Europe's medieval period lasted from approximately 475 CE to 1453 CE. The boundary years mark the fall of the last western Roman emperor and the fall of the last eastern Roman emperor in Constantinople.
The cultures of medieval Europe were as diverse as Europe's people are today. They spoke many languages, fought many wars, and devised many clever inventions and procedures. Some of Europe's largest cities were founded in the medieval period. Medieval Europeans developed bound books, water-powered technologies, new agricultural techniques, and developed deep-water ships capable of crossing the Atlantic ocean.
Trade, agriculture, and industry all flourished in the later part of the medieval period. Although many people view Europe's medieval age as a period of economic and technological downturn in lands where the Roman empire faded away, after the first few centuries the rise of the Church, the advent of the Crusades, and the development of universities, professional guilds, banking, and improved shipping and road-building techniques helped Europe surpass some of the ancient Roman achievements before giving birth to the modern age.
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