MIDDLE AGES, The, a period of history supposed to extend from the fall of the Roman Empire to about the year 1550, covering from 10 to 11 centuries. The Middle Ages embrace that period of history in which the feudal sys tem was established and developed, down to the most prominent events which necessarily led to its overthrow, though its consequences and influences are still very observable in the states of Europe. The first centuries of the Middle Ages are often termed the Dark Ages (q.v.). Still, the destruction of Roman insti tutions by the irruption of barbarous tribes is often unduly lamented, and the beneficial con sequences attending it overlooked. True it is that many of the acquisitions which had cost mankind ages of toil and labor were lost in the general wreck, and only regained by the ef forts of many successive generations; the flowers of civilization were trampled underfoot by barbarous warriors; the civil development of society suffered a most severe shock; those nations to which Roman civilization had ex tended previous to the great invasion of the Teutonic tribes were thrown back in a great measure to their pritnmval barbarism, and the unruly passion for individual independence greatly retarded the development of public and private law, and in some countries has entirely prevented a regular civil constitution. So also
the most remarkable institution of that its characteristic production — chivalry—exhibited all the peculiarities of the corporations. War was the profession of the nobles. No one of their order who was not a knight could bear a lance or command cavalry. The weak side of the Middle Ages is the scientific. Physical science was still in a very crude state, and the lack of the proper apparatus necessary for its accurate pursuit was a serious handicap. Con sidering, however, the inefficient means then at hand, the knowledge attained, though of course rude, inaccurate and often mere guessing, was greater than is popularly supposed. The ef forts of Charlemagne in the 8th century to encourage science and instruct the people laid the foundations for a more thorough and sys tematic training, which culminated in the great schools of Scholasticism of the 12th and 13th centuries. The process was slow and often re tarded by the unsettled social and political con ditions that prevailed through this period. The 14th and 15th centuries witnessed a rapid and brilliant development finding its apogee in the Renaissance movement. See HISTORY, MEDIAE VAL.