@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/