why was d dark ages dark?!?

Question

Besides that their was a decline of historical writing. What is with the condition people live. I dont really know about how people died and suffered. How can i find better research? Thanks in advance for the input.

Answer 1

The lack of writing is part of it, but there was also the destruction of many books that the church or various states didn't approve of. Much of what was common knowledge during Roman times was lost during this period. A great deal of medical knowledge was lost leading to the onset of epidemics and plagues. The history section of a library or bookstore would be a good place to start if you want more details.

Answer 2

The dark ages were so-called because the church ran everything and things like learning, writing, asking questions etc. were simply not allowed. It's more complicated than that but European culture was stagnant and a lot of what had been learned until then was lost. The Arabs rightfully claim that they saved human knowledge at that time. During the dark ages while the Europeans were burning witches the Arab culture was flourishing with mathematics, language development, technological advances, etc. The Renaissance in Europe sort of broke the back of the dark ages and they went and got science and education out of the closet. It's a good example of how religion and the repression of knowledge can stagnate and even cripple a culture. Kind of like what would happen if the religious right in the U.S. were allowed to run the show.

Answer 3

The "Dark" in "Dark Ages" refers not only to the lack of surviving historical texts and writing from that time period, but also the lack of man's involvement with and creating of the finer arts. A psychiatrist, Maszlo (sp?), has come up with a "Heirarchy of Needs," which says that the first things that we need are those things essential to stay alive -- food, water, shelter, etc. Once those needs are satisfied, then and only then can we pursue needs further up his heirarchy having to do with self-expression and creativity. During the Dark Ages, the average Joe was more concerned with where his next meal was coming from. The Huns came in and overran his place last year; this year it's the Goths who came swooping in and plundered and trampled the crops. Next year, it's liable to be the Visigoths who come calling and take everything he has, rapes the wife, and steals the horses. It's not til around the time of Charlemagne that some sort of order gets established. Some borders are agreed upon that are still used today (generally, geographical boundaries but still, Italy is on one side of the Alps, France on the other. Other rivers and mountain ranges still separate Austria, Hungary, Spain, etc.) Once a little law and order are established, the average Joe has the time at the end of the day to sit by a fire and write something that's always been on his mind. And another average Joe sitting by another fire has the time to sit and read it. Or stare at a picture. Or play a violin.

Answer 4

In fact, the Dark Ages wrn't all that Dark. As historians in the past few decades have learned more, we now know there was a higher degree of progress than we used to think. The general concept of a "Dark Age" stems from the assumption that the fall of the (western) Roman Empire led to a centuries long period of ignorance and stagnation.

A very good book on this is Pacey "the Maze of Ingenuity" It traces inovations and social changes from the period arund 100 up to the Rennaisance and shows how those ideas and changes helped pave the way for the Scientific Revolution and th eEnlightenment.

Answer 5

What you need is a history book to sit back and read. The Dark ages is a title given, by modern people; because they were not being very smart with life. Back then avg. life of a person was 30 years old. Marriage was often at 12, because of this. But there is a lot more than anyone can put here.

Answer 6

The "dark" ages are called that exactly because there is not that much known about them.
What is known, however, does not support the idea that there was an unusual amount of suffering. For the most part people lived peacefully, fully occupied with making a living (mostly farming). They were not wealthy, but there was not a lot of conflict either.

Answer 7

In Europe during the Dark Ages, everything was supposed to be focused on religion (Christianity). Any form of art had to have a religious theme. When everything is focused on religion, art, science and culture tend to stagnate--leaving society in the "dark". The printing press came along and ideas were circulated much more easily. Columbus showed Europe that there were lands previously unknown to them. This led people to believe that there could still be much more to learn. Hence the Renaissance.

Answer 8

The dark ages were called so based solely on our lack of written knowledge and history. This is the only reason why it is called that. To find how people lived, you can find history books depicting life in various regions within (approximately) the years 410 AD (CE) through app. 1095 AD (CE). The history channel has a great website with a timeline that I found very interesting. You can find it at http://www.history.com/marquee.do?marquee_id=53127

There are also countless books- do a search on Amazon and you are bound to find something worthwhile.

The largest dangers for people in this era were disease, warfare, and starvation.

Good luck in your search; it is a fascinating time full of mysteries.

Answer 9

While history books and libraries, and reference librarians, are all admirable things, you have the entire Internet at your disposal right now! No need to go anywhere, or get anything!

Go to http://www.google.com and type in "daily life in the dark ages".

You will get links like this:

http://smartin.bol.ucla.edu/caledonia/life.html

If you don't like the links you get at Google, go to http://www.Yahoo.com or http://www.ask.com/, and put in the same search. See if you get different results.

You can also search on "diet in the dark ages" "housing in the dark ages" "clothing in the dark ages" etc.

Answer 10

Go to your local library and ask this question to the reference librarian. He or she will direct towards some accurate sources.