Dark Ages
Dark ages are fictional eras characterized by cultural, technological, and economic stagnation. They are periods of little progress, often due to constant warfare and bloodshed, rampant disease, corruption, or other factors that delay development of a civilization. Fictional dark ages are often depicted as brutal and characterized by hopelessness. They are often used as a world era for grim fantasy genres or as periods of turmoil in a fictional history or timeline. Dark ages are often preceded by the collapse of a major civilization or governing faction. Fictional religions may be widespread.
| Synonyms: periods of stagnation |
| Example Mythonyms: the Twilight Period |
Designing Fictional Dark Ages
Overview
‘Dark Ages’ is a term used to describe the Early Middle Ages (approximately the 5th to 10th centuries) in Western Europe, following the fall of the Western Roman Empire. It was characterized by a period of cultural, intellectual, and economic decline. The term was coined in the 14th century by the Italian scholar Petrarch, who contrasted the “light” of classical antiquity with the “darkness” of the post-Roman centuries. Fictional worlds draw from this source as inspiration for their own fictional dark ages though can occur at any point on a fictional timeline (science fiction worlds, for example, may feature dark ages in the near or distant future). These eras often occur following the collapse of a major empire, and may contain various factions fighting for control of what is left behind.
