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Dark Ages
Dark Ages The 5th to the 8th centuries in Europe. Following the collapse of the Roman empire, many Germanic tribes crossed through Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and North Africa, often attacking and destroying towns. Rome was sacked on three successive occasions. Many tribes formed their own kingdoms (for example, Vandals in North Africa; Visigoths in Spain; Ostrogoths and Lombards in northern Italy; FRANKS in France and western Germany; ANGLO-SAXONS in England). The Visigoths helped the Romans defeat the Huns of ATTILA at Châlons in 451. The Ostrogoth THEODORIC THE GREAT ruled in Italy (493–526) as the representative of the BYZANTINE EMPIRE, retaining Rome's administrative system.
The period of the Dark Ages saw cultural and economic decline though in the past this has been exaggerated. The period saw the foundation of Christian monasteries, which kept scholarship alive. The 7th and 8th centuries saw relative stability and during the 9th century learning was encouraged at the courts of CHARLEMAGNE and ALFRED the Great. |
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"Dark Ages." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Dark Ages." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-DarkAges.html "Dark Ages." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-DarkAges.html |
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‘Dark Ages’
‘Dark Ages’. A term employed in the 17th and 18th cents. to indicate the intellectual darkness which was believed to have descended on Europe with the ending of the Roman empire until new light was provided by the Renaissance. Since the achievements of the Middle Ages have come to be properly recognized the term has been in retreat, but it still has a stronghold in what should be more appropriately described as the early Middle Ages (c.400–c.1000). In the field of British history it is sometimes applied just to the 5th and 6th cents., which many historians would prefer to designate as sub- or post-Roman.
Barbara Yorke |
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-DarkAges.html JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." The Oxford Companion to British History. 2002. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O110-DarkAges.html |
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Dark Ages
Dark Ag·es the period in western Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the high Middle Ages, c.ad 500–1100, during which Germanic tribes swept through Europe and North Africa, often attacking and destroying towns and settlements. ∎ a period of supposed unenlightenment. ∎ (the dark ages) humorous or derog. an obscure or little-regarded period in the past, esp. as characterizing an outdated attitude or practice: the judge is living in the dark ages. |
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Cite this article
"Dark Ages." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Dark Ages." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-darkages.html "Dark Ages." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-darkages.html |
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‘Dark Ages’
‘Dark Ages’ A term deployed in the 17th and 18th cents. to indicate the intellectual darkness which was believed to have descended on Europe with the ending of the Roman empire until new light was provided by the Renaissance. In the field of British history it is sometimes applied just to the 5th and 6th cents., which many historians would prefer to designate as sub‐ or post‐Roman.
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Cite this article
JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-DarkAges.html JOHN CANNON. "‘Dark Ages’." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-DarkAges.html |
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Dark Ages
Dark Ages Period of European history from the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century to the 9th or 10th century. The term appears to imply cultural and economic backwardness after the classical civilization of Greece and Rome, but indicates more an ignorance of the period due to the paucity of historical evidence.
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Cite this article
"Dark Ages." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Dark Ages." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-DarkAges.html "Dark Ages." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-DarkAges.html |
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Dark Ages
Dark Ages see Middle Ages . |
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Cite this article
"Dark Ages." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "Dark Ages." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-DarkAges.html "Dark Ages." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-DarkAges.html |
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