The Dark Ages took place in Europe around 476 A.D., engulfing the nation in a swarm of

Transcription

1 The Dark Ages 1 The Dark Ages Lauren Schuster February 13, 2015 World History Honors Period 3 The Dark Ages took place in Europe around 476 A.D., engulfing the nation in a swarm of evil and pain that lasted seven centuries. Many known artists and architects were discovered, leading to new innovations still pushing society forward today. On Top of new artists, philosophers and scholars stepped up and were recognized for contributions and documentation to disperse new ideas to the people and start guiding others to greater and better things. At a time of darkness it also allowed the government and political figures to get even more vicious and controlling than usual both during the middle ages and currently today. With power thirsty, cruel and influential people as leaders, people had no choice of what to do with life and had to be obedient to what orders were given. In this nasty time period hundreds of thousands, even millions, died but none of it was taken for granted after the fact. Death was a clear problem and to fix what was going on throughout the world everything had to be reconstructed and pieced back together. But to start any healing process, the first step is to get through the horridly heartbreaking events of sickness, conflict and unexpected changes in weather conditions. Europe has been through some tough times and even now continue to look back at their past and reflect how things could have been better resolved and the cause of many disputes/ problems. Despite darkness it lead to greater light and is now considered a big inspiration to what has taken place in history. The years between the fall of Rome and time before the Renaissance, also known as the

2 The Dark Ages 2 Dark Ages, was filled with drastic events that would eventually shape Europe's history and make it what it is today. The Dark Ages is known for it lack of production, ignorance and cruelty that has halted the progress of development all together for hundreds of years. It s name comes from The backward ways and practices that seem to prevail during this time (The Dark Ages, n.d.). It all started around 400 A.D. when there was a sudden pause in everything and the quality of life started to decrease. Sanitary and economical problems slowly increased and people started to use already existing building materials available to create shacks because there was no other place to go (Dark Ages Documentary). Clovis, the new emperor, was just the beginning of the new era of defiance and untraditional actions. On Christmas Day, 496 A.D., he was baptised and converted to christianity only for political reasons (Dark Ages Documentary). This was not the start but continuation of abuse of religious beliefs and extended as an excuse to create unnecessary violence and conflict. Orthodox Christians regarded this time as a period of Catholic corruption; they repudiated the ways of the Catholic Church with its papal doctrines and hierarchy (The Dark Ages, n.d.). Within the church and different religious leaders there were problems regarding governmentship and power of the people. During Clovis rule, Christianity was the common thread and favored beliefs. During this time a simple lie detector theory was born; a believed criminals hand was put into boiling water and if it healed within two days they were innocent, but if it didn t they were guilty and punished with death. This was just the start of a lengthy line of believed ways to detect if crime was committed, and today we have the lie detector. Used from the same ideals, it can read brain activity and reactions to questions if a lie was told or not while their heart rate increases and behavior changes. The healing of the hand can

3 The Dark Ages 3 also be tampered with by the health and demeanor of the person in those two days. That was just one of the many theories and inventions that was developed after the time of the dark ages that historians looked back to research and find more information to improve the plans already previously used. Continuing on the path to mass destruction, the next Byzantine Emperor, Justinian from Constantinople, collected a well supported army and set off to regain power and control seaports to import goods and own more land. Before his death, he built the Hagia Sophia Cathedral in 538 A.D. during his italian campaign (Dark Ages Documentary) and wanted it to be a symbol of his power and glory. A breathtakingly beautiful religious location, it is also a commonly known site that shows the result of actions after that grievous time. This one cathedral while built in sorrow has lead to inspire centuries after its time and will still stand to educate and tell people of how bad things can turn into something beautiful. Than after the death of Justinian, the Byzantine Empire collapsed and everything was thrown into chaos. The Bubonic plague, also known as the black plague and invisible killer in Europe (Dark Ages Documentary) started to spread around 542 A.D. Five out of ten people were killed, leading to the death of one third of Europe's population and put the economy down the drain. One out of two children died before turning five and most experienced the loss of one or both parents, putting them on the streets and if they were lucky, orphanages or camps (Dark Ages Documentary). The spread of the Black Plague was one of the highlights in the Dark Ages and was one of the worst diseases spread within that time period. During that time of death most of the population wasn t even literate and could not read, write and sometimes speak fluently. This idea to express frustration with the lack of Latin literature during this time or other cultural achievements (The Dark Ages, n.d.). There was general confusion when it came to the public documenting and understanding things

4 The Dark Ages 4 and political ideas, making them vulnerable to the small number of people who had power and were educated. Due to window of weakness throughout Europe it did help lead up to the time era where everyone came out of the trance and started to work towards making life better again since nothing was holding them back. Around 732 A.D. the muslims started to grow and were spreading quickly in the Middle East and Africa. But beginning in 730 they did become a growing issue in France which led to even more religious conflict. A new leader, Charlemagne, rose to power starting 800 AD and the Christian Church gave him the title of new Emperor. He ended up launching 50 military campaigns over 46 years (Dark Ages Documentary) and gave the command that either those who weren't christian had to convert or die. Anyone caught worshipping any other gods or practicing any other religions were immediately killed on spot. He divided the country into 350 counties and traveled between all of them in his free time (Dark Ages Documentary). During his reign he also rekindled learning in Europe by building more schools and was able to give more children the option to become educated and learn to read, write and speak better. Everything seemed to get a little better and piece itself back together until June 8, 793. On that day it started the feared viking ages in Lindisfarne, England and expanded all across the nation, slaughtering anyone in the way of getting their treasure. Scarcity of sound literature and cultural achievements marked these years; barbarous practices prevailed (The Dark Ages, n.d.). The viking ships couldn t be tracked but could still travel through rivers and oceans, making them nearly unstoppable and easily transported to small towns. They mostly targeted small waterside villages, making an easy escape route while still getting a good lot of stuff (Dark Ages Documentary). Than after the time of the vikings they got settled and simmered down, but none the less the knights just had to show

5 The Dark Ages 5 up and ruin it all. Riding through the towns on horses they attacked citizens once external enemies were gone, making them an easy target since they were already weak from recent battles (Dark Ages Documentary). Rulers were getting overwhelmed with stress and could not control of the people, so why not just kill them and not have to deal with it anymore? That was the whole purpose of castles; was to send knights to kill innocent peasants in small towns all over (Dark Ages Documentary). To decrease the knight violence outbreak the church took action to try and save as many lives as possible and made two edicts. The peace and truth of God and that people who couldn t defend themselves should not be attacked. With that said, they had no rule defending those of other countries with different beliefs. In 1095 the church gave permission to the knights to attack the Middle East and invade their land (Dark Ages Documentary). This was the start of a military campaign also know as a crusade, a holy war fought between two or more religions. But from the lash towards others it did lead Europe to better opportunities and ultimately lead them straight out of the Dark Ages. By opening new ports and markets it allowed them to increase immigration rates but also more chances to architecture and better chances at a higher life style. Although put through darkness for nearly 700 years, Europe came back on top and soared to success due to its suffering. Those who died and went through those terrible events in the past didn t do that for nothing and the country wouldn t be where it is today if not for the tortuous time before. It allowed access to seaports and allowed trading with other countries and regions to take place with speed and quicker communication. The market blossomed with better materials, produce, other innovations to build off everything. This was the time after sorrow where everyone was relieved it was all over and could think beyond the walls of the imaginary box

6 The Dark Ages 6 placed on top of them for so long. Several new architects and construction sites were underway, fueled by the consistent feeling of freedom and endless thoughts of creativity that was held. With sadness in the past, those experiences were only more motivation to succeed in the future. Opportunities were behind every step of the way and although still facing the general pace of life, creativity was at its highest peak. People wanted to invent more things, travel to new places, construct new buildings and experiment with literature and new ideas. The Dark Ages was seen as an age of faith (The Dark Ages, n.d.). That set history up to climb and push forward until the next conflict they were faced with. Prepared and driven those bad days outnumbered the good ones, but made them that much more special. Now that a variety of each item was at their disposal people could start experimenting and question things because they had the knowledge to do so. If there was the money to paint and create art, there was always the option plus going to school, becoming a merchant, scientist, contractor (although that wasn t the exact term used), etc. Even today there is a way to look back and figure out mistakes, to go and find what was wrong or what could be fixed. All the time the newest and greatest of everything is coming out faster than it could be bought. Companies can than go back to evaluate the statistics, reviews, anything to find out what was successful and what needed to be changed. Same applies to those centuries ago if people weren t able to survive and nothing was able to grow. In Gun, Germs and Steel it mentions how europeans weren't able to thrive in Africa because of the drastic change in conditions. If it couldn t be successful with that was going on then changes had to be made in order to do better. The Dark Ages was filled with trial and error that lasted longer than usual, but in the end lead to greater things, which got us to develop and mature to what it is today and how things will be in the future.

7 The Dark Ages 7 Resources The Dark Ages. (n.d.). Retrieved February 13, 2015, from dark ages.htm Dark Ages 1of10 History Channel. (2009, October 9). Retrieved February 17,2015, from