476 A.D. (5th century):
Germanic conquest of Rome.
Fall of the Western Roman
Empire
Bird and spread of
Islam
Carolingian
Empire
2. The High Middle Ages.
11th to 13th centuries
Feudal system
First Crusades
Romanesque art
3. Late Middle Ages.
13th to 15thcenturies
Development of
trade
Gothic art
1453: Fall of
Constantinople. End of
Byzantine Empire.
Beginning of the
Renaissance
Political developments
In Western Europe the monarch
depended on the nobles
(landowners with thier own armies)
In the Late Middle Ages the
monarch's power increased
In Eastern Europe, the dominant
Byzantine Empire went into decline
when Islam appeared in 7th century
The Muslim empire expanded
into the Near Est, Noth Africa
and the Iberian Peninsula
During the High Middle Ages, the Muslim
world fragmented and began to decline. The
Chistians began the Crusades
Economic developments
The Medieval economy is
mainly agricultural and
there was littke trade.
Most of the population lived
in rural areasand worked in
subsistence agriculture
At the end of Middle Ages,
trade recovered and new areas
of craft production and new
trade routes were created
Social developments
Frequent invasions and sackings
caused great insecurity: the
peasants sought the protection
of the most important noble
(lord) and became serfs
The lord was de highest
political and judicial
authority. Other lesser
nobles became his vassals
This social structure is called
a feudal society. It had
become well-established by
the High Meddle Ages
In the Late Middle Ages the
urban population increased.
The inhabitants of the cities
were known as the
bourgeoisie
Cultural developments
The peoples that had invaded
Europe converted to
Christianity
With the birth of Islam, religious
beliefs began to have a profound
effect on the thinking of followers
Most of the populatio was illiterate
Art was greatly influenced by religion.
In High Middle Ages flourished the
Romanesque style, and in the Late
Middle Ages emerged the Gotic style
At the end of Middle Ages, the
bourgeoisie became interested in
classical antiquity, and this led to the
Renaissance. This signified a change in
people's way of thinking