I believe most of the issues in Western Europe were due to the reorganization of the Roman Empire by the Emperor Diocletian after the time period known as the c

I believe most of the issues in Western Europe were due to the reorganization of the Roman Empire by the Emperor Diocletian after the time period known as the crisis of the third century. The reforms he implemented basically helped turn the west to Feudalism. He tied people to the land, and forced people to work in the same trade as their parents. He also tried to reform the economy by fixing prices which of course didn't work out well. Since the coinage was reduced to near nothing, people had to resort to barter, which I'm going to guess stifles trade.