Petrarch's Argument Against The Dark Ages

“Petrarch expressed in 1341: The period stretching from the fall of the Roman Empire down to his age, a time of darkness. an era that was ‘dark’ because it was worthless not because it was little known.” This statement is true in many ways, yet misleading and completely wrong in others. Two opposite ends of the spectrum are Charlemagne and the Barbarians, one created feudalism, art, weapons and battle tactics, creating a kingdom that was a beacon of hope, while the other was a wave of death and destruction, killing, ravaging and pillaging. Of course, the most important part of this consideration is where. Different parts of Europe experienced different growth and effects. For example, although there were mass famines in Italy, the normal and
In order to understand his thoughts, it is necessary to first understand his biases and personal beliefs by delving into his past. Petrarch had great interest in classical literature and Christian beliefs. He strongly believed that the Roman Empire was a great kingdom, in which no other could rival. This exemplifies his discontent and bias against the dark ages, creating the name ‘dark ages’ itself, so it is only natural that his statement was only in effect in certain areas and places, not speaking for the entirety of Europe in the ‘dark ages'. Parts of his statement that are undoubtedly wrong are the tremendous amount of advancement that occurred to the social hierarchy and castle building. An example of this would be Charlemagne. He spread the influence of the Frank Kingdom through military might and simply diplomatic relations. He created the system that later became Feudalism, as well as creating the Carolingian
The barbarians had taken over Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire, creating many smaller kingdoms and making many different nations that were constantly engaged in war. This led to many deaths and the fall of many towns, cities and nations. A persistent problem that occurred in cities, and towns was a severe lack of hygiene. Despite Rome having such an advanced hygiene system, the later kingdoms and the barbarians had a lack of it. This ultimately led to the black death plague after the ‘dark ages’. It also led to the outbreak of many smaller epidemics during the ‘dark ages’, too, killing hundreds. During the ‘dark ages’, much of classical literature was either lost or hidden away in monasteries located deep in the mountains. Leading to a mass loss of knowledge and classical literature. Many trade secrets and techniques were also lost with the fall of the Roman Empire as well, namely the loss of cement and concrete. The ancient Roman buildings were made of concrete blocks connected together by cement, with the loss of this, the many barbarian kingdoms could only make buildings and structures out of wood to create their cities and towns. Not only that, due to the immense support the church received, it gained immense wealth, influence and power during the ‘dark ages’. The archbishops frequently threatened entire towns and cities with excommunication.