There isn't much to report for these two days; I want to get all my class assignments done before I take my trip to Edinburgh this weekend. I suppose now is a good time to explain the structure of my class, then!

We meet Monday-Thursday from 10 am–2 pm, and in a typical day of class, we cover a few monarchs—sometimes even a whole dynasty! Using the topics we discuss as a launching pad, each of us is responsible for developing a 1500 word essay about a topic related to the monarchy and a professional 10 minute presentation on a different topic relating to the monarchy. (My professor was very clear that using the word "like" does not constitute professionalism, so us American teenagers are destined to struggle. I love my professors, though, they're great!)

I pretty much knew what my topics would be since before I even arrived in London, being a medieval history nerd, but they were solidified after the third day of class last week. It was our first official lesson on the monarchy, and we discussed history ranging from Alfred the Great—the King of the West Saxons ("Wessex") and later, the king of all of England—to King John, most famously known for signing the Magna Carta. That's the period I'm most interested in, but we skimmed over a niche era known as the Anarchy, a time of civil war that could've ended in a female monarchy, all the way back in the 1100s! (I discussed this a bit yesterday, regarding Empress Matilda and her doomed venture for queenship).

At first, I thought my assignments had to be over-the-top, factual, dry pieces of information, so I was going to discuss how Alfred the Great requiring his nobles to get an education defeated the Vikings. (I knew nothing about it, but it was mentioned in class). For my presentation, I was going to compare portrayals of Henry II in two pieces of historical fiction, and how those compare to the factual historical accounts of him. But that seemed like such a chore!

Then I talked to my professors, and it turned out that I could present about the Anarchy period and write my essay on how medieval queens wielded power and influence, and I was delighted! So today was spent making my presentation and finding sources for my essay, which focuses on Emma of Normandy (who I've always wanted to know more about) and Eleanor of Aquitaine (who I already know a lot about). This inspired an idea for my senior thesis, so stay tuned...

I intend to link my presentation and essay in here for you to peruse, if you wish, once they've been graded. I don't want Turnitin to mark it as plagiarism if it's found on this site, but once I have my final grade, I'll post them here!

In the meantime, here's some of the genealogy I've been looking at to explain the Anarchy.

As part of the social program, we got to go see Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty's Theater. It was my first theater show, and it was pretty cool to see! No pictures were allowed during the performance, but my friend Cass said she's seen Phantom of the Opera many, many times and that the staging and props were the best in this one.

To be honest, I was a little confused by the plot, but nonetheless, it was a fun show!