Official Clan MacTavish Society

                                    since 1997

HISTORY BYTES: Middle 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 Middle Ages - History Byte - A brief definition

The period of history which lies between ancient (classical) times, from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the fall of Constantinople and the end of the Eastern Roman Empire, is generally known as the Middle Ages. It was a period when the removal of the strong, central government of Rome left Europe in chaos and plunged it into the Dark ages. The mighty (but brutal) empire was fragmented into small kingdoms, (or sub-kingdoms) and in many places rule was by local lords, each of whom exercised his power only in the immediate vicinity of his own castle or base of power. This was a time, too, of poverty and hardship; with the lack of wealth and consequently of people able to act as patrons, there was a decline in learning.

In the Near East, (the Arabic and Perisan lands for example) however, learning flourished while the religion of Islam was to prove a unifying force, while Asian and the South Americas complex independent civilisations (i.e Mayans) also flourished.

But the European picture did not remain dark forever. [Actually Dark ages is something of a misnomer as not all learing was lost in Europe - just most of it. For example, in Ireland, the Celtic monasteries and early christians were able to keep extensive records of many things that were thought lost to European scholoars for centuries].

During the Dark Ages (see History Byte # 2), there was gradually a growth of nationalist feeling, and strong kings (i.e Charlemagne) began to make countries out of their lands. The introduction of the feudal system gave a structure on which government could be based.

Finally, the steadily growing power and wealth of the Church provided another unifying force, and gave some men leisure to pursue lives of scholarship and study. This towards the end of that period.

This, then, is a short description of the Middle Ages and the time period it covers is generally stated to be from pre-500 CE to c. 1453 CE, when the 100 years war ended, and the Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople - the end of the remnants of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The Dark Ages will be the period we shall look at in the next summary. Note: these are generally accepted times frames by a concensus of a majority of historians, but no doubt you may find others with a slightly different view.

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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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