Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, many people’s lives were short, difficult and poor.  The fall of the Western Roman Empire and the invasions of barbarian tribes devastated Europe.  The Romans had made progress in science, technology, engineering, medicine and literature, but during the Middle Ages, much of their knowledge was lost.  There were mass migrations, wars and plagues.  For around 300 years, there was continuous violence. Then, the development of feudalism decreased some of the violence.