Early Middle Ages
A history of Europe and the Mediterranean, c. 500–1000
From the fall of the Western Roman Empire to the eve of the first millennium: 126 articles on the kingdoms, faiths, raiders, scholars, and ordinary people who shaped post-Roman Europe and the Mediterranean world.
Explore the period
Ten topic guides, each with in-depth articles and answers to common questions.
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Early Middle Ages
A sweeping overview of the Early Middle Ages, covering the fall of Rome, the rise of kingdoms, faith, learning, and daily life from c. 500 to 1000 AD.
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The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
A comprehensive history of the fall of the Western Roman Empire: causes, key events, the Germanic migrations, and the last emperors of Rome.
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The Byzantine Empire
A comprehensive history of the Byzantine Empire from the founding of Constantinople in 330 through the early second millennium, covering emperors, religion, and culture.
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The Rise of Islam
Explore the rise of Islam from 7th-century Arabia through the Arab conquests, the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, and the flowering of Islamic civilization.
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The Carolingian Empire
The Carolingian Empire united much of western Europe under Charlemagne and his successors, blending Frankish power, Christian renewal, and Roman imperial tradition.
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The Viking Age
A comprehensive guide to the Viking Age, covering Scandinavian origins, great raids, settlement, the Rus, conversion, and the end of the era.
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Early Medieval Christianity
The rise of Christianity across the early medieval world: papal authority, monasticism, missionary movements, the iconoclasm controversy, and the birth of Christendom.
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Formation of Medieval Europe
How the successor kingdoms of the Western Roman Empire — Franks, Anglo-Saxons, Visigoths, Lombards, and Slavs — coalesced into recognizably medieval Europe by c. 1000.
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Early Medieval Art and Architecture
Early medieval art and architecture from c. 500 to 1000, covering Early Christian, Byzantine, Insular, Anglo-Saxon, Carolingian, Ottonian, and pre-Romanesque art.
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Daily Life and Society in the Early Middle Ages (c. 500–1000)
How people lived, worked, worshipped, and governed themselves in the Early Middle Ages, from peasants and nobles to townsmen, law, family, and faith.
Questions & answers
Direct answers to the questions people ask most about the period.
Early Middle Ages
The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
The Byzantine Empire
The Rise of Islam
The Carolingian Empire
The Viking Age
Early Medieval Christianity
- What Is the Rule of St. Benedict? The Foundation of Western Monasticism
- What Was the Donation of Constantine? The Forged Charter of the Medieval Papacy
- When Did England Convert to Christianity? The Long Conversion of the English
- Who Evangelized the Anglo-Saxons? The Mission to the English
- Who Was Pope Gregory the Great? The First Medieval Pope
- Who Was St. Augustine of Canterbury? The Apostle of the English
- Why Were Byzantine Icons Destroyed? The Iconoclasm Controversy Explained