Dark Ages

[IGotQuestions]

What were the ‘dark ages’ and why is the Catholic Church blamed for it?

 

[GEddie]

The “Dark Ages” (so called because, due to social instability, there is relatively little historical information pertaining to that time) were the period from roughly the years 500 to 1000, when European civilization was in flux due to the end of the Roman Empire and to barbarian and Islamic invasions.

The Catholic Church is blamed for the period of decline because during the last Imperial Roman generations, it was the state religion of the Empire, i.e. the Church is believed to have “let the empire go.” But the Roman Empire had been in decline for over 200 years before it became Christian. And it was largely the Church that kept knowledge going through the period. Texts copied by Catholic monks became the fountainhead of knowledge for the Renaissance.

ICXC NIKA

 

[Richard_White]

The “Dark Ages” (so called because, due to social instability, there is relatively little historical information pertaining to that time) were the period from roughly the years 500 to 1000, when European civilization was in flux due to the end of the Roman Empire and to barbarian and Islamic invasions.

The Catholic Church is blamed for the period of decline because during the last Imperial Roman generations, it was the state religion of the Empire, i.e. the Church is believed to have “let the empire go.” But the Roman Empire had been in decline for over 200 years before it became Christian. And it was largely the Church that kept knowledge going through the period. Texts copied by Catholic monks became the fountainhead of knowledge for the Renaissance.

ICXC NIKA

Not to mention that fact that historians tend to steer clear of using the phrase “Dark Ages” anymore, because it is not truly reflective of the time. Although there was great instability in Europe during this period, there were also many advancements that laid important foundations for the Renaissance and beyond.

See here for more: independent.co.uk/voices/our-voices/battle-of-ideas/the-dark-ages-were-a-lot-brighter-than-we-give-them-credit-for-8215395.html

May God bless you always!

 

[Abu]

IGotQuestions

The term suits those opposed to Catholicism, but it is a myth.

SEE: catholicleague.org/catholicism-and-science/
**Catholicism and Science
by Rodney Stark
**(from Catalyst 9/2004)
Excerpt:
‘It is the consensus among contemporary historians, philosophers, and sociologists of science that real science arose only once: in Europe. It is instructive that China, Islam, India, ancient Greece, and Rome all had a highly developed alchemy. But only in Europe did alchemy develop into chemistry. By the same token, many societies developed elaborate systems of astrology, but only in Europe did astrology lead to astronomy. And these transformations took place at a time when folklore has it that a fanatical Christianity was imposing a general ignorance on Europe—the so-called Dark Ages.

‘The progress achieved during the “Dark Ages” was not merely technological. Medieval Europe excelled in philosophy and science. The term “Scientific Revolution” is in many ways as misleading as “Dark Ages.” Both were coined to discredit the medieval Church. The notion of a “Scientific Revolution” has been used to claim that science suddenly burst forth when a weakened Christianity could no longer prevent it, and as the recovery of classical learning made it possible. Both claims are as false as those concerning Columbus and the flat earth.’

ALSO: Dr Thomas E Woods, Jr.:
“Western civilization stands indebted to the Church for the university system, charitable work, international law, the sciences, and, important legal principles. … Western civilization owes far more to the Catholic Church than most people — Catholic included — often realize. … The Church, in fact, built Western civilization.”

Woods breaks the history of the Church and Western civilization into chapters that treat the Church from its beginning through the so-called Dark Ages up to the present day. He demonstrates that Western institutions, though often originating in Athens and Jerusalem, were developed into a Catholic culture in a process that accelerated from the early Middle Ages right up to the time of the Reformation and the Enlightenment.
The Church and the Market: A Catholic Defense of the Free Economy (Lanham, Md.; Lexington Books, 2005)].

 

[Augustine]

The Catholic Church is blamed for the period of decline because during the last Imperial Roman generations, it was the state religion of the Empire, i.e. the Church is believed to have “let the empire go.”

Let us not forget that the Roman Empire did not go with the fall of Rome, for it continued to thrive in the East, centered on Constantinople, under the banner of the Catholic faith for a thousand years.

Pax Christi

 

[Rhubarb]

I usually blame the fall of the Western Roman Empire for the dark ages, not the church. The knowledge that was lost for most of western Europe was preserved in monestaries. (As well as the Eastern Empire and Islamic kingdoms) If anything I think the Church kept light (in a learning sense) going during the medieval period. It just didn’t spread out far from the monestaries.

 

[abucs]

I usually blame the fall of the Western Roman Empire for the dark ages, not the church. The knowledge that was lost for most of western Europe was preserved in monestaries. (As well as the Eastern Empire and Islamic kingdoms) If anything I think the Church kept light (in a learning sense) going during the medieval period. It just didn’t spread out far from the monestaries.

www3.nd.edu/~maritain/jmc/etext/walsh.htm

 

[adamhovey1988]

I usually blame the fall of the Western Roman Empire for the dark ages, not the church. The knowledge that was lost for most of western Europe was preserved in monestaries. (As well as the Eastern Empire and Islamic kingdoms) If anything I think the Church kept light (in a learning sense) going during the medieval period. It just didn’t spread out far from the monestaries.

I appreciate the fact you identify as an Agnostic and acknowledge that.
Anyway, to the OP, there is, in the west at least, a lack of written records. One of the reasons it was called the dark ages is because there was very little (comparatively) written record during that time period.

 

[Picky_Picky]

What were the ‘dark ages’ and why is the Catholic Church blamed for it?

I don’t recall ever having heard of the Church being “blamed” for the Dark Ages. It seems a strange idea. Can you give any examples of people doing this? The context would be useful.

 

[rossum]

Texts copied by Catholic monks became the fountainhead of knowledge for the Renaissance.

And texts copied by Orthodox monks and scribes which were preserved in the Byzantine Empire and came west as the Empire declined and fell. Greek was the language of the Byzantine Empire, so a lot of Greek texts were preserved there. The Western Church tended to preserve Latin texts. Also a number of Greek texts were preserved in Arabic and also came west thanks to Christian-Islamic contacts in Spain (Averroes for example) and in the Empire.

A few Indian texts also came through the Arab Caliphate to the west, notably on Mathematics. We call our place-value numbering system “Arabic” but it was invented in India and came to the west through the Arabs.

rossum