1 How Dark Were the Dark Ages ? Often when the Medieval period is brought up, people think of the term “Dark Ages” : a time with little - to - no technological progress where people regressed from the once great Roman Empire to dirty peasants who never bathed and rejected science. A very popular meme represents this misconception (Figure 1) The author of this meme argues that the “ Christian Dark Ages represents a time in the history of Europe where scientific advancement not only halted but went backward. The hole left by the Dark Ages bears the imprint of scientific ignorance that lasted longer than the Roman Empire. Imagine where scientific advanceme nt would stand today if not for the scars left by Christianity ” (Walker 2010). These ideas carry into pop culture with mov ies depict ing the Middle Ages in a n extremely dark and gritty tone, devoid of color While “dark” can serve useful as a term to descri be a period that has few surviving written sources, t he Dark Ages has mainly been used to describe the medieval period as a wholly bleak and stagnant period Th is assumption stems from Renaissance writers who thought themselves superior to their historical counterparts. They admired the ancient Romans and Greeks and saw the world in three phases : the Classical Age being the time of the Greeks and Romans , the Renaissance being a revival of that romantic and classical culture with an intellectual and artistic boom, and the time in between , which became the Middle Ages. Seventeenth - and eighteenth - century historians , like Edward Gibbon , jumped on this idea and referred to this period as the Dark Ages, full of uncultured barbarians, evil tyrants, an d superstitious peasants ( Medieval ists 2014) Soon the Middle Ages and Dark Ages became the same thing. Something else to note is that t he Dark Ages is a very Eurocentric term that disregards the Islamic Golden Age th at was occurring at the same time. However, this essay will still mainly focus on Western Europe, and even if the term were to be used for Western Europe only , it would still be misleading . Historians today now 2 recognize the many achievements and advancements made during the so - called Dark Ages as a continuation of the Classical Age, as well as dispute the myths popularized by writers and historians during the Renaissance ( Figure 1: https://web.archive.org/web/20200308203748/http://nobeliefs.com/comments10.htm ) When studying the Middle Ages, it is important t o understand the history and context of the time and to not dehumanize and stigmatize entire generations of people. There certainly was a period of “darkness” per se that occurred following the fall of the Roman Empire in Western Europe , especially Britain . There was a clear decline in the technology used and material culture between the later Roman period and the seventh century (O’Neill, 2015) An example of this decline is the disappearance of long - distance trade for luxury goods like ceramics . The rate of learning also decreased, but unlike some believe, was not completely extinguished. Churches did preserve pagan philosophy , although much was lost in the fall of the Roman Empire (O’Neill, 2015). However, t his was not due to a lack of intelligence. Medieval people were just as smart as 3 the Romans or the people during the Renaissance Medieval people during the “Dark Ages” just used their intelligence for other matters more prevalent to dealing with the infrastructure of the Roman era crumbling from a complex combination of economic and political failures as well as successive invasions and internal political division and wa rfare within their regions . Thus, instead of focusing their intelligence on building aqueducts or translating Aristotle from the Greek, medieval people found new ways to grow food, protect crops and survive (O’Neill, 2015) Contrary to its title, the “Dar k Ages” helped shin e a bright light on agricultu ral innovation As long - distance trade became less available, medieval European farmers had to become more self - sufficient and labor effective. Thus, technology and techniques within agriculture that helped to reduce labor and increase yields were invented and adopted and soon agrarian production was revolutionized (O’Neill, 2015). The heavy plow was developed and adopted, which caused increased food production. In areas like Northern Europe, it was difficult to maximize their productivity as the common scratch plow (Figure 2) of the time was mainly suitable for the soils and climate of the Mediterranean and not the resistant clay soils in Northern Europe ( Andersen 2015) . Soon, however, the heavy plow (Figure 3) was developed and adopted around 1000 AD. This new plow had three main advantages over the older scratch - plow: it turned the soil , which allowed for fertilization techniques like crop residues, green manure, and animal manure ; it produced high - back ridges , which allowed for more efficient drainage of clay soils and better harvests in both wet and dry season, and the plowing itself was so violent towards the soil that cross - pl owing was not needed, thus saving a labor time (Andersen 2015) The main drawback of the heavy plow was that it used horses over oxen to increase the tractive power. To effectively use horses, more innovations were 4 created such as horseshoes, the horse collar, and tandem harnessing. All of this allowed for the widespread use and adoption of the heavy plow (Nelson 2001). Once the heavy plow was fully adopted, medieval farmers were able to maximize their food production which would lead to population growth, specialization, urbanization, and more leisure time (Andersen 2015). (Figure 2: https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi26.htm ) (Figure 3: https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi26.htm ) 5 Another development by medieval farmers was a form of crop rotation known a s the three - field system (Figure 4 ) Before the three - field system, farmers used the old two - field system in which half the land was sown to crop, and the other half was left fallow (unsown) each season. The new system only left a third of the land fallow and in autumn one - third was planted with wheat, barley, or rye, and in the spring another third was planted with oats, barley, and legumes (Britan nica 2020). Legumes, or peas and beans, were used as a complement to the grain crops and helped to restore nitrogen to the soil. They also had vines that helped choke out weeds and cover the ground making the soil easier to plow (Nelson 2001). With good pl anning, medieval farmers were able to use this new system to produce three annual harvests instead of just one, which would, like the heavy plow, increase production and population. As more food was produced and a surplus was met, medieval people began to specialize once more, as they had done during the Roman Empire. An example of specialization was animal husbandry in Anglo - Saxon communities. ( Figure 4 : https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi26.htm ) 6 Early and Middle Anglo - Saxon sites in England show evidence of agricultural innovation regarding the specialization of animal husbandry. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Early Anglo - Saxon communities had to focus on self - sufficiency over trade. Thus, when studying the distribution of domestic mammals, the spread between pigs, cattle, and sheep/goats is more mixed than specialized and var ies little from community to community For example, communities still produced thirty - five percent or more cattle in areas typically dominated by sheep production (Crabtree 2010) . Because of self - sufficiency cattle were very important for transport an d traction when using the older plows. However, as food production increased due to innovations like the heavy plow and the three - field system, evidence shows a shift towards more specialized animal husbandry practices and a shift from self - sufficiency to trade . Specifically, in Middle Saxon communities, there is an increase in the diversity of speci es ratios when compared to Early communities. The main shift appeared to be towards wool production, as communities began to specialize in s heep production and moved away from cattle (Crabtree 2010) . This was only possible because of the increased production, allowing for surplus, and thus trade. With a greater food surplus, the need to refine wheat grew. Soon, windmills began to spread throug h Europe, which mechanized flour production along with other processes that were once done manually (O’Neill 2015). Medieval people built upon the windmill and soon tidal mills and lateral mills were also invented. The processes done by these new machines increased to include sawing, masonry, driving trip hammers, and automated forge bellows, among other innovations (O’Neill 2015). These technological innovations boosted production and standards of living, which in turn led to more innovations outside of ag riculture With the help of agricultural innovations , the Dark Ages soon saw great leaps in technology, medicine, and architecture. The Church was still able to preserve some Greek and 7 Roman learning and monastic schools were spread throughout Europe ( Teeuwisse 2019) Eventually, contact with Jewish and Muslim scholars in Spain saw once lost works of Aristotle, Ptolemy, Archimedes, and others translated into Latin and returned to Western Europe (O’Neil l 2015) . Universities were also established across Europe, setting up a nother network of learning outside of the Church From this period of learning came major inventions like the mechanical clock, eyeglasses, gunpowder weapons, printing press , compass, and the astrolabe ( MFG 2022 and O’Neil l 2015). Along with technological achievements, progress in medicine did not just come to a halt after Rome collapsed. While some knowledge was lost, advancements in surgery, medical chemistry, dissection, and practical medicine were made in the Dark Ages ( Teeuwisse 2019). One example was the use of inhalational anesthesia . A 14 th - century surgeon named Guy de Chauliac wrote of a medication that could send the patient to sleep made of opium, juice of the morel, H yoscyamus, mandrake, ivy, hemlock, and lettuce ( Teeuwisse 2019). External and internal surgeries were also performed, and they learned how to use wine as an antiseptic In fact, there is a forearm found of a man who lived between the 12 th and 16 th centuries with a copper plate fitted to support a fracture (Figure 5). The man survived the operation and healed quite well ( Teeuwisse 2019). Medieval people were also told to comb their hair, wash themselves , and clean their teeth and gums ( Teeuwisse 201 9) Lastly, Gothic architecture is due to innovations made by medieval engineers and architects. Inspired by Islamic architecture, medieval people wished to build very tall structures while preserving natural light. To complete this feat, they used the poi nted arch, ribbed vault, and flying buttress (Britannica 2023) The pointed arch relieved some of the thrust and the stress on other structural elements, which allowed builders to reduce the size of the columns that supported the arch The new columns were now slender and continued to the roof to become part of the ri bbed vault ( Spanswick 2015) This modification 8 used pointed arches which, unlike the round arches used before, could be raised higher (Figure 6) (Britannica 2011 ). Lastly, the flying buttress increased the supporting power of the buttress and allowed for higher ceilings (Britannica 2021). Sadly, the name Gothic came from the Renaissance to describe these beautiful feats of engineering as barbaric. The insult falls i n line with how the so - called Dark Ages are looked upon. The progress made during this period is overlooked and placed below to rise of the bullies found in the latter years. (Figure 5: https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2019/09/10/ medieval - myths - bingo ) (Figure 6: https://smarthistory.org/gothic - architecture - an - introduction/ ) 9 It is ignorant at best and arr ogant at worst to claim that the so - called Dark Ages were a time of complete regression with no innovation at all. While it certainly makes the modern man feel better about themselves to declare “no time was as good as we have it now” it is important to understand material conditions and how the y shape the people around them. Medieval people were not dirty, overtly superstitious barbarians. They were affected by the collapse of a far - stretching colonial empire, sure, but they were able to bou nce back and continue to progress and innovate. Times were not perfect of course, but agricultural innovation led to increased food production and specialization, which in turn would lead to more innovation outside of agriculture. Inventions, medicine, and architecture were briefly covered, but there are even more innovation s and details that could be added as well such as those concerning warfare (armor, siege engines, castles, weaponry, etc.). There is also a multitude of myths popularized after the Middl e Ages which were not fully covered either. Another final issue regarding the understanding of the Middle Ages is how large of a period it covers. One can easily say that it lasted from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance, but the question is which one? Before the famous 16 th and 17 th century Renaissance which lambasted the Dark Ages, there was t he Carolingian Renaissance (8th and 9th centuries), the Ottonian Renaissance (10th centu ry) , and the Renaissance of the 12th century ( Teeuwisse 2019) Some present the argument that the Middle/Dark Ages and the Renaissance should be combined, however, a more convincing argument is that the Middle Ages is merely a continuation of the Roman Emp ire in Europe, and the Renaissance is a continuation of the Middle Ages. Sure, the Renaissance drew more inspiration from the Classical Era, but if not for the innovations so looked down upon or forgotten, the Renaissance would not have been possible. Thus , when considering the “darkness” 10 of the Dark Ages, one co ncludes that just like many periods in history there might be times of darkness, but to generalize the whole Middle Ages as “dark” is asinine. 11 Works Cited Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck, Peter Sandhol t Jensen, and Christian Volmar Skovsgaard. 2016. “The Heavy Plow and the Agricultural Revolution in Medieval Europe.” Journal of Development Economics 118 (January): 133 – 49. doi:10.1016/j.jdeveco.2015.08.006. Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2011 "vault." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/vault - architecture Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2020. "three - field system." Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/topic/three - field - system Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2021. "flying buttress." Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/technology/flying - buttress Britann ica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia. 2023. "Gothic architecture." Encyclopedia Britannica https://www.britannica.com/art/Gothic - architecture Crabtree, Pam J . 2010. “Agricultural Innovation and Socio - Economic Change in Early Medieval Europe: Evidence from Britain and France.” World Archaeology 42 (1): 122 – 36. doi:10.1080/00438240903430373. Lienhard , John H. 2018. “ Three - Field Crop Rotation.” The Engines of Ou r Ingenuity https://www.uh.edu/engines/epi26.htm MFG. 2022. “ Medieval World: Inventions in the Middle Ages .” Matthew Flinders Gir ls Secondary College Library https://mfgsc - vic.libguides.com/c.php?g=916765&p=6610145 Nelson, Lynn H. 2001. “ The Peasants: Advances in Agricultural Technology, 800 - 1000 ” The University of Kansas http://www.vlib.us/ medieval /lectures/peasants.html O’Neill , Tim. 2015. “ Why Are the Middle Ages Often Characterized as Dark or Less Civilized? ” Slate https://slate.com/human - interest/2015/01/ medieval - history - why - are - the - middle - ages - often - characterized - as - dark - o r - less - civilized.html Spanswick, Valerie. 2015. “ Gothic architecture, an introduction .” Smarthistor y https://smarthistory.org/gothic - architectu re - an - introduction/ Teeuwisse , Jo H. 2019. “ Medieval Myths Bingo .” Fake History Hunter https://fakehistoryhunter.net/2019/09/10/ medieval - myths - bingo Walker, Jim. 2010. “ The Myth of Christianity Founding Modern Science and Medicine (A nd the Hole Left by the Christian Dark Ages*) .” NoBeliefs.com https://web.archive.org/web/20200308203748/http://nobeliefs.com/comments10.htm