Characters and Crusades

(warning: long post)

So if I asked "what do you know about Richard the Lionhearted?" I'm betting most of you would say something about Robin Hood, Prince John, or the Crusades. And you would be right. Richard the Lionhearted was King of England went he went on a Crusade to recapture Jerusalem from the Muslims (the infidels he called them). His brother Prince John tried to take over the kingdom while Richard was away, and Robin Hood robbed from the rich to help the poor because John was such a grasping ruler.

I just finished reading this book called Warriors of God, about Richard's Crusading experiences.
I would highly recommend it. This is the kind of book that makes you feel like you were really there. History definitely came alive for me while I read, and I felt I had met some great personalities.

Note: If you are actually going to read the book, stop here. If you would like highlights, read on.

Richard was a King. I mean, he would have been commanding no matter when and where he was born. He was tall, muscular, powerful, blonde, and beautiful. Had he been born in modern times, I have no doubt that he would be on the cover of several gossip magazines. He was just that kind of a guy. As with all polarizing/magnetic personalities, Richard made enemies all over the place. While he was in Jerusalem he alienated almost all of his European allies in the war for the Holy Land. But Richard didn't care--he was brilliant enough to win most of his battles without them anyway. When Richard finally came to a truce with the Muslims, and retraced his steps across the continent, all that came back to haunt him. Much like Odysseus, he took longer getting home than he expected. He was captured by the Duke of Austria and imprisoned for several years in a tower before anyone even knew where he was. Finally the people of England paid a huge tax to garner enough ransom to buy him back.

Richard was a character and was very interesting to read about. However, there is a whole other side to this book, that I had never imagined. Saladin. (Pronounced Sah-lah-deen). He was the leader of all of the Muslims that the Europeans were fighting. Saladin was also a brilliant general. And a humble, pious, righteous, Muslim. In case you were wondering, in my opinion he was the real hero of the story. Saladin was protecting his home territory from the ferocious, attacking knights of Christianity. To Muslims, the city of Jerusalem is just as holy as it is to Christians. Richard and his contemporaries were probably guilty of using Christianity to do what they already wanted to do (fight battles and create new kingdoms). Saladin was a truly spiritual, God-fearing person. He was the kind of leader who worried more about his people than his own needs. In fact, they found out when he died that he was penniless; he had given away all his money to help others.

Saladin was a great warrior, but he was also merciful. He was famous for the kind way in which he treated his prisoners. He wanted to protect his people, but he didn't love bloodshed. (He seems like Captain Moroni to me). Richard, on the other hand, loved fighting for it's own sake and had no qualms about shedding blood. He spent nearly his whole life fighting battles. Some were monumental, like the Crusade; but many were just trivial land-grabs. Truthfully Richard wasn't that good of a king, he didn't really spend time thinking of how he could improve his subjects lives.

Here is a brief quote from Saladin to his son (and heir) on his deathbed:

"I commend you to God Almighty. He is the source of all good. Do the will of God, for that is the way of peace. Beware of bloodshed. Trust not in that, for spilt blood never sleeps. Seek to gain the hearts of thy subjects, and watch over all their interests, for thou art only appointed by God and by me to look after their good ... I have become as great as I am because I have won the hearts of the people by gentleness and kindness ... Be prudent in thy dealings with other men, for God will not pardon unless they forgive you. But as to that which is between God and thyself, He will pardon the penitent for He is gracious."

Saladin was just the kind of person I want my children to know about. If you are interesting in reading a shorter version this story, try: Saladin: Noble Prince of Islam by Diane Stanley. It is a children's book and is very readable.As a companion to the last two books, I am also reading 1215: the Year of the Magna Carta.
This book specifically covers King John (aka Prince John)'s reign. It gives some great details about what life was like during the century, with an especial emphasis on what changes occurred because of the actions of the kings, Henry II, his son Richard the Lionhearted, and his brother John. This book is fairly short and very readable, so I recommend it as well.

One more and then I'll be done, I promise.

The kids and I have been reading aloud Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green. It is a longish book, but the chapters are pretty short. Turns out there's alot more to the Robin Hood story than just the tournament for the golden arrow. My kids really like it, I think if I had a bunch of boys they would like it even more. There is alot of fighting, but mostly for sport, not terribly violent. (Roger Lancelyn Green also wrote one about King Arthur which I am sure would be just as good, if you are interested in that era.)

So now you know everything we have been reading and learning for the past few weeks. I hope that at least some of this information was interesting to at least some of you! :)

Sir Elliot

I finally saved up enough empty milk cartons to make Elliot a suit of armor. (In case you were wondering, it took 3; 2 gallon jugs and 1 half-gallon.)I was really happy with how it turned out. So was Elliot. He has really been needing some boy dressups! And he loves being a knight. He knows that he should fight bad guys and be chivalrous. We have been studying chivalry this week in school. You might be interested to know the origins of chivalry:

You see, it seems that great lords amassed many knights to help them fight battles, but during the times of peace, the knights got bored and/or greedy. They began to misuse their power. They roamed around the countryside, fighting the serfs for sport and stealing from the wealthy for treasure. This was obviously a problem.

So the kings and great lords and bishops put their heads together and came up with the ideals of chivalry. In the feudalistic system, a knight swore fealty to a lord whom he served. Well, chivalry says that he must swear to serve God as well. He must only use his great strength to help the weak, never to hurt them. The weak included monks, women, the poor, and especially widows and orphans. Chivalry also dictated that a knight must always treat noble ladies with the respect they deserved. He must court her if he loved her and wanted to win her affection. And that meant writing her poetry, singing her songs, etc. Also, about the same time, tournaments began to be organized, to give the knights an opportunity to practice the art of warfare in the time of peace. So there you have it. Chivalry came about because of the standing armies that were required to be maintained by all lord and kings under a feudal system, which I'll have to get into more...later!

hiSTORY

(this post may very well bore you to tears)

I have been reading up on my medieval history. The kids and I are using Susan Wise Bauer's Story of the World series for school. This year we are in book two: the Middle Ages.
And it is just great, we really enjoy it. I am learning about so many new people and so much of history is becoming more real and more clear to me. I wanted an adult level of information to flesh out what I am learning with the kids, so, I tried reading these books:

Civilization of the Middle Ages by Normal F. Cantor

The Oxford Illustrated History of Medieval Europe by George Holmes

Aethelred the Unready: the Ill-Counselled King by Ann Williams

A History of the Vikings by Gwen Jones
(sorry, no picture)

Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell

And frankly, I am very disappointed. These history books are either too broad in scope, covering 400 years in a paragraph; or they are too specific, spending a chapter on listing all the different theories of a very minor part of the story. Sheesh. Even when I tried the historical fiction it is lame, or too graphic, and honestly, I think there were enough real characters in history, I'd rather read about them than made-up people!

It amazes me that with all of this interesting stuff that happened in the past, I am having such a hard time finding out the story of it all! It's like the historians want to keep it all to themselves. Could somebody please just tell me what happened to who, when, where, and maybe why (not too much why though...I like to think about that for myself!)

Perhaps part of the reason I am so frustrated is because last year I read an excellent (story-form) history of the ancient world. I learned so many interesting things! And every chapter had a bibliography at the end so you could get more specific, in depth info. (I highly recommend reading this for pleasure, it was very well written!)
Also, the other big beef I have with historians is, why don't they ever give me a picture of the life of a commoner? Nobody is talking about the common man but there he is...filling up all the history you can think of!

Okay, now that I got that off of my chest, let me ask you some questions; just to test your knowledge of the Middle Ages.

1. When did the Middle Ages start?

2. And when did they end?

3. Charlemagne--what made him so great, anyway?

4. How did everyone forget to read? They used to know how before the middle ages!

5. What is the deal with feudalism?

(for those of you who are LDS)
6. We believe there was an apostasy ... but what was it like exactly?

7. Aethelred the Unready? Who? What country was he even from?!?

8. How did monks and monasteries start? That wasn't part of the New Testament church...was it?

9. You know 1066 is an important year...you might even know the name William the Conquerer, but what did he conquer? And why do you even know that fact?

10. Is it actually worth it for me to try to learn all this stuff, considering that I will probably forget most of it anyway?

Comment your answers and I will tell you if you are right.
Comment your questions and I will try to answer them.
Please comment if you know a good book (or 2) that I should read!
Who knew blogging could be so educational?!?