By 300 AD Most people in western Europe living within the Roman Empire. For centuries the Roman Empire has been under pressure along its northern and eastern frontiers from 'Germanic' tribes wanting to move south and westwards Foundations of Christian monasticism in Egypt. The Roman Empire had spread over most of western Europe, the British Isles, and all the lands bordering the Mediterranean.
Germanic tribes invade Roman Empire.
Final collapse of the western Roman Empire. Merovingian dynasty emerges in Gaul, established by Clovis. Introduces Christian monasticism into Europe. Christian Church reduced to isolated pockets in western Europe as Germanic tribes invade. St. Benedict of Nursia, the Patriarch of Western Monasticism.