The era of the Middle Ages, between 500 and 1400, in Europe has been described in many ways by different historians. Some believe it was a Dark Age, some think of it as an Age of Faith. Others call it the Age of Feudalism and some even describe it as a Golden Age. From everything I've read and from what I know of that period of time, my view would agree with those historians that label it the Dark Ages. I would also agree that it was the Age of Faith and the Age of Feudalism, but first and foremost I would stay with the term Dark Ages. .
The Middle Ages brought invasions, death, destruction to the people of Europe during the era covering 500 to 1400. It was a "Dark" time in the world's history because of the "wild west" atmosphere that took place as it became a society that no longer had a government. There was much violence and anarchy with crimes against humanity being committed constantly. The Hungarians invaded the Eastern provinces, ransacked the towns and villages, burned down the churches, and took residents as captives. Then there were the invasions of England which spread terror through the country with towns being plundered and burned to the ground. The Crusades, which lasted from 1096-1272 also occurred during this time period. The Crusades were holy wars in which Christian states of Europe launched wars against the Muslims over the lands that the Muslims occupied, known as the Holy Land. There were eight wars in total by the Christians. Another reason to label this period the "Dark" ages was because of the disease that ravished the land and killed thousands and thousands of people. This disease was called the Black Death and was caused by fleas that had bitten infected rats and then bit humans to transfer the infection. The Black Death was considered a plague because it killed so many people. It was believed to have originated in China and spread through the silk trade routes to Europe.