Dark Ages or Early Middle Ages Is Essay

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Dark Ages or Early Middle Ages is that historical time period of the Western Europe that came after the collapse of the West Roman Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. It ended when the period of the Renaissance started in the 15th century. The western civilization adopted a number of its ideas and institutions from the unstable and tumultuous events of the Early Middle Ages. It won't be incorrect to state that the culture in West in fact experienced a revolution in the Middle Age. The most important reason why Middle Age can be considered advancement in the humanities is that its effects influenced the world greatly. The significance of this specific time period "has been increasingly recognized as scholarship based on newly published source material, archaeological findings, and studies of demographics and migration patterns presents more accurate and detailed analyses of events and trends" ("Middle Ages," 2013).

Even though there were slow evolutions and accurate dates are not available so that the Middle Ages can be demarcated, a number of historians agree that the period started with the demise of the Theodosius I (Roman emperor) in 395 and ended the Visigoths conquered Rome in 410. In previous times, the whole period of the Middle Ages was regarded as being the Dark Age. However, now the Early Middle Ages is considered to be the Dark Ages i.e. from 450 to 750 ("Middle Ages," 2013).

During this time period, there was no uniformity in the Medieval Europe. Though the region was very large geographically, it was divided into minor units that were diverse culturally and politically and no single authority had domination over them. With the Roman Empire's disintegration, the civilization in Europe was left with Christianity as the standard. The secular authority was acquired by the papacy over time. As a consequence, monastic communities that followed the Rule of St. Benedict were able to preach and spread Latin civilization in the West, particularly in Germany ("Middle Ages," 2013).

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By the 8th century, Christianity had taken a central position and it encouraged the incorporation of Latin traditions in the society. Along with that, Germanic laws were also introduced in this time period. This fusion was very well illustrated in the remote empire that the Charlemagne created. On the other hand, the weak condition of the central authority of the empire broke down further when the Vikings and Magyars invaded a number of regions ("Middle Ages," 2013). Thus, the Europe gave the look of a mess with the collapse of Rome. However, Ireland was not affected by the ongoing events. It remained a comparatively solid and organized society where monastic settlements were present instead of towns/cities. At the same time as Europe was tunneling in the Dark Age sludge, Ireland was illuminated by the light of civilization. In fact, it was due to the torch that was carried by Irish monks that Europe got its civilization back. It won't be incorrect to mention that the Irish monks gifted Europe with the richly-illustrated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells etc. And these manuscripts may be considered as the most valuable art of Europe during Dark Age. The Irish landscape is also dotted with magnificently glorious round that silently remind the viewer of the Dark Age (Charles-Edwards, 2000).

During this period, Feudalism turned out to be the distinctive social and political structure in Europe with agricultural at its base. This modern framework further strengthened when Christianity was accepted by invaders in the 11th century resulting in an agricultural prosperity that not increased productivity in the region but also became a major factor in the expansion of population ("Middle Ages," 2013).

With the coming of the High Middle Ages, the church was recognized as the universal institution that unified people.….....

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