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1). But this begs the question -- how does one define a good life, given that the empire was dependant upon the subjugation of other peoples, slavery, a decadent, undemocratic and corrupt Imperial system, and the "entrenched social hierarchies that were also part of the Roman world" (Heather 2006, p.1). Viewed as such, the Dark Ages may be seen as a "necessary evil" (Heather 2006, p.1). Rome had to fall to destroy large-scale slavery and make possible, eventually, a world which valued all human beings more equally. To establish control, over the new order, however, required a "slow and difficult" process and thus the early medieval world was in a state of constant turmoil in a way that did not support patronage of the arts and culture (Jansen 2006).
Eventually, there were substantial innovations that would affect the rest of human history towards the end of this age. The Renaissance and High Middle Ages did not arise from nothing, after all -- some of pagan antiquity was preserved, and Christianity and religious art came to the forefront of the images embodied in artistic expression in a way that would inspire great artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo. The Gothic aesthetic has its roots in this period, one of the founding artistic movements of the later centuries....
New approaches were sought to create houses of worship as distinct from pagan antiquity, and greater pluralism of culture was allowed, now that the empire was no more -- it was the ideology of Christianity that proved a uniting force in the West, and Islam in the Middle East, rather than a Roman government.
Perhaps the reason the Dark Ages are really viewed as so dark is that later commentators from the high Middle Ages and the Renaissance, eager to celebrate classical learning and distance themselves from older traditions, stressed the losses that had occurred in terms of culture during the period. However, it is important to remember that neither they nor the 19th century commentators upon the period were entirely unbiased observers in terms of their view of the age. While much was lost, if the Roman Empire had continued to exist, life may have become even darker, for far longer, and Christian art and ideology were critical components of the Renaissance's cultural developments, not only pagan antiquity.
Works Cited
Heather, Peter. (2006, September 11). Fall of Rome. BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/fallofrome_article_01.shtml
Janson, Anthony. (2006). Janson's History of Art. New York: Prentice Hall.
Works Cited
Heather, Peter. (2006, September 11). Fall of Rome. BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/romans/fallofrome_article_01.shtml
Janson, Anthony. (2006). Janson's History of Art. New York: Prentice Hall.
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