Am I the only one left in the world who still believes that the Dark Ages were dark??

[tarnport@mastodon.green]

@max I'm so sorry. My Italian is far worse, I assure you, and I won't even try to speak it here (but would love if you spoke Italian to me here!). I hope you have an automatic translator. I still think that the Dark Ages were (mostly, protractedly) dark and dead, and find the arguments presented to the contrary a bit flimsy and strained. Still I enjoy the topic, and this should be about vocabulary and grammar for me, not academic criticism.

[dnkboston@apobangpo.space]

@Tarnport The question for me is which paradigm I'd want to live under. I'm basically with you, but I think it has been oversold how dead and "dark" that period was.

It does read to me like the rule of law, among other things, was a lot more arbitrary and the corruption was enshrined, so to speak.

The thing that I chafe it is all of these people in the here and now wanting to reach back to that period and DIY everything. Trade existed, but it was far more limited. 1/

[max@poliverso.org]

@dnkboston @Tarnport

Trade was geographically limited, probably (I'm not so good at history), but I can remember banks were invented in the middle age the same for checks and bills of exchange.

In the middle age the rule of law wasn't arbitrary it was just unbalanced, on the side of nobilty privileges. However, rules were written and there were courts where you could ask for your rights to be respected (if you were so high in the hierarchy to have rights).

Is this a step back with regards to what there was before the "dark age"? Well... roman empire had slavery, if a slave killed his master the family had the right to kill ALL his slaves (men, women and children). At the end of Spartacus's revolt 6000 prisoner's were crucified on the road between Capua (the city were the revolt begun) and Rome.

Saying that civilization went down in the middle age (that's the reason behind being considered a dark age) is risky...

[max@poliverso.org]

@Tarnport

Conosco l'inglese abbastanza bene (almeno la parte scritta mentre sul parlato no, lì non me la cavo per niente bene), non ti preoccupare, era solo per dire che non mi era chiara la tua posizione.

[kbm0@mastodon.social]

@max @Tarnport @dnkboston I've always been given to believe that the term "Dark Ages" refers only to the first half or so of the middle ages: In Britain I assume that would be the period after the Romans left, up until maybe the Norman Conquest or some time around then. So when we think about enormous stone castles and shiny plate armour, that's all late medieval. But the viking invasion, Bede, Cuthbert, Oswald; they were all in the Dark Ages. Please correct me, I'm no historian!