
700 The Lindisfarne Gospels
Far from ‘dark’, the early medieval period saw religious diversity and the invention of new forms of art. The Lindisfarne Gospels is only 1 example of great early medieval art. 1. Why is the period known as ‘dark’? The term ‘Dark Age’ was used by the Italian scholar and poet Petrarch in the 1330s to describe the decline in later Latin literature following the collapse of the Western Roman empire. In the 20th century, scholars used the term more specifically in relation to the 5th-10th centuries, but now it is largely seen as a derogatory term, concerned with contrasting periods […]