middle

MiddleAges,orMedievalperiod

InEuropeanhistory,theMiddleAges,orMedievalperiod,lasted

nwiththecollapoftheWestern

RomanEmpireandmergedintotheRenaissanceandtheAgeofDiscovery.

TheMiddleAgesisthemiddleperiodofthethreetraditionaldivisions

ofWesternhistory:Antiquity,Medievalperiod,

MedievalperiodisitlfsubdividedintotheEarly,theHigh,andthe

LateMiddleAges.

Depopulation,deurbanisation,invasion,andmovementofpeoples,which

hadbeguninLateAntiquity,

barbarianinvaders,includingvariousGermanicpeoples,formednew

7thcentury,

NorthAfricaandtheMiddleEast,oncepartoftheEasternRomanEmpire

cameundertheruleoftheCaliphate,anIslamicempire,afterconquest

byMuhammad'ghthereweresubstantialchangesin

societyandpoliticalstructures,thebreakwithAntiquitywasnot

llsizeableByzantineEmpiresurvivedintheeastand

ire'slawcode,theCodeofJustinian,

wasrediscoveredinNorthernItalyin1070andbecamewidelyadmired

est,mostkingdomsincorporatedthe

erieswerefoundedascampaigns

nks,undertheCarolingian

dynasty,brieflyestablishedanempirecoveringmuchofWesternEurope;

theCarolingianEmpireinthelater8thandearly9thcentury,whenit

succumbedtothepressuresofinternalcivilwarscombinedwithexternal

invasions—Vikingsfromthenorth,Magyarsfromtheeast,andSaracens

fromthesouth.

DuringtheHighMiddleAges,whichbeganafterAD1000,thepopulation

ofEuropeincreadgreatlyastechnologicalandagriculturalinnovations

allowedtradetoflourishandtheMedievalWarmPeriodclimatechange

alism,theorganisationof

peasantsintovillagesthatowedrentandlabourrvicestothenobles,

andfeudalism,thepoliticalstructurewherebyknightsandlower-status

noblesowedmilitaryrvicetotheiroverlordsinreturnfortheright

torentfromlandsandmanors,weretwoofthewayssocietywasorganid

sades,firstpreachedin1095,were

militaryattemptsbyWesternEuropeanChristianstoregaincontrolof

ecametheheads

ofcentralidnationstates,reducingcrimeandviolencebutmaking

ectuallifewas

markedbyscholasticism,aphilosophythatemphasidjoiningfaithto

reason,losophyofThomas

Aquinas,thepaintingsofGiotto,thepoetryofDanteandChaucer,the

travelsofMarcoPolo,andthearchitectureofGothiccathedralssuch

asChartresareamongtheoutstandingachievementsofthisperiod.

TheLateMiddleAgeswasmarkedbydifficultiesandcalamitiesincluding

famine,plague,andwar,whichmuchdiminishedthepopulationofWestern

Europe;between1347and1350,theBlackDeathkilledaboutathirdof

versy,heresy,andschismwithintheChurchparalleled

thewarfarebetweenstates,civilwars,andpeasantrevoltsoccurring

alandtechnologicaldevelopmentstransformed

Europeansociety,concludingtheLateMiddleAgesandbeginningtheearly

modernperiod.

Notes:

AgeofDiscovery

TheAgeofDiscovery(alsoknownastheAgeofExploration)wasaperiod

startingintheearly15thcenturyandcontinuingtothe17thcentury.

DuringthisperiodEuropeanxploredAfrica,theAmericas,Asiaand

lofConstantinoplein1453veredEuropeantradelinks

bylandwithAsialeadingmanytobeginekingrouteastbyaand

spurredtheageofexploration.[1][2]Historiansoftenrefertothe'Age

ofDiscovery'[3][4]asthepioneerPortugueandSpanishlong-distance

maritimetravelsinarchofalternativetraderoutesto"theEast

Indies",movedbythetradeofgold,silverandspices.[5]

TheAgeofDiscoverycanbeenasabridgebetweentheMiddleAges

andtheModernera,alongwithitscontemporaryRenaissancemovement,

triggeringtheearlymodernperiodandtheriofEuropeannationstates.

Europeanoveraxpansionledtotheriofcolonialempires,with

thecontactbetweentheOldandNewWorldsproducingtheColumbian

Exchange:awidetransferofplants,animals,foods,humanpopulations

(includingslaves),communicablediasandculturebetweentheEastern

andWesternhemispheres,inoneofthemostsignificantglobalevents

concerningecology,agriculture,an

explorationallowedtheglobalmappingoftheworld,resultinginanew

world-viewanddistantcivilizationsacknowledgingeachother,reaching

themostremoteboundariesmuchlater.

Modernhistory,alsoreferredtoasthemodernperiodorthemodernera,

isthehistoriographicalapproachtothetimeframeafterthe

post-classicalera(knownastheMiddleAges).Modernhistorycanbe

furtherbrokendownintotheearlymodernperiodandthelatemodern

periodaftertheFrenchRevolutionandtheIndustrialRevolution.

Contemporaryhistoryisthespanofhistoriceventsthatareimmediately

ernerabeganapproximatelyinthe

16thcentury

Contemporaryhistorydescribestheperiodtimeframethatiswithoutany

interveningtimeclolyconnectedtotheprentdayandisacertain

m"contemporaryhistory"hasbeen

idestcontextofthis

u,contemporaryhistoryisthatpartofhistorystillinlivingmemory.

Badonhumanlifespan,contemporaryhistorywouldextendforaperiod

sly,thisconceptshiftsinabsolute

rowern,"contemporaryhistory"

mayrefertothehistoryrememberedbymostadultscurrentlyliving,

edianageofpeoplelivingon

Earthiscurrently30yearsasoftheprent(2013),approximatelyhalf

thepeoplelivingtodaywerebornpriorto1983.

Fromtheperspectiveofthe2010s,thus,contemporaryhistorymayinclude

theperiodsincethemid-to-late20thcentury,includingthepostwar

periodandtheColdWarandwouldnearlyalwaysincludetheperiodfrom

about1985toprentwhichiswithinthememoryofthemajorityofliving

people.

Theprentageposssadistinctcharacterofitsown