Although the transitions were gradual, and exact dates for the
demarcation of the Middle Ages are misleading, convention often
places the beginning of the period between the death of the
Roman emperor Theodosius I in 395 and the fall of Rome to the
Visigoths in 410. The Dark Ages, formerly a designation for the
entire period of the Middle Ages, and later for the period
c.450-750, is now usually known as the Early Middle Ages. The
term Dark Ages may be more a judgment on the lack of sources for
evaluating the period than on the significance of events that
transpired. Medieval Europe was far from unified; it was a large
geographical region divided into smaller and culturally diverse
political units that were never totally dominated by any one
authority. With the collapse of the Roman Empire, Christianity
became the standard-bearer of Western civilization. The papacy
gradually gained secular authority; monastic communities,
generally adhering to the Rule of St. Benedict, had the effect
of preserving antique lear