Historians use the term 'Middle Ages' to refer to the period between the end of the Roman Empire in the AD 400s and the beginning of the Renaissance in the 1400s. At first, the Middle Ages were a time of great lawlessness in Europe. Barons built castles and terrorized the land around them, or fought each other. Kings had little power. This period is sometimes known as the 'Dark Ages'.
The Middle Ages were also the great age of chivalry. Knights were supposed to dedicate themselves to deeds of kindness and generosity, as well as courage. They wore armor to fight, and their horses were generally armored, too. There were no guns until about 1350, and bows and arrows were the main long-distance weapons. When besieging a castle, the attackers tried to shoot the defenders on the walls, and to throw up ropes with grappling irons so that they could climb the walls. The defenders responded by dropping rocks and boiling oil on their assailants.
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