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10044 (Humanities 3)
Introduction to Philosophy (The Dark Ages)
Mr. Jose Jake o. Uy
401/TTH/4:00PM-5:30PM

THE MIDDLE AGES (6th to 13th centuries)

Dark Ages is a historical periodization used originally for the middle Ages,
which emphasizes the cultural and economic deterioration that
supposedly occurred in Western Europe following the decline of the
Roman Empire.

term "Dark Ages" originally was intended to denote the entire

period between the fall of Rome and the Renaissance
Francesco Petrarca in the 1330 coined the concept of a Dark
Age originally intended as a sweeping criticism of the character of
Late Latin literature.

THE FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE

Invasions by Barbarian tribes
-In 410 C.E., the Visigoths, led by Alaric, breached the walls of
Rome and sacked the capital of the Roman Empire.
-The Visigoths looted, burned, and pillaged their way through the city,
leaving a wake of destruction wherever they went. The plundering
continued for three days. For the first time in nearly a millennium, the
city of Rome was in the hands of someone other than the Romans. This
was the first time that the city of Rome was sacked, but by no means
the last.

Christianity and the loss of traditional values

-The decline of Rome dovetailed with the spread of Christianity, and
some have argued that the rise of a new faith helped contribute to the
empires fall. The Edict of Milan legalized Christianity in 313, and
it later became the state religion in 380. These decrees ended
centuries of persecution, but they may have also eroded the traditional
Roman values system. Christianity displaced the polytheistic
Roman religion, which viewed the emperor as having a divine
status, and also shifted focus away from the glory of the state and
onto a sole deity.
CHRISTIANITY DURING THE MIDDLE AGES
ROME'S THEOLOGY BEFORE THE REFORMATION
Infallibility of the Pope - believing that he was supreme among
all bishops
Salvation in the Roman Church Only - Salvation was confined
within the teachings of the Roman Church.
Salvation by Works - Salvation was not caused by God's grace
through a supernatural new birth, but by assent to Roman
Catholic dogma and practice.
Complete Sanctification - Rome taught sinless perfectionism
Worshiping of Saints - The more a person practiced external
works, the more saintlike he became and the closer he came to
heaven.
Exaltation of the Clergy - The clergy were thought to be more
holy than the average people
ROMES PRACTICES
System of Penance - Men had to do certain external acts to
prove the reality of their faith. At first penance consisted of
certain public expressions of repentance for people involved in
scandal, but it was soon extended to every sin, even to the most
secret

System of Indulgences - or a price, Clergy would pray, fast and

read scripture for a person. In other words, priestly services
were bought.
System of Confession - Since the clergy through the church were
dispensers of God's grace, they also had the authority to forgive
sins.

ROME'S SCANDALS
Immorality of the Clergy - It was a common sight to see priests
frequenting the taverns, gambling, and having orgies with
quarrels and blasphemy
Immorality of the People - Indulgences were looked upon by the
common man as a license to sin, for men could buy their
forgiveness.
Ignorance of Clergy - Many of the clergy had come to their
offices through political maneuvering.
Inquisition - This organization was designed to inquire into the
spread of heresy and to call before its tribunal Catholics
suspected of heresy with a view to securing their repentance.
The Papal Schism - From 1378-1417 there were three
simultaneous popes, each claiming to be the true pope: Urban
VII, an Italian; Clement VII, a Frenchman; and a third pope
elected by the Council of Pisa.
The Practice of Simony - Simony was the sinful practice of giving
or obtaining an appointment to a church office for money.
Relics - Rome, playing on the ignorance of people, held all kinds
of relics in veneration.

THE BLACK DEATH

Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics in human history,
resulting in the deaths of an estimated 75 to 200 million people and
peaking in Europe in the years 134653
The Black Death is thought to have originated in the arid plains of
Central Asia, where it then travelled along the Silk Road, reaching
Crimea by 1343.] From there, it was most likely carried by Oriental rat
fleas living on the black rats that were regular passengers on merchant
ships. Spreading throughout the Mediterranean and Europe, the Black
Death is estimated to have killed 3060% of Europe's total population.

RELIGIOUS WAR OR HOLY WAR

Is a war primarily caused or justified by differences in religion.

The Muslim conquests of the 7th and 8th centuries, and the
Christian Crusades (11th to 13th centuries) and Wars of Religion
(16th and 17th centuries) are the classic examples but a
religious aspect has been part of warfare as early as the battles
of the Mesopotamian city-states.

Muslim Conquests
According to traditional accounts, the Muslim conquests also
referred to as the Islamic conquests or Arab conquests, began
with the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the 7th century. He
established a new unified polity in the Arabian Peninsula which
under the subsequent Rashidun and Umayyad Caliphates saw a
century of rapid expansion of Muslim power.
They grew well beyond the Arabian Peninsula in the form of a
Muslim empire with an area of influence that stretched from the
borders of China and India, across Central Asia, the Middle East,
North Africa, Sicily, and the Iberian Peninsula, to the Pyrenees.

VIKING INVASIONS OF EUROPE

Just as Christian Europe had settled down after the barbarian

invasions, followed by the onslaught of Islamic armies, a new wave
of barbarian invaders came from the north in the form of the
Vikings. These raiders came from the countries we now call
Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. The Norsemen (North Men) were
skilled craftsmen, navigators and sailors. Viking longships were
capable of sailing seas and oceans, as well as maneuvering in very
shallow rivers and streams. No place seemed safe from these
raiders. The Norsemen believed in many gods and goddesses. Odin
was their chief of the gods. Since the Vikings were not Christian,
monasteries were favorite targets of these raiders for the loot
that could be found within their walls.