In the 1300s, Petrarch, an Italian Scholar used the term "dark ages" which applied "dark" and "light" to describe the period. Historians kept wondering " Was Europe really in a dark age from 500 to 1500"? The ongoing argument involves events such as the Crusades, The Black Death, the signing of the Magna Carta, and the building of universities and cathedrals. But although, there was destruction and prosper. While Europe had long lasting improvements, it was still a lot of destruction, during this period. Some of the positive effects come from when Europe was not at a "dark age". For example, Document A does not involve the "dark age" because of this era, Document A state how fair the laws were. This document states " No man shall be forced to perform more service for a knight's fee or other free holding at land, than is due from it". Another piece of evidence comes from Document C, because it does not involve the dark age, due to resettled lands, food, lots of trade, and was easy to travel, which led to population growth. According to this document, "from 1000 to 1300 the economy of Europe developed and prospered. These pieces of information show evidence of …show more content…
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
During this age, everything going on was either bad or had a bad side to it. For instance, there was a plague called the Bubonic Plague. (Doc 6). This plague was extremely contagious and dangerous, consequently the doctors had to wear outfits made out of cloth or leather to protect themselves. (Doc 6). This disease killed 25 million Europeans. Moreover, there was also invasions going on during this time. These invasions had many negative effects on Europeans. For instance, the invasions caused trade to cease. (Doc 7). Also, the invasions caused lots of terror, and the terror led to Europeans moving to hard-to-reach areas. (Doc 7). The people who caused all of this; the invaders, were the Moors and Magyars. (Doc 7). Not to mention, there were more invasions during the Middle Ages. These invaders were the Northmen, they caused lots of damage. (Doc 8). They burned down the town of Dordrecht and took many goods back with them. (Doc 8). Similarly, there were slaughters in Rochester, Quentovic, and London. (Doc 8). The Dark Ages is a perfect label for the Middle Ages because many bad events were happening and death was the outcome. Furthermore, everything going on also had a dark side. For example, the religion; the churches had a dark side. Popular cities has large, tall churches; cathedrals. To be exact, these churches were called Gothic Cathedrals because of its architecture style. (Doc 9). These cathedrals
The European middle age is often termed as dark ages by some of the writers. There was no development of any sort. The scientific discoveries in Europe had come to a halt. There was no artistic development. Neither had the Europe produced any great leader like before. The plague had killed many people, and the people had died of this disease in hundreds of thousands (pg. 308). The political system was mostly dominated by the churches, and the people were enslaved by the churches. Even the monarchs of that age came to church for protection. There was no political development as well. On the other hand, there was a new threat of Islam which rose faster after the
There is many examples of evidence to support how Europe wasn’t in a dark age. To support this claim there are some examples. The Government ,The Rise of University, and the Gothic Cathedrals shows that Europe was not in a dark age. One reason Europe was not in a dark age was because if it was in a dark age they wouldn't know to stand up for themselves. They also had a lot of money, even though King John took it all proving that they were not in a dark age.They were also beginning to request laws so they can have some rights. According to the Black Death Documents,"To all free men of our kingdom we have also granted, for us and to our heirs for ever, all the liberties written out below, to have and to keep for them and their heirs.”Another
Another title that the Middle Ages deserve is the label Dark Ages because during the Middle Ages, there was constant chaos and destruction that plagued Western Europe. After the collapse of Rome, the invasions did not end there. The invasions continued throughout the Middle Ages by different groups and tribes. For example, during the ninth and tenth century, the Moor invasions have taken over the South and the Hungarians invaded the Eastern provinces. Both invasion groups sacked villages, held captives, burned down religious buildings, and left a path of destruction while many citizens that escaped took refuge in the mountains or deep forests (doc 1). Also during the invasions of the Moor and Hungarians, the Northmen struck terror in England. The plundered, burned towns, and returned home with boats filled with gold, people, and resources (doc. 3). However, that was not the end of all the chaos during the Middle Ages. During the 14th century, the black death hit Western Europe, which ended up wiping out 1/3 of the population and a body count of over 25 million by the end of the sixteenth century (OI). Consequently, because of the constant chaos and destruction from invasions and plague, little to no development was possible. This slowed down Western Europe's advancements and growth. The
There is also compelling evidence, however, that suggests Europe was in a period of darkness at this time. For example, from 1095 to 1192 many Europeans were constantly engaged in holy wars as Crusaders fighting Muslims in the Middle East (Crusader Packet). These wars were brutal and showed a dark side of humanity. For example, Crusades Document A describes a siege on Muslims in the city of Jerusalem from a Christian Crusader’s perspective stating, “it was a just and splendid judgment of God that this place should be filled with the blood of the unbelievers.” Another example of darkness and setback in European society was the devastating Bubonic Plague that swept Europe in the 1300s killing half its population (Movie Talk – Black Death). This
The Dark Age is the term used as a synonym for the Middle Age. It is a duration of time that existed between the falling of the Roman Empire and the start of Renaissance of the Italian and the Discovery Age. The Middle Ages are always referred to be dark due to resumed lack of advancement and culture in Europe in the medieval period. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the European experienced a severe social, political, and economic setback. Therefore, the Dark Ages meditate the ill consequences. However, a certain individual has had a great influence in the Middle Ages. Catherine of Siena is one of the many reasons the Middle Ages should not be referred to as the “Dark Age”.
In Medieval Europe ,in the 1300's, there was a man named Petrarch. He created the term dark ages, referring to the timeframe 500 AD to 1500 AD. There were many times of growth from 500 AD to 1500 AD but, there were also many times of disadvantages from 500 AD to 1500 AD. Despite the bad things from 500 AD to 1500 AD, the times of growth overpowered the times of disadvantages.
We as a society see the history of Europe as if it had taken off with the Renaissance. Typically, the timeframe of the Early Middle Ages, from around 500 A.D. to 1500 A.D., is seen through the perspective that common advances such as education and cultural growth were slim to none. For this reason, the period is known as the Dark Ages. The span of time was initially labeled as such simply due to bias towards Latin literature at the time, and the reasons for the name snowballed. However, the coined term could not be more misleading or further from the truth. This is because the ‘Dark Ages’ were actually a point in Europe’s history awash with forward movement and achievements such as: the birth of universities, increasing fairness of laws, and an
The final reason the dark ages were dark was the black plague. The black plague was a daise spread by the mongols when they used biological warfare. According to Black Death “Black Death would kill more than 20 million people in Europe–almost one-third of the continent’s population” (History channel, 1). This means about 33% of the population in europe was killed because of the black pluege. This is dark because lives were taken by the same disease and nobody in the middle ages did anything to stop it. If 20 million lives were taken then the middle ages should be classified as
The Dark Ages, the period between 476 and 1350 A.D., is often defined by the simplistic misconceptions of the modern period, which holds this era to be devoid of cultural, intellectual, and spiritual advancements, but rather, the retrocessions of such. In essence, these notions could not be further from the truths that are misguided by the derogatory implications of the words ‘dark’ and ‘medieval’. The Middle Ages (an umbrella term encompassing the Renaissance movement), a more appropriate term, marks a period between the downfall of classical Greece and Rome during the fifth and fourteenth century, and the rise of Greco-Roman systems and ideologies during the Renaissance. The Renaissance is often defined as a cultural movement between the
When you hear somebody say the “Dark Ages” you may think it was a time without light? Or maybe you would think it was a time of evil. But in reality the “Dark Ages” were called the “Dark Ages” because historians believed that nothing interesting happened during this time. These historians are wrong. Though the “Dark Ages” may not have as many innovations as the Renaissance, but it certainly impacted our lives and there was certainly a lot going on during this time.
The term “The Dark Ages” has been used for centuries to describe the period of the middle ages, while the term might imply that this period of time was dreary and uneventful it is quite the opposite. The term was first used by historians to describe the period as a way of showing that they had little knowledge of what actually happened, but through time this term greatly changed causing people to believe that the age went without knowledge or innovation and that everyone lived a miserable life. While the term has been misused for a long time the “Dark Ages” was actually filled with many wonders be it through literary, cultural, or political matters.
The Middle Ages have been subject to the critique by many a scholar throughout the years. It is not to be mistaken, the “Dark Ages”, as it came to be known, was a time of change both in nations, and the minds of men. However, did it truly warrant the title that gave such a dark impression to the period? One must look at the facts and history of the time to decide the answer. The term "Middle Ages” refers to a barren interval between two eras of significant and clear achievement, namely the Classical Roman era and the Renaissance era, from 450-1485. The pseudonym “Dark Ages” was given to the Middle Ages by 18th century nationalists who were more hostile to religion. They wished to give this period in history the appearance of a dark interlude, when in reality it wasn’t quite that.
Initially the term Dark Ages was coined because of the decline of latin literature and possibly by protestant reformers in the 16th and 18th century. I believe that the Middle Ages is the best term to describe this previously named “Dark Ages”. During this time, universities are born and in result fields such as math, specifically algebra, were created. Art started to become valued due to the new wealth people found themselves with. It was almost an age of life, as agriculture soared with good weather and improvements in technology in addition to the safety that came with manorialism. According to the textbook, Europe became civilized due to the high number of people working and producing their own food. As historians, we should not put
The Dark Ages was a big landmark in history. Although it’s infamous name is known by many, the definition of the term “Dark Ages” is not obvious or clear. The "Dark Ages" is a historical period referring to the Middle Ages, but it’s darkness can be defined in many ways. Most people define it by its demographic, cultural, and economic decline as a result of the Roman Empire’s fall. The Middle Ages are often called the Dark Ages by some historians is because compared with other eras, historians don't know as much about this time period. The term is not easy to define, but it was definitely an era of which no scientific accomplishments were made, no great leaders born, no gorgeous works of art made.