Learning with the Middle Age

"Education is the transmission of civilization." - Ariel and Will Durant

In the classroom, students would sit together on the floor and would take notes “using a bone or ivory stylus on wooden tablets coated with green or black wax” because paper was very scarce. Books were very rare. The picture below contains the wooden tablet that the medieval students used. (The 2nd picture is something for you to smile about. :D )

Video: Introduction to Great Britain: Medieval Architecture-Cambridge

Were you paying attention? Here are some questions to see if you were paying attention. :P

1. What was the peak of medieval sophistication?

2. At the beginning of the Medieval Times, buildings grew out of what?

3. In which century did the Cambridge University begin?

4. Who decided to build the King's College?

5. Why was it difficult to build the King's College at first?

6. Which building was the most magnificent building in the University?

7. King's College has the largest what in the world?

8. How long did it take to complete the King's College?

Answers*

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taboo - a prohibition . Chinese:禁忌 Spanish:tabú

peak - the highest point of a mountain. Chinese:頂;山頂 Spanish:cima

delicacy - fineness of texture, quality, etc. Chinese:n. 精美;柔軟 Spanish:delicadeza

miraculous - marvelous; like miracle. Chinese:奇蹟般的 Spanish:milagroso

"Most medieval people were not knights, kings, churchmen, or merchants. Most (more than nine out of ten) were peasants who eked out hard livings from the land." - A Medieval life by Judith M. Bennett

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eke out - to make (a living). Chinese:勉強地維持 Spanish:ganarse la vida a duras penas

witty - amusingly clever in perception and expression. Chinese:機智的;說話風趣的 Spanish:ingenioso, gracioso

rampage - violent or excited behavior that is reckless, uncontrolled, or destructive. Chinese:暴跳;橫衝直撞 Spanish:alborotar

The Medieval Times, also known as Middle Age or the Dark Age, according to convention, started after the fall of Roman Empire in the 5th century and ended at the daybreak of the Renaissance in the 15th century (I said according to convention because there are many discrepancies about when the Medieval Times actually began). Rome´s splendor sank into history with time. The former enormous land of Rome was broken into many tiny kingdoms. The constant battles with bordering kingdoms and invasions by the Vikings, Goths, Moors, or other Germanic tribes gave life in Europe a different look. The Church gradually gained control and became the center power. Civilization progressed slowly. Books were scarce and writings were a property of the rich; art and literature declined; science was viewed as a heresy; and communication was difficult and primarily by word of mouth.


Feudalism

People tend to focus on the heroic knight tales or romantic stories of the Middle age; however, life for an ordinary person, the peasants, was rather difficult and routine and activities revolved around the agrarian calendar. The society was organized by a feudal system. In this pyramidal system the king was on the top and he granted lands called manors to his nobles or barons, who were known as lords of the manor. A manor consisted of the castle, the church, the village, and farm lands. The lord was in complete control of the manor and the people in it; however, the lord was to provide the king with knights for military service in times of war. Knights were under the lord and were given lands by the lord. In return, knights had to protect the baron and his family, as well as the manor. The knights would thus distribute lands to the “serfs” or “villeins”, peasants at the bottom of the system. In exchange for living and protection, the serfs had to provide free labor and grow food that their superiors needed. This exchange was unfair and difficult. The peasants were over-taxed and required to give up most of what they harvested. Getting through another day was the basic agenda for the ordinary people.

After William the Conqueror’s conquest in 1066 (this was in England), many of the barons were French and knew that the Saxons were hostile and vicious, so, many of them constructed castles and hired many knights’ for protection. However, there were other lords that chose to live in manors because it created a splendid reflection on the baron’s status. Another central feature of the manor was the church. Roman Catholicism was the dominant religion and power. Bishops or archbishops were rich and helped to govern the country. It was the law for people to attend church. Local priests were poor and often uneducated. It was their job to tend to the sick and preach at the church. The rest of the manor land was used by the peasants and were occupied by farm lands. Their houses merely had one room and the family often shared with animals. The serfs also grew crops on that land. Those isolated manors were occasionally visited by pilgrims and traveling merchants, who brought in new spices from the East and told stories of foreign learning.

Castle

The Manor House. It really shows how wealthy the lords used to be.

The Local Church
peasant's house.

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convention - (in this case)general agreement or consent. Chinese:慣例,習俗;常規 Spanish: convención

daybreak - dawn. Chinese:黎明 Spanish:amanecer

discrepancy - difference. Chinese:差異 Spanish:discrepancia

scarce - insufficient Chinese:缺乏的;不足的 Spanish:escaso

heresy - any belief or theory that is strongly at variance with established beliefs, customs, etc. Chinese:異教;異端邪說 Spanish:herejía

by word of mouth - by speaking not by writing. Chinese:口傳 Spanish:el boca a boca

dsitribute - to pass out or to deliever. Chinese:分發 Spanish:distribuir

hostile - characteristic of an enemy. Chinese:敵人的,敵方的 Spanish:hostil

vicious - savage; ferocious. Chinese:邪惡的;墮落的 Spanish:fiero

neglect - to pay no attention or little attention. Chinese:忽視,忽略 Spanish:desatender

tend -1.to be disposed or inclined in action, operation, or effect to do something Chinese:傾向;易於 Spanish:tender

2.to look after; to take care of. Chinese:注意,關心 Spanish:ocuparse de; cuidar

" Always do what you are afraid to do." - Ralph Waldo

Hello, everyone! I know my blog is devoted to discuss about the Medieval Times, but it is also devoted to people who are learning English as a second language (mostly intermediate, post-intermediate and advanced learners). Therefore, I think it will be interesting to share a little bit of my experience of how I learned English. It is quite an adventure to tell. I hope this essay can benefit you and help you to press forward in your English learning adventure.



My English Learning Adventure

An American merchant ship is crying out for help to the German coast guard, “Mayday! Mayday! We are sinking! I repeat! We are sinking!” After a long hesitation and thinking, the German coast guard finally gave this reply, “What…What are you ‘sinking’ about?” That was a joke I can really identify with, because I was a joke to other people when I was learning English. Learning English is not as easy as it appears. It is difficult, but it is an adventurous and fun road. It has no short cuts, no room for procrastination. It requires determination, hard work, and a heart prepared for discouragement and disappointment.

Six years ago I came to Belize and started my English learning adventure. I had no clue what was happening in class. I felt as though I was an absolute outsider or an alien in that class. The most challenging classes were History and Spanish. With the English level I had before, it was very difficult and close to impossible for me to just give another part of my mind to learn another language. I used to sit in Spanish class and try to pick out any English words that I might be familiar with in order to understand. I am a student who is always striving for what I can do best. I had always had a high expectation of myself, but that time I felt hopelessly helpless. It seemed like no matter how hard I studied, it was just another day of struggling and confusion at school.

History class was another story. The teacher was from Jamaica and he had a heavy Jamaican accent. I tried strenuously to comprehend what he was trying to say, but I could not. I knew that under his heavy accent, there was a lot of valuable knowledge which I completely missed. When I opened the history textbook, all I saw were words like small worms crawling all over the pages. “What kind of history textbook has such a few pictures?” was the only thing I could think about.

My social life was also chaotic. Because of my language deficiency, it was hard to communicate not only with teachers but also with my fellow classmates. Even after a three month period, I still had a hard time remembering my classmates’ names and characteristics. Even though I didn’t understand much English, I was very aware of my classmates’ teasing and mocking my English. The frustration was so overwhelming that tears streamed down my face everyday when I got home. I felt as though I should just relinquish from this horrible experience.

Fortunately, the school noticed my difficulties, so they pulled me out of my Spanish and history classes and put me with three graders to do some reading. That was a big help. They not only took away my two most troublesome subjects, but it also gave me a lot of time to study English. There was also another Taiwanese girl named Amy in my class. She was my “personal translator”. After every single sentence my teacher would say, I would ask Amy “what does that mean?”. I know I must have annoyed her greatly, but regardless of that, she was still willing to offer her help. Half a year passed and one day, all of a sudden, I realized that I could understand what the teacher was talking about and I was getting all my homework right. I was so happy and surprised. My English was not that perfect yet, but I finally obtained the ability to study on my own and even make jokes.

Learning English is really not an effortless task. It is a long, dry, and discouraging process but one must be really prepared and determine to accept this assignment. Endurance and hard work are the two most important elements to recognize. However, if one presses on with much patience, the result will be even sweeter than what one can ever imagine.
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devoted - concentrate on a particular pursuit, occupation, purpose, cause. Chinese:獻身的 spanish:devoto
press forward/on - (in this case) continue moving forward. Chinese:奮力前進 Spanish:que sigue adelante
procrastination - to put off till the last minute. Chinese:耽擱到最後才做 Spanish:dejar las cosas para más tarde
discouragement - something that deprive of courage, confidence, or hope. Chinese:沮喪,氣餒 Spanish:algo que desalenta
strive - to make big efforts toward any goal. Chinese:努力,苦幹,奮鬥 Spanish:esforzarse
strenuously - adj. strenuous: forceful. Chinese:費勁的 Spanish:vigoroso
deficiency - insufficiency. Chinese:不足,缺乏 Spanish:deficiencia
relinquish - to give up. Chinese:放棄 Spanish:renunciar
infuriate - to make angry. Chinese:觸怒 Spanish:enfurecer
endurance - the ability or strength to continue or last, esp. despite fatigue, or stress. Chinese:忍耐,耐久力 Spanish:resistencia