This is a question that has been rolling around in my mind now for some time. Where would our world and cultures be had the Dark Ages never happened?
All through mankind’s history someone or some group has always been looking for the angle by which to control others. At no other time was this more evident than the dark ages which started shortly after the fall of the Roman Empire and formerly ended at the beginning of the Renaissance. Essentially a period of time from about 476 AD to about the end of the 15th century, however I believe it actually started with the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire.
To my mind, the biggest cause for the dark ages was the church; to be more specific, the Catholic Church. In no other body was more authority vested and subsequently abused. Millions have been slaughtered, tortured and wiped out all in the name of God during this time. Not even the great Khan was so brutal and inhuman than those who delivered death in the name of God literally all over the known world. Clearly history bares out that trust in these men was sorely misplaced.
What if Copernicus has been taken seriously and not forced to hide?
What if Galileo had been sponsored to do his work rather than persecuted?
What if Da Vinci would have had the freedom to develop his theories and as well as share his knowledge with others rather than trying to keep things hidden from those who preyed upon the religious ignorant and illiterate that the Church found it so necessary to keep under their thumb?
Dear God! what if the Library of Alexandria had not been burned to the ground causing the untold loss of knowledge and wisdom of so many centuries by men who could find their asses with both hands and a flash-light, but were completely driven by greed?
Alas, we’ll never know because the base nature of man is such that things like this could never happen. These things alone should be proof enough for those naive enough to entertain the thought that people are basically good. Nothing could be further from the truth!