Question

Which period in Medieval Western Europe is known as the ‘Dark Ages’?
A. Early Middle Ages
B. Late Middle Ages
C. Mid Middle Ages
D.Entire Middle Ages

Answer 1

Hint Europe faced a drastic political, economic and social setback, the ill-consequences of which are termed as the Dark Ages, following the collapse of the Roman Empire. The dark period is said to have started when the last Western Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus was defeated and deposed in 476 AD by a barbarian Odoacer.

Complete step-by-step solution:
The Dark Ages is generally referred to as the early medieval period of European history. This time in history from 400 to 1000 AD was described to be ‘dark’ as the European society fell into the clutches of feudalism, with many religious customs and practices which were degraded due to the fall of the Roman Empire. The never-ending wars and struggles among the barbarians, Vikings, and various feudal nobles completely disrupted the peace of common men leading to the classification of the Early Middle Ages as a time period of violence, chaos, and disruption.

Thus, option (A) is correct.

Additional Information There was not much information available regarding this period and no written historical records were present. Hence, many historians used the term ‘dark’ to denote this period for this particular reason. After many recent discoveries, some facts about this period were revealed and since then modern historians do not prefer to use this term as it can be misleading.

Note The term Dark Ages was used firstly ever by an Italian scholar and historian by the name Francesco Petrarca who was also known as Petrarch. Being an Italian, he was immensely influenced by the greatness of the ancient Roman Empire, and hence in order to denounce the Latin literature, he coined this phrase.