Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken’s Reviews > Past Mistakes : How We Misinterpret History and Why it Matters > Status Update

“Perhaps unexpectedly, the European dark ages also saw significant developments in literacy thanks in no small part to the much-monks of medieval Christendom.“

Thank you. That’s a little better.

“Step out of the shadow of the Western Roman empire, and the Dark Ages were very bright indeed.“

So this is better, and even though things were more difficult after the Roman Empire fell in the west, there were still things happening. The dark ages is not an appropriate term anymore. And not just because of what was happening in the east.

“By the time the dust had settled, the survivors found themselves at the grey dawn of the Dark Ages: a thousand-year reign of superstition and ignorance that would only be broken with the rediscovery of Europe’s classical heritage during the Renaissance.“

“Dark Ages” is not really an accepted term anymore, as several monks in Ireland during that long period can attest to. Middle Ages is far more accurate.