Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in
Europe and beyond during the
Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the
fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of the Florentine
Renaissance in the late 15th century). The literature of this time was composed of religious writings as well as
secular works. Just as in modern literature, it is a complex and rich field of study, from the utterly sacred to the exuberantly profane, touching all points in-between. Works of literature are often grouped by place of origin, language, and genre.