The Middle Ages lasted from about 500-1500, the time between the end of the Roman Empire and the Renaissance. The Early Middle Ages were probably the time that most fits the term Dark Ages, even though even they weren’t all bad.

Christianity spread a lot throughout Europe during this time, thanks in part to rulers like Charlemagne and Clovis who converted whole lands. But while many people were Christian by name, and the pagan religions were dying out, most people didn’t practice it. One reason for this is that hardly anyone was literate, so they couldn’t read the Bible. Most clergy of the time were even illiterate, and led very secular lives. It was a disgraceful time for the Church, because there was a lot of corruption, such as priests who lived with women and bought

The Late Middle Ages, even though there was a time of turmoil, had several important technological advancements. One of the most important was the use of gunpowder in war, which helped the French win the Hundred Years’ War, and helped all Westerners when they were colonizing other lands, like the Americas.

The Middle Ages also brought religious reform. The papal monarchy was strengthened and some order was restored within the Church. The system of cardinals electing the pope was developed, which took Church power out of the hands of wealthy secular people.

The economic life for most Western Europeans was not much better than the religious and intellectual quality. There weren’t really any great cities and most common people worked in agriculture to provide what they could to keep their families alive.

One very important accomplishment of the High Middle Ages was universities. They were the basis for the modern university, focusing on liberal arts. Greek literature and thought also became popular again, and the people also made creative advancements of their own, with poetry of troubadours and narratives, like Dante’s Divine Comedy. The two most successful were the ones in Paris and Bologna, in which all medieval universities were modeled after.

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