Petrarch considered the Middle Ages as the “Dark Ages” because intellectualism was not highly valued and there was lack of cultural achievements during this period compared with classical antiquity.

Petrarch’s assertion is understandable. By that time, the great civilization of Greece and Rome had fallen. Many buildings and work of art that had existed during Roman times were destroyed and lost during the great migration. Knowledge survived only in monasteries. Most people were illiterate.

The lack of a centralized authority over the vast territory previously controlled by the Roman Emperors created an enormous power vacuum within the whole of the western empire.

This led to incessant warfare, corruption, lawlessness. Life became very hard for ordinary people. The only hope for most people during the Middle Ages was their strong belief in Christianity, the hope that life in heaven would be better than life on earth.

Admittedly, the wide and excessive belief of......

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Title: Is Dark Ages Dark?
Approximate Word Count: 347
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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