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 Feudalism and Medieval Knights

Homework Exercises

Was the Education of a Young Knight in the Middle Ages preferable to the Education of a School-child Today ?

Like your essay on Charlemagne write a short paragraph defining what you consider a good education to be.

Then sort out the given pieces of information shown below into three groups. You can add information or ideas of your own to those given in the list. Look for some pictures also to add to the homework.

  • Positive Middle Ages/ Negative today
  • Negative Middle Ages /Positive today
  • Not Relevant to the Question
    •

    Category Information
    Positive Middle Ages/ Negative today Negative Middle Ages /Positive today Not Relevant to the Question  
          We grow up with other children and teenagers, working in a community.
    It's often boring.
          As a page at the age of seven you learnt to sing, dance and play a musical instrument.
          We have long summer holidays.
          You learnt good manners in the company of women when you were a page.
          As a squire at the age of fourteen you were expected to go into battle with your lord and you risked injury or death.
          There are computers and the Internet to find and use information.
          At the age of eighteen you would be knighted and become a lord yourself.
          Climate was much more extremely hot or cold at certain times in the Middle Ages.
          You have to be at school at 08h30 in the morning and stay till the evening.
          A squire could wear magnificent clothes at tournaments and banquets.
          You hardly even learnt to read or write, just a few phrases from the Bible taught by the priest.
          Nobody is beaten if they make a mistake.
          You don't have to kneel down in front of your teacher when you say 'Good Morning'.
          There are a number of different subjects including science , maths and modem languages.
          School is well-equipped and warm in winter.
          Young page and squire never really mastered numbers and could be cheated later in life.
          You could joke with the servants if the lord wasn't looking.
          It was hard following a lord around all day, carrying his shield and arms.
          He had to go hunting regularly with his lord
          It was exciting to prepare for battle.
          At eighteen you can go on and study the subject you choose at university.
          There are different teachers for different subjects.
          It is mostly book-learning with not much practical work.
    We have team sports.
          There were thick forests separating villages.
          When you were a page you stayed on your father's manor but when you became a squire you had to go to another manor.
          You didn't really learn about the world beyond the manor because geography was not taught.
          There was no TV or cinema for relaxation.
          A page had to stand or serve at meal times.
          You might learn to play chess or backgammon up in the lord and lady's bedroom.
          You did not learn any other languages.
          The past didn't mean much because you weren't taught history.
          Sometimes pilgrims or crusaders would tell you about fabulous places in the Holy Land.
          Girls are given the same opportunities as boys.
          There were jugglers, jesters and minstrels to entertain you in the evening.
          It was cold and draughty in the great-hall-of the castle.
          You just sit in the classroom in silence listening to the teacher.
          A peasant boy had no chance to learn except perhaps being instructed in a monastery and that meant becoming a monk afterwards.
          In the evening you have homework.
          A squire was outside in the fresh air a lot of the time, learning to look after horses, weapons and armour.
          There are school exams twice a year.
          You accompanied your lord to fairs twice a year.
    You learnt to joust.
          School lunches are varied and tasty.
          Girls hardly learnt anything except embroidery and music.

    Write a paragraph describing good things about the education of a knight and negative aspects of a modern education. You do not need a sub-title but you do need a link phrase such as

  • On the one hand ........
  • lt can be argued that .........
  • Some historians say that ......

  • One point of view is ........

    •

    Write a second paragraph arguing the other point of view, that is, the poor aspects of a knight's education and the good aspects of a modern schooling. Again you need not write a sub-title but you do need to use a link phrase such as

     

    • However, on the other hand .........

    • But from another point of view ......
    • However, other scholars argue that ......
    • Having said this it must not be forgotten that .......

    Write a conclusion where you express your opinion having examined the two sides of the argument. The conclusion is related to your definition in the first paragraph. This last paragraph begins with a link-phrase such as
  • All points considered ......
  • On balance.........
  • Given these two arguments .........
  • Weighing both sides of the subject
    •

    The Open Door Team thanks the following people for the use of images in the Medieval section. The names below link to their websites.

    Melissa Snell
    Christian Fletcher
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