Vikings

							What do early Scandinavian myths
  suggest about their religion?
Q. Why did the Viking raids have such
 different consequences by region?
Who could protect against this?
The medieval “F Word”:
      feudalism
What ambitious west Francian rulers need
 is unbroken succession for 350 years:
Enter the Capetians (987 – 1328)
  Meanwhile in East Francia. . .
whose power rose during invasions
        and divisions?
        Rise of Saxon kings:
Otto the Great (crowned emperor 962)
 Italian Peninsula already characterized
   by feuding city-states and duchies –
relationship to north is awkward at best
Viking Raids in England
     c. 790 - 1066
What was the significance of the
      Repton Mound?
How and why did the Vikings
  convert to Christianity?
Why did Danish invaders target
   places like Lindisfarne?
“A place more venerable than all in
         Britain” -- Alcuin
Lindisfarne Gospels (c.700)
You are an Anglo-Saxon king c.850:
 what worries you (besides Vikings)?
What plans did King Alfred (d.899) pursue
      to strengthen the kingdom?
Some included. . .
    • Marry daughter strategically to
      Mercian king
    • Establish law codes
    • Extend and systematize military
      recruitment
    • Patronize learning/literacy
    • Defensive building projects
    • Deal with Vikings (buy them off or
      fight them)
    • Leave kingdom to competent
      children (Edward & Aethelfled)
What do we learn as historians
 from the “dooms” of Alfred?
        Alfred’s Literary Projects
(another early medieval “education” king)
So why was the English monarchy
already weakened 100 years later?
Aethelred Unread (d.1016)
          • What challenges did
            Aethelred face as king?

          • Who replaced him on
            the throne?
   King Canute (1017-1035)
What kind of ruler was this Viking?
How did the kingdom of England
  go from Danish to Norman?
Here’s why some people hate
          history…
English king marries Norman girl
Aethelred – Emma
      Son Edward is born…
Aethelred – Emma



Edward the Confessor
   But then. . .Aethelred dies
Aethelred
   X          Emma     Canute




Edward the Confessor
      Canute marries Emma
Aethelred
   X          Emma     Canute




Edward the Confessor
(living in Normandy)
         With the consequence…
   Aethelred       Emma             Canute




Edward the Confessor   More sons. . .
(living in Normandy)
       And another consequence…
   Aethelred       Emma             Canute      Aelfgifu




Edward the Confessor   More sons. . .   Another son…
(living in Normandy)
Edward the Confessor (1042-1066)
William the Conqueror
      (1066-1087)
Norman England (after 1066)
   What I look for in your writing:
• Sentence Structure
• Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Streamlining your writing
          I. Sentence Structure
• Look out for “the,” “this,” “that,” etc. at the
  beginning of sentences.
         I. Sentence Structure
• Make sure there are no sentences linked with
  commas:

  “Merovingian kings were anxious about the Mayors
   of the Palace, they had reason to be worried.”
         I. Sentence Structure
• Watch for sentence fragments – often
  indicated by a verbal noun form such as
  “being,” “showing,” “doing,” etc.

“Sentences with no verb being ungrammatical.”
“Going to show that a sentence needs a verb.”
“Which is very important.”
         I. Sentence Structure
• Vary your sentence structure: some short,
  some longer, so that the language flows

  Use terms that tell your reader the
  relationship between ideas such as “however,”
  “moreover,” “consequently,” etc.
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Eliminate bland verbs: to be, to have, to go.


  Replace them with more dynamic, specific
  language: the goal is not fancy or obscure
  prose, but clear and concise writing.

  Crisp writing is economical and ‘spends’ only
  as much language as is necessary
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Avoid nominalization, which means turning a
  verb into a noun – and then using a duller
  verb with it.

 “Pepin developed an agreement with the
 Pope to help him in becoming a king; in return
 for papal approval of his new royal status, the
 requirements was that he offer a defense
 against the devastation of the Lombards in
 northern Italy”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
  – “this shows”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
  – “this shows”
  – “when looking at”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
  – “this shows”
  – “when looking at”
  – “since the beginning of time”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
  – “this shows”
  – “when looking at”
  – “since the beginning of time”
  – “there are both similarities and differences”
     II. Vocabulary/Word Choice
• Historians avoid the following! Why?
  – “I,” “you”
  – “this led to”
  – “this shows”
  – “when looking at”
  – “since the beginning of time”
  – “there are both similarities and differences”
  – “Webster’s Dictionary defines X as. . . “
     III. Streamlining your writing
• Cut out everything extra – you want your
  prose to be as efficient as possible, and this
  requires practice

• Reading your writing out loud is a useful way
  to identify wordy passages or ‘dead wood’
  needing to be pruned
     How could you improve this?
• “Renaissance thinkers seemed to be making a
  presumption about the Middle Ages, that they
  were a time of darkness and filth and
  superstition and decay, an idea that came out
  of a particularly negative comparison in
  contrast to the preceding gloriousness of the
  Roman Empire.”
      How could you improve this?
• “Renaissance thinkers seemed to be making a
  presumption about the preceding era of the
  Middle Ages, that they were a time of darkness
  and filth and superstition and decay, an idea that
  came out of a particularly negative comparison in
  contrast to the preceding gloriousness of the
  Roman Empire.”

• Renaissance thinkers characterized the preceding
  era as dark, decaying, filthy, and superstitious in
  contrast to imperial Roman glory.