A Dark Age in our Christian history was when Catholicism reigned. Catholicism personified the great falling away prophesied in scripture (2 Thes. 2: 1-12; I Tim. 4: 1-3). During a period of about one thousand years, the Catholic Church enjoyed unchallenged domination (Ad 590-1517). However the Renaissance encouraged people to think for themselves (AD 1350-1650). The Renaissance served as impetus, in part, for the great European Reformation Movement (Ad 1517-1648). As a result of people thinking, they began to realize all the atrocities and scripture perversions of Catholicism. Hence, men such as Martin Luther (Germany), John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli (Switzerland) led the way toward the attempted reform of the Catholic Church. During the period between 1517 and 1784, a number of denominations were begun. However, instead of attempting to reform Catholicism or start their own religions, it was realized that the goal should be to re-establish pristine New Testament Christianity. This period is called Restoration of Christianity. For more information visit:www.bibletruths.net/archives/BTAR106.htm

Dark Ages is a term once used to describe the Middle Ages, especially the early Middle Ages, which lasted from the A.D. 400's to the 900's. The term referred to a supposed lack of learning in the period. Actually, the Middle Ages were not completely "dark." The period only seemed dark to scholars of the more advanced Renaissance and to historians influenced by them. In the early Middle Ages, civilization sank low in Western Europe. Knowledge from the ancient Romans survived only in a few monastery, cathedral, and palace schools. Knowledge from ancient Greece almost disappeared. Few people received schooling. Many artistic and technical skills were lost. In their ignorance, writers accepted popular stories and rumors as true. Population decreased, and economic life became more primitive. While such darkness existed in Western Europe, life was brighter elsewhere. The Byzantine Empire preserved many features of Greek and Roman life. The Arabs spread a splendid civilization from Spain to the borders of China. In the early 1000's, economic and political life began to revive in Western Europe. This revival led to a remarkable improvement of culture during the 1100's.

My, let's answer the actual queation. The term "Dark Ages" is currently out of fashion. The period is now usually referred to as the Early Middle Ages, or in other words, the early part of the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the Modern era (which many consider to have begun either with the advent of the Renaissance or the "discovery" of the Americas). The Early Middle Ages is generally considered to include the centuries between 400 and 1000 C.E. Traditionally, the term was used for a number of reasons, but primarily because so few written documents from the period have survived, and so little "light" is available to give historians a good view of the period.