Norman Davies, a prominent English historian, wrote, "There is an air of stillness in many descriptions of the medieval world" (Davies 291). However, these descriptions he refers to do not capture the true essence of the European Middle Ages, which was a continuation and formation. They were a continuation of ancient Rome in race, language, institutions, law, literature, arts, and cultures independent of Rome. However, the Middle Ages were not simply a continuation; they were the formation of our world. Many modern historians argue that the so-called Dark Ages were a period of rise rather than descent, and that with the withering away of classical pagan civilization came the first budding of a new culture that was to develop into our modern civilization. James M. Powell, an eminent historian, agreed with this argument regarding the unspeakable progress of this age. Powell believed that the Middle Ages were a multi-faceted time period in which the roots of modern civilization began to emerge, and so they did. This time period was critical because, even though it seemed to be a dark age, the seeds were being planted for future generations like ours. These seeds have germinated and provided us with models to work with regarding issues of centralization, economics, scholasticism, education, artistic and religious expression. Powell wrote: “…the feudal age is very important to the development of Western Europe: this importance lies mainly in the state-building process that originated here” (Powell 1). The monarch of this feudal society was responsible for state building, centralization, and maintaining unity. Therefore, the throne was hereditary, so that a single family maintained political power through...... middle of paper ......and, vague arguments. Disunity made the Church too unstable to continue to possess political power and so the State became the head of politics, and now we have the separation of Church and State, making this time “a secular Western culture” (Powell 6 ). Powell's Prelude to the Modern World was correct. The Middle Ages have greatly influenced the present day. He wrote, “In many respects, the modern age has done the work of the Middle Ages” (Powell 6). The creation of nation states, the growth of cities, the increased emphasis on education and the creation of universities, Romance languages, the flourishing arts, the broadening of the scope of literary subjects, and the separation of church and state are the result of the seeds that were planted in the Middle Ages. Works Cited Handout Davies, Norman. Europe: a history. New York: Harperperennial, 1998. Print.