Quote Originally Posted by Aenlic
The exact time periods are a matter of dispute; but generally I've seen it as being called the "Dark Ages" or the "Early Middle Ages" from the fall of the Roman Empire, the source of the time disputes - say 476 - until the 10th century and the Middle Ages proper being the period after the 10th century, with an arbitrary date using Hastings in 1066 or Manzikert in 1071 (for some reason MTW uses the ascension of William II to the throne of England in 1087). The ending date is in dispute as well; generally sometime in the late 15th century, using various event (Columbus and the New World, the final stages of the Reconquista, Gutenburg's printing, or as in MTW, the end of the 100 Years War and the Turkish conquest of Constantinople, both in 1453)

Petrach coined the term Dark Ages. Today it is used more to delineate a period lacking in written records, roughly 400-1000. Sometimes they add a transition period and to include the less "dark" aspects in Byzantium and the Arabic world called "Late Antiquity" instead. And some authors date the beginning as the advent of Mohammed and so use the 7th century.
Yep, just one relatively minor point: many scholars date the beginning of 'Late Antiquity' to the beginning of the fourth century, CE, when Rome recovered from the invasions of the third century under Diocletian and Constantine, who remade the empire in order to save it. In the West, the period usually lasts until the eighth century and the rise of the Carolingians/Charlemagne.

'the Dark Ages' is generally not used by historians anymore, due to its pejorative connotations. Early Middle Ages is the most commonly used term in English. The Early Middle ages are commonly reckoned to have lasted till about 1000, the high Middle Ages to 1300 and the late Middle Ages to sometime between 1450 and 1500.