Crusades Notes

     The Crusades were a series of military expeditions to regain the Holy Land. At least 10,000 Europeans took up the cause. Seljug Turks were Muslim people from Central Asia. The Latin word, cruciata, means "marked with a cross." Crusaders were known as the people who sewed a cross made of cloth on their clothes. Some people believed that if they died on the crusade, they would go straight to heaven while others went to gain land and wealth. Some merchants saw a chance to make money and some people went to save souls.

     The 1st Crusade lasted from 1096 to 1099 and many French and Italian lords led armies of crusaders from Europe to Constantinople. Emperors allowed the crusaders to pass through Constantinople to their target city which was Jerusalem. After a series of vicious battles the crusaders captured Jerusalem. While doing this they slaughtered many of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. European customs and institutions were put into place in parts of southwest Asia and the Holy Land. The crusaders set up four small states. Christians and Muslims grew to respect each other. Many Europeans adopted Eastern customs and began to wear Eastern clothes and eat Eastern foods. For almost 100 years, European Christians held on to Palestine. The Turks then won back their lost lands. Popes and European rulers tried to stop them during the three major crusades.


     By 1146 the Turks had united their forces and in 1147 the 2nd crusade began. The Turks began taking back cities that the crusaders had captured. King Louis VII of France & German king Conrad III led separate armies across Europe. Then in 1149 the crusaders returned to Europe in disgrace. In 1187 the Muslim leader, Saladin, gained control of Jerusalem.

     The 3rd crusade lasted from 1189 to 1192. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, King Philip II of France, and King Richard I of England led separate armies. Barbarossa drowned on the way to Holy Land so his army turned back. Richard couldn't capture Jerusalem so he then settled for a truce with Saladin. They allowed Christians to enter Jerusalem freely.

     Pope Innocent III gathered a group of French knights for the 4th Crusade. In 1202 they left on ships and in 1204 the crusaders attacked and looted Constantinople. They stole many things that were holy to the Byzantine Christians. Constantinople remained under western European control for about 60 years. In 1453 the Turks seized Constantinople. In 1212 the Children's Crusade took place. The Crusades continued until 1291 when the Muslims captured the city of Acre. The crusades ended when the Muslims controlled Palestine. The crossbow was the weapon of choice for European soldiers. In 1096 to 1291 the crusaders traveled through the Holy Land.

Vow of Silence

     The vow of silence was harder than I had expected. I didn't really like the activity. It was hard to not talk to people when you had to work in groups with them. If we would have been assigned more individual work, then it would have been easier. I may be a very quiet person, but not talking is still hard for me. It's hard when someone asks you a question and you can't just use your voice to answer them.
     If I had to take the vow of silence for the whole day I don't think I could do it. It would be too hard to not talk to anyone for a whole day. I wouldn't want to just waste one of the days of my life not talking. My day would probably be very complicated and challenging.
     I have learned from this assignment that people take talking for granted. Some people can't talk at all. I also learned that I can go an hour and a half without talking. Using your voice for talking is just so much easier though.
     To complete the activities, we had to write a lot of notes. It made communicating without talking a lot easier. If you had a lot of things to say it would be hard to write it all down. Not talking definitely takes a lot of time and patience to understand what people are trying to say. If everyone knew sign language though, that would be another way of communicating.
    

Notes

Bathing -

• People bathed once a month.
• People only had one outfit, wore same clothes every day
• Used lavendar flowers and mint in water for cleaning. Used to keep fleas away because they had a lot of animals and straw in their houses.

Chairman -

• The word chairman comes from the Middle Ages where a house only had one chair for the exclusive use of the man of the family.

Sleeping -

• At night time people would pile onto a mattress, a lump of straw on the floor. The whole family slept in same bed (Mom, Dad, Sisters, Brothers). If an animal was friendly they may sleep in the same bed to keep you warm.

Troubadours -

• Traveled from town to town "singing for their supper".
• His songs were often about love or the glory of kings.
• Would strum a lute or guitar.

• Anglo-Saxon concept started when Anglos and Saxons combined.
• Shires - people who would go around and collect taxes
• Alfred the Great - first Anglo-Saxon king
• Edward the Confessor - last Anglo-Saxon king.
• War started when Edward the Confessor died because two people wanted throne.
• William the Duke wanted throne & Harold who was the brother in law.
• William was Edward's cousin but he was from Normandy, France.
• One of top battles of world history - Battle of Hastings.
• William the Duke won battle against Harold.
• William given nickname "William The Conqueror"
• When William took throne he wanted to get things done. First to collect a census since Roman times.
• Census was used to tax people on how much stuff they had (people, animals, things)
• Took all of info from census and put it all together into a book.
• Book was called Domesday Book, nicknamed the Doomsday Book
• When William died his son, Henry the first, replaced him.
• Henry the Second replaced  them.
• Henry the Second doesn't want to be like his father but he wants to be more like William the Conqueror. Henry II doesn't like the way the churches are run. His friend, Thomas Becket comes over to his house to talk about the churches. They both start disagreeign about things. Thomas storms out and Henry wishes him dead. The knights overheard him say that and took it as their duty to go kill him. They travel to Canterbury and stab him multiple times on Christmas Eve. Henry falls apart and feels horrible. He later becomes a saint.
• Henry II's son John succeeds him. He goes to war with a lot of people.
• John taxed people very high in England.
• People met at Runnyadme and came up with one of greatest documents in history, Magna Carta.
• 1215 - King John forced to sign Magna Carta.
• Magna Carta protected liberties of nobles and the rights of the people in England. It made the law the supreme power in England. It's original purpose was to limit the king's powers. Included concepts such as church freedom, trial by jury, freedom from taxation without cause & consent, & due process of law. If king didn't abide to Magna Carta then people would revolt and overthrow him.

Pop-Up Book Notes

- Lindsey - Bosnia

• Bosnia's government is a democracy.
• Toys in Bosnia are very poorly made.
• There's no preschool or elementary school education in Bosnia and kids start school around ages six or seven.
• The country has a rich literary system.
• Ramadan is one of the main holidays that they celebrate.

- Shania - Peru

• In Peru, the main language they speak is Latin.
• Some of the main ingredients in their food are rice and chicken.
• The children there enjoy playing with marbles.
• Most games that they play there are the sports we play in America.
• They wear a mix of European and Hispanic clothes there.

- Faith - Brazil

• The capital of Brazil is Brasilia.
• It's the only country in South America that doesn't speak Spanish.
• One quarter of the kids in Brazil don't attend school.
• Brazil has a president in their country.
• Brazil's culture is very diverse and they have many festivals there.

- Caleb - Zimbabwe

• The main language is English but they speak various languages there.
• They have a parliamentary democracy with a president and vice president.
• One famous author is Charles Magnate.
• Independence Day is April 18th.
• They have primary and secondary schools.

- Mark - Greece

• 99% of the population speaks Greek.
• One famous author in Greece is Socrates.
• One of the most famous children's stories was The Tortoise and The Hair written by Aesop.
• The leader of Greece is their prime minister.
• One of the main dishes is baked lamb and potatoes.

- John - Spain

• Spanish is the main language in Spain.
• Most kids over there are like here in the United States. They play sports and video games.
• They have multiple varieties of beans.
• Their government is a constitutional monarchy and is ruled by a prime minister.
• In 711 Muslims invaded Spain.

- Hannah - Portugal

• They speak Portuguese there.
• The population is 10,360,300.
• One poem they have that children like is Fly Ladybug Fly.
• Portuguese people like to eat custard as desserts.
• Independence Day in Portugal is April 25th.

- Haley - Switzerland

• In Switzerland the main language they speak is Swedish.
• The capital of Switzerland is Bernie.
• The common dish would consist of meatballs.
• Most children go to public schools and go to school for twelve years.
• Most schools require students to wear uniforms.

- Samantha - Morocco

• They speak Arabic and the capital is Rabid.
• They have 28 letters in their alphabet.
• People there go to
• High school for three years.
• They start teaching French in 3rd grade and go to school 30 hours a week.
• In Morocco they make their own toys.

- Madori - Germany

• The capital of Germany is Berlin.
• The main language of Germany is German; however they do speak other languages.
• One of their famous authors is Herman Hess.
• A thumb toy is one famous children's toy there.
• Octoberfest and St. Nicolas Day are two favorite holidays in Germany.

- Krista - Barbados

• The main language they speak is English.
• Kids there play with chalk and jump rope.
• Folk songs are passed down from generation.
• They use local resources and spices to cook traditional recipes.
• Independence Day there is November 30th.

- Kristen - Japan

• In Japan, the language most people speak is Japan.
• Japan is one of the best educated countries.
• Their government is a constitutional monarchy.
• Kites are a popular toy in Japan.
• One popular children's story there is The Little Fox.

- Taylor - Fiji

• Most children's stories told there are about life and happiness.
• Their cuisine includes fish, meat, vegetables, and fruit.
• They say you are not supposed to wear hats in the village.
• If you want to go to school in Fiji, it would cost a lot of money.
• Fiji has many beautiful beaches and tourist attractions.

- Raychel - Italy

• People in Italy speak Italian.
• One famous children's book there is "Clap Your Hands".
• Toys in Italy are very similar to the ones here.
• Their government is a republic.
• They use many ingredients in their foods that they grow such as olives and peppers.

- Karlie - Egypt

• The capital is Pyra and they speak Arabic.
• You are supposed to greet people there with a hand shake.
• Their government has been a republic since 1953.
•  January 6th is Christmas Eve.
• They have private, religious schools there.

- Paige - Argentina

• Their official language there is Spanish.
• "The Magic Bean Tree" is one of the many famous children books from that country.
• Young children in Argentina play with a lot of the same toys that we do.
• Their government is a republic and their president is a woman.
• Lunch is the biggest meal of the day for them.

- Katara - France

• The capital city is Paris.
• They have a lot of the same books and nursery rhymes as us.
• Kids play a lot of sports there.
• They have toy libraries where kids can check out toys.
• In 1858 their constitution was signed.

- Gunnar - Thailand

• They have a unitary parliamentary democracy.
• Their government was a monarchy until 1932.
• Education is free until the age of seventeen.
• Thailand has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.
• The language they speak is baht.

- Dale - Panama

• The capital is Panama City.
• Most people's religion is Roman Catholic.
• Their government is a constitutional republic.
• They celebrate Christmas like we do here.
• They have elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools.

- Courtney - Scotland

• They spell things a little differently than they do here in the United States.
• Children in Scotland play with toy cars, marbles, dolls, and other various things.
• Most people only go to school there until the age of 16.
• One of the most popular nursery rhyme is "Count The Stars."
• The capital is Edenburg.

- Josh - United Kingdom

• The capital city of the United Kingdom is England.
• One of the most popular authors there is J.K. Rowling.
• "London Bridges Falling Down" was written about the fall of the London Bridge.
• A popular sport they play there is cricket.
• Their queen is Queen Elizabeth II.

- Viola - Ireland

• The language they use in Ireland is Irish.
• Children's games in Ireland are very similar to ones here in the United States.
• They have a parliamentary democracy.
• Most of the people in Ireland eat international foods.
• Most of the subjects they have in their schools are the same as here in the U.S.

- Gabby - Bolivia

• Spanish is the official language in Bolivia.
• "Humpty Dumpty" is one of their famous nursery rhymes.
• Kids in Bolivia don't play many games but when they do they are based on education.
• Their government is a republic.
• Most people eat meat and poultry.

- Abby - Madagascar

• They speak some French and English there along with their native language.
• Poetry is very commonly used there.
• Kids there usually play board games and forms of tag for entertainment.
• Their government is a republic.
• They celebrate Christmas and Easter there.

- Chase - Venezuela

• Spanish is the main language they speak there.
• Some traditional toys include marbles.
• Their government is a federal republic.
• April 19th is Independence Day for them.
• You have to go to school from ages six to fifteen.

- Kelsea - El Salvador

• Most children's stories are bilingual.
• People there currently speak Spanish.
• Traditional food is typically made of corn.
• They celebrate Christmas and New Years.
• The children in El Salvador drink coffee.