When did the Middle Ages end in your opinion?
Most people seem to agree on 1500 as an acceptable if arbitrary cut-off point.
But there are differing opinions.
One could argue that the Middle Ages ended with the fall of the Eastern Roman Empire in 1453
Or 1485 at Bosworth, the deciding battle of the War of the Roses, the last dynastic war on British soil
Or with the death of Andreas Palaiologos in 1502, the last pretender to the Byzantine throne
There are even some who would claim 1806, the year the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, to be the real end of the Middle Ages. It was the end of the HRE, which had been a fixture of the Middle Ages, and it also marked the last time anyone would claim the title of Roman Emperor.
If you look at literature and the arts, it becomes even more complicated. From a British perspective, most British historians would consider the conclusion of the War of the Roses to mark the end of the Middle Ages, yet British society and culture only became more recognisably modern after the Civil War (1642–1651). A writer such as Milton has far more in common with the writers of the Middle Ages than, for example, Alexander Pope, born only a decade after Milton's death. Many argue that it was the act of legally executing a monarch that heralded the modern era of constitutional government and the rule of law in Britain.
Anyway, what are your thoughts? I'm aware that historical cut-off points are arbitrary and pointless in the scheme of things, as history is more complex than a series of distinct periods. But I'm still interested to find out where your personal cut-off point is, if you have one.
>>870829
I'd say 1492 is a good cutoff point.
The events following the discovery of the Americas represented a fundamental shift in European geopolitics.
There were no Middle Ages. It's a stupid term and needs to die.
Sometime in the early 17th century, after the Protestant, military, and mercantile revolutions had run their course.
"The Renaissance" was an Italian intellectual movement contained within the late Middle Ages. The age of exploration and colonialism was immediately post-medieval.
the middle ages give me such a boner. if only i could be so grossly incandescent
>>870899
Classical Era goes from the founding of the Greek city states till last Western Roman Emperor.
Then you have the Dark Age until Charlemagne.
Which starts the Medieval Period, which ends with the Black Death.
Then Europe rebounds from that starts the Renaissance.
which lasts into the mid 17th centuty and we get the Enlightenment.
The Englightenment ends with the Napolenoic Wars.
After that it is the Victorian Era.
Then the Industrial Revolution.
ww1
roaring twenties and the depression,.
ww2
cold war
fall of communism
war on terror
>>871015
Everything after the Renaissance or Enlightenment can really just be called the Modern Era. Shit like the War on Terror or the Fall of Communism aren't proper timeframes.
>>870829
Fall of Constantinople.
(and then the renaissance came)
>>870892
>I'd say 1492 is a good cutoff point.
I like this one.
>>870992
My negro
>>871068
Victorian Era is distinct from the modern age and the enlightenment.
>>870944
Honestly I'd say if you were going to go that far, take it up to the end of the Thirty Years' War and the establishment of the concept of the sovereign state.
But really I'd say the end of the 15th century is the best overall place to stop. The discovery of the New World and establishment of oceanic trade routes that would slowly choke out Mediterranean trade dominance/the Silk Road and the final death of the Byzantine Empire.
Middle ages are the period between the fall of Western Rome and the fall of Eastern Rome.
>>871068
Not really. You're not taking into account the fact that the rate of change tends to not be linear but rather exponential
>>871015
>Which starts the Medieval Period, which ends with the Black Death.
Why would everything between Charlemagne and the Black Death be one thing? Europe in 1200 AD had more in common with 1400 AD than with 800 AD. The Carolingian and Gothic periods were hardly anything alike.
>>871015
>m'lady
>>870829
Generally:
1453 - The end of the Hundred Years War and the fall of Byzantium
1492 - The discovery of America
1517 - The start of the Reformation
Here in Hungary, the traditional end of the medival era is the battle of Mohács in 1526. It marks the end of Hungarian independence and the beginning of Ottoman and Habsburg rule.
>>870829
This is the middle ages. We're ending it soon though. Now is the time of the orc.
Different countires may choose other dates as befits a convenient narrative.
Of course all historical periodontist is somewhat arbitrary. Greater economic, social and demographic trends what defined the world
Ultimately whatever fits your historical narrative is the date you want.
>>870829
IMO
>Dark Ages: 470AD-800AD
>Medieval Era: 800AD-1492AD
>Early Modern Era: 1492AD-1800AD
>Modern Era: 1800AD-1945AD
>Nuclear Era: 1945AD~2XXXAD
>>871740
The current era is always modern.
>>871759
No it isn't. The modern era as current is nonsense. The real modern era was the invention of the steam engine and the modernization of the west into industrial superpowers, the rise of the automobile, and the rise of shipping. The "modern" era we live in is the Nuclear Age, as the dropping of the bombs forever changed warfare, the political landscape, and power generation forever. Pandora's box was open and it will never be shut again.
>>871015
Aamerican tier history knowledge
>>871775
Calling the current Era anything but the modern era is retarded, you don't know what will be the defining thing about the time you live in.
Nukes were not even defining of the cold war, it was just something people talked about a lot. Neither is it the first nor the most potentially devestating weapon there is.
Repeating something or looking at history from an etnocentric point of view is silly.
>>871775
>Muh postmodern.
>>871775
We call the 18th century "modern" because that's what they called it back then. It's not fucking modern anymore, it was 300 years ago.
>>871813
Yeah why call it modern when there are other perfectly good names.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperialism#Age_of_Imperialism
Post world war 2 also doesn't need to be called "nuclear age" it's called The Cold War.
