Official Clan MacTavish Society

                                    since 1997

HISTORY BYTES: Dark Ages
Robert Gunn, Author and Historian

I noticed some discussion and confusion in some places regarding the definition of the Middle Ages and the Dark Ages. So, for the sake of discussion, here is a short defintion/explanation, (I call these short historic posts HISTORY BYTES. Dark ages to follow. This is not a rebuttal.

 

The Dark Ages - History Byte - A brief definition

In keeping with the new series of Historical Bytes of information on European and World history, here is a wee definition of the Dark Ages: The term 'dark age' is not unique to Europe between the fall of the Western Empire and the start of the Middle Ages. 'Dark age' refers to a decline in literacy stemming from political chaos and social disorder. History is a difficult business without contemporary written records.

 

The term 'pre-history' refers to a time without writing, not a time before history. A dark age is a partial reversion to pre-history, and the time after the fall of the Western Empire was such a dark age. The literate Romans were followed by illiterate barbarians. The Church (at this time still fighting heretical sects and pagans for the soul of Europe) still had many literate clerics, but nonetheless there are only inconsistent and somewhat fuzzy records from this period.

 

Europe was torn apart into warring barbarian kingdoms, which had no more complex political organization than family and Clan. The peasants, once protected by the legions of Rome, were now powerless in the face of the barbarians. However, many of the barbarian rulers admired (actually coveted) the glory that was Rome and the church that was its last remnant. Many Roman institutions and social patterns survived during the dark ages, and gradually the political order of Rome returned, in a fashion, under the Franks. The Franks were among the least powerful of the Germanic tribes that invaded Rome, but by the 600s they came to dominate much of Europe. They reached their height under Charlemagne (or 'Charles the Great') in the early 800s.

 

The Frankish Empire did not last long, however. Several groups of barbarians, principally the Vikings, staged massive raids that weakened the Empire. The centralized Empire was unable to defend against these raids, and in respone the peasants began to give land and power to a new class of professional warriors. These men would eventually become the knights and feudal lords who would dominate European life for the next millenium..

 

Deciding when the Dark Ages become the Middle Ages is difficult, as the institutions that define the Middle Ages developed gradually throughout the Dark Ages. I have chosen 1000 A.D. because... Its a nice round number. With three whole zeros

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Author/Medieval Historian: Robert M.Gunn, MA, hwa
Editor, ScotWeb's Scottish History
Primary Sources available upon request

Scottish Highlands and Islands - Scottish History by Robert Gunn

 

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