The Early Middle Ages (often shortened to EMA) is the fourth age the player progresses through, and allows of technologies and building styles characterized by the predominant use of wood in the structures (e.g. Frame Houses and Clapboard Houses).
The Early Middle Ages is the first of three medieval periods. This period is often associated with technological and economic stagnation across Europe. The era is believed to have began with the collapse of the Western Roman Empire due to Germanic attacks at around 476 AD. The period has been labeled the "Dark Ages", a characterization highlighting the relative scarcity of literary and cultural output, as well as the technological stagnation that lasted for several centuries until the Viking and Arab conquests during the 7th and 8th century that would later lead to the rise of feudalism in Europe.