There’s very little time left in this year, but just enough, thankfully, to let you experience some of the gruesome qualities of the ancient Romans.
The BBC website describes the Romans as “ingenious but brutal”. I think this is a succinct and accurate description. The Romans built superbly designed roads, triumphal arches and aqueducts and administered a massive empire for hundreds of years, but despite their brilliance in many fields they certainly had a brutal streak.
This map of the Roman Empire is in the public domain and is kindly provided by Wikimedia Commons. It shows the remarkable breadth of the Empire at its greatest. You may not recognise the names of the countries but you should be able to figure out which countries they are by their geographical position. For a larger version, see the bottom of this post.
The Romans are remembered for many qualities, not all of them pleasant. They are famous for their military conquests; for their cruel punishments, such as the one inflicted on Jesus and the thousands of slaves they executed for rebellion along the Appian Way; for the blood sports in their amphitheatres, where by all accounts they bayed for blood and got it; and for the decadence they displayed during their huge banquets. These are just a few examples.
Nevertheless, their influence on the modern world has been immeasurable, like that of the ancient Greeks. Most modern languages have many words that originate from Latin; the script used by the Romans is the one used in most countries for writing today; the administrative methods, architecture and engineering of the ancient Romans have been admired and emulated ever since their empire finally collapsed.
The Western Roman Empire officially came to an end in 476AD, a date that is usually considered to mark the end of the ancient period and the beginning of the medieval period. This depends on which historian you read, of course.
Ironically and paradoxically, even though they were in many ways warlike and vicious, they imposed upon their large empire an enforced peace. Even in the midst of all their decadence, the learning and ideas that flourished during that time of peace (known as “Pax Romana”) provided a basis for later civilisations to build upon.
Our family friend, John Bayley, took this shot of a reenactment of a Roman chariot race during his visit to Jordan in 2009. I hope it gets you in the mood for gladiators and blood sports.
Reenactment of a Roman legion in formation, also taken by John Bayley.
Click HERE for the Gladiator: Dressed to Kill Game from the wonderful BBC website if you haven’t have played this game already. (You can also click on the pic below.)
Roman Mosaics: The Romans loved to make pictures with small tiles. Click HERE for some pictures of Roman mosaics to inspire you. Then try making your own by clicking on my mosaic below to go to a site that lets you design one online.
A Roman Street
Toss everything that doesn’t belong in a Roman street into the time tunnel in this game from the BBC. Click HERE.
Jesse's drawing of a plan for an impregnable medieval castle (assuming no modern contrivances were available)This map of the Roman Empire is in the public domain and is kindly provided by Wikimedia Commons. It shows the remarkable breadth of the Empire at its greatest. You may not recognise the names of the countries but you should be able to figure out which countries they are by their geographical position.
(Hi, guys! The work for today’s class is at the bottom of this post in RED.)
Dear 7Y,
Here’s another career opportunity for you!
Ever felt like getting the hair on the top of your head shaved off, donning a woolly brown or black cloak and taking vows to be poor, humble and never have sex for the rest of your life?
February from Les Tres Riches Heures du Duc de Berry - an example of the extraordinarily beautiful artwork in medieval manuscripts (image in the public domain)
I guess not. After all, you are modern boys or young men, and you might feel that poverty, humility and chastity would not offer you the kind of life experiences you expect. If you lived in the medieval period, however, becoming a monk was a recognised career path and it was often your best chance of gaining an education. The monks of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages learned to read and write; then, since there was no such thing as printing, they wrote each book by hand. Their books required long, intensive labour in the scriptorium, the room in the monastery set aside for this task. As if the writing alone was not hard enough, they decorated each page with colourful ink and gold leaf, until it glowed. That’s why their books were called “illuminated manuscripts”. The word “manuscript” means written by hand.
Since books were rare and expensive, you could only afford them if you were rich. So you see, knowledge, like land and power, belonged only to the privileged few.
View some of the beautiful medieval manuscripts that were on display at the State Library of Victoria a couple of years ago by clicking on this link.
A medieval manuscript that illustrates the beautiful little pictures that the artists drew in the margins
One of the most intriguing aspects of these manuscripts is the little pictures that were painted in the margins, frequently depicting the common, funny things that occurred in everyday life. In the Luttrell Psalter, one of the most famous books, there are many pictures of peasants going about their everyday work. These pictures are a primary source giving us insight into the lives of the peasants; but somehow I doubt that the peasants’ lives had the kind of glow that is shown in the Psalter. Click on this link and pages 19 and 20 to see the picture I mean.
Questions – Answer in a Word File
1. At this link you will find out what each of the following terms mean. Find pictures to go with your descriptions of each one:
Here’s the story of the Battle of Stamford Bridge, a bloody battle that Harold and his Saxons won decisively. Harold Godwinson was then obliged to rally his weary army and head south to meet William, Duke of Normandy, otherwise known as William the Bastard, at Hastings. In hindsight, perhaps he would have been better to take more time and let William and his men extend themselves…(You may have to watch this at home, sadly.)
Due to his defeat of the Saxon army at the Battle of Hastings, William was ultimately dubbed the Conqueror, but there was still work to be done in order to overcome the rest of the population. By all accounts William was ruthless in doing so. His main methods were:
Building castles at high points and in strategic parts of the country and giving his Norman nobles parts of the country to control, with these castles as their strongholds;
Viciously killing any members of the native population who rebelled or tried to resist him;
Eventually sending around investigators to write down who lived where, what they owned and what they should pay in tax. You see, William used the pen as well as the sword to subjugate the people he had conquered.
Kindly provided by a photographer who uploaded this picture to Wikimedia Commons, this is a ruin of a motte and bailey castle from Norman times, with a stone keep added later. “Motte” is a word from Old French meaning mound; originally a wooden keep was built on the mound while a bailey, a fenced area for animals, was built nearby. Other simple sheds and huts would also be built within the bailey. This kind of castle was quick to build but also much more easily breached than later stone castles and keeps.
Create a Word file titled: Castles and Crackdowns
1. Read the account of Norman castle building at the Britannia site below. You will need to scroll down to the heading: “The Norman Conquest and the First Castles”.
(a) Explain what each part of these early castles was, ie. the motte, the bailey, the wooden tower or keep, etc.
(b) What was the advantage of this type of castle?
2. Find a picture of a motte and bailey castle and place it in your document. Label the keep, the motte and the bailey, using autoshapes for arrows. Here are a couple to look at:
Reenactment of a Roman legion in formation, also taken by John Bayley.
