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The fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century CE has always been viewed as the end of the ancient world and the outbreak of the Middle Ages, often improperly called the Dark Ages, despite Petrarch's defense. Since much of the west had already fallen by the middle of the 5th century CE. -
Charlemagne’s vast range of activities during the first 30 years of his monarchy were introduction to what some time and many later observers viewed as the supreme event of his reign: His coronation as Roman emperor. In extensive part, that event was the consequence of an idea shaped by the interpretation given to Charlemagne’s actions as ruler. -
In what has become known as the Princes' Crusade, members of the high nobility and their followers embarked in late-summer 1096 and arrived at Constantinople between November and April the following year. -
The Magna Carta is a document guaranteeing English political liberties that was enrolled at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames, and signed by King John on June 15, 1215, under pressure from his rebellious barons. -
Great Famine, also called Irish Potato Famine, Great Irish Famine, or Famine of 1845–49, famine that occurred in Ireland in 1845–49 when the potato crop failed in successive years.
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The Black Death is widely believed to have been the result of plague, caused by infection with the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Modern genetic analyses indicate that the strain of Y. pestis introduced during the Black Death is ancestral to all extant circulating Y. pestis strains known to cause disease in humans.
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The Great Schism split the main faction of Christianity into two divisions, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. Today, they remain the two largest denominations of Christianity.