HIS 101 WEEK 9: CHARLEMAGNE
Reading Assignment for the week:
- Read the appropriate pages in the
textbook (pages 215-220 in chapter 9 in the 7th or 6th ed. of Perry).
- Read the Song
of Roland (You may wish to participate in an Online Discussion of this reading.).
-
Listen to some further information about Charlemagne
as a Realaudio file
or as a wav file. You can also read the information as
a txt file.
Questions to
Consider while studying this week's material:
- Why did Charlemagne distrust
the pope's motives in crowning Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor?
- How could Charlemagne create
such a powerful empire?
Key Terms to study
while reading the textbook:
- Carolingian Renaissance
- Charles Martel
- Alcuin of Northumbria
- Treaty of Verdun
- Vikings
Suggested Websites for further study:
- Who Were
the Vikings is a short site that provides some explanation of VIking society.
- Knights and Armor provides a
decent introduction to the life of knights in the Middle Ages.
- For extra credit please suggest to your instructor a
relevant website for this unit of the course. Send the title of the site, the url and a
brief explanation why you find the information interesting and applicable to
the material being studied this week.
Submit the Roland Paper:
One of your friends has decided to write a screenplay
for a blockbuster adventure film about knights and dragons in the Middle Ages. This
friend has agreed to cut you in to a large percentage of the film's future profits if
you do some background research for him. He's given you the old French epic
about Roland and wants to know, in a one-page paper, What were some of the
main characteristics of the ideal knight during the reign of Charlemagne? You should
use direct material (quotes, evidence) from
the Song of Roland to support your points.
This question might also be phrased somewhat
differently: "How was a knight expected to behave? What were the
qualities that a knight should possess? The paper requires that you gather
evidence from a textual source (Song of Roland) to reconstruct the past
(task 1), and that you then interpret that past by analyzing the evidence
(task 2). As you read the epic and take notes, you should look for any
information that sheds light on the expectations of feudal behavior, for
example, the decapitation of Marsilla's right hand is certainly one piece
of evidence.
Your paper must follow the following format:
- typed using a word processor
(font size 10 or 12 only)
- one-inch margins
- double-spaced
- page number citations for your
quoted evidence
- not to exceed one (1) page--I
will not read beyond one page.
- name, date and HIS 101 at
the top left
- must have a brief introduction
and conclusion (each not to exceed two sentences)
-
must follow the specific writing requirements of this course
as explained in
Charlie's History Writing Center.
- You may consider submitting a draft
of your paper to
your instructor for feedback before submitting the paper for a grade. Along
with your draft, please send
three questions that you would like answered about your draft; the questions can
be general (Is my introduction clear?) or specific (Is the phrase, "Gilgamesh was
king," written correctly?). Your instructor will not edit your paper, but will answer your
three questions.
- At times, you may be asked
to rewrite your essay before it is graded. This is done for your own benefit
and will result in an improved grade.
- You may also choose to resubmit
your paper--along with the original--after making the corrections and taking into consideration the
comments noted on the original. This will result in an additional two (2.5)
points being added to your paper grade, if your paper is improved.
Before proceeding, you might wish to read
the short background information and
review the study questions on the Song
of Roland.
This assignment should be sent by e-mail according to the Electronic Submission
Information instructions.
You may also wish to post or respond in the
Blackboard online discussion forum
for this assignment. Please review the instructions for
Using the Blackboard
Discussion Forums, if necessary.
The Roland Paper is worth a maximum of
50 points.
Notes:
Charlemagne was probably the most
important figure to emerge in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman
empire. He was the first leader
able to restore some semblance of political unity to
Europe since the fourth century; and, in fact, both his title of "Emperor"
and that of
his empire, "the Holy Roman Empire," indicated Charlemagne's intent to the continue to
uphold the traditions of Ancient Rome. To accomplish
his control of Europe--Charlemagne never controlled all of Europe--he made use of
an alliance with the Church. The Church provided Charlemagne with
monetary and spiritual support in return
for Charlemagne's willingness to spread Christianity to newly conquered
areas. Charlemagne
was also responsible for a rebirth of widespread intellectual
activity in Western Europe.
To bring most of Europe under the
control of one man meant a lifetime of war, and Charlemagne was a great
warrior. His deeds lived on in many epics, especially the Song of Roland. This
chanson de geste (or tale of glory), dating from the eleventh century,
later became the French national epic and a symbol of "Frenchedness."
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