What Is The Dark Ages An Appropriate Term To Describe The Middle Ages

What do you think of when you hear the expression “The Dark Ages”? Many historians were led to believe that the Middle Ages was a time period in which people did nothing and nothing was accomplished. Yet, after studying artifacts and writings, they realized that this time period was not “dark” in that sense. The question that could be asked then is this; "Is ‘the Dark Ages’ an appropriate term to describe the Middle Ages?" I will provide information on why the Dark Ages may not be an appropriate description for the middle ages. I will discuss the origin of the term Dark Ages. I will discuss the historical document the Magna Carta and its example of freedom and justice. I will also discuss the role of trade and commerce in affecting the spread of new ideals among people in the middle ages. …show more content…
The reason the term was used to describe this time period was that there was very little evidence about the time period available. Historians did not know much about this time and so the period was “in the dark.” Yet over time, people began using it as a term to describe the whole period of the Middle Ages. The term gained a negative connotation. According to Document A, the American Cyclopedia called the majority of the Early Middle Ages a time of intellectual depression. Instead of focusing on the lack of information, historians assumed people and life at that time were “dark.” They thought they lived without learning or innovation. They used the term to describe the time as one of ignorance and misery. As historians have uncovered more documents from that time, however, it is not nearly as “dark” now. Modern historians do not often use the term anymore because more is known about the early Middle Ages and because of the negative meaning it gained. Some still do use it today, though, as it was originally