Between the science of the ancients—Anaximander, Anaxigoras, et al. and that of our "modern" era there is this vast space traditionally referred to as the "dark" ages. What was that all about and what exactly were they doing during all this time? As with most of history, the tendency to generalize is not only tempting but also usually wrong. Nevertheless we can make some broad observations which will at least give us some sense of things.

The "dark" ages, at least in Europe, is commonly understood to have begun with the Fall of the Roman Empire. Even this is far from conclusive because most people who study such things cannot agree on when, how, or even if this actually happened. If you're interested in this debate, you might want to check out this excellent site. The truly definitive work on the subject is of course Edward Gibbon's The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. You can find a small summation here.

Anyway let's keep it simple and assume that (a) the empire did fall, (b) that it happened in 410 A.D. and (c) that the Visigoth ruler Alaric did it. So who exactly was this guy, Alaric, and who were the Visigoths? The Visigoths which means good Goths or noble Goths were the western Goths as opposed to the Ostrogoths or eastern Goths. The whole Goth thing (think of the word gothic) began with their migration in the 3rd century, from Sweden across the Baltic Sea into central Europe.

They were converted to the Arian version of Christianity in the 4th century by the Christian bishop and missionary Ulfila who is thought to have come from Cappadocia in Asia Minor. The Goths had captured his people in one of their many raids into Asia Minor and along the Aegean coast. The Goths it seems, waged almost constant war against most of the people in the area including the Roman empire itself.

Then in about 370 A.D. the Goths divided into those two separate groups—western and eastern—already mentioned. In 376 the Visigoths, threatened by the Huns, sought for and received the protection of the Roman emperor Theodosius I and for a time were used as auxiliary mercenary troops by the Romans. Leading these troops was a charismatic Goth by the name of Alaric. This lasted until the death of Theodosius in 395, at which point the regular Roman officers began to abuse Alaric and his fellow Goths.

Barbarians at the Gate
At this the Visigoths revolted and renounced their allegiance to Rome. Instead they acknowledged Alaric as their king and he became a force to be reckoned with. He led his troops on numerous raids into Greece and into Italy, some more successful than others, but in 410 he finally captured the city of Rome itself. Strictly speaking then, Rome did not fall to barbarians as such. It wasn't an inside job, but they weren't really an outside force either. Technically, the "barbarians" were a disenchanted group within the empire.

The Visigoths didn't stop there. Sometime later, Alaric marched his troops south, with the intention of taking the lands of North Africa. Unfortunately, storms destroyed his navy and Alaric himself was struck by fever and died in the effort, bringing to an end the life of this creative adventurer. During his career he had managed to exhaust the Roman resistance in the West and opened the way for the German Vandals to invade.

The Visigoth legend didn't end with the death of Alaric. They went on to conquer much of present-day France and all of the Spanish Peninsula. From time to time, there were further alliances between Rome and various gothic groups including the Visigoths. Their rule in Spain only came to an end more or less, with the invasion of the Moors in 713. Meanwhile their legacy both historic and cultural, remains with us even today.

The New Reality
In 476 Odoacer of the Germanic Heruli people deposed the last Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus. With the Roman Empire in shreds, the history of Rome would subsequently merge with that of the papacy. By the 6th century A.D., the popes became de facto rulers of the city of Rome and the surrounding area. The Church became the dominant force in Europe, a situation that prevailed until the Holy Roman Empire in 800 A.D. and beyond.

On Christmas Day of that year, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor. To illustrate the uneasy relations between church and state at the time, Einhard, Charlemagne's biographer and contemporary suggested that the coronation surprised and angered the King. Likely he considered the Pope his subject and not the other way around. Charlemagne was not one to be trifled with. Einhard described him as a striking figure both in appearance and manner.

With the advent of the Holy Roman Empire, we see in Europe the first stirrings of secular rule since the glory days of the Roman empire. Yet it was to be many centuries before the power of the Church was sufficiently diminished to allow the emergence of modern scientific thought and method. There was still a bunch more dark ages to work through and even after that, things initially did not improve all that much for free-thinking scientific types.

Meanwhile, what was the rest of the population up to? One of the reasons they used to call it the dark ages, a term now out of favor, was the fact that so little was known about it. Historians have since been able to ferret out a little more of what was happening and one of those things was Seignorialism or Manorialism sometimes confused with Feudalism¹. This was a system that developed in Europe with the collapse of central authority after the fall of the Roman Empire and the breakdown of all social institutions except the Church.

The Pax Romana, the Roman peace was now but a dim memory and it had more or less become every man for himself. Roman institutions were forgotten and society fragmented into a large number of small, isolated communities. The new institutions which evolved in Europe were based on an economy without money, limited transportation, restricted movement and communication, and a complete absence of an effective central government.

Security was a major issue. Without a central authority, individual lives were in constant danger so people banded together in small communities around a Lord or Master. The population was essentially rural and most people lived on a manor, which would have at its center a castle or fortified keep maintained by the lord of the manor. He in turn surrounded himself with a fighting force to defend the estate.

Land and labor was exchanged for political and military services which provided a measure of security and stability in a Europe where this had become a precious commmodity. Gradually this developed into a more formal structure involving both secular and religeous life. At the top of the pyramid were the kings and lords as well as the princes of the church. At the bottom were the laboring class of serfs. These also formed the laity of the church.

People turned to the King and his local representative, the lord of the manor, to protect them from pillaging neighbors or the even greater threat from raiders such as the Vikings, Magyars, and Saracens. Manors usually included a church, a village, and the surrounding farm land that supported the community. The peasants on these isolated manors rarely traveled or left the manors on which they were born. There might be an occasional visit from traveling merchants and peddlers, minstrels, religious pilgrims, churchmen, or knights.

It should be pointed out that all this mayhem was mostly an issue for Europe and what is commonly known as the Western Roman Empire. In the East things took a different turn. The Eastern or Byzantine Empire did not collapse but prospered especially in the fifth and sixth centuries. Her greatest emperor was Justinian, who ruled from 527 to 565. Among his accomplishments was the completion of the Istanbul landmark, Hagia Sophia as well as instituting many legal reforms.

After Justinian, the story of the empire became a roller coaster ride with its fortunes rising and falling during the remaining 900 years. With the rise of Islam in the 7th Century the Eastern empire came under increasingly heavier attack all the while seeing a steady erosion of its territory. In spite of this it managed to survive until 1453 A.D. when it was finally conquered by the Ottoman Turks using cannons to smash through the thick fortifications of Constantinople. The city was promptly renamed Istanbul.

A Plague on all your houses
Another factor that had a substantial impact on the history of the middle ages, was the Black Plague² or Black Death which occurred in the 6th and 7th Centuries. Although we normally think of the plague as occurring in 14th century Europe there have been several other pandemics that we know of, throughout history. The one that occurred in the 6th and 7th Centuries was also very deadly with as much as half the population being wiped out.

It doesn't take a lot of imagination to understand the effect that would have had. With people dying in vast numbers, their posessions would be left for others to deal with. As often as not they were simply abandoned. It certainly would have led to a further disintegration of society. The only institution left with any amount of organization was the Church. As a result much of the various administrative tasks were left in the hands of the clergy.

Depending on your point of view that was either a positive or negative thing. Without their efforts what little was left of civilization in Europe might have vanished altogether. On the other hand, the control exercised by these same institutions eventually became the heavy hand of authority that ultimately led to such abuses as the various inquisitions and the Index of Prohibited Books.

This little sketch doesn't begin to cover all the aspects of this period in history. Nor is there common consent among historians about the events noted or the way they are described. I have simply tried to paint with broad strokes, some of the highlights of the period. There are many sources including excellent websites that cover this topic in much greater detail. Just enter dark or middle ages into any search engine. You can start with this one.

Meanwhile, you've hopefully gotten a bit of insight into this important part of our Western heritage.

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