The Middle Ages - Medieval History 7: Research Topics

Your name is Daniel of Cloyes. In 1212 AD you embarked on the fifth crusade to“capture” Jerusalem but ended up in Egypt. 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. Describe your reasons for joining the Crusade, your observations and experiences on the crusade, and the results of the crusade.    

Most histories of the Crusades tend to focus on the Crusaders themselves without thought of the people whose lands were invaded and cities destroyed. Anna Comnena (also called Anna Komnene) was the daughter of the Byzantine Emperor and was living in Constantinople when the First Crusade came through the city. She wrote a book entitled The Alexiad, which described her father’s reign that detailed her reactions to the Crusaders. Describe Anna to your classmates based on her opinions and writings, focusing on her thoughts and observations of the Crusades and the crusaders. 

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. Investigate the process of medieval apprenticeship, the life and duties of an apprentice, and the role of guilds in medieval society. Research the trades you are considering and chose which one you wish to pursue.

Present your findings and your final decision to your father (and the class). 

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

• The culture and reputation of your university.  Have there been any riots? Is it considered “party school”?
• The subject/curriculum you are studying
• Your typical day as a student
• Some of the more famous scholars and their publications in law, medicine, mathematics and philosophy that you are studying. Be sure to include some Muslim and Jewish scholars like Avicenna, Averroes, and Maimonides.

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 the humors
• the importance of Muslim scholarship and medical advances
• examples of treatments for a few diseases

During the years of the Black Death, one quarter to one third of the entire European population perished.  Villages turned into ghost towns.  The whole fabric of society was altered.  Create a documentary film about the impact of the plague on Medieval society.  In your film, you should explore: the cause and spread of the plague, the disease's major symptoms and any possible treatments or preventative measures used, and the wider effects of the plague on society. 

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 middle class gossip; and Rufus, the elderly serf. You must then present sketches of your designs to the producers (your classmates), offering background information on clothing in the Middle Ages and explanations defending the historical accuracy of your costumes. Your costume plans should include hairstyles and hats or headpieces for each character. 

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. Explain the process, equipment, and skills involved in training a falcon to hunt and the historical significance of falconry.   

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.  But new advances in technology now allow your music to reach a large audience without having to hike all across the country by foot.  You’re going to create a podcast to share your music. In your broadcast, you want to be sure to include samples of all the different kinds of music (plainchant, polyphonic and monophonic) from the Middle Ages.

You might also discuss:

• the importance of this music to your former culture.
• the difference between music heard in churches and the type of music you sing
• the difference between a jongleur, a minstrel, a bard and a troubadour like yourself?
• the difference between your music and the music of today

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. Include images of at least two plants you have chosen to grow in the lord’s new garden in your presentation.

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 of these important feast days: 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.

 You are a curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.  You are preparing a new exhibit focused on illuminated book and manuscript production from different cultures during the Middle Ages.  Investigate the calligraphy and the book/manuscript production processes during the Middle Ages in Western Europe, the Muslim world, and Chinese civilization. Prepare a presentation to introduce your peers to your exhibit and include visual examples of illuminated books and manuscripts from each culture. 

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.  Share highlights and things that were especially wonderful or strange to you, such as a postal system, coal, and paper money. Be sure to describe your visits with the great Kublai Khan.     

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. Your 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.  You decide to give him a guidebook that will provide him with information ahead of time.

Your guidebook should include the following:

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

You are are eager recreate the voyages of the infamous Zheng He (San Bao), one of the most successful and admired admirals in the Chinese fleet as it reached the height in 1421. Investigate Zheng He’s career and travels as well as the events that led to a shift in China’s approach to exploration and contact with the rest of the world. Create a “virtual field trip” that highlights all the important places Zheng He traveled and the key places in China that are significant to Zheng He’s life. 

 Please note: his name is also spelled as Cheng Ho in many books and web sites.

While the people of Europe were warring amongst themselves, literature’s first novel The Tale of Genji, was being written by Murasaki Shikibu, a woman of Japan’s Heian period. Murasaki’s was not the only prominent work written by a female in Japan during this period. Courtly women also wrote “Pillow Books,” similar to diaries, some of which have survived to this day. Imagine you are the famed Murasaki writing an entry in your own “Pillow Book,” discussing the following topics:

• court life for women in the Heian period, including the clothing, music, activities, manner, and living spaces
• the general plot and topics of The Tale of Genji
• the reasons for The Tale of Genji's popularity

You are living in the city of Timbuktu during the reign of Mansa Musa (1312 –1337). Write a persuasive letter to your family to convince them to travel across the Sahara Desert to live with you in Timbuktu. In your letter, you might discuss:

• Timbuktu's fame and reputation
• the trade routes passing through Timbuktu and the major waterway nearby
• Timbuktu's major industries
• the major structures and landmarks of the city  

You are an established author of historical fiction writing your next novel about Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan explorer and scholar who lived and traveled in the 1300s.  But before you can begin developing plot and character ideas, you need to do more research on your subject.  Investigate:

• Battuta’s reasons for initially leaving his home 
• Major cities and landmarks he visited on his journeys 
• Challenges and dangers he faced 
• His methods for funding his travels and gaining access to important people  

One of the greatest known figures in the Middle Ages is Saladin, the Muslim warrior who recaptured Jerusalem from the European Crusader Kingdom, effectively ending the 3rd great Crusade.  Saladin was a greatly respected figure, not only in the Muslim world, but also throughout Europe. He was recognized as a great and honorable enemy by Richard the Lionheart.  Create a video about his life and legacy.  

You are auditioning to play Eleanor of Aquitaine in a new miniseries based on her long and fascinating life.  To convince the producers of your commitment and passion for the role, you have decided to research Eleanor’s life and create a special monologue based on your research.  Investigate the major events of Eleanor’s life and gain a sense of her personality. 

Use the results of your research to write a monologue (approximately 500 words in length) from Eleanor’s perspective, reflecting back on her life and sharing with the audience her greatest successes and her failures or regrets.  

You are Heloise, one half of the world’s most tragic couples. Many years have passed since you and your beloved Peter Abelard have seen one another, but recently you have gotten your hands on a letter written by Abelard to one of his friends.  You’ve decided to write to Abelard, reflecting on your past together and your current situation as the abbess of a convent.

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