Merchants, Monks, & Monsters

"The Fear of Depths," by Jacob Geller, is something I would classify as a documentary, one on the fears associated with traveling into said depths. It has an autobiography for an introduction, a biography for a good portion of it, and descriptions of locations/games that combine to form a haphazard roadmap on the subject of this type of exploration, which makes it difficult to explain within one type of media. I believe that documentaries fit this video best as its genre because they are described as either a movie, television, or radio program which provides some sort of factual report on a topic. This thirty minute long video could be described as a short film and it is providing a factual report on a topic via showing and providing evidence to support the claims the narrator makes. 

The message about travel that this documentary suggests is that traveling into the depths is simultaneously alluring and terrifying. This duality of the enthrallment of going into foreign landscapes while at the same time being incredibly dangerous is a unique phenomenon that some people find themselves raptured in, and as a result bewildered by.  It speaks primarily about caves, talking about how they have a sort of "welcoming hostility" to them and how the cave narrows and expands as if daring the people inside of them to go further, which sometimes leads to tragedy, while other times to wonder.

I think this particular video is quite good at helping the watcher expand their idea, or at the very least definition, of travel. Exploring and sightseeing can be done not just by walking, sailing, or flying somewhere, it can also be done by digging, crawling, and swimming into the earth. In addition, it has an interesting take on the changes between the past and the present versions of traveling through this space. In the past, one could usually, and often did, go alone into caverns, which lead to unfortunate consequences more frequently than many were comfortable or excepting of. Now, however, traveling is usually, if not always, done with a group at the very minimum, and mostly with a guide to places that have already been charted and mapped.

Baring that, the medium of video games and books, which the narrator speaks about later on, allows the consumer of said media to travel in a different sense. A person in the modern world, I would argue, does not have to go somewhere to travel. Instead, they can have an excursion through their mind's eye with books or video games. These fictional media that we can possess in everyday life, create a similar temptation to explore their depths without the true dangerous nature actual reality in such places holds when one clambers through its chambers.

Question 5

Prompt: "Highlight one key thing we can learn (functional or conceptual) as historians about modern travel/society from this modern media. Then highlight one challenge or issue that it might present for learning about travel. Note: For this question it might be useful to imagine yourself as a historian in the future trying to learn about our own 21st century society via this piece of media."

I think one key conceptual thing one can learn as a historian looking back at this age via this media is that the watchers at the time usually had to expand their idea of what travel is. Exploring and sightseeing are usually done by either walking, sailing, or flying. This is primarily what people have done throughout history, but a part of exploration is usually overlooked, and that is digging/burrowing. As this video so aptly put, discovery and movement can also most definitely be done by swimming and crawling into the earth.

There could be some discrepancy on if the later part of the documentary is depicting travel. The medium of video games and books could be considered to allow the consumer of said media to travel in a different sense from physically traversing terrain. In other words, a person in the modern world does not have to go somewhere to travel, rather they can use technology to simulate travel. These fictional media that we can possess in everyday life, will probably improve as time goes on and with that one might be able to leave their bodies behind, metaphorically speaking, and travel into randomly generated worlds of their own that they explore. The challenge lies in whether this is actually traveling, or if it is just simulating traveling, making this a debate that could hinder learning about traveling overall. Historians of the future may learn that this was a turning point into the electronic domination of travel and travel imagery.

Question 6

Prompt: "In roughly 400-500 words, discuss one big "take away" or element you found particularly interesting from your chosen piece of modern travel media and this weeks readings/themes.  You might consider, for instance, ways that this modern piece of travel media fits into broader themes/discussions in the class so far. Or perhaps you noticed an interesting connection to another text, piece of media, or genre you’ve encountered (in this class or even beyond it).  Perhaps some element surprised you or changed your opinion in some way.  This question is open to whatever approach you want!"

I found that there is a possible correlation between an increasing transition into digital exploration and the outbreak of the COVID-19. As Henry Lohman brought up in his modern travel media post, and I corroborated in my comment to him, traveling has shifted to be more accommodating atmosphere towards westerners, specifically from the US. The ramifications of such an act, especially now that COVID-19 has significantly diminished the market for leisure travel, are likely significant. With all of the people who would ordinarily travel in lockdown, they need an outlet to go and explore, which, at least I have found, to be video games or written novels.

This is illustrated quite well in "Fear of Depths" as it starts with things that are in the past and as it comes closer to the present, almost all of the descriptions of the depths are digital rather than physical. I have also found this to be true of my life. The longer I live the less time I spend outside, doing sports, playing at the park, climbing mountains, or spending time with people face to face. This is of course exacerbated by the innate nature of the lockdowns, but even before this event I was working and playing more with electronics than I was with people. This shift started to happen around the time I was in elementary school and has increased in severity ever since.

This is not to say, however, that I will eventually reach a point where I will never speak to another person outside of seeing them on a screen. Nor am I stating that I will never explore the world around me, opting to instead delve into the depths that technology beacons me towards. But it is interesting, seeing the changes that the world has brought about in how I travel.

That thought brings me back to the “Fear of Depths” piece and how it expresses the similarities in the feeling of a cave to that of mental hurtles involving loss. The piece briefly talks about Dear Esther which starts around eighteen minutes in. It is a game where the protagonist becomes, “reborn through caves, water, and depths.” From the surface, to the caverns, from the caverns, to murky water, from murky water, into an underwater highway, where he experiences his loss again, comes to terms with it and slowly resurfaces from each layer. This story has a happy ending but as “Fear of Depths” states just after this explanation, sometimes surfacing form the depths is not possible. He talks about how most fish deep below the surface cannot leave the depths they live in, lest they be killed just as gruesomely as we would descending into their realm. I wonder if something similar will happen, not to me, but in the future generations of this world, the ones who cannot exit the metaphorical electronic depths they were born into.

I was hesitant in selecting this story of migration, but after some thought I decided to do so. My primary reasoning behind my reluctance was it is a personal piece of mine. I did not want to appear arrogant, yet I felt that it is a worthy addition and unique perspective on migration. This unique perspective requires some backstory into my history and so I will preface my analysis of this piece by doing so.

I am one of the last people someone would expect to write a tale of migration, as my life has been mostly sedentary. I was born, and have stayed, in Colorado. As a matter of fact, the preschool I went to was the Fisher Early Learning Center at DU. I have only moved houses once and schools five times if you include graduating as moving from one to another. The only college I applied to was DU, and I was accepted last year during early decision. The first time I went outside of the United States was in 2018, when I went to climb Kilimanjaro, and the only other time after that was when I saw Niagara Falls a year later. Despite my seemly poor aptitude to speak on this subject, I would argue that I have something to offer.

Each time I transitioned from one school to another I have been met with a loss of everyone I once knew with a replacement of people that are more distant and foreign from me. The language was the same, but the dialect, formality, and vocabulary were vastly different. The people were similar, but each ethnicities’ percentage shifted. The clothing too, shifted, some schools allowed students to wear any clothing so long as it was not overly provocative, and others had uniforms everyone had to wear. This, while most definitely not as intense as most migrations, leads me to believe that I have at least enough understanding of the feelings and thoughts one going through a more jarring migration to make a piece about it. And so, I have attempted to do so in a form of a poem, which I chose to be my story of migration.

“Paddle” recounts migration by speaking of leaving a place which I shall not name, for what the speaker believes is a land of dreams and opportunity. Smuggled into the country, their dreams turn into nightmares as they feel as though they are still on the open water, with their destination visible but far from their reach. Lost and confused the speaker continues their journey towards the illusive wonderland at night, then wakes from an unrestful sleep to work in places that give nothing but daydreams and despair. The telling of this story speaks to the tragedies involved in leaving, or being forced from, one place to another and believing that “the grass is greener” on the other side. The speaker’s whole identity is interwoven with the idea of reaching a benevolent and prosperous land. While the speaker has reached the destination that they thought had those lofty ideals, they are not any closer to achieving them, and so they are still stranded. The subconsciousness and emotions the speaker has, the ones that force the narrator to dream of being a desperate castaway, know that they are still stranded in an ocean, one of the mind and stagnation in life.

The poem has a different take from what the medieval stories of migration tell for the most part. Bede’s work primarily casts a precedent on how the people who were already present felt and acted when immigrants came to England, rather than to the perspective and thoughts of the new arrivals. Similarly, Jordanes' narrative speaks about the Visigoth’s migration into the Roman Empire and how they, after famine and strife, came to find their new land home. In contrast, “Paddle” has a staunchly personal and passionate expression of loss for the land that was and the land that is never to be.

Question 1

Prompt: “Highlight one stylistic element that you think is key to defining narrative histories.  How does this stylistic choice shape what the author can or can't do in presenting travel?  How does this stylistic choice shape the way the audience engages with the text and its narrative of travel?”

One key stylistic element of narrative histories is an emphasis on what happened rather than how it felt to have it happen. The recounting has dating, usually the standard universal form, numerical values of things like people, ships, or ethnicities, and a relatively bland informative tone which becomes punctuated by passion whenever the bias of the author comes into play. Some creative liberty is usually applied, as the recounted narratives tend to over embellish things, but the stylistic choice stops the text from going too far and delving into pure fiction. This is dangerous as sometimes the narrative histories are inaccurate in some way shape or form, which is hard to quantify when dealing with things with so few sources.

We can see this in almost all our works this week, but it is particularly prominent in Gildas’s, Jordanes’s, and Bede’s work where they constantly favor one side over another. Jordanes calls the Huns descendants of “evil spirits” merged with “witches,” Gildas calls Saxons “fierce cubs born of a savage lioness,” and Bede calls forces of Saxons and Angles “an invincible army,” all of which we know now to be false or heavily exaggerated.

Works Cited

Bede, et al. Ecclesiastical History of the English People / Bede's Letter to Egbert ; Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede. Penguin Books, 1990.

Gildas, and Michael Winterbottom. The Ruin of Britain, and Other Works. Phillimore, 1978.

Jordanes, and Charles C. Mierow. Jordanes: the Origin and Deeds of the Goths. 1908.

Question 2

Prompt: “What do you think the primary theme or topic of these histories is? Why do you think that?  How is this genre particularly suited to addressing that theme or topic?”

The topics these histories cover is generally about large groups of people and the fates of leaders in charge of them. I believe this is not exclusive to the genre of narrative histories, however. For example, in the provided years things happened in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, an annalistic piece, the most common things depicted where actions of leaders, movements of troops, and acts of violence/conflict that occurred. Anything aside from those things had to do with the religion or something similar.

Despite this I still believe the topics of narrative histories in this time frame still align with the example mentioned above. I believe this is the case because the only ones that were literate when those events took place, and for some time afterwards, where those whose perspective we are getting. The historical narrative genre is particularly well suited for this type of topic because it can center around a group of people or lineage as characters to tell a story about the past.

Works Cited

Savage, Anne. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Publisher Not Identified, 1983. 

Question 3

Prompt: “Based on the genre elements of narrative history, what is one goal that you think the author(s) is/are trying to accomplish?  How can you tell?”

The primary purpose of narrative history is to impart and record information about people in a way that suits the narrative being told. The author is attempting to accomplish a goal of getting what they believe happened and why it happened out to not only their fellow scholars, but to those who will write and talk about their works later. The easiest way to see their intent is by looking at where the author’s language becomes florid.

A good example of this can be found within Gildas’s recounting of The Ruin of Britain. He depicts England as highlands that are, “beautiful in appearance like that of a bride adorned with bright jewels,” then he states that the origin of the England people as, “one of ungrateful rebellion-rebellion against God,” (Gildas 60). Later he then accuses this rebellion as the cause of the problems the island faced, showing is intentions quite profoundly. Gildas wanted people to believe a narrative history in which people paid a price for hubris and blasphemy, which heavily influenced the retelling of events, especially when pertaining to word choice and explanations for why events occurred.

Works Cited

Gildas, and Michael Winterbottom. The Ruin of Britain, and Other Works. Phillimore, 1978.

Question 4

Prompt: “Who do you think the primary audience for these various histories is and why do you think that? How does the nature of the audience impact the presentation of travel in these texts?”

The primary audience for Bede and Gildas’s work is likely believers in the church who wanted to be reaffirmed in their convictions for belief in God and refusal to participate in sinful activities. Their accounts favor the interpretation of divine providence being the explanation for events to occur which contribute to their works having a “grain of salt” when we look at them today.

Something similar can be said about Jordanes’s narrative story The Origin and Deeds of the Goths, highlights the Goths as heroic mercenaries and reluctant refugees feeling the “evil” Huns that were taken advantage of by the Roman Empire to the point of rebellion. His audience was likely other people of Gothic decent, or other eastern roman bureaucrats who had a different depicting of the Goths.

On the other hand, The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, seems to be a brief account of certain events for other historians or people not familiar with the history wanting a recounting of events in chronological order. These events are influenced by what we know about the time through the sources at our disposal, but seeing as this was published in 1983, much of the bias the 4-7th century convey is likely merely a bioproduct of what information was available.

Works Cited

Bede, et al. Ecclesiastical History of the English People / Bede's Letter to Egbert ; Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede. Penguin Books, 1990.

Gildas, and Michael Winterbottom. The Ruin of Britain, and Other Works. Phillimore, 1978.

Jordanes, and Charles C. Mierow. Jordanes: the Origin and Deeds of the Goths. 1908.

Savage, Anne. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles. Publisher Not Identified, 1983.

Question 5

Prompt: “Highlight one key thing we can learn (functional or conceptual) as historians about medieval travel from our various historians  Then highlight one challenge or issue that these works might present for learning about travel.”

One conceptual thing we can learn as historians is that medieval travel was commonly depicted as fast and sometimes mean and violent events that are decreed by a ruler, which then makes said thing come to pass immediately.

For example, when Emperor Valens gave the Goths the region of Moesia, little if anything is said about the logistics of moving the Visigoths to that location, which is not the exception of movements depicted in this time period, but the rule.

This, along with only having accounts from a few types of people, specifically those who could write at the time, produces a depiction of history that is difficult to take at face value, especially when stacked up against empirical data like the archaeological record and technical prowess of the people at the time. This means we have to account for the fact that our sources are unreliable narrators and that they are and might be concealing or misleading us on the events they depict.

Works Cited

Jordanes, and Charles C. Mierow. Jordanes: the Origin and Deeds of the Goths. 1908.

Excellent point, the narrative approach of history in this case seems to elide the reality on the ground.

Question 6

Prompt: “In roughly 400-500 words discuss one big "take away" or element you found particularly interesting from the histories this week.  You might consider, for instance, ways that these pieces compared to each other or to the modern media from last week. Or perhaps you noticed an interesting connection to another text, piece of media, or genre you’ve encountered (in this class or even beyond it).  Perhaps some element surprised you or changed your opinion in some way.  This question is open to whatever approach you want!”

I thought it was particularly interesting to see the saying, “History is written by the literate victors,” being cooperated so blatantly in the pieces we read this week. Historical narratives seem to hold heavy bias within them, as they tell the story of one party and usually villainize at least one group of people within their recounting of history. While these works have hints of the bland textbook like literature I grew up reading in history classes, they also have clear falsehoods in them that, with our current knowledge about science and history, are unfounded.

The depictions of the Huns or the Saxons within each narrative story is an apt example of this. Bede speaks about the Huns being treacherous, specifically citing how Attila killed his brother Blaedla, and how they “…devastated nearly all of Europe, invading and destroying cities…” (Bede 61). Gildas calls the Saxons “fierce cubs born of a savage lioness,” and keeps to that analogy as saying they “sank their deadly talons in the eastern shore…[sending forth] another ship, and another, to join their bastard companions,” (Gildas 60-61). Jordanes depiction of the Huns is no better. He labels them descendants of “evil spirits” merged with “witches,” stating that they are a, “savage race…stunted, foul…scarcely human, and having no language save one which bore slight resemblance to human speech,” (Jordanes).

This hatred and vitriol these authors inject in their work is not something I saw in the modern travel documentary Fear of the Depths or my poem “Paddle.” These pieces, which I chose to speak about last week and this week on the discussion boards instead focus on individuals and their experience of traveling. The stark contrast between the broad brush strokes these authors use compared to the piercingly narrow and personalized approach the documentary utilizes shows both a cultural difference between time frames and a growth of story telling’s accuracy. Possible explanations for this shift could be the technological advantage and educational abundance in the 21st century, the governmental difference between having kings and the church rule countries, to having elected officials creating the laws which rule us, or the intended audience shifting to individuals outside of specific groups that have vitriol against others who cannot and would not read the pieces they produce.

That being said, I am sure that if history repeats itself, future historians will probably say similar things about our work, which leads me to ponder what possible biases and failings modern media may have that are difficult to spot at the moment but will become clearly visible with the benefit of hindsight, research, and technological innovations.

Works Cited

Bede, et al. Ecclesiastical History of the English People / Bede's Letter to Egbert ; Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede. Penguin Books, 1990.

Gildas, and Michael Winterbottom. The Ruin of Britain, and Other Works. Phillimore, 1978.

Jordanes, and Charles C. Mierow. Jordanes: the Origin and Deeds of the Goths. 1908.

When I initially thought of travel songs what came to mind were songs my family and I sang while on road trips in my youth. "99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall," originating from the mid-20th century, "The Wheels on the Bus," written by Verna Hills, and "Old MacDonald Had a Farm," the first version of which was published in the early 18th century, where the primary candidates.

However, as I thought more about the prompt, I noted that none of the songs were explicitly about travel and two of them have nothing to do with excursions to somewhere at all. This lead me to pondering why these song where the first things that came to my mind when I thought of travel songs and their purpose for being associated with traveling long distances. 

The easiest quandary to answer is the latter, as they are time wasters, primarily utilized, at least in my experience, to distract children from an arduous ride, soothing the "are we there yet," questions while providing a activity that is, while still annoying, better than the alternative. 

The second question, why these songs came to mind first when thinking about travel songs, likely has to do with their association with traveling and the fact that very few of the songs I listen to sing explicitly about traveling. One of the ones that does, is one I selected as my deliver and discuss topic, "Horizon," by Amongst Wolves. 

Starting off the song, the first verse begins with 2nd person and maintains that tense throughout the rest of its duration. The "you" that is being spoken about is ambiguous but I believe the identity of this entity can be gleamed from the lyric's hints. The initial verse states things like, "And you have numbered all my days / And you know / Where I go...you know me by my name / And I know / I'm not alone," clearly referring to something or someone with imitate knowledge about the speaker. The pre-chorus gives us more information via delivering these lines, "Where could I flee to? / Where could I hide? / There's nowhere I could go to escape from your design / Your arm surrounds me / You are my guide / Even the darkness has to hide." The narrator saying, "There's nowhere I could go to escape from your design," suggests that this entity has a vast amount of control over the world at large.  The lines "You are my guide," and "Even the darkness has to hide," lead me to believe the singer is talking about modernization and electronical innovations, as they both guide those in need and make darkness cower from their light. 

The chorus then gets to the point of the song, trying to escape the "you" in the song. The singer bemoans that, "Even if [he] run[s] to the horizon / Even if [he] keep[s] [him]self in hiding / Even down the road that keeps on winding / [he] know[s] you're there," speaking as if no matter how hard he tries or where he travels to, technology follows him, lurking behind every corner, towering over every landscape, eternally watching, like the stars. He corroborates this by declaring, "Where could I escape to? / You're everywhere...So even if I sink into the ocean / I know you're there..." there in the transatlantic cables, oil rigs, marine exploration, and naval vessels.

I think this song is trying to lament that traveling has lost much of its purpose in the modern era, like voyaging into the unknown, especially when one is trying to escape the modern world. Only through technology that knows us by our names and is always watching can we now explore the knew frontiers into the unknown. 

Question 2

Prompt: "Drawing from our poetic readings list three kennings and define their meanings (note, these can not be the three kennings from the video)"

A kenning is a compound expression in poetry, specifically in Old English/Old Norse that possesses some sort of metaphorical meaning. Therefore, words that are unfamiliar, like a bymie, "…bedecked with battle-weapons and war-gear / blades and byrnies…A bymie is a coat of ring-mail,” (Beowulf: a New Verse Translation p. 2, ll. 39-40), or a scop, “…with the harp's sound, the clear song of the scop…A scop is a poet-singer. This is the first of several self-reflective scenes of poetic entertainment in the poem,” (The Complete Old English Poems p. 3, ll. 89-98), are not kennings.

Some kennings, other than the ones in the video are "gannet's bath," "swan's riding," and "soul-slayer." The first two are "A condensed descriptive image of the sea-the riding-place of whales," (Beowulf: a New Verse Translation p. 1) and the third is, "...the Devil. In the Middle Ages the gods of the pagans were often regarded as demons in disguise,”  (The Complete Old English Poems p. 6, ll. 177).

Works Cited

“Anglo-Saxon Poetry.” The Complete Old English Poems, by Craig Williamson and T. A. Shippey, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.

Beowulf: a New Verse Translation, by R. M. Liuzza, Broadview Press, 2013.

Question 6

Prompt: "In a paragraph or two (roughly 250-500 words) answer the following question: based on your reading of Beowulf and the Anglo-Saxon poems, what roll does the hall play in Anglo-Saxon society?  Use at least one example from our readings to support your claim."

The Hall in Beowulf and other Anglo-Saxon poems plays a role of a rest area that can be used for celebrations with food, warmth, comfort, protection, etc., a gift-giving location, and comradery for those who just came out of the wilderness or just finished with a raid/adventure. The celebration/comradery aspect of this is described in Beowulf as,

“...a hall-building,

have men make a great mead-house

which the sons of men should remember forever,

and there within he would share everything

with young and old that God had given him,

except for the common land and the lives of men,” (Beowulf: a New Verse Translation p. 3, ll. 68-73). 

More than being just a mead-house though, the hall also allows leaders to distribute their wealth in the form of gifts/payment for the warrior's service to them, which is part of the Scandinavian culture and integral to Anglo-Saxon poems about them. This is also explained in Beowulf when the text states,

"Thus should a young man bring about good

With pious gifts…

Will stand beside him when war comes,

The people will support him – with praiseworthy deeds

A man will prosper among any people,” (Beowulf: a New Verse Translation p. 1, ll. 20-25).

There is also the relationship between the hall and the wilderness. The hall is supposed to be a resting place, safe from the hardships of the wild, so those who traverse through it can rest and recuperate. The solemn nature of this is aptly described in Widsith when the piece says,

“So I have traveled through many foreign lands

In this wide world, learning much

Of both good and evil. I served and suffered,

Separated from family, cut off from kin,” (The Complete Old English Poems p. 8, ll. 54-57).

The hall can, and is, subverted when the wilderness/danger invades it. This happens in Beowulf with Grendel and Grendel's mother. This is written about in the Beowulf Story Breakdown as it describes “Grendel unleash[ing] bloody havoc on Heorot…[and]...Grendel's mother, enraged at her son's death, emerges from the swamp and seeks her revenge, killing one of Hrothgar's followers. Everyone awakes to find their troubles have returned,” (Beowulf Story Breakdown – More Detailed p. 1-2).

Something similar exists in storytelling in the modern world as well. In video games, especially within the horror genre, there is a save room that is calm relaxed, and safe most of the time. This allows the player to cool off after going into the "wilderness" of the game world. This is also something that writers utilize too. In The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter, after the daughter goes into the bloody chamber, a place where her sadistic husband brutally murders his former brides, she goes to the piano room and plays the piano to calm herself down. She meets with a piano tuner and finds companionship in him, giving her the strength to go back into the fray and eventually, with the help of her companions, defeat her husband. Therefore the hall, and other settings/locations like it, help those who listen to and read tales have a point in the story where they can rest. As seen in Beowulf though, this can be subsequently subverted by the narrator, upping the stakes by attacking the characters before they are ready to go back into the wild. 

Works Cited

“Anglo-Saxon Poetry.” The Complete Old English Poems, by Craig Williamson and T. A. Shippey, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2017.

Beowulf: a New Verse Translation, by R. M. Liuzza, Broadview Press, 2013.

Melleno, Daniel F. “Beowulf Story Breakdown – More Detailed.” Monks, Merchants, and Monsters, 27 Jan. 2021, Denver, University of Denver.

Question 4

Prompt: "What is Hunneberc's relationship to Willibald? How does she know him and why might she want to write about his deeds? What about Rimbert's relationship to Anskar? What might these relationships between biographer and subject tell us about who writes hagiographies and why they might want to do so?"

Hunneberc and Rimbert were both trusted advisors to their respective saints, associated with the church, and younger than their late counterparts who they wrote about.

In addition to this, they both write in a self-deprecating manner, Hunneberc stating things like, "…who are more outstanding not only in being of the male sex…But, although I am an unworthy woman,” (Noble & Head 145), and Rimbert stating, "Now that we are deprived of so great a leader we dare not falsely count on our own merits,” (Rimbert 1).

This modesty on account of the narrator is coupled with equally fervent admiration for the person they are speaking about. Rimbert blatantly claims that, “...kings respected his, [Anskar's], holiness, the pastors of the churches venerated him, the clergy imitated him, and all the people admired him,” (Rimbert 1) and Henneberc does not shy from praise either, recounting that he was, “Strengthened by faith, fortunate in his fate, a bold traveler, [a] perfect teacher,” (Noble & Head 144).

Head and Noble note this in their introduction to the Hodoeporicon, noting that, "…she was using the modesty topos so common to the hagiographic genre…” (Noble & Head 142). This appears to cooperate with our other text, where Rimbert writes in a similar fashion as shown above. This indicates that this positive relationship between the biographer and subject is a requirement of successful hagiographies. It appears as though the primary goal of a hagiography is to make the one being written about become a saint, as sainthood comes from people believing that the person in question is one. Speaking about oneself in such a lofty manner usually comes across as boastful, so subordinates writing the story may be necessary to counteract this. 

The benefit to the writer may be in having their work, acquaintance, and time becoming memorialized in history and to boost their reputation by association with a saint. These personal and practical reasons meld together, which can make it difficult to distinguish the true intentions/events of those involved, but it also gives the reader insight into how/why they acted the way they did.

Question 6

Prompt: "What happens to Anskar on his way to preach in Sweden for the first time?"

The first time Anskar traveled to Sweden the merchant ship he was on was overtaken by pirates, causing a large portion of the gifts, books, and belongings of the crew and Anskar to be taken. This is seen in chapter 10 of The Life of Anskar, The Dangerous Journey to Sweden, when,

…they fell into the hands of pirates. The merchants with whom they were traveling defended themselves vigorously and for a time successfully but eventually they were conquered and overcome by the pirates, who took from them their ships and all that they possessed. They themselves barely escaped to the shore. To the pirates they lost the royal gifts which they were to bring to the Swedes, along with all their other possessions, except for what they were carr[ing] with them as they fled the ship. They were plundered, moreover, of nearly forty books. which they had accumulated for the service of God. When this happened, some were prepared to tum and go back to Francia, but no argument could divert God's servant Anskar from the journey which he had undertaken. On the contrary, he saw everything that might happen to him as part be God’s will, and was unwilling to return until, with God's help, he could ascertain whether he would be allowed to preach the gospel in those distant parts. (Rimbert 7)

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Question 1

Prompt: "Highlight one stylistic element that you think is key to defining the genre of Hagiography (Biographies of Saints).  How does this stylistic choice shape what the author can or can't do in presenting travel?  How does this stylistic choice shape the way the audience engages with the text and its narrative of travel?"

One key stylistic element to defining the genre of hagiography is the utilization of 3rd person prose. This is a requirement because hagiographies are accounts of holy people, in other words, biographies of saints, so they require an overwhelmingly positive take on the saint's life. This requires the speaker to not be the person in question as boasting about one's own deeds the lofty manner to try to achieve sainthood would be seen as hedonistic. Therefore, subordinates usually write the story and may be one of the only ways to counteract this hurdle. The subordinate writing about the saint is seen in both Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald and Rimbert's Life of Anskar.

This 3rd person prose forces them to write primarily about the saint in question and when they write about themselves to give context, they do so in a self-deprecating manner. Rimbert says that, "Now that we are deprived of so great a leader we dare not falsely count on our own merits,” (Rimbert 1), and Hunneberc states things like, "…who are more outstanding not only in being of the male sex…But, although I am an unworthy woman,” (Noble & Head 145), to have the person they are speaking about become even more grandiose in comparison to them. The audience is then forced to take things in Hagiographies with a grain of salt when pertaining to the virtues of the saint in question and the speakers themselves, as the author is deliberately trying to engage the audience into thinking a certain way.

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Question 2

Prompt: "What do you think the primary theme or topic of these Saint's Lives are? Why do you think that?  How is this genre particularly suited to addressing that theme or topic?"

The primary topic of these Saint's Lives is suffering and sacrifice in the name of God, and how these actions are being rewarded after their deaths. I believe this is the case because of the numerous hardships endured within their travels and the knowledge beforehand that they would encounter such travesties.

In Rimbert's Life of Anskar, when Anskar is requested to become a missionary and travel, he states, “‘I have been asked whether I am willing on God's behalf to go to pagan nations in order to preach the gospel. Far from daring to oppose this suggestion I desire, with all my strength, that the opportunity for going may be granted to me, and that no one may be able to divert me from this design,’” (Rimbert 5). This clearly shows that he is aware of the dangers in undertaking his task and chooses to go anyway or possibly because of it to achieve martyrdom.

This is also the case in Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald, as Willibald's father states that if he leaves he would be, "...depriv[ing] them, [his children and wife], of his protection and to leave them at the mercy of others,” which possibly implies that he believed that the journey would likely be a one way trip for him, as indeed it was, (Noble & Head 148). 

This genre's emphasis on how the saint suffered and how they overcame that suffering through their faith in God is particularly well suited to showing the negative aspects of medieval travel, for the sufferings seems to be more of a feature of the experience rather than an unfortunate drawback.

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Question 3

Prompt: "Based on the genre elements of hagiography, what is one goal that you think the author(s) is/are trying to accomplish?  How can you tell?"

The primary goal of a hagiography is an attempt to make the person being spoken about a saint. You can see this through the author's blatant benevolent outlook on the actions taken by the person in question. In Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald she describes him as "...[a] perfect teacher..." and made his actions just, even when they could be put into question.

For example, when Willibald was trying to convince his father to come with him on his pilgrimage he, "employ[ed] every means of persuasion and speaking to him, [his father], heart to heart...[and]...strove to extort from him his agreement to the plan," even when his father made the valid argument that, "he could [just] not leave his wife and small children...[for]...It would be cruel, and unchristian...to deprive them of his protection and to leave them at the mercy of others,” (Noble & Head 148). Eventually, his father agrees however this tirade on his father is simply excused, even when the result of him accompanying his son on this journey was his death.

A similar situation can be seen in Rimbert's Life of Anskar, when, on the first trip to Sweden, the ship he was on, "...fell into the hands of pirates." This results in the loss of "the royal gifts which they were to bring to the Swedes, along with all their other possessions...[including]...nearly forty books," which they were going to use for their missionary work. When people wanted to turn back, however, Anskar let, "no argument....divert...[him]...from the journey which he had undertaken...[seeing]....everything that might happen to him as part be God’s will," thus ignoring everyone around him and their council, (Rimbert 7).

These two actions are normally not associated with being virtuous, talking back to your father, and ignoring the pleas of your subordinates, but because of the intention of the author, they are painted in a favorable light.

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Question 4

Prompt: "Who do you think the primary audience for these hagiographies was and why do you think that? How does the nature of the audience impact the presentation of travel in these texts?"

The primary audience for these hagiographies was other members of the church and those affiliated with them, such as influential believers of the faith. I believe this is the case because of the goal of the work, making the person being spoken about a saint, and how the author addresses the reader. 

This can be seen most predominantly in Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald's prologue which starts stating,

Here begins the life of the brothers Willibald and Wynnebald, addressed to all priests, deacons, and princes of the ecclesiastical order. To all those reverend and most beloved in Christ clerics known under the honorable title of priest, and deacons of excellent nature, and abbots, as well as all princes of the secular order… (Noble & Head 143)

As can be seen, she clearly addresses her audience, who they are, and what the content of this piece is. The nature of the audience makes it so that the piece is filled with religious information and context, thus presenting the pilgrimage in a predominantly religious sense. The author continually talks about the religious aspects of each stop Willibald goes to and the miracles that befall him whenever he is ill/in danger. 

Similarly, Rimbert's Life of Anskar provides predominantly religious explanations to events, despite not having historical monuments to recount the histories of. For example, Rimbert states, "Even as the troubles of Anskar and his mission continue various miracles are recounted that show the power of God to select Scandinavians," (Rimbert 10). 

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Question 5

Prompt: "Highlight one key thing we can learn (functional or conceptual) as historians about medieval travel from the stories about Willibald and Anskar? Then highlight one challenge or issue that these holy biographies present for learning about travel."

One key thing we can learn from the travels of Willibald and Anskar is that medieval travel, when not pertaining directly to commerce and conquest, was predominantly religious in nature, and the journeys were fraught with turmoil.

This can be seen through Willibald's journey through sickness, as going into the heart of the known world is bound to put one into contact with all manner of diseases. Willibald's father met an untimely death, "As the sickness [he had] increased, [and] his weary limbs grew cold and stiff..." (Noble & Head 149). Willibald and Wynnebald also got sick eventually and, "...[were]...struck down with sickness. They found it difficult to breathe, fever set in, and at one moment they were shivering with cold, the next burning with heat..." (Noble & Head 150).

In Anskar's missionary travels, there was not as much sickness, as he was on the edge of the known world, but the journey was also fraught with turmoil. He "...fell into the hands of pirates," on his first journey to Sweden, and when he was in Hamburg, "Scandinavian pirates suddenly arrived and surrounded the town...[leading to]...all his treasures and possessions...[being]...lost by pillage or by fire during the enemy attack," (Rimbert 7-9).

Works Cited

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Question 6

Prompt: "In roughly 400-500 words discuss the way that these hagiographies fit into broader themes/discussions in the class so far or connect to another text, piece of media, or genre you’ve encountered (in this class or even beyond it).  What do you think the significance of this connection is? To put it another way, what do you think the big "take away" from your analysis of these works is?"

I found it interesting that when looking at a hagiography like Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald, one can see bits of a travel biography interwoven within the interworkings of the writing. For example, when she writes things like,  “At this place they stayed two days…They stayed there three weeks…Sailing from Syracuse, they crossed the Adriatic and reached the city of Monembasia…Sailing on from there, they passed Samos and sped on toward Asia, to the city of Ephesus, which stands about a mile from the sea,” the piece almost sounds like someone recounting their vacation in the modern world (Noble & Head 151). 

I also thought that the similarities between how foreign governments deal with unknown individuals then and now are quite similar. Reading about when Willibald was traveling around Syria, reminded me of customs agents in travel checkpoints in the modern era. They, “Almost at once...were arrested by the pagan Saracens, and because they were strangers and came without credentials they were taken prisoner and held as captives. They knew not to which nation they belonged, and, thinking they were spies, they took them bound to a certain rich old man to find out where they came from,” (Noble & Head 152). It intrigues me to see that even as far back as the 8th century some things still remain relatively unchanged.

In addition to this, I found Ratramnus's Letter to Rimbert quite interesting. In the piece, the preface states that, “Cynocephali had circulated since antiquity and may have begun as descriptions of dog-faced apes such as baboons,” (Dutton 452). I initially thought nothing of it, if they were baboons that the mystery is solved. But what sparked my interest was how they described them and their actions.

For example, “They cultivate fields, which [can be] inferred from their harvesting of crops…[and]…they possess not only hides for use as coverings, but even clothes,” which is not something baboons do in any real capacity, (Dutton 453). Perhaps they overexaggerated the claims of what the Cynocephali are capable of, but then they talk about human deformities like, “Among individual races some seem to be created against the law of nature such as people with two heads, three-handed people, pygmies, hermaphrodites or androgynous ones, or many other oddities,” and how once, “…a calf or snake was born to a woman…the top part of that being seemed human, but the lower part possessed the shapes of various living animals,” (Dutton 454-455). These are likely birth defects that we now know to not be a byproduct of being half of something inhuman, but having them described as such shows a unique perspective on something we ordinarily do not see in such a light. Despite the thoughts on this aspect of humanity, the author quotes Isidore's piece Etymologies, and state that, “...he clearly indicated that, in his opinion, the Cynocephali had their origins in the family of the first human,” (Dutton 455).

The hints of similar ideas and thoughts to the 21st century in the 8-9th centuries are something I did not expect to see as prevalently within the works of the time and this connection between the past and the present is both humbling and fascinating to see.

Works Cited

Carolingian Civilization: a Reader, by Paul Edward Dutton, University of Toronto Press, 2009, pp. 452–455.

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.

Map Sources: https://aminoapps.com/c/officialhttyd/page/blog/hiccups-map-real-world-location/G87E_lQfnu06eWXxkbW44dkL3mmGzgXM1v

  The most accurate representation of the Vikings in this work is that they are not a unified group of people, instead, having different allegiances and unique ways of interacting. For example, the main character, Hiccup’s father’s tribe is more peaceful and focused on trade, while the antagonists’ tribes, the Berserker Tribe and the Dragon Hunters, are more so focused on the raiding depictions of Viking culture.

  A good example of this is how they interact with Dragons, which I equate to a stand-in for resources. The Hooligan Tribe, the father’s tribe, interacts with the resources present on the islands through trade and mutual interest, performing jobs/tasks in exchange for transportation and protection, akin to the more benevolent outlook Viking descendants portrayed their ancestors. The Berserkers, and especially the Dragon Hunter’s, exploit the resources, capturing and plundering them similar to how the depictions of the Vikings crueler actions are recounted by victims of Viking raids.

  What I find to be the most interesting, however, is the relative similarities between Hiccup and his friends in Dragon: Race to the Edge and the immigration of peoples, giving hints, but not actually being, an account of diaspora. In this 6 season series they: leave their original island, establish new bases on other islands, do so in order to work on their ambitions, still possess a collective memory of their home, are still committed to their homeland thriving, still maintain connections with their homeland, have a strong ethnic group consciousness/values which are maintained throughout the series, have difficulties settling into their newly “colonized” lands, have a shared sense of empathy for other Vikings, and left their home partly because of the enthrallment of having an enriched life. There are, however, some caveats. They return to their home island after 2 years, meaning that they were not multigenerational in nature, meaning that, while there are some hints of a diaspora within the story, they themselves are not a diaspora.

Source: https://howtotrainyourdragon.fandom.com/wiki/How_to_Train_Your_Dragon_Wiki

Question 5

Prompt: "In a paragraph or two (roughly 250-500 words) discuss the following question: What does the term 'Viking' mean? Why is it a potentially problematic or limiting term when it comes to understanding and describing Norse activity during the 'Viking Age'? How might the idea of 'diaspora' help us to get a more accurate picture of this period? Be sure to use at least one example from our readings."

When one says "Viking," what usually comes to mind is strong, wooden boat sailing, horned men who ruthlessly go forth into foreign or unknown lands, conquering and plundering them. In addition to that, there is a connotation of Norse mythology, which is strongly played upon in media like Marvel's Thor/Asgard, Dream Work's How to Train Your Dragon, and Star War's Mandalorians. This makes the word/term "Viking" problematic and limiting when it pertains to understanding/describing the actual Norse activity during the "Viking Age" for several reasons.

First, the initial image of Vikings reinforces the stereotype that all Norsemen were a particular way, possibly even making works like The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, more prevalent in the minds of historians when reviewing the past. For example, "...miserable raiding of the [Vikings] destroy[ing]...church[es]...[and property in general]...through plundering and murder," is something that is not necessarily questioned as it matches the preconceptions of what Vikings are/would be doing, (1).

Even the modern media today do not really stray too far away from this. Marvel's movie Thor Ragnarok has a scene where the mural in Asgard, which is peaceful and glory filled, hides behind it another, one of violence and conquest. The character who reveals this, Hela, states in response to the character's and audience's confusion, "Where do think all this gold came from?" insinuating that the primary reason why Asgard was wealthy was precisely because of acts similar to the ones described in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

Dream Work's How to Train Your Dragon, has the main character's father’s tribe be more peaceful and focused on trade, but has the antagonists’ tribes, the Berserker Tribe and the Dragon Hunters, be almost identical to the cruel raiders/plunderers depicted in The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles.

Lastly Star War's Mandalorians, which have their culture based upon Vikings, are depicted, especially early on in their history, to be similar to the force of nature raiders that works like The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles, depict Vikings as.

On the other hand, we have the lens diaspora to examine the Norse activity during the "Viking Age." Diaspora can depict the raids on England and the traveling in the northern hemisphere in general as expansion in search of work/trade/colonial ambitions while showing that there were troubled relationships with the host/new society and the Vikings, and others, had/have a collective memory/myth about the homeland. 

Works Cited

Savage, Anne. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles – Viking Attacks. Publisher Not Identified, 1983.

Question 6

Prompt: "Why might sources like the Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and the Annals of Saint-Bertin present challenges for getting an accurate sense of Norse activity and behavior?"

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles and The Annals of Saint-Bertin present challenges for getting an accurate sense of Norse activity and behavior for serval reasons, chief among them is that they are writing from a biased perspective.

The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles says things like, "...the miserable raiding of the heathens destroyed God's church on the Isle of Lindisfarne through plundering and murder," when pertaining to the Viking's victories, but state things like, "This battle was the greatest massacre of a heathen army we have ever heard tell of...[and]...They captured nine ships and drove off the rest, (1-2)," when speaking about Viking's defeats. This clearly shows that the writers of this text were writing the Vikings as violent perpetrators who were akin to a force of natural barbarism, and when they are defeated they are merely "driven off" or "massacred" rather than "murdered" or "miserably slaughtered."

Works Cited

Savage, Anne. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicles – Viking Attacks. Publisher Not Identified, 1983.

  A network that I utilized in my youth was the Minecraft network. With an average of 78.4 million active monthly users during the past four years, a number greater than the populations of some small countries, the network itself is multifaceted and complex, (Listforge). This means that I will likely only scratch the surface of it. The purposes of this network are primarily based on entertainment, friendship, and monetary gain from what I can determine. Most players play to be entertained in a fantasy sandbox world, some never interacting with others; however, several find it more enjoyable to communicate and develop social skills through the game, thus joining servers and forming communities/factions within them. Others find that creating servers or systems around servers is a profitable business venture and do so in large numbers.

This list of servers can be seen on several different unofficial Minecraft voting websites. Players that play on the servers can vote for a server by clicking on a link that is sent through the chat mechanic. Once on the website they then enter their Minecraft username and submit it. This counts as one vote for the server. Each Minecraft account can only vote once per day for one server of their choice on each of the voting sites. Servers that get the most votes are featured on the front pages of these sites, which draw in more players, which in turn vote for the server. The incentive to vote is in-game items that help the player progress past tedious points in the game or get rare valuables without spending money.

This leads to another facet of this network, the “stores” of each server. Within the stores, ranks, cosmetics, and short-term booster items are the most common things that can be purchased. As a result of these microtransactions, some people end up paying for the servers’ costs and give the owners the excess profit. To get a sense of scale it is not uncommon for servers to have players on them that have spent over 100$, and some ranks are at or well above that amount. For example, Wynncraft.com’s max rank is 170.99$.

Servers are not the only ones who benefit though. YouTubers who play, build, or create things revolving around Minecraft, get views, which in turn produces ad-based revenue and, depending on the popularity, sponsors that ask them to promote products, like Minecraft servers.

   An instance of this that I particularly enjoy, is a not well-known builder named Blaze – Medieval Minecraft Tutorials, which shows instructional videos on building ideas for Minecraft:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgjBZX_s7Pc&t=0s

Relating this back to our class’s medieval networks, I believe that there are some similarities between the two, despite their apparent differences. The personal aspect of medieval travel is something that is emulated within some of the servers in Minecraft, with factions, guilds, and the like, forming bonds with their members as well as trade routes in the worlds’ economy. It is interesting to see an underlying commonality in the Network, like religion, was in medieval times, with the enjoyment and playing of Minecraft being a common thread that everyone shares.

I also find some of the unapparent differences to be interesting. One of them is even raiders and “trolls” are apart of this network, making the servers and game interesting/a challenge to play. In other words, the pirates and thieves in medieval times tended not to share the same connections as the victims did, for example, not sharing the same religion or culture, while in the Minecraft network they do.

Works Cited

Listforge. “Minecraft Server List.” Minecraft Multiplayer, the Minecraft Server List, minecraft-mp.com/.

LLC, Cyprezz. “Servers.” Servers | Planet Minecraft Community, www.planetminecraft.com/servers/.

“Minecraft Revenue and Usage Statistics (2020).” Business of Apps, 5 Jan. 2021, www.businessofapps.com/data/minecraft-statistics/.

“Minecraft Server List.” Minecraft Servers, minecraft-server-list.com/.

Team, Wynncraft Website. “Play.wynncraft.com.” Wynncraft, the Minecraft MMORPG, wynncraft.com/.

Top Minecraft Server List - Minestatus Server List, minestatus.net/.

Question 4

Prompt: "What is the Cairo Geniza?"

The Cairo Geniza is a collection of works that cannot be destroyed via the Jewish faith because they contain the word God in them. What we are reading from are, "Letters from the Cairo Geniza...[more specifically]...from Letters of Medieval Jewish Trades, (Goitein 1)."

Works Cited

Goitein, S. D., editor. “Letters from the Cairo Geniza.” Letters of Medieval Jewish Trades, Princeton University Press, 1973.

Question 5

Prompt: "What is the relationship between the letter writer and recipient in the letter titled 'After Capture By Indian Pirates'?"

The relationship between the letter writer, Mahruz, and the recipient in the letter, Judah ha-Kohen, was that of brothers-in-law. Mahruz was, "was a nākhodā, or shipowner, who commuted...between Aden and India," while Judah ha-Kohen was "married to...[his sister and was the]...representative of the merchants...[in Egypt], (Goitein 8)."  

Works Cited

Goitein, S. D., editor. “Letters from the Cairo Geniza.” Letters of Medieval Jewish Trades, Princeton University Press, 1973.

 Question 6

Prompt: "In a paragraph or two (roughly 250-500 words)  discuss the sorts of challenges that medieval Jewish merchants face. How did the existence of Jewish networks help in overcoming these challenges? Be sure to include concrete and specific examples and evidence from the texts."

There are several challenges that medieval Jewish merchants faced chief among and them were pirates, communication time, natural disasters, native inhabitance, and the necessity of skilled workers in multiple locations. Letters that were written from this time explicitly state things like "...soldiers told us that the ship...was taken by pirates," clearly showing that cargo, merchandise, and vessels were capable of becoming "lost at sea," thus making every voyage a risk.

This is exacerbated by not necessarily being welcomed in most places where they traveled. As The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela states in its footnotes, "Jews were typically not allowed to hold land making R. Kalonymos uniquely secure in a time when more and more laws were developing to control Jewish life and economic fortunes (Binyāmîn et al 2)." This hostile nature that typical locations brought towards the Jews causes unfortunate circumstances to befall travelers who lose their goods or have their goods soiled by the weather. One letter saved in the Cairo Geniza writes, "...my clothes and goods were completely soaked. I did not find a place to stay and to spread out my things..." which later devolves into, "And by God, answer. I have no business other than waiting for your letter. By God, do not neglect this,  (Goitein 2)." The desperation enforces the perilous nature of a merchant's plight in the medieval era if they are faced with misfortune, especially in foreign lands.

As stated above, another key challenge is how being a merchant requires a vast amount of skills. As the Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World points out, one, "...must know what commodities are subject to rapid change and spoil and which ones are not, and what means ought to be used to preserve and to restore them, and lastly he also must understand the blends of electuaries and potions, of powders and drugs, (Lopez 1-2)." People who have these skills take time and effort to procure, in addition to being trustworthy enough to be honest about all of the trade dealings, which makes pirates, natural disasters, and possible persecution in foreign lands exponentially more costly, as the human capital just as valuable if not more so than the goods. 

Works Cited

“Benjamin of Tudela.” The Itinerary of Benjamin of Tudela, by Ben-Yônā Binyāmîn and Marcus N. Adler, Feldheim, 1966.

Goitein, S. D., editor. “Letters from the Cairo Geniza.” Letters of Medieval Jewish Trades, Princeton University Press, 1973.

“Islamic Texts on Trade.” Medieval Trade in the Mediterranean World, by Robert S. Lopez, Columbia University Press, 1955.

Source: https://canterburymuseums.co.uk/beaney/explore/people-places/pilgrim-badges/

     The time and longevity of pilgrimages has allowed these excursions to shift into three distinct types, overtly religious ventures, ancestral journeys, and/or physical accomplishments. Traveling to Mecca and Jerusalem are the most common for purely religious pilgrimages, but also can overlap with ancestral journeys, especially for people descended from those cultures/regions. Ancestral/heritage can also be about bonding with family members through travel, going home or somewhere far away to form closer familial bonds. Lastly, is the one I believe relates to my pilgrimage, physical achievement. Through struggling and accomplishing goals through travel, someone can culturally go on a pilgrimage and be, as stated above, “soul searching.”  Through that adversity, the difficulty of travel, and the transformative power it, they can come back to their daily life “absolved” of their previous flaws.

Link to my college admission's essay for reference: https://docs.google.com/document/d/107muDpBnIwhi9TriQ-PW65ys3GHzqBSV_notnumKBR8/edit?usp=sharing

https://littlenightmares.fandom.com/wiki/Little_Nightmares_II_(Video_Game)

https://en.bandainamcoent.eu/little-nightmares/little-nightmares-ii

For modern monsters present in media today I chose the creatures in Little Nightmares 2. Within the game, there are four major monsters and four settings those monsters dwell in. In the forest, there is “The Hunter,” who mercilessly hunts the protagonist after he allows the deuteragonist to escape from his cabin. In the school, the main antagonist is “The Teacher,” who is able to extend her neck indefinitely and does so in an attempt to capture the protagonist. After the school, there is a hospital where “The Doctor,” who looks like a bloated larva, attempts to dispose of the protagonist. Then, last but not least, there is “The Thin Man,” who imprisons the deuteragonist and relentlessly chases the protagonist. All, aside from “The Hunter,” have some sort of underling monsters in their locations as well, which are byproducts, i.e., victims of what the main monster is doing. They are not necessarily an ally of the antagonist but are too weak to contest against them, and so are only a threat to the protagonist.

The monsters present within this game are all excellent depictions of what I believe a monster is. Each has human characteristics, and some are confirmed to have been human at one point in time; however, something about them is off. They are missing certain aspects of humanity, and those aspects are replaced with something inhuman and frightening. For example, none of the monsters blink, nor do they show compassion. “The Hunter” is disproportioned and faceless, “The Teacher,” aside from her aforementioned neck, is devoid of mercy for her students, “The Doctor,” other than being insect-like, mutilates his patients, and “The Thin Man” is unnaturally tall with inhuman abilities. In short, they act and are monsters because of their closeness and distance to humanity, which stops them from being wild animals but also makes it impossible for them to be considered human.

This is seen in medieval monsters as well, with creatures like dog-headed men and others of that ilk. I think this is what makes these monsters terrifying and is the primary utility of monsters in modern media. This nature, the horrible, the unknown, the different, and the incomprehensible allow these creatures to be in a category of their own which is different from what is ordinary, be that a common beast or a normal human. That category allows the author and the audience to attempt to alleviate the issues listed above by metaphorically placing the abnormal together in a box labeled “danger.” This allows people to act when attempting to interact with things that have those concepts within them in a way that at least gets the person some agency over the situation.

I think it is also important to establish the pitfalls of this classification though. Calling something or someone a monster inherently dehumanizes them. Not only that, but when something or someone is classified as a monster there is a narrowing of choices as a result of difficulty understanding/interacting with the monster. Facing a monster usually results in the most common response of fight or flight, which not only staunches the ability to avoid conflict but makes some sort of confrontation almost unavoidable. This can be seen very clearly in Little Nightmares 2, where without fail all of the interactions between the monsters and the protagonists are flight or flight, regardless of the circumstances, which does not end well for either party. The disconnect shown in the game tells us that treating/labeling things, creatures, or people as “monsters” is something that society, and especially modern society, should not do as it merely creates more monsters in the process.

https://www.fandom.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/

My chosen example of a modern tool for teaching/disseminating information is online wikis. I chose this primarily because of their usefulness and abundance on the internet and, as a result, in our lives. This might be surprising for some, but most of the time when typing something into a search engine the primary things that one receives on the “all” tab are corporations and or wikis. A good illustration of this is Wikipedia, which will likely pop up in the top three search results when a question is asked. Interestingly enough though, this monopoly is overshadowed when the question being searched is about a fictional work. When that is the case, the fandom’s wiki for that respective show/piece is shown first, which is then followed by Wikipedia. This helps shine a lite on the goal of wikis as a tool for disseminating information.

First, it is likely meant as a starting point or a quick confirmation of any given information. Wikipedia does this quite well by documenting events and people, providing important events and notable things about the subject in question with, in most cases, references to dive deeper if the reader wishes to.

Subsequently, this is reflected in the other wikis as well, which provide the same general information but more narrowed to a specific topic. Because of that wiki fandom’s links usually go to internal pages with more in-depth information on their said inquiry, while Wikipedia is more likely to have external websites/sources cited, especially in their references at the bottom. This still shares the same goal, however, but because fandom wikis are tied to a piece of literature/game, their operations vary from their larger counterpart of Wikipedia. After all, if one wants to go back to the base material of a fictional item, they can pick up the work, while going to the base material for real events is challenging and not as intuitive. This leads to the audiences of wikis.

For larger, more general wikis, like Wikipedia, their audience is someone who has a question or wants something clarified who is searching for something on a search engine. The person may or may not be knowledgeable about the subject and is likely to skim through the material to get at what they want to know.

For more niche wikis, like fandom wikis, the audience is likely at least somewhat familiar with the material and wants to confirm something or solve a problem they encountered in the work. A good example of this is game fandom wikis, which have storylines/walkthroughs and explain how/why things are happening the way they are. For someone who does not know how to get past a level or wants a certain outcome in a story-based game, the wiki can provide them with a quick and easy way to do so.

All of that being said, there are some downsides to wikis. Most are community-run, meaning that there can be people who give false information, knowingly and unknowingly. This can result in people getting the wrong knowledge about a topic that is not helpful to the user, which is why one might dig deeper and look at the citations of the wikis. But, either way, the risks do not seem to stop this tool from disseminating information and they still seem to be the most effective and common way of doing so for common quandaries one may have.

I believe the most predominant takeaway this class has imparted to me is how pieces possess different kinds of historical utility that are not solely based on the accuracy of their information. This understanding of historical utility that I have been able to develop has allowed me to view the texts in this class, and others like them, in a more intensive way than I could before.

Before taking this class, I believed that a heavily biased text would not serve much of a purpose because it possessed too many inaccuracies in showing the objective events present during their time. However, when reading pieces of literature in this class from authors like Gildas, Jordanes, Bede, Rimbert, and Hunneberc, who clearly had a biased perspective when writing, I found myself being able to determine more than I thought I would from them. While reading the texts I was able to learn about the cultures present at the time, what was important to them, where their outspoken allegiance lies, and much more.

For example, week two’s readings, consisting of Gildas, Jordanes, and Bede, were strongly adamant in their disdain for particular groups in their historical narratives. Jordanes brands the Huns as descendants of “evil spirits” that bread with “witches” who were outcasts because of their villainy and thus spoke a language that was incomprehensible. This is something we know to be untrue, but it allows us to see how they were thought of at the time and how hostile foreigners were depicted in Jordanes’s time. This is similar to how Gildas and Bede depict the Saxons and Anglos, who called them “hordes of...alien [people],” “bastards,” and “[broods] of fierce cubs born of a savage lioness...” showing clear animosity between them and the native culture, (Bede 63 & Gildas 60-61).

Furthermore, in both week two and week four’s readings, we can see what was important to people who were literate at the time and thus an outspoken allegiance to the church. Both Rimbert and Hunneberc wrote hagiographies, which referenced the value of the following and doing religious doctrine/deeds.

An exemplar of this is in Rimbert’s Life of Anskar, when Anskar accepts becoming a missionary stating, “‘I have been asked whether I am willing on God's behalf to go to pagan nations in order to preach the gospel. Far from daring to oppose this suggestion, I desire, with all my strength, that the opportunity for going may be granted to me…’” (Rimbert 5). This obsession with his mission is not merely just a talking point either as even when, in his first trip to Sweden, he “...fell into the hands of pirates,” losing “the royal gifts which [he was supposed] to bring to the Swedes, along with all [the ships] other possessions...[including]...nearly forty books,” he insisted on continuing letting "no argument....divert...[him]...from the journey which he had undertaken...” (Rimbert 7). This kind of zeal for the goals of the church above all else including the safety of his fellow companions shows a clear and total allegiance, which, even if the story were embellished or inaccurate, would still reflect the sentiments at the time for what was required for sainthood and true loyalty to the church in general.

Another instance of the religious fervor can be seen in Hunneberc's Hodoeporicon of Willibald, when Willibald attempts to convince his father to go on a pilgrimage, "employ[ing] every means of persuasion,” he could despite the valid protests his father made like how, "he could not [just] leave his wife and small children...[for]...It would be cruel, and unchristian...to leave them at the mercy of others,” (Noble & Head 148). This is interesting because both sides of the argument are utilizing religion to convince the other of their choice, which, unlike the previous example, means that the allegiance to God and the church as a whole would be kept regardless of the winning side.

This allegiance is tested in Gildas’s Ecclesiastical History of the English People, as he states that England was, “beautiful in appearance like that of a bride adorned with bright jewels,” but the people of England had an origin where they were in an “ungrateful rebellion-rebellion against God,” which resulted in the aforementioned, “...brood of fierce cubs… gain[ing] a foothold,” thus causing suffering for their hubris (Gildas 60-61). Historians do not today tout this as the reason for why the Anglos and Saxons came to England, thus making this information/conclusion that Gildas provides inaccurate, however, despite this, there is still historical utility to this piece, just like the ones above. It shows what the people who could write and publish at the time thought was important and how their thought processes works, which provides us with a glimpse at the cultural precedents of the time as well.

Despite these texts being from different genres, time periods, and possessing different reasons for travel, they all share commonalities that can be used for historical utility. All of the texts in this class have an express reason for travel, can fall into an overarching genre/style of writing, and can be used in some way to uncover thoughts present within their time, especially pertaining to the emotions of the author on their given subject. This allows a reader to dissect the culture, allegiances, and values in the texts, thus providing even the most inaccurate piece of writing historical utility, something, which before this class, I overlooked and am grateful that I will not do again.

Works Cited

Bede, et al. Ecclesiastical History of the English People / Bede's Letter to Egbert ; Cuthbert's Letter on the Death of Bede. Penguin Books, 1990.

Gildas, and Michael Winterbottom. The Ruin of Britain, and Other Works. Phillimore, 1978.

Jordanes, and Charles C. Mierow. Jordanes: the Origin and Deeds of the Goths. 1908.

Rimbert. The Life of Anskar. Edited by Daniel Melleno. Translated by Charles H. Robinson.

Talbot, C. H. Soldiers of Christ: Saints and Saints Lives from Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, by Noble Thomas F X. and Thomas Head, Pennsylvania State University Press, 1995, pp. 141–164.