The correct answer is - D) the Middle Ages.
With the final blow to the Roman Empire, and the fall of Rome itself, the Roman Empire came to an end (the Western one that is), and its end marked the beginning of another era, the infamous Middle Ages. The Middle Ages were a time period when the church was having the main say in politics, science, wars, daily lives of the people, in big portion of the European continent.
As the church (a product of Rome itself) rose to power, lots of things changed on the continent, and this period is also referred to as the ''Dark Ages'', and this is due to the restrictions of the church that were forbidding any science outside of their own circles, critical thinking and expression was often punished with death, and everyone that opposed the strict rules of the church was sentenced to prison, torture, or was murdered. It set the continent backwards for few centuries.
