One interesting related fact is that most early writing is not stories or personal letters but records. We initially used writing to keep track of finances trade and laws. It took some time for people to start writing literature down

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kushim_%28Uruk_period

One of the earliest known bits of writing was a receipt for some grain signed by "Kushim" who may well have been a government official.

I think the medieval period was the rebuilding of western civilization following the the fall of Rome in 476. With the typical idea of it being the so called "dark ages", it's a fair cop to think like that.