Middle Ages Unit

This unit is designed to acquaint you with some of the well-known people, events, and history of the Middle Ages. You may be asked to assume the role of a physician, monk, wealthy woman, or minstrel. Although you may develop a persona for presentation purposes, your research must be based on accurate information that you have found in appropriate books, magazine articles, and valid Internet sites.

Day 1 Research topic in the library. Photocopy main list of books and Web sites. Locate and photocopy one overview of the topic. Use Wikipedia.org

Day 2 Continue finding appropriate resources in the library. Begin to develop an outline of the main and subtopics you are going to cover.

Day 3 Continue research in the library. Finish locating all necessary resources. Complete the outline.

Days 6-8 Make presentations in the classroom. Make sure that you reserve any special multimedia equipment.

1. Your name is Daniel of Cloyes. In 1212 AD you embarked on the fifth crusade to capture Egypt from the Muslims. It was also known as the Children’s Crusade. Out of 30,000 crusading children, you were one of the few who returned home. All of your relatives and neighbors have gathered to hear your adventures. You must tell them the truth as you witnessed it. Your neighbors and family are curious about the following:

Why did you decide to go on the Children’s Crusade? Where did many of the other children whom you met come from? What supplies, if any, did you take? What happened on the voyage and when you arrived? What were the worst problems you encountered? What was the fate of most of the children? Did you consider the crusade a success or a failure? Why?

2. Most histories of the Crusades tend to focus on the Crusaders themselves without thought of the Muslims. Remember it was their lands that were invaded and their cities that were sacked. Anna Comnena was the daughter of a hosting Eastern Emperor. She wrote a book about her reactions to the Crusaders that was dedicated to her father’s reign entitled, The Alexiad.

Describe Anna to your classmates based on her opinions and writings. What were her concerns and opinions about the Crusades? What did she think of the crusaders’ manners? What did she think of the weapons that the crusaders wielded?

3. After many years as Lord Falconer, the King has given you an assistant to help you prepare for an upcoming hawking festival. Unfortunately, your assistant is unacquainted with falconry. Using a stuffed bird, where appropriate, you must prepare him by explaining his job responsibilities.

How old is the sport of falconry? Where else, besides Europe, is falconry practiced? What is involved in falconry? What skills are required of the falconer and the hawk? How does one train a falcon to hunt? What equipment does one need to fly and maintain hawks? In your opinion, what is the connection between falconry and the preparation for war?

4. Your Uncle Bartholomew has offered to pay for you to attend a university. Write your kind uncle four or more letters that keep informed about the following issues:

What are your choices among universities? Have any had riots? Are there some that are considered “party schools”? What subject/curriculum will you study? What is a typical student’s day like? Do you have to pass exams? Name some of the more famous scholars and their publications in law, medicine, mathematics and philosophy whom you are considering studying under. Be sure to include some Arab and Jewish scholars like Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimonides. What parts of a medieval education are still in existence? Why?

5. The History Channel has hired you to prepare a Web-based chronology as a teaching tool for a film on the “High Middle Ages (1200-1400). You are limited to 20 Web sites that must include significant people, places, events, discoveries, and events from Africa, Asia, Europe, Americas & Australasia. The History Channel producer definitely wishes you to have sites concerning:

The Mongol Invasion, Spread of Islam, Trade and the Black Death, Rise of the Ottomans, Ming China and Japan, and Aztecs and the rise of the Incas.

6. Your name is Marco Polo and you have just returned to Venice after 24 years traveling to distant parts of the world. Your book, The Travels of Marco Polo has become a best seller and you have been asked to go on a book tour to various Italian towns. You have decided to read portions from the notebook you kept during those years and show some of the illustrations you made of things that were especially wonderful or strange to you. Some of the things you saw such as a postal system, coal, and paper money are going to sound downright weird to your countrymen.

Why? During your lecture, several people in the audience call out “That’s a Marco Polo” because they think you are lying. How can you prove to them that you are not just telling tales? Describe your visits with the great Kublai Khan. What did you love about Kinsay?

7. The ancient Silk Road was a vast network of trade routes whose flow of ideas, culture, music and art crossed the mountains and deserts of Central Asia to connect East Asia and the Mediterranean. You boss is a Chinese silk merchant who has left the business to his son. Before he officially retires, he has hired you to take his son on one trip to experience the wonders, risks, trade, religions, and hardships of the Silk Road. The son is eager to depart, but you do not want him to make any mistakes. You decide to give him a travel/guidebook similar to a Dorling Kindesley that will provide him with information ahead of time. Included in the guidebook are the following items:

A map of the route that you are to travel, the different goods that will be traded along the route, a brief description of the different religions that he will encounter, descriptions of some of the sounds, sights, and tastes that he might experience, and dangers that he must avoid such as bandits, extreme weather conditions, and geographic challenges.

8. You’re a wandering minstrel from the 13 th century who has been traveled through time to modern-day England. Even though the world is now a strange and confusing place, you just can’t give up your minstrel ways; the need to sing songs still burns in your blood. But new advances in technology now allow your music to reach a large audience without your having to hike all across the country by foot. You’re going to create a podcast, which is a radio broadcast that can be downloaded off of the internet. In your broadcast, you want to be sure to include samples of all the different kinds of music from the Middle Ages. Make sure to include information about plainchant, polyphonic and monophonic musical styles.

Explain the importance of this music to your former culture. What was the difference between music heard in churches and the type of music you like to sing? What’s the difference between a jongleur, a minstrel, a bard and a troubadour like yourself? How is your music different than the music of today?

9. During the years of the Black Death 1/4 to 1/3 of the entire European population perished. Villages turned into ghost towns. The whole fabric of society was altered. Make a documentary film using the iMovie program about the impact of the plague on Medieval society. Be sure to include information about:

The cause of the plague, the spread of the plague, the symptoms of the plague, and the after-effects of the plague.

10. As a stylist for period drama, you have been hired to design costumes for the new movie “Quest” set in the England of 1250. Your job is to create original, accurate costumes for the main characters including: Eleanor, the young and beautiful noblewoman; William, the nobleman to whom she is betrothed; Stephen, the crusader secretly in love with Eleanor; Hilda, the middleclass gossip; and Rufus, the elderly serf. You must then present sketches of your designs to the producers (your classmates).

Give background on clothing in the Middle Ages and explanations defending the historical accuracy of your costumes. What kinds of materials were used during this period in England’s history? Which color dyes were produced for the clothing? Would these costumes need undergarments? Create hats or hairstyles for each actor.

11. In your role of head gardener, you have been told to plan a new garden for the lord of the manor’s house. The lord has asked that you include some medicinal plants to help with his aches and pains and his wife wishes you to include culinary herbs. Draw up a design to present to the lord and explain why you have chosen the plants you did. Bring 2 clippings as examples of what you have chosen to grow in the lord’s new garden. Before designing your garden you must answer a few questions:

Where were medieval gardens found? What plants and trees were grown in medieval gardens? Discuss the various ways in which these plants were used. What might gardens include other than plants? How were medieval gardens arranged? Try to include plants for each of the uses you researched.

12. You are Heloise, one half of the world’s most tragic couples, and now the reluctant abbess of the convent you were brought to years before on the insistence of your former lover, the famous teacher and theologian, Peter Abelard. Many years have passed since you and Abelard have seen one another, but recently you have gotten your hands on a letter written by Abelard to one of his friends. In this desperate letter, Abelard has laid out all of his troubles, including the fact that he fears for his life, but more importantly, he has spilled some of the intimate details of your relationship. You’ve decided to write him back to let him know how you feel.

In your letter, be sure to include all the details about your relationship, from its beginning to its current point, with you as abbess of the convent: Who are some of the people who are responsible for your sad situation? How do you feel about a marriage with Abelard, and why? Why does Abelard fear for his life, and how does this make you feel? How did you meet Abelard, and what was special about your relationship? What were some of the outcomes of your relationship with Abelard?

13. Feasts in the Middle Ages were a celebratory time for all, but they could also prove to be a lot of work! As the Chief Cook of the castle, you are responsible for preparing feasts for various holidays. Choose one holiday: Twelfth Night, St. Valentines Day, or St. John’s Day, often called Mid-Summer’s Eve. Give a brief background of the holiday and create an annotated menu for a party. Present your feast proposal along with a taste of one of the dishes for the class.

How many courses will be served? What will attendees drink? What foods are typical of this celebration? What was involved in medieval food preparation? What activities will accompany the meal that day?

14. The son of a very progressive man, you have been given a choice that many medieval youth do not receive. You have been allowed to decide which trade you would like to pursue and must decide to whom you will apprentice. You narrowed your options down to becoming a mason, a fuller, a shoemaker, or a baker. Answer the following questions and present your findings and plans for the future decision to your father and the class.

Explain the process of medieval apprenticeship. What was life like during apprenticeship? What duties might be given to an apprentice? What did one have to do to become a master? How long would it take? What was life like for tradesmen and craftsmen? What were guilds? Why did people join? Briefly describe each of the trades from which you must choose. How did you make your decision?

15. You’re the devoted squire for a famous knight who is about to fight in a Medieval tournament.

Explain all the tasks you have to perform in order to help your knight prepare for the tournament, including the training regiment, and the arms and armor the knight uses. Also describe a little bit about the character of your knight, a very valiant and chivalrous person whom you greatly admire. Explain a bit about the codes of chivalry, as well as the sense of sportsmanship and honor that your knight embodies.

16. As a child you were fascinated by the art of medicine because it combined elements of faith and the physical aspects of healing. You have decided to attend medical school in Salerno, Italy because they practice the latest advances in Arab medicine. After your first semester, you pay a visit to your family. Everyone is interested to know about the latest developments for healing people. In your conversations with your parents, be sure to tell them about the following:

the theory of Humours, astrological signs of the Zodiac that are associated with certain humours, influence of Arab medicine and the use of Arab textbooks, and diagnoses and treatments for various diseases.

17. SALADIN iMOVIE (A question for 2 people) One of the greatest known figures in the Middle Ages is Saladin, the Islamic warrior who recaptured Jerusalem from the European Crusader Kingdom, effectively ending the 3 rd great Crusade. Saladin was a greatly respected figure, not only in the Arab world, but also throughout Europe. He was recognized as a great and honorable enemy by Richard the Lionheart. It is your task to make a movie about the life and legacy of this enigmatic leader for the History Channel using iMovie.

Include information about his greatest achievements, his greatest defeats, and his lasting effect on the world. Make sure you highlight Saladin’s relationships with the following men: King Baldwin, King Guy of Lusignan, Raynald of Chatillon, and Richard the Lionheart.

18. Hildegard von Bingen was a talented medieval visionary who wrote the first opera, produced influential writings on medicine and theology, and founded a convent. Some historians also consider her a feminist. Image you are Hildegard and a young woman has written a letter to you asking advice. She is trying to decide whether or not to join the convent. Write her a reply, including the following information:

Describe Hildegard’s accomplishments. What would her daily life have been like? What choices were available to women in the middle ages? How did options vary according to status? Why might some women join cloistered religious life? What difficulties would a woman in the medieval church come across?