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Reverted edits by IblannkPAGES (Talk) to last version by RJJensen
{{Middle Ages}}
for detailed history see:
* [[Early Middle Ages]], 400AD to 1000 AD
* [[High Middle Ages]], 1000 to 1300 AD
* [[The Renaissance]]
== General Notes ==
The '''Middle Ages''', also known as the Medieval period, is the period of [[Europe]]an history from the fall of the [[Roman Empire]] until the [[Renaissance]]. Historians have suggested different dates for its beginning and end. The beginning is most commonly set at the abdication of the last [[Roman Emperor|Emperor]] of the [[Roman Empire|Western Roman Empire]] in 476 AD, but the [[Visigoths|Gothic]] sack of [[Rome]] in 410 AD has also been suggested. The ending point is variously gives as the [[Ottoman]] conquest of [[Constantinople]] in 1453, the discovery of the New World by [[Christopher Columbus]] in 1492, or the Protestant [[Reformation]] in 1517. Other historians prefer a more vague periodization from 500 AD to 1500 AD, arguing that the change between epochs require a transitional period over many years, making it pointless to try to fix the change at an exact date.
== Middle Ages in Brief ==
*Aftermath of the Roman Empire
*Carolingian Empire
*Vikings
*Crusades
*Renaissance of the 12th century
*Italian city states and [[Hanseatic League]]
*Hundred Years' Wars
*Crisis of the later Middle Ages
One of the major events of the late Middle Ages is the [[Black Death]], a plague [[pandemic]] between 1347 and 1351, which is believed to have wiped out one-third of the European population. The plague had momentous consequences for the late medieval European society and mentality.
==Society==
A conception of a modern [[nation-state|nation state]] did not exist in the Middle Ages. The two dominant political entities were kingdoms, in which the king ruled with the consent of the nobility, and the city state, which was often ruled by an [[oligarchy]] drawn from either the local nobility or the merchant class. However, it was also during the Middle Ages that the groundwork for the later nation states were laid.
Warfare was endemic to the period, often on a very small scale. When at war, medieval rulers typically depended on troops paid from their own resources, supported by soldiers provided by their vassals. This meant that only limited number of troops could be raised, and difficulties in logistics and communications further limited this number. For this reason, warfare was often conducted by raids through enemy territories and sieges of important towns or castles. Open field battles between armies were quite rare.
Notable conflicts of the era were between the [[British|English]] and the [[French]] in the [[Hundred Years' Wars]], the conquests of [[Charlemagne]], and several peasant revolts.
==Economy==
Small economies of scale developed throughout the Middle Ages, in the form of [[vassalage]] between a lord and his clients.
==Religion==
Overall, Europe during the Middle Ages was predominantly Catholic. At the beginning of the period, however, the Christian Western Roman Empire had broken up and been replaced by [[Germanic]] kingdoms that were predominantly non-Christian. Combined with serious doctrinal conflicts inside the Church, this represented a
A long period of missionary activities, as well as the support of the Carolingian Empire, meant that by the year 1000 AD, Christianity was again the dominant religion in Europe. A division occurred in 1054 AD, however, when the Church broke up into a Catholic western part and an Orthodox eastern part.
==Later Perceptions of the Middle Ages==
*Renaissance: the ''medium aevum''
*Enlightenment: dark superstition
*Romanticism: the glorious past
*Modern times: academic study and prejudices
*Now: renewed interest?
==Further reading==
* Bishop, Morris. ''The Middle Ages'' (2001) [http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Ages-Morris-Bishop/dp/061805703X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890127&sr=1-2 excerpt and text search]
* Cantor, Norman. ''The Civilization of the Middle Ages'' (1994) [http://www.amazon.com/Civilization-Middle-Ages-Completely-Expanded/dp/0060925531/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890317&sr=1-16 excerpt and text search]
* Contamine, Philippe. ''War in the Middle Ages'' (1991) [http://www.amazon.com/War-Middle-Ages-Philippe-Contamine/dp/0631144692/ref=sr_1_33?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890388&sr=1-33 excerpt and text search]
* Hanawalt, Barbara. ''The Middle Ages: An Illustrated History'' (1999) [http://www.amazon.com/Middle-Ages-Illustrated-History-Histories/dp/0195103599/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890127&sr=1-4 excerpt and text search]
* Holme, George, ed. ''The Oxford History of Medieval Europe'' (1992) [http://www.questia.com/read/74359550?title=The%20Oxford%20History%20of%20Medieval%20Europe online edition]
*Jordan, William Chester, ed. ''The Middle Ages: An Encyclopedia for Students'' (4 vol 1996)
* Southern, Richard W. ''The Making of the Middle Ages'' (1961) [http://www.amazon.com/Making-Middle-Ages-R-Southern/dp/0300002300/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890127&sr=1-9 excerpt and text search]
*Jordan, William Chester. ''Europe in the High Middle Ages'' (2004) [http://www.amazon.com/Europe-High-Middle-Penguin-History/dp/0140166645/ref=sr_1_32?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1248890388&sr=1-32 excerpt and text search]
* Strayer, Joseph R. ''Western Europe in the Middle Ages: A Short History'' (1955) [http://www.questia.com/read/11306783?title=Western%20Europe%20in%20the%20Middle%20Ages%3a%20A%20Short%20History online edition]
== References ==
<references/>
== External Links ==
[http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ Internet Medieval Sourcebook Project]
[http://www.the-orb.net/ The Orb]
[http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/ The Labyrinth]
[[category:European History]]
[[Category:Medieval History]]