Roughly, the Middle Ages ended around which cultural period?

The story behind the answer

Historians often mark the end of the medieval world with the cultural rebirth that championed humanism, revived interest in Greco-Roman learning, and fostered breakthroughs in art, science, and education. Beginning in 14th‑century Italy and spreading across Europe, it shifted focus from feudal, church-centered structures to more secular inquiry and individual achievement. The printing press (c.1450) turbocharged the spread of ideas, while events like the fall of Constantinople (1453) and the consolidation of powerful monarchies signaled broader transformations.

This transition overlaps with the start of transoceanic exploration and the Protestant Reformation, but it clearly precedes the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution. As a result, scholars use it as a convenient cultural watershed between medieval and early modern Europe.