I agree with Chris that the term "dark ages" does not apply to the entire period, and I thought I had made that clear in my original (my apologies if not). And yes, the Byzantine Empire carried on, and adapted, the ancient civilisation. The Arabs, it should not be forgotten, were major translators of the documents of the ancient world, and I suspect there are still early arabic copies in many parts of the Middle East, waiting to be discovered. 
 
However, when applied to the history of Western Europe from roughly CE 453 to 800, it is neither "a misnomer in the worst way possible" nor "epoch-centric slander that is 
borderline criminal in nature".  
 
It is, by far, the least-known period in the history of Western Europe, and that is largely due to the destruction of existing records during forced Christianisation and the "barbarian invasions" of that and the slightly later (800 to 1,100) period, combined with the extremely low level of literacy and economic deprivation, which curtailed the creation of contemporary records. 
 
The survivors of the early part of the time would no doubt disagree with Chris' description of their losses as "pockets". 
 
----------------------------------- 
Fred Grevin 
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By BlackBerry 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Records Management Program <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> 
Sent: Wed Apr 02 18:58:37 2008 
Subject: Re: [RM] OT OT - Basic Advice on Archival Digitization Project - OT OT Historical Fact 
 
Sorry all, but I must interject here. I believe Fred's characterization 
of the Medieval Period is inaccurate. 
 
Most scholars agree that the term "dark ages" is a misnomer in the worst 
way possible. At best it can be restricted to the Early Medieval Period, 
and even then only in the Roman West; scholastics in the Byzantine East 
were alive and well. At worst it is epoch-centric slander that is 
borderline criminal in nature. Some of the more prolific thinkers active 
during the Late Ancient and Medieval Period include Augustine, Aquinas, 
Ambrose, Dante, Al-Farabi, Francis of Assisi, Chaucer, Luther, and the 
anonymous writers of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and The Song of 
Roland, to name only a few. If anyone would like a bibliography from the 
period, please contact me off list and I would be more than happy to 
distribute one. 
 
Back to Fred's point that they 'enthusiastically destroyed the... 
ancient world', there were pockets of that no doubt, but to paint all 
the peoples of the period from ca. 300 to 1300 as such is too broad a 
stroke by a wide margin. But I believe Stephanie did a wonderful job of 
representing that fact. 
 
Now back to grind.... 
 
Chris 
 
 
-----Original Message----- 
From: Records Management Program [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On 
Behalf Of Grevin, Fred 
Sent: Wednesday, April 02, 2008 4:05 PM 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Subject: Re: [RM] Basic Advice on Archival Digitization Project - OT 
Historical Fact 
 
But they still enthusiastically destroyed the civilisation of the 
ancient world, and replaced it with what has been called the "dark 
ages". 
 
During that time, and for most of the subsequent middle ages, reading 
was confined almost exclusively to clerics, few of whom actually read 
the Greek and Roman classics. 
 
Best regards. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Fred Grevin 
[log in to unmask] 
By BlackBerry 
 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Records Management Program <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> 
Sent: Wed Apr 02 17:03:02 2008 
Subject: Re: [RM] Basic Advice on Archival Digitization Project - OT 
Historical Fact 
 
Fred said:  "What happens when the next "single Superpower of the world" 
is a theocracy that believes our civilisation is the work of heathens 
and must be destroyed? Real-world example: the destruction of the 
civilisation of the ancient world by Christianity, CE 200-1300." 
 
Ah, but the Roman Catholic Church preserved many classical texts.  In 
fact, the Irish monks painstakingly copied Greek & Roman classics (in 
addition to religious works); then, the Irish repopulated libraries all 
over Europe after barbarians swept through and nearly destroyed 
everything.  The monks hid the books from invaders, often at the cost of 
their own lives. 
 
Slainte (cheers)! 
 
Stephanie McCutcheon, CRM, MLIS 
Records Manager 
Legal Department 
Midwest ISO 
317.249.5536 
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