The Second "Dark Age" and the Transformation of Medieval Europe

Following the collapse of the Western Roman Empire, waves of barbarian migrations from northern and eastern Eurasia intensify, leading to a second "Dark Age" in the Western world. These migrations destabilize existing power structures, contribute to widespread cultural and economic disruption, and further fragment the political landscape of medieval Europe.

1. The Intensification of Barbarian Migrations

From the fifth to the seventh centuries, various migratory waves reshape Europe:

• Slavs and Avars – Move westward into Central and Eastern Europe, displacing earlier Germanic and Roman populations.
• Bulgars – Cross the Danube and establish the First Bulgarian Empire, pressuring the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire.
• Huns and Later Turkic Nomads – Raid and disrupt societies along the frontiers of Europe and Byzantium.
• Anglo-Saxons and Norse Expansion – Germanic peoples continue their migration into Britain, while Scandinavian societies begin their expansion into the North Atlantic and continental Europe.

2. Political Fragmentation and the Collapse of Roman Institutions

• The old Roman administrative system disintegrates, leaving behind a patchwork of barbarian kingdoms.
• Local Germanic warlords and tribal leaders take control, leading to the rise of feudal structures as power becomes decentralized.
• Former urban centers shrink, and long-distance trade collapses, leading to localized economies.

3. Cultural Decline and the Loss of Classical Knowledge

• Many classical texts are lost or destroyed, as literacy declines outside of monasteries.
• The Latin language evolves into regional dialects, giving rise to the Romance languages.
• Scientific, architectural, and artistic advancements stagnate, though some knowledge is preserved within Byzantine and Islamic civilizations.

4. The Rise of Medieval European Society

Despite the disruptions, this period also lays the foundation for medieval Europe:

• The Christian Church emerges as the dominant unifying force, preserving learning and providing stability.
• The monastic movement spreads, copying manuscripts and maintaining classical and theological knowledge.
• The transition from antiquity to feudal society begins, with local lords, knights, and manorial systems shaping medieval political structures.

Conclusion: A Period of Transition, Not Total Collapse

While this period is often seen as a "Dark Age", it is more accurately a time of transition:

• Roman civilization does not disappear entirely; rather, it evolves under Germanic, Slavic, and other influences.
• The Byzantine Empire remains a beacon of learning and stability in the East.
• The Islamic Golden Age begins, preserving and advancing much of Greek and Roman knowledge.

This second wave of migrations forces Europe into a period of political fragmentation and economic decline, but it also sets the stage for the cultural and political rebirth of the medieval world, leading to the emergence of Carolingian and feudal Europe in the centuries to come.

Cynric (who is either the son or grandson of Saxon prince Cerdic of Wessex) succeeds to the Wessex kingship in 554.

Cerdic is today regarded as the ancestor of all subsequent Kings of Wessex.

Cynric is said to have captured the fort at Old Sarum in this year after repulsing an attack by the Britons across the Fosse Way, a Roman road that links Exeter (Isca Dumnoniorum) in southwest England to Lincoln (Lindum Colonia) in Lincolnshire, via Ilchester (Lindinis), Bath (Aquae Sulis), Cirencester (Corinium) and Leicester (Ratae Corieltauvorum).

Cealwin becomes King of Wessex in 560 upon the death of his father Cynric.

Cuthwine and Ceawlin fight the Britons in 577: the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records the slaying of three kings—Coinmail, Condidan, and Farinmail—in a place called Deorham and the capture of three strongholds: Gloucester, Cirencester and Bathcester.

Deorham has been identified as Dyrham, a village some eight miles north of Bath, and five miles west of the Fosse Way, the Roman road between Bath and Cirencester.

The Historia Britonum records one Glast as coming from Lichfield south to found Glastonbury about the time the Mercians conquer part of their kingdom to create Shropshire.

More important is the fact that the Anglo-Saxon invaders can now sweep into the Severn valley (as Ceawlin is said to have done several years later) and plunder the inhabitants, while the Celts to the west can no longer as easily penetrate the Cotswolds scarp between Gloucester and Cirencester to return the visit.