The 7th and 8th Century

100% (somehow). I’m glad this quiz was so spread out and wasn’t just Europe!

Me too!

So much for the "Dark" Ages! These were interesting times...

They really were, I think the name refers to the reduction of written records following the collapse of Roman empire.

Though there were certainly far fewer texts following the fall of Rome, there was a surprising amount of material produced in the following centuries, more than the term "Dark Ages" gives credit for. And the situation was entirely different in places that weren't Western Europe.

The Dark Ages existed, but they aren't necessarily when people think they are. (Did anyone else grow up thinking the term was synonymous with feudalism and the Middle Ages? It isn't!)

And as with the Renaissance, you have to specify "where" as well as "when". For example, Scott Alexander specifies "The period from about 500 to about 1000 in Christian Western Europe was marked by profound economic and intellectual decline and stagnation relative to the periods that came before and after it." And commenters pushed back on that ranges for specific times and places within that window. The past is complicated, and Western Europe is a big place. That DOESN'T disprove the decline, just means you needs more nuance to talk about it.

@Quizmaster -- can you link the source on the shipping claim? I believe you, just curious what area they were looking at.

Seriously, sailing and navigation weren't 50 times safer in the Dark Ages than in the Roman Empire. Name these revolutionary advances that support such a theory.

@QM: Thanks for the link! It was very interesting for me to read more about the Dark Ages.

Just FYI QM, the link you posted no longer works. It appears that the guy deleted his blog because the NYT decided (without his approval) they could print his real name in a story they were doing. There's only a single post describing his rationale. Might have to look in the wayback...

I think I should have been given a point for 'Saint-Michel' for Mont Saint Michel....... even as in the early days this isle was called Mont-Tombe anyway.

Yeah I just typed stmichel first too.

Mont St Michel isn't an island. At low tide, it is joined to the mainland. It is what the French call a "presqu'ile".

For the Reconquista question, I think anserws like Asturias or Leon should be added, as Spain didn't exist yet

That doesn't make sense. The Asturian reconquista didn't end with the fall of Granada. Asturias is on the other side of the Iberian peninsula and León is also pretty far away.

I at least partially agree. It seems like the reconquista wouldn't have taken place in Spain, since the reason there was a reconquista was because this land was outside of Spain, right? This could be cleared up by specifying "present-day" country.

Or by asking for the peninsula instead of the country.

Did better than I expected, given that my high school world history course jumped directly from the fall of Rome to the Renaissance.

Spent 2 minutes trying to think up the French island, but after giving up saw that I'd never heard of it before.

Same here.

You may have seen pictures of it?

An incredible place and definitely should be on anyone's list. It's literally breathtaking when you come upon it. Spent a night on the Mont in 1992, will never forget it.

I don't think that Shrine is on Temple mount

In France, we never talk about the battle of Tours, but the battle of Poitiers.