Dark Ages is a term of historical
periodization traditionally meaning the
Middle Ages. It emphasizes the cultural and economic deterioration that supposedly occurred in Western Europe following the
decline of the Roman Empire. The label employs traditional
light-versus-darkness imagery to contrast the "darkness" of the period with earlier and later periods of "light". The period is characterized by a relative scarcity of historical and other written records at least for some areas of Europe, rendering it obscure to historians.