Medieval Revelations: Why the Middle Ages Were Not a Dark Age

    The medieval time period is known as an age of impressive castles and heroic knights, but many believe that it was merely an uncivilized Dark Age, mainly due to the chaos that spread after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. However, while it is true that there was a great deal of lawlessness and confusion after the collapse of the old Roman Empire, it is also true that a great deal of important advancements and discoveries were made during the Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were not a Dark Age because of the many advances made in art, health, and knowledge, and because of the strength of the Catholic Church.

 

    One concrete sign that the Middle Ages were not a Dark Age was the strength and prosperity of the Catholic Church. Firstly, this was made apparent by its stability. It was during this time that the Church was arranged into dioceses and ecclesiastical provinces, mainly to accommodate the Church’s steady expansions into pagan territories. By the 13th century the Church had also clearly defined the sacraments and set their number at seven, after much confusion over which rites should be considered sacraments. Many religious orders were also founded during the thirteenth century that were both spiritual and intellectual movements, two notable orders being the Franciscan and Dominican Orders. Another sign of the Catholic Church’s strength and influence was the increased sense of religious fervor during the Middle Ages. Throughout Europe, the emphasis of education slowly shifted towards Christian principles and understanding. The Middle Ages also saw an increased participation in religious life, with many more men and women than ever converting and pursuing religious vocations. During this time monarchs and other civil rulers were usually installed in their office with a religious ceremony, normally consisting of consecration at the hands of the clergy and the swearing of numerous oaths. The Middle Ages also saw the rise of the Gothic cathedral, the beauty and grandeur of which made visitors feel closer than ever to heaven. Taking into account the examples given, the strength and stability of the Catholic Church is a sure sign that the Middle Ages were not a Dark Age.

 

    The improvements of architecture and art was another one of the important developments of the Middle Ages. During this time many bold experiments in architecture were made, pushing the limits of what was believed possible. The development of rib vaults and flying buttresses were one of these advances, which added more support to walls and allowed them to be adorned with large numbers of windows, which could not have been done before without compromising their stability. Gothic cathedrals also emerged, and, using these new techniques, were constructed to allow as much light as possible to enter their interiors, making them appear to defy gravity and seem almost delicate in form. The beauty of these structures was further accentuated by the invention of stained glass, which filled the inside of the cathedrals with an ethereal beauty whenever they were hit by the sun’s rays. During this time many improvements were also made in the realm of art. Before the Middle Ages, people in art were represented by stick figures, devoid of emotion and life, with serious expressions. Western art was set free from these Eastern traditions by a painting depicting Jesus embracing Mary his mother, by an unknown artist. This depiction of a gesture of affection was, in many ways, the beginning of realistic Western art. An increased emphasis began to be placed on the naturalism of depictions of people, animals, and plants, and dynamic figures in violent or expressive poses began to be made. The Middle Ages also saw a revival of frescoes, in which figures were portrayed with a remarkable three-dimensional appearance that had not been witnessed since ancient times. Art also began to be used as a form of storytelling, with many castles, churches, libraries, and street corners being liberally decorated with vibrant pictures. From this evidence, it is obvious that art and architecture improved and flourished during the Middle Ages, which would not have happened during a Dark Age.

 

    Many significant improvements were made concerning health and sanitation during the Middle Ages. In the aftermath of the Black Death, which is estimated to have killed nearly half of Europe’s population in the 14th century, an increased emphasis was placed on health. Many towns and cities, especially in southern Europe, appointed physicians and surgeons to distribute free medicine for the poor, and they also instituted sanitary legislation, which required citizens to keep the streets clean of human and animal waste. New measures against plague were also developed, which included quarantining infected households and setting up isolation hospitals for those sick with plague. During this time the first public hospitals were founded, which led to a great “hospital movement”, as religious orders such as the Benedictines and the Knights Hospitallers founded thousands of their own hospitals. The first public pharmacies were also founded during this time, which allowed patients to receive prescriptions from a professional source, instead of relying on home-made medicines from a variety of different practitioners. The professionalism of the medical field also began to increase in the Middle Ages. Laws concerning medical ethics were codified to ensure that physicians and surgeons could not abuse their patients, and those who wanted to be physicians had to be examined and licensed before they could work for the public. Many renowned medical schools were also established during this time, the most notable of which was the monastery at Monte Cassino, which became the “cradle of Western religious medicine.” From these examples it can be seen that the standards of living during medieval times rose considerably after the Black Death, discounting claims that the Middle Ages were merely an uncivilized Dark Age.

 

    Despite all these arguments, the most convincing evidence that the Middle Ages were not a Dark Age were the massive advancements in knowledge and education made during the age. This was first seen in a new dedication to scholarship, not only regarding more religion-based topics such as philosophy and theology, but also covering the humane, natural, physical, and theoretical sciences. A practical application of reasoning also emerged, namely the processes of observation, experimentation, and mathematical analysis. The main reason for this explosion of knowledge and scholarship can be mostly allotted to the invention of the printing press. This machine allowed books to be mass-produced faster and cheaper than ever before, making them, and the information they contained, available to the masses for the first time. It also ensured that books would contain definitive texts and that there would be no contradictions or mistakes between copies, which helped the process of education to become smoother and more complete than ever. With this excess of knowledge, the first true universities began to be founded, beginning in Bologna and rapidly spreading throughout Europe. Many new sites of learning also began to emerge, such as physics gardens, libraries, and museums. With this information, the conclusion can be made that the Middle Ages were not a Dark Age, due to the massive amounts of knowledge amassed during the times, and because of the many other intellectual contributions that were made to the field of education.

 

    Taking into account the many advances made in art, health, and knowledge during the Middle Ages, as well as the prosperity and stability of the Catholic Church, it can be concluded that this time period was not a Dark Age. The Catholic Church flourished during this age, receiving massive amounts of converts and religious vocations, as well as clearly defining many important dogmas of the faith and becoming more organized throughout the known world. Art evolved from being little more than super-serious stick figures to vibrant, realistic figures with a wide variety of expressions and mannerisms, and architecture became more beautiful and stunning than ever before with the emergence of cathedrals. The many advancements made in health and medicine dramatically improved standards of living. These included the advent of public hospitals and pharmacies and the expertise of surgeons and physicians improving. Finally, the Middle Ages also saw great leaps forward in the fields of knowledge and education, with many renowned scientists and scholars conducting research and making discoveries during this time period, and the invention of the printing press and the emergence of the first universities making education easier than ever. In conclusion, many important discoveries and advancements were made during the Middle Ages which improved and enhanced the standards of living for the people of the time, and laid the foundations for the creation of what is now the modern world.

Bibliography

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Bartlett, Robert, ed. Medieval Panorama. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd., 2001.

Cahill, Thomas. Mysteries of the Middle Ages. New York: Anchor Books, 2006.

Eire, Carlos M. N. Reformations. Yale: Yale University Press, 2016.

Hart, David Bentley. The Story of Christianity. London: Quercus Publishing, 2007.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Atlas of the Medieval World. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.