... major advantage. Various Anglo-Saxon warrior groups slowly shattered the Roman Empire. Destruction reigned for the decades immediately after the fall, eventually the people forgot their gloried past and settled into the feudal lifestyle that was common in the Middle Ages. The reason as to why the period was called 'The Dark Ages' is not because there is very little written from that time, but because of the lack of connections between the separates states. In this new period, an new reign began in Western Europe. While it could never become what it once was, it had the chance of becoming something totally new and different. There was a consolidation of the Teutonic invaders into unified but separate nationalities. An important change was the rise of the Papacy and the resulting birth of the Holy Roman Empire under Charlemagne the Great. The Dark Ages show us the resilient nature of the Western ...

See this essay or coursework document in full right now