原文: Top 10 Reasons The Dark Ages Were Not Dark

I believe that we can safely say that the period of man’s history from 476 AD to 1000 AD is the most maligned of all. This period, known to historians as the Early Middle Ages, is still referred to by most laymen as the Dark Ages. In fact the term “dark ages” is almost as ancient as the period itself - it was coined in the 1330s by Petrarch, the Italian scholar, to refer to the decline of Latin literature. It was later taken by the protestant reformers (16th century) and then the members of the Englightenment (18th century) as a derogatory term with much broader implications, because they saw their own “enlightenment” as absent from the earlier period. Hardly a fair judgement on the past. Fortunately for modern students of history, the term is now officially known as the Early Middle Ages - a name which has no connotations at all. So, having given you the background on the terms, here are ten reasons that the dark ages were, in fact, a period of great progress and light.

The Classical Education (still used today in some schools) was the system used by the Universities which were created in the Early Middle Ages (the first in history). The universities taught the arts, law, medicine, and theology (the study of religion). The University of Bologna (founded in 1088) was the first ever to grant degrees. In addition to the classical structure (based on Ancient Greek education), these medieval universities were heavily influenced by Islamic education which was thriving at the time. While women were not admitted to Universities in the early days, the education of women did exist. The convents of the day educated the young women who would often enter at a very young age. One such women (Hildegard Von Bingen) is one of the most celebrated women of the Medieval era who had great influence over the men in power at the time.

While progress in Science was slow during this period in the West, the progress was steady and of a very high quality. The foundation was laid here for the wonderful blossoming of science that was to occur in the High Middle Ages to come. It can be safely said, that without the study of Science in the Early Middle Ages, we would be considerably behind in our scientific knowledge today. Ronald Numbers (professor at Cambridge University) has said: ‘Notions such as: “the rise of Christianity killed off ancient science”, “the medieval Christian Church suppressed the growth of the natural sciences”, “the medieval Christians thought that the world was flat”, and “the Church prohibited autopsies and dissections during the Middle Ages” [are] examples of widely popular myths that still pass as historical truth, even though they are not supported by historical research.’ [Source: Video or audio Lecture]

The Carolingian Renaissance was a period of advancements in literature, writing, the arts, architecture, jurisprudence, liturgical and scriptural studies which occurred in the late eighth and ninth centuries. The Carolingians were Franks and the most well known is Charlemagne. The Carolingian empire was considered a rebirth of the culture of the Roman Empire. At the time, Vulgar Latin was beginning to be replaced by various dialects as the main spoken languages in Europe, so the creation of schools was vital to spread knowledge further amongst the common people. It was also this period which gave us the foundation of Western Classical Music.

Under Justinian this period gave us the Corpus Juris Civilis (Body of Civil law) - an enormous compendium of Roman Law. Literacy was high,elementary education was widespread (even in the countryside), middle education was available to many people, and higher education (as discussed above) was also widely accessible. In the Byzantine empire during this period we saw a massive outpouring of books - encyclopedias, lexicons, and anthologies. While they did not create a lot of new thinking, they solidified and protected for the future much of what was already known.

This is a sticky topic, but the fact is, during the Early Middle Ages, Europe had a united Church, an agreed upon canon of the Bible, and a well developed philosophical tradition. This led (as one would expect) to a great period of peace within the Western nations. While Islam was not in agreement with the doctrines of the West, much mutual sharing of information happened and the Islamic contribution to the West is still felt today. This union of beliefs allowed for intellectual progress unseen since the Roman Empire at its heyday. In a sense you might consider this period as the calm before the storm, as it was merely a hundred years later that the first Crusade would be called to take Jerusalem back from the Muslims - an event which ended the flow of knowledge between groups.

Thanks to the learning of the Islamic people in the East, the world received its first book on algebra. The Compendious Book on Calculation by Completion and Balancing was written by Al-Khwārizmī (790-840) and the Arabic title of the book gave us the word “algebra”. The word algorithm comes from al-Khwārizmī’s name. This book gave us the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations. Later translations of his books also gave us the decimal positional number system we use today. Al-Khwārizmī, along with Diophantas, is considered the Father of algebra.

During the Early Middle Ages, architecture was diverse and innovative. It introduced the idea of realistic images in art and it laid the groundwork for the Romanesque period which was to come in the High Middle Ages. The period also included the introduction and absorption of classical forms and concepts in architecture. It can safely be said that this period was the first period of high art - with previous styles (Migration period) being much more functional and less “artistic”. In the Early Middle Ages we witness the birth of an astonishing and beautiful history of art and building.

Trivial as it may seem, the weather played a much greater part in the lives of the average people during the Middle Ages and beyond. When we think of the “Dark Ages” we tend to see images of snow storms, rain, thunder, and darkness - such as we see in films like “The Name of the Rose”. The fact is, in the Early Middle Ages, the North Atlantic region was warming up - so much so that at the opening of the High Middle Ages (1100 AD), the region was 100 years into an event now known as the Medieval Warm Period. This warm period thawed much ice and enabled the Vikings to begin their colonization of Greenland and other northern nations. Ironically, the Protestant reformation (16th century) up until the 19th century suffered the Little Ice Age - the period of “enlightenment” was literally darker and colder than the “dark” ages. During this period, reforms and better knowledge of agriculture provided a boost to food supplies.

The Early Middle Ages had a complex system of laws which were often not connected, but they were effective and fair for the most part. For merchants traveling around the world, there was the Lex Mercatoria (Law Merchant) which had evolved over time, rather than being created. This law included arbitration and promoted good practice amongst traders. At the same time, Anglo Saxon Law was formed with a focus on keeping peace in the land. While this eventually lead to some very tough laws, living under the legal system in the Early Middle Ages was probably the best time to live - as it was still flexible and fair for the majority. The third important legal system was the the Early Germanic Law which allowed each person to be tried by his own people - so as to not be disadvantaged by ignorance or major cultural differences.

If you were wanting to die a martyr by starvation, the Early Middle Ages were not the time to do it! As a consequence of the excellent weather and greater agricultural knowledge, the West did extremely well. Iron tools were in wide use in the Byzantine empire, feudalism in other parts of the world introduced efficient management of land, and massive surpluses were created so that animals were fed on grains and not grass. Public safety was also guaranteed under the feudal system and so peace and prosperity was the lot for most people.

译文: 黑暗年代并不黑暗的十大理由

     对于公元476-1000年这段人类历史，多数人形容为最为黑暗的历史。这段时期被历史学家们称之为中世纪，而被外行们称之为黑暗时代。事实上，“黑暗时代”这个词的历史和它形容的时期一样久远——意大利诗人彼特拉克在14世纪30年代创造了它，用以形容已日渐堕落的拉丁文化。再后来则被宗教改革家（16世纪）和启蒙运动者（18世纪）用作意义更广泛的贬义词，因为后者认为这个时期缺乏“启蒙思想”。这真是对历史的一个错误认识。幸运的是，对于目前研究历史的学生，这个词语被正式地界定为中世纪的代名词——在此，这个名词已失去了原来的含义。既然已经解释过该词语的来源，那么便列举十个理由证明这个所谓的黑暗时代实际上是一个具有重大进步和光明的时期。

10.   大学的诞生

      中世纪出现的大学的教育内容是经典的学术（某些现代的大学还在使用）。（在当时）大学里教授艺术、法律、医学和神学（宗教研究）。博洛尼亚大学（成立于1088年）是第一个授予学生学位的大学。大学教育除了古典的基础部分（即古希腊教育）外，还深受当时流行的伊斯兰文化的影响。在早前的时代，女人是不准进入大学学习的。但是对女士的教育却早已出现。当时的修道院已经开始吸收一些年纪很小的女孩并加以教育。中世纪非常出名的女士希德嘉·冯·宾根即出身于此，她对当时掌权的男人们产生了巨大的影响。

9.   科学基础的奠定

      虽然在这个时期，西方的科学发展非常缓慢，但却是稳定而高效的。在此期间奠定下的科学基础导致了随后的中世纪较晚阶段的科学繁荣发展。可以肯定的说，没有中世纪早期的科学研究，我们的科学发展会远落后于今日的水平。罗纳德.南伯斯（英国剑桥大学教授）曾经说过：“类似‘基督教的兴起扼杀了古代科学’、‘中世纪基督教扼杀自然科学的发展’、‘中世纪的基督徒们认为地球是平的’和‘基督教禁止人体解剖’的传说被当作历史的真相，但是历史研究证明其是错误的”。

8.   加洛林文艺复兴

      加洛林文艺复兴是文化发展的一个重要时期。在此期间（8世纪晚期和9世纪），写作、艺术、建筑、法学、礼拜仪式和圣经等各个方面的研究都得到长足发展。加洛林复兴的参与者都是法兰克国人，而其中最著名的是查理曼大帝。他统治下的加洛林王朝被认为是罗马文明的重生。在当时，作为欧洲主要语言的通俗拉丁语正渐渐被其他方言所取代，因此要成立学校以教导普通民众更多知识就变的很重要。同是在这个时期，也奠定下了西方古典音乐的基础。

7.   拜占庭黄金时期

      在东罗马帝国统治下的这一时期，出现了《民法大全》（大陆法民法典即是来源于此）——这是一部罗马法律的汇编式法典。（在这一时期）教育程度非常高，基础教育很普及（甚至在农村地区也一样），大多数人都能接受到中等教育，而高等教育也不是那么遥不可及。拜占庭王朝的这一时期出现了许许多多的书籍——百科全书、辞典以及诗集等。虽然他们没有创造太多的新思想，但是他们将过去出现过的优秀作品为后代收集并保护起来。

6.   宗教一体

      这是一个比较棘手的题目。但事实是，中世纪早期的欧洲宗教统一，共同遵守圣经正典，且具有良好发展的传统。这使得西方各国间出现了长期的和平。虽然伊斯兰教并不同意西方的学说，但是许多信息的交流仍在继续，而伊斯兰教对西方的影响直到现代仍然能感受到。从罗马帝国兴盛之日起，这个信仰的联合体就成就了后期知识方面的发展。在某种程度上，也许这个时期是暴风雨前的宁静，即不到一百年后，旨在从穆斯林手中夺回耶路撒冷的十字军东征就开始了，这场战争将两个世界的知识交流终止了。

5.   代数学的成就

      通过向东方伊斯兰人的交流学习，西方世界得到了关于代数的第一本书籍。这本名为《还原与对消计算概要》的书籍的作者是花拉子米（790-840），这本书籍的阿拉伯名称也成为了后来的“代数学”一词。而“算法”一词即来源于花拉子米的拉丁译名。这本书第一次系统的提出了线性方程和二次方程的解法。随后这位作者的其他著作的翻译本给我们带来了直到今天还在使用的十进制计数法。花拉子米，以及丢潘图（古希腊数学家）一起，被公认为代数学之父。

4.   艺术与建筑

      在中世纪早期，建筑风格变化不断且具创新性。在艺术上出现了现实主义风格，并为后来中世纪中期出现的罗马式风格打下坚实的基础。这个时期的建筑还采用和吸收了建筑史上经典的样式与理念。可以肯定的说，这个时期是高级艺术的鼎盛时期——还保留了从前（移民时代）的注重实用性和缺少“艺术性”。整个中世纪早期都见证了大量和美丽的艺术和建筑的诞生。

3.   美妙的天气

      也许这看起来是微不足道的，但是天气对生活在中世纪和之前时期的一般民众的生活有着重要的意义。当我们想起“黑暗时代”这个词时，就会联想到风暴、大雨、雷电和黑暗等——就像在类似“玫瑰之名”的电影中看到的那样。事实上在中世纪早期，北大西洋地区的气候正在变暖——以至于从中世纪中期（公元1100年）开始，这个地区就进入了“中世纪温暖时期”。这个温暖时期使得许多冰层融化，维京人得以开始向格陵兰岛和其他北部地区殖民。讽刺的是，16世纪到19世纪的新教改革却遭受了小冰河时期——“文艺复兴”时期的确是要比“黑暗”时期更黑更冷。在这个时期，农业技术的改良和进步促进了粮食生产的提高。

2.   法律人人平等

      中世纪早期有着复杂且又相互间不大联系的法律系统，但是在许多方面都是有效且公平的。对于周游各地的商人，Lex mercatoria（《商人法》的拉丁译名）被制定且不断被完善。这部法律负责仲裁和完善商人之间的商业行为。同时，《盎格鲁撒克逊法》用以维持大陆的和平。虽然某些法律比较粗暴，但是在这个法律体系下的生活也许是非常合适的——因为这个体系对绝大多数人来说是灵活和公正的。第三个重要的法律体系是日耳曼法，这部法律允许每一个人都可以被他的任命审判——保证了这个法律体系不会因为无知或文化差异而失效。

1.   兴盛的农业

      如果你想要慷慨地像个烈士一样饿死，中世纪早期可不是一个合适的时候。因为先进的农业技术和美好的气候条件，西方在农业方面的发展很好。在拜占庭王朝的统治下，铁质农具得到广泛应用，实行封建制度的地区对土地更好的得到耕作，农产品大量剩余使得牲畜用谷料喂养而不是草料。封建制度下安全的社会环境对大多数人民来说都是运气。