What Kind of Contributions did the Monks Make to European Society

The Christian Monks are/were people who spent their lives dedicating themselves to serving others for God. They lived very secluded lives and were basically outside of “normal,” society. But they also contributed to society in many ways; so what kind of contributions did the Monks make to European society?

The Monk’s spent a great deal of their time doing physical labor. They held physical labor in high regard unlike people before them, for example the ancient Greeks. Because they held physical labor in high regard they performed many laborious duties, such as gardening, or agriculture. The Monks technically saved and preserved the art of agriculture, because at the time it was a dying skill. They also built many tools to aid them in their life(they lived outside of society so they had to be self-sufficient to survive). Some Monasteries even used water power!

But in my opinion the biggest way they contributed was by their copying of manuscripts. During the Middle Ages, a lot of the old written works from the Greeks, Romans, etc, were disappearing, and were nearly extinct. But thanks to the Monk’s who preserved and took care of the knowledge and written manuscripts, we are able to read and learn about those written works today. 

In summary: the Christian Monks contributed in many ways; the ways that they contributed included mainly the preservation of certain skills such as agriculture or gardening; and the preservation of written manuscripts and knowledge in general. Also they were technologically advanced for their time, thanks to the fact that they were self sufficient. So in turn a great deal of the things from older civilizations such as the ancient Greeks, that we know about today or have, including the written works, that we have, are all thanks to the Christian Monks.