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|  Essay on The Legacy of Aristotle in the Middle Ages |
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| The Legacy of Aristotle in the Middle Ages Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Aristotle was an ancient Greek philosopher who lived in the 300s B.C. His ideas had a profound influence on medieval Islamic and Christian scholars. Much of Aristotle's thinking was based on analysis and observation. He explored principles of logic, and he studied the natural world. He also speculated about morality and about the nature of existence. Aristotle's approach was attractive to many medieval thinkers, who appreciated his logic and attention to detail. It was also threatening because his ideas appeared to challenge religious writings and beliefs; Aristotle did not even mention God in his work. Muslim scholars wrote works that developed Aristotle's ideas further... |
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| Essay on The Legacy of Aristotle in the Middle Ages » |
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| Essay on Medieval Archives |
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| Medieval Archives Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Archives are collections of records saved for legal or historical purposes. Many archives were kept during the Middle Ages. Those that survive provide valuable information about many different aspects of medieval life. The word archive comes from the ancient Greek word archeion, which means a ruler's document collection. The term now includes any significant set of records, whether saved by the state, the church, or a private individual or institution. Collections of books are usually not counted. Sets of books kept for study or interest are known as libraries, even though many books are actually kept with everyday archival material. The Byzantine Empire is known to have kept extensive archives... |
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| Essay on Medieval Archives » |
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| Essay on Kingdom of Aragon During the Middle Ages |
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| Kingdom of Aragon During the Middle Ages Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. During the Middle Ages, Aragon grew from a small area in northeastern Spain into an important power. It became one of two major kingdoms that combined to create modern Spain. When the Muslims invaded the Spanish peninsula in 711, they forced the Visigothic rulers to retreat to the northern coastal and mountain areas. With the help of the Franks under Charlemagne, however, the Muslim advance was halted. The northern areas had to pay tribute to the Muslims, but they remained independent. Aragon, in the middle of the mountains, became known as a land of barons and lords, because it had no king. For a while, Aragon was dominated by the neighboring mountain kingdom of Navarre... |
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| Essay on Kingdom of Aragon During the Middle Ages » |
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| Essay on Arabic Numerals in the Middle Ages |
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| Arabic Numerals in the Middle Ages Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Arabic numerals have their roots in Hindu numerals. In the late 1100s, the system reached Western Europe, with the addition of a symbol to represent zero. At first, there was resistance to using the new system, and it was not widely accepted until the late 1300s. Arabic numerals are really Hindu-Arabic numerals. The system originally developed in India during the 500s or earlier, then spread to the Islamic world. In the late 1100s, it reached Western Europe via Muslim Spain. The Byzantines did not learn about the system until a century later. Arabic numerals are the ones commonly used today. They have played a crucial part in the development of mathematics and science. The system... |
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| Essay on Arabic Numerals in the Middle Ages » |
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| Essay on Arabic Poetry and Prose in the Middle Ages |
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| Arabic Poetry and Prose in the Middle Ages Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The tradition of Arabic poetry dates from before the beginning of Islam. The nomadic desert tribes listened to poems that were memorized and performed by professional reciters. Some poems sang the praises of the poet's tribe. Others told the adventures of a particular hero or mourned the death of a friend or relative. These early Bedouin poems emphasized virtues such as courage and generosity. Both the action and the setting, such as a camel ride through forbidding deserts, were vividly described. Powerful images were used. In one poem, palm trees are described whose "topmost heads of foliage waving in every wind are like girls that pull at one another's hair." The most famous poet... |
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| Essay on Arabic Poetry and Prose in the Middle Ages » |
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| Essay on Arabic Language in the Middle Ages |
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| Arabic Language in the Middle Ages Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, Arabic was a fairly simple and vivid language. It was spoken by the Bedouin tribes in Arabia and was used in their oral poetry. Then the language became the official language of the Islamic religion, and it spread as the faith advanced around the Mediterranean Sea. Arabic became an international language, and with its development came an extensive body of poetry and prose. Arabic belongs to the Semitic family of languages, which also includes Hebrew and some languages from Ethiopia. It is written with an alphabet very different from that used for English and other Western languages. Vowel sounds are not written down at all... |
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| Essay on Arabic Language in the Middle Ages » |
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| Essay on The Sunni / Shia Split in Islam |
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| The Sunni / Shia Split in Islam Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The election of the fourth caliph, Ali Ibn AbiTalib, led to a serious split within Islam. A powerful Muslim group rebelled, and Ali had to move his capital out of Arabia. Struggles between the rival groups finally led to Ali's assassination. His death caused a split in Islam, creating two major religious sects - the Sunnites and Shi'ites. After Ali's death, the Sunnites, who had opposed him, said that the caliph could be any member of the Quraysh, Muhammad's tribe. The Shi'ites held that the spiritual leader of Islam, whom they called the imam, should be a direct descendant of Muhammad. Ali, who had married the Prophet's daughter Fatima, was the father of those descendants... |
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| Essay on The Sunni / Shia Split in Islam » |
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| Essay on Medieval Arabia |
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| Medieval Arabia Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Arabia is a peninsula in the Middle East that stretches southeast from the Mediterranean toward the Indian Ocean. It lies between North Africa and central Asia. The northern and central parts of Arabia are very dry, though scattered oases provide some land for farming. The southern part of the peninsula receives more rainfall because of summer monsoons from the east. Pre-Islamic Arabia. Little is known about the early inhabitants of Arabia. The southern part of the peninsula and the oases farther north probably had farming populations from an early date. But people could exist in the desert only after the camel was domesticated in about 2000 B.C. The farmers of southwest Arabia had achieved... |
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| Essay on Medieval Arabia » |
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| Essay on Medieval Aquitaine |
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| Medieval Aquitaine Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Aquitaine is a region in southwestern France. During the Middle Ages, it was a Frankish kingdom, a French and English dukedom or duchy, and an English principality. Aquitaine was at various times also known by the names Guyenne and Gascony. At the start of the Middle Ages, Aquitaine was in the hands of the Visigoths. They had captured Spain and southern France from the Roman Empire. In the early 500s, however, the Franks pushed the Visigoths south and out of France. As the Frankish Empire grew, the Franks respected and preserved many parts of the old Roman culture in the region. In 781, the Franks were ruled by the emperor Charlemagne. Charlemagne made his three-year-old son, Louis the Pious... |
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| Essay on Medieval Aquitaine » |
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| Essay on St. Thomas Aquinas |
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| St. Thomas Aquinas Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. St. Thomas Aquinas was born into a noble family at Roccasecca, Italy. When he was five years old, his family sent him to a monastery at Monte Cassino in Italy. The whole family would benefit if he became a priest. In his teens, however, he decided to join the Dominicans, a newly formed order of friars who took a vow of poverty. His family objected and kept him home for a year. At the age of 20, he joined the order and began the traveling life of a friar. He moved north to France, where he studied in Paris and Cologne with philosopher Albertus Magnus. Under Albertus's guidance, he began to appreciate the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle. Aquinas became a master of theology in 1256... |
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| Essay on St. Thomas Aquinas » |
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| Essay on Medieval Anti-Semitism |
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| Medieval Anti-Semitism Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Anti-Semitism describes the harmful belief that Jews are an evil people who threaten society and Christianity. The word was first used in the 1800s. But attitudes similar to anti-Semitism have existed for much longer and were common in the Middle Ages. The first Christians were Jews who believed that Jesus was a holy leader predicted by earlier Jewish prophecies. These Christians felt that they upheld the true faith, while the ruling Jewish authorities had distorted it. When Christianity spread to other peoples and became a separate religion, these beliefs and feelings remained. By the Middle Ages, many Jews had traveled far from Palestine into other communities. The belief that Jews had... |
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| Essay on Medieval Anti-Semitism » |
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| Essay on Anselm of Canterbury |
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| Anselm of Canterbury Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Anselm was born into a noble family in Aosta, northern Italy. In his 20s, he became a monk, studying with a teacher named Lanfranc at a Benedictine abbey in Normandy, France. Anselm was made prior and then abbot of the abbey. During this time, he wrote some of his major philosophical works, including the Proslogion. In the Proslogion, he argued that God's existence could be proved by the idea that there must be a being "than which a greater cannot be thought." While Anselm remained in Normandy, his teacher Lanfranc became archbishop of Canterbury, England. Lanfranc died in 1089, but King William II of England, who often did not agree with the church, chose not to replace him. However, William fell gravely... |
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| Essay on Anselm of Canterbury » |
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| Essay on Kings' Anointing Rituals |
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| Kings' Anointing Rituals Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Anointing means applying olive oil in sacred rites that dedicate a person to the service of God. In the Middle Ages, anointing was part of the ceremony to ordain church leaders such as priests and bishops. The oil was usually applied to the person's head. It was blessed on Holy Thursday celebrating Jesus' Last Supper, and it was often kept in a sacred vessel. For the holiest rites, it was mixed with balsam. Kings were anointed by priests in ancient Hebrew times, and this practice was revived by Christian bishops in the 600s. Early Anglo-Saxon coronation rites also included an anointing ceremony. This practice indicated that the ruler was chosen by God to rule over the people... |
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| Essay on Kings' Anointing Rituals » |
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| Essay on The Anglo-Saxons |
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| The Anglo-Saxons Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Anglo-Saxons are the people on whose language modern English is based. They began to settle in the British Isles during the 400s. For three centuries before that time, England had been part of the Roman Empire, and most of its inhabitants were Celts, who had converted to Christianity. Roman rule weakened in the 400s, however, and the invasion began. Anglo-Saxons were a group of Germanic peoples living in coastal areas of Denmark and Germany. The earliest to come to England may have been troops invited by the Romans to help defend the region. The settlers came from two main tribes, the Saxons and the Angles. They were joined by the Jutes from Denmark and the Frisians from islands in the North Sea... |
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| Essay on The Anglo-Saxons » |
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| Essay on Angevins: The Feudal Dynasty |
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| Angevins: The Feudal Dynasty Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The Angevins were two important family dynasties that began in the French province of Anjou. The first Angevins came to power in the 900s and went on to control all of England and a large part of France. The second Angevins emerged in the 1200s and held territory in France, Italy, Sicily, and other places around the Mediterranean. The early Angevins were involved in a long-term feud with the neighboring dukes of Normandy. The feud continued when the Normans took over the throne of England in 1066. Finally Henry I, king of England and duke of Normandy, arranged a peace. In 1128, his daughter Matilda married the Angevin heir, Geoffrey Plantagenet. This united the ruling families of England and Anjou... |
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| Essay on Angevins: The Feudal Dynasty » |
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| Essay on Angels in Medieval Theology |
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| Angels in Medieval Theology Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Angels are heavenly beings found in the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic traditions. They usually act as messengers between God and human beings - the word Angelas means messenger in Greek. Angels were important to thinkers in the Middle Ages, who devoted considerable study to them. In the Old Testament (Jewish Scriptures), angels are the attendants and agents of God. The Angel of the Lord speaks to Jacob in a dream, and the angel Gabriel explains the meaning of Daniel's visions. In the New Testament (Christian Scriptures), angels are mentioned at many of the important moments of Christ's life; they comfort Christ in the wilderness and announce his birth and his Resurrection. Angels also... |
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| Essay on Angels in Medieval Theology » |
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| Essay on Medieval Anatolla (Asia Minor) |
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| Medieval Anatolla (Asia Minor) Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor, is now the western end of Turkey. It is a broad peninsula stretching toward the Aegean Sea. To its north is the Black Sea, to its south the Mediterranean. The importance of Anatolia was due largely to its strategic location on land and sea routes connecting Europe and Asia. During the earlier Middle Ages, it was one of the main territories of the Byzantine Empire, important because of its closeness to Constantinople and because of its agricultural and mineral wealth. It was however, open to attack from the east, across the Euphrates River. In 500, Anatolia had many old Greek trading cities around its western shores. The interior region, part of ancient... |
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| Essay on Medieval Anatolla (Asia Minor) » |
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| Essay on Allegory in Medieval Literature |
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| Allegory in Medieval Literature Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. An allegory is a type of symbolic story widely used in the Middle Ages. It resembles the literary device called metaphor, in which one word is used in place of another to suggest a likeness between them (such as "the evening of life" to mean "the end of life"). Allegories, however, are whole stories that can be enjoyed as stories but can also be read on another level. For example, a person's whole life might be described as a single day using the dawn, midday, and evening as symbols for different stages. The basic principles of allegory were familiar to early Greek and Roman writers. Old Fables such as The Hare and the Tortoise use this technique. Also, myths about the gods were often looked... |
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| Essay on Allegory in Medieval Literature » |
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| Essay on Ali ibn Abi Talib: The First Shi'ite Imam |
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| Ali ibn Abi Talib: The First Shi'ite Imam Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Ali ibn Abi Talib was a cousin and son-in-law of the prophet Muhammad. He is viewed by Shi'ite Muslims as their first Imam, or religious leader. Born in Mecca, Ali grew up in Muhammad's house and at the age of 11 became one of the Prophet's first followers. According to tradition, Ali slept in Muhammad's bed on the night the Prophet fled to Medina. This helped to trick and delay enemies who sought to murder Muhammad. Ali later joined the Prophet in Medina and was one of his most trusted soldiers. Muhammad honored him as a member of his household, calling him "free from every impurity." Ali married Muhammad's daughter Fatima. After Muhammad died, Ali withdrew from military life... |
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| Essay on Ali ibn Abi Talib: The First Shi'ite Imam » |
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| Essay on Medieval Alhambra |
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| Medieval Alhambra Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The Alhambra is an Islamic palace in southern Spain. It is considered a masterpiece of medieval Islamic art and architecture. Located on a high plateau in the city of Granada, its name comes from an Arabic phrase meaning "the red castle." This describes the color of its outer walls. Built on the site of an older Muslim fort, the palace was started in the 1200s, well after the Christian kings of Spain had started recapturing Muslim territory to the north. The Alhambra includes three major sections: a citadel (or fortress), a palace complex, and a private residential section for the sultan and his wives. There are also many private and public buildings there, set amid extensive and beautiful gardens... |
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| Essay on Medieval Alhambra » |
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| Essay on King Alfred the Great of Wessex |
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| King Alfred the Great of Wessex Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Alfred was the fifth son of Ethelwulf, king of Wessex, a kingdom in the south of England. He did not learn to read until he was 12, but he was responsible for starting the English tradition of education. Though he is said to have suffered from many illnesses during his life, Alfred also played a key part in keeping Danish Vikings from overrunning all of England. Each of Alfred's older brothers ruled Wessex during their lifetimes. After the death of his brother Ethelred in 871, Alfred became king. During most of Alfred's reign, his kingdom was at war with the Danes, who had captured a large part of the north of England. In fact, the year that he came to power there were nine major battles... |
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| Essay on King Alfred the Great of Wessex » |
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| Essay on Alculn of York Biography |
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| Alculn of York Biography Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Alcuin was born in Northumbria, England. He studied at the cathedral school of York, which was the leading center of religious and classical studies in the Christian world at that time. Alcuin became a teacher at the school and had many noted students. He also loved books and traveled through Europe to collect them. On one of his journeys, he met the emperor Charlemagne. In 778, Alcuin was promoted to be headmaster of the cathedral school. But soon after, Charlemagne invited him to head the imperial palace school at Aachen. Alcuin accepted the offer and introduced the program of education that was used at York. This program was a blend of religion and the seven classical liberal arts... |
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| Essay on Alculn of York Biography » |
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| Essay on Medieval Alchemy |
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| Medieval Alchemy Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Alchemists were the chemists of the Middle Ages. One of their main goals was to create gold and silver from fewer precious metals such as copper and lead. This was called transmutation. In addition to chemistry, their work related to such fields as pharmacy, medicine, geology, and physics. However, alchemy was quite different from modern science. Alchemists often believed they would succeed in their experiments only if they themselves were spiritually pure. The theories of alchemy probably grew from the ideas of artisans in the ancient world as they tried to imitate precious metals and stones and rare dyes. These ideas were refined by Greek and Byzantine philosophers, who examined natural substances... |
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| Essay on Medieval Alchemy » |
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| Essay on Albertus Magnus Biography |
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| Albertus Magnus Biography Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Albert, born in southern Germany, was considered the leading scholar of his day. As a young man, he studied at the University of Padua, Italy. In his early 20s, he became a Dominican friar and for 15 years taught theology at several places in Germany. Then in 1241, he was sent to the University of Paris to study further. There he became interested in Aristotle, the ancient Greek philosopher, and he began lecturing and writing on philosophy and religion. In Paris, Thomas Aquinas was one of Albert's students. Aquinas became one of the leading philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages. In 1248, Albert went to Cologne, Germany, to establish a Dominican center of learning. There he began the major... |
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| Essay on Albertus Magnus Biography » |
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| Essay on The Alamanni |
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| The Alamanni Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The Alamanni were a group of German-speaking tribes. They were one of the roving peoples that had been pressuring the Roman Empire for land in Western Europe. In 500, they were settling along the upper part of the Rhine and were pushing west into France. At that time, France was dominated by King Clovis, an early Frankish ruler from the Merovingian family. Clovis defeated the Alamanni at a battle at Bonn in southwestern Germany, and most of the Alamanni came under Frankish rule. Under the Franks, the Alamanni settled in southern Germany and northern Switzerland. At first, they cooperated with the Frankish kings. In 554, two leaders of the Alamanni joined with Franks and Goths to fight Byzantine... |
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| Essay on The Alamanni » |
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| Essay on A'Isha: The Wife of Prophet Muhammad |
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| A'Isha: The Wife of Prophet Muhammad Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Born in Mecca, A'isha was the daughter of Abu Bakr, one of Muhammad's earliest and most trusted followers. She was married to Muhammad when she was about six years old. The marriage was arranged to strengthen social and political ties between Muhammad and her father. A'isha grew into an intelligent and determined woman. These qualities, along with her devotion to Muhammad, made her his favorite wife. When Muhammad moved to Medina in 622, A'isha was less than ten. She lived beside the main mosque in an apartment next to Muhammad's quarters, spending most of her time with her family and Muhammad's other wives. Relations within the harem were generally quite good, but there... |
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| Essay on A'Isha: The Wife of Prophet Muhammad » |
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| Essay on Crop Rotation in the Western Medieval Europe |
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| Crop Rotation in the Western Medieval Europe Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. European farmers recognized the importance of rotating crops so that the soil nutrients would not be depleted. In northern Europe, farmers gradually adopted a three-field system of rotation instead of the traditional two-field method. With this system, rural villages divided their arable land into three large fields. Each year one field was left fallow, a second was planted with grain in autumn for harvest in the spring or summer, and a third was planted with grains or legumes in the spring for harvest in autumn. The use of the three fields would be rotated each year for three years. This three-field system seems to have begun sometime in the 700s. It was possible... |
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| Essay on Crop Rotation in the Western Medieval Europe » |
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| Essay on Agriculture in Medieval Western Europe |
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| Agriculture in Medieval Western Europe Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Western Europe can be divided into two major agricultural regions - south and north. The differences between the two regions are the result of such natural factors as rainfall, soil, and terrain, as well as farming methods. Southwest Europe has dry, hot summers, light and sandy soils, and irregular, often mountainous terrain. In contrast, the north has considerable rainfall with frequent summer rains, rich heavy soils, and rolling plains. Traditional crops and methods of agriculture in southwest Europe were based on practices from the old Roman Empire. During the Middle Ages, many agricultural practices developed by the Arab world were adopted in the area. This resulted... |
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| Essay on Agriculture in Medieval Western Europe » |
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| Essay on Agriculture in the Medieval Islamic World |
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| Agriculture in the Medieval Islamic World Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. In the medieval Islamic world, the two main aspects of agriculture - growing crops and raising animals - remained quite distinct. Farmers who grew crops kept few large animals. Herders raised few crops and relied mostly on natural pasturelands for feeding their animals. Two distinct ways of life developed in the Islamic world because of these two separate activities. Each had its own social and political systems, culture, and values. In some areas, the boundary between cropland and pastureland shifted back and forth. This was a result of changes in laws, leaders, population, technology, soil, and climate. Overall, crop farming spread during the early centuries of Islam... |
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| Essay on Agriculture in the Medieval Islamic World » |
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| Essay on Medieval Byzantine Agriculture |
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| Medieval Byzantine Agriculture Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Farming to produce foods and clothing materials was central to the major cultures in the Middle Ages: the Byzantine world, the Islamic world, and Western Europe. Some of the peoples of the medieval world had long traditions of agriculture. Others had formerly led nomadic lives and began to farm as a result of contact with more settled cultures. Methods of agriculture developed, especially as Muslims and western Europeans worked to adapt farming to the lands they settled. During the early years of the Byzantine Empire (from 330 to about 700), Egypt and other parts of North Africa were the major sources of grain for the empire. By the 700s, however, these areas had been conquered by the Arabs... |
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| Essay on Medieval Byzantine Agriculture » |
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| Essay on Pope Adrian IV |
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| Pope Adrian IV Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Adrian IV, an Englishman, was born Nicholas Breakspear. Rejoined a community of priests near Avignon in France, where he rose to abbot. During some local disputes, Breakspear was noticed as a strong leader by the pope's court in Rome. He was appointed Cardinal Bishop of Albano in 1149. One of his missions was to reorganize the church in Scandinavia. When Pope Anastasius IV died in 1154, Breakspear was elected to succeed him. He took the name of Adrian IV. At the time, the citizens in Rome were fighting for independence. The new pope placed the city under an interdict during Easter Holy Week. It was too much for the people to bear, and the revolution collapsed. The leader, named Arnold of Brescia, was hanged... |
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| Essay on Pope Adrian IV » |
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| Essay on Abu Bakr |
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| Abu Bakr Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Abu Bakr was an Arabian merchant from a leading Meccan tribe, the Quraysh. He was the most trusted adviser of the prophet Muhammad. The two men became even closer when Muhammad married Abu Bakr's daughter A'isha in about 618. Abu Bakr stayed with Muhammad through his years of persecution in Mecca and accompanied the Prophet on his hegira to Medina in 622. There he helped Muhammad build a base of political support among the tribes in Arabia. He planned Muhammad's military strategy and, at the Prophet's request, sometimes carried a banner and led the army into battle. In 631, Muhammad appointed Abu Bakr to lead the hajj to Mecca. When Muhammad became ill, he told Abu Bakr to lead the group prayers in his place... |
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| Essay on Abu Bakr » |
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| Essay on Abelard and Heloise |
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| Abelard and Heloise Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Peter Abelard was born in Brittany, France. His father was a minor lord. Abelard studied philosophy at Anjou and Paris. During his 20s and 30s, he taught philosophy in Paris and began to publish his first works on philosophy. He attracted many students because of his brilliant logic and wit, but he also made enemies because of his arrogance. Around 1112, Abelard expanded his interests to include theology. After a period of study at Laon, he returned to Paris and taught at the cathedral school at Notre Dame. During this time, Abelard became the tutor of Heloise, the niece of a church official at Notre Dame. Abelard was about 40 years old, and Heloise was 20. The couple fell passionately in love... |
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| Essay on Abelard and Heloise » |
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| Essay on The Abbasid Family |
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| The Abbasid Family Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. The Abbasids were an Arab family descended from an uncle of the prophet Muhammad. They ruled the Islamic Empire from 750 to 1258. At their peak, they governed an area stretching from central Asia to North Africa. In the early 700s, the Abbasids joined other groups who were opposed to the Umayyad dynasty. After waiting for the right opportunity, Abbasid armies took advantage of tribal rivalries in Persia (Iran) to gain greater support, and then defeated the Umayyads in Iraq and Syria. The head of the Abbasid family, Abu'l-Abbas, became the first caliph of the Abbasid dynasty. All but one of the Umayyads was executed. The one who escaped fled to Spain, starting a new Umayyad dynasty there that ruled... |
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| Essay on The Abbasid Family » |
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| Essay on Medieval City of Aachen |
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| Medieval City of Aachen Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on Medieval History. Located in northwestern Germany, the city of Aachen, or Aix-la- Chapelle, is noted for its warm natural springs. It was the royal city of Charlemagne and of the German Holy Roman Emperors. Before the Middle Ages began, Aachen was a Roman military settlement. In the 400s, the area was taken over by the Franks. Frankish power grew, and after Charlemagne became ruler of the Franks in 771, he made Aachen the capital of his kingdom. It was conveniently located for his war against the Saxons, and close to his family estates. He built a palace at the old Roman site. The palace included a great hall with living quarters and government chambers, a large warm bathhouse, and a chapel that is still standing... |
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| Essay on Medieval City of Aachen » |
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| Essay on The Emergence of Knights |
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| The Emergence of Knights Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. From the technological point of view, the knight and his way of fighting was enhanced by two innovations: the iron horseshoe and the stirrup. Neither were in common use before the ninth century. The iron shoe permitted a horse to carry heavy weights over bad ground without splitting its hooves. The stirrup allowed an armored man to brace himself and even to stand in the saddle, which made it easier to wield a heavy lance, shield, and double-edged sword on horseback. The new system produced an increase in offensive power over that available to ancient or nomadic cavalry, while a heavy chain mail coat offered an effective defense against most weapons. The Franks, with their skill in ironwork... |
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| Essay on The Emergence of Knights » |
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| Essay on The Vikings |
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| The Vikings Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. The name Vikings is generic and refers to all of those Scandinavians--Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish--who terrorized the coasts of Europe between 800 and 1050. Their society bore a marked resemblance to that of the early Germanic tribes. Scandinavia was a world of small farmers and fishermen who lived in widely scattered communities connected primarily by the sea. The heart of such communities was their market and their Thing, the assembly of free men that met, usually on market days, to discuss matters of public concern. These gatherings also ratified the selection of kings, who were in the beginning little more than regional warlords. Drawn mostly from the ranks of a hereditary aristocracy, these... |
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| Essay on The Vikings » |
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| Essay on The Empire of Charlemagne |
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| The Empire of Charlemagne Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. The dynasty founded by Pepin is called Carolingian after its greatest member: Charles the Great, or Charlemagne (c. 742-814). In forty-seven years he brought most of what is now France, Germany, and northern Italy under his rule, had himself crowned Roman emperor, and either reformed or created a host of institutions both secular and religious. To the historians of a generation ago he stood at the beginning of European history. To Einhard, his biographer and a contemporary, Charlemagne held out the promise of a new Roman empire. But few of the emperor's achievements survived his death, and even fewer were the product of a grand and systematic historical vision. The great king was above all a warlord... |
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| Essay on Frankish Society and Politics |
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| Frankish Society and Politics Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. The development of a Frankish kingdom that would by the eighth century impose political unity on much of continental Europe began with the reign of Clovis (c. 466-511), a chief of the Salian or "salty" Franks whose center was at Tournai in what is now Belgium. With skill and ferocity he consolidated his power over other branches of the Franks and seized all of Gaul north of the Loire River. He then routed an invasion by the Alamanni, conquered the Burgundians, and drove the Visigoths out of Aquitaine. When he died at what was, for a Frank, the ripe old age of forty-five, Clovis was master of everything from the North Sea coast to the borders of Septimania, the province that extended along... |
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| Essay on The Post-Roman Western Europe |
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| The Post-Roman Western Europe Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. After the fifth century, Europe was dominated by the Germanic peoples whose migrations had brought about the fall of Rome. Visigoths (West Goths) ruled Spain, and Vandals controlled the ancient province of Africa until they were supplanted in the eighth century by the Muslims. In Italy, Lombards superseded the Ostrogoths (East Goths) and maintained a violent and precarious frontier with the Byzantine Greeks. Gaul was divided among Visigoths in the southwest, Burgundians in the east, and Franks in the north. Most of these groups were themselves divided into subtribes with chieftains of their own. Beyond the Rhine were the Alamanni, the Bavarians, and the Saxons. Slower to accept Christianity... |
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| Essay on The Crusades |
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| The Crusades Research Paper, Custom Essays and Term Papers Writing on History. The Crusades were a series of several military campaigns - usually sanctioned by the Papacy - that took place during the 11th through 13th centuries. Originally, they were Roman Catholic endeavors to recapture the Holy Land from the Muslims, but some were directed against other Europeans, such as the Fourth Crusade against Constantinople, the Albigensian Crusade against the Cathars of southern France and the Northern Crusades. Beyond the Medieval military events, the word "crusade" has evolved to have multiple meanings and connotations. In November 1095 a church council was meeting in Clermont under the chairmanship of Pope Urban II. On the 27th, with the council coming to an end, the churchmen, together with... |
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