The date 477 was selected because it follows The Ancient World's end date, 476 (the fall of Rome), and 1453 was selected because it is the year in which several important developments--notably the proliferation of documents issuing from the newly invented printing press, the end of the Hundred Years' War, and the fall of Constantinople--draw a dividing line between the late Middle Ages and the early modern world. Within this period, the events are arranged strictly chronologically, essentially forming a time line without regard to region.