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After the death of Emperor Theodosius, the Roman Empire is permanently divided in half. As time passes, the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the Byzantine Empire) distances itself from the declining Western Roman Empire. -
Feudalism designates the social, economic, and political conditions in western Europe during the early Middle Ages, the long stretch of time between the 5th and 12th centuries. Feudalism and the related term feudal system are labels invented long after the period to which they were applied. They refer to what those who invented them perceived as the most significant and distinctive characteristics of the early and central Middle Ages.
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The fall of Rome in 476 AD is generally considered to be the beginning of the medieval period. -
Between 1337 and 1453, one of the most intense wars in Western Europe took place between the kingdom of England and France for the French throne: the Hundred Years' War.
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The Black Death, also known as the Pestilence or Great Mortality, was the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, resulting in the deaths of up to 200 million people, from Eurasia to North Africa, and reaching its peak in Europe from 1347 to 1351.
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End of the Western Schism: Martin V is elected sole Pope at the Council of Constance. -
Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the hands of the invading Ottoman Empire on May 29, 1453. This day, many believe, marks the end of the Middle Ages and the beginning of the 15th-century Renaissance. -
It ends in 1492, the year in which Columbus arrived in America.