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 their positions.

The economic life for most Western Eur

opeans 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.

During the Middle Ages there were several atrocities that slowed the development of society. With so many obstacles placed in front of the Europeans during this time period it is amazing the way that the politics change through every major event. Politically changing with every ruler made the Middle Ages a very rough time. But throughout all of the events that took place the government of the church prevailed unscathed and powerful.

The magnetic compass and other navigational tools also helped when exploring, so that ships could go farther and stay on a planned route. All of these developments helped Western Europe become as powerful as it later did, and led them into the Renaissance.

With the increase in agricultural production, there was also an increase in population and wealth. Cities started to emerge again as well as a revival of trade. There was a new class of merchants developing as well, many of which were as wealthy as nobles.

Around the year 1050, Viking invasions stopped and Europe had a chance to flourish in the peace. The High Middle Ages brought an agricultural revolution thanks to technological advancements and a "little optimum" which lengthened the growing season by a few weeks. The invention of the heavy plow horseshoes and harnesses for workhorses, and the use of a three-field rotation system all helped make the farmer’s job easier and more efficient. In this way, the Middle Ages were more advanced than Rome, because the Romans hadn’t had

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