Andrew,+Megan


 * May 3rd, 2011 **
 * Source Citation **

Sara Butler. "RUNAWAY WIVES: HUSBAND DESERTION IN MEDIEVAL ENGLAND. " //Journal of Social History// 40.2 (2006): 337-361. ProQuest Social Science Journals, ProQuest. Web. 2 May. 2011.

﻿ This is a paper on what desertion looked like from a male standpoint in medieval times. Although I haven't quite gotten all the kinks worked out in my plot, I am thinking that I will have the eldest daughter get married, then leave in a similar way to how her mother left Bisclarvet. Showing that despite how she had fallen in love and how she wanted to be different from her parents, she still wound up with her mothers decietful blood and had a very similar end come to her marriage. This paper will be helpful in knowing just how much her deception would hurt her husband when she leaves him, and has also given me a far different perspective then I would have otherwise thought to consider. 

My group had Sir Walter Ralegh, and we choose to analyse the poem "The Lie". This poem shows Ralegh's view of the corruption that has become a norm in his society. This poem makes it clear that Ralegh thinks that the corruption needs to stop and is not at all pleased with the lies the heads of the country and the heads of the churches have been readily handing out. He is pushing the envelope by constantly saying the exact same thing over and over, but using slightly different words. He is showing that if you simply cannot rely on rulers and officials, the only one you can truly rely on is yourself.
 * Ma ﻿ y 2nd **
 * Poem Responce **

I am planning to write my paper as a continuation of Bisclarvet, by Marie de France. I plan on writing the tale in the same general writing style, with the last word rhyming every two lines. Although this isn't exact, because Marie de France does tend to stray from this on occasion, but mending it to a constant will be far easy then trying to decipher when she strays and when she has them rhyme. The plot of my tale will begin where the other one has left off, with the Bisclarvet's lady, her new husband, and there children, normal males and cursed, noseless females.
 * April 25th, 2011 **
 * Description of Plans for the Final Paper [Option A] **

This speech made by Queen Elizabeth is very convincing. As is typical she goes onto what will soon be a battlefield and gives her full support to her troops. However she isn't just making a war speech, she has also made it work to her advantages. If you read between the lines Elizabeth is also pushing the fact that she, alone, is capable of ruling her country without the aid or assistance of a husband or king. Elizabeth does this so discretely that it is far from boldly stated, but the message rings clearly through. In addition she is smart in that she does not only make her voice heard, but in addition she makes a spetacle of herself. To see a queen walk onto the battle field in armor saying that both she and all of England is fighting beside you is absolutely a strong image. Queen Elizabeth defiantley knew what she was doing when she stepped forth to urge her troops to battle.
 * April 11th, 2011 **
 * Ruminate on "To the Troops at Tilbury" [page 687] **

Even though you really don't think about it in modern times, the English translations of the bible that were emerging in the Early Modern period had very subtle differences that could make a world of difference. The language just had very slight differences in wording or punctuation, but those little changes could very easily change how a person precieved the passages. And when were talking about something as important as the bible, a few words could change the state of a person's sole. In Tyndale's version he uses the word offer where the others use bring, and in another instance he uses the term similitude where the others choose likeness, these slight differences have the power to entirely shift the meaning of the passage.
 * April 6th, 2011 **
 * Significant Differences in Languages between Passages **


 * April 4th, 2011 **
 * Things that have begun to Shift from the Medevil Ages to the Early Modern Time Period **
 * **Things in the Medieval Period began to take a very big shift as the Early Modern time period came into view. The general public started to become aware of the possibility of fraud and conspiracy within the walls of the church, and the need for a readable bible became real. The people began to feel that their very souls were at stake because they themselves were unable to determine what they needed to do, and they were no longer willing to blindly follow the commands of church leaders. A wave of independence began to sweep through the congragation and they wanted to have indiviualized faith rather than what the priest told them. This is where the branch of the protastant church began to come into being. In addition a new era of philosophy, medicine and science was emerging that was far more widely accepted that what had taken place in the Medieval time frame. People of wealth began to hire farm hands and their land became more widely used for profit and crops. The English language also took a big turn for the better and became more proper with rules and a set writing style. Also the class structure began to change as the church lost the power it had possesed soley for so long. The standards for rulers is also starting to shift as Elizabeth I takes the throne alone and refuses to marry, but the country still regaurds her as a queen with no king. Clearly the female gender is getting slightly more power than their was beforehand.

This play is not at all what I expected after reading the prologue to it. I felt that because it was a play based on christian morals, the play would be centered on the navitvity scene and on the birth of Christ, just through the eyes of the shepards. However, it is rather a story based primarily on the lives of the shepards, with a side note of them actually seeing the angel and going to find Jesus in a manger. I thought it was very fun to read and was clearly made for entertainments sake rather than for the ﻿sake of educating people about the biblical story. However, it is a twist on a common story and I did think it was very fun to read.
 * March 27th, 2011 **
 * Thought's on 'Second Shepherds' Play' by "Wakefield Master" **

Julian of Norwich is condsidered a mystic, because so little is known about her, whereas Margery eventually took the time to have someone write down as much of the important events of her life as she was able to recall. In addition, Margery was a woman of her time period and was very much so apart of and involved in the world around her. She was the daughter and the wife of wealthy merchants, and over a period of 20 years she bore fourteen children. Julian on the other hand, was as seperated from the world as much as was physically possible. She lived in the side of the church, and the only people she saw were those who came to speak with her, or those who brought her daily provisions such as water. While they both claim to live there lives in servitude to God, Julian physically devotes her life and all of her time to God, so much so that all we can find out about her is her devotions rather than typical things that she went through. On the other hand Margery lived as part as the world and though she claims to live fully devoted to Christ, we also know seemingly pointless events of her life such as how people sent her away from the dinner party because she wouldn't stick a sock in it, which she felt was important enough that it positively had to be written down so that future generations would know her suffering. Where Julian is devote, Margery seems to be overdramatic and things she is above the rest of the world.
 * March 24th, 2011 **
 * Comparison between Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe **

I think of all the pilgrims going along this journey, the scholar is my favorite. This is because of all of them, for me he is the most relatable because he is a scholar of the time, but I'm basically a modern day equillavent. I also feel that the scholar is the witty one in the group, and he knows when to talk, what to say, but also when to keep his mouth shut. I feel that both now and back then that is a very good quality to have. Therefore, out of all the choices, I like the scholar the best.
 * March 7th, 2011 **
 * My favorite Pilgrim in Canterbury Tales **

I cannot deny that this is a very intriguing article, however I can't bring myself to agree with it. I feel that Sir Gawain is not an anti-feminst, but merely a young, very fustrated knight. First off looking at the time period in which this was written, feminism wasn't really up for debate. Woman had their roles and they stuck to them, rather than going out and demanding rights and sufferage, since it simply wasn't happening. Were not looking at a story written in the 21st centuary where women are seen as equal to men and every difference has to be overlooked to be politically correct; at this time period women are seen differently then men and they take there place. To think that anyone in the time period would be so far advanced in thought that they would try to create an anti-feminst charater is ridiculous at best. Furthermore, my personal feelings are moreso that Sir Gawain, the oh so humble, amazing, talented knight, is having a pity party. It's happened to the best of us where we have a bad day and we need a big plushy pillow to sceem all sorts of nasty angry bitter things into. But, yet again, not the 21st century so Sir Gawain had no magical fluffy pillow. So he threw his anger at the first thing he could, and that was woman. Which when quickly looked at is completely understandable since Lady Bertaik was the one to give him the scarf which has a surface parallel to Eve forcing an apple upon Adam (although this has little to nothing to do with Delilah snipping off Samuels hair, buuut woman = bad is by far an easy enough comparison when your mad as anything). Therefore, alothough this was an interesting read, I think the author is one of those over jelous females that think anything pushed against females is simply cruel. But all in all, Sir Gawain had a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day, and therefore had himself a good pity fit thrown at whoever came across his was first. Plus, gotta be honest, women didn't exactly make it hard for him to use as a target of anger.... just saying.
 * February 28th, 2011 **
 * Responce to "Undressing Lady Bertilak" **

Sidenote: **Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day**, was the best children's book ever, and was a needed reference.

At this point in the text the lady of the house is trying to pursuade Gawain to take a present from her, although he will give her nothing because he has nothing to offer her. Gawain is trying to be a good knight and not go against his good intentions, but she is persistant. The Lord's wife offers him a ring, and one of great worth. Gawain is not only showing that he is courtous by refusing the ring, but also that he is humble by declining something worth so much. The lady is persistant and eventually Gawain is worn down and accepts, however it is important to notice that he does not accept until she says that while wearing the girdle, Gawain can not be harmed. This is important to note because Gawain is going to face an oponent that is supernatural, and he is quite literally about to face his doom. He goes against what he has promised to the lord, in order to save himself from a certain doom. Therefore by accepting this gift he is going against the rules of being hospitable and the rules of being a knight, all for the intention of living to tell of this experience and not die at the hand of the Green Knight.
 * February 23, 2011 **
 * Analysis of one Passage in Fitt 3 from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight **
 * Lines 1817 through 1845 **


 * February 14, 2011 **
 * Thoughts on Connections: Rules of Courtly Love **
 * ** I think it's funny how diffrently the view of love was back then and what it's like today. The obvious differences include how much the view of beauty has changed over the years; tan is the new pale, and anorexic is the new healthy weight. However, looking into these rules of love it is clear that our love of everything unhealthy isn't the only thing that has changed since Marie de France's time. It's interesting that their views are so inheritantly different than those of the church, especially during this time period when the church basically had the upper hand in politics. From a common day standpoint these aspects of love seem to be wrong. According to todays standards it just seems silly that jealousy could actually increase the feeling of love, and even moreso that jealousy is neccessary in order to have true love; but this was how love was treated at the time. It's funny how things change over time... and yet somethings (such as When a lover suddenly catches sight of his beloved his heart palpitates), though would be worded differently; have remained the same.


 * February 9, 2011 **
 * The Wife's Lament **
 * ** I think the most intriguing aspect of this story is how there are so many ways to interpret it. Nearly every aspect can be debatable, right down to whether the narrator is male or female. I feel that if this reading had no title, in this translation it could be debatable, but is more likely female. I think it's very interesting to think of the story in terms of a woman who has deceased telling the story. Although I did get as far as to think that her husband bid her stay near a gravesite, the thought that she herself is actually dead never really occured to me, though once it was mentioned it made the whole plot of the story very different. It's funny how the whole story isn't even a full page long, and yet there are dozens of possible meanings.

I think that the ending of Beowulf was good and yet rather sad at the same time. I think it was a good ending because there is no happily ever after because the ending basically ends with the death of a hero. Instead of the typical fairy tale endings were so accustomed too, ** ﻿ ** Beowulf does slay the dragon, but he is unable to do it alone, and he loses his life for it. The strong character that was able to single handedly kill off Grendel and his mother is aged and he overestimates his strength as well of the strength of his ancient blade. If it was not for one of his men jumping into battle, Beowulf could not have been successful. So it is far more realistic than many other stories of our time period. In conclusion, I like the ending because it ends with the death of a king, and the end of his line, but also with the new beginning of the next line.
 * February 7, 2011 **
 * Ruminate on the Ending of Beowulf **

I have finally finished reading through Beowulf and I really enjoyed it. Although many parts were somewhat hard to understand, especially when they tell a story (or lyre) within the story and a whole bunch of names are thrown at you that you don't see again before or after. However, overall I really did enjoy the book even with it's many complexities. I thought that it was very interesting that it was religiously based, and I think it really helped create the character of Beowulf. For instance when Beowulf is being praised and given gifts from King Hrothgar for killing Grendel's Mother, he gives all of the praise to God. He says that God saved him from being killed by her blade, and also it was due to God that he noticed the ancient blade he used to kill her. However, when he returns home and tells his uncle [Hygelac] about his adventures he says that he could have been killed, but wasn't and mentions nothing of God. I feel that this shows how his realationship with his uncle differs from his relationship with Hrothgar. I think this book as a whole was a very good read.
 * February 5, 2011 **
 * Beowulf **

I was able to attend both the 11 and 3:30 lectures by Gareth Hinds last monday, and I'd have to say I thought it was an excelent presentation. When I read the graphic novel I thought that the artwork must take alot of time, but seeing him make a quick picture, on a computer, was facinating. It was amazing how it just same so naturally. It was really a fun experience to meet him. I accidently posted this under discussion, so it's posted twice... but I got it now.
 * January 26, 2011 **
 * Gareth Hinds **

I agree that it was a good ending as it was not the "happily ever after". The story all along talks of the battles Beowulf had to, or chose to, partake in. I thought it sad that Beowulf, at his elder age, had to take on the dragon. Understandable as it was probably to show his strength still but sad none the less.
 * First Post **