The middle ages were the time between the fall of the Roman empire and the rebirth (the Renaissance), it was a time when the past Roman-Greek arts and logic were seemingly lost. Notable points are the series of conflicts known as the Crusades (11th-13th) centuries. These conflicts were wars between Christendom Europe and the Islamic Near East and Spain. These wars (seven in total) were all issued to recapture Jerusalem from Muslim rule, by Pope Urban II. Although the Crusaders won the first crusade, the others they failed and most of the time not even retaking Jerusalem, for example the fourth crusade the crusaders attacked the Christian city of Zara. It should be known that the Crusaders when they captured Jerusalem in the first Crusade, they slaughtered Muslims, Jews and even Christians alike. The Crusades also weekend the the governments back home in Europe helping lead way to the Renaissance but is not the reason. The finding of Roman writings in Italy sparked a revolution in Italy and knowledge of this old empire and it's arts and logic were craved by the elite. With the help of universities in cities Oxford, Rome, and Paris helped spread science, and the arts. The Renaissance was generally a time of peace, growing faith in science, weakening of the Catholic Church with the Protestant Reformation in the 1500's-1600's, and most importantly it was the birth of European world power. Good Luck!
