In the 20th century, scholars used the term more specifically in relation to the 5th-10th centuries, but now it is largely seen as a derogatory term. Discover what happened after the Romans left Britain, who replaced them, why this period is often referred to as ‘The Dark Ages’ and why this problematic description is now being phased out. The term ‘Dark Age’ was used by the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch in the 1330s to describe the decline in later Latin literature following the collapse of the Western Roman empire. But archaeological evidence tells us so much more about these fascinating centuries. Wars between barbarian tribes broke out all over Europe, as those tribes tried to conquer the territory. This was a time of migrations and far-reaching contacts, Christian conversion, kingdom formation and expansion, and Viking raids and settlement. The Dark Ages begin with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 CE. This week we’re joined by Senior Properties Historian Dr Susan Greaney and Howard Williams, Professor of Archaeology at the University of Chester, to discuss the early medieval period of British history that followed the collapse of Roman state control of lowland Britain and ended with the Norman conquest of 1066. People use the phrase Middle Ages to describe Europe between the fall of Rome in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century.
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