Plagues, Witch burnings, and endless warfare; these are some of the things that immediately
spring to mind when we hear the words "Dark Ages".
Images of Black Knights and Gothic castles also appear in the picture but this is just
a smaller picture of our understanding of the so-called "Dark Ages".
Although there are some truths to what we know, it is not the entire story.
For example, the belief that this era in history is completely devoid of intellectual and academic
advancements like mathematics and the sciences is completely false.
If we would look at this period more closely, we would find out that it was a lot brighter
than we give it credit for.
So in today's list, we clear up the smoke and bring in some light as we countdown to
the 10 reasons why the dark ages weren't so dark after all.
Number Ten: History is Written by the Bitter In the years following the crumbling of the
Roman Empire, various peoples from Germanic territories began to rise up and reclaim their
lands in the West which included Europe and North Africa.
The established Roman traditions in these territories were swiftly swept aside by the
once conquered populations in favour of their own.
It was because of this, along with the collapse of the once mighty empire, that historians
and scholars – among them were St Jerome and St Patrick in the 5th Century, Gregory
of Tours in the 6th, and St Bede in the 8th - who had strong biases towards Rome began
their smear campaigns by calling the days following the Empire's collapse as the "Dark
Ages".
Thanks to people like the Renaissance historian Petrarch, achievements made during this time
were dismissed in most of recorded history and, instead, it was dubbed as a time when
no great leaders emerged, no scientific accomplishments made, and no great art was produced.
Talk about being bitter.
Number Nine: A Relationship Made in Heaven After the fall of Rome, a leadership vacuum
was created and Europe was lacking a centralized political force apart from the brief reign
of Charlemagne.
It was during this vacuum that the Church grew into one of Europe's most powerful
institutions.
With the rise of monasticism, thanks to St Anthony of Egypt, the Catholic Church in the
Middle Ages was the institution to which kings and queens would draw their authority, redefining
the relationship between church and state as monarchs are crowned and given Holy mandates
by the Pope himself.
This meant that the Papacy would be the apex of political and religious power during the
time since monarchs cannot monopolize power without a nod from Rome beginning with the
Papacy of Gregory the Great from 590 to 604 AD.
This influence would stretch even after Gregory's death and into the High Middle Ages where
the Church flourished in power from 1000 to 1300 AD.
The limits on royal power imposed by the Church would, therefore, pave the way to historical
milestones such as the Magna Carta and the birth of the English Parliament.
Number Eight: The Implications of Monasticism The dominance of the Catholic Church in the
Middle Ages spawned discontent from many scholars, especially those in the Protestant Reformation
in the 16th Century and the Enlightenment Movement of the 17th and 18th Centuries.
They branded the Church as "unenlightened" with the strong belief that the Church and
the clergy repressed intellectual advancements in order to strongly impose religious piety
and submission.
This was far from the truth.
During the rise of monasticism and the establishing of early Christian monasteries, many of these
monasteries encouraged learning and literacy.
Many medieval monks, in fact, were artists as well as patrons of the arts.
Considered to be the father of Western Monasticism, St Benedict of Nursia was one example of this.
After founding the great monastery of Montecassino, Benedict laid down his "Benedictine Rule"
that would outline standards for the monastery and congregation as well as limiting the powers
of the Abbot; a rule that quickly spread across multiple monasteries across Europe.
However, what's more revolutionary about the Benedictine Rule was that it forced monks
to do manual and intellectual labor next to their spiritual submission and piety, citing
that "idleness is the enemy of the soul", a school of thought that predates the Protestant
work ethic by centuries.
Number Seven: The Quality of Living Popular culture illustrates living in the
Dark Ages as grimy squalor.
Society in that period, as we have been presented, is dirty and disease-ridden as well as drowning
in abject poverty with only the rich and noble being protected by their wealth and influence.
This could not be any more wrong.
While it is a fact that there was poverty, it is interesting to note that the Middle
Ages have made great leaps in terms of building a civilized society after the fall of the
Roman empire.
For one, Medieval society has abolished slavery.
Improvements in farming technology and well-bred animals have rendered the use of slaves out
of fashion.
While, technically, workers within the lands of a feudal lord need permission to leave
the land, they still enjoy much greater freedom and were treated more humanely than slaves
in the days of the Romans.
Also, with the rise of Christianity and despite the witch hunts and burnings, came the rise
of charities and institutions built for the benefit of the poor.
Places such as hospices, shelters, and hospitals practically paved the way for what we now
know as the public health care system.
Number Six: Entertainment and Leisurely Fun We have been led to believe that jousting
and swordfights are the only ways people entertain themselves in the Dark Ages.
After all, why not?
It is a time of giant swords, horseback riding, and badass armor after all.
They also have been portrayed in many Medieval fairs and themed restaurants so, I guess we've
hit the nail on the head with this one.
However, jousting was an activity that did not exist until the late 11th Century and
even then it was only employed as a military drill and not a form of entertainment.
The reality is far less exciting and blood-drenched.
Compared to the eras that came before, sports and games in the Dark Ages are less combative
and generally "G-Rated".
In fact, sports like archery and boxing, and rugby had its first appearance in this period.
Also, pastimes such as bowling, tag, dancing, and horseshoe throwing are among the popular
activities people enjoyed back then.
Compared to the Gladiatorial fights in Rome, leisurely fun in the Dark Ages isn't exactly
"Dark".
Number Five: Everyday Was Constant Warfare We've seen Game of Thrones and have a slight
idea of how living in an era such as the Dark Ages is like minus the dragons.
Even in historical films like those depicting the life of King Arthur, Medieval Times was
an era in history that is all about war.
It seems like every day of everyone's lives involved going off to war or being carted
back into their kingdom's because of a war.
What is interesting is that compared to the era of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages had
much more lasting peace between countries.
Sure, there would be battles here and there against barbarians or smaller regions in revolt,
but the difference between the two ages is the scale of warfare.
The Romans went big, taking on one country after another with legions that numbered at
least 100,000 troops fighting battles that would last decades.
After the Empire's fall, people and rulers in the Dark Ages learned from this mistake
and were able to organize their territories and societies properly.
One example is the introduction of the feudal system.
Land was divided and distributed with extra incentives for those serving in the military.
And since there wasn't enough land to begin with, armies would normally just number about
20,000 soldiers and battles were more of quick skirmishes than wars that would last generations.
What became more important was to look after their lands in order to earn a living.
In battles, they usually just clash for a short while then head back home to tend their
fields afterwards.
Number Four: Agricultural Boom Speaking of feudal lands, the early Middle
Ages saw a rise in agriculture thanks to developing technology at that time.
Most of us see the economy of the age as being composed mainly of blacksmiths hammering their
days away.
However, while this is not entirely false, Europe has grown to become an agricultural
paradise after the fall of the Roman Empire.
Before the Early Middle Ages, agriculture was only prosperous in the southern parts
of the continent but with the invention of the heavy plough and the employment of farm
animals, people were able to turn the soil over and manage to fertilize it.
Horses also proved to be much more efficient than oxen and when the horse collar and horseshoe
were created, the rest, as they say is history.
Scientists studying the weather patterns of the Miedieval Age also noted that between
the years 900 to 1300 AD, Europe was experiencing extraordinarily good weather, warm conditions
that were perfect for farming.
Number Three: Fair Laws Totalitarian rulers and despotic monarchs
weren't always the case when it comes to leadership in the Dark Ages.
It was not always beheadings and hangings at the public square on a daily basis.
Remarkably, the Medieval Age showed an astonishing leap from the draconian laws of the Roman
Empire to a much fairer Legal system.
While the laws that existed then were complex and disjointed, it was, for the most part
effective and fair.
Merchant laws, for example, have evolved into a sophisticated system that it promoted good
practice and arbitration among traders, perhaps an early form of today's Customs Laws.
In order to keep the peace, the Anglo Saxon Law was created.
An early form of a penal code was also put into writing and even though many of the laws
were rather tough, they were – at best – very flexible and fair to the majority.
And to show how humane Medieval Age laws were, the creation of the Early Germanic Law allowed
a person to be tried by his own people in order to avoid being disadvantaged by ignorance
or cultural differences.
You could say that this was the start of the Jury system that we now apply in our modern
judicial system.
Number Two: Leaps in Science and Mathematics A problematic misconception about the Dark
Ages is the belief that the early Christian church strongly opposed and suppressed scientific
studies such as anatomy.
However, there is no historical evidence that supports this idea.
While scientific progress in Western Europe was at a snail's pace, it was, however,
steady and moved forward with little obstacles thus laying-down the foundations that would
propel future advances later on and through the Renaissance.
Turning our sights to the Middle East, at the same time the world made a giant leap
in the field of mathematics thanks to mathematicians like al-Khwarizmi.
Building on the theories and foundations made by Greek scholars, al-Khwarizmi introduced
Europe to algebra after his book, "The Compendius Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing"
was translated into Latin from Arabic.
And, incidentally, the Latinized version of al-Khwarizmi's name gave us the word "Algorithm",
something that we are all too familiar with in the 21st Century.
Number One: A Cultural Revival What is less known about the Dark Ages is
that, along with the sciences, art; culture; and literature flourished and saw a revival
under Charles the Great, better known as Charlemagne.
Crowned as Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III, Charlemagen sought to bring a centralized
state and stable government.
His reign promoted educational reform and ensured the preservation of classical texts
as well as the rebirth of Roman-style architecture.
Another key advancement that would later on influence the Renaissance was the introduction
of a standard handwriting script.
Known as the Carolingian Miniscule, it created innovations such as punctuation, cases, and
spacing between words.
With this revolutionary movement in literacy, it has opened the door to the production of
books and other documents on a wider scale.
Though the Carolingian Dynasty was short-lived, dissolving by the end of the 9th Century,
its contribution to Early Medieval Society has certainly made the Dark Ages a lot brighter.
--- And those are the 10 reasons why the dark
ages were a lot brighter than we think.
Let us know what you think in the comments section and don't forget to Like this video
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