Saint Augustine’s Legacy: 500–1300

“The Age of Ignorance commenced with the Christian system,” said Thomas Paine in The Age of Reason in 1807. Christianity became the religion of the Roman Empire in 380 CE. For the following millennium, intellectual activity was dominated by the theological philosophy of Saint Augustine (354–430 CE). The Carolingian Renaissance under Charlemagne was a short-lived (secular) beacon of light in the Medieval Era from 789–814 CE. It’s hard to find much original intellectual activity in Western Europe outside of theology until the dark began to lift at the end of the 11th century with the foundation of the first universities. Glimmerings of interest in science came from religious figures. The most prominent were Robert Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, and Roger Bacon, a Franciscan friar, in the 13th century. Augustine’s legacy was created by the extent of his output, the breadth of his arguments, and the elegance with which he wrote (in Latin). It’s not really an exaggeration to say that he believed all intellectual activity should be judged in the light of theology. He remains a significant figure even today.