The Dark Ages: Age of Light

This is a series about an artistic era that is looked down on, and never gets the respect it deserves. It is a shadowy era so shadowy, people even disagree about its name. So I’m going to use the old one, the one that best sums its dilemmas. I’m going to call it The Dark Ages.

The Dark Ages go roughly from the fourth century to roughly the 11th. They begin when the Roman Empire starts to crumble, and they end when William the Conqueror invades England.

Now in this shadowy slab of time, everything changed. The greatest Empire the world has seen melted back into the cultural shadows. Various powerful artistic forces stepped up to take its place.

Later in the series, we’ll be examining those much misunderstood creatives the Barbarians. What wondrous bling they brought into the world. What fabulous things they achieved. I will also be looking at that joyous and inventive religion, Islam, which did so much to light up the Dark Ages.

For the purposes of this Web Site, the documentary series has been split into four sections:

• Clash of the Gods
• The Barbarians
• Islamic Empire
• Men of the North