中世纪(395年～1500年)
Middle Ages
欧洲历史上一段时期，传统上是指罗马帝国衰亡到文艺复兴初期这段时间。在西元5世纪，西罗马帝国历经了人口、经济活力、城市的规模和优越地位等方面的衰退，同时也引发大量的人口迁移（3世纪开始）。到了5世纪，这些通称为「野蛮人」的人从衰落的西方帝国的原型中建立起新的国家。在接下来的几个世纪中，这些王国遇见到了野蛮人、基督教徒和罗马文化、政治传统之间的融合。其中最长久的法兰克王国为後来的欧洲国家建立了基础。它产生了中世纪最伟大的统治者查理曼皇帝，他的统治成为接下来几个世纪的典范。查理曼帝国的衰落和新一波的侵略导致中世纪社会的重建。11～13世纪成为中世纪文化发展的颠峰时期。教会经过改革增强了教宗在教会和社会的地位，但却引发了教宗和皇帝之间的摩擦。人口的成长、城镇和农田的欣欣向荣、商人阶级的出现和政府官僚机构的发展都是这一时期文化和经济复兴的结果。与此同时，成千上万的骑士响应教会的号召，纷纷加入十字军。中世纪的文明随着哥德式建筑、新的宗教秩序的出现，以及学术和大学的扩展而在13世纪达到了顶峰。教会主宰了知识生活，产生了托马斯.阿奎那的经院哲学。中世纪的衰落源自中世纪民族政府的衰亡、天主教教会的大分裂、中世纪神学和哲学的争辩，以及因饥荒和疾病带来的人口和经济的崩溃。
English version：
395年～1500年
Middle Ages
Period in European history traditionally dated from the fall of the Roman Empire to the dawn of the Renaissance. In the 5th century the Western Roman Empire endured declines in population, economic vitality, and the size and prominence of cities. It also was greatly affected by a dramatic migration of peoples that began in the 3rd century. In the 5th century these peoples, often called barbarians, carved new kingdoms out of the decrepit Western Empire. Over the next several centuries these kingdoms oversaw the gradual amalgamation of barbarian, Christian, and Roman cultural and political traditions. The longest lasting of these kingdoms, that of the Franks, laid the foundation for later European states. It also produced Charlemagne, the greatest ruler of the Middle Ages, whose reign was a model for centuries to come. The collapse of Charlemagne's empire and a fresh wave of invasions led to a restructuring of medieval society. The 11th through 13th centuries mark the high point of medieval civilization. The church underwent reform that strengthened the place of the pope in church and society but led to clashes between the pope and emperor. Population growth, the flourishing of towns and farms, the emergence of merchant classes, and the development of governmental bureaucracies were part of cultural and economic revival during this period. Meanwhile, thousands of knights followed the call of the church to join the Crusades. Medieval civilization reached its apex in the 13th century with the emergence of Gothic architecture, the appearance of new religious orders, and the expansion of learning and the university. The church dominated intellectual life, producing the Scholasticism of St. Thomas Aquinas. The decline of the Middle Ages resulted from the break down of medieval national governments, the great papal schism, the critique of medieval theology and philosphy, and economic and population collapse brought on by famine and disease.
