Keith Tyler

Medieval Europe

History's 'Dark Ages'

Although the period in Europe from 500 to anywhere between 800 to 1000 is not always referred to by historians as "the dark ages," the typical introduction to the history on the topic is normally rather dark and foreboding. Tierney opens his section on Frankish Gaul in 500, he describes it as being "in every way backward and barbarous (p. 95)" as compared to the relatively stable Byzantine empire during that time.

The host of "The Western Tradition" covering the "Dark Ages" paints a similar picture in opening his lecture. He describes it as a "dark and bloody" time where the Roman structures (both architecturally as well as politically) are in ruins, the economy has fallen apart, and the existing material culture decays. As to be expected in this situation, the western empire is split into vague geographic areas occupied by warlike, barbaric tribes.

The host explains that another part of the reason why the time is referred to as the "Dark Ages" is because there is little in the way of surviving literature or other material for us to gain knowledge about the time. The period is "dark" or cloudy in historical terms since we don't know much about it. Furthermore, as Power points out, for many centuries history was primarily focused on retelling the lives of rulers and other great men, and not the day to day lives of people or their world.

. The material that survives during that era mostly deals with monastic life, which follows from the fact that it was mostly men of the cloth who were able to read and write. But also, with man surrounded by warring and pillaging, as well as corrupt bishops ("Dark Ages"), many sought the life of the apostles, turning to monastic or hermitic life. As religious orders gained in popularity, it became necessary to document certain aspects of monastic life, like the establishment of monastic rules (Benedict, in Andrea, p. 101).

In this way too did the religious side of Western life approach the secular side. Gregory of Tours, considering himself an element of a decline in Western culture as it were, told the tale of the king Clovis of the Franks, which is a "wild, barbaric tale of treachery, violence and lust. (Tierney, p. 95)" The Church began to be influenced by the habits of the barbarians it so avidly converted. As a result, a decline in the moral standards of the clergy came about. Bishops would own slaves, fight, and drink to drunkenness ("Dark Ages"). Their bad habits in turn would influence the common people.

Eventually the Church would gain certain power over the Western world through asserting itself. The conversion of so much of the barbaric kings gave the message of Christianity a broad audience. The Christian stories took the place of the old pagan myths for many people, and were thought of in similar ways. Saints took the place of the old Roman gods, such that people would pay homage to certain saints in the same way they once worshipped ancient gods in exchange for a gift from that saint's particular powers. Later, the Roman bishopry would assert itself as the preeminent leader of the Catholic Church (due in part to this belief of saintly power) (Andrea, p. 110) and would also begin to impose religious laws, especially on the caprice Germanic kings ("Dark Ages").

This darkness begins to disappear with the reign of Charlemagne, who it is reported had a respect for the academic and artistic life. He gathered an assortment of Western intellectuals, scholars, and teachers to his royal court, and one (Einhard) was ordered to write his biography (Andrea, p. 137). Some historians refer to Charles's bringing on of a short age of scholasticism as the Carolingian Renaissance, which is a sharp contrast to the sense of the term Dark Ages. The rise in power of the Church also came to a new milestone, when Pope Leo III took it upon himself to crown Charles as Holy Roman Emperor.