"Castle" Notes

This post is about the video "Castle".

  It is linked here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGbPShUpjpg

It is based on a book by the same name.

What you will see here are notes I have taken from the video and written on my worksheet.

Who were the people dependent upon?

The people were dependent on the lord at the manner.

Where did they choose to build? And why?

They chose to build at an outcrop of rock extending into the water. The reason why is because it served as natural self defense from enemies or intruders.

What was the first ring of the castle called?

The first ring of the castle was referred to as "the curtain wall".

How long will the walls be on the outer curtains?

The walls will be 300 feet on each side.

How thick was the inner curtain? How high?

The inner curtain was 12 feet thick, and 35 feet high. It was also lined with 50 feet high towers.

What's the center of the inner ward?

The living quarters are located in the inner ward's center.

How many entrances in the town hall? How are they protected?

There are 3 entrances in the town hall. They are protected with fortified gatehouses.

Why did people move to towns?

A call for work caused them to move.

What are the walls filled with?

The walls are filled with rubble.

How are the windows designed, starting from the bottom to the top of the towers?

At the bottom, there are small windows. In the living quarters, windows have glass placed in them. At the very top, there are windows that are slit-like. Archers shoot from the slit-like windows.

What are crenulations used for?

They are used for decoration and for archers to shoot enemies.

Why are the gate houses not lined up from the inner to the outer ward?

They are for enemies to potentially confuse themselves.

How are the tower levels divided?

They are divided by different levels.

What defenses are in a gate house?

In a gate house, the entrances can be blocked by strong wooden doors. Archers can attack from slit-like windows in the wall.

What are the buildings make from?

The buildings are made of stone cobble, sticks, straw, mud, and cow dung.

What live on the bottom floor of the barracks? The top?

Animals live at the bottom of the barracks, while the lord and his wife live on the top.

What is a garderobe?

A garderobe is a restroom.

Vocab

Vocab





     This assignment is part of a (rather large) project. My class and I are going to build a fiefdom by either doing it on Minecraft or building a mini model. The Minecraft building will have to be to scale, and the model will be a minimized model of a fiefdom. The fiefdom must have multiple buildings, such as a great hall, walls, kitchens, dungeons, etc.

Fiefdom

the estate or domain of a feudal lord.

Feudalism
the feudal system, or its principles and practices.

Monarch
a hereditary sovereign, as a king, queen, or emperor.

Lord
a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master, chief, or ruler.

Vassal
(in the feudal system) a person granted the use of land, in return for rendering homage, fealty, and usually military service or its equivalent to a lord or other superior; feudal tenant.

Knight
a mounted soldier serving under a feudal superior in the Middle Ages.

Peasant
a member of a class of persons, as in Europe, Asia, and Latin America, who are small farmers or farm laborers of low social rank.

Commoner

a common person, as distinguished from one with rank, status, etc.

Serf
a person in a condition of servitude, required to render services to a lord, commonly attached to the lord's land and transferred with it from one owner to another.

Tradesman
a person engaged in trade.

Merchant
a person who buys and sells commodities for profit; dealer; trader.

Castle
a fortified, usually walled residence, as of a prince or noble in feudal times.

Moat
a deep, wide trench, usually filled with water, surrounding the rampart of a fortified place, as a town or a castle.

Guild
an organization of persons with related interests, goals, etc., especially one formed for mutual aid or protection.

Abbey
a monastery under the supervision of an abbot or a convent under the supervision of an abbess.

High Middle Ages
The High Middle Ages or High Medieval Period was the period of European history around the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries (c. 1001–1300). The High Middle Ages were preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which by convention end around 1500.

100 Year's War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Plantagenet, rulers of the Kingdom of England, against the House of Valois, rulers of the Kingdom of France, for control of the Kingdom of France.

Black Death
a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population.

Credits for definitions:
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hundred_Years%27_War
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Middle_Ages
http://www.dictionary.com/

Medieval Food Assignment

    Well, here it is. My assignment. For this assignment, I had to cook a Medieval European meal. Not by myself, of course. I had a group working with me. I won’t specify their names, but yeah. Here’s all the info about what I cooked for my part. For this assignment, I made mashed parsnips.

 

One more thing; images don't work no matter what I do.

 I submitted them via Edmodo.

Oh, and I took inspiration for my cooking from this video: http://youtu.be/oU2iwwui7y0

(seriously, check this guy out.)

I didn’t exactly use his recipe, but I did my own version of it.

Ingredients I Used:

• 1 parsnip
• A pinch of parsley
• My time and patience
• Some milk (to soften the parsnip)

    First, I peeled the parsnip. Simple. I like simple. While I was peeling it, I had this weird urge to just take a sliver off and eat it. It smelled really good, too; it smelled like ginger and carrots fused together. Kind of weird, but good. I would have it as a perfume or an air freshener if I could. Moving on.

    Afterwards I threw it in my small oven. Metaphorically. I actually covered a rectangular pan in tin foil and placed the peeled parsnip on top. I then pushed it in, closed the oven, and set it to 350 degrees fahrenheit. I left it in there for a good 15 minutes before taking it out. Yes, I took it out while it was scalding hot.

    After taking the parsnip out and burning my perfectly good hands, I took a knife and cutting board out. Just to be safe, I rinsed the cutting board. I started cutting the parsnip into quarters. It was a hot and potentially dangerous experience. I could either cut myself or burn myself enough that I get some kind of burn to such degree. Luckily none of that happened, and I was left with wonderfully cut parsnips.

    I threw all the pieces in a pot. I set the stove to medium and threw in some milk. I didn’t add too much, though; which I regret doing. I covered the pot and waited for at least 20 minutes. After taking the pot cover off, I was greeted by a rather unpleasant sight. Some of the milk had burnt. The smoke detector was going off and there was an odor in the air. In a frenzy, I turned the built-in fan on and opened the sliding glass door (which led to the backyard) to let some air in. It did the trick.

    After that crazy frenzy, I started mashing the parsnips. Or at least I tried to. The bits just wouldn’t mash. My impatient little self didn’t want to wait anymore, so after 10 minutes of trying, I stopped completely. I grabbed a nice plate and piled the half-mashed parsnips onto it nicely. I sprinkled some parsley bits on it and around the side. Voila!

Overall, it tasted exactly what it smelled like. Carrots and ginger. I wish I could've been more patient, though.

Comparing and Contrasting

Comparing and Contrasting the 

Magna Carta from the US Contitution

In this post, I will be comparing and contrasting the differences and similarities between the Magna Carta and the U.S. Constitution. I apologize if I do not add small details about the comparison. This is entirely from the back of my rather small memory, so again - I apologize.

• Starting off, they're both papers that have been signed. That's an easy one.

• The Magna Carta was forced onto King John by the people, and he was forcefully made to sign it. The US Constitution was not forced, and was signed because all the delegates wanted to.

• The U.S. Constitution had Amendments made across several years. The Magna Carta was signed there, made like that.

• Both the Magna Carta and the US Constitution allow freedom of religion.

• The king does not pay the taxes, as stated in both the US Constitution and the Magna Carta.

• The Parliament from the Magna Carta is similar to the branches of Government in the US Constitution.

• Both documents share the right of fair fines. The fine cannot be too big or too small; the situation has to be fined just right with the right amount of money.

U.S. Constitution Vocabulary

U.S. Constitution Vocabulary

Here is a collection of words I am not familiar with from the U.S. Constitution. These words are taken directly from the Constitution, and in advance- I apologize for my lack of understanding.

Ordain

To make someone a priest or minister.

Quorum

The amount of people at a meeting to be qualified as valid.
Emolument

A salary or profit from employment.

Reprieve

To cancel the punishment of a certain person.

Why The Constitution Was Signed

Why The U.S. Constitution Was Signed

Here is a timeline as to explain why the U.S Constitution was signed. It is simplified, and therefore some small things are not in the paragraphs. All that aside, enjoy the brain food.


1764 - 1769

• The British Parliament passed different Acts against the Colonists, such as the Stamp Act. These acts taxed colonists to pay for British expenses.

1773

• The Colonists held the Boston Tea Party (which is not a party at all.). They dumped cases of tea into the Boston Harbor in Massachusetts to rebel against the taxes filed against them.

1774

• The British Parliament created the Intolerable Acts Act as a punishment for the Colonists. The Continental Congress met up at the Carpenter's Hall in September 1774. They were there for one sole purpose; to make a Declaration of Rights.

1775

• This was the year that the infamous Revolutionary War started. It was April 19th, 1775. It had all started with the Battle of Lexington and Concord. In May, the Second Congress met in Philadelphia. The Second Congress kept meeting until 1781. At that time,  the Congress signed the Declaration of Independence.

1776

• Thomas Paine published Common Sense in January. In June, Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence. 

1777

• British soldiers occupied Philadelphia from September 1777 to June 1778. Many American prisoners died. The Second Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, after a very long debate.

1778

• Benjamin Franklin had the United States and France become allies.

1783

• In March, the articles accepted years ago went into affect.

1786

• Shay's Rebellion occurred during this year. 

1787

• The U.S. Constitution was signed on September 17th, 1787.

info taken from: http://www.theconstitutional.com/field-trips/timeline-road-nationhood

Magna Carta Vocabulary

Magna Carta Vocabulary List

These words listed below are words I cannot define by looking at context clues. Excuse me for my rather small vocabulary understanding for my grade.

Liegemen

A vassal who owes feudal service to a nobleman.

Bailiff

A person who performs actions under (legal) authority.

Chattels

A personal item or personal property.

Scutage

A medieval English tax.

Disseisin

Wrongful removement of a person from their own property.

Ecclesiastical

Relating to the Christian Church.

Kydell

Another version of spelling "kiddle".

Bailiwicks

Someone's particular interests.

Definition Credits

http://www.dictionary.com/