<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia . See Wikipedia's guide to writing better articles for suggestions . (March 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Due to a complex set of reasons, conditions in Western Europe began to improve after 700 . In that year, the two major powers in western Europe were the Franks in Gaul and the Lombards in Italy . The Lombards had been thoroughly Romanized, and their kingdom was stable and well developed . The Franks, in contrast, were barely any different from their barbarian Germanic ancestors . Their kingdom was weak, hopelessly divided, and ruled by a king who was barely distinguishable from a peasant . Impossible to guess at the time, but by the end of the century, the Lombardic kingdom would be extinct, while the Frankish kingdom would have nearly reassembled the Western Roman Empire . </P> <P> Though much of Roman civilization north of the Po River had been wiped out in the years after the end of the Western Roman Empire, between the 5th and 8th centuries, new political and social infrastructure began to develop . Much of this was initially Germanic and pagan . Arian Christian missionaries had been spreading Arian Christianity throughout northern Europe, though by 700 the religion of northern Europeans was largely a mix of Germanic paganism, Christianized paganism, and Arian Christianity . Catholic Christianity had barely started to spread in northern Europe by this time . Through the practice of simony, local princes typically auctioned off ecclesiastical offices, causing priests and bishops to function as though they were yet another noble under the patronage of the prince . In contrast, a network of monasteries had sprung up as monks sought separation from the world . These monasteries remained independent from local princes, and as such constituted the "church" for most northern Europeans during this time . Being independent from local princes, they increasingly stood out as centres of learning, of scholarship, and as religious centres where individuals could receive spiritual or monetary assistance . </P> <P> The interaction between the culture of the newcomers, their warband loyalties, the remnants of classical culture, and Christian influences, produced a new model for society, based in part on feudal obligations . The centralized administrative systems of the Romans did not withstand the changes, and the institutional support for chattel slavery largely disappeared . The Anglo - Saxons in England had also started to convert from Anglo - Saxon polytheism after the arrival of Christian missionaries around the year 600 . </P>

Where was scholarly learning concentrated in medieval europe