The Dark Ages varies a bit from the Middle Ages because it is the time period when Rome fell, the Byzantine Empire and others were still growing into the bureaucracy they became, and the feudal system was developing. In other words, little unity existed in any land.

Fiefdoms were more common than nations, and warlords ran most of the western world. The Church upheld knowledge and education, such as it was. This time period spanned from the fall of the Roman Empire to about the ninth century, though it overlaps a bit to the eleventh.

(Intro written by Laurie Alice Eakes.)