Is (the Middle Ages) a dark age?

In popular culture, the Middle Ages are often presented as a period of darkness and hardship, while the art of this era is frequently considered decadent. However, if we take a closer look, we encounter a surprisingly vibrant and diverse world, full of both light and shadow, which can by no means be summed up in a few sentences. In this book, the authors contemplate the art and visual cultures of the early Middle Ages and attempt to debunk the most widespread prejudices associated with them. Did the fall of the Roman Empire and the migration of nomadic tribes signify a decline in artistic creation? Was the medieval landscape crisscrossed with dark, overgrown, and dangerous forests, as we know them from the legends of Robin Hood or the works of Romantic writers? Was the religious world strictly separated from the secular to avoid desecration? Did art serve only to glorify God, and were the gold and precious stones in churches merely to show the Church's power and wealth? The authors endeavour to answer these and other questions, presenting the early Middle Ages as a colourful mosaic, a time of lively cultural exchange and diversity, and, in a certain sense, as the cradle of abstract and conceptual thinking. Ultimately, the aim of this book is to at least partially answer the question in its title: was the medieval period a dark age?