What Year Did The Medieval Period Begin?

Some say the year 500. I do not think that a single year can be isolated to be the formal beginning. The collapse of the Roman Empire in the 5th century is generally considered to be the beginning of the medievil time. Some call it the dark ages, because there was no educated central empire to organize things. Many of the comforts and wonders of the Roman Era disappeared. It was kind of every man for himself, and small feudal territories were in a constant state of war and relinquishment. There were no unifide codes of law, Education was a luxury reserved only for the clergy and the noble. That being the case, suspicion, violence, persecution, and generally poverty were the norm. Since Roads were not protected, trade fell off, so access to outside information and advances were nil.