The Middle-Ages are a period of history comprised between the Antiquity and the Modern Period.
It succeeded the 476 fall of the Roman Empire and ended in the 16th century. The Middle Ages are also known as the Dark Ages, for the period it covers may be one of the darkest in history. The historical time-line of the Middle-Ages is roughly divided into 3 sequences of events.

The early middle ages refer to the aftermath of the roman empire's decline. When Augustus abdicates, the whole empire collapses. The territory splits into 2 geographical and cultural entities: the western Europe and the Byzantine empire. Whereas Constantinople remains orthodox, the western world gets more and more influenced by catholicism. The fall of the Roman Empire opened new ways for new peoples to migrate and to establish great Kingdoms (Visigoths in Spain, Ostrogoths in Italy and Franks in Gaul). In Gaul, two powerful dynasties of monarchs succeeded: the Carolingians (with Charlemagne) and the Merovigians.

The new western kingdoms, whose stability is weakened by invaders (Vikings) and the Muslims, stand united around the Catholic Church, a powerful religious institution. The government of kingdoms (headed by Kings) is based on a feudal system: Lords and heirs have obligation to allocate lands in return for a service and land owners rule over the peasants. Warfare techniques take a major turning point: castles are built to defend against intruders and knights ride horses to fight. Barbarian invasions are getting less and less frequent, but the western peoples still seek to spread the catholic religion like a wildfire. The “holy wars” led by the crusaders against the Muslims, the Jews, the orthodoxes, are very symptomatic of a period in which religion is Everything...

The late Middle Ages are marked by the increase in power of kings in France and England. Whereas the black death (which will be the death of 50% of the Europeans) and the famine ravage the western world, France and England fight in a merciless war (the 100 years' war) for the throne of France. Joan of Arc, a catholic saint, remains the emblematic figure of the period.

After a dark period of tortures, inquisition, and witches' hunt held by the Church, new discoveries (Gutenberg's Press, the New World), the rise of protestantism and the fall of Constantinople mark the end of the Middle-Ages.