[muawiyah]

In the 500s and 600s the "Church" barely existed and certainly wasn't in the business of hiding anything. Remember, the Dark Ages began in 538, Western Europe had a tremendous population crash, the economy failed, and the first guys to come out of it lived in Mecca!~

Western Europe was to be pretty much a dump for the next 500 years!

[blam]

" Remember, the Dark Ages began in 538, Western Europe had a tremendous population crash, the economy failed,"

Yup. Labor costs sky rocketed and some think this period sowed the seeds for the Magna Carta.