The Dark Ages was a VERY specific period referred to by English historians describing the time between the withdraw of the Roman field army from Britain and the emergence of the Germanic kingdoms. The "dark" part refers to the fact that for this period extremely little written information is available (or so far discovered) and (at the time) only a little archaeological evidence. Pop historians (or just pop culture in general) applied the term to encompass the entire Early Middle Ages (approx 500 to 1100 AD) or in some cases the entire Middle Ages as a pejorative. But according to its actual definition, the "Dark Ages" never existed.
Secondly, you link the idea that the rise in the Papacy and the "dark ages" is fundamentally linked somehow. Of course, if you actually researched early ecclesiastical history (post 500 to around 1000) you would realize that the power of the Catholic church during this period was tenuous at best, and survived only because of the sponsorship of some of the most powerful states of the Early Middle Ages: namely the Franks and to a certain (though different) extent the Eastern Roman Empire. Neither the Scandinavians, Slavs, Magyars, nor the Muslims cared one whit about the Catholic church, and in their own separate, individual ways, were threatening to destroy it.
Finally, the idea that the Middle Ages were stagnant in any way shows a fundamental lack of understanding of history in general. Read a book.
Damon.
------------------------------------------------------------ Damon Agretto [EMAIL PROTECTED] "Qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum." Now Building: Esci/Italeri's M60A1 Patton ------------------------------------------------------------
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