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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Celebrim" data-source="post: 7807441" data-attributes="member: 4937">I would accept including the period from the fall of the Roman Empire in the West to the time of Charlemange - a period on its own often referred to as The Dark Age - as broadly being part of 'the Middle Ages', but there would be significant problems with speaking authoritatively about wars in Europe in the Dark Ages the most obvious would be the nearly complete lack of sources.  Another problem is that though the Dark Ages are sometimes lumped in with the Middle Ages, there are vast cultural, economic and social differences between the two, and when people think of 'The Middle Ages' they generally are thinking of the period I choose.I would not accept a much later date than what I suggested, though I know some prefer dates as late as 1492 - which I consider at least a century too late.I mentioned them in my post.Well, also in this period there were a number of Crusades in Europe, such as the conquest of the Baltic states which at the time still had pagan rulers.Yes, the Crusades were very different and had a big role in beginning the changes in European culture that would lead to the end of the Middle Ages.Your going to force me to break out my Charles Oman.  Among other things, the development of heavy cavalry in Europe was a rational response to the sort of warfare that had developed in that 'viking age', where forces of lightly armored infantry could arrive with little warning in a remote area and it would be necessary to counter that force quickly and locally using only the limited resources available to the community.</blockquote>

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