dark ages

1. The idea of the “Dark Ages” came from later scholars who were heavily biased toward ancient Rome.

• various Germanic peoples conquered the former Roman Empire in the West
•  the literacy rate was not as high in the Early Middle Ages as in ancient Rome
• no scientific accomplishments were made and no great art was produced
• Gregory of Tours in the sixth and Bede in the eighth) had a strong Rome-centric bias.
• 476 A.D.

2. The Church replaced the Roman Empire as the most powerful force in Europe, redefining the relationship between church and state.

• In Rome’s absence, Europe in the Early Middle Ages lacked a large kingdom or other political structure as a single centralizing force
• the medieval Church grew into the most powerful institution in Europe
• Kings, queens and other rulers during the early medieval period drew much of their authority and power from their relationship with the Church. 
• The rise of a strong papacy, beginning with Gregory the Great (pope from 590 to 604), meant that European monarchs could not monopolize power, unlike in the days of the Roman Empire. 
• This idea off limits on royal power would continue into the High Middle Ages, influencing such milestones as the Magna Carta and the birth of the English Parliament.

3. The growth of monasticism had important implications for later Western values and attitudes.

• The dominance of the Church during the Early Middle Ages was a major reason later scholars
• branded the period as “unenlightened” (otherwise known as dark)
• believing the clergy repressed intellectual progress in favor of religious piety. 
• early Christian monasteries encouraged literacy and learning, and many medieval monks were both patrons of the arts and artists themselves.
• One particularly influential monk of the Early Middle Ages was Benedict of Nursia (480-543), who founded the great monastery of Montecassino. 

4. The Early Middle Ages were boom times for agriculture.

• Before the Early Middle Ages, Europe’s agricultural prosperity was largely limited to the south
•  the invention of the heavy plough, which could turn over the much more fertile clay soil deep in the earth, would galvanize the agriculture of northern Europe by the 10th century.
•  the horse collar, which was placed around a horse’s neck and shoulders to distribute weight and protect the animal when pulling a wagon or plough. 
• Horses proved to be much more powerful and effective than oxen, 
• and the horse collar would revolutionize both agriculture and transportation. be fueled the agricultural boom of the period.

5. Great advances were made in science and math—in the Islamic world.

•  the idea that the medieval Christian church suppressed natural scientists, prohibiting procedures such as autopsies and dissections and basically halting all scientific progress
• Progress may have been slower in Western Europe during the Early Middle Ages, but it was steady
•  At the same time, the Islamic world leaped ahead in mathematics and the sciences, building on a foundation of Greek and other ancient texts translated into Arabic
• by the ninth-century Persian astronomer and mathematician al-Khwarizmi (c. 780-c. 850), would introduce Europe to algebra,
•  the Latinized version of al-Khwarizmi’s name gave us the word “algorithm.”

6. The Carolingian Renaissance saw a flowering in the arts, literature, architecture and other cultural realms.

• Karl, a son of Pepin the Short, inherited the Frankish kingdom with his brother Carloman when Pepin died in 768
•  Carloman died several years later, and 29-year-old Karl assumed complete control
• Over some 50 military campaigns, his forces fought Muslims in Spain
• As representative of the first Germanic tribe to practice Catholicism, Charlemagne took seriously his duty to spread the faith. 
• In 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne “emperor of the Romans,” which eventually evolved into the title of Holy Roman Emperor.