the Catholic Church can be traced, in particular its views 

 regarding the control of population growth in the present 

 world. The idea of a single empire based on Christianity, 

 although readvocated by Charlemagne about 800 A.D., 

 failed to carry conviction, and many of the clergy were 

 evidently withdrawing from the world's life into the num- 

 erous monasteries founded between 300 and 1300. The 

 Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantine Empire, broke off 

 from the Roman Church and spread its culture to Russia 

 and the Balkan countries, but was later overwhelmed by 

 the Turks (Constantinople falling c. 1440). The Byzan- 

 tine civilization produced some very fine art and archi- 

 tecture during its height. The Medieval period in Europe 

 is notable for the construction of fine cathedrals (in keep- 

 ing with the spiritual outlook of the times), and also for 

 the foundation of the first great universities (e.g. at Bologna, 

 Florence, Rome, Padua, Vienna, Prague, Heidelberg, Paris, 

 Oxford and Cambridge). The main subjects of study at 

 these universities at first were the Greek and Latin classical 

 literature, Christian theology, history, art, and mathematics, 

 although later medicine was added to the curricula. 



The most recent phase in Man's cultural development, 

 the rise of experimental science, began in the fourteenth 

 century during the period known as the Renaissance and 

 Reformation, when what amounted to a revolution of the 

 intellectuals against the dogmatism of the Church took 

 place. Interest in classical knowledge, both artistic and 

 scientific was greatly helped by the first use of the printing 

 press about 1440 by Caxton. The slow, and not always accu- 

 rate hand copying of books was thus replaced by the far 

 more efficient printing process, although the Latin language 

 was used by the intellectuals for centuries still. The new 

 thinkers included such men as Luther, who caused a major 



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