The Middle Ages is a period in European history that lasted from about AD 500 to 1500. It is sometimes divided into three smaller periods: the early Middle Ages, from 500 to 1000; the high Middle Ages, from 1000 to 1350; and the late Middle Ages, from 1350 to 1500. It is a time in European history when many important ideas about government, religion, and art developed. The early Middle Ages is often called the Dark Ages, though many new ideas appeared during this period.

Early Middle Ages

The Middle Ages began when the Western Roman Empire fell to Germanic tribes who invaded and settled in the lands of the empire. The invaders could not read or write, and there are few written records of their history and way of life. It is because of this that the period is sometimes called the Dark Ages. However, the invaders gradually blended Roman customs with their own to create a new civilization.

One of the customs they adopted was Christianity, and the spread of Christianity in the early Middle Ages is one of the most important developments of the period. The pope, the head of the church, became a very important figure. Monasteries—places where religious men known as monks lived and worked—were built in many places during this period. The church was the main source of writing and education. Many of the kings of this period were friends of the church and popes.

The mightiest of these kings was Charlemagne, who was crowned emperor by the pope on Christmas day, AD 800. He built a large empire and promoted education among his people. The empire broke apart because his grandsons fought with each other, but many of his ideas were saved. The end of the early Middle Ages came about because of the breakup of the empire of Charlemagne and because of new invasions by Vikings and other people.

High Middle Ages

The high Middle Ages began when people recovered from the Viking attacks. It was a time of great growth in government, religion, learning, and art. In this period the countries of England, France, and the Holy Roman Empire (which would eventually become Germany) took shape and were led by powerful kings like Richard I, Philip Augustus, and Frederick Barbarossa. The kings also improved government and the practice of law in their countries.

The church became a more important part of everyday life, and popes like Gregory VII and Innocent III became respected leaders. Popes and kings would sometimes disagree over matters of church and state, but they would also agree on many things, like the Crusades, which was an attempt by priests and knights to conquer the Holy Lands.

Priests and monks exercised leadership in education. They copied and studied many important books, and writing became important in nearly every aspect of life. Churchmen also taught in grammar schools and helped build the first universities in Bologna, Italy, Paris, and other cities in Europe. People studied law, medicine, and religion in the universities. The greatest scholar of this time was St. Thomas Aquinas.

During this period the Gothic style of art and architecture was developed. The church built beautiful new cathedrals of stone with tall towers and stained glass like Notre Dame in Paris, and kings built great stone castles.

Society as a whole prospered at this time. Strong states allowed trade and the economy to grow. Towns began to flourish, and improvements in farming made a balanced diet available to all social classes for the first time in history. The population therefore rapidly expanded. This eventually led to the breakup of the social and economic system known as feudalism.

End of the Middle Ages

The late Middle Ages was a time of trouble. The kings of many countries were often young and weak. The countries of England and France fought the Hundred Years' War, and the Holy Roman Empire began to break apart. The church suffered, too, because the popes were often more concerned with money than religion. The popes also stopped living in Rome for a long time in the late Middle Ages, which upset many people. There were periods of bad weather as well, which made farming difficult. As a result there were frequent food shortages and many people starved. The people also faced a new disease called the Black Death that was spread by fleas on rats and by the disease-infested bodies of those who had already died. Between one third and one half of the people of Europe (about 25 million people) died in the 1300s.

The Black Death hastened the end of the feudal system. Because so many people died, there were fewer people to work the land for the nobles. The shortage of labor forced the nobles to offer the peasants wages, and this changed the relationship of the peasants and the nobles. The changes of the late Middle Ages made people view the world in a new way. This new way of thinking led to a period known as the Renaissance.