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A traditional view is that the Middle Ages started because the West Roman Empire fell and independent Germanic kingdoms arose to replace it in, and ended with the fall of the Byzantine Empire (East Roman Empire). The date most often given for the beginning is 476, and for the end is 1453.

The traditional view also is that the fall of the West Roman Empire caused a collapse in Western society, which was especially evident in the rates of literacy, and that the end of the Middle Ages happened because of increased trade and education, and the rise of the mercantile class.

Personally, I think the traditional view, is rather too simple. Western society was well into decline in the 3rd century, and clearly coming out of that decline when the Early Middle Ages were only half over. Furthermore, parts of the government of the West Roman Empire, including the Senate, were operating until at least the beginning of the 7th century. The end of the Middle Ages is just as hard to pin down. The Byzantine Empire had lost its power centuries before it fell, and with that, it lost its relevance to the medieval West.

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13y ago

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