stylistic:tone, information:classification
Rulers' reasons for and against conversion

Scholars have argued that one of these persuading factors was that Christianity offered a new institutional framework for kingdom cohesion and new ways for powerful kings to assert control over those who were less powerful. The Church was also an alternative means of increasing one's status and power; becoming a monk or nun also enabled secular elites to avoid marriage, difficult political conditions and family duties. Early medieval rulers also looked to Rome for legitimacy and ways of asserting power; the close association of Christianity with the strength and empire of Rome could thus have made it a powerful tool. With the Church also came a book-writing tradition and increased literacy, aiding in bureaucracy.