Everything You Know About the Dark Ages Is Wrong

The Middle Ages weren’t a thousand years of darkness, they were an age of learning, exploration, and innovation. In fact, medieval Europe even outdid their Roman ancestors in a variety of ways. In this video, we debunk the myths behind the so-called “Dark Ages” and reveal how medieval people preserved ancient knowledge, invented the modern alphabet, explored the world long before Columbus, and built machines that reshaped Europe.

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Medieval People Would HATE Modern Churches: https://youtu.be/RqutxFHSQ4U?si=lOuLTrHR6FXkswqt

Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction: Why the Dark Ages myth exists
1:04 - Rugged Rosaries sponsorship
1:40 – Preserving Ancient Knowledge: Monks, manuscripts & Boethius
3:27 – The Birth of Our Alphabet: Carolingian Minuscule & literacy
4:26 – Medieval Exploration: Irish monks, Vikings & Vinland
7:40 – Machines of the Middle Ages: Mills, automata & cathedrals
12:06 – Conclusion: Why everything you know about the Dark Ages is wrong

Works Cited:

Adam of Bremen. History of the Archbishops of Hamburg-Bremen. Translated by Francis J. Tschan, Columbia University Press, 1959.

Boethius. The Consolation of Philosophy. Translated by P.G. Walsh, Oxford University Press, 2000.

Dicuil. De Mensura Orbis Terrae. Edited and translated by J.J. Tierney, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1967.

Gimpel, Jean. The Medieval Machine: The Industrial Revolution of the Middle Ages. Penguin, 1976.

White, Lynn Jr. Medieval Technology and Social Change. Oxford University Press, 1962.

Music:

The Radiant Glow of the Submerged Temple by Quest Master