The concept of a "Dark Age" originated in the 1330s with the Italian scholar Petrarch, who regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the light of classical antiquity.
The concept of a "Dark Age" originated with the Italian scholar Petrarch in the 1330s, and was originally intended as a sweeping criticism of Late Latin literature. Petrarch regarded the post-Roman centuries as "dark" compared to the light of classical antiquity.