If you are assuming that the Dark Ages were a stagnant period, then you have to read some material and find out what really went on during that long time.

The first of those ages was the Early Middle Ages which is best known for the Carolingian Renaissance. The Carolingian dynasty pretty much came into existence after the battle at Tours between the Frankish forces of Charles Martel and the Muslims from Southern Spain and Morocco.

The second of those three ages was the High Middle Ages. In this time period, the crusades were launched and the sciences and technologies advanced due to the many things obtained during the crusades by the crusaders and merchants. Apart from the crusades, this age is also remembered by the Great Famine and the Black Death. Both these things had a MASSIVE impact on European life style.
This is something I wrote in my Humanities class a year ago:

“The Black Death claimed nearly 25 million lives and spared no one it encountered, be them royalty or commoner. Because of the large death toll, agriculture came nearly to a stand still. Due to the shortage of workers, production of goods declined, costs sky rocketed, and wages rose for both peasants and artisans. To combat these things, European governments tried to impose prices and wage controls. Not only did the plague itself eliminate millions of lives during the time of the Black Death, but to make things worse, conflicts between peasants and landowners, clashes between craft guilds and merchants, and anticlerical outbursts claimed the lives of many as well. —–A few of the positive outcomes of the plague were that workers earned higher wages, merchants benefited from higher prices, and landowners profited from new uses of their resources. New types of entrepreneurs also began establishing more effective business practices and encouraged innovation and mechanization. In the long run, many areas of Europe advanced considerably depending on the extent of damage dealt by the plague. Technological innovations, economic evolution, and the monetary strength of social classes increased during this time.
The arts of this time were also indirectly affected by the plague. “The end of the thirteenth century produced an outburst of creative activity… destined profoundly to influence [the future arts].” One can not help but imagine that the plague played a large role in the new outburst of creativity. It released the grip of feudalism and allowed individuals to begin expressing themselves freely without feudal lords controlling nearly every aspect of their lives. As said above, workers began earning higher wages and work ethic was greatly strengthened. These are all things that influenced the “outburst of creativity”, and there were also things that were greatly influenced by the Plague.”

Needless to say, the Plague and the Great Famine played a major role in the slowly emerging ReBirth, or Renaissance.

The Venetian sacking of Constantinople in 1204 also contributed as the Venetian thieves took many valuable religious artifacts from the many Churches of Constantinople; the Eastern Defense force of Europe during the Middle Ages.
This event was most likely one of the key forces which led to the Renaissance.

The Third age of the Middle Ages were the Late Middle Ages. This age is best remembered for the re-emerging of actual states rather than just big bulks of land designated to Lords and their knights. This was a byproduct of the High Middle Ages. Another thing this age is remembered for is the Hundred’s Years War between France and England. This time also gave rise to the new denominations of Christianity; Calvinism and Lutheranism. This allowed people to understand Christianity differently than in the Middle Ages, it gave birth to a more positive view of Christ and God, something the Catholic Church of the time failed or simply chose not to do.

Constantinople was reaching it’s end by the 1420’s, and the Renaissance was already starting. This was strongly due to the large amount of Byzantine scholars leaving Constantinople and bringing classical age works with them to the West. By the time Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Renaissance was moving into full swing. In a sense, Constantinople was the Eastern Guardian of Europe until the Western Europeans “got their minds straight” and out of a hole in the ground. But that is another matter….

I hope this has helped you!

(Note: please know that I am focusing mostly on the better known Italian Renaissance rather than the Northern Renaissance)

Overtime, scholars made inroads and an Enlightenment occured.

There was no dramatic change from Dark Age to Renaissance, it occured slowly and gradually over a period of 500 years.