What should my Medieval England research topic be?
I’m sort of at a loss for what to do for my Medieval England research paper. Any and all ideas are welcome.
Requirements: Anytime from Roman Britain up to (but not including) the War of the Roses (1455), any place in Britain (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland).
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Signing of the Magna Carta
The Jewish Edict of Expulsion
The truth of the Arthurian legend.
The role of language development and how liguistically English changed from Old to Middle English.
The Scottish War of Independance.
I, personally, love the history around the Plantagenets and the Lancasters. Talk about backstabbing and ultra violent. When ever I start to think that society is more violent today I remember what it was like back then.
How the Anglo-Saxons overwhelmed the culture and language of the Britons and other Celts.
The Hundred Years War and how it lasted longer than billed.
Mining and metallurgy in Medieval England.
The negative impact of the Norman conquest on womens rights and how it held back feminism for 900 years. (Seriously!!!)
The mystery plays and the role of traveling players.
Pilgrimages
The Domesday Book and population records
The influence of French (Norman) culture on medieval England
The real King Arthur and how the legends arose
Crap I just re-read your question and noticed that you don’t get to count the Lancasters et.al.
Sorry.
@deni Like the Iron Maiden? Actually not used in medieval times – that was more Early Modern. Because otherwise, I’d be ON TOP OF THAT SHIT!!!
Yeah and stuff like this…..I guess I don’t know when a lot of those were actually used. Bummer. That shit is so fascinating….you know, in a gross way, but still.
Disclaimer: don’t click on that link while you’re eating. I had to abandon my lunch.
Who was Alfred and why is he the only English monarch considered the Great?
Well my first answer was only half wrong. You could write about the early Plantagenets. The history around Matilda and King Stephen is also interesting.
@deni Yeah, actually the Inquisition is in the Early Modern period, not the Middle Ages. It goes Ancient, Classical, Medieval, Early Modern. And then the Renaissance is sorta around the transition from medieval to early modern, but it depends on where the Renaissance is happening (doesn’t happen in all places at the same time) or when that place comes out of the middle ages (again, not the same for everyone). The Middle Ages were actually not that Dark, as they invented the university (and allowed a few women to go, which Early Modern didn’t), and didn’t have most of the crazy religious persecution we think of (save for the Crusades – and there still was persecution, just not at a “burning at the stake” level). Most of the Middle Ages is spent with almost everyone just trying to live another day, beating the famine, plagues, earthquakes, fires, etc – you really don’t have time to give a shit what your neighbor is doing when you have no food and are dying.
Education in the Middle Ages.
Another vote for mining and metallurgy. You get to read an awesome book, De Re Metallica. And since it’s related, the evolution of arms and armor.
The actual Crusades, even if just for your own good. Too many people only know what the media have seen fit to put into movies, which is incomplete at best and downright inaccurate at worst.
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Jack Cade’s Rebellion (1450)
Food. What they used, how they got it, what they did with it.
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1040 – Macbeth’s defeat of Duncan I to become King of Scotland
Castle defenses. It’s more than just moats and turrets.
The establishment of the university system.
King Henry VIII’s reign and how he took over the church.. my favorite one!
@ToriiRawrr That period is too late for what the OP needs.
Birth control in the Middle Ages.
@tranquilsea Oh yeah. Birth control has been around since at least ancient Egypt. They also had ancient ways to preform an abortion.
@MyNewtBoobs Oh I know there were some methods of birth control, I was being facetious. Sorry.
@MyNewtBoobs I’m not usually sarcastic on-line but this cold has me feeling a bit punchy. Didn’t know about the tilde, though.
And “How the Norman Conquest had a negative impact on women’s rights” is the winner! You know, for such a relatively obscure topic, you’d be surprised at how many sources I’ve been able to find.
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