Some of the most famous artists of the Middle Ages were the Italians Donatello, Ambrogio Lorenzetti, and Giotto. The period also produced renowned authors like Sir Thomas Malory, the author of Le Morte d’Arthur Giovanni Boccaccio, the author of the Decameron Margery Kempe Dante Alighieri, the author of Inferno Giovanni Boccaccio, author of the Decameron and William Langland, author of Piers Plowman.
However, it was not all dark and gloomy, as the Middle Ages gave the world beneficial things such as the Magna Carta, spectacular monasteries, music, and art and literature. Therefore unless one was a knight, a nobleman or even the king himself, life was pretty much difficult compared to the centuries that came after the Middle Ages. The period was also a time rife with the feudal system of government and economics that saw peasants (or serfs) toil and break their backs in exchange for the protection given by their lords. The Middle Ages also introduced the world to some pretty horrific events such as the Black Death which killed several millions of people the Hundred Years War the Crusades and the Wars of the Roses.
Some notable personalities of this time period include William the Conqueror, Emperor Justinian I, Genghis Khan, Charlemagne, and Alfred the Great. The Middle Ages was responsible for producing great empires and societies such as the Byzantine Empire, the Anglo-Saxons, The Franks and the Vikings. What this means is that it lasted for about a millennium, from the late 5 th century CE to the beginning of the Renaissance in the 15 th century CE. The Middle Ages refer to a period in history that spanned from the time Rome fell to the time the Ottoman Empire rose. The article also includes a complete timeline of all the major events that characterized the Middle Ages, which is also known as the Medieval Era. Here is a quick summary of what the Middle Ages were all about in Europe.
Middle Ages – Definition, Summary and Timeline | Image: Medieval French manuscript showing the three classes of medieval society – the clergy, the knights, and the peasants (or serfs) | Li Livres dou Sante, 13th century