The Middle Ages (adj. medieval) is a period in European history between the 5th and 15th centuries. It begins with the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and ends with the transition to the Modern Age. The Middle Ages serve as the intermediate period in the classical division of Western history into three periods: Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Age, and it is often divided into the Early and Late Middle Ages.

During the Early Middle Ages, Europe experienced a continuation of depopulation, urban regression, and barbarian invasions that had begun in Late Antiquity. Barbarian occupiers formed new kingdoms, relying on the structure of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East, previously part of the Eastern Roman Empire, became Islamic territories after their conquest by the successors of Muhammad. The Byzantine Empire survived and became a major power. In the West, although there were significant changes in political and social structures, the break with Antiquity was not complete, and most of the new kingdoms incorporated as many pre-existing Roman institutions as possible. Christianity spread across Western Europe, leading to a surge in the construction of new monastic sites. During the 7th and 8th centuries, the Franks, governed by the Carolingian dynasty, established an empire that dominated much of Western Europe until the 9th century, when it collapsed under the onslaught of northern Vikings, eastern Magyars, and southern Saracens.