Historians often disagree about what to regard as the beginning of The Middle Ages.
Some see it starting with the fifth century overthrow of the Romans and others as the ninth century when Charlemagne became the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. Whichever beginning date is used, most agree the Early Middle Ages yielded to the High Middle Ages with the ascent of the Capetians to the throne in the tenth century. The 12th to the 15th century is generally recognized as The Late Middle Ages. To some the term Dark Ages is synonymous with The Middle Ages or at least the Early Middle Ages. Everything between they categorized as dark or culturally stagnant.