MEDIEVAL EUROPE, the time often called "The Dark Ages", was a period before the Renaissance, where the power of the Holy Roman Catholic Church held more power over land and people than even the kings! So great was the wealth of the church, that gold filled the churches and cathedrals, and all Europeans were Catholic. The church ruled with strict intolerance, and fearful Christians did not dare to disagree with the Church. However, eventually, great power struggles broke out between kings and church rulers, eventually calling for the reform of the church....but that is not until several chapters to come!
The "Crusades" were a series of holy wars, fought by the Christians against the Muslims, for possession of a small town in Israel, called "Jerusalem".
We will build cardboard castles in class later this year, and have a country-wide battle!
This is what we learned about the Battle of Hastings and the Bayeaux Tapestry that shows the entire battle of 1066, just like a comic book strip, only woven in a tapestry wall hanging!
What does the Battle of Hastings teach us about William the Conqueror? Find out here:
www. bayeuxtapestry.org.uk
And check out these websites too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhqrpTpoGHk (a young person's guide to the Battle of Hastings 11 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtGoBZ4D4_E (animated! 4 minutes!)
Battle of Hastings game: re-enact the battle
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/normans/launch_gms_battle_hastings.shtml
Battle of Hastings game: simulation game
www.1066games.co.uk/flash.html
Joust! Win the joust and you will be the hero!
http://www.tudorbritain.org/joust/
Heraldry Game
http://www.yourchildlearns.com/heraldrygame/index.html
VikingQuest: An Epic Tale of Loot and Legend
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/interactive/games/viking_quest/index_embed.shtml
If you have time, check out the music videos by HistoryTeachers on YouTube! (4 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ8A5gRe_Dw
And a Crocker 7th grader created his website in 2014!
ELEANOR OF AQUITANE
Two websites that explain more about this wonderful woman, who was married twice, queen twice, lived to 80 years of age, and personally went on the second Crusade.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WceunelR1Mk
Watch this lifelike 2 minute Photoshop reconstruction of Eleanor's tomb statue:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVOFwLfchWA
The Terrible Bubonic Plague
The terrible plague took the lives of more than 1/3 (some historians even say 1/2!) of all Europeans. Everywhere the trading ships from China docked, the rats brought the terrible plague into those wharf towns. Nobody realized it was the fleas on the rats that were carrying the terrible disease. Once exposed to the germ, it was only a matter of three days before the person was dead. So many people in Europe died, there was no one left to clean the streets and empty the hospitals. Ghastly!
Play an online game about Feudal Europe at http://www.addictinggames.com/strategy-games/feudalism.jsp
Play another online strategy game about medieval Europe on Good Game Studio, at
or play "Forge of Empires" at http://om.forgeofempires.com/foe/us/goo/?ref=goo_en_us_co_ga_sg&external_param=www.kidspast.com&k=free%20online%20war%20strategy%20games&gclid=CLOMsdrI1bgCFURp7Aod7VUAqQ