How many years were the Dark Ages?

Answer 1

AnswerBetween 800-1000 years. AnswerThe most widely held view, by those that use the term. is that the Dark ages lasted approximately 500 or 600 years, from 476 to 1000 AD or possibly 476 to 1066, but neither the term nor the dates are useful, and the time now usually used is Early Middle Ages in most places. Other set of dates are 476 to 1300, and 476 to 1453, with a lot of variation on both beginning and ending dates.

The term Dark ages is applied because of the belief that the fall of Rome brought about a collapse of intellectual life. This view is problematical for several reasons.

First, Rome did not fall in 476. It was sacked in 410, and the last Emperor of the West Roman Empire recognized by modern historians abdicated in 476. But he abdicated in favor of the Emperor of the East Roman Empire, which continued to hang on until 1453, as what we currently call the Byzantine Empire, though they did not use the name and always called itself the Roman Empire. And the Senate of the West Roman Empire continued to function until 603 AD, and possibly later.

Second, the collapse in learning preceded the purported date of the fall of Rome by many years. I would date its beginning to about 235, and certainly would give a date for it no later than 395.

Third, the trend under way during the time after 395 was a gradual increase in learning, rather than a decrease. We know, for instance, the first system for primary education was begun in 425 AD in the East Roman Empire and continued to operate for over a thousand years. There is a record of buildings of a school in Wales being rebuilt in the beginning of the sixth century, a number of years after they burned down. We know that King's School in Canterbury opened in 596, and several other currently operating schools opened in the seventh century. The oldest secular school, Beverley Grammar School opened in Northumbria with state support in 700 AD, and survived when the state was under Viking control. And we have record that Alfred the Great intended to open schools for primary eduction, taught in English, for all free men capable of learning.

The overall indications also seem to point at an increase in education and learning during the Dark Ages. The time of Charles Martel and the Carolingian monarchs is called the Carolingian Renaissance, beginning in the first half of the 8th century. It was closely followed by the Ottonian Renaissance, the contemporaneous Macedonian Renaissance, and the Islamic Golden Age. These were followed by the Renaissance of the 12th century, which was barely over when the European Renaissance started. Based on these things, I would conclude that the dates commonly given for the Dark Ages, regardless of what they are, are not for an age that is uniformly "dark."

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Answer 2

Depends on which nation's past your talking about, but for England, it's generally considered to be the period between the departure of the Roman legions in around 410AD and the Norman invasion of 1066. Of course, arguments can be made for adjustments to the terminal dates but the two dates mentioned provide a handy guide.

Answer 3

The dark or middle ages were from 410 AD with the fall of the Roman Empire to the age of exploration in 1400.