500~ 1500 was the middle ages in western Europe. It can be said that this period basically laid the national situation for later generations. During this period, the main political system in western Europe was feudalism. However, this feudalism is either feudal or feudal. In my opinion, the feudal system in Western Europe is still closer to the enfeoffment system in China's Xia, Shang and Zhou Dynasties. This feudal system is also that the head of state distributes land to those who want to be rewarded. However, the difference is that the small sects under the big sects can not obey the orders of the big sects above the big sects. To put it simply, it can be explained by a sentence at that time: "The vassal of my vassal is not my vassal." This clearly shows the power relationship between superiors and subordinates. In our opinion, this is undoubtedly not conducive to rule. Judging from the later history, this is good.

In this era, countries in western Europe have developed rapidly, thanks to two scientific and technological inventions. One is the horse yoke, which can make animals not suffocate when they are firmly trapped. The other is a heavy plow, which can quickly break the ground and open the intricate underground roots. During this period, they contributed to the sharp decline of European forests. With the development of science and technology, people's productivity has gradually improved and the country has begun to prosper. The strength of the country makes wars frequent. Vikings from Scandinavia began to invade European countries in the 6th century. They have advanced navigation technology, but they discovered Greenland, and it is rumored that they arrived in America centuries before Columbus. Anyway, relying on advanced navigation technology, they carried out aggressive plunder on countries near the Baltic Sea and the North Sea. Of course, this also contributed to this castle that best represented the characteristics of Western Europe at that time. At that time, the castle was very big. When the robbers invaded, the farmers nearby hid in the castle for protection. Lords are also willing to provide protection for residents for strategic reasons, which forms a unique urban pattern in western Europe: layers of buildings or farmland are built around castles. In fact, the view that castles are defensive tools is very one-sided. In fact, the castle was originally built as a military base for soldiers and knights to control the nearby area. In the Middle Ages, when the power of kings declined, castles became an important tool to maintain the stability of towns.

When it comes to the representatives of medieval Europe, castles will never be more distinctive than knights. The rise of knights originated from Charles the Hammer, a great warlord of the Frankish Empire. He defeated the Arabs in the battle with them, thanks to his elite cavalry. Later, knights became popular in Europe, and people in all regions were proud of being knights. Because knights need horses and weapons and armor, non-rich children are not qualified to become knights. Knights are often attached to their favorite lords, who provide them with land and farmers, and knights will fight for them when necessary. Because the cost of raising knights is much higher than that of ordinary soldiers, some lords are poor. Knight was regarded as a status, and then gradually developed into chivalry. However, in the future, because of the interests, the knights no longer pay attention to this rule. There is an absolutely powerful historical fact that confirms this phenomenon: the Crusades. The main force of the Crusaders is all kinds of unscrupulous knights, because they fantasize about plundering incomparable wealth and form various military regiments to participate in the Eastern Expedition. They participated in every war of aggression except the children's crusaders. Knight is not only a symbol of status, but also a symbol of war.

There is a great nation in medieval Europe that cannot be ignored, that is, the Germanic nation. However, this Germanic is not the Germanic in Hitler's mouth, but the national name of a large area east of the Rhine, west of the Vistula and north of the Danube. The outstanding representative of the Germans was the Franks, and the Frankish kingdom at that time was extremely powerful. Later, it was divided into three parts because of the Germanic inheritance system, which were the predecessors of France, Italy and Prussia (that is, Germany). The Germanic language family influenced the whole European language, and the invasion of Germanic people who were driven to Europe by Huns directly led to the demise of the Western Roman Empire. It can be said that it is influential.

In the middle ages of Europe, one thing has to be mentioned, that is, the invasion of Mongols. At that time, Mongolian soldiers even reached the east bank of the Danube, which made many Europeans turn pale when they heard the news. At that time, most towns where Mongols went were attacked by butchers. Fortunately, they were defeated by Arabs, otherwise there would be a catastrophe in Europe.

In short, from 500 to 1500 years in western Europe, that is, medieval western Europe, the cloud of war has always hung over people's heads, which can be called the dark Western Europe Middle Ages.