The Mynuk Golden Age

The Mynuk Golden Age is a widely accepted historical narrative about the mid fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries of southern Vildrel, from 1450 to 1522 SE. The Golden Age was a time of wealth and academic achievement for Mynuk human civilizations in the land that is now T'Ched, Keth and Sadrove. This is considered to be a historical phenomenon, because other human societies to the north were going through a period of war and stagnation, particularly the petty squabbles between Prekha and Estaria. The narrative of the Golden Age pushes the view that Mynuk civilizations were the only human societies that "advanced" during this period, countering the modern view in Estarian academia that the people of the south are regressive and savage.  

Origin

The idea is repeated in historical institutions both inside and outside of Mynuk territories, and it is actually more popular in Estarian academia, where the term originated.  

History

Beginning in the mid fifteenth century, Highmarch Gorschev of Scheera Pel (what is now the capital of T'Ched) enacted a policy of "rediscovery," referring to the lost human knowledge following the Creationist Cataclysm. There was a pervailing attitude that the Eclectic Materialist Mynuk would revitalize the world, and connected communities made heavy investments in academic institutions throughout southern Vildrel, some of which still stand to this day.   Some accomplishments of this period are: The construction of the Grand Way in 1462; the discovery of Aether-infused gunpoweder in 1470; various advancements in algebra and geometry; a unified alphabet, not dissimilar to the one still used today; and early democratic civilian governments, primarily in western T'Ched.   This coincided with an explosion in population due to advances in farming and urbanization. For example, by 1522, the population of Scheera Pel had increased ten fold to twenety million, and was at twice the population it sits at today.  

End

It's difficult to point to an exact end date since the line between what is and isn't part of the golden age isn't clearly definable. The easiest ending event to point to is the explosive spread of the Red Death in 1522 SE, which particularly devistated the densely populated cities of Mynuk territories.  

Criticism

These terms are somewhat confused, however, because the similar growth of the Sura Pel empire is often included as part of the Golden Age, even though the Auklans of Sura Pel were definitionally not Mynuk. This inconsistency highlights the criticism that this narrative is heavily biassed by modern perceptions of Mynuk being savage and regressive. Non-Mynuk academics often cite the Golden Age as a contrast to modern "backwards" Mynuk, and the fact that Sura Pel, an empire that was reviled and eventually destroyed for its aggressive military expansion, is included in this story only furthers this perception.   Never-the-less, the term is still used even by those who criticize its origins. It is undeniable that the Golden Age refers to a real set of events and technological advancements.