Watt the actual heck

McCarthyism was real and it could be very intense- but the “apple pie” simplistic picture of the era and of the general population is just that- a simplified picture of a perception. The “dark ages” actually weren’t so dark- serious historians tend to avoid using that phrase. In fact- a lot of progressive movements and scientific or technological break throughs came from the period. Agricultural inventions like the heavy plow allowed for farming on soil previously unfit- like most of Northern Europe. Horse led plows allowed for greater farming yield. Algebra and algorithms that we still use today were discovered, and taught to the Europeans. The foundations for democracy and checks and balances in the modern west start in the dark ages, a period after Roman rule where monarchs powers became less absolute.

As it turns out, the dark ages really were dubbed such because historians that care right after saw Rome as the apex of human civilization and culture. Basically they were butt hurt that Rome was gone and saw whatever cane after to be crap compared to it. The “renaissance” was certainly a period of art and culture and science and more. But it’s partially marketing- romancing history. You have to also remember that history wasn’t really a serious profession until fairly recent history. Early history tends to be a mix of fact and function, often with little or no backing, and then like now a tool of politics.