The History: The Fall of the Great Roman Empire - Term Paper Example

? Dark Ages al affiliation When we talk of the dark ages does it mean that there were ages that were dark? Or is there a hidden meaning to the term dark ages? Darkness is quite different from just seeing what one sees when he or she shuts his or her eyes. The term darkness is used to signify sorrow or sadness in many instances. Some historians have argued that the modern people have a very different view of the actual dark ages as it has been portrayed by the modern historians. Those who lived during this time did not consider themselves living in a dark period. During the dark ages, there was the fall of the great Roman Empire which had a lot of impact to the world. Ireland is said to have had a positive contribution towards civilization after the fall of the Roman Empire. This essay generally discusses the dark ages. Keywords: Dark Ages, Roman Empire, Civilization, Ireland, Renaissance, Chivalric Code, Arthurian Legend Introduction Some writers have really exaggerated the dark ages compared to how they were in reality and much that was originally written has disappeared. Those who lived in the dark ages are not very familiar to some of the things that have been said in the modern life (Maitland, 1844). Those who lived in the dark ages did not consider themselves as living in ages that were dark; they viewed themselves as the people who had gone prior. Lives during the dark ages were dark, but some benefits of the period can still be identified. One major benefit is that there was the destruction of the old Mycenaean’s economic and social structure, with the strict class and hereditary rule that was replaced by the new socio-political instititutions that eventually allowed the rise of democracy in Athens especially. What do the term Dark Ages mean? Dark Ages has been used as a label to express the experience that people of Western Europe had between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Renaissance to be precise. It became a popular title, especially in the eighteenth century as many historians looked back in the glories of the Roman Empire and the apparent lack of intellectual culture that the Roman Empire possessed (Mallia, n.d.). This period was thus dark as it lacked the lights of civilization and intellectuals, which had been replaced by religious dominance and feudalism. The terms dark ages have been coined from the Latin “saeculum obscure”, and were first used in the medieval period or the middle ages. It was a period of darkness and it was greatly contributed because of lack of documentary materials from which any historian could work with. The periods termed as dark ages have become a debate among the old historians and the modern historians and took place roughly from 400 to 700 AD, which is also referred to as the early Middle Ages (Maitland, 1844). The dark ages are seen to be characterized by two processes and what was seen later in the years was as a result of the two processes. The first one was the movement of the people from what is now called Germany into parts of the Roman Empire (“Kendal Wild Journal: The Dark Ages,” 2013). The second process was the movement of the Islam from the Middle East into North Africa and Spain (“Kendal Wild Journal: The Dark Ages,” 2013). How dark were the Dark Ages? Most historians have the argument that these ages that are termed as dark were not really dark as the modern writers have portrayed them to be, while others hold that they were really dark. Those in support that they were not as dark cite good things about the dark ages, such as the spread of literacy, the numerous law codes, and the formation of the people who would one day become European’s nation state. Classical historians held that the dark ages were really dark; they have given the some of the things that characterized the dark ages. These characteristics are such as: a) The Roman Empire that fell leading to the serious reduction of material and intellectual culture. The fall of the Roman Empire led to the rise of the modern Europe. The Roman society was a very conservative one and thus things like technology were rarely taken up. The Romans were unwilling to expand their borders and bring civilization. The collapse also led to the political fragmentation of Western Europe. b) The dark ages were also characterized by the decline of literacy as many documents or texts were destroyed with the fall of the Roman Empire and loss of Greek. c) The dark ages also saw the reduction of long distance trading trade and there were short falls in population density and sheer amount of senseless destruction by various tribes that fell on the Empire because of the war that was in Europe. d) There was also the breaking of public infrastructure and degradation of the ability to construct large buildings with complex architecture. In What Ways was this Society Inadvertently (Accidently) Preparing to Emerge in Modernity through the Preservation of Classical Literature and Scripture? Literature reminds us of stories, sacred scriptures, and also classical works of the ancient times and some of the modern times. Literature serves as a very huge base of information that the scientists and inventors work with. Most of the classical literature during the dark ages have found their way into the reinaissance and modern age of civilization, and have helped in inventions. Some of the literature that was preserved is being used in the modern institutions of learning. The classical literature and scripture that have been emphasized in bringing the society into modernity are those that were collected by the Irish monks, after the fall of the Roman Empire. They were used during the re-birth or the Renaissance. Also, after the fall of the Roman Empire, Islamic scholars are said to have preserved the texts of the Ancient Greek philosophers and scientists, by translating them into Arabic and Latin, which scholars from the Renaissance relied on (Liu, 2003). What particular Impact did Ireland have in the World that would emerge from the Dark Ages? After the fall of Rome during the dark ages, the European world suffered onslaught after another of invasions by Germanic tribes. The invasions by the Germans were most of the time land related. Ireland was considered to be one place that was very safe. When this was happening, St. Patrick opened many monasteries in Ireland where the monks who were doing the work of copying all texts and writings of the first original manuscripts lived. The texts captured and preserved the thinking of the Roman Empire. Thus Ireland served as the hiding place for the monks, who were busy preserving the literature, which could later be used in the civilization of the society. These manuscripts from the remaining of the collapsed Roman Empire were later to be used to form important ways of thinking in the Renaissance. In summary, Ireland is said to have been very important to the world because they helped preserve the Roman thought, which was later to be discovered. The Irish monks also continued to work tirelessly towards Christianizing the areas that that had not been reached. Consider the Literature produced in early Old English, a Germanic Language with a Celtic Imagination, expressed in Arthurian Legend. What do these breathtaking Legends of Knights and Honor have to do with our Modern Sense of Ethics? What is the Chivalric (Courageous) Code? Arthurian literature thrived well during the early Middle Ages or the dark ages. King Arthur was a legendary British leader, who appeared to be a great warrior defending Britain from all the external and internal interferences. King Arthur was a very noble ruler, but a mighty warrior. The story of King Arthur is a breathtaking because among the many enemies he had, one of them was his sister who wanted to defeat him and posses the kingdom. Another enemy he had was his nephew, his sister’s son, who seized his throne in the absence of King Arthur. Through such a legend, the modern society learns that nobility and honor, such as that of a great warrior like King Arthur is what is needed for the society to move forward. Medieval chivalric is described as aristocratic ethics that would define the qualities a knight ought to posses. It was an established code that differentiated a knight from the military aristocracy of Western Europe. It has greatly influenced the modern conception of honor and especially military honor. Chivalric emphasizes on personal honor; that is, one avoiding any shameful act and remaining committed to doing the right thing (Abels, n.d.). In conclusion, the dark ages were times that were really an extraordinarily difficult period in the story of humanity. An estimation of the people who died in the dark ages is around a hundred million people. The causes of these deaths were such as war, poverty, and even plagues. During these dark ages, there was the birth of new ideas, which formed much of the ground work that could be used later in the age of civilization. Christianity was the most powerful institution and many war lords embraced it. For instance, there were very many kingdoms in Europe, but all of them were under the authority of the pope. This served as a unifying factor to these kingdoms, because they had a common religion that would bring them together. Because of the unifying factor that is the common religion, the different kingdoms found themselves sharing ideas, which marked the end of war and gave way o the Renaissance. Reference List Abels, R. (n.d.). Medieval Chivalry. Retrieved August 22, 2013, from http://usna.edu/Users/history/abels/hh381/Chivalry.htm Kendal Wild Journal: The Dark Ages (2013, August 8). Retrieved August 22, 2013, from http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20130808/OPINION04/708089941/1018/OPINION Liu, H.C K. (2003).The Abduction of Modernity. Retrieved August 22, 2013s, from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/10/146.html Mallia, D. (n.d.). When Were the Dark Ages? Retrieved August 22, 2013, from http://hnn.us/articles/when-were-dark-ages Maitland, S. R. (1844). The Dark Age; a series of essays intended to illustrate the state of Religion and Literature in the Ninth, Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries Reprinted from the British Magazine, with Corrections and some Additions. London: Gilbert and Rivigton Printers. Read More