Why is the earlier part of the European Middle Ages often referred to as the Dark Ages?
Correct answer: Obscurity due to a scarcity of written records
scotsquine53
SneakyMole92698., The vast majority of people during this era were not educated, only the wealthy or those few destined for the church had the privilege of an education.
Player #24358685
The reason few could read was because books were prohibitively expensive. It's hard to conceive in this day, but then you had to have someone who could read AND write sit down and copy every letter onto a parchment made from animal skin that also required great work to create. A Bible cost as much as a house today, in a time when only the wealthy could afford a proper house. So there weren't a lot of books around and, for most people, no apparent need to read was present. Literacy didn't become widespread until after Gutenberg, when the cost and availability of books changed dramatically.