Obscurantism In The Middle Ages Essay

Improved Essays
Obscurantism is associated with the Medieval Age immediately. We instantly think that it was a time when cultural, social and economic progress stopped abruptly, while the taste for war destroyed and bloodied everything. However, this association is still a stereotype. It is true that the Middle Ages was a period of conflict, famine and misery. A period in which the social system was unjust and free men were the exception, but it was not always so.
Not everything was sinister and terrible in the Middle Ages, even in some periods, there were positive things and advances. It may be said that, among the changes that began to indicate the arrival of the Middle Ages, we must point out the end of slavery and the beginning of the feudal regime, which obviously is not one of the good aspects of this the period, but it was at that time.
…show more content…
Also, the codon rudder was invented, and the modifications in the sailing of the ship, that Columbus would use later to arrive at America. This era’s legacy also includes: Arab medicine, municipal freedoms, universities, mercantile economy, Arabic numerals, glass, sitting at the table to eat, hospitals, glasses, and many others.
Far from being a Dark Age, as it is popularly known, the Middle Ages might best be called the Bright Age.
Dark Age has prevailed over time because it ends with a positive balance. The melting pot of cultures was transcendental for Western civilization because in the end, it gave rise to the beginning of the Greek world and its imminent triumph.
The most interesting aspect for me, is the unitary conception of life, recognized by the boundless presence of the Church, so much so, that it would be more appropriate to define the Middle Ages as an era of

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    The beginning of The Middle Ages, also known as the Dark Ages, came after the fall of the Roman Empire. The middle Ages was a time of disease and death for European culture that clouded the time from 400 AD to 1200 AD in darkness and hopelessness. The Political culture of the Medieval ages is what best known for its instability for power over the competition for royalty. The culture of the time was very idealistic in nature by thinking of their surroundings as they should rather than what they were. During this era a shift of normality came to play with gender roles.…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Renaissance Dbq Essay

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages

    After the Middle Ages, a time called the Renaissance came into action. This change impacted everyone whether they wanted it to or not. New ways of art, literature, science, and much more were born into the world. The people who were living in this time period had no idea at the time but, everything around them was evolving into new, better ways of life. There came a different view of the world and it transformed everybody’s aspects into something that can never change back.…

    • 581 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dark Age Dbq

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages

    An Italian Scholar in 1300s, Petrarch used the term "Dark Age" to describe the period in Europe after the fall of Rome. Even though some stated it was in a dark age, it was more in a period of growth. Why it is more in a period of growth it is because there were good things happening like new universities built. Europe is more in a period of growth than a dark age. Europe was not in a dark age, more of a period of growth because of some good things that happen.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When looking at the European Middle Ages, it may be easy to assume it was a “dark” time, due to the many horrors the time period endured. However, this is not enough to label the entire period as the “Dark Ages.” The Middle Ages were more light than dark, because it was a period of religious dedication, intellectual breakthrough, and scientific advancement. While religion has appeared important in almost every culture of every time period, it was very prominent in the Middle Ages. God was viewed even more holy than He is today, not even being spoken of by any earthly name.…

    • 643 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Dbq The Dark Ages

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The (dark age) was not just all just bad it had some good periods in it too. For example, Document C discusses how Europe had many new improvements and ideas. This document states, " technology improvements like the heavy plow, the shoulder collar for horses, metal horseshoes, and more efficient water and more windmills contributed to the jump in food." Another example…

    • 372 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages Dbq

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages

    An air of gloominess surrounds the Middle Ages, from the weariness of everyday people’s lives, to the battles and wars fought by knights. ” There is something dark and wintry about the atmosphere of the later Middle Ages”-Lytton Strachey. This period, after the fall of the western Roman Empire and before the Renaissance, was when no progress was made in culture or education because of the lack of a central government. This crisis in the government caused people to focus their attention on survival. For this reason, the quality of life of the citizens depended on the strength of the current monarch.…

    • 1220 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Bubonic Plague Dbq

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Middle Ages, a time period in Europe where the thriving society after the Roman Empire declined, and the population was affected by many of the ongoing conflicts. The time of the Middle Ages lasted from 500-1500 CE. Around 1339 in northwestern Europe, the population was beginning to outgrow the food supply and relentless economic crisis began to take place. The winters were extremely cold and the summers were dry. Due to this extreme weather, very few crops made it past harvest and those that grew were dying.…

    • 1430 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages DBQ

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Middle Ages ran from the fall of the Roman Empire (around 500 CE) to about 1350 CE (Background Essay). During the Middle Ages people were known to be illiterate because of the lack of schooling. This time was known as the “Dark Ages” because of the diseases and deaths that happened all the time, which is partially because “most of the population, more than 85 percent, was peasant farmers called serfs” (Background Essay). The purpose of this paper is to explain how the Renaissance changed Mans View of the World.…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Historians claim that the Early Middle Ages were dark, by citing the collapse of central control of the Roman Empire in the West. While the Roman Empire did fall in the West leading to a serious reduction of material and intellectual culture, the Empire had to fall for modern Europe to rise. Much advancement occurred during this time and Europe went through many changes for its improvement. While the Middle Ages are known as the “Dark Ages”, the “Dark Ages” were not really dark as it was during this time that economy in Europe developed and prospered, laws were established, and universities were created. During the Dark Ages the economy of Europe prospered, land tripled, and food supply expanded.…

    • 629 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages Dbq

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Middle Ages were filled with fear, death, strife, war, and famine. All who lived during the years 1300-1453 faced plague, war, and schism. However, not all of this time was bad. Education was more accessible for people. A strong feeling of nationalism struck the people of war-torn countries.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The third part of the book, How the West Won, by Rodney Stark, continues to discuss the ways that the middle ages are different from the way we understand them. They were a time of great innovation and change. So much of culture was formed during these times. Many historians and history teachers just brush over these stories and facts, if not completely ignore them. Stark attempts to show how western culture was developed during times of great change.…

    • 829 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The medieval time period encompassed a vast amount of fascinating literary works. It was a period of new beginnings that was reflected by a great deal of change. Some of the most notable changes that impacted the society at that time include the evolution of language, culture, and religion. Each of those three aspects were strongly influenced by a gradient of factors. These changes were necessary in order to adapt to societies needs in that time period.…

    • 792 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages Dbq Analysis

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Middle Ages, the era between 500 and 1400 AD, may be viewed as a period of decline, warfare, religious commitment or as a time of noteworthy achievements. As a result, it has been given many labels which include, Dark Ages, Golden Age, Feudalism, and the Age of Faith. The Age of Faith in my opinion is what the Middle Ages is known for because of the huge impact the Church and religion had on people's lives. The Middle Ages has been referred to as the Dark Ages. The Dark Ages was a period of time after the fall of Rome where there were no advancements and no innovations were being made.…

    • 717 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Medieval Europe Crime and Punishment: During the middle ages, also known as the medieval period and the dark ages lasted from 476 to 1455CE, crime and punishment of serfs, freeman and nobles changed to a large extent according to the severity of punishments and types of punishments criminals receive today. This can be seen through the analysis of key features of everyday life, the effect of social class on punishment and the punishments given to people today. The daily lives of serfs and freeman varied depending on the requirements of their lord and whether it was their working day or not.…

    • 828 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Impact Of The Renaissance

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The middle ages were a period with little to no educational advances or new inventions. The people relied on the church for guidance and adhered blindly to the religions in which they were born. Myths were believed over scientifically proven theories because the people weren’t very educated which in turned made them rarely questioned the validity of what they learned. The Renaissance was effective in changing the way that people thought. Man’s view or the world was changed through art because instead of focusing solely on religious figures the people started to embrace the uniqueness of the individual; in literature for instead of fearing eternal damnation people started to see how awe inspiring and magnificent human were as a species; finally man’s view of the world was changed through science for, unlike during the Middle Ages were scientific theories were backed by little to no evidence, the Renaissance ideas were, for the knowledge that spread was mostly accurate because the sciences were done with math, observation, and experiments.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays