There are a lot of people who think that, as the title of this post suggests, “the Middle Ages is just a nice name for the Dark Ages.” Even though I plan to go into Egyptology for my career, it bothers even me when I hear people say this.
Why do people think that "Middle Ages" is a sugar-coated term for the "Dark Ages"? It's mainly due to many people don't think that a lot of stuff happened during the Middle Ages. This simply isn't true. While "things" may not have happened from a 21st century perspective, there were still things going on from roughly the 5th to the 15th centuries.
This is why "Dark Ages" is not a good term for the time from around 400s (5th century) to about the1400s (15th century). Yes, the 21st century has a very different take on what "going on" means, but as with any every aspect of the study of history, you should try to not apply 21st century ideals or thoughts onto the past.
Here's a bit of a clarification: "Dark Ages" = "Middle Ages" = "Medieval". So if you live in the United States and like going to Medieval Times, you cannot say that there wasn't anything going on during this time.
It's not too hard to look up a timeline of events for the Middle Ages, but here's a quick link: The 50 Most Important Events of the Middle Ages.
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