Were the Medieval Ages really Dark Ages?

A good majority of people claim that the Medieval Man was still surrounded in doubt and illiteracy in those times known as the Middle Ages. Let me point out several facts that question this statement. The Middle Ages were the foundation of science, literature, agriculture, architecture, and battle tactics. Medieval man discovered the basics of medicine and science, for how could surgery be accomplished today if man did not know how to successfully stop infection. Medieval man was also not unlearned in the science of the earth, for why do Medieval representations of Christ holding the world show the world as round and not flat as people suspect that Medieval man believed? There were great writers of the Medieval Age like St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Boneventure, Geoffrey Chaucer, William Dunbar, John Gower, and others. Also if the majority of Medieval men were illiterate why did Gutenburg invent the printing press? There was an abundunce of litereature and writing by hand was too slow so Gutenburg came up with the printing press to keep up with the amount of books that the public wanted. In agriculture Medieval man was at home. They knew the rotation of crops, harvesting, invention of farming tools, and others basic necessary knowledge. In architecture Medieval man was an expert. Just look at the buildings left( by left I mean the buildings that survived wars, fires, and conflicts) like Notre Dame de Paris, which is still in solid condition, the Cathedral in Strassburg, France(which clever Medieval man built over a river knowing that foundation (wood) that was surrounded and covered with water would not decay), the castles in England that have withstood time and conflict, and many more. In this case I think Medieval man was better at architecture then we are today. Look at many modern day houses:uneven foundation, the leaking roof, the cracking cement. Many will not survive 50 years. There is a town in the heart of Germany called Rotenburg. It was one of the few towns that survived the devastation of the Thirty Years War and it is still in perfect condition after 400 some odd years. Now let us look at battle tactics. A person only needs to go to a castle in Europe to see the ingenuity behind the tactical ideas of Medieval man. The ramparts, battlements, causeways, and towers are full of creative ideas of defense. An example would be the run-tower stairway. Medieval man created a stairway in the tower that curved to the right up. Why? So when the defenders were retreating up the tower the pursuer could not easily strike a blow, for most men were right-handed so when he was runnng and turning right at the same time he could not hit the man he was chasing. But at any time the defender could turn and easily with his right hand deal the enemy a good blow. There are alot more aspects of Medieval man that would take books to fill with his discoveries, great ideas, magnificent deeds, and successful explorations. But this article is just to give an idea of how Medieval man is greatly misunderstood and that he was truly a genious. One last thought. Modern day advances are like a tower and the Middle Ages are the base. How could we have made such advances if the Middle Ages were not great and productive. How could we have built such incredible structures if we didn't know the basic rules, methods and ways of doing so? How could we have discovered computer technology if we didn't know how to function and make a simple war machine? How could we have... I think you get the point. Medieval man was not stupid.

J. Thomas