Could the 19th century be considered the dark ages?

Answer 1

If you are talking about the period in European history, then no, they weren't literally dark. Of course there was still night and day.

The Dark Ages refers to the Early Middle Ages, the period of cultural, political, technological, and economic degradation that occurred after the fall of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire and Renaissance are referred to as "light" because of the great advances in culture, economy and technology. In the Dark Ages there were no such advances, and society went into a backwards state where people had simple lives and there was no government, or a very weak one, and barbarians ruled their own territories. There was little to no commerce because trading over long distances was too dangerous.

The Dark Ages ended when the High Middle Ages came. Barbarian attacks ceased, the European population grew, feudalism became popular, and trade began once again.

Answer 2

The term, "Dark Age," refers to a period traditionally given the dates of 476 to 1000 AD. In fact, this period can be divided into shorter periods that are very different from each other. There earlier of these is a time when Germanic tribes set up kingdoms in what had been the West Roman Empire. The later time began in the 8th century with the establishment of the Carolingian dynasty of Frankish kings.

The earlier part of the Dark Ages was a time for which we have few records, and much of the history is in the dark, so to speak. This is the reason the time is called the Dark Age. The idea of darkness carries connotations of depression, ignorance, and even decline, and so the term Dark Age itself colors our impression of the time in a way that might not be helpful.

The decline of Roman civilization may have begun in the second century, but clearly was well under way by the middle of the third. There were periods of recovery, but they were not long, and the empire never regained its earlier glory. By the time the West Roman Empire fell, in the 5th century, things in the land were very chaotic.

The period of confusion may have continued for about one or two hundred years, as the Germanic tribes that took over established kingdoms, formed legal codes, and started building their economies. Nevertheless, the first schools opened by these groups appeared during the 6th century, less than a hundred years after the date usually used for the fall of the West Roman Empire.

But Roman civilization also continued, even under these new governments, and even to the point that schools and other institutions continued to operate in some places. The University of Salerno, for example, originated with medical schools that moved to Salerno in the late 5th and early 6th centuries, and had been opened before the empire fell. Another example is the Roman Senate, which continued to meet until 603, five years after the oldest school in England, King's School in Canterbury, opened.

By the middle of the 8th century, about half way through the time called the Dark Ages, the Franks had built a large kingdom which became the Carolingian Empire. Charlemagne, its great emperor, promoted literary arts and learning, reestablished a healthy economy based on the old Roman system of coinage, promoted the establishment of a unified dialect of Latin to be used for institutions of learning, and established libraries. This period is called the Carolingian Renaissance. After a brief decline, it was followed by the Ottonian Renaissance, on the continent, and a time of heightened culture in England of King Alfred the Great.

I think the overall trend here is obvious. The so-called Dark Age, which many scholars prefer to call the Early Middle Ages, was not a period of decline and chaos at all. It was a time of recovery and growth from the decline of the old Roman Empire. That being the case, I would say the Dark Age was truly not dark.

Answer 3

The Year 1300 is on the dividing line between two periods called the High Middle Ages and the Late Middle Ages. The period for the Dark Ages is not usually referred to as the Early Middle Ages, which lasted from about 476 to 1000 AD. There are people who refer to the entire time of the Middle Ages as the Dark Ages; it is not a precisely defined term.

Answer 4

Although the science of medicine did not make many advances during the 19th century, it really cannot be considered the Dark Ages because learning did advance in many areas. The real Dark Ages were a time when scientific knowledge was repressed in the name of religion, and they occurred during the Middle Ages.

Answer 5

The middle ages are also referred to as the dark ages because of the large amount of knowledge and skills lost following the fall of the Roman Empire. It was dark in terms of societal illumination, not in terms of light illumination.

Answer 6

Dark ages means there's no historical records on that ages.