In 476 AD, the Germanic and other peoples terminated the Roman Empire, and the West entered the Middle Ages, also known as the "Dark Ages". Although the Germanic and other peoples conquered Rome, for the next two or three hundred years, they were in a state of turmoil and migration, they had to deal with the Xiongnu in Asia, but also had to settle internal strife, the territory was constantly changing, and the feudal division was overcome.
Greco-Roman civilization entered regression, commerce was sluggish, ** disappeared, people's spiritual life was lacking, they were monopolized by religious ideas, ordinary people had no access to education at all, and most of the nobles and lords were also illiterate.
Nevertheless, the Middle Ages was still the beginning of Europe, because Europe before the Middle Ages was not civilized, and for the Germanic and other Nordic peoples, the Middle Ages was an important era for them to enter civilization. The prototype of today's Western civilization was formed precisely because of the integration of the Greco-Roman tradition, the Jewish tradition, and the Germanic tradition in the Middle Ages after thousands of years, and the territory and ethnic pattern of Western European countries were basically divided and complete in the Middle Ages. The creation of universities and banks in the Middle Ages, the parliamentary system, civic literature and Gothic art, all laid the foundations for the subsequent European Renaissance.
In 751 AD, Frank Pepin succeeded to the throne with the support of the Pope and established the Carolingian dynasty.
In 800 AD, Charlemagne of Frank took over the crown from the Pope, which also represented the dominance of the Church in Western Europe, after Charles's death, his three grandsons each dominated one side, forming the later Italy, Germany and France, by 962 AD, the Holy Roman Empire appeared in Europe, Pope Gregory VII and his reign, the power of the Church reached its limit through canon law.
In the early Western Europe in the Middle Ages, in addition to the king and bishop, there were only nobles and serfs in the social structure, the manor was a socio-economic form, the manor was divided into two parts, one part belonged to the lord, and the other part was given to the serfs, the serfs regularly worked and paid taxes for the lord, and were subject to the jurisdiction of the lord's private court, they did not have personal freedom, and they may not be able to leave the lord's power in their lives.
From the 8th century to the 11th century, the feudal manufacturing in Europe created an aristocratic class, with only estates and local ** in the economy, agricultural production was backward, and the peasants did not even have hoes. Due to foreign incursions and mob unrest, churches and local lords built castles and went their separate ways.
Around 1000 AD, Western Europe was relieved of the invasion of the Vikings, Hungarians and Muslims, ** religion became the only influential religion in Western Europe, and European civilization shifted from the Mediterranean to the north and Atlantic coasts of the Rhine, where Europe's first agricultural revolution began.
At the end of the 11th century, the Crusades marked a turning point in the history of Western Europe, and although its original purpose was to retake the Holy Land of Jerusalem from Islam, it backfired and caused the rise of secularism. This crusade was the pinnacle of the struggle between Islam and Islam, and in fact, since the 7th century CE Islam forced people to convert people in Western Asia by force, the religion had been fighting against the expansion of Islam, and before the crusade, the religion had been the victim of Islam's attack due to its own weakness. And when the way for Western pilgrims to get to Jerusalem was blocked, and Byzantium sent an envoy for help, Pope Urban II saw this as a good opportunity to launch an offensive, and he called on all followers of the ** religion to participate in the crusade to regain the Holy Land from the Muslims and wage a holy war. The Pope declared the Crusades to be completely exonerated and to wear a cross, a symbol of religion.
The Crusaders captured Jerusalem in July 1099 and established the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem. In the 11th century, the process of Western Europe has been completed, and expanding the territory of the world and opening up a new world is a kind of life pursuit of the believers. 100,000 people voluntarily joined the crusaders, all classes from Western Europe, thousands died on the way to the Crusades, thousands of Muslims were subjected, and the Holy City was destroyed. Jews living in Western Europe, in particular, were killed for their beliefs and countless properties were damaged.
The Crusades broke through the gap between the Eastern and Western worlds since the Middle Ages, and the exchanges between the East and the West began, and the Europeans suddenly discovered the different Byzantine and Islamic civilizations around them, which made the worldview of Western Europeans begin to change, and social life was also affected by Eastern culture and nations. The Crusades were the turning point in Western Europe from closed to open, and once the doors of Europe were opened, they were never closed. Europeans discovered the four great inventions of Asia and China, and Indian Arabic numerals and Arabic culture were introduced to Europe one after another, promoting the development of European civilization. Many European lords were killed in the movement, serfs were lost, property was lost, and localism gave way to national royal power. In short, the crusades launched in the name of faith turned society away from religion, and Europeans began to turn suspicious of religion.
In the 12th century of the Middle Ages, urban civilization began to flourish, and some cities in ancient Rome, such as Rome, Pisa, and Marseille, regained their status as central cities, and a large number of new cities sprung up. The intensification of population mobility in Europe, the emergence of the city council and city council system in the 13th century AD, the gradual formation of a new burgher class, the intensification of the social division of labor, and the emergence of various walks of life and guild organizations. Cities become the centers of these industries and the world, as well as political, cultural, and social democracy. Merchants took advantage of the pilgrimage routes opened by the Crusaders to establish sea lanes and promote the East and West**, and Italy was second to none in **, gaining maritime supremacy. During the heyday of the Middle Ages, Europeans made pilgrimages, businesses, studies, and travels, resulting in a large number of people moving.
At the end of the 14th century, the rapid development of Europe suffered various disasters, the rapid growth of the population caused an economic burden, frequent famines, the plague epidemic between 1347 and 1351 claimed a third of the life, causing economic collapse, ruthless oppression of the upper class, peasant revolts, heavy taxes, and poor livelihood. In 1337 AD, a century-long war broke out between England and France in Europe. And in 1378 AD, after the death of the old pope, the Cardinal Episcopal Council elected two popes in a short time: Urban VI and Clement VII, resulting in the great ** of the Church, although ** was temporarily ended at the Council of Constance in 1417, but the church has been much worse than before, the prestige of the pope has been greatly reduced, the pope has become a tool used by secular monarchs, and the ruling power of Europe has begun to transfer to the royal power. There were calls for reform within the Church, with John Wycliffe of England and John Hus of Prague each leading the reform movement, and Europe plunged into an unprecedented crisis.
In the eastern part of Europe, around the 10th century, the Vikings established a principality in Kiev, and before 1200 AD, the principality belonged to a member of the European community, but after 1200 AD, due to the invasion and occupation of the Mongols, the Grand Duchy of Moscow rose as a unified power, and the victory of the Holy See in Poland and the fall of Byzantium made the Orthodox Rus' begin to alienate itself from the West and gradually develop into an Eastern country.
At the end of the Middle Ages, Ivan III the Great annexed the principalities between Russia and Poland through conquest, taking Belarus and Ukraine under his control. Ivan the Great built the Kremlin in the Byzantine style, chose the tsar as his title, and made Russia develop in the direction of oriental politics.