The church became interconnected with all aspects of society; politically, socioeconomically, and culturally. Political unity was nearly impossible, with only Charlemagne's Frankish empire ever even getting close. .
The hierarchal structure always remained within the Papacy. Since the Church was always linked to the political system, it was a must that political leaders conform to the Roman Catholic faith. For example, Charlemagne was perhaps the most influential political leader of Western Europe in the early medieval period, and he proclaimed to love the Church of St. Peter the Apostle and was a devoted catholic (Blackboard, Einhard: The Life of Charlemagne, pg. 56). Charlemagne used support from the Church in the division of sub-districts headed by nobles. He converted to Catholicism at a very early point in his life to garnish support and further cement his right to rule. The Church's link to political empires often caused the spread of Christianity to be the excuse of choice to conquer new territory. .
The relationship between church and state in Western Europe was often hard to balance and this was reflected in its economic structure and success or lack thereof. Out of the decentralized political structures emerged the manor system which became the dominant source of economic stability. It was the main source of agricultural and economic growth (Bentley and Ziegler, Life on an Early Medieval Manor", 448). Although these small communities dominated rural areas in Western Europe and were used by roughly 95 percent of the population, there wasn't enough development economically, or technologically in urban areas due to decentralization. The manor system, and similar systems like Feudalism provided enough food and trade to support its local suburban areas but were not substantial enough to support urban communities or develop a thriving economy based around trade, and didn't serve as a link among cities as did the trade of Roman Empire and Islamic Empires.
