Middle Ages Dbq Essay

The term “dark ages” comes from Petrarch, who was an Italian scholar that lived after the dark ages, and compared it to the classical era. Medieval Europe happened from 500 AD to 1500 AD, also known as the medieval period in Europe. It is called “the dark age” because of the disease, famine, murder, chaos, and death that happened during that time.

Personally, when thinking of the middle Ages, I tend to have the misconception that it is a period of darkness with no progress. However, R.W. Southern’s book, ‘The Making of the Middle Ages’, offers an in depth study of the development of history in the world today. Observing that this book was published during the 1950s, Mr. Southern’s interpretation of the ‘Middle Ages’ was very distinctive in comparison to other historians of his time. He explores the significance of the Middle Ages as a separate sector in the study of history by which the audience will notice that previous categories of studied history is set aside, as we are no longer focusing on the usual ‘Classical Greece’ and ‘Rome’

The Middle Ages is a time period that took place between 500’s and 1400’s In Western Europe. This was a time of feudalism, sickness, death, poverty, war, and faith. In this time people had a government called feudalism which was a political, economic, and social system in which nobles were granted the use of land that legally belonged to the king as payment for their military, their loyalty and protection. There was also a manor which had a manor house, a church, a village, and farm land. In medieval times people went through hard time and many were unsafe there were many deaths and diseases which at the time a disease basically meant death. There are many names you could call the Middle Ages but the two best that describe this time period

The first piece of evidence is “There is no longer any trade, only unceasing terror…” (Doc 1) An explanation for this quote would be there is no government control exchanging of resources only vandalism. This supports the sub-thesis because it tells people about anarchy during the dark ages. The Dark Ages were about anarchy, vandalism, and killing this is why the Dark Ages were the worst. The second piece of evidence is by Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and in the passage it states that “Great slaughter in London an Quentovic and in Rochester” (DOC 3) An explanation for this quote would be that during the Dark Ages there were a lot of deaths. This supports the sub-thesis because it shows how bad that time period was. In conclusion, these quotes prove that the Dark Ages was the worst time period to live in because of all the killings and

Another title that the Middle Ages deserve is the label Dark Ages because during the Middle Ages, there was constant chaos and destruction that plagued Western Europe. After the collapse of Rome, the invasions did not end there. The invasions continued throughout the Middle Ages by different groups and tribes. For example, during the ninth and tenth century, the Moor invasions have taken over the South and the Hungarians invaded the Eastern provinces. Both invasion groups sacked villages, held captives, burned down religious buildings, and left a path of destruction while many citizens that escaped took refuge in the mountains or deep forests (doc 1). Also during the invasions of the Moor and Hungarians, the Northmen struck terror in England. The plundered, burned towns, and returned home with boats filled with gold, people, and resources (doc. 3). However, that was not the end of all the chaos during the Middle Ages. During the 14th century, the black death hit Western Europe, which ended up wiping out 1/3 of the population and a body count of over 25 million by the end of the sixteenth century (OI). Consequently, because of the constant chaos and destruction from invasions and plague, little to no development was possible. This slowed down Western Europe's advancements and growth. The

For example, Document B discusses how the "dark ages" confronts how the people of Europe isolating to the world, plus, they suffered a decline of education, arts, and literature. This document states " Western Europe was isolated in the world". This document also states "The laws were unfair and people kept getting beat up publicly". Another piece of evidence comes from Document D, because as a result, people we getting beat up, and the laws were unfair. According to this document, " If they are servile and they own a business, let them lose the business or be stripped any publicly beaten in the presence of people". These pieces of evidence will conclude whether Europe was in a "dark

The Middle Ages were a major turning point in history. During the Middle Ages, Europe was run under a manorial system. People were self-sufficient and only traded within their own community, as they believed that the outside world was dangerous. However, the population increased in the 11th century and new agricultural technologies came about, such as the windmill, water mills and the iron plow (Document 1). The crusades allowed many people to view life outside of their villages. People left their villages to fight the wars, and even though the crusades were a failure, the end result was beneficial in an economic and in a social way. The crusades opened many trading routes between Europe and the Middle East. Europeans,

Was it a Dark Age? The term “dark ages” describes a period during Medieval Europe when inventions and ideas stopped, violence increased, and disease killed many people. The term “dark ages” came from an Italian scholar named Francesco Petrarch. He compared it to the Classical Age that thrived before. The dark ages occurred during Medieval Europe, which lasted from 500 AD to 1500 AD.

Many people cannot agree on whether the European Middle Ages were “Dark Ages” or an “Early Renaissance”. A Dark Age is a time during which a civilization undergoes a decline, while a Renaissance is a new period of growth or activity. Even though there is an equal amount of evidence for both the Dark Ages and the Early Renaissance, some pieces were more effective than others. The European Middle Ages were an Early Renaissance because citizens started to begin new lives as different roles, the feudal system was slowly being forgotten, and the Magna Carta was published.

Wars, attacks and invasions were common during the Middle Ages. The early period had seen the fall of the Roman Empire and this must have contributed to a destabilizing effect. For example, the Turks and Arabs attacked and conquered the people living in Romania, also known as the Byzantine Empire. As stated by Pope Urban II, “They have killed and captured many, and have destroyed the churches and devastated the empire” (Doc 9). As this quote shows the Turks and Arabs completely destroyed the empire. Also, in 842 there was a great slaughter in England that killed many people. as stated by the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, “842 in this year there was a great slaughter in London and Quentavic and in Rochester” (Doc 3). As this quote shows, things seem chaotic, out of control and very unsafe during the middle ages. These wars, attacks and invasions caused mayhem but the situation only got worse when the system of government was eroded.

Many people debate over whether Medieval Europe (500 AD-1500 AD) was a growth age or a dark age. The Term dark age came from a famous Italian scholar, Petrarch, and it means that there was violence, no new inventions, lots of diseases, war, not much trade and much more violence in the world. Based on The Black Death and The Crusades. We believe that Europe at this time was a “dark age”.

‘Were the 1,000 years the Dark Ages lasted actually “dark”?’ is a highly debatable topic as some claim that the whole period was “dark” while others claim it was only “dark” for the early stages of it. Through textual evidence provided, the supposed 1,000 years of decline and decay known as the Dark Ages were not “dark” for the 1,000 years. According to the American Cyclopedia, the 1,000 year period did not support education, have creation of culture, any central government, and a bad economy. Document F says, “Beginning in the early 11th century, universities were founded throughout Europe. Attendance at these universities was limited to a small percentage of the population” (Document F).

Their fear is justified by constant raids by foreign tribes. Document 6 is a textbook that cites theft as one of the reasons the era is known as the Dark Ages. The textbook is corroborated by Document 1, which is an excerpt from the writings of Christian monks from Germany during the Middle Ages.The document is a primary source, depicting Viking attacks on Europe from the perspective of the monks. The Vikings would repeatedly attack the monasteries of Europe to steal from the monks, who had no means of protection. Monasteries accumulated a vast amount of wealth because the citizens of a given town would give money to the church. By attacking the monasteries the Vikings would be severely damaging the economy of a given town, and leave mass destruction. The account from the among the literate part of the population shows that the people lived in a constant star of paranoia, which would make the era a dark time to live for

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages, was regarded to be a time of despair, disease, and death. Just as the name the “Dark Ages” suggests, this period of European history seemed to be surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Unfortunately, the majority of people only see this side of the Middle Ages when, in fact, the Middle Ages was a much more important era. Especially during the late Middle Ages, one can find a change in orthodox social structure, political instability mostly concerned with succession to the throne, and economic changes and how those changes went hand in hand with the change in society. After certain demographical changes and turning points such as the Hundred Years’ War, Europe began to transform

An era can be transitional between two other culturally dominant periods of history without being “primitive” or “barbaric.” However, the insistence on continuity and the overt rejection of a “decline” in the modern study of the Middle Ages has blurred the perception of the era as a distinctive period. As Edward James discusses in his article, “The Rise and Function of the Concept ‘Late Antiquity,’” downplaying the crises of the third century, the barbarian invasions, the fall of the western Roman Empire, and even the mid-500s Black Death may lend credence to the idea of late antiquity, but it also assumes that the problems of the West were shared by the East. In my discussion, I focused on the West, but my focus does not contradict my point that the term “Middle Ages” as a transitory age does not have to be a negative one for it to still be seen as distinct. The fact that the Roman Empire and the Italian Renaissance were prominent periods in the development of European culture does not negate the significance of the social, technological, and demographic development that occurred in the era between those