When was the medieval period?

The medieval period — also called the Middle Ages — is the era of European history between the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the beginning of the early modern period. While exact dates are debated and somewhat arbitrary, the conventional boundaries are 476 CE (the deposition of the last Western Roman emperor) to either 1453 CE (the fall of Constantinople to the Ottomans) or 1492 CE (Columbus's arrival in the Americas).

Historians typically divide the medieval period into three phases. The Early Middle Ages (c. 500–1000) saw the formation of Germanic kingdoms on Roman foundations, the spread of Christianity, the rise of Islam, the Carolingian Empire, and the devastating Viking, Magyar, and Muslim invasions that triggered the development of feudalism. This period was once called the 'Dark Ages,' though modern historians reject that characterization.

The High Middle Ages (c. 1000–1300) were a period of remarkable growth and achievement: population expansion, agricultural improvement, the founding of universities, the construction of Gothic cathedrals, the Crusades, and the expansion of trade. This era produced scholastic philosophy, the Magna Carta, and the first stirrings of national identity.

The Late Middle Ages (c. 1300–1500) were marked by devastating crises — the Black Death, the Hundred Years' War, the Great Schism in the Church — that destroyed the old feudal order and created the conditions for the Renaissance and the early modern world.

It's crucial to note that 'medieval period' is primarily a European periodization. Other civilizations used different frameworks, and many of them — the Islamic world, Song Dynasty China, the Mali Empire — experienced their greatest achievements during Europe's 'Middle Ages.'