Dark Ages

(noun)

An imprecise term of historical periodization which was once used to refer to the Middle Ages but is latterly most commonly used in relation to the early Medieval period: ie. the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire; the term was coined by Petrarch.

Related Terms

Examples of Dark Ages in the following topics:

  • Greek Dark Ages

    • The Greek Dark Ages were ushered in by a period of violence, and characterized by the disruption of Greek cultural progress.
    • The Late Bronze Age collapse, or Age of Calamities, was a transition in the Aegean Region, Eastern Mediterranean, and Southwestern Asia that took place from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Iron Age.
    • The palace economy of the Aegean Region that had characterized the Late Bronze Age, was replaced, after a hiatus, by the isolated village cultures of the Greek Dark Ages— a period that lasted for more than 400 years.
    • Excavations of Dark Age communities, such as Nichoria in the Peloponnese, have shown how a Bronze Age town was abandoned in 1150 BCE, but then reemerged as a small village cluster by 1075 BCE.
    • High status individuals did exist during the Dark Ages; however, their standards of living were not significantly higher than others in their village.

  • Introduction to Ancient Greece

    • Following a Greek Dark Age, Greece once more flourished and developed into the ancient culture that we recognize today .
    • During the Bronze Age, several distinct cultures developed around the Aegean.
    • Their culture eventually collapsed, but many of their citadel sites were occupied through the Greek Dark Age and rebuilt into Greek city-states.
    • This two- to three-century span of history is also known as the Homeric Age.
    • Illustrate a timeline of ancient Greece from the Bronze Age to the Hellenistic period.

  • Painting and Architecture

    • Italy during the 1200s was emerging from what is often described as the Dark Ages.

  • Archaic Greece

    • Many estimates place the events of Homer’s Trojan War as preceding the Greek Dark Ages of approximately 1250 to 750 BCE.
    • The Iliad, however, has been placed immediately following the Greek Dark Age period.

  • Spanish Painting in the Baroque Period

    • The Spanish Golden Age is a period of flourishing in arts, coinciding with the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
    • The Spanish Golden Age is a period of flourishing in arts and literature in Spain, coinciding with the Baroque era and the political rise and decline of the Spanish Habsburg dynasty.
    • Religion in the Art of the Spanish Golden Age: Francisco de Zurbarán
    • Zurbarán's painting of Saint Francis of Assisi is notable for its use of chiaroscuro, or high contrast between light and dark.

  • Chicago/Turabian (Author–Date): The References Section

    • As an example, let's look in detail at the process of citing three particular sources in Chicago style: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (i.e., a book by one author), Project Gutenberg's online text of the same book (i.e., an online book), and an online journal article about the book.
    • "The Image of the Africans in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart."
    • Note that even though APA style says that the article title should not be italicized, the book titles “Heart of Darkness” and “Things Fall Apart” within the article title are still italicized.
    • "School-Age (Ages 6–18) Assessments."

  • The Golden Age of India

    • This period became known as the Golden Age of India because it was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy.
    • Other scholars of the Golden Age helped create the first Indian numeral systems with a base of ten.
    • The cultural creativity of the Golden Age of India produced magnificent architecture, including palaces and temples, as well as sculptures and paintings of the highest quality.
    • Some shrines were cut out of the cliffs, and although dark, they were also decorated with sculptures and paintings.
    • The Golden Age of India produced many temples, decorated with various sculptures and paintings, such as the Dashavatara Temple, also known as the Vishnu Temple, in central India.

  • Dark-Field Microscopy

    • Dark-field microscopes show a light silhouette of an organism against a dark background.
    • Dark-field microscopy is ideally used to illuminate unstained samples causing them to appear brightly lit against a dark background.
    • The objective lens sits in the dark hollow of this cone; although the light travels around and past the objective lens, no rays enter it.
    • The entire field appears dark when there is no sample on the microscope stage; thus the name dark-field microscopy.
    • Dark-field microscopy has many applications in microbiology.

  • Chicago/Turabian (NB): The Bibliography Section

    • As an example, let's look in detail at the process of citing three particular sources in Chicago style: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (i.e., a book by one author), Project Gutenberg's online text of the same book (i.e., an online book), and an online journal article about the book.
    • "The Image of the Africans in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart."
    • "School-Age (Ages 6–18) Assessments."

  • MLA: The Works Cited Section

    • As an example, let's look in detail at the process of citing three particular sources in MLA style: Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (i.e., a book by one author), Project Gutenberg's online text of the same book (i.e., an online book), and an online journal article about the book.
    • Heart of Darkness.
    • "An Essay on Heart of Darkness."
    • "The Image of the Africans in Heart of Darkness and Things Fall Apart."