Learning About The Battle Of Hastings

The Battle Of Hastings was a big historic battle between the Norman and the English people. It took place at Senlac hill 14 October 1066. The English were lead by Harold First and the Norman were lead by Duke William 1 of Normandy.


I read a book about William the First called William The Conquer And The Battle Of Hastings by Micheal St Jhon Parker, and this is what I learned from it.:

William the First was a king of England who was born around 1027 and died in 1087.  He was the king at the Battle of Hasting. After he won the battle he was nicknamed William the Conqueror.

The other book I read was The Battle Of Hastings by Chris Priestly.

The Battle of Hastings was important because it would decide who would take the throne and be the King of England. Also after this battle Normandy was introduced to a new system of government in which the king would usually offer to his warriors a plot of land called a fief, in exchange for their loyalty.  And it would decide who the next king would be.

Here are two of the books I read:

Saxons

Saxons and Vikings
Saxons lived at about the same time as the Vikings. The Vikings lived in a place called Green Land. Although Saxons and Vikings were very different people, they shared many similarities. They both had similar swords, spears and axes! They also wore the same clothes such as the following: thick trousers, tunics, long dresses, and leather shoes with woolen cloaks! They could even understand each other’s language! They also had the same belief that runic letters had power! I think they were similar people.

Saxons
The Saxons were people who lived around the 5^th century. They are descendents of a German tribe who took over Brittany. Here is a list of facts about them:
· It was considered lucky to wear a small metal pig on your head because pigs are sacred to their god Freyja.
· When they burned their dead, they put their ashes in a pot with a window so that the spirit could get out and not be stuck.
· They believed that a red sky at night means that there will be a storm.
· They also thought that if you cut off the head of a dead body, it can’t haunt you.

Saxons were a very interesting people.

Medieval Castles

What is a castle?

A castle is a fortified home where a king or nobleman lived with his family and his army of soldiers, and it usually had a whole community. The medieval castles were mostly built from 1000 AD – 1500 AD.

Why were castles built?

During the medieval time there was no central authority so the nobles built castles as a command center for them to use to control their territory.

Castle Community

There were a lot of people in the castle community. Here is a list of people who may have lived in the castle.

· The noblemen and their families lived inside a round tower in the castle called a keep.

· Knights – men who fight for the lord.

· Squires – knight’s helpers.

· Men at Arms – foot soldiers.

· Skilled workers

· Servants

· Scullions - kitchen helpers.

· Servers

· Cooks

· Garrison- the castle guards.

Designing a Castle

Before building a castle, you need to choose a good location and create a plan.

A good location for a castle is one with natural defenses like rivers and boulders that help when trying to survive attacks.

A castle plan should include super big food rooms and wells to help survive sieges. It should also include defense designs.

Building a Castle

To build a castle, you need workers such as: quarrymen, carpenters, blacksmiths, and diggers. The carpenters start with making a wooden fence around the castle site. This fence is called a palisade. The diggers then dig a well in the most protected interior of the castle. Next, the diggers dig a moat around the exterior of the castle. During all this, the quarrymen are digging up sand stone. While all this happens people are farming the land, and paying a tax to the castle lord. That tax money is used to pay to build the castle. Workers go on to build the walls and gate house. Later, when the exterior protection is complete, they finish the interior living spaces.

Sieges and Warfare

Sometimes when people wanted to take over more territory they would attack the current owner’s base of command which in medieval times was usually a castle. They would surround a castle in a way that made it impossible for the people in the castle to get new supplies or help. This was called a siege.

A siege could go on for a long period of time as the attackers tried to either destroy the inhabitant’s walls or starve them out.

Siege attacks might include:

· Digging a tunnel under the castle walls, temporarily putting up supports, and then burning the supports to make the castle walls fall.

· Building movable towers that could be used to get over the walls.

· Using catapults to throw heavy stones, burning material, and other dangerous items over the wall.

Defense Designs

When castles were under siege, the people did not just sit there. They used different weapons and strategies to try to get the attackers to leave. In addition to stone walls, here are a few other castle defense mechanisms:

Crenellations- holes for archers to shoot from.

Machicolations-a hole in front of the gate to pour bad stuff on people like hot oil.

Moat – a ditch filled with water that surrounds the castle.

Portcullis - iron grills that cover the door.

Books about Castles:

Castle (0046442329200): David Macaulay: Books ISBN: 0395329205 ISBN-13: 9780395329207

Ms. Frizzle's Adventures: Medieval Castle (9780590108201): Joanna Cole, Bruce Degen: Books ISBN: 0590108204 ISBN-13: 9780590108201

Castle (Fast Forward Books) (9780764153099): Peter Dennis, Nicholas Harris: Books ISBN: 0764153099 ISBN-13: 9780764153099

Eyewitness: Castle (Eyewitness Books) (0635517065985): DK Publishing: Books ISBN: 0789465981 ISBN-13: 9780789465986

The Celts

The Celts were a bunch of tribes that lived from 500 B.C. to 43 A.D. in Europe. Although they were ruled by different kings, they shared a similar way of life.

For example they all lived in round houses made out of straw. Most of the cooking was done in the house. These round houses are found in villages all over Europe.

In the Celt villages, there were druids. The druids were holy men who were believed to have to have special abilities like being able to turn things into things! The Celt religion is called Druidism. Druidism says that there are spirits that live in lakes and trees. The Celts were also very superstitious, they believed that the number 9 was magic, and the number 3 was evil.

The Celt tribes shared similar beliefs because story teller’s called bards traveled between them sharing epic stories like the one called Beowulf. Bards had grueling training. For example, they had to lie down with a rock on their stomach and a sack on their head. They also had to recite stories from memory 100 times until they fainted, they memorize it, or they got dragged off to be sacrificed by the Druids. These bards traveled all over Europe sharing stories.

So the Celts were pretty connected for being so spread out!

The Cut-throat Celts (Horrible Histories) (9780590139724): Terry Deary, Martin Brown: Books ISBN: 059013972X ISBN-13: 9780590139724

Ancient Rome Travel Brochure

Here is a brochure for Ancient Rome if you're ever thinking about going there, ha ha!

To see it better, you can click on the picture, or you can click on Visit Roma.

 

More Links:

Google Earth Ancient Rome In 3D

How to Make a Travel Brochure on the Computer - In Microsoft Word or Works.

Design A Travel Brochure - online on Read Write Think

Create a Travel Brochure - Lesson plan on Ancient Rome and history links.

Caesar, Ruler of Rome

Julius Caesar was a ruler of Rome, who wanted to be king.  Caesar fought in the army, and became a military general.  He was very popular with the Roman people, and was a strong leader of Rome.

Caesar was born on 100 BC/BCE.  He died on the Ides of March in 44 BC/BCE when he was murdered by the Senate.  All twenty-three stabbed him, even his friend, Brutus.  It took a bunch of people to kill a skilled fighter like him.

Caesar was a vain man.  Since he was bald, he wore a wig.  Caesar wore elegant clothes, and he liked to wear a robe.  He had to be rich to dress this way.  The way he looked and dressed helped make him a popular leader of Rome.

Another reason he was popular is that he won a lot of battles.  He enlarged Rome by conquering a lot of land, including most of the Mediterranean and Britain.  Rome would not have been as big and powerful without Caesar.

The world would not be the same without Julius Caesar.  Rome might have fallen into enemy hands without his strong military skills.  He was an important leader of Rome, and had a great impact on world history.

Bibliography:

Bauer, Susan Wise.  The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child.  USA: Peace Hill Press, 2001.

Chandler, Fiona, Sam Taplin, and Jane Bingham.  The Usborne Internet-Linked Encyclopedia of the Roman World.  New York: Scholastic Inc., 2001.

Gowar, Mick.  Spilling The Beans on...Julius Caesar and his friends, Romans and countrymen. Italy: Miles Kelly Publishing, 2004.

"The Genius of Caesar" Calliope: Exploring World History Dec. 2006: Vol. 17, No. 4 (Multiple Articles).

Wright, John and Joshua illustrated by Joshua Wright.  The Romans Were The Real Gangsters.  Australia: Allen & Unwin, 2004.

Shen of the Sea Book Review

Ever wonder about where Oolong Tea, Printing, and Chop Sticks came from?  In this book, called Shen of the Sea by Arthur Bowie, you will find out.  Shen of the Sea is a collection of Chinese folk tales.  This book introduces a lot of Chinese history and culture.
One of the stories in this book introduces Oolong Tea.  Did you know drinking tea in China is very popular and is offered whenever someone visits?  The story behind Oolong Tea is that a witch made a man sleep all the time, but he saved her from a dragon so she put caffeine in a plant he uses to make tea.  The creation of Oolong Tea had a big impact on China.
Another folk tale in this book is called, "Ah Mees' Invention."  In this story, a boy throws a wooden block with jam at a wall; thus inventing printing.  Printing is when you get an object and put a fluid on it and place it against a surface.  The creation of printing was a very big event in China's history.
Yet another folk tale is called "Chop Sticks."  In this story there is a really good cook who married and become king.  The wife had three brothers.  Each brother tried to kill him with a different kind of utensil.  So the king became afraid of eating utensils.  So he used two sticks.  Chop Sticks are the eating utensils used throughout China.
This book is a wonderful collection of folk tales.  I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about Chinese history and culture.
More Blog Posts in the China Unit:
Not a Traditional Chinese Tea Ceremony - Video
Review of Lon Po Po
Kids Tour Chinatown - Video

The Story of Theseus and the Minotaur

Theseus and the Minotaur - written by James Ford and illustrated by Gary Andrews.

Crete and Athens, two Greek cities, went to war. Afterwards, Athens had to make a sacrifice so that they wouldn't get totally destroyed. Every nine years, they would have to send in seven girls and seven boys to be the Minotaur's lunch.

Theseus, the son of the King of Athens, volunteered to take the place of one of the people that was being sacrificed. Theseus went into a maze to kill the Minotaur, who is half bull and half human. Before he went into the maze, he found a girl that gave him some yarn. He used the yarn to navigate his way through the maze. In the end, he found his way through and killed the Minotaur.

On his way back home, he forgot to switch the colors of the sail, so when his father saw that it was still black, he thought his son had died, so he jumped off a cliff. When Theseus returned, he was made king because his father died.

I like this version of the story because of its gruesome but funny pictures.

Master Lox Returns

It was a horrible sight. Fires flashed. Money was lost.
Master Lox and his henchment destroyed the portals.

The only one who escaped was one Funkey, Scratches, who had the power of music. He managed to escape through a portal before it was
destroyed.

At the other side, was Kelpy Basin. He was looking for his relative,
Twing. When he got to her home, the door was broken.

There was a note. "We took Twing. Sincerely, Master Lox.
(P.S. Funkey Island)" Then, Scratches knew what he had to do.

He went to visit his friend, Glubs. He asked him to take him to
Funkey Island so he could save Twing.

When he got to the island, it was heavily guarded. He used the power of music to defeat the guards.

He traveled through forests and over hills till he found a castle made of
crystal. When he found the entrance, it was locked. All of a sudden,
a laser killed Scratches and somebody threw Twing's body over the castle
walls.

The End.

This epic poem was dictated and written by Alex Foyt, and not edited by anybody.

It was inspired by Funkeys and by the epic poem of Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh tried to get eternal life, but instead, returned to his town as a wiser man. In a way, Gilgamesh is immortal because his name was written on the city walls.

Bibliography:

The Story of Gilgamesh, The Story of the World: History for the Classical Child: Volume 1: Ancient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor, Revised Edition (Story ... the World: History for the Classical Child)ISBN: 1933339004ISBN-13: 9781933339009

Gilgamesh and the Quest for Immortality, Susan Gundlach, Mesopotamia - The Land of Firsts, Calliope: Exploring World History, October 2006, Vol. 17, No. 2.

Mesopotamia Stuff

Mesopotamia is the land between two rivers, the Tigris River and the Euphrates River. Now, you can find Iraq - the place where they are fighting over car gas and religious reasons - over there.

In ancient Mesopotamia, there was a load of fighting. We know of their fighting, because of their cuneiform writing. They seiged other cities. They rode in chariots. They had bows and arrows. Scribes told about ancient Mesopotamians who were advanced for their time.

We also know something about the ancient Mesopotamians because of huge scuptures of the Lamassus. The Lamassus has the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle. It guards palace gates. All together, this massive scupture is so strong that it can guard palace gates from evil spirits.

Ancient Mesopotamians were an advanced, and interesting, civilization.

Cavemen

Walking with Cavemen is a movie that I watched. It is about cavemen and where they lived. They lived in Africa and then they moved. Africa was an island that crashed into a big piece of land and made mountains which changed the weather. There were a bunch of different cavemen groups. One group made the first tool, and they scared away a lion. Another group caught a wooly mammoth. It was an interesting movie.

Click for caveman game!

Archaeology

Archaeology is digging history. They dig carefully by using brushes, not shovels. They use the same tools that dentists use. They use grids to keep track of where stuff is. They find old trash like the solid gold model boat from 100 BC. They found it in a field in Ireland. They use what they find to understand history. Like the gold boat is priceless because it tells them that they could use gold and they made boats to travel. Archaeologists find out a lot about ancient people from long ago.

Source: Archaeologists Dig for Clues by Kate Duke; The Usborne Introduction to Archaeology by Abigail Wheatley & Struan Reid.