中世纪时期约为公元800年-1400年。

西元476年罗马帝国瓦解后，希腊、罗马文明变趋衰微。 日耳曼人统治欧洲西半部，历史上称为「黑暗时期」，也就是「中世纪时期」。

教会是当时人们的生活重心，具有政治、经济、文化的重要地位，艺术家在宗教中生存，因此当时艺术与宗教息息相关。

Medieval music is Western music written during the Middle Ages, including liturgical music (for the church) and secular music (non-religious music). Medieval music includes solely vocal music, such as the Gregorian chanting done by monks and choral music, solely instrumental music, and music that uses both voices and instruments. This era begins with the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century and ends sometime in the early fifteenth century. Establishing the end of the medieval era and the beginning of the Renaissance music era is difficult; the usage in this article is the one usually adopted by musicologists.