When a civilization has an increase in knowledge, those in power loose their 'mystery' and thus their control.
When the little people have access to knowledge they have previously been denied, many things come to light.
As a result, those in authority suffer and become objects of contempt.
The people realize they have been played for superstitutious fools.
They have been manipulated and deceived.
Then what happens? They have to be silenced, and the information must be denied before they can know every complete mystery.
Perhaps this is what happened at the tower of babble. People came together sharing knowledge, babbling. When they all chipped in their bits of information, the big picture emerged. That tower had to tumble in order for the elite power to regain control.
Has history always repeated itself? Have civilizations been continually wiped out and history re-written? Could it happen again?
During the Medieval Ages, the Catholic Church Ruled with Corruption. The Bubonic Plague Eventually Destroyed the Power of the Church
In the medieval ages, humanity was suppressed by the power of the Catholic Church.
Though often romanticized as a time of knights, magic, and grandeur, this age had few heroes. Seldom was a person willing to battle to free society from the deceptive theocratic government.
Christianity, after all, dominated the world view of all people living in medieval Europe; one could not see past the illusion the Church had created.
Eventually, small groups of people did attempt to unveil the corruption of the Catholic Church and its monarch-like Pope, but the Church, wielding their power like a sledgehammer, massacred the rebels and drove them from society.
The power of the Church was absolute; it was a government, a religion, and a mindset that had rooted itself deeply in the hearts of all Europe’s inhabitants - even the rebels’.
For centuries, though people strained against the chains that bound and manipulated their brains, this web of Catholic control - political, economical, social, and spiritual - could not be broken. During the Renaissance in Florence, however, the Church’s complex web of influence finally began to fray.
Many events lead humanity slowly, over the centuries, towards the Renaissance. The Church’s manipulative authority, of course, was one of them.
Four sources of power allowed it to dominate the medieval ages: The king, wealth, people, and the Bible.
It attempted to control all aspects of life. During Charlemagne’s rule, the Church attained supremacy over even the Crown when the Pope pronounced King Charles the Great king. By doing this, the Pope gave himself the authority to crown - and thus, de-crown - a monarch.
The Church also harbored much of the wealth of Europe, which allowed it control over businesses, merchants, nobles - all social classes. As such, it ruled the workings of society as a whole.
The Church was a government, as it created laws and punishments. This is evident by its treatment of “heretics.” Anyone who purposefully and arrogantly stood in defiance of any Church-given law was subject to torture and death.
The people, however, followed these laws; for the Church had power over something even stronger than the authority of the King or money. The Church controlled their entrance to eternity.
The fact that much of the Church’s power came from corruption meant that eventually it would have to die - and be “reborn” in a Renaissance.
Inevitably, people began to stray from the Church’s influence; however, as quickly as these heretical groups arose, the Church stomped them out, fearing the political tides turning against them.
Still, the mindset had changed. No longer did people go to the Church for entrance to heaven. They found their own spirituality instead. This was the beginning of freedom, though the doctrine and dogma of tradition still clung heavily to their minds.
Before a rebirth, however, there must be a death.
The Bubonic Plague, also known as the Black Death, struck Europe in the 14th century. Panic and despair flushed through the feeble city of Florence like a deluge. In a mere seven months, Florence lost more than 95,000 people.
Widespread belief was that the plague was from God, a punishment for the heretical groups and free thinking that had taken the minds of the people.
A man could go to bed and simply never wake up; the massive claw of fear and guilt held everybody captive.
It was said that love had vanished, as the struggle for survival overtook life.
Even after the initial terror, the dramatic decrease in population changed the social structure immediately. There was less work for everyone, and for those who did have work, the wages went up considerably; this created an even wider gap in the social classes.
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/36705/the_bubonic_plagues_influence_over.html?cat=37
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