I believe that we can safely say that the period of man’s history from 476 AD to 1000 AD is the most maligned of all. This period, known to historians as the Early Middle Ages, is still referred to by most laymen as the Dark Ages. In fact the term “dark ages” is almost as ancient as the period itself - it was coined in the 1330s by Petrarch, the Italian scholar, to refer to the decline of Latin literature. It was later taken by the protestant reformers (16th century) and then the members of the Englightenment (18th century) as a derogatory term with much broader implications, because they saw their own “enlightenment” as absent from the earlier period. Hardly a fair judgement on the past. Fortunately for modern students of history, the term is now officially known as the Early Middle Ages - a name which has no connotations at all. So, having given you the background on the terms, here are ten reasons that the dark ages were, in fact, a period of great progress and light.

The Classical Education (still used today in some schools) was the system used by the Universities which were created in the Early Middle Ages (the first in history). The universities taught the arts, law, medicine, and theology (the study of religion). The University of Bologna (founded in 1088) was the first ever to grant degrees. In addition to the classical structure (based on Ancient Greek education), these medieval universities were heavily influenced by Islamic education which was thriving at the time. While women were not admitted to Universities in the early days, the education of women did exist. The convents of the day educated the young women who would often enter at a very young age. One such women (Hildegard Von Bingen) is one of the most celebrated women of the Medieval era who had great influence over the men in power at the time.

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We have already covered famous fictional speeches, so it seems a good time to discuss non-fictional ones. This list includes the greatest speeches in all time and I have also attempted to put them into order from great to greatest - this is not an easy task and I expect there will be some debate on the order - but debate is good! If you think there are other great speeches that are not included here, please feel free to say so in the comments. I may add to the “notable omissions” section. Before reading, please note that I have only included one speech per person.

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.

Kennedy was inaugurated on January 20, 1960 and on that day he gave this speech. In the speech he asks all Americans to unite against common enemies of tyranny, poverty, disease, and war. To work toward this end, Kennedy created the Peace Corps in 1961. This speech is only one of the many that Kennedy gave and it shows his great talent for rhetoric.

You can see the second half of this speech here, or you can read it in full here.

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For many, the only exposure to Ancient Rome comes from what they have seen in the movies or on television. Unfortunately, films like Gladiator, Spartacus, Barabbas, and Demetrius and the Gladiators don’t present a very accurate depiction of life in Rome and the arena.

Considering the fact that the Roman Empire existed for so long, and so much of our own Western society has derived from it, it is no surprise that we all have at least one or two misconceptions about the Empire and its people.

For this reason, we have put together a list of the most misconceptions people hold about the Ancient Roman society and customs. Fortunately most are easily proven wrong as you will see when you read on:

Contrary to popular belief, the emperor did not give a thumbs up or down for a gladiator as a signal to kill his enemy. The emperor (and only the emperor) would give an open or closed hand - if his palm was flat, it meant “spare his life”, if it was closed, it meant “kill him”. If a gladiator killed his opponent before the emperor gave his permission, the gladiator would be put on trial for murder, as only the emperor had the right to condemn a man to death. In the image above we see this myth in action.

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This is a list of the greatest female warriors through history. In order to be selected for this list, the woman has had to be someone who fought in battle herself, not just commanding from a distance, and she had to be real - for this reason people like Hua Mulan are not included as there is a lot of doubt about their historical existence.

Gudit (also known as Judit) was a non-Christian queen who ruled Dʿmt around 960 AD. She laid waste to Axum (the then-Sacred capital of Ethiopia - image above) and its countryside. She destroyed monuments and churches and attempted to wipe out all of the members of the ruling dynasty (descendants of the Queen of Sheba). Her activities are recorded in oral tradition and in various historical records. It is believed that she killed the emperor and took over his throne where she reigned for 40 years. Tales of her violence and history are still told by peasants in the North Ethiopian communities. It is traditionally believed that she sacked and destroyed Debre Damo, the treasury and prison for male relatives of the King of Ethiopia.

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