The Dark Ages - a sequence of natural events?

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Are the Dark Ages so called because they are shaded in mystery confounded by an absence of written history?
Are they 'Dark', because the 'barbarians' were perceived to be evil compared to the refined Romans?
Or, are they the product of a series of cataclysmic events which occur around the final days of the Roman Empire?
Around the middle of the 5th C. is an interesting if tumultuous period. Comet impact, floods, volcanic eruptions, crop failure and plague - all appear to have occurred around this time.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif]In the mid 6th. century A.D. the ancient Cymric empire of the native Britons, that at one time had stretched from Cornwall in the south to Strathclyde in the north, was rapidly diminishing. And it was at this time that the bard who called himself Taliesin (radiant brow) first read his riddle-poem, "Hanes Taliesin" ("The History of Taliesin"), to King Maelgwn Gwynedd, who, like the bard, had been a student of St Illtud at the ancient druid college, later called Llanilltud Fawr, in Morganwg. Was King Maelgwn Gwynedd the only one in his 6th century Conwy Eisteddfod who was meant to understand the riddle-poem?. Or was it also a gathering of initiates from all over the island? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] Of comparatively recent origin on the Welsh national flag, the association of the dragon with the country of Wales dates much further back - to the start of the European ‘Dark Age’; the times of King Arthur and the enigmatic Merlyn, neither of whom have ever been proven to be definitively mythical nor historical characters. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif] The exact nature and sequence of events in the mid-6th. century A.D. that gave rise to the period we refer to as the European ‘Dark Age’ is still a matter for speculation amongst historians and archæologists. Over the past 20 years or so, certain paleo-climatologists have begun comparing notes with archæologists and astronomers, and interestingly, in the absence of written records, many have begun to look a little more closely at mythology in their efforts to corroborate the findings of their researches. While much of this recent bout of inter-disciplinary brainstorming has focussed on the 6th.C. AD start of the European Dark Age, earlier dates are also of great interest to those embroiled in this veritable ‘paradigm shift’. [/FONT]

http://www.morien-institute.org/darkages.html

According to historian David Keys, the last time global climate change transformed our planet was back in the sixth century AD, the heart of the Dark Ages. Today climate change is at least partially driven by human agency. But 1,500 years ago it was triggered by a massive volcanic eruption (535 AD) in Southeast Asia (Krakatoa being the likeliest culprit), setting in motion a chain of events which included plague, barbarian migrations and revolution.

http://www.newint.org/features/1999/12/05/cat/



Dendrochronological data showing the decreases in
the rate of tree-ring growth of Irish oak trees for the
years around 540 AD.
Adapted from:
Emma Rigby, Melissa Symonds, and Derek Ward-Thompson, "A comet impact in AD 536?", Astronomy & Geophysics, Vol. 45, no. 1 (2004), 23-1