Which was first the Medieval Period or Renaissance?

The Medieval Period, also known as the Middle Ages, was first. It is the period in European history running from the end of the classical period (marked by the overthrow of the last Western Roman emperor in 476 C.E.) to the beginning of the Renaissance. The Medieval Period is sometimes said to have run from 500 C.E. to 1500 C.E., just to use round numbers, but the Renaissance actually began in Florence in the late 1300s or early 1400s. By 1500, the Renaissance had spread through most of Europe.

The Renaissance (meaning "rebirth") was a time of great intellectual change in Europe. Literature in both Latin and everyday languages flowered. Art became more realistic. Science was reborn, with thinkers basing their knowledge on observation and experimentation rather than theoretical reasoning. The Age of Discovery, during which Western Europeans voyaged to distant continents, paralleled the Renaissance in time. Together they led to the beginning of what historians refer to as "modern history".