History Channel Documentary Continued

1. Having viewed more of the History Channel documentary, how would you use this source if you were researching a specific event within the middle ages?

       If I were using the History Channel documentary as a source for a specific event in the middle ages, I would use it to gain background information about the middle ages on a whole. This documentary gives a very large picture of what the middle ages was, how it happened, and it does give specific events that might go along with the one I have. It also gives an overview of the timeline of the middle ages which would help consolidate events and dates and it also shows many map animations of the middle ages and its battles and empires.

2. What would you say are the limitations of this source of information about the historical past

       I think the limitations of this source is in terms of detail. This source is (in my opinion) stellar for big picture purposes and overview of the whole time period of the middle ages, but it does not go into much specific detail about any specific events. This would make it difficult to use as a resource material for a specific event. Its dramatic appeal could also be considered a weakness. The documentary re-enacts many scenes of the middle ages to keep the audience's attention, but this makes it seem more like a movie at points which could bring down its credibility of detail in these scenes.

Augustine "Infancy"

1. What did being a bishop mean, and why that an important question when reading the Confessions?

      Being a bishop at the time of Augustine was not only a religious position, but also a political position. Since Christianity had recently become Rome's main religion, there had to be a hierarchy of church positions, and bishops were one of those positions. Bishops would typically be responsible for a small city-state and their church. this is important to keep in mind while reading the Confessions because Augustine himself was a bishop, so he had a great deal of power and people looking up to him. This makes it more amazing that he pours himself like this in his book because he had so much authority, and he was making himself very vulnerable.

Documentary Response

1.        Based on my viewing of this documentary, I would classify it as a secondary source. This is a secondary source because it is a dramatic retelling and showing of the middle ages, so it is not showing exactly what happened, or having eyewitnesses talk about what happened. This documentary, however, does take primary sources (such as pottery, architecture, and writings from the time) and analyzes them, and they tell us what we can glean from these sources about the past.

2.       I consider this documentary to be very reliable. Firstly, the people that are giving insight into the topics are scholars of this area specifically for this area, so their words are credible. Also, these scholars analyze many primary sources of the time (such as architecture and manuscripts) so that their conclusions they draw are more accurate. The documentary also cites many specific dates, shows locations on maps and quote the people that live in this time which shows that the research that went into this projects was very in- depth and can be trusted.

"The Consolidation of Europe" Reviewing Objectives

       The conquests of the Mongols had a significant impact on Europe. What was it?

       The significant impact the Mongols had on Europe was they unified 1/5 of the world under their rule. The Mongol chief named Temujin unified many tribes under his rule, and then began to infiltrate China, moving to Russia, and so on. By the time Mongol expansion was halted, Temujin (also called Genghis Khan) had conquered from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean (pg. 328). However, the Mongolian conquest had crippled Muslim cities that "had preserved the heritage of even older civilizations (pg.328)", so much of their culture was lost.

"The expansion of Europe" Connections

       Given the many negative aspects of the crusading movement-and its eventual failure- how might you explain the continuing appeal of crusading rhetoric down to the present day?

       The continuing appeal of crusading rhetoric down to the present day can be attributed to its attitude and purpose. Although the crusades eventually led to failure, their attitude was one of complete destruction and dislike based on religious differences. This connotation carries over in this word to the present day. So, when this word is used, it is usually referring to something that would be considered an extreme.
       An example of this is on page 267, the author quotes George W. Bush as saying "this crusade, this war on terrorism" This was in response to 9/11, so we can see that he uses this rhetoric in response to a very extreme circumstance. So, we can see that crusading rhetoric still has appeal to this day, not because of its outcome, but what it stands for- something so extreme that it deserves this kind of connotation.
      

"The Expansion of Rome" Reviewing the Objectives

       The agricultural revolution of the Middle Ages had far reaching economic, social, and political consequences. What were they?

       The agricultural revolution of the Middle Ages had 3 main effects. It increased population, It gave more power to peasants, and it increased productivity. As monasteries got access to tools along with Lords, productivity increased which in turn also boosted the population. Productivity also increased as the need for human labor began to decrease with more effective technology. This revolution also gave power to the peasants because they could start to set up parishes, blacksmith's shops and even taverns.