Signs of Strain The landowning aristocracy, the ruling class, lost its military role as professional armies and new weapons transformed warfare The balance of power between church and state shifted in favor of the state church leaders struggled to retain secular authority, they lost touch with individual believers who turned to popular direct experience of god The Postclassical West and Its Heritage  The Middle Ages has been regarded as a backward period between the era of Greece and Rome and the emergence of modern Europe  But the period was at the same time an age of dynamic growth  Significant changes occurred in the relations between Europe and surrounding regions  Europeans benefited from their readiness to incorporate advances made in other civilizations
{}