailed written records documenting peasant life remain from before the 9th century. Most of the descriptions of the lower classes come from either [[Code (law)|law codes]] or writers from the upper classes.<ref name=Wickham204>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' p. 204</ref> [[Landholding]] patterns in the West were not uniform; some areas had greatly fragmented landholding patterns, but in other areas, large contiguous blocks of land were the norm. These differences allowed for a wide variety of peasant societies, some dominated by aristocratic landholders and others having great autonomy.<ref name=Wickham205>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' pp. 205–210</ref> Land settlement also varied greatly. Some peasants lived in large settlements that numbered as many as 700 inhabitants. Others lived in small groups of a few families and lived on isolated farms spread over the countryside. There were also areas where the pattern was a mix of two or more systems.<ref name=Wickham211>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' pp. 211–212</ref> Unlike in the late Roman period, there was no sharp break between the legal status of the free peasant and the aristocrat, and a free peasant's family could rise into the aristocracy over several generations through military service to a powerful lord.<ref name=Wickham215>Wickham ''Inheritance of Rome'' p. 215</ref>

Roman city life and culture changed greatly in the early Middle Ages. Although Italian cities remained inhabited, they contracted significantly in size. For instance, Rome shrank from hundreds of thousands to around 30,000 by the end of the 6th century. [[Roman temple]]s were converted into [[Christianised sites|Christian churches]] and city walls remained in use.<ref name=Brown24-26>Brown "Transformation of the Roman Mediterranean" ''Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe'' pp. 24–26</ref> In Northern Europe, cities also shrank, while civic monuments and other public buildings were raided for building materials. The establishment of new kingdoms often meant some growth for the towns chosen as capitals.<ref name=City3>Gies and Gies ''Life in a Medieval City'' pp. 3–4</ref> Although there had been [[Jews in the Roman Empire|Jewish communities in many Roman cities]], the [[Jews]] suffered periods of persecution after the conversion of the empire to Christianity. Officially, they were tolerated, if subject to conversion efforts, and were sometimes encouraged to settle in new areas.<ref name=Jews191>Loyn "Jews" ''Middle Ages'' p. 191</ref>