Feudalism began to form in the middle Middle Ages, and then the Bishop of Rome became pope. In Europe in the middle Middle Ages, although there were constant conflicts between princes and nobles, the economy and society began to show signs of recovery. If we take the ideal of world peace advocated by traditional China as the standard and look at Europe from a historical perspective, we will inevitably see the chaos of the current situation and the struggle between princes. However, from the development process of Europe itself, from the disintegration of Charlemagne Empire to the formation of medieval feudal system, it is a great progress.
Extended data:
The German invasion in the 5th century and the Muslim invasion in the 7th century dismembered the Roman Empire around the Mediterranean and created a mixed Europe, including the Italian Peninsula, which originally occupied a special position in the empire, and Gaul and Britain, which originally belonged to the edge of the empire. Germany is basically a wilderness.
In a mixture, Italy, which is geographically marginalized, is culturally ahead, and the Pope is striving for the position of the church center for Rome. Under the impact of barbarian invasion, only priests who still hold the "spiritual power" still need to read and write. After all, the true meaning leading to the kingdom of heaven is written in the Bible, not hidden in the noble castle.
So "priest" and "scholar" can basically be regarded as synonyms. In other words, there are no scholars independent of religion in Europe at this time, as in ancient Rome or traditional China. This situation will continue until the16th century, and scholars without teaching robes began to appear in Europe.