Dark Ages Dbq Analysis

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In Europe during the Middle ages - from 476 to 1100 - there were many things happening at once. There was the plague, holy wars, and poverty. These events inspired the Italian Scholar Petrarch to dub it a “Dark Age”. But there were also many positive things, as listed below. The Dark Ages were not a dark period as Petrarch suggested. They were a time of ________ Three significant reasons for this are technological advancements, laws that brought people together, and the study of medicine and surgery. One important reason that the “Dark” Ages weren't dark was that people invented many new technologies. According to Document B, the heavy plow, metal horseshoes, windmills, the shoulder collar for horses, and more efficient water system were all invented during these times. These are all vital inventions, and without them humans would have progressed much more slowly. These inventions also led to a “jump in food supply”, causing the population to triple. “Between 500 and 1300 the population grew from 25 million to more than 70 million.” Usually when population increases …show more content…

“… he was an expert in his art and in pharmaceutics, botany, and surgery” (Richer). This is definitely a step up from the spiritual and religious healing of earlier times that consisted mostly of prayer and ritual. Although faith was dominant in the Middle Ages, the methods of treatment in this document show that people did not only rely on god and destiny. A society with doctors who study all of these types of medicine is a society that cares about people. In a true “Dark Age”, people would be fending for themselves and not worrying about their fellow citizens. Also, being able to know where to make incisions during surgery without killing the patient every time requires a certain amount of skill and knowledge that one can only find in a time that is not as dark as history

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