Often the Middle Ages are called dark times... This era for many is consonant with fierce internecine wars, bloody religious conflicts, ignorance and fanaticism. And yet, however, it is necessary to remember that it was in the Middle Ages that the great Italian poet Dante Alighieri created his "Divine Comedy," great Romanesque and Gothic cathedrals were erected, the largest European universities were opened, including Oxford, Cambridge and Charles University in Prague. In the cities of Europe, guilds of artisans arose, which even by today's standards worked wonders.