David

Welcome to David's Page for Social Studies 7 (World History)!

Assignment 1- THE BARBARIANS Although they were all barbarians, they were not friendly to each other at all. They only concentrated on expanding their territory, accumulating resources, and getting money by attacking other people. Surviving was their first and only priority, for the Dark Ages were harsh and scary times. The Merovingians were germanic tribes that came to conquer the Franks. The kings of this tribe were called the Merovingian kings, and ruled from A.D. 400 until the A.D. 700s. Clovis, the ruler of the Franks, was also the ruler of much of Gaul from 481 to 511, during the transformation of the Roman Empire into Europe. He encouraged people to convert to Christianity, and the Germanic tribes would be essential in defending Christianity from the Muslims.
 * 1) Since these barbarian tribes were in the "Dark Ages", do you think they were friendly towards each other? Why or why not?
 * 1) One of the tribes we didn't study was called the Merovingians. Who were the Merovingians? (Use source 1 to answer this question.)
 * 1) Who was Clovis and why was his conversion to Christianity important in history? (Use source 2)

Assignment 2- THE DARK AGES Greece was long gone and the Roman Empire was in ruins. Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was very hard. Living conditions were very poor, and many were illiterate. In a nutshell, nearly everyone was dumb and they did anything to survive, which is why some of them became barbarians. Their belief in Christianity was their only hope for most people, and some people accepted death, believing that heaven would be far more better than life on Earth. “Medieval” is the Latin term for Middle Ages. Life in Europe during the Middle Ages was very hard. Very few people could read or write and nobody expected conditions to improve. The only hope for most people during the Middle Ages was their strong belief in Christianity, and the hope that life in heaven would be better than life on earth. The Muslims began “evolving” and were starting to improve on the works of the Greeks, and civilization was flourishing in the sub-Saharan Africa, China, India, and the Americas. The Dark Ages was the time period between the fall of rome and the renaissance. It lasted 920 years and ended at 1450. The word means "rebirth". The Renaissance was a time which saw the spread of language and learning right across Europe. It was a time that saw the beginning of printing so that many people could get books. It was the great "awakening" in art, culture and learning.
 * 1) What is considered the beginning of the Middle Ages?
 * 1) What is the Latin name for the Middle Ages?
 * 1) Why do you think the Middle Ages are often called the "Dark Ages"? What was the only hope for people during these difficult times?
 * 1) While Europe was in the "Dark Ages", what was happening in the rest of the world?
 * 1) How long did the "Dark Ages" last and what year did they end?
 * 1) What does Renaissance mean and what happened during this time?

Assignment 3- THE FRANKS The Conquests of Charlemagne were so huge that people thought he had restored the West Roman Empire. A consequence of that was Charlemagne’s coronation to emperor by the Pope. But the Frankish tradition to divide the kingdom between the kings’ sons made the unity only temporary. Following his taking control of the Frankish government, Charlemagne grew concerned about the numbers of his people who could not read or write. So he improved the situation by opening schools around his kingdom. Scholars copied the text so that future generations could use them.
 * 1) How did Charlemagne and the Franks turn their kingdom into an empire?
 * 1) What did Charlemagne do to educate people?
 * 1) How and why did Charlemagne preserve ancient texts?

Assignment 4- Knights (and bringing the shoebox for the castle)

Once upon a time there was a knight who fell in love with a woman. And this woman was simply smitten by his charming looks, unmatched courageousness, and his noted chivalry. There was only one problem. This woman was the Queen of the land, the wife of King Arthur, and the man who loved him was Sir Lancelot, one of Arthur’s most trusted knights. But even before he was knighted, he faced many adventures and challenges, such as when he came across a castle guarded by the Copper Knight, and this was no easy challenge. He must defeat 10 knights at the first wall, 10 knights at the second, and then the Copper Knight himself. But after defeating more than 20 knights, he discovers that the Copper Knight has fled. The townspeople then lead him to a metal slab, stating only one knight can lift the slab and that the knight’s name is written beneath the slab. Lancelot is able to lift it and he discovers that his name was written on the slab. And so the affair between Guinevere, the Queen, and Sir Lancelot grows until it the other knights found out that the two were in love. So Guinevere was to be burned at the stake and Sir Lancelot fled for his life, only to return and save Guinevere. During the rescue, he killed Gareth and Gaheris, who were the brothers of Gawain. Gawain’s anger pressured Arthur to go to war with Lancelot, and when he did leave for war, Mordred plotted to take over and marry Guinevere. When Arthur heard about this treachery, he came back and killed Mordred. Lancelot then finally returned to see Guinevere one last time, and she went back to the convent where she spent the rest of her life.

Assignment 6

CASTLES.

Stone castles first existed in the 9th century. A castle was held together with mortar; the mortar held the bricks of the castle together. Passages under ground were also helpful to defenders. They are the Keep, the Sentry Walk, the moat, the Inner and Outer Bailey, the Inner and Outer gatehouse, the Curtain and the Drawbridge. They are often built on high mountains surrounded by a moat. Comfort is not what castles were designed for, and a castle was built to be a fort and was designed to withstand a siege. The castle also has an Inner and Outer wall. In case the enemy got through the Outer wall the Inner wall was also protective to the king and his servants. A castle has many defenses, and one of them were called arrow loops. These allowed the defenders to shoot arrows out at the enemy. They stood on ledges or galleries. They just went on with the battle. Round walls made each part of the castle harder to hit. Outer walls gradually got thicker and was harder to get through and harder to get over. Doors and gates had thick iron plates on them and needed more protection because they were wooden. A series of walls is farther from the moat so it would be even harder for the enemy. The castle could not get fresh food under attack. When their supplies ran out they would have to surrender. So the defenders had to get rid of the enemy before the supplies were gone.

CATHEDRALS.

Although religious services were the main purpose, a cathedral had other duties, such as crownings, weddings, and funerals. People also built them to show off to visitors, pilgrims, and high officials. People gave funds to build cathedrals to lift their sins, and sometimes the king would give money. Bishops were people who lead the church with the pope. To build a cathedral many people were needed. A master mason was in charge, masons were the main builders. Carpenters and blacksmiths actually just made the tools. Plumbers didn't make pipes, back then they put lead on the spires! Most cathedrals were made by wood and stone. The monasteries housed all the monks. There were often many passages, the kitchen, chapel, work rooms, the garden, and were the monks lived. They wore very fancy clothes and held a staff, called a crosier, to represent the townspeople as the sheep and him as the shepherd. The monks provided services for the church and educated kids, living a simple life.

WEAPONS.

Weapons were one of the most important aspects of medieval warriors. Knights preferred swords, and there were many kinds, such as the Great swords, which were two handed swords. They were larger versions of the ordinary sword. The shining sword was also a sword used during the 1460's. This sword has a copper gilt crossguard, which was probably made for a rich knight. The battle ax was developed in northern Europe. It was especially popular with the Vikings, and a more widely used ax was the pole ax. This weapon was very popular in battle and foot combat; it was used to strike the opponents head. One of the smallest weapons a warrior used was a dagger, which was not used much until the 14th century. Daggers were used as a back up sword; when the knights first sword was knocked out of his hand. Knights used a weapon called a lance; they were long and came in many sizes, and they were made of wood and were painted. The longbow was usually made of stave or yew wood about the height of the archer himself. It was usually fitted with horn nocks at the top to take the hemp string. Weapons were critical for kingdoms. They were extremely important for warriors to protect and conquer other kingdoms.

Assignment 8

Peasants and Monks The Dark Ages were harsh times - the continent was divided by barbarian warlords, and Europe fell into an era of despair and fear. Europe's economy was dependent on agriculture, and the forests were filled with fear of bandits, witches, and wizards. The Catholic Church banned these stories about witches and wizards, but they spread and many actually believed them. About everybody below the clergy were illiterate, and most of them were uneducated. Half of the children would die before they were adults, and life in the dark ages was shrouded by death. But there was one place where light shone upon the people: the Church. Monasteries were one of the most wealthiest institutions and people looked up to the monasteries and monks for safety. Most of the texts were preserved by catholic monks. A monk named Benedict, who was believed to know the future, acted like a prophet and developed many followers. People then became to dislike him because he was so strict, which resulted in the attempted poisoning of Benedict. However, he defied death two times, first when his cup broke, second when his bread was taken by a raven (Both the drink and the bread was poisoned.). He then realized that people were trying to kill him, so he left and made his own church. Vikings. The Vikings were a group of Scandinavian barbarians that raided many areas of Europe from the late 8th century to the early 11th century. They had a great advantage, for they used their famed longships to travel. They even traveled up to constantinople and to some parts of what is now russia. They colonized parts of Europe and even parts of Newfoundland (Greenland). This was because they could travel upriver into more inland parts of Europe. They would attack without notice and so swiftly that people could not defend themselves in time. The ships they traveled in were far more superior to other boats of the dark ages.

Assignment 9