n [ pl ]
( in European history ) the period between about 1100 and about 1400. It is associated with the Crusades and feudalism , and is thought of as a period when the Christian Church was very powerful. Some people also think of it as a period when there was little cultural or social development, but it produced important works of literature such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales , and many beautiful churches in the Romanesque and Gothic styles.