I will edit later with more details but I think this could be a rich vein
Read these
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Ages
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire
The Golden Age = The Roman Empire
The Fallen = barbarians (Goths, Vandals etc)
The Hive = rise of monotheism (Muslim empire and the Papacy)
The City = Florence, the city-state that birthed the Renaissance
What I'm saying is that these are the themes Bungie are exploring. Being a citizen in the remains of a once great empire, now overrun by outside forces, barely understanding what has been lost and how it happened. Historians still debate why Rome declined. Centuries ago they literally just referred to a darkness which enveloped civilisation. Similar to how The Speaker describes the world in Destiny.
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Edited by Enick Greycloak: 11/4/2014 7:11:01 PMI've thought this as well, the grimoire cards remind me of literary fragments from the dark ages. Which where pieces of larger works that where found and thrown together to make a book years later after the fall. Thus giving you pieces of the past, but not making a lot of sense. I actually used this as a plot device, to give out history of a land, for a international LARP. The people that come from all over for the games understand the concept and have been collecting the pieces since 2006. This is what I hope they are attempting with their plot line.