The Positive Impacts of the Dark Ages The Dark Ages were a hard period in Europe that was marked by major events such as the agreement of the Magna Carta and the rise of universities that impacted during strongly and positively this time in history. During the Middle Ages, there were many kings ruling Europe. Some of them were good, and some of them were not. The kings and people who had power constantly used their influence in order to become richer or more powerful, and many times took advantage of all that to exploit the poor. But, not only the poor were affected by the way some kings ruled, the noblemen whom were also rich and powerful, that was the case of King John I. The way he ruled in England was disapproved by a lot of people, especially …show more content…
when he lost a lot of land against France “feudal lords and noblemen became angered when King John lost territory to the French. He also increased taxes and oppressed many of his people, arresting them without trials” (Sen, “What is the Significance of the Magna Carta?”) and not only that, King John also began to used more money for his royal needs rather than the kingdom’s needs, so “nobles viewed the royal treasury as the personal concern of the king” (Kidner, 288) people thought he only cared about money and because of that money he was gaining a lot of power, so “the tyrant-like rule of King John was intolerable to British noblemen” (Sen, “What is the Significance of the Magna Carta?”) by then reason why they would come together to create one of the most important documents written. When things were getting out of control, the noblemen decided to create a document to stop the king from becoming more powerful and wealthy and to make him retake his position as the ruler of the kingdom, “the noblemen decided to take some power away by writing up a declaration of rights, known as the Magna Carta” (Sen, “What is the Significance of the Magna Carta?”) in this document the king would have to return to his obligations and rights, so not only the commoners and the nobles would work for the country. The Magna Carta (which in Latin means “Great Charter”) was signed in 1215 and though it was written to protect the rights of the noblemen, the commoners also were also benefited by this agreement “its defense of free-men created a powerful precedents for the rights of all subjects of the king” (Kidner, 288.) The fact that the Magna Carta also included the commoners or free-men made the king felt more pressure by more people but it also gave the free-men more rights and a sense of power. Eventually, the Parliament was going to be born after the Magna Carta, the Parliament was the English representative assembly (Kidner, 288) and whenever the king needed to make a decision about money or needed money, he could not take it himself, he needed to tell the parliament “he met with representatives from the nobility, clergy and merchants to request the amount” (Kidner, 288) this way of ruling would be beneficial and fair for everyone in the kingdom. Furthermore, the Magna Carta would become an important document, not only in Europe during the Middle Ages, but also throughout history, since “later generations used it to protect themselves from unlawful seizures and oppressive government” (Kidner, 288) it had a big impact during this time in history, and it was positive for the people because they could contribute to the administration of their country, and not only the king would be in charge.
After signing this document that established the rights, responsibilities and obligations of the king, he became more aware of the way he ruled. The Magna Carta also is considered the first step to a democratic government, since everyone had similar rights and responsibilities during the time that it was put into effect, and even though this document is not used anymore, it influenced the way democracy works in modern …show more content…
times. In addition to the agreement of the Magna Cart, another event also happened, and it was also going to have a huge impact in all Europe and in the whole world: the born of the universities. Initially, schools became as a part of the preparation for young men who would be part of the clergy, the schools were established in the cathedrals. It is said that “bishops licensed men who had demonstrated their expertise in a subject such as logic or theology to give lectures and organize readings” (Kidner, 296) these men would be the scholars who would be very known by many people. Men would study not only one master, but a few, some of them even studied seven or eight and they would do it by finishing one master and then traveling to another city to start a new master. This would attract the attention of many young men, so the “the number of students seeking higher education forced the replacement of the loosely related cathedral schools with the more organized structure of a university” (Kidner, 298) and because of that, many universities were going to be founded and majors were going to increase. Universities such as the University of Paris and the University of Bologna, were going to offer studies in theology and law respectively. As a result of the success and the demand for other majors, the faculties of medicine, philosophy and art will also going to be formed at the universities.
Also more universities were going to be born in many parts of Europe such as France and Italy “from the 13th to the 15th century, a number of universities in Italy originated from migrations of students; others were established by papal or other charters” (Meyer, “Education: Europe in the Middle Ages”) but also in England, universities were going to be established. The earliest university that was built in Europe is Oxford, after Oxford, the University of Cambridge was established. These universities would provide education to both, rich and poor students, and they would also offer more degrees and majors for all the young men that were going to study. At this time, women were not permitted, only men. It is said that courses could occasionally be difficult. The courses in theology were particularly long, so students preferred the more rapid and lucrative paths of law and medicine” (Meyer, “Education: Europe in the Middle Ages”) but since, they could major in more than one subject, young men who attended university and finished their masters, would not only serve in the clergy or in the church, but they would also work for the government and privately. Many found freedom and financial success after universities were established, so this was a positive event at this time, even though it was beneficial for men only during those
centuries. The Dark Ages were not as dark as historians always say. There were numerous events that happened, all of them negative and positive, but most of had a huge impact during that period, and events such as the agreement of the Magna Carta, the document that benefited almost all men in England and the rise of the universities that offered diverse majors to European men were not the exception.
The Magna Carta was the first document in which English subjects to force English king into power; granting and protecting the subjects’ rights. This was important since the king at the time could do anything that he so desired. However, in practice, this English legal charter did not limit the king’s power. The Magna Carta is the beginnings of American freedom. It is also the foundation of the American Constitution, reflecting English freedom and the power of the English government.
The Dark ages is the time between the 500’s and 1400’s. The Dark ages was a time of civil wars, Death, diseases, invasions and thief. There was a lot of invasions and to protect them self from that communities made a code call The code of Chivalry as (Doc 5) states “Europe in the Middle Ages was a dangerous place. Invasions from Muslims, Mongols, Vikings, and other tribal groups were common. War between lords was also common. The value of protection and warriors created a social code called Chivalry. Knights fought for lords and ladies, and lived by a gentleman- warrior code of Chivalry.” And other big thing in The Dark Ages was Diseases. Diseases in the dark ages was deadly because there was not antidote and even Doctors were scared of
The Magna Carta provides protection for English citizens by limiting the power of the government. This protection can be explained through a parable: Sam Purcell of Sheffield is building a house for his family. On a chilly, November morning the noble that is in charge of Sheffield starts taking wood from Sam’s temporary shed, (where he is building his house,) for his castle. The Magna Carta makes this illegal without the consent of the owner, (31) Neither we nor any royal official will take wood for our castle, or for any other purpose, without the consent of the owner. King John of England undersigned the Magna Carta; this shaped the start of England’s constitutional monarchy. Instead of being an absolute monarchy, King John and his descendants had to abide the laws listed in the charter. Without the Magna Carta, the United States might exist without the constitution or might not exist at
The Dark Ages were a time of despair as the churches had full control over the kings and brainwashed the minds of the people. The popes chose who would be excommunicated and sent to hell. People believed in fatalism, a better afterlife than the life they were living. This belief made the lives of people boring because they did not want to do anything too risky or revolutionary because their afterlife was going to be better. When the Renaissance came, that all changed. The churches began to lose power as not everyone started to believe in Christianity. The idea of fatalism started to disappear as people began to care more about what happened during their life on earth. Love began to show in artists’ sculptures and paintings. Writers began to
Europe has had good economy at some point in its history, according to The Development of Early Civilizations written in Document B, “From 1000 to 1300, the economy of Europe developed and prospered. Available farmland tripled, and the food supple increased notably, bringing up the population” (Document B). Some issues were active during this period but economic failure wasn’t one of them according to Document B. Europeans could resettle and continue farming on nutritious land due to available land during the time. That’s not all, not only did the economy develop, Education system made a big step towards the future. According to Document E titled The Rise of Universities, “Beginning in the early 11th century, Universities were founded throughout Europe”, to this day many students around the world attend universities. It’s very common in Europe today. At that time monks were taught in these universities but as time progressed they started pres...
In the year 476 A.D., Rome officially fell as the greatest and most thriving empire at the time. The time period following this downfall was called the Middle Ages, more infamously recalled as the Dark Ages; but were these years truly as dark as historians say? These medieval times lasted for approximately one thousand years, could such a long time period have been all that dreadful? The answer will soon become clear. The Middle Ages deserved to have the alias of the Dark Ages because there were several severe illnesses, the monarchs were cruel, and the crusades brought the death of many.
During this time, the Magna Carta was written and signed. This limited the power of the king and he had to earn approval by the lords before he could make a decision. It also made it so a law can only be passed if it doesn’t go against the Magna Carta. It also implies religion by helping with giving the Church full rights that allows
Within popular discourse, the historical period of the Middle Ages is synonymous with the term “Dark Ages”: how did this particular equation come about? The immediate connotations of the Dark Ages are clearly negative: they suggest oppression, ignorance and a period of motionless in human development. The reason behind this description of the Middle Ages is arguably the result of a contrast to the subsequent periods of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment: the Renaissance itself signals a “new birth”, whereas the Enlightenment clearly evokes images of a new insight and vision wielded by humanity. Accordingly, the negative values ascribed to the Middle Ages are the result of this historical period’s difference to the Renaissance. Such an account, namely, judges the Middle Ages from an entirely different world-view.
King John was also known as the biggest tyrant in the High Middle Ages. Due to his bad temper and very cruel ways, he was not popular
The Dark Ages is a name given to Europe during A.D. 500-1400. According to historian Frantz Funck-Brentano from document one, the conditions in Europe were really bad. There was no trade going on, only unceasing terror. This was happening because the Saracen invasions and the Hungarians were swarming over the Eastern provinces. European churches were burned down and then departed with a crowd of captives. In the years 842-846, Anglo-Saxon tells us there was a great slaughter in London, Quentaxic and Rochester. The Northmen stole goods and burned the town Dordrecht in 846 evidenced in document three.
People in the Dark Ages were engulfed in the shadow of greatness of their predecessors, which 18th-century English historian Edward Gibbon called “barbarism and religion,” (History). Life in Europe during the Dark Ages were quite simple, as there was no efforts in unifying Europe, and the Catholic church was the only real body of power in Europe at this time. European societies were governed by feudalism, in which the king gives land to the nobles, while peasants worked on the land to live there in return. Little is actually known about this era, in that nothing significant was recorded, announcing it a “dark’ era. There was little to nothing significant about this time period in Europe, other than strong Catholic authority. A shift begins during this time period
The appearance of universities was part of the same high-medieval education boom. Originally universities were institutions where students could attain specialized instruction in advanced studies. These types of studies were not available in the average cathedral schools. Advanced schools existed in the ancient world, but did not promote a fixed curricula or award degrees.
On June 15th, 1215, in a field at Runnymede, King John and the Barons signed The Magna Carta. This was a royal charter drawn up by the barons to insure King John would treat them fairly and equally. This document consisted of political rights and a series of written promises. When the Barons made this document it was there attempt to stop the King from possessing too much power and abusing it.
The medieval university, while rather different from the universities of today, still cemented several traditions which persist into the modern day. Early universities like Oxford cemented the style of teaching and classwork which would be the standard of higher education, that being formal lectures and exams. They also used disputations at the end of their course of study to gain their degree. University at that time was also a costly institution, with tuition being present at the time as well. Degrees also retained their traditional titles, such as bachelor of art, master of arts, or doctorates.
Medieval universities generally consisted of a ‘community of scholars’ who had the authority to award students with degrees. Majority of these scholars were monks or priests because in 600-1500 A.D. there was a strict religious hierarchy to create stability within the society. Therefore majority of the higher education took place in cathedrals or monastery schools. Unlike today, universities in the ‘dark ages’ did not have a university campus. Neither did they have a government who would make the majority of the decisions. Because of this, churches which were seen as the government as at that time religion had a massive impact on the s...