- The phrase medium aevum appears in Latin texts of the 15th and 16th centuries but was not yet a formalized period name.
- It was scholars during the 16th and 17th centuries, especially in Germany and France, who began to more clearly define the Middle Ages as a distinct historical period.
- German historian Joachim of Fiore (12th century) had earlier proposed a tripartite division of history based on religious ages, but this was more theological than historical.
- The idea of a “middle age” became entrenched in the historical discourse as scholars sought to organize European history into eras.
Enlightenment Critique and Popularization
During the 18th century Enlightenment, the Middle Ages were often depicted negatively as an age of superstition, ignorance, and tyranny—what the Enlightenment thinkers regarded as the antithesis of reason and progress.
- Philosophers like Voltaire and Edward Gibbon characterized the Middle Ages as a period of decline from the rationality and order of Rome.
- This negative stereotype contributed to the lasting perception of the Middle Ages as a “dark” interlude.
- The Enlightenment scholars also helped solidify the term “Middle Ages” in historical writing, applying it as a label for the thousand-year interval. shutdown123