Research Paper On The Dark Ages

Often referred to as the “dark ages”, a phrase first introduced by Renaissance scholar Petrarch, the term referred to medieval Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. As Petrarch so eloquently puts it, the “dark ages” received their name because of a lack of progress in education, social and entertainment, however, the “dark ages” saw dramatic rise in new national and cultural identities across the European continent. By replacing one vast large empire, new smaller ruling monarchies such as the Germanic tribes and the Frankish empire developed. Petrarch also argued that war in the name of Christianity expansion engulfed the European continent. The year 1100 marked drastic climate changed for the better, people began to migrate into cities and
towns, new forms of social life were available to the masses and Kings began to fight with the Church over supremacy. “The Medieval Europe was very much a world in formation. Its history offers a precious opportunity to identify and observe the forces which, over a lengthy span of years, on the most fundamental levels, shaped and reshaped society.” From the middle ages, a historically accepted term for the era, modern institutions in their infancy are seen, such as urban culture, Universities, banking, health and sanitation and romantic love, these institutions survived the test of time and still stand today in a modern form.
Cities started to form into the modern definition after the year 1100, climate change allowed for increase food yielding from farmers and thus increasing city populations. Cities themselves are not an invention of the middle ages, rather a rebirth of life before the Roman collapse, with new twist. Before the middle ages, moving up through social classes and allowing for a poor possibly educated young man to become a government official. However Clifford Backman counters his own argument by stating “Cities, in sum, were not oases of free movement and action, but they did possess a significantly higher degree of fluidity than the countryside.” Cities opportunity for advancement, trade and the vast new opportunities for entertainment available made them a popular choice for people of every occupation and social standing. Education and literacy became the biggest advancement available in cities.
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Modern romantic views of “coming out of the dark into the light” gives hope to those in a bad situation, however, the “dark ages” cannot be defined as a bad situation, as in all life, nothing can stay the same.
Romanticism is a great part of the modern view of the middle ages. Those modern views include the middle ages discussion of chivalry, romantic, courtly love, and the knight’s code; a modern American view of chivalry is that of a knight in shining armor saving a fair maiden upon his noble white steed. One of the most famous courtly love men is known as Arthur Pendragon, King of the Britons. Numerous adaptations of Briton’s hero King Arthur exist. Beginning with the first record of Arthur in the early ninth century writings of Nennius, a welsh writer compiling a History of the Britons (Historia Brittonum). Arguably one of the most famous writers of Arthurian legend was a Welsh cleric named, Geoffrey of Monmouth. On the surface his work 'History of the Kings of Britain c.1138' could be conceived as merely a skilfully constructed framework of welsh folk legends. But these texts were manipulated by high ranking members of society in order to give the British a history that seemed could be perceived as more
noble.
Another factor that allowed violence to flourish was the irregular employment imposed on many citizens, which in turn, gave them a large amount of leisure time. This allowed taverns to do a thriving business, and they became a growing problem for public order. Since the water was polluted and unrefrigerated milk spoiled rapidly much of the population drank low-grade fermented beverages most of the time. The combination of readily available weapons and mass consumption of unregulated alcohol was undoubtedly bound to have a catastrophic effect on the outbreak of violent incidents that occurred during this period. This combined with the popularity and expectation of men to engage in violent pastimes could arguably have paved the way to de-sensitizing society towards the violence that was occurring. Cities arguable, are the most relevant formation of modern society to find roots in middle Medieval Europe.
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