Middle ages

This is not one era, but several grouped together. The term was originally used in a pejorative fashion in the 15th-16th Century Renaissance to describe the dark period between Classical Antiquity (from the Athenian Golden Age to the fall of the Western Roman Empire) to its rediscovery in the Renaissance. Gradually, the Middle Ages became a positive term as its reliance on classical antiquity in its latter half became better appreciated. In consequence, a new disparaging term was created for the first half of the period, the Dark Ages. This term is largely now avoided as it ignores the intellectual endeavour of this First Millennium period, especially in Celtic monasteries and under Holy Roman Emperors such as Charlemagne and Charles the Bald. The term is also a thoroughly Western one and ignores the achievements of the Byzantine East.

In theological terms the Central Middle Ages (from 11th Century) are the most interesting, as earlier periods placed greater emphasis on spreading th...