What is "dark ages"

Dark \Dark\ (d[aum]rk), a. [OE. dark, derk, deork, AS. dearc, deorc; cf. Gael. & Ir. dorch, dorcha, dark, black, dusky.]

1. Destitute, or partially destitute, of light; not receiving, reflecting, or radiating light; wholly or partially black, or of some deep shade of color; not light-colored; as, a dark room; a dark day; dark cloth; dark paint; a dark complexion.

   O dark, dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, Irrecoverably dark, total eclipse Without all hope of day!
   --Milton.

   In the dark and silent grave.
   --Sir W. Raleigh.

2. Not clear to the understanding; not easily seen through; obscure; mysterious; hidden.

   The dark problems of existence.
   --Shairp.

   What may seem dark at the first, will afterward be found more plain.
   --Hooker.

   What's your dark meaning, mouse, of this light word?
   --Shak.

3. Destitute of knowledge and culture; in moral or intellectual darkness; unrefined; ignorant.

   The age wherein he lived was dark, but he Could not want light who taught the world to see.
   --Denhan.

   The tenth century used to be reckoned by medi[ae]val historians as the darkest part of this intellectual night.
   --Hallam.

4. Evincing black or foul traits of character; vile; wicked; atrocious; as, a dark villain; a dark deed.

   Left him at large to his own dark designs.
   --Milton.

5. Foreboding evil; gloomy; jealous; suspicious.

   More dark and dark our woes.
   --Shak.

   A deep melancholy took possesion of him, and gave a dark tinge to all his views of human nature.
   --Macaulay.

   There is, in every true woman-s heart, a spark of heavenly fire, which beams and blazes in the dark hour of adversity.
   --W. Irving.

6. Deprived of sight; blind. [Obs.]

   He was, I think, at this time quite dark, and so had been for some years.
   --Evelyn.

   Note: Dark is sometimes used to qualify another adjective; as, dark blue, dark green, and sometimes it forms the first part of a compound; as, dark-haired, dark-eyed, dark-colored, dark-seated, dark-working.

   A dark horse, in racing or politics, a horse or a candidate whose chances of success are not known, and whose capabilities have not been made the subject of general comment or of wagers. [Colloq.]

   Dark house, Dark room, a house or room in which madmen were confined. [Obs.]
   --Shak.

   Dark lantern. See Lantern. -- The

   Dark Ages, a period of stagnation and obscurity in literature and art, lasting, according to Hallam, nearly 1000 years, from about 500 to about 1500 A. D.. See Middle Ages, under Middle.

   The Dark and Bloody Ground, a phrase applied to the State of Kentucky, and said to be the significance of its name, in allusion to the frequent wars that were waged there between Indians.

   The dark day, a day (May 19, 1780) when a remarkable and unexplained darkness extended over all New England.

   To keep dark, to reveal nothing. [Low]

1739, any benighted time in history, period of ignorance; specific focus on the centuries from the fall of Rome to the revival of secular literature is from 1830s.

n. (alternative form of Dark Ages English)

Dark Ages is an imprecise term of historical periodization which was once used to refer to the Middle Ages but is latterly most commonly used in relation to the early Mediaeval period: ie. the centuries following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. It emphasizes the demographic, cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly occurred in Western Europe following the decline of the Roman Empire. The label employs traditional light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the "darkness" of the period with earlier and later periods of "light". The period is characterized by a relative scarcity of historical and other written records at least for some areas of Europe, rendering it obscure to historians.

The term once characterized the majority of the Middle Ages, or roughly the 6th to 14th centuries, as a period of intellectual darkness between extinguishing the "light of Rome" after the end of Late Antiquity, and the rise of the Italian Renaissance in the 14th century. This definition is still sometimes found in popular use, but increased recognition of the accomplishments during the Middle Ages has led to the label's being restricted in application. Since the 20th century, it is frequently applied to the earlier part of the era, the Early Middle Ages (c. 5th–10th century). However, many modern scholars who study the era tend to avoid the term altogether for its negative connotations, finding it misleading and inaccurate for any part of the Middle Ages.

The concept of a Dark Age originated with the Italian scholar Petrarch (Francesco Petrarca) in the 1330s, and was originally intended as a sweeping criticism of the character of Late Latin literature. Petrarch regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the light of classical antiquity. The actual term "Dark Age" derives from the Latin saeculum obscurum, originally applied by Caesar Baronius in 1602 to a tumultuous period in the 10th and 11th centuries. Later, historians expanded the term to refer to the transitional period between Roman times and the High Middle Ages (c. 11th–13th century), including the lack of Latin literature, and a lack of contemporary written history, general demographic decline, limited building activity and lack of material cultural achievements in general. Popular culture has further expanded on it as a vehicle to depict the early Middle Ages as a time of backwardness, extending its pejorative use and expanding its scope.

Dark Ages is a MMORPG based on Celtic mythology, originally developed by Nexon and now operated by KRU Interactive. It is loosely based on the Korean game Legend of Darkness. The American version was developed by David Ethan Kennerly who based it somewhat on the works of horror writer H. P. Lovecraft. The game originally thrived on player involvement in the management of the game and progression of the storyline, even going so far as allowing players control over in-game politics and laws.

Dark Ages is the fifth studio album by the metal band Soulfly. The album was released on October 4, 2005.

Dark Ages may refer to:

In White Wolf Publishing's World of Darkness campaign setting, the Dark Ages refers to the shared setting of a number of games, set in a fictionalised version of the real Dark Ages.

Dark Ages is a platform game written for MS-DOS, published by Apogee Software. It was the first shareware game to feature support for the AdLib sound card.

Dark Ages was distributed as shareware. It consists of three episodes, with only the first episode playable in the shareware version. The episodes are:

• Prince of Destiny
• The Undead Kingdom
• Dungeons of Doom

The game was released as freeware on March 20, 2009.

Dark Ages is a British television sitcom, first broadcast as five thirty-minute episodes on ITV in December 1999. It portrayed medieval English villagers fearful of the turn of the new ( second) millennium in the year 999 AD, and parodied contemporary fears at the turn of the third millennium (such as the Millennium Bug) in 1999. It was written by Rob Grant and directed by Steve Bendelack.

Dark Ages is a minimalist dark ambient band from Ukraine formed in 2004 by Roman Saenko of Drudkh, Blood of Kingu and Hate Forest. They draw their lyrical themes from European medieval history. This band is not to be confused with the melodic death metal band Dark Age.