6 Insightful Reasons the Dark Ages Weren’t So Dark
The Dark Ages were not devoid of learning and light as seen by some scholars or historians lately.
What comes to your mind when you think of the ‘Dark Ages’? Do you think it was a millennium of superstition, poverty, ignorance, stagnation, obscurantism, and backwardness? Most people imagine that it was a chaotic time of thousand years where one could hardly imagine a good life.
The belief that the Christian Church held the people in darkness by burning books and witches, destroying classical texts, or telling the people that bathing was a sin is a wrong notion. We think there was no purpose in life, and everywhere there was killing and slaughtering for no reason. We also think of a lack of technological advancement, and thus, life was extremely miserable.
However, the truth is different. We are accustomed to the barbarous caricature of the middle ages in a way that we think was a long period of complete ignorance. In reality, historians referred to specific centuries of medieval western Europe that lasted a little over three hundred years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire; till the rise of the Carolinian Empire in the late eighth century.
1# The term ‘Dark Ages’ were used by later scholars
When the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 A.D. and failed to hold together the territory by the force of law, many new polities emerged. Various Germanic tribes invaded and conquered the Western Empire up to North Africa and established their rule. These conquests not only changed the leadership but also destroyed the ancient Roman tradition by introducing their own.
The early Roman and Greek ages were considered the ‘Golden Ages’ for their learning, art, engineering, innovation, and wisdom. With the collapse of the Western Empire, the Roman traditions saw a steep decline, and the love of education and innovation was lost to the ashes of history.
The centuries that followed the fall of the Western Empire didn’t give birth to great leaders, craftsmen, learning, or any scientific improvements. That’s why Francesco Petrarch, the Italian scholar of the Renniasannce referred to these centuries as ‘Dark Ages’. He thought that the only better age for human life was the ‘Golden Ages’ of antiquity that saw the rise of learning and great art was produced. The fall of the Roman Empire rendered the following ages barren and chaotic.
Petrarch also believed that he is living in the dark ages and was hopeful that he is living in an age that is about to give way to another golden period of human history. In one of his poems, Africa, which was translated by Theodore E. Mommsen, he writes:
“My fate is to live among varied and confusing storms. But for you perhaps, if as I hope and wish you will live long after me, there will follow a better age. This sleep of forgetfulness will not last forever. When the darkness has been dispersed, our descendants can come again in the former pure radiance.” — Petrarch
2# The implication of monasticism on later Western values
The scholars of the Enlightenment period of the 17th and 18th century, specifically the Protestants, regarded the period as ‘Unenlightened’ because they thought that Catholic Church dominated the early Middle Ages and hindered the intellectual growth of the people in favor of religious piety. They thought that these monks burned the books, banned arts, and artisans, and focused more on the blind following of religion. Thus the lethargy crept into the religion and in the whole society.
However, the reality is different. These early Christian monks and monasteries patronized arts, literature, artisans, and encouraged the spread of learning. In this regard, the founder of Montecassino monastery, Benedict of Nursia, is a great example who taught that “Idleness is the enemy of the soul” and asked the monks to live an active life by engaging in manual as well as spiritual activities to nourish your physical and intellectual selves. His Benedictine Rule became a prominent role model and a prime example of all monasteries across Europe specifically in Western Europe.
3# Relation of the Church and the State
The European lacked a centralized political power in the absence of Roman authority except for the rise of the Frankish Emperor Charlemagne for a short time. This absence of wielding authority gave rise to the Church, and it became the most powerful institution in the medieval ages.
The growth of a strong papacy beginning with Gregory the Great (590 to 604) changed the notion the kings and queens of Europe would monopolize the power. Unlike the Roman days, the kings and the queens in the medieval ages drew much of their power and authority from the strong relationships with the ecclesiastical institutions. Thus the rise of the Church limited the unchecked powers of the royals that resulted in the Magna Carta and the birth of the English Parliament in the high Middle Ages.
4# The agriculture boom of the early Middle Ages
The European deemed the loose soil of the South fit for agricultural prosperity as the land here was dry, sand, and was suited to the plowing system of the time called scratch plow. In the dark ages, people used to utilize the scratch plow which was not heavy and lacked the functions and power to turn the clay soil deep.
But by the 10th century, they galvanized agriculture by inventing the heavy plow that made them able to cultivate the clay soil efficiently. They also invented the horse collar that was tied around the neck of the horse to balance the weight while plowing or pulling the wagon. The horse collar also protected the animal from getting undue harm in transportation. Due to the horse collar, they were able to put horses to plowing the earth more efficiently and successfully than oxen. Fortunately, they also developed metal horseshoes by the 10th century that further revolutionized transportation.
So, it was a transitory period where people struggled against all odds to modernize their lives by trying their hands-on inventing new things for their ease.
5# The Carolingian Renaissance
The Carolingian dynasty was the largest Frankish kingdom after the fall of the Western Roman Empire that stretched far and wide and established its firm rule over Western and Central Europe in the early Middle Ages.
When Pepin the Short died in 768 A.D., both Karl and his brother Carloman inherited the kingdom. However, Carloman died soon and left the vast empire to 29 years old Karl. Karl ascended the throne and assumed all the powers of his dynasty as Charlemagne — Charles the Great.
During his rule, he fought against Muslims in Spain, Lombards in Italy, Saxons, and Bavarians in Germany to expand his kingdom. Pope Leo III crowned him emperor of Romans in 800 and eventually adopted the title of Holy Roman Emperor.
Charlemagne was the first king who revitalized Roman-style architecture, patronized educational reforms, promoted literature, and preserved the classic Latin texts of antiquity.
He introduced the Carolingian minuscule — a calligraphic standard — with innovations like cases and spaced words, stressed the use of punctuation to help increase the understanding of the Vulgate Bible. He was also a book lover and supported the production of books and encouraged reading and writing in his subjects.
The Carolingian reforms laid a sound foundation of learning that helped later Renaissance scholars in their revival.
6# Advancement in science and maths
The popular myth about the medieval ages was that the Church was averse to scientific innovations and advances in maths. The notion that the church didn’t allow the scientists of the time to dissect a body or to perform autopsies were true as that. There might have been instances that the church meddled in the works of the intellectuals, but it didn’t halt the scientific progress altogether.
It was indeed a time of great tribulations for the scientists and innovative people and they faced many hurdles during their process of learning and experimentation, but the steady progress was there, albeit it was slow which the strong foundation of modern Western development.
Simultaneously, the Muslim world was rapidly in the field of science and maths by translating the Greek and Latin texts of antiquity into the Arabic language. Al-Khwarizmi(780–850) introduced algebra into Europe by translating “The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing,” which included quadratic equations and the systematic linear solution.
