Technology levels for an idealized Dark Ages society

So, this is prompted by a query on the part of aldersprig regarding a thing she's writing for NaNoWriMo. Since she asked on twitter and I suspect it would take me no less than thirty tweets to properly work through this (not to mention it is interesting), here it is.

ASSUMPTIONS

• The "dark ages" are post-Roman Empire, pre-HRE. I'm using 600 C.E. as a rough target point.


• They want to keep modern medical knowledge and technology for anything that wouldn't have been effectively treated at that time (i.e. most everything) because "everyone dies of diseases and accidents" is not a part of an idealized return to a "simpler time". ...well, where said technology doesn't involve things like running water and electricity. So medicines and stuff, basically.


• Desired political structure is feudal in nature and not theocratic (even surreptitiously).


• The people deciding what to keep/use or not keep/use in this retrograde society are fanatics of questionable rationality.

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