Essays and Research Papers on Medieval Times

A 3 page essay that examines Chaucer's use of irony in describing the Prioress in the Prologue. The writer discusses this description in detail, offering translations of the description from the Middle English and pointing out where Chaucer used irony to comic effect while also showing the Prioress to be a shallow hypocrite rather ...

This 4 page paper provides a variety of facts and figures regarding the Middle Ages and how war was engaged in. Sections included provide an overview of facts regarding Byzantine Warfare, Feudalism and the development of the city states. How these all relate to war is the focus of these individual ...

This 28 page paper responds to nine disparate questions incorporating each of these four works into each response: El Cid; Koran; Yvain or the Knight with the Lion by Chretien de Troyes; and The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville. In the last case, some responses are in the perspective of King Louis IX (St. ...

This 5 page paper examines the research of David Herlihy and provides a basic summary of his work. Furthermore, this paper asserts that the work of Herlihy is important because it contributes a new perspective to the understanding of the family. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 page paper presents a summary of each chapter of this book. These summaries highlight the important points of each chapter and thereby focus on the main theses of the book. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 3 page essay that explores the ramifications of the ceremony that makes the young Lancelot into a full knight. Because the ceremony is performed by two different people -- Guenevere and Arthur -- the writer argues that this divides Lancelot's allegiance and makes the subsequent events of the saga more consistent with the image ...

This 3 page paper outlines plans for a medieval game, based upon the historical medieval game Nine Men's Morris. This paper provides a description of the game, the board, the goals of the game, etc. Bibliography lists no sources.

A 3 page essay that examines Chaucer's use of irony in describing the Prioress in the Prologue. The writer discusses this description in detail, offering translations of the description from the Middle English and pointing out where Chaucer used irony to comic effect while also showing the Prioress to be a shallow hypocrite rather ...

This 4 page paper provides a variety of facts and figures regarding the Middle Ages and how war was engaged in. Sections included provide an overview of facts regarding Byzantine Warfare, Feudalism and the development of the city states. How these all relate to war is the focus of these individual ...

This 28 page paper responds to nine disparate questions incorporating each of these four works into each response: El Cid; Koran; Yvain or the Knight with the Lion by Chretien de Troyes; and The Memoirs of the Lord of Joinville. In the last case, some responses are in the perspective of King Louis IX (St. ...

This 5 page paper examines the research of David Herlihy and provides a basic summary of his work. Furthermore, this paper asserts that the work of Herlihy is important because it contributes a new perspective to the understanding of the family. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

This 5 page paper presents a summary of each chapter of this book. These summaries highlight the important points of each chapter and thereby focus on the main theses of the book. Bibliography lists 1 source.

A 6 page research paper that discusses the ordering of Chaucer's medieval masterpiece. The writer discusses what is known as the "b" group order and how it differs from the ordering of the tales in the Ellesmere manuscript. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 7 page research paper that addresses the role that these books played in medieval culture. The writer argues that modern readers tend to look at medieval art and culture and interpret it according to a modern perspective. However, this is frequently not the case, as the medieval worldview differs markedly from a contemporary perspective. ...

A 5 page book review. In his text, Communities of Violence: Persecution of Minorities in the Middle Ages, historian David Nirenberg addresses the persecution of Jews, Muslims and lepers that occurred during the Shepherd's Crusade of 1320 and 1321 in the south of France and in the crown of Aragon (Spain). Nirenberg relates that the ...

A paper which looks in detail at the Barons Rebellion in thirteenth-century Britain, and considers whether the actions of the Barons, and in particular Simon de Montfort, could accurately be described as a "deliberate and enlightened revolution". Bibliography lists 11 sources.

A 6 page essay that discusses common areas between university life in the Middle Ages and today. During the Middle Ages, centers of learning began to crow up in several European cities, such as Paris and Bologna, Italy (Wiesner, Ruff and Wheeler 152). Beginning in the twelfth century, student life became a feature of the ...

A 3 page essay that discusses how the story of Tristan's parents foreshadows the tale of love between Tristan and Isolde. In relating this tale, Gottfried Von Strassburg does not begin with the elicit affair of Tristan and Isolde, but rather starts by relating the love story of Rivalin and Blanchelor, Tristan's parents, whose tale ...

A 4 page analysis of a medieval play entitled "Youth." The writer examines this play via subheadings, which cover topics such as opening stasis, action and casting considerations. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

A 5 page research paper that analyzes a Dutch medieval morality play entitled "The Apple Tree." The writer examines this play by addressing 16 specific topics of investigation, such as character relationship, opening stasis, closing stasis, and synopsis. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

A 3 page paper on medieval peasant clothing. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

A 3 page essay that discusses individualism in De Troyes' The Knight of the Lion and in the twelfth century in general. The process of cultural evolution that eventually resulted in a societal emphasis on the rights, concerns and needs of the individual did not occur spontaneously, but rather began to emerge during the Middle ...

A 9 page research paper that addresses the significance of terrain in Frederick Barbarossa's Italian campaigns. When Frederick I, known as Frederick Barbarossa, became Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, his primary mission was to restore the Empire to the exalted position it held under Charlemagne and Otto I (Frederick I). This entailed, first of ...

A 3 page essay that comments on a medieval Anglo-Saxon poem. The European world changed greatly during the Middle Ages, both physically and spiritually. While some individuals were able to accept the precepts of Christianity easily, others experienced emotional turmoil over the changes that advancing Christianity brought, which included the destruction of cherished cultural values, ...

A 4 page essay that discusses Wolfram von Eschenbach's thirteenth century German epic, in which there is an emphasis on a knight's honor that is directly associated with combat. In this epic, the hero, Parzival, is on a journey that takes him to the Holy Grail, but more importantly, he is also on a spiritual ...