Image Credit: Fulda, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons The Early Middle Age renaissance of literature and learningĭevelopments in learning and literature did not disappear during the Early Middle Ages. Raban Maur (left), supported by Alcuin (middle), dedicates his work to Archbishop Otgar of Mainz (Right) The early Middle Age kingdoms thus lived in a very interconnected world and from this sprung many cultural, religious and economic developments. Mediterranean-influenced gold coins such as these probably reflect extensive international trade. 796–821), Offa’s successor, as a Roman emperor. It is inscribed with both Latin and Arabic and is a direct copy of coinage minted by the Islamic Abbasid Caliphate based in Baghdad. One coin dates to the reign of King Offa (r. Certain Anglo-Saxon coins have European influences, visible in two gold Mercian coins. Trade too reached far and wide during the Early Middle Ages. “O God, deliver this monastery from these Britons who come swarming around this countryman of theirs like bees returning to their queen.” International trade A record even survives of Frankish observers complaining about a monastery in Charlemagne‘s kingdom that was run by an English abbot called Alcuin: Nobles and commoners went on frequent and often perilous pilgrimages to Rome and even further afield. Anglo-Saxon men and women were also regular sights in mainland Europe. People were not just travelling to Anglo-Saxon England however. Theodore himself had originated from Tarsus in south-eastern Asia Minor (now south-central Turkey) and had trained in Constantinople. In the late 7th century, the archbishop Theodore founded a school at Canterbury that would go on to become a key centre of scholarly learning in Anglo-Saxon England. The early English Church for instance relied heavily on priests and bishops who had trained abroad. In a time epitomised by extensive increases in Christian missionary activity, it appears Early Middle Age kingdoms lived in a very interconnected world. Indeed, many argue that ‘the Dark Ages’ never truly happened. Labelling this large period of history as a time of little cultural advancement and its peoples as unsophisticated is, however, a sweeping generalisation and regularly considered to be incorrect. This period came to be referred to as the Early Middle Ages. Later on, as more evidence came to light after the 18th century, scholars started to restrict the term ‘Dark Ages’ to the period between the 5th and 10th centuries. The time is often referred to with terms like the Middle-Ages or Feudal Period (another term that is now contentious amongst medievalists). These dates are under constant scrutiny by historians as there is a degree of overlap in dates, cultural and regional variations and many other factors. Granted, there were aspects of Roman and Greek society and culture that were very unsavoury ( Gladiatorial combat and slavery to name a few), but after Rome’s fall and subsequent withdrawal from power, European history is portrayed as taking a ‘wrong turn’.Īfter Petrarch’s disparagement of the ‘dark age’ of literature, other thinkers of the time expanded this term to encompass this perceived dearth of culture in general across Europe between 500 to 1400. Both Roman and Greek civilisations had provided the world with contributions to art, science, philosophy, architecture and political systems.
The classical era was rich with apparent cultural advancement. He called it the ‘Dark Ages’ as he was dismayed at the lack of good literature at that time. He was an Italian scholar of the 14th century. Why is it called the Dark Ages?įrancesco Petrarca (known as Petrarch) was the first person to coin the term ‘Dark Ages’. However, the term doesn’t stand up to much scrutiny – and many medieval historians have dismissed it. It has been called the ‘Dark Ages’ because many suggest that this period saw little scientific and cultural advancement. The timeline falls between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The ‘Dark Ages’ were between the 5th and 14th centuries, lasting 900 years.
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