The Middle Ages are usually considered to have begun in the year 476, when the Western Roman Empire fell.
An age is a periodization that allows history to be divided into different stages. The Middle Ages is a historical age that follows the Ancient Age and precedes the Modern Age .
The Middle Ages, also known as the Middle Ages , begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire (in the year 476 ) and lasts, depending on the historian, until the discovery of America ( 1492 ) or the fall of the Byzantine Empire and the invention of the printing press ( 1453 ).
There are those who call the period between the 3rd and 8th centuries Late Antiquity since they consider that it is a transitional stage between both ages.
Periods of the Middle Ages
The Middle Ages, on the other hand, can be divided into the High Middle Ages (the period covering the first centuries) and the Late Middle Ages (the last centuries of the Middle Ages).
The Early Middle Ages we can establish, therefore, that it is the period that takes place between the 5th and 10th centuries . It is a stage above all of a lot of cultural change and a lot of power struggle that gave rise to them taking prominence and strength throughout the world the German-Roman kingdoms, the Byzantine Empire or the Carolingian Empire.
All this without forgetting that in this period mentioned an important event occurred: the expansion of Islam, which meant that Spain was especially affected by this phenomenon, thus giving rise to Al-Andalus, which had corners and moments of great splendor such as the achieved by the Caliphate of Córdoba during which its surprising Mosque was created.
The Late Middle Ages, for its part, is the period between the 11th and 15th centuries. A time when facts or events such as the expansion of the feudal system, the crusades, the birth of the bourgeoisie, the creation and expansion of the University, parliamentarism, monastic reforms of various kinds or a whole set of religious innovations took center stage. dogmatic and devotional matter.
In the Middle Ages, numerous castles and fortresses were built.
Social changes and relevant characteristics
Among the changes that occurred during the Middle Ages, we can mention the appearance of the feudal mode of production (replacing slavery), the disappearance of the notion of Roman citizenship and the rise of theocentric cultures (such as Islam and Christianity) instead of classical culture.
Medieval cities, on the other hand, were characterized by the construction of large walls , castles, fortresses and defensive bridges, which is a reflection of the war conflicts of the time.
The end of the Middle Ages
From the transition from feudalism to capitalism , the Middle Ages began a stage of decadence that led to the beginning of the Modern Age, which extended until the French Revolution and then gave rise to the Contemporary Age.
We can establish that the decline of the Middle Ages occurred in the final stage, between the 14th and 15th centuries. The appearance of Capitalism, as we have mentioned, was one of the main causes that ended this historical period but it was not the only one. Other reasons for its debacle were the different controversies that arose in the religious sphere, the appearance of professional armies and various major wars.