Top 10
Reasons The Dark Ages Were Not Dark
10 Universities Are Born
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The Classical Education (still used today in some schools) was the system used
by the Universities which were created in the Early Middle Ages (the first in
history). The universities taught the arts, law, medicine, and theology (the
study of religion). The University of Bologna (founded in 1088) was the first
ever to grant degrees. In addition to the classical structure (based on Ancient
Greek education), these medieval universities were heavily influenced by
Islamic education which was thriving at the time. While women were not admitted
to Universities in the early days, the education of women did exist. The
convents of the day educated the young women who would often enter at a very
young age. One such women (Hildegard Von Bingen) is one of the most celebrated
women of the Medieval era who had great influence over the men in power at the
time.
9 Scientific Foundations Laid
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While progress in Science was slow during this period in the West, the progress
was steady and of a very high quality. The foundation was laid here for the
wonderful blossoming of science that was to occur in the High Middle Ages to
come. It can be safely said, that without the study of Science in the Early
Middle Ages, we would be considerably behind in our scientific knowledge today.
Ronald Numbers (professor at Cambridge University) has said: ‘Notions such as:
“the rise of Christianity killed off ancient science”, “the medieval Christian
Church suppressed the growth of the natural sciences”, “the medieval Christians
thought that the world was flat”, and “the Church prohibited autopsies and
dissections during the Middle Ages” [are] examples of widely popular myths
that still pass as historical truth, even though they are not supported by
historical research.’ [Source:
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]
8 Carolingian Renaissance
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The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of advancements in literature,
writing, the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical and scriptural
studies which occurred in the late eighth and ninth centuries. The Carolingians
were Franks and the most well known is Charlemagne. The Carolingian empire was
considered a rebirth of the culture of the Roman Empire. At the time, Vulgar
Latin was beginning to be replaced by various dialects as the main spoken
languages in Europe, so the creation of schools was vital to spread knowledge
further amongst the common people. It was also this period which gave us the foundation
of Western Classical Music.
7 Byzantine Golden Age
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Under Justinian this period gave us the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil
law) - an enormous compendium of Roman Law. Literacy was high,elementary
education was widespread (even in the countryside), middle education was
available to many people, and higher education (as discussed above) was also
widely accessible. In the Byzantine empire during this period we saw a massive
outpouring of books - encyclopedias, lexicons, and anthologies. While they did
not create a lot of new thinking, they solidified and protected for the future
much of what was already known.
6 Religious Unity
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This is a sticky topic, but the fact is, during the Early Middle Ages, Europe
had a united Church, an agreed upon canon of the Bible, and a well developed
philosophical tradition. This led (as one would expect) to a great period of
peace within the Western nations. While Islam was not in agreement with the
doctrines of the West, much mutual sharing of information happened and the
Islamic contribution to the West is still felt today. This union of beliefs
allowed for intellectual progress unseen since the Roman Empire at its heyday.
In a sense you might consider this period as the calm before the storm, as it
was merely a hundred years later that the first Crusade would be called to take
Jerusalem back from the Muslims - an event which ended the flow of knowledge
between groups.
5 Algebra Arrived
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Thanks to the learning of the Islamic people in the East, the world received
its first book on algebra. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion
and Balancing was written by Al-Khwārizmī (790-840) and the Arabic
title of the book gave us the word “algebra”. The word algorithm comes from
al-Khwārizmī’s name. This book gave us the first systematic solution
of linear and quadratic equations. Later translations of his books also gave us
the
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system we use today. Al-Khwārizmī, along with
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, is considered the Father of algebra.
4 Art and Architecture
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During the Early Middle Ages, architecture was diverse and innovative. It
introduced the idea of realistic images in art and it laid the groundwork for
the Romanesque period which was to come in the High Middle Ages. The period
also included the introduction and absorption of classical forms and concepts
in architecture. It can safely be said that this period was the first period of
high art - with previous styles (Migration period) being much more functional
and less “artistic”. In the Early Middle Ages we witness the birth of an
astonishing and beautiful history of art and building.
3
Fantastic Weather
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Trivial as it may seem, the weather played a much greater part in the lives of
the average people during the Middle Ages and beyond. When we think of the
“Dark Ages” we tend to see images of snow storms, rain, thunder, and darkness -
such as we see in films like “The Name of the Rose”. The fact is, in the Early
Middle Ages, the North Atlantic region was warming up - so much so that at the
opening of the High Middle Ages (1100 AD), the region was 100 years into an
event now known as the Medieval Warm Period. This warm period thawed much ice
and enabled the Vikings to begin their colonization of Greenland and other
northern nations. Ironically, the Protestant reformation (16th century) up
until the 19th century suffered the Little Ice Age - the period of
“enlightenment” was literally darker and colder than the “dark” ages. During
this period, reforms and better knowledge of agriculture provided a boost to
food supplies.
2 Law Becomes Fair
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The Early Middle Ages had a complex system of laws which were often not
connected, but they were effective and fair for the most part. For merchants
traveling around the world, there was the Lex Mercatoria (Law Merchant) which
had evolved over time, rather than being created. This law included arbitration
and promoted good practice amongst traders. At the same time, Anglo Saxon Law
was formed with a focus on keeping peace in the land. While this eventually
lead to some very tough laws, living under the legal system in the Early Middle
Ages was probably the best time to live - as it was still flexible and fair for
the majority. The third important legal system was the the Early Germanic Law
which allowed each person to be tried by his own people - so as to not be
disadvantaged by ignorance or major cultural differences.
1 Agricultural Boom
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If you were wanting to die a martyr by starvation, the Early Middle Ages were
not the time to do it! As a consequence of the excellent weather and greater
agricultural knowledge, the West did extremely well. Iron tools were in wide
use in the Byzantine empire, feudalism in other parts of the world introduced
efficient management of land, and massive surpluses were created so that
animals were fed on grains and not grass. Public safety was also guaranteed
under the feudal system and so peace and prosperity was the lot for most
people.
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