fandomhigh | History of Medieval England - Thursday 6th Period: Discussion 1: Introduction and Pre-history to 500

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History of Medieval England - Thursday 6th Period: Discussion 1: Introduction and Pre-history to 500

Good afternoon, class. Now I get to torture you all by making you all stand up and introduce yourselves to your classmates. This is because I'm ~~sadistic~~ want to get you used to the concept of talking during our discussion sessions. Please give your name and what one thing you'd like to find out in this class.

Your homework, due next Tuesday ~~but to be posted in this post~~ is to pick a topic from the once-optional-now-mandatory reading list I gave you on Prehistoric Britain and Roman Britain and give me ETA a minimum of one hundred ~~Wikipedia~~ words on it. Got it? Good.

[[OOC comment threads are done!]]

[[ETA: OOC: At some point I stopped receiving comment notifications for this post. I'm scanning and trying to jump into discussions. But since I'm trying to foster discussion *amongst* all of you, I try not to jump in everywhere.]]

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If you were ~~a geek~~ ~~Parker~~ read something from the readings I gave you, dazzle us with your brillance here.

"Joseph of Arimathea was gradually inflated into a major saint and cult hero, as well as the supposed ancestor of many British monarchs. He is said to have brought with him to Britain a cup, said to have been used at the Last Supper and also used to catch the blood dripping from Christ as he hung on the Cross. A variation of this story is that Joseph brought with him two cruets, one containing the blood and the other, the sweat of Christ. Either of these items are known as The Holy Grail, and were the object(s) of the quests of the Knights of King Arthur's Round Table. One legend goes on to suggest that Joseph hid the "Grail" in Chalice Well at Glastonbury for safe-keeping."

"This sounds like the American myths of Christ coming to visit the Native Americans," Parker said skeptically. "What kind of facts are they basing this on?"

"What's more important, Parker? Facts of what is believed? Henry II managed to score a great deal of political clout by being the king to 'find' King Arthur's body, and buried it with high ceremony -- at Glastonbury Abbey, for the record -- thus both showing honor to a native hero of his people and definitively stating that said hero was dead, and thus would not be rising again."

"Smart," Parker said cynically. "And if they already associated Glastonbury with Avalon, it tied it up even *more* neatly. I just wish we could pin down where the stories start, but I suppose that's impossible. Word-of-mouth being what it is."

"Okay, here's my question," Parker said, tapping a fingernail on her desk. "History is written by the winners. We have Roman accounts of Boudicca's revolt in Latin, saying it was inspired by one rotten prefect who grabbed property and dishonored the British tribal leader's heirs in order to keep it for himself. Where are the accounts from the other side? Did the Britons even have a system of writing? What backs this up? And why did he have Boudicca lashed and her daughters raped? I don't get it. That seems like something that would *definitely* start a rebellion."

"We've got the Roman view on the Druidical rites on Mona-- that they were bloody, and devoted to sacrifice. I checked and other sources confirm that they *did* practice human sacrifice sometimes, but I have no idea what sources they were using. Does anything from the Isle of Mona back this up? Or were the Romans just killing the local power structure, and justifying it later?"

"And we've got the two speeches given by the two opposing sides-- Boadicea saying that 'On this spot we must either conquer, or die with glory. There is no alternative.' Which she later backed up by committing suicide when her army was defeated. But then you contrast that with Postumius killing himself because he didn't let his legion fight against the rebellion, so he thought he robbed them of honor. Plus what I mentioned before about the numbers on each side. Who even reported this?"

"I guess my overarching question is, did all of British history get recorded by Roman legions and Irish monks, or is there anything where we don't have to question the reporter's veracity? It was the Middle Ages. How literate *were* they?"

_{[ooc: and the geek Parker is not really expecting answers to *all* of these, but she'd like some kind of a idea of what to take as accepted history.]}

"None of it from that far back can really be accepted as pure fact. There's all sorts of stuff smack alongside what we take as fact that's just...pure fiction. Sea monsters and fairies and the like. The story of how Christianity came to Britain is absolutely hilarious."

Zero blinks a few times before realizing, "Actually, considering what I know now, the sea monsters and the fairies might be on the level, too."

"I get annoyed at what's taken as fact," Parker grumbled. "People need to be called on it." Then she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Yeah, Fandom's warped my ability to take anything I've believed was fiction as accepted fiction either. I guess we just keep re-examining the sources."

"Frilford was a religious centre surrounding an important walled pagan complex, possibly containing as many as five temples. There were certainly at least two: one circular apparently with a sacred fire at its centre, the other of the more usual Celtic arcaded-cell type. Immediately to the east has been discovered a huge amphitheatre which was probably used for religious ceremonies rather than gladiatorial shows. A second religious settlement surrounded a temple on Weycock Hill in Waltham St. Lawrence parish. Finds have led to the suggstion that this vast octagonal building may have been dedicated to the Roman goddess Vesta."

"You know, I think an educational trip to England would be advantageous to all of us," Elizabeth said, looking perfectly innocent. "That way we'd all be better able to associate all these different places with these events."

"I'm very fond of that idea, Ms. Weir. Know anyone who could put us up in Glastonbury?"

"Personally? No. But I'm sure we could find a hostel or something. Group rates and all that."

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History of Medieval England - Thursday 6th Period: Discussion 1: Introduction and Pre-history to 500

DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

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Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions

Re: DISCUSSION 3: General Medieval English History Questions