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14th century. Tamerlane the Conqueror, the founder of the Timurid Empire. The 14th century lasted from 1 January 1301 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCCI) to 31 December 1400 (MCD). It is estimated that the century witnessed the death of more than 45 million lives from political and natural disasters in both Europe and the Mongol Empire.
- 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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4 days ago · Summarize This Article. 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). A brief treatment of the Middle Ages follows.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- When did the Middle Ages begin?The Middle Ages was the period in European history from the collapse of Roman civilization in the 5th century CE to the period of the Renaissance (...
- What was the role of Christendom?After the dissolution of the Roman Empire, the idea arose of Europe as one large church-state, called Christendom. Christendom consisted of two dis...
- How long did the Migration Period last?The Migration Period was a historical period sometimes called the Dark Ages, Late Antiquity, or the Early Middle Ages. The period lasted from the f...
- What were the major artistic eras of the Middle Ages?Romanesque art was the first of two great international artistic eras that flourished in Europe during the Middle Ages. Romanesque architecture eme...
- What socio-economic system is perceived as characteristic of the Middle Ages?Feudalism designates the social, economic, and political conditions in western Europe during the early Middle Ages, the long stretch of time betwee...
Learn more about the art, culture and history of the Middle Ages. ... in 476 CE and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 14th century. ... life 10,000 years ago created communities that made ...
It has been traditionally held that by the 14th century the dynamic force of medieval civilization had been spent and that the late Middle Ages were characterized by decline and decay. Europe did indeed suffer disasters of war, famine, and pestilence in the 14th century, but many of the underlying social, intellectual, and political structures ...
Apr 4, 2018 · The Renaissance was a fervent period of European cultural, artistic, political and economic “rebirth” following the Middle Ages. Generally described as taking place from the 14th century to ...
A stained glass panel from Canterbury Cathedral, c. 1175 – c. 1180. It depicts the Parable of the Sower, a biblical narrative. In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period (also spelt mediaeval or mediæval) lasted approximately from 500 AD to 1500, although some prefer other start and end dates. The Middle Ages is the second of the three traditional divisions of Western ...
