Were the dark ages actually dark and disastrous for 1000 years? Upon asking people what happened during the Dark Ages, many would say that it was a time period full of war, barbarism, famine, destruction, and plague. However, the dark ages had many advances in technology and education. Like all time periods, the Dark Ages had its perks and its downfalls, just more intense and exaggerated that when passed on from generation to generation, the stories may change or be slightly altered. There are many first hand evidence that and facts about this time period that shows a structured economy, trade, construction, trade, education, and happiness. In this essay, I will show you 5 different reasons why the Dark Ages weren’t as horrible as you may …show more content…
These documents are not first hand, but both come from reliable sources that are stating facts on the buildings and universities that were created during the Middle Ages. The first document, document F, states the 10 oldest universities in Europe. They were founded in the early 11th century to the 13th century. This is the same time period that people believe were the Dark Ages. However, in document A and the American Cyclopedia it says that during the Middle Ages they suffered a decline of education and fell into an “Intellectual depression”. This document contradicts what the others say because this shows that there was a push towards education during that time. In document G, it talks about the gothic cathedrals built in the middle ages, specifically the Notre Dame. These buildings were the largest buildings in a city and had elaborate designs. These buildings were extremely thought out and planned, and if the Middle Ages were “poverty stricken” and “semi-barbaric”, they would not have been able to construct these beautiful buildings. And these pieces of evidence are just from facts. There are first hand pieces of evidence that also support my evidence on why the Dark Ages weren’t as dark and twisty as it …show more content…
The records in the mid 9th century talks of destruction, war, criminals, and poverty. This Document also supports my claim that there were dark times during this time periods that were devastating. Travel was difficult there were negative experiences going on. However, this happens during many if not all time periods because we are all humans attempting to figure things out. This document might also have a bit of a religious bias because they are referring to the Vikings north as “Heathens”. They wouldn’t even refer to them as a tribe, but a group that is not in their
The term “dark ages” comes from Petrarch, who was an Italian scholar that lived after the dark ages, and compared it to the classical era. Medieval Europe happened from 500 AD to 1500 AD, also known as the medieval period in Europe. It is called “the dark age” because of the disease, famine, murder, chaos, and death that happened during that time.
The author of this book quickly and polemically describes the period from 400 A.D. to 1400 A.D. as the "Dark Ages" even though this term is not used in scholarly research. He claims that the decline in living standards are not only due to crumbling political institutions and infrastructure but to disease, isolation, and religious oppression. Manchester describes just how the medieval mindset emphasizes just how savage medieval people were and how they imposed horrific punishments on one another. Christians butchers one each other during mass. This author claims that this was not civilization but it was a shadow of the Roman empire. There are some movements that destroyed the medieval mindset and the first one was the Renaissance, where new art and ideas were widely
The middle ages are often identified as the Dark Age because of the Black Death, invasions by the Barbarians, and because of lack of enlightenment for the common people. A plague most likely originating from Asia spread throughout Europe. Towns and even large cities
The dark ages, a time period spanning from 500 AD until 1500 AD, is commonly perceived as the worst time in history, solely because of its name. When asked “What is the dark ages generally known for?” many people respond with the black plague or great famines. The main reason for this title is in fact due to a lack of written records and documents lost to history. In reality, the dark ages were not really that dark because a humanitarian king shaped European ideals, religion kept culture alive, and many historical and scientific progressions occurred.
For example, Document B discusses how the "dark ages" confronts how the people of Europe isolating to the world, plus, they suffered a decline of education, arts, and literature. This document states " Western Europe was isolated in the world". This document also states "The laws were unfair and people kept getting beat up publicly". Another piece of evidence comes from Document D, because as a result, people we getting beat up, and the laws were unfair. According to this document, " If they are servile and they own a business, let them lose the business or be stripped any publicly beaten in the presence of people". These pieces of evidence will conclude whether Europe was in a "dark
In 476 CE Odoacer overthrows Romulus Augustulus, finalizing the end of the Roman Empire. After the Roman time, the dark age took over, it was called the dark ages not only because of the lack of written sources but also because of the nasty short and brutal lives of the time. Some thought that the dark ages were a necessary evil, to get rid of slavery. The Eastern half not only survived after the fall of Rome but flourished. The Eastern empire continued to thrive and build monuments under the rule of Justinian Ⅰ. Even though no longer part of a Roman civilization, western people still thought of themselves as Roman.
The dark ages consisted of the Crusades, the Black Death, government, and universities. Medieval Europe could be considered to be in a dark age or in a growth age. However, based on the evidence, Europe was undoubtedly in a dark age. The dark ages consisted of several very violent and very tragic outbreaks.
After the Fall of Rome, the Dark Ages occurred during the Middle Ages in Western Europe, France, Germany and Italy. The term “Dark Age” is an accurate description for Western Europe despite the formation of feudalism and the united church. The severity of disease, such as the plague, killed millions of people and lead to society not having the desire to prosper with education . These reasons, among others, demonstrate that Western Europe was truly a Dark Age.
The term “Dark Ages” is one of the most common terms used to refer to the period known as the Middle Ages. Encompassed in this time frame are the years 400 A.D. and 1400 A.D., which mark the beginning and end of the Dark Ages. During this age, rural towns that were smaller and less populated were common. Since invasions were also an issue, towns tried to provide security and safety to the townspeople by using the feudal lord's armies as guards. It was also during this time that a new religious movement called Monasticism developed.
Some refer to the Middle Ages as the “Dark Ages”. I could not find this more wrong. I think that even though documentation of this area is void, doesn’t automatically mean that it was void of advancements too. Today, I will use three documents: a picture of Joan of Arc, a map of the major trade routes of Afroeurasia, and an excerpt from the Magna Carta. With these I will prove that the Middle Ages were not just a Dark Age in history.
The time period between 400 CE to 1400 CE in Europe could be objectively proven to be a ‘Dark Age’ for the first six centuries, but starting in the 11th century, advances in technology and education started to create upwards growth in culture and quality of life; therefore, this millennium was more of a ‘transition period’ than a ‘Dark Age’. Document A, an excerpt from the textbook “The Record of Mankind”, stated that from around 476 CE to 1100 CE, most of Europe became overrun with “turmoil and confusion, . . . ignorance and lawlessness”. The textbook explained the cause of this barbarism to be from an absence of government, which could have maintained peace and order (Document A). Crime increased exponentially; this contributed to a decline
In the year 476 A.D., Rome officially fell as the greatest and most thriving empire at the time. The time period following this downfall was called the Middle Ages, more infamously recalled as the Dark Ages; but were these years truly as dark as historians say? These medieval times lasted for approximately one thousand years, could such a long time period have been all that dreadful? The answer will soon become clear. The Middle Ages deserved to have the alias of the Dark Ages because there were several severe illnesses, the monarchs were cruel, and the crusades brought the death of many.
source one sees the dark ages in a very negative light talking about declines and violence while source two talks about increases during the later years. Source one uses lots of large words and basic knowledge in their book, for example the quote “from 476 to about 1100, European civilization slipped back into semi-barbarism” shows this. Source two talks about the increase in farmland water technology and food after 1000 ab, it uses lots of scientific facts and numbers to give examples of the increase during that time. While their point of view may be different both sources have some similarities, for instance both were made to teach us history, they both come from books, and they both have similar writing styles.
In general the Middle Ages, also called the Dark Ages, is a time period of human history that is often characterized by extreme barbarism, no scientific or cultural achievements, and endless wars between small kingdoms. In fact, the Dark Ages exhibited multiple achievements in the fields of science, politics, theology, metallurgy, and exploration. While the Dark Ages did not rival the advancements or empires of the Renaissance or Greek Antiquity, it was not a time period of recession or stagnation in the overall advancement of the human species. The term “Dark Age” was a term first used by the renaissance scholar Francesco Petrarca, also known as Petrarch, to denounce the quality of literature used during the time period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 467 AD until approximately 1200 AD.
The Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages, was regarded to be a time of despair, disease, and death. Just as the name the “Dark Ages” suggests, this period of European history seemed to be surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Unfortunately, the majority of people only see this side of the Middle Ages when, in fact, the Middle Ages was a much more important era. Especially during the late Middle Ages, one can find a change in orthodox social structure, political instability mostly concerned with succession to the throne, and economic changes and how those changes went hand in hand with the change in society. After certain demographical changes and turning points such as the Hundred Years’ War, Europe began to transform