The Decline Of The Middle Ages

There were many reasons for the downfall of the Middle Ages, but the most main factors were the decline of the feudal system and of the Church's power over the nation-states and the Black Death that changed Europe's social structure. In feudal society, everyone had a place and role, with local lords having the power (instead of a central government). The lords and nobles lost power after the Crusades, when the Europeans came into contact with the more civilizations like the Byzantine Empire and the Muslims. Therefore, this increased the growth of trade, which brought more money. The money eventually caused the birth of a middle class. It was made up of the serfs and peasants that left the feudal system in search of making money from trade. While the economy grew, the lords were put into an economic squeeze. Thus, that didn't leave much of a place for the nobles. Wars hastened up the decline as it killed many, as well as the Black Death that was spread all over Europe by infected people. Moreover, conflicts between the papacy and the monarchy over political matters resulted in people losing faith in the Church. All these events led up to the end of a dynamic period, and a start of a new era, the Renaissance.