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The Middle Ages ( adjectival forms: medieval, mediaeval, and mediæval ) is the period of European history encompassing the 5th to the 15th centuries, normally marked from the collapse of the Western Roman Empire ( the end of Classical Antiquity ) until the beginning of the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery, the periods which ushered in the Modern Era.

The mediaeval period thus is the mid-time of the traditional division of Western history into Classical, Medieval, and Modern periods ; moreover, the Middle Ages usually is divided into the Early Middle Ages, the High Middle Ages, and the Late Middle Ages.