Dark Ages
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Significance of the Dark Ages and Its Role in Today’s Modern Sense of Ethics
HUMN 303
Professor Matthew Norsworthy
Significance of the Dark Ages and Its Role in Today’s Modern Sense of Ethics
Historians and scholars debate whether the term Dark Ages is an accurate representation of the period when the fall of the Roman Empire occurred. The misconception that the Dark Ages signified a time when people were too diffident when it came to their thinking processes was caused by the lack of available literature and cultural information that described era. What mankind now has can be traced back to the early periods. During that time, feudalism was the main political system followed, which did not accord the poor people opportunities to improve their living conditions. Therefore, a lot of them ended up being slaves. Practice of religious superstitions and beliefs was also rampant as the Catholic Church contested cultural and scientific initiatives engineered by the Greeks and the Romans. Because of this, a lot of information about the period is either inaccurate or non-existent. But with the discovery of various myths and facts regarding the “Dark Ages” that distinguish the evolution from the Dark Ages to modern times, including the recognition of the importance of the legends of knights, honor, and chivalry code in today’s modern sense of ethics, the negative connotation about the era is slowly dissipating. Now, the Dark Ages explains why people view the medieval periods with a romanticism lens through general stereotypes and disconnectedness from modernity.
Defining the Dark Ages
The Dark Ages pertains to the historical period that describes the cultural and economic decline that took place in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. It emphasized the unavailability of literature and historical information about the era as compared with later periods where literature, cultural achievements, and architectural masterpieces, among others,...
HUMN 303
Professor Matthew Norsworthy
Significance of the Dark Ages and Its Role in Today’s Modern Sense of Ethics
Historians and scholars debate whether the term Dark Ages is an accurate representation of the period when the fall of the Roman Empire occurred. The misconception that the Dark Ages signified a time when people were too diffident when it came to their thinking processes was caused by the lack of available literature and cultural information that described era. What mankind now has can be traced back to the early periods. During that time, feudalism was the main political system followed, which did not accord the poor people opportunities to improve their living conditions. Therefore, a lot of them ended up being slaves. Practice of religious superstitions and beliefs was also rampant as the Catholic Church contested cultural and scientific initiatives engineered by the Greeks and the Romans. Because of this, a lot of information about the period is either inaccurate or non-existent. But with the discovery of various myths and facts regarding the “Dark Ages” that distinguish the evolution from the Dark Ages to modern times, including the recognition of the importance of the legends of knights, honor, and chivalry code in today’s modern sense of ethics, the negative connotation about the era is slowly dissipating. Now, the Dark Ages explains why people view the medieval periods with a romanticism lens through general stereotypes and disconnectedness from modernity.
Defining the Dark Ages
The Dark Ages pertains to the historical period that describes the cultural and economic decline that took place in Western Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. It emphasized the unavailability of literature and historical information about the era as compared with later periods where literature, cultural achievements, and architectural masterpieces, among others,...