Medieval Lifestyle

Castles and Architecture

Blackwood, L. Gary. Life in a Medieval Castle. San Diego: Lucent Books Inc, 2000. Gary L. Blackwood is a playwright, novelist, and nonfiction writer. He writes for adult and children’s magazines on a wide range of subjects but specializes in history and biography. Many of his plays and novels are set in the past, from the twelfth century to the 1960s. His nonfiction books include a biography of Theodore Roosevelt, a book about life on the Oregon Trail, and a series that explores paranormal phenomena (ghosts, ESP, UFOs, reincarnation, etc.) He mentions in his website that he has never traveled to England which could be a source of bias since the castles in his book all talk about the ones in England. The book was very direct and had easy language so it wasn’t hard to follow. Book was found in the Canton Public Library.

Nardo, Don. The Medieval Castle. San Diego: Lucent Books, Inc, 1998. Historian and award-winning writer Don Nardo has published many books about the ancient and medieval worlds, including Life in Ancient Rome, Greek and Roman Mythology, The Battle of Marathon, Life on a Medieval Pilgrimage, and The Trial of Joan of Arc, as well as one other volume in the Lucent Building screenplays and composes music. In his website, the author mentions that he is a composer and screenwriter as well. One of his screenplays won a $5,000 prize from the Massachusetts Artists Foundation. He has a degree in history. The author’s family was all writers, which could have incorporated bias in this source. The author was straight to the point and it was very easy to follow the information. There were a lot of pictures given as examples which helped clarify a lot of things. Book was found in the Canton Public Library.


  Elliott, Lynne. Food and Feasts in the Middle Ages. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004. Print. She is a published author of children's books. Some of the published credits of Lynne Elliott include Medieval Medicine and the Plague (Medieval World), Food and Feasts in the Middle Ages (Medieval World), Children and Games in the Middle Ages (Medieval World).


Eastwood, Kay. Life in a castle. New York, NY: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2004. Print. A well known published author of children’s books, his published credits include women and girls in the middle Ages(Medieval World), The Life of a Knight (Medieval World), life in a Castle (Medieval World), and Medieval Society (Medieval World). This author is a children’s book author and therefore this source could be biased because the author could have missed out the details and explanations on certain topics. The author divided this book into several sections which made it easy for me to find what I was looking for. I found this book in the Canton Public Library.


Steele, Philip. The Medieval World. Boston, MA: Kingfisher Publications, 2006. Print.

Hinds, Kathryn. The Castle. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 2001. Print.



  • Photos:
  • http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/Homework/castles/timeline.htm
  • http://www.stronghold-knights.com/site/article190.html
  • http://www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com/castle-pictures.html
  • http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castlesf.htm
  • http://www.castles-of-britain.com/castle49.htm
  • http://www.castles.me.uk/castle-chapel.htm
  • http://www.castlewales.com/life.html
  • http://www.lordalford.com/middleages/mideng.htm
  • http://www.destination360.com/europe/uk/windsor-castle
  • http://www.treasureislandtoys.co.uk/Toys/Medieval_Castle_With_Mound-211F1A.aspx

Games and Festivals

Duby, Georges, and Arthur Goldhammer, eds. A History of Private Life. Vol. 2. 1985. Print. The editor Georges Duby is a French historian specializing in the social and economic history of the Middle Ages. The other editor Arthur Goldhammer is a french translator. Duby was in the historian field for about 50 years before he passed away in 1996. I believe that the editors bias is in favor of making the medieval times look pleasant. This is because they showed all of the celebrations that the people had, and how the people had their own good lifes. The information in the book appears to be very reliable because the information in it seems to be realistic, and very factual. I checked out the book at the Canton Public Library.

 

Diehl, Daniel, and Mark Donnelly. Medieval Celebrations. Mechanicsburg: Stackpole Books, 2001. Print. The editors are historians. The information appears to be bias towards showing the better side of medieval time. This is because they only tell of the good celebrations, and no bad parts of the time period. The information in the book appears to be reliable because it consists of realistic facts and was very organized and consistent with the facts.

Australian Media Pty. Ltd. “Medieval Holidays.” Medieval.net. Australian Media Pty. Ltd., 2000. Web. 28. Nov. 2009


Diehl, Daniel, and Mark Donnelly. “Medieval Celebrations.” Mechanicsburg: Stackpole books, 2001. Print.


Duby, Georges, and Arthur Goldhammer, eds. “A History of Private Life.” Vol.2, 1985. Print,

“Entertainment in the Middle Ages.” Entertainment in the Middle Ages. Web. 11 Oct. 2009.
 


“Medieval Chess-History, lessons, origins-Information.” Medieval Information. Web. 11 Oct. 2009.

“Medieval Games and Recreation.” Medieval-Life.net. 2000. Web. 11 Oct. 2009.


Photos:
1. http://www.chess-theory.com
2. http://www.1st-art-gallery.com
3. http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk
4. http://www.worldofstock.com
5. http://www.amazon.ca
6. http://www.autonomieproject.wordpress.com/2008/05/

Medieval Religion


Carr, Dr.Karen. "Medieval Religion." Kidipede. 1995. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/religion/>. Organized and run by Karen Carr. PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, associate professor of History at Portland State University. History for Kids began in 1995 as a community service learning project for sophomores at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. This source may be in favor of Christianity because the author spends more time discussing Christianity than any other religion. The page talks about Christianity, how they are the dominant religion during the middle ages. I found this site when I was looking online.

Carr, Dr.Karen. "Jews in the Middle Ages." Kidipede. 1995. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/religion/>. Organized and run by Karen Carr. PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, associate professor of History at Portland State University. History for Kids began in 1995 as a community service learning project for sophomores at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. This source shows thing about the life style rather that the religion itself. Maybe the author was more interested in that than the religion. The page talks about how Jews lived and about the hardships that they went through. I found this site when I was looking online.

Carr, Dr.Karen. "History of Islam." Kidipede. 1995. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/religion/index.htm>.Organized and run by Karen Carr. PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, associate professor of History at Portland State University. History for Kids began in 1995 as a community service learning project for sophomores at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. This source tells more about the religion than the life style. Talks about Islamic beliefs, how to make Allah happy and a little bit about the Sunnis, Shiites, and Sufism. I found this site when browsing online.

Cohn-Sherbok, Dan. Judaism: history, belief, and practice. Routledge, 2003. Print. Professor of Judaism at the University of Wales, Professorial Research Fellow at St Mary's University College and Visiting Professor at Trinity University College. This source seemed to be more in favor of the Jewish, maybe because he himself is a rabbi of Reform Judaism. The author writes about the things Jews went through, burning, being kicked out of their land. I found this book online while I was searching of Judaism.

Brecher Daniel C. "Middle Ages." Middle Ages. BRON, 1995. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://historymedren.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&zTi=1&sdn=historymedren&cdn=education&tm=2&f=00&tt=14&bt=0&bts=1&zu=http://www.friends-partners.org/partners/beyond-the-pale/english/06.html>. Independent historian living in Amsterdam. A former director of the Leo Baeck Institute in Jerusalem taught at Haifa University and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The source seems more into the migration of the jewish. The author writes more where the Jewish migrated to, and wrote less about the communities.I found this site when browsing online.

"Judaism." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2009. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. 11 Oct. 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/307197/Judaism>.

Shulman, Laura E. "Medieval Judaism." Judaism. 14 June 2002. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/lectures/judaism/medieval.htm>. Assistant Professor of Religion at northern Virginia community college. Three years in Indiana University's religious studies program and earned a terminal Master's degree. Worked with the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. This source talks a lot about what rules Jews follow, i.e. only have one god, rather than their life style. I found this site when browsing online.

Shulman, Laura E. "Christianity." Christianity. 25 Oct. 2003. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.nvcc.edu/home/lshulman/Rel232/lectures/Christianity/intro.htm>. Assistant Professor of Religion at northern Virginia community college. Three years in Indiana University's religious studies program and earned a terminal Master's degree. Worked with the Interfaith Conference of Metropolitan Washington. This source didn’t really talk about what it is to be a Christian, just listed a few things they do, like celebrate Christmas, and get together on Sundays.I found this site when browsing online.

Trueman, Chris. "The Medieval Church." The Medieval Church. 2000. Web. 11 Oct. 2009. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/medieval_church.htm>. Taught History and Politics at a major secondary school in England for the last 26 years. Graduated with a BA (Honors) in History from Aberystwyth University, Wales in 1979. Studied at Loughborough University and gained a MA in management from Brighton University in 2000. This source talks more about the peasants in the churches, and the things they do, like work in the church instead of their own land.I found this site when I was searching online.
Carr, Dr.Karen. "Medieval Art." Kidipede. 1995. Web.30 Nov 2009
<http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/art/index.htm
>.  Carr. PhD in Classical Art and Archaeology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, associate professor of History at Portland State University. History for Kids began in 1995 as a community service learning project for sophomores at Portland State University in Portland, Oregon. This source shows the art in the medieval times. There is bias in this because there is more art work of the Christian origins then that of the Jewish or Islamic. However there is less art of the Jewish than any of the others..I found this site when browsing online, looking for art in the medieval times.


Photos:
  1. http://www.bts.edu/interfaith/InterfaithMaine.gif
  2. http://www.scarboromissions.ca/Scarboro_missions_magazine/Issues/1994/February/images/judaism_1.jpg
  3. http://www.ijs.org.au/images/UserUploadedImages/menorah.jpg
  4. http://www.tpub.com/content/religion/14229/img/14229_72_1.jpg
  5. http://www.routledge.com/textbooks/0415236614/resources/maps/map41.jpg
  6. http://www.salem-news.com/stimg/april132009/islam_symbol340.jpg
  7. http://amaz95.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/noble_quran1.jpg
  8. http://www.jonathantan.org/images/islam/map_islamic_world.jpg
  9. http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/map16rel.gif
  10. http://slavmobile.com/symbols/3_320x240.jpg
  11. http://www.socialist.net/images/stories/bible.jpg
  12. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/religion/index.htm
  13. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/religion/pilgrimage.htm
  14. http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/islam/art/index.htm
  15. http://galenfry.com/Cz/syn09.jpg
  16. http://www.longpassages.org/images/Beautiful%20gothic%20cathedral.jpg
Weapons

Holmes, Richard, Roger Ford, Reg Grant, Adrian Gilbert, and Philip Parker. Weapons: A Visual History of Arms and Armor. New York: DK, 2006. Print. Richard Holmes is a Professor of Military and Security Studies at Cranfield University in the United Kingdom.  Roger Ford is an author of dozens of books in the field of military history and weapons technology and systems. Reg Grant is a history writer and many of his published workings are of military conflicts. Adrian Gilbert writes extensive works on weapons and military history. Philip Parker is a history writer and former diplomat. His interests are in ancient and medieval political and military systems. DK publishing is known worldwide for its distinctive, highly informative, inspire and entertaining to all of its readers. This publishing company also publishes the Eyewitness books. The effect of telling everyone about all the weapons used at the beginning of time up until the recent day gives people an idea of where we started from and how we have changed over the years. Overall, all the pictures of the weapons and the explanations as to their descriptions looked accurate when comparing the image to the text. There may be a bias more toward the European weapons than to the American weapons because the United States did not exist during the Middle Ages. The data seemed to have been carefully collected and each weapon examined thoroughly. The writers could also be leaning more toward their field of study or expertise when it comes to some of the weapons in different areas of the world. A well-written source. The book was found at Borders in the Military History section.

Malyan, Susan, and Sue Nicholson, eds. Knights. New York: DK, 2007. Print. DK publishing is known worldwide for its distinctive, highly informative, inspire and entertaining to all of its readers. This publishing company also publishes the Eyewitness books. This book is one of their Eyewitness books. Overall, the data in this book seemed accurate with all the pictures and diagrams that were placed on the pages. The writers were trying to focus on an elementary to middle school grade level of educational understanding. The information is bias toward the knights of the medieval period and their institution. The writers may also have had a bias toward their specific field of study. This is a well-written source. This book was found in Borders in the history section.

"Medieval Warfare Weapons." Medieval Architecture, Knightly Life, and Medieval Society. GECOSAF Consulting, 2006. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. <http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Warfare-Weapons.html>. This seems to be a well-written source. The information is also connected to websites that are trying to sell medieval weapons. There could be a bias toward specific weapons that are being sold on other websites. Another form of bias could be from other websites that do not have accurate information. Since this site was made out of a passion for weapons in the Medieval Time the information could be off due to some of the author’s sources. The person who wrote this site has been in contact with some of these weapons in some way, shape or form.

Steinmetz, John D. "StateMaster - Encyclopedia: Baselard." StateMaster - US Statistics, State Comparisons. StateMaster. Web. 01 Dec. 2009. <http://www.statemaster.com/encyclopedia/Baselard>. John Steinmetz is educated in political science, geography and history. He would have a bias more towards the United States than all of the other countries and their histories. The site also has the world’s largestdatabase of statistical comparisons between countries. The statistics that come from this database will be accurate. Overall, this site would be a credible source. The information is well-written and compares to one of the other sources. The weapons described were not only described, but had added historical information up to the present day, if it is still being used.


Photos:

   1. http://images.elfwood.com/art/s/i/simonmage8/weaponry.jpg              
   2. http://www.medieval-spell.com/Medieval-Swords.html
   3. http://www.historicalfencing.org/Macdonaldarmory/workpix/041.jpg
   4. http://www.albion-swords.com/images/swords/albion/nextGen/condottiere/condottiere-1.jpg              
   5. http://theswordlord.com/library/88HNHnalf-and-half.jpg
   6. http://www.allenantiques.com/images/mini-W-2.jpg
   7. http://www.wulflund.com/images_items/the-baselard-dagger_2.jpg
   8. http://www.chicagoswordplayguild.com/c/media/armsAndArmor/rondel.jpg
   9. http://otlichnik.tripod.com/Mace3101.jpg
 10. http://www.myarmoury.com/feature_spot_poleaxe.php
 11. http://www.bowhunting.com/images/articles/bowhunting/crossbow-future/~Crossbows05-01.jpg
 12. http://www.welchmanlongbows.com/EnglishLongbowHiRes.jpg
 13. http://files.turbosquid.com/Preview/Content_2009_07_14__16_24_04/CATAPULT.JPGE11A0BE2-A84E-4792-870A26BBCD5316FE.jpgLarge.jpg
 14. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Trebuchet.jpg