Early Middle Ages

thumb|Depiction of Vikings sailing a longship from thumb|A Viking Age depiction from the [[Tjängvide image stone, on Gotland]]

thumb|Germania Inferior roads and towns thumb|Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which was the most northerly province of the Roman Empire in continental Europe. The original Frankish language was West Germanic. These Frankish tribes lived for centuries under varying degrees of Roman hegemony and influence, but after the collapse of Roman institutions in western Europe, they took control of a large empire including areas that had be

upright=1.35|thumb|Pitching hay

period of European history lasting from the 5th century to the 10th century

the period of European history characterised by Viking raids and trading

historical period

writing system for Greek and Latin

period of corrupt papal appointments in the 10th century

majuscule Latin book hand with prominent serifs

right|thumb|The range of Saltovo-Mayaki culture marked in green. thumb|Saltovo-Mayaki belt decorations. thumb|Saltovo-Mayaki pottery. Saltovo-Mayaki, also known as Saltovo-Majaki or simply Saltiv, is the name given by archaeologists to the early medieval culture of the Pontic steppe region roughly between the Don and the Dnieper Rivers, flourishing roughly between the years of 700 and 950. The culture's type sites are Mayatskoye (aka Mayaki) near the Don and Verkhnii Saltiv by the Donets.

period in the history of the Byzantine Empire, during the 7th and 8th centuries

overview

early medieval European trading post

timed period (ca. 284 to 641 AD)