What Really Happened During The Middle Ages

The Middle Ages, often referred to as the Dark Ages, was regarded to be a time of despair, disease, and death. Just as the name the “Dark Ages” suggests, this period of European history seemed to be surrounded by darkness and hopelessness. Unfortunately, the majority of people only see this side of the Middle Ages when, in fact, the Middle Ages was a much more important era. Especially during the late Middle Ages, one can find a change in orthodox social structure, political instability mostly concerned with succession to the throne, and economic changes and how those changes went hand in hand with the change in society. After certain demographical changes and turning points such as the Hundred Years’ War, Europe began to transform drastically thus threatening traditional Europe. Therefore, unlike popular belief, the late Middle Ages was a time when absolute monarchy began to die and when social structure seemed to be flipping upside down due to drastic changes in economic practices.

During the High Middle Ages, there was no strong, central government that was politically organized enough to meet common needs of the people in Europe. After the fall of Charlemagne’s empire, invasions and anarchy became the societal norm. If they wanted to survive, they had to meet particular needs. The people of the High Middle Ages met their needs of political organization, economic provision, and social aspects through Feudalism, Manorialism, and through the Church.

There are many historical circumstances that led up to the Middle Ages. One historical circumstance that led up to the Middle Ages is corrupt rulers. During the end of the Roman Empire, the rulers became very corrupt and crazy. Most of the rulers killed their own family and made everything worse for the empire. One ruler named Elagabalus and he was one of the worst rulers ever in the Roman Empire. He was good but had no experience in being a ruler. Later in his rule he refused to listen to any of his advisors and he also closed himself off from the public. These rulers were one of the biggest reasons why the Roman Empire fell. Another historical circumstance that led up to the Middle Ages is when the roman empire split into two areas. One of the emperors decided to split the empire in half and move the capital to a different location.

The people in the medieval society used to diligently follow the religion and therefore Christianity performed a huge role in shaping the society. The church defined the social classes within the society and the roles & responsibilities of each social class. The Christianity had emerged as a common force which united the lower class of the society with the upper class. As the people used to believe and practise the teachings of the church, there was little or no rift in the

The Middle Ages is associated with the Dark Ages due to the period including social disorder, political turmoil and widespread disease. The Middle Ages was a period between 500 A.D. to 1500 A.D. during which Europe experienced many drastic changes following the fall of Rome. Some of these changes were beneficial, but the changes also caused negative effects too. Overall, the Middle Ages was a dark time for Europe.

The Middle Ages were between 500 and 1400 A.D. and have been described as either the Dark Ages, the Age of Feudalism, the Age of Faith, or the Golden Age of Europe. The Dark Ages were described as the time when trade declined, cities fell into despair, no law or order, and no school. The Age of Feudalism has been described as an age of order. The Age of Faith caused nations to become closer in faith. The Golden Age was known as the age when people were thriving and there was a surplus of goods and supplies. The three labels that describe the Middle Ages the most accurately are the Dark Age, the Age of Feudalism, and the Age of Faith.

The Christian religions rise to supremacy in the middle ages was the result of several factors. Christians had long been persecuted by the Roman Empire because the Romans felt that Christianity challenged and offended the Greco-Roman Gods and the Christians were prone to revolt against Roman rule. Christianity survived because it had many teachings that appealed to the downtrodden in Roman society, these teachings being that even though they were suffering they would gain equality and possibly superiority in the next life, Christianity gave them hope.

The Church is a highly acclaimed power that is still in power to this day. The Pope is still in power and the Catholic Church has been in power for almost 2000 years. The Church has a huge following and many people follow it blindly. Though there is no feudal system to put the Church on top and there is now a separation of Church and State, it was not always like that. The Church’s history is anything but pure. It constantly used it’s power against those that relied on the Church for answers and reassurance on salvation. The illiteracy of the Middle Ages allowed the Church officials to be trusted mindlessly. Reforms were looked down upon and even resulted in the imprisonment or death of some people. The Church is responsible for taking advantage of the lower class in the Feudal system, committing the Crusades or the “Holy wars” and killing and torturing heretics during the Inquisition as the result of trying to spread Catholicism.

The late Middle ages was definitely a troubled time for citizens around Europe. From the 14th Century to the 15th Century, humans were raveled by famines, disruption of socio economics, and lost of faith in the Catholic Church. To the eyes of many at the time, this era was looked at as a major decline of life. With the many deaths, poor condition for poor people, and the schism of the Church, it may seem easy to call this era a decline. Although upon closer looking, this era is more of a transitional period into the next period than a decline due to many reasons. Whether you look at religious, social movements, or economically, the late Middle Ages helped transition Europe into what it has become.

The Middle Ages or Medieval Ages is the time period in Europe between the fall of Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance (History). For this paper it will be referred to as the Middle Ages. This time is also sometimes described as the Dark Ages by some because of some of the bad events that happened and because they say nothing of importance came out of the time period. It is true Rome fell, there were many wars which caused many to die, a shortage of food that caused many to die and an awful sickness that caused many people to die. Despite The Great Famine, The Plague and the fall of Rome during the medieval time period, it should not be known as the dark ages due to the architecture, art, and both educational and the technological advancements that came to be during this time.

The Middle Ages provides historians with various examples of concepts like kingship, church, warfare, politics, and health. Historians are able to explore events during the middle ages to determine how society operated and what mindset medieval people had. The middle ages is split into three sections early (500-1000), high or central (1000-1300), and late (1300-1500). This paper is going to delve into some similarities and differences between the high and late middle ages specifically looking at religion, politics, and warfare.

Social groups, economics, and political life each have different meanings. These three terms will show how life was life in Europe in the Middle Ages. A Social Group is a group of 2 or more people and they talk about the unity and common identity. Economics has to deal with money. Money is a big part in the Middle Ages because people needed it to buy things, such as food, water, etc. Finally, political life has to deal with the government, the state, or politics. Basically, if you break a law or a rule in your city/state, you can suffer major consequences. All of these meanings can change many lives in the future, and can change society.

Throughout Europe, several figures have influenced the people’s religion and beliefs. From Charlemagne’s empire and religious strengthening to the Pope’s significant role in the government, down to the limited rights of a King, the study of God’s existence and the 95 Theses, we learn of all the true Reformations the Middle Ages has faced.

A legacy is that which is handed down from generation to generation, but many of us think "medieval" means something old and archaic that exists only on dusty library shelves and in courses that have nothing to dowith"real life" of the late 20th-century. However, current institutions such as law, the university, love in marriage, religious crusades, and even medicine have their roots in the Middle Ages. The legacies bequeathedto us by the extraordinary men and women of these so-called "Dark Ages" include works of mystical literature, courtly romances, illuminated manuscripts, allegorical dramas, Gothic architecture, troubadour music and poetry, and objective history.

The Middle Ages is a medieval time period in Western Europe that lasted from 500 to 1500 C.E. The Middle Ages began as a result from the collapse of the Roman Empire which began in 31 BCE, and fell in 476 C.E. In around 300 C.E. the emperor of the Rome divided the land for easier control. This began the decline of Rome. The Western half of Rome fell to Barbarian invaders, while the eastern half lived on as the Byzantine Empire. The Early Middle Ages began shortly after the western half fell. After the Roman Empire lost its position as the center of power, Western Europe fell into a time of chaos and warfare. There were a lot of attacks by Vikings, Magyars (hungarian nomads), and Muslims. The invasions caused disorder, and suffering, and the government system developed into feudalism.The High Middle Ages followed, the Early Middle Ages, and was the time period in Western Europe from around the 11th century to the 13th. The Middle Ages are referred to as the “Dark Ages” because of the disorder, hopelessness of the time. It is accurate to refer to the Middle Ages (500-1500) as a whole as a” the Dark Ages”.The Early Middle Ages meet the qualities of a dark age due to the, lack of government, education, and dysfunctional economy. However, the high middle ages was a time of improvement for these issues.