Other possible links on how feudalism started is when local leaders gained followers during the Muslim and Magyar attacks during the 9th and 11th century, or when the Treaty of Verdun in 843 caused Frankish kingdom to divide into 3 kingdoms, which lead to decline of strong rulers. The dissolution of the Frankish empire caused the era to return into the Dark Ages, until feudalism arose. Feudalism augmented the Church's authority over the state by unifying the peasants in the harshness of manor life. For these reasons, the start of the Early Middle Ages represents the drastic change from monarchy to feudalism. This era was also known as the Dark Ages (476~800 BC) because of the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West.
The Late Middle Ages (1300~1500) was after the Crusades ended. The overall defeat and loss of Holy Land during the Crusades diminished Church prestige and caused them to lose their influence. Thus, the state dominated the church. This also resulted in the fall of Constantinople weakened by the Byzantine emperor. German states remain separate and unable to be unified due to the drowning of Frederick I's at the Third Crusade in 1190 because the absence of his leadership aroused panic and eventually, the fall of the Holy Roman Empire. There was limited power of the king because King John argued with the Barons of the methods of ruling Europe, which led to King John signing of Magna Carta in 1215. This led to the start of a constitutional government and formation of a powerful parliament.2 Although the king's power was limited, the fall of the later Churches (due to the Crusades) caused kingdoms to rise again. England also conquered and ruled France temporarily after the Hundred Years War (1337~1453). However, continual struggle for power between Holy Roman Empire and the papacy caused several splits in the governmental systems of the Italian peninsula. One change is that a successful hereditary oligarchy ruled part of Italy gradually dominated feudalism in northern Italy.
