Joan of Arc Biography

Joan of Arc (1412-1431) was born in the village for Domremy in 1412. She was born during the time when France was in turmoil and under the English, or during the Hundred Year War. Through her restless life, she once saw the voice of an angel calling her into battle. From that point, the courageous and sacrificed leader went to battle. She traveled at an early age to Chinon, where King Charles the Seventh was living. With kind and gracious words she told him her story and asked to lead the army 5,000 to the battle against the English in Orleans. Due to the great disaster, King Charles the Seventh allowed her to lead those 5,000 soldiers into battle.

With only 18 years old she triumphed through the town as she headed to Orleans, a place that would mean a lot to her in time. During the path she has inspired her soldiers with her great stories and assured them confidence and the spirit of belief. As she furiously rode the great English walls they were dazzled by the army they were given to fight. Yet little did they know that what would happen would be one of the biggest moments in history.

Little by little, Joan of Arc took over forts and killed many Englishmen. Yet when victory was just a step away she was wounded in a battle. Once her army pulled to retreat, her voice echoed that when the banner touched the fort, they will be victorious. And soon enough you could Joan of Arc riding her horse, and at that place she forced the British out of Orleans. With this victory she is in crested in history as the "Maid of Orleans".

Her fame was spread all over the English and people of France. Joan was a country hero. The remainder of her voyages also were a success pushing the English out of France once and for all. And in those great days, she watched as King Charles the Seventh was crowned Rheims. That same day, she begged to be left alone and return to her family, yet the king did not allow such a mistake.

As if known, in the battle against the Duke of Burgundy she was captured and given to the English for a very large sum of money. After staying in jail for a year, Joan of Arc was brought to trial and was to be burnt at the stake. As promised, that one day the fire lit up, is when Joan of Arc's notorious yet calm mind was put to rest.

The Crusades

The directed goal to the 8 Crusades was to capture the Holy Land. The people who wore the Christian Cross against the non-Christian in the crusades was called a crusader. Since 1095 and the next 200 years, the Christians launched 8 battle missions to capture the Holy Land held by the Muslim Turks. The Pope believed that the Christians should rule over the Holy Land. Jerusalem was considered sacred by the Christians, the Jewish people and the Muslims. The popes only hope was in the lords and knights. His first attack on the holy land was with normal people, however the Turks were able to defeat them. The second attack however was conducted by an Arab Muslim leader who seized Jerusalem in a slight way. By 1187 however, Saladin had totally retaken Jersualem. Over all, the Crusades were a very important time period that slowly cut and siezed the Holy Land.

The Crusades also had a very significant role in the development of the Middle Ages and the population. The Crusades trig erred the use of trade in Europe. The foods, jewelry, sculptures, art, and other goods that were brought to the Holy Land largely grew and the goods were in great demand in the rest of Europe. This fact also provoked the use of money in Europe that still is in use today. Secondly, the Crusaders that traveled back and forth brought new ideas and technology to the people. In this way, cultural diffusion took place. Overall, the Crusades were a great mark, that will be remembered in history.

Charlemagne

Charlemagne was born in 742, however the place remains unknown. He was of German blood and shared many characteristics with his fellow people. He read a few books but quite complex ones. He attempted to write at a older age, but that never worked out yet he could speak 3 languages.

In 771 Carloman the Second died transferring Charlemagne as the sole king at age 29. At that time, the northern part of the empire was pagan and lawless while the southern side was Roman Catholic. Charlemagne was determined to bring peace and stabilize Europe. To begin with, he launched a 13-year campaign that seized and transfered the pagans to the Christian religion. Charlemagne was great fan of solving conflicts easily, but when people disobeyed or did not listen, he would conquer and seize their land. Like with the case of Desiderius.

The key to Charlemagne's great success was his ability to organize. During his reign, he sent out 50 military expeditions, conquering many lands. He always planned ahead and knew exactly what he wanted to do. It is said that he would always call bishops and kings to tell them all of the information for the battle ahead.

By 800, Charlemagne was the undisputed ruler of Western Europe. His land covered nowadays France, Belgium, Switzerland and The Netherlands. As well as half of Italy and Germany along with the Spanish Border. With this, he reconnected a part of the Roman empire and along with his great innovations and intelligence, paved the way to the establishment of modern Europe.

On Christmas Day in 800, the Pope crowned Charlemagne before the alter. Since that moment, Charlemagne is considered the first Holy Roman Emperor. When Charlemagne came to the throne, he tried to give everyone equal rights, and help society advance. For example, he tried bring back appreciation for music and art by bringing various people from different places. Over all, Charlemagne brought the Renaissance a start and united Europe.

Feudalism and the Manor System

As many of you may know, the feudalism system is applied in the government; it is a part of the government. Basically, in the feudalism method, land was owned by kings and lords, but held and governed by the vassals in return for their great loyalty. The vassals and the lords were tightly bound. A king usually supported his vassals and treated them with respect. In return, the vassal would deliver valuable messages and fight in the words. Most of the vassals were however valuable and honored knights. Overall, they were the lord’s second hand. In this way, the feudalism was in benefit for everyone.

Onto to the manor system, this is how they organized their economy. This sort of system included a manor, a large estate that contains a field and even sometimes a village. The manor had to create self-sufficient needs, while the lord had control over him, and relied on him for his money. Since the manor lived in another village, his job was to collect taxes and keep everyone of the peasants under control.

The majority of the medieval times were peasants. Usually, all of them were very poor. They all had to work for themselves and their families. They lived in small huts and ate really simple foods. The main cause of this was the manors and the lords. Most of their farmland and the money were sent to the lords, causing the peasants fighting for survival. I believe that all of these facts did not affect the peasant’s beliefs in a positive way. They eventually led their own lives and followed what they desired. If I were them, I would just not see the point in life. Over all, although they were the majority of people, they had to stay with their miserable lives, being manipulated on a daily basis.

Renaissance Reflection

I believe that the Renaissance Fair took great preparation and concentration to pull off. All of the classes joined together to create a masterpiece. In my opinion, I believe that the Renaissance Fair was a huge success and fascinated many people and parents. So much for the preparation, lets get on to the objectives from each class and how these were put together in the final act.

To begin with, the costumes were marvelous and really expressed the feeling of the Renaissance atmosphere. I also was thrilled how everyone played their part before the presentations. Everyone was dressed in a different costume showing the different views and aspects of the Renaissance time period.

I was also thrilled on how we went out a performed the dances. During the practices and lunches, although we were trying hard and intensively, mistakes were likely to occur. However, during the performance mistakes were nowhere to be found. This is the time where the pressure and concentration come to handy. We were all focused and got the job done. I guess all of the lunches we spent dancing finally payed off :)

As for DT, Simeon and I created a airplane and 6 parachutes that were displayed, hanging off the walls in the art room. Along with that we were required to create a poster, along with 2 power points we created. Although at the end of deadline time was not on our side, we managed to finalize our product. In my opinion, this was another massive success. It showed the way people thought and how their minds worked. Over all, the Renaissance is a time period where art came to power.

For art, we also created 3D galleries which shows the illusion of walking down a gallery. All of our art work was placed on a green paper that was hung through the room.

Into the music stage, I believe that 8A did a great job performing, and all of the music went with no dramatic mistakes. All of the aspects and notes went smoothly, and sounded like a great rhythm echoing through time.

Finally, the Shakespeare Performances were in my opinion, the highlight of the night. The tempting memorizations and the hard work that went into payed off. With great proffesionalism and emotion everyone did a marvelous drops. It is like the Mid Summer's Night Dream came to life.

In conclusion, the whole Renaissance masterpiece was a part of 8th little will forget. With dedication and strength, everyone pulled off and amazing night, A Renaissance Night!