The early Benedictine and Irish Catholic monks literally saved Western Civilization. With the rule of the Barbarians in the Middle ages literacy was of little importance to these conquerors. This resulted in the scarce supply of books and few libraries that had been established up to and under the Roman and Byzantine Empires left un-preserved or destroyed. Thanks entirely to the Monastic Movement, which began to strengthen in the early middle ages, education and civilized culture were not lost. This era is characterized by the rapid growth of these monasteries which were religious communities in which men and women lived in isolation from the rest of the population. It was here that the Monks recorded, taught and preserved the Western Christian Civilization for the benefit of mankind. .
The eastern part of the Roman empire survived the various Germanic invasions and remained strong under Byzantine rule until the end of the 5th century. . The western region of Europe had been divided into several major kingdoms two of which were the Franks and the Visigoths. Literacy in the roman government was mostly viewed with indifference and the education of children fell solely upon the parents. Many had private tutors or their children attended a school developed by a local area philanthropist. Following the Roman Empire most of the population survived as peasant farmers making an education unimportant to daily existence. The conquering Germanic tribes were organized based on kinship versus rights and obligations. The family was responsible for maintaining law and order among their own with unwritten laws and customs. With this system of serfdom, schools disappeared and the majority of people could not read or write. Literature, art, and architecture were almost forgotten and as a result, literacy during the Dark ages was at an all time low.
Due to the invading Franks the Celtic tribes from Great Britain and European Mainland moved out and invaded Ireland.