The Dark Ages: Are They Really Dark?

The middle ages were a time where the ups and downs of society were completely unpredictable, where people lived in fear of random raids, and where the essence of everything that Rome had created was gone in a flash. Because of its erratic nature and reputation, it received many strong, contradictive names.

Some called it the Dark Ages, because of its atrocious conditions. Some called it the age of feudalism, the age of faith, or even go all out with their thoughts and call it the golden age. Whatever they called it, it was still the same time. The same things still happened, and the same history was written. The middle ages can be best described as the dark age, the age of faith, and the golden age.

The era received its most prominent name for a very good reason. ‘…They burned down the churches and then departed with a crowd of captives…. There [was] no longer any trade, only unceasing terror.’ It truly was dark. People starved to death because of lack of food. Cannibalism became common, and the most convenient source of food, because the streets were ridden with people who didn’t survive the Black Death. (Black Death…. Irony... I think not.) ‘…their boats filled with immense booty, including both men and goods, returned to their own country.’

Not only was the population wrenched apart by the plague, they were finished off by knights who pillaged towns for fun. And if that still left people, they were dragged off by the Vikings, never to be seen again. Every night peasants would go to sleep not sure if they would wake up. But as in every other fairytale, there was a light that shone through all of that.

That light came in the form of two declarations made by the Church council, called The Peace of God and The Truce of God. These two avowals were the reason that more and more people turned to the church, and why the second appropriate name for the Middle Ages is the age of faith. ‘…and throughout the year on every Sunday, Friday and Saturday, and on the fast days of the four seasons this decree of peace shall be observed….’ This was a huge relief to the general population. Three days out of the week at least they could be spared from some of the pressure and the fear that had become so common. ‘…and I promise to remain a monk in this monastery all the days of my life.’ The preceding sentence was an excerpt from the monastic vows of Brother Gerald. More and more people like him turned to the monasteries for their protection and peaceful atmosphere. The people in the monasteries often discovered that it wasn’t what it was cut out to be, but others couldn’t have been happier, and they were able to accomplish things of great importance.

Among all the trials and distress of the time, ‘… we learn that an age once traditionally described as “dark” had a remarkable vitality and exuberance. Even at its worst it performed the function of guarding, frequently by accident and chance, the knowledge and treasure of what had come before…’ This is true. The records and literature of the Empire they had once known was maintained, due to people that were willing to copy them all and do other things to preserve them. People still found ways to have fun and stay happy, even with danger lurking around the corner. ‘…Medieval Culture was imperfect, was restricted to a narrow circle of superior minds… measure it however, by the memories and the achievements that it has bequeathed to the modern world, and it will be found not unworthy to rank with those of earlier and later Golden Ages.’ Just the sole reality that they managed to keep some form of history and some form culture from the past is something that if you look at it, was something that not many civilizations could have been able to handle. The stress and the turmoil didn’t matter to them. They were who they are, and it’s for this reason, that the collection of people, both the innocent and the cold and black hearted, gave birth to possibly the most impressive golden age in history.

No matter what you call it, this was a time of extremes; a time of pain that was appeased by courage, a time of tumult that was tempered by faith, and a time of hardships that was evoked by the people involved, and kept alive through it all. The highest respect should be given to the people who lived in this time. They suffered adversities, but they never suffered themselves to defeat. This was a time of war, a time of contradiction, but most of all, a time of triumph. The name doesn't change that.