Writing Technologies
While the term 'medieval' is popular when citing Europe from 500 A.D. - 1400 A.D, the more global term is 'post-classical'. After the Roman Empire fell, much of Europe was left in a stressful and dark age. Technology and intellectual life was stagnant until later in the medieval times. An emphasis was placed on schooling across Europe and Universities began to pop up in many different countries. The Church played a prominent role in Europe's history at this time as well. Other places around the world, such as North America, Scandinavia, and Asia, had limited knowledge of other lands and did not have the tools necessary to facilitate vast trade and commercial exploits. This fear and unstable era led to raids or much needed explorations to allocate new resources. The Vikings began attacking coastal cities and monasteries, Europe and the Middle East often fought in the Crusades, and the Silk Road reached its peak during the Golden Age of the Byzantine Empire. From here, trade fostered an explosion in transmitting ideas and writing technologies. This exponential increase in shared thoughts and sciences is what lead to the next era in history, the Renaissance.
Below is a brief history of the Middle Ages. We highly recommend you check it out before exploring the rest of our site!