The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian years 1401 to 1500.
In Europe, the 15th century is seen as the bridge between the Late Middle Ages, the Early Renaissance, and the early modern period.
Many technological, social and cultural developments of the 15th century can in retrospect be seen as heralding the "European miracle" of the following centuries. The architectural perspective and the field which is known today as accounting were founded in Italy.
Constantinople, known as the Capital of the World and the Capital of the Byzantine Empire, falls to the emerging Muslim Ottoman Turks, marking the end of the tremendously influential Byzantine Empire and, for some historians, the end of the Middle Ages. This led to the migration of Greek scholars and texts to Italy, while Johannes Gutenberg's invention of the mechanical movable type began the printing press. These two events played key roles in the development of the Renaissance. The Roman Papacy was split in two parts in Europe for decades, until the Council of Constance.