The 5th to the 8th centuries in Europe. Following the collapse of the Roman empire, many Germanic tribes crossed through Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and North Africa, often attacking and destroying towns. Rome was sacked on three successive occasions. Many tribes formed their own kingdoms (for example, Vandals in North Africa; Visigoths in Spain; Ostrogoths and Lombards in northern Italy; Franks in France and western Germany; Anglo-Saxons in England). The Visigoths helped the Romans defeat the Huns of Attila at Châlons in 451. The Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great ruled in Italy (493–526) as the representative of the Byzantine empire, retaining Rome’s administrative system.

The period of the Dark Ages saw cultural and economic decline though in the past this has been exaggerated. The period saw the foundation of Christian monasteries, which kept scholarship alive. The 7th and 8th centuries saw relative stability and during the 9th century learning was encouraged at the courts of Charlemagne and Alfred the Great.