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The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Middle Ages: Middle Ages – periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to the Middle Ages: Middle Ages – periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era.
The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern.
- The Middle Ages: Birth of An Idea
- The Catholic Church in The Middle Ages
- The Middle Ages: The Rise of Islam
- The Crusades
- The Middle Ages: Art and Architecture
- The Black Death
- The Middle Ages: Economics and Society
The phrase “Middle Ages” tells us more about the Renaissance that followed it than it does about the era itself. Starting around the 14th century, European thinkers, writers and artists began to look back and celebrate the art and culture of ancient Greece and Rome. Accordingly, they dismissed the period after the fall of Rome as a “Middle” or even...
After the fall of Rome, no single state or government united the people who lived on the European continent. Instead, the Catholic Church became the most powerful institution of the medieval period. Kings, queens and other leaders derived much of their power from their alliances with and protection of the Church. In 800 CE, for example, Pope Leo II...
Meanwhile, the Islamic world was growing larger and more powerful. After the prophet Muhammad’s death in 632 CE, Muslim armies conquered large parts of the Middle East, uniting them under the rule of a single caliph. At its height, the medieval Islamic world was more than three times bigger than all of Christendom. Under the caliphs, great cities s...
Toward the end of the 11th century, the Catholic Church began to authorize military expeditions, or Crusades, to expel Muslim “infidels” from the Holy Land. Crusaders, who wore red crosses on their coats to advertise their status, believed that their service would guarantee the remission of their sins and ensure that they could spend all eternity i...
Another way to show devotion to the Church was to build grand cathedrals and other ecclesiastical structures such as monasteries. Cathedrals were the largest buildings in medieval Europe, and they could be found at the center of towns and cities across the continent. Between the 10th and 13th centuries, most European cathedrals were built in the Ro...
Between 1347 and 1350, a mysterious disease known as the " Black Death" (the bubonic plague) killed some 20 million people in Europe—30 percent of the continent’s population. It was especially deadly in cities, where it was impossible to prevent the transmission of the disease from one person to another. The plague started in Europe in October 1347...
In medieval Europe, rural life was governed by a system scholars call “feudalism.” In a feudal society, the king granted large pieces of land called fiefs to noblemen and bishops. Landless peasants known as serfs did most of the work on the fiefs: They planted and harvested crops and gave most of the produce to the landowner. In exchange for their ...
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For the Middle Ages: Free Use lesson plans, classroom activities, interactive activities, simulations, debates, mock trial, primary documents, learning modules for kids, review activities, concluding activities, and projects written by us and by other teachers for Medieval Europe.
Apr 19, 2024 · Middle Ages, the period in European history from the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century ce to the period of the Renaissance (variously interpreted as beginning in the 13th, 14th, or 15th century, depending on the region of Europe and other factors).
Mar 31, 2024 · Our list of the most important events in the medieval world, between the years 500 and 1500 AD. This includes political and military events, as well as the dates of inventions, new writings and religious matters in Africa, Asia and Europe.
