What statement best defines the Middle Ages?

Answer 1

The period following the decline of the Roman Empire in Europe.

Answer 2

The most common dates for the Middle Ages are possibly 476 with the fall of the West Roman Empire, to 1453, when the East Roman Empire, now called the Byzantine Empire fell. So perhaps we could characterize the Middle Ages as the age in which the Roman Empire was represented only by its eastern half. (Please see links below on the decline of the Roman Empire and the Byzantine Empire.)

But the questions that dominated the time were questions of religion, exemplified the question of Christianity versus Islam, orthodox Catholic faith versus heterodox and/or heretical, Roman Catholic, versus Eastern Orthodox, and ecclesiastical versus secular. The Middle Ages are also called the Age of Faith, and for good reason. If we use this characterization, perhaps the Middle Ages should be dated as starting in 380 AD, when "Catholic Christianity" became the official religion of the Roman Empire, to 1517, when Luther posted the 95 Theses. (Please see links below on Roman state religion under Theodosius I, Christian Heresy, the Crusades, the East-West Schism, the Investiture Controversy, and Luther's 95 Theses.)

A different way of looking at the Middle Ages would make them the age of manorialism, which was a system based on the Roman villa system, as defined by Constantine the Great, and which persisted with remnants into fairly recent times. (NB. Some people would equate manorialism with feudalism, and others would put feudalism into only the High Middle Ages and Late Middle Ages, so I would hesitate to use it as a characteristic.) (Please see link below on manorialism.)

There are doubtless other ways of characterizing the Middle Ages, and most common among them is the idea that they were ignorant, dirty, and smelly. None of these is true. (Please see the link below to the related question, "What was good about the middle ages?")

Answer 3

A time when religion was very important. Mainly only Europe and Asia were populated. Also the Chinese invented gunpowder then