Medieval historians have debated for generations about when the Middle Ages began and ended. Was there a single year that launched the medieval period—and another that closed it?
This debate is not ending soon, because “the Middle Ages” is not a natural boundary in the past so much as a label historians use to describe a long stretch of change. Different starting and ending dates make sense depending on what you think matters most: politics and empires, religion, economic life, or cultural and intellectual developments.
The idea that a ‘Middle Ages’ existed goes back to the seventeenth century, when some writers mentioned the term (or its Latin equivalent, medium aevum). In devising this label, they framed the period as a disappointing era between the Roman Empire and their own present day, which they saw as a ‘Renaissance’ or new golden age. In that older view, the Middle Ages were often portrayed as a time with no learning, no culture, and no progress in civilisation.
Today historians usually reject that picture, but many still find the term useful—especially as a rough framework for the centuries between the ancient and modern worlds. What remains controversial is where the boundaries should be drawn. Here are some of the most common suggestions for when the medieval era started and ended (at least in Western Europe).
When did the Middle Ages begin?
The conversion of the Emperor Constantine (312) – In or around 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted from the traditional Roman pagan religions to Christianity. In the following year, he issued the Edict of Milan, which commanded official toleration of Christianity and other religions. Prior to this, Christians were often persecuted in the Roman Empire; with official toleration, Christianity was able to flourish and establish itself more firmly. For historians who focus on religion and institutions, this marks a profound transformation of the Roman world.
A fifteenth-century French miniature depicting the sack of 410 – Cité de Dieu – Den Haag MMW 10 A 11
Sack of Rome (410) – When Alaric and the Visigoths sacked Rome, it shocked contemporaries and became a powerful symbol that the old Roman order was no longer secure. Although the Western Roman Empire continued for several more decades, some historians treat 410 as the moment when the illusion of Rome’s invincibility finally collapsed.
Fall of the Western Empire (476) – On September 4, 476, the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed and no new emperor was named to replace him. Romulus Augustus was just a teenager when he became emperor, and was only a figurehead while his father Orestes actually ruled. Even so, his deposition has traditionally marked the end of the Western Roman Empire, making 476 an appealing political “break” between ancient and medieval.
Justinian and his attendants – 526-547 AD (Byzantine) San Vitale, Ravenna
Justinian’s reign (527–565) – Some historians prefer to place the real turning point in the sixth century. The reign of Emperor Justinian saw the last major attempt to reunite the Roman Empire, the codification of Roman law, devastating wars, and the first outbreak of the plague. In this view, the medieval world emerges not from collapse alone, but from the transformation of the Roman world into something new.
Islamic expansion (c. 700) – Henri Pirenne famously argued that the Middle Ages began around 700, when Muslim expansion reshaped the Mediterranean, with Islamic rule being established throughout North Africa, Iberia, and parts of Italy. In this interpretation, the medieval world begins when Mediterranean trade networks are disrupted and Northern Europe becomes more inward-looking and agrarian.
These different starting points reveal the core problem: if you define the Middle Ages by religion, politics, imperial continuity, or economic networks, you will end up with very different dates.
When did the Middle Ages end?
Coronation of Petrarch as poet laureate (1341) – On April 8, 1341 (Easter Sunday), the Italian poet Petrarch was awarded the title of poet laureate in Rome for his work Africa, which tells the story of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. For those who focus on cultural and intellectual history, Petrarch represents an early signal of Renaissance humanism and a renewed interest in classical antiquity.
The Black Death at Tournai.
The Black Death (1347–1351) – When this pandemic that swept across Europe killed a huge proportion of the population, it also triggered lasting economic, social, and cultural changes. Although it did not “end” the Middle Ages overnight, some historians see it as the moment when medieval society began to change so dramatically that a new phase of European history was taking shape.
Fall of Constantinople (1453) – The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the last vestiges of the Roman Empire. For a long time, this date was treated as the definitive end of the Middle Ages. As the historian Sir Steven Runciman said:
“In the days when historians were simple folk, the Fall of Constantinople, 1453, was held to mark the close of the Middle Ages. Nowadays, we know too well the stream of history flows on relentlessly and there is never a barrier across it.”
Gutenburg Bible – photo by UB Kassel /Wikimedia Commons
The spread of printing in Europe (c. 1450s) – The introduction of printing, often associated with Gutenberg, transformed how knowledge was copied, stored, and circulated. For cultural historians, this technological shift marks a fundamental break with the manuscript culture that had defined the medieval world.
Discovery of America (1492) – With the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean, a new era of exploration, trade, and colonisation began, fundamentally reshaping Europe’s relationship with the wider world. This date is often used to mark the transition from a medieval, inward-looking Europe to an early modern, global one.
Martin Luther posting his 95 theses in 1517 – painting by Ferdinand Pauwels (1830–1904)
Beginning of the Reformation (1517) – On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the doors of a German church. His challenge to Roman Catholic authority would lead to the fragmentation of western Christianity and permanently alter Europe’s religious and political landscape.
So… when were the Middle Ages?
If you need a practical answer, historians often use a broad shorthand: roughly from the end of the western Roman imperial world to the great transformations of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. If you need an even simpler answer, the Middle Ages are often placed very roughly between the years 500 and 1500. But there is no single “correct” boundary, because the Middle Ages did not begin or end everywhere—or in every aspect of life—at the same time.
In the end, the dates you choose say less about the past itself than about what you think “medieval” really means.
Medieval historians have debated for generations about when the Middle Ages began and ended. Was there a single year that launched the medieval period—and another that closed it?
This debate is not ending soon, because “the Middle Ages” is not a natural boundary in the past so much as a label historians use to describe a long stretch of change. Different starting and ending dates make sense depending on what you think matters most: politics and empires, religion, economic life, or cultural and intellectual developments.
The idea that a ‘Middle Ages’ existed goes back to the seventeenth century, when some writers mentioned the term (or its Latin equivalent, medium aevum). In devising this label, they framed the period as a disappointing era between the Roman Empire and their own present day, which they saw as a ‘Renaissance’ or new golden age. In that older view, the Middle Ages were often portrayed as a time with no learning, no culture, and no progress in civilisation.
Today historians usually reject that picture, but many still find the term useful—especially as a rough framework for the centuries between the ancient and modern worlds. What remains controversial is where the boundaries should be drawn. Here are some of the most common suggestions for when the medieval era started and ended (at least in Western Europe).
When did the Middle Ages begin?
The conversion of the Emperor Constantine (312) – In or around 312, the Roman Emperor Constantine I converted from the traditional Roman pagan religions to Christianity. In the following year, he issued the Edict of Milan, which commanded official toleration of Christianity and other religions. Prior to this, Christians were often persecuted in the Roman Empire; with official toleration, Christianity was able to flourish and establish itself more firmly. For historians who focus on religion and institutions, this marks a profound transformation of the Roman world.
Sack of Rome (410) – When Alaric and the Visigoths sacked Rome, it shocked contemporaries and became a powerful symbol that the old Roman order was no longer secure. Although the Western Roman Empire continued for several more decades, some historians treat 410 as the moment when the illusion of Rome’s invincibility finally collapsed.
Fall of the Western Empire (476) – On September 4, 476, the Roman Emperor Romulus Augustus was deposed and no new emperor was named to replace him. Romulus Augustus was just a teenager when he became emperor, and was only a figurehead while his father Orestes actually ruled. Even so, his deposition has traditionally marked the end of the Western Roman Empire, making 476 an appealing political “break” between ancient and medieval.
Justinian’s reign (527–565) – Some historians prefer to place the real turning point in the sixth century. The reign of Emperor Justinian saw the last major attempt to reunite the Roman Empire, the codification of Roman law, devastating wars, and the first outbreak of the plague. In this view, the medieval world emerges not from collapse alone, but from the transformation of the Roman world into something new.
Islamic expansion (c. 700) – Henri Pirenne famously argued that the Middle Ages began around 700, when Muslim expansion reshaped the Mediterranean, with Islamic rule being established throughout North Africa, Iberia, and parts of Italy. In this interpretation, the medieval world begins when Mediterranean trade networks are disrupted and Northern Europe becomes more inward-looking and agrarian.
These different starting points reveal the core problem: if you define the Middle Ages by religion, politics, imperial continuity, or economic networks, you will end up with very different dates.
When did the Middle Ages end?
Coronation of Petrarch as poet laureate (1341) – On April 8, 1341 (Easter Sunday), the Italian poet Petrarch was awarded the title of poet laureate in Rome for his work Africa, which tells the story of the Second Punic War between Rome and Carthage. For those who focus on cultural and intellectual history, Petrarch represents an early signal of Renaissance humanism and a renewed interest in classical antiquity.
The Black Death (1347–1351) – When this pandemic that swept across Europe killed a huge proportion of the population, it also triggered lasting economic, social, and cultural changes. Although it did not “end” the Middle Ages overnight, some historians see it as the moment when medieval society began to change so dramatically that a new phase of European history was taking shape.
Fall of Constantinople (1453) – The Ottoman conquest of Constantinople marked the end of the Byzantine Empire and the last vestiges of the Roman Empire. For a long time, this date was treated as the definitive end of the Middle Ages. As the historian Sir Steven Runciman said:
“In the days when historians were simple folk, the Fall of Constantinople, 1453, was held to mark the close of the Middle Ages. Nowadays, we know too well the stream of history flows on relentlessly and there is never a barrier across it.”
The spread of printing in Europe (c. 1450s) – The introduction of printing, often associated with Gutenberg, transformed how knowledge was copied, stored, and circulated. For cultural historians, this technological shift marks a fundamental break with the manuscript culture that had defined the medieval world.
Discovery of America (1492) – With the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Caribbean, a new era of exploration, trade, and colonisation began, fundamentally reshaping Europe’s relationship with the wider world. This date is often used to mark the transition from a medieval, inward-looking Europe to an early modern, global one.
Beginning of the Reformation (1517) – On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther posted his Ninety-Five Theses on the doors of a German church. His challenge to Roman Catholic authority would lead to the fragmentation of western Christianity and permanently alter Europe’s religious and political landscape.
So… when were the Middle Ages?
If you need a practical answer, historians often use a broad shorthand: roughly from the end of the western Roman imperial world to the great transformations of the fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. If you need an even simpler answer, the Middle Ages are often placed very roughly between the years 500 and 1500. But there is no single “correct” boundary, because the Middle Ages did not begin or end everywhere—or in every aspect of life—at the same time.
In the end, the dates you choose say less about the past itself than about what you think “medieval” really means.
See also:
When were the Middle Ages?, by Peter Raedts
Top Image: The six ages of the world, with an angel in the centre, from the Breviari d’Amor – British Library Royal MS 19 C I, fol. 58v
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