The Middle Ages or the Dark ages?
The Middle ages in Europe started around 500 A.D. and lasted for about 1000 years. It started with the downfall of Rome, which was resulted in the disruption in trade, downfall of cities and population shift from urban to the countryside. This made Europe stop growing as a society because the lack of trade lead to interchange stops, lack of cities lead to a stunt in the educational system, when the population moved countryside any progression stopped in general. This set Europe back into a very dark time. The Middle Ages do deserve to be called the Dark Ages because Rome had its downfall do to Germanic invasions, diseases such as the bubonic plague and the loss of literature and art.
Between the years of 400 to 600 A.D. Germanic countries began to invade the once great Roman Empire. One of these groups were the Visigoths. “The Visigoths slashed their way across Europe, heading for the heart of the empire. In 408, they reached the walls of Rome. Alaric demanded land and supplies of the Romans. Three times, he blockaded the city while terrified Romans negotiated with him. Finally, in 410, the Visigoths burst in. For three days, they sacked the city, stripping it of its riches. For the first time in nearly 800 years of domination, Rome had been vanquished by an enemy” (Proenza 1). This completely took down the Roman Empire. Taking advantage of Europe’s weakness many countries started to invade, by 800 A.D. Europe faced invaders from almost every direction. Out of all the invaders the Vikings did the most damage, they had no disregard for the land they pillaged they only took what they wanted. Sticking true to their names the ruthless Vikings raided many villages, attacked monasteries, rape the women and killed everyone. On the Vikings ships, along came another threat to Europe, disease ridden rats carrying the deadly bubonic plague. The plague causes round red bulbous pustules under arm pits, the body would be covered in black swellings, these swellings would be covered in blood and puss. They lacked the knowledge of this disease, they didn 't know what to do to prevent the spread of it. If anyone were to come in contact with an infected person they would contract the disease easily. “Decimated a third of the European population” (Beck 358). This painful grueling death was a devastating way of losing the people of Europe, people would watch the loved ones suffer and be helpless to do anything about it. The only thing the people could think about was a fear for their lives, there was no longer a need for literacy or art. “Among the Roman subjects themselves, the level of learning sank sharply as more and more families left for rural areas. Few people except priests and other church officials were literate. Knowledge of Greek, long important in Roman culture, was lost. Few people could read Greek works of literature, science and philosophy” (Beck 317). Education was nonexistent at this point and were focused on surviving rather than living. There were no schools to help educate the children. With uneducated youth there was no chance for advancement into an educated society. Although the dark ages were a harsh period in time, it wasn’t all bad. Though they abandoned many things art was not one of them. ”Early Middle Ages Art reflect the differences between the development of the Catholic religion in the west and the Byzantium Empire.” (Alchin 1). Many great pieces of art such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Chartes Cathedral, and Cologne Cathedral as well as the painting of Child …show more content…
The invaders reduced Rome to nothing making the people that were once in a great civilization start from ground zero; The bubonic plague took so many lives, it also brought upon the fear of the unknown, for the time it was an unstoppable disease that couldn’t be prevented in any way. The loss of literature and art made the people of medieval Europe go back to a time when all they focused on was surviving. Seeking nothing greater in life. The Middle Ages were a very dark time indeed it brought Europe to it’s lowest point so it may be reborn in later
The Middle ages in Europe started around 500 A.D. and lasted for about 1000 years. It started with the downfall of Rome, which was resulted in the disruption in trade, downfall of cities and population shift from urban to the countryside. This made Europe stop growing as a society because the lack of trade lead to interchange stops, lack of cities lead to a stunt in the educational system, when the population moved countryside any progression stopped in general. This set Europe back into a very dark time. The Middle Ages do deserve to be called the Dark Ages because Rome had its downfall do to Germanic invasions, diseases such as the bubonic plague and the loss of literature and art.
Between the years of 400 to 600 A.D. Germanic countries began to invade the once great Roman Empire. One of these groups were the Visigoths. “The Visigoths slashed their way across Europe, heading for the heart of the empire. In 408, they reached the walls of Rome. Alaric demanded land and supplies of the Romans. Three times, he blockaded the city while terrified Romans negotiated with him. Finally, in 410, the Visigoths burst in. For three days, they sacked the city, stripping it of its riches. For the first time in nearly 800 years of domination, Rome had been vanquished by an enemy” (Proenza 1). This completely took down the Roman Empire. Taking advantage of Europe’s weakness many countries started to invade, by 800 A.D. Europe faced invaders from almost every direction. Out of all the invaders the Vikings did the most damage, they had no disregard for the land they pillaged they only took what they wanted. Sticking true to their names the ruthless Vikings raided many villages, attacked monasteries, rape the women and killed everyone. On the Vikings ships, along came another threat to Europe, disease ridden rats carrying the deadly bubonic plague. The plague causes round red bulbous pustules under arm pits, the body would be covered in black swellings, these swellings would be covered in blood and puss. They lacked the knowledge of this disease, they didn 't know what to do to prevent the spread of it. If anyone were to come in contact with an infected person they would contract the disease easily. “Decimated a third of the European population” (Beck 358). This painful grueling death was a devastating way of losing the people of Europe, people would watch the loved ones suffer and be helpless to do anything about it. The only thing the people could think about was a fear for their lives, there was no longer a need for literacy or art. “Among the Roman subjects themselves, the level of learning sank sharply as more and more families left for rural areas. Few people except priests and other church officials were literate. Knowledge of Greek, long important in Roman culture, was lost. Few people could read Greek works of literature, science and philosophy” (Beck 317). Education was nonexistent at this point and were focused on surviving rather than living. There were no schools to help educate the children. With uneducated youth there was no chance for advancement into an educated society. Although the dark ages were a harsh period in time, it wasn’t all bad. Though they abandoned many things art was not one of them. ”Early Middle Ages Art reflect the differences between the development of the Catholic religion in the west and the Byzantium Empire.” (Alchin 1). Many great pieces of art such as the Notre-Dame Cathedral, Chartes Cathedral, and Cologne Cathedral as well as the painting of Child …show more content…
The invaders reduced Rome to nothing making the people that were once in a great civilization start from ground zero; The bubonic plague took so many lives, it also brought upon the fear of the unknown, for the time it was an unstoppable disease that couldn’t be prevented in any way. The loss of literature and art made the people of medieval Europe go back to a time when all they focused on was surviving. Seeking nothing greater in life. The Middle Ages were a very dark time indeed it brought Europe to it’s lowest point so it may be reborn in later