There were many events that shaped the Dark Ages in Europe. Those events include:

The First Crusade:
(This drawing portrays the final battle for Jerusalem)

The first crusade was ignited by a speech given by Pope Urban II in France in 1095. He thought that Christianity should be restored to the muslim controlled Jerusalem. Urban gained a lot of support by telling the perspective fighters that they would receive spiritual rewards. On the way to Jerusalem, the crusaders (Or pilgrims as they were called back in those days) would gain control of Constantinople, Dorylaeum, Antioch and many other small territories. It was no easy task. But, With the help of italian reinforcements They would take over the muslim controlled Jerusalem. They would continue to control it until 1098.

This is important because it showed people's tremendous belief in God. People fought and died (and fought and died) because they felt if the Turk were removed from Jerusalem, they would be granted ever lasting peace in heaven. They believed that god wanted it this way. Although there were large amounts of casualties, they continued fighting because they thought they were fighting for God.

The English and the French would battle back and forth from 1347 to 1453. They did not fight for one hundred years straight. There were several truces and treaties throughout the one hundred years. The Hundred Years War erupted when Edward III claimed he should be the King of France because he was the son of Isabella (who was the wife of the recently deceased king Charles IV). When the french did not accept him as king that prompted him to ` attack France from the north. Edward III took the city of Calais where his son Edward the black prince would take over where his father left off (after his death). He would take Bordeaux and Poitiers. In the later battle of Poitiers he took captive the French King, John II. After this battle the treaty of Bretigny would be signed, giving England a victory. They had taken over a good portion of french land.

There was no real formal treaty signed. Charles V of France would re-ignite the war by invading the land that the Black Prince had taken over. After Edward III and Edward the black prince died in 1377, England did not have a chance. The truce that was signed in 1396 lasted until 1415. Henry the V had battle after battle with the leader of France at the time, Charles VI. There sons would follow in their footsteps for the same reasons. They did not want to be burdened with a treaty and they wanted ultimate power of France. Then Joan of Arc drove the english to the north in 1429. After the battles with Joan of Arc, the fighting slowly started to stop. The french would take over all previously-claimed lands and crowned Charles VII as king of France.

This is important because it showed the strong sense of nationalism between the two countries. Although they both fought for France, the English fought to gain control of something that was not considered theres, where the french were fighting a defensive war for their mother country. It also introduced a centralized-type government with one absolute ruler.

(Urban VI) (Gregory XII) (Pope Martin V)

While the Hundred Years War was in full swing, the Roman Catholic Church was going through a crisis as well. There was confusion on who was the real pope. When Pope Gregory XII died, people rioted in the streets because they felt that the city of Avignon would take control. The people didn't like this because they wanted an italian or roman pope. Urban VI was elected the new pope but would not last long. His election was nulled because of his bad attitude toward the church. Clement VII was elected as the new pope but Urban would refuse to yield to him. Clement left back for Avignon where he was "a pope" amongst other popes. "Schisms" would then run rampant because there were different popes in different cities. Urban VI along with Boniface IX, Innocent VII and Gregory XII were popes of Rome. Iin Avignon, Clement VII and Benedict XIII were the popes. The French would make a deicison not to give Clement or Benedict XIII the pope title. During the meeting of the council of Pisa, Gregory XII (Rome) and Benedict XIII (Avignon) lost their position as pope. The pope that was elected during the council had no real influence on the church because he died shortly after election. The Council of Constance would eventually dispose of Alexander's successor and Benedict XIII. Also, during the same time, Gregory XII resigned, Martin V would be named the new pope. The schisms would end shortly after./

This is important because it shows a lack of disorganization in the one thing that people generally believed in more than anything, the church. How could anyone believe what the church says when they cant even find the right person to present God's will? In times of war, and plague, the church needs to be solid and secure with everything it does. At this time it was not.

This time period is given the approriate tile. It was a time of greed, confusion and death. People fought for causes they thought were crucial to their existence. They also fought because they were forced to go into war out of a King's greed. They also fought beause they thought it was God's will and that they would goto heaven and their families would be safe for the years to come.