Home

1st 6 weeks

 1st Semester

1st Semester

1st Semester

 2nd Semester

2nd Semester

2nd Semester

  Above: watercolor depicting Spens' ballad.

Above: Burgess Hill, an area where the Battle of Hastings was fought.

Monday September 8th- Friday September 12th

Due THIS lab day: TYPED response to Hadrian's Wall and Bede's life. These are two SEPARATE assignments, so be sure to have both. Remember, even if you're not in class, these are still to be turned in on time.

Studying of Latin words to be completed and ready for a quiz.

In-Class:  We will play the BBC Viking game in the class: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/vikings/launch_gms_viking_quest.shtml

Quick review of Anglo-Saxon material to prepare for unit test.

Quick quiz on Latin derivations. 

We will  begin Medieval Times by looking at ballads written during these times. Chaucer's Canterbury Tales will also be introduced. As always, PLEASE bring your book with you to class. This way you will be able to read along and keep up with the literature.

Assignments: Be prepared for the Anglo-Saxon unit test next lab day. The test covers:

• Historical information

• The Seafarer

• Beowulf

• The Wanderer

• Bede's History of English Church and People

• The Changing English Language

Read the ballad, Barbara Allen, on page 91 of your textbook and answer questions 1-7 on page 93 in TYPED format, please. 

Information: The two best known claimants for the English throne were Harold Godwine and William, Duke of Normandy, both were powerful men. William was promised the throne in 1051 by Edward the Confessor. Edward had been in exile in Normandy until 1042 so it was not surprising that he should look for companions, advisors, even a successor from Normandy. It was also in 1051 that Edward had temporally thrown of the constraining influence of the Godwine family. Edward's nomination of William in 1051 was meet with approval by many of the leading English magnates. 

For a long time there was little William could do but wait until Edward died, though he was given hostages to keep in Norway as insurance to the promise, including Harold Godwine nephew, Hakon. 

Under Edward's instructions, Harold went to Normandy to bargain with William, but landed in Ponthiou, as a result William had to save him from prison there. While Harold was in Normandy he fought with William in Breton and accepted from him arms and armour. But most importantly, before Harold left he made a promise to William to be his advocate at the court of there Confessor, and to do all he could through his council and fortune to help William obtain the English throne. This oath was made over hidden relics. Romantics would ay Harold was tricked, but it is more commonly thought that he would not have been such a fool as not to suspect their presence. 

When Harold took the throne, William invaded England and won the battle at Hastings. The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle claimed that the Norman victory was God punishing the English for their sins. Though the Norman said that it was "An appeal to the ordeal of battle through which the judgment of God might be established"