CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE SWAY OF THE CROSS

The imperial government in the West was soon
overthrown by the barbarian conquerors, but the
Catholic Church converted and ruled these con-
querors. When the officers of the Empire desert-
ed their posts, the bishops stayed to meet the
oncoming invader. They continued to represent
the old civilization and ideas of order.

—J. H. ROBINSON

Throughout the Middle Ages in Europe there was only
one unifying force and that was the Roman Catholic Church.
It was the one central light which continued to shine-
brightly through the medieval darkness. It triumphed over
all obstacles and became the only refuge of civilisation where
everything else seemed to succumb to the barbarians. It
survived the shock of the Hunnish invasions from the East
as well as the German and other invasions from the North.
It outlived the Roman Empire, both Western and Eastern,
and became the champion of European society, religion, and
culture when they were threatened by the rise of the Islamic
power, from thel seventh to the fifteenth centuries. In spite
of schisms and defections it has survived to this day as one
of the most potent forces coming down to the modern world
from the past. Such a tenacious movement in human his-
tory deserves to be'studied with close attention, though such.
a study may be beset with some difficulties.