Characteristic Features of the Middle Ages

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Also called the middle ages, the medieval ages were influential in European history. It dates between the 5th and the 15th centuries of european history. The beginning of the period was marked by the collapse of Rome while its end was marked by the end of Renaissance. The Roman Empire’s fall bringing forth an idea of uniting Europe in what was called Christendom, this was based on the beliefs of the church. Features such as migration of people, invasions, population distribution, and deurbanization characterized this period. The medieval ages had three periods, which include the antiquity, the medieval periods, and the modern period, all of which exhibited different characteristics. The end of this period saw various challenges coming forth resulting into massive loss of lives and calamities. However, there was a complete transformation of the people since they advanced in technologies as well as their culture.
The Roman Empire failure characterized a new political and social system in Europe. The Roman Empire had a played a pivotal role in the integration of Europe hence its collapse created a huge vacuum. Christianity was one of the uniting factors but culturally there were many divisions, for example, the Germanic tribes had a different culture that it made it difficult to integrate them in a common system with the rest of the Europeans. The late antiquity period saw the deterioration of

the systems and infrastructure that had been developed by the Roman Empire. For a long time centralization of government and culture was not possible. However, the Roman Catholic facilitated social integration. This was not sufficient to bring the people together; therefore, the medieval period was characterized by the need to build a polit...

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...arge tracks of land (fiefs) in the rural areas. The individuals that had no land were used as laborers in these farms. The peasant laborers (serfs) worked for the landowners in exchange for residence as well as protection from enemies. However, around 11th century, the feudal system began failing as a result of introduction of new farming methods and implement. The invention of implements such as the plough and crop rotation rejuvenated agriculture that led to increased food supply. In essence, the population increased resulting to increased rural urban migration.
In conclusion, the medieval period was characterized by many developments that saw the rise of the Catholic Church as both a spiritual and political system. The period saw advancements in technology and agriculture while warfare was also characteristic. The period concluded with the renaissance.

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