Historical truth is difficult to determine. There are only two ways to discover what happened in the past. We can either read what they wrote or look at objects that they left behind. Everything else is opinion.

The people of the Middle Ages left behind many writings and objects. They left their books and copies of those from the ancient world. They left magnificent buildings, especially cathedrals. They left paintings and many objects that they used in everyday life.

However, the writers of the first books ABOUT the Middle Ages saw that period as backward. Most writers and artists of the Renaissance loved ancient Greece and Rome. They saw the Middle Ages as a throwback to primitive life. The arrogant Renaissance intellectuals did not realize that EVERYTHING they read about the ancient world had been preserved by the Church during the Middle Ages.

One of the reasons that some Renaissance intellectuals hated the Middle Ages is because they hated the Church. Those attitudes continue today.

In these two essays, Mr. Michael Whitcraft and Mr. John Horvat discuss the ways that modern scholars are dispelling many "Dark Ages" myths. Ironically, they are not doing it merely to correct the historical record. Nor are they trying to show the Medieval Church in its true light. Their motivations are more about hating the "narratives" popularized by the historians of the last couple of centuries.

To read the essays in their original formats, please use these links - https://www.returntoorder.org/2022/10/dispelling-errors-defending-the-church-how-lies-about-the-middle-ages-ultimately-target-the-church/ and https://www.returntoorder.org/2022/06/how-to-see-the-dark-ages-in-beautiful-new-light/.

Thank you for listening.