section_path: Terminology and periodisation
section_name: Terminology and periodisation
paragraph_text: Terminology and periodisation
  
  The Middle Ages is the second of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme of analysing European history: antiquity, the Middle Ages and the modern era. The Italian Leonardo Bruni (d. 1444) was the first to use tripartite periodisation in 1442, and it became standard with the German historian Christoph Cellarius (d. 1707). The adjective "medieval", pertaining to the Middle Ages, derives from medium aevum ("middle age"), a Neo-Latin term first recorded in 1604. It is also spelt "mediaeval" or "mediæval".
  
  It customarily spans the period between c. 500 and 1500, but its start and end years are arbitrary. A common starting point, first used by Bruni, is 476: the year the last Western Roman Emperor was deposed. As an alternative, the conversion of the Roman emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337) to Christianity is cited. There is no universally-agreed-upon end date; the most frequently-used dates include 1453 (the fall of Constantinople), 1492 (Christopher Columbus 's first voyage to the Americas), and 1517 (the beginning of the Protestant Reformation).
  
  Europe, according to historian Miri Rubin, "did not live to a single rhythm over this period". Christianisation, the conversion of Europe to Christianity, took place in waves, and (re)urbanisation began in different regions at different times. Scholarly consensus characterises the period by the economic predominance of agriculture, exploitation of the peasantry, the importance of interpersonal relations —violence, patronage, kinship, and charisma —in power structures, slow inter-regional communication, and a fragile state bureaucracy.
  
  Historians from Romance language-speaking countries tend to divide the Middle Ages into two parts: early ("high") and late ("low"). English-speaking historians, following their German counterparts, generally subdivide the period into thirds: Early, High, and Late. During the 19th century, the Middle Ages were often known as the Dark Ages; with the adoption of the three subdivisions in the early 20th century, however, use of that term was restricted to the Early Middle Ages. Historians who regard the Middle Ages as a Eurocentric concept tend to avoid its use in global history, although studies of " Medieval India ", the "Muslim Middle Ages", and similar subjects are not uncommon.