I had the sense in my education that dubbing it the Dark Ages was a way of diverting attention away from it. This large block of time was the period of the Crus

I had the sense in my education that dubbing it the Dark Ages was a way of diverting attention away from it. This large block of time was the period of the Crusades, Reformation, antipopes, etc. No shortage of interesting happenings during this period, but the education system does not want to touch that with a 10-foot pole, nor the leadership. It's too close to the topic of religious strife and atrocities. This might become less true as Christianity gets less ubiquitous. Nationalism might be another reason that it's cast aside.