The writing of history is not a one way process, where the historian simply examines the evidence and comes to a conclusion.  History is in fact a two way process in which the historian brings his or her own values, attitudes, beliefs and ideas to the task.  The Middle Ages is a case in point.  The term is derived from the latin medium (middle) and aevum (age).  It was first used by the Italian  writer Petrarch during the early Renaissance.

Petrarch believed that Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome represented high points in Western culture which had subsequently faded in the course of history.  He believed that his own age had rediscovered this high culture.  With this in mind, he had a problem with regard to the intervening centuries and their significance - what made them distinct? This he solved by calling them the "Middle Age".

This idea has been widely accepted by other writers through time, with the "Middle Age" being divided into early, high and late periods.  The early Middle Ages is often referred to as the "Dark Ages", simply because there is little known about this time.

The inviting idea of a "Middle Age" also gained impetus with the Reformation.  Roman Catholics looked to the Middle Ages as a high point in Catholic culture, whilst Protestants pointed to long standing corruption and spiritual degeneracy during this period.  This introduces another important problem with the study of history:  the politicisation of history -- people have vested interests in certain interpretations of history which they want to promote and hold on to.

As can be seen, the idea of a "Middle Age" is a historical construct, or model, used to help give understanding to a period of history spanning close to 1,000 years.   Other ideas could be used with equal, if not greater, validity.  The "Dark Ages" might be renamed the Germano-Roman period, emphasising the fusing together of these two cultures into a new European culture.  The "Age of Feudal  Manorial Aristocracy" might be used to replace the following epoch (time period), and the "Age of  Kingdoms (King's domains) might extinguish the "Late Middle Ages".   What is important to note is that when the key terms are changed, so is our view of what is significant in that era.  In this sense, historians actually construct history.

This approach to History is sometimes called the "snapshot" approach because it assumes a certain amount of sameness during the chosen time frame.  In practice, things continually change.  The "process" approach to the study of history emphasises change.

Take the example of a tennis ball thrown into the air.  The "snapshot" approach provides detailed information at a point in flight at the expense of the action context, whilst the "process " approach emphasises action at the expense of physical detail.  It is the same with history.

It is not possible to study the past without relying on generalisations, but the problem is that generalisations are, at best, partial truths - there are always exceptions to the rule.  Generalisations are needed, however, so as to get the big picture, which would be unobtainable with more precise data.  For example, it is easier to use the generalisation " the Battle of Agincourt" than it is to list everyone who was present and explain every detail of the battle down to every breath and sword thrust.

 At the same time, it is important to realise that such generalisations not only remove important detail, but can colour our view:  for example,  "the Agincourt Fiasco" or "the Agincourt Affair" or "the tragedy at Agincourt" - all evoke different interpretations of the same event.  The term "battle" is itself vague, as it can apply to anything from a two man dual to battles involving millions of people.

Clearly, the study of history is by its very nature problematic.  The words used to describe an event act as a kaleidoscope  through which  historical events are filtered.   At the same time, the colours within the scope blend with the historiacal evidence, so that the reds, greens and blues of the historian's imagination become part of history too.