Thesis: Egyptians had many beliefs about the death and afterlife, and took many precautions as a way to protect themselves and their leaders in the death and afterlife, so yes, the Egyptian culture was somewhat "death obsessed".
Primary Source #1
"Homage to thee, O thou glorious Being, thou who art dowered [with all sovereignty]. O Tem-Heru-Khuti (Tem-Harmakhis), when thou risest in the horizon of heaven a cry of joy goeth forth to thee from all people. O thou beautiful Being, thou dost renew thyself in thy season in the form of the Disk, within thy mother Hathor. Therefore in every place every heart swelleth with joy at thy rising for ever. The regions of the South and the North come to thee with homage, and send forth acclamations at thy rising on the horizon of heaven, and thou illuminest the Two Lands with rays of turquoise-[coloured] light."
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Hymn to Ra, from Book of Ani." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #2
"Homage to you, Great God, the Lord of the double Ma'at (Truth)!
I have come to you, my Lord,
I have brought myself here to behold your beauties.
I know you, and I know your name,
And I know the names of the two and forty gods,
Who live with you in the Hall of the Two Truths, 1
Who imprison the sinners, and feed upon their blood,
On the day when the lives of men are judged in the presence of Osiris. 2
In truth, you are "The Twin Sisters with Two Eyes," 3 and "The Daughters of the Two Truths."
In truth, I now come to you, and I have brought Maat to you,
And I have destroyed wickedness for you."
I have come to you, my Lord,
I have brought myself here to behold your beauties.
I know you, and I know your name,
And I know the names of the two and forty gods,
Who live with you in the Hall of the Two Truths, 1
Who imprison the sinners, and feed upon their blood,
On the day when the lives of men are judged in the presence of Osiris. 2
In truth, you are "The Twin Sisters with Two Eyes," 3 and "The Daughters of the Two Truths."
In truth, I now come to you, and I have brought Maat to you,
And I have destroyed wickedness for you."
"Egyptian Book of the Dead, Chapter 125." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. Web. 10 June 2010.
Primary Source #3
"Thou shalt come in and go out, thy heart rejoicing, in the favour of the Lord of the Gods, a good burial [being thine] after a venerable old age, when age has come, thou assuming thy place in the coffin, and joining earth on the high ground of the west.
Thou shalt change into a living Ba(1) and surely he will have power to obtain bread and water and air; and thou shalt take shape as a heron or swallow, as a falcon or a bittern, whichever thou pleasest.
Thou shalt cross in the ferryboat and shalt not turn back, thou shalt sail on the waters of the flood, and thy life shall start afresh. Thy Ba shall not depart from thy corpse and thy Ba shall become divine with the blessed dead. The perfect Ba's shall speak to thee, and thou shalt be an equal amongst them in receiving what is given on earth. Thou shalt have power over water, shalt inhale air, and shalt be surfeited with the desires of thy heart. Thine eyes shall be given to thee so as to see, and thine ears so as to hear, thy mouth speaking, and thy feet walking. Thy arms and thy shoulders shall move for thee, thy flesh shall be firm, thy muscles shall be easy and thou shalt exult in all thy limbs. Thou shalt examine thy body and find it whole and sound, no ill whatever adhering to thee. Thine own true heart shall be with thee, yea, thou shalt have thy former heart. Thou shalt go up to the sky, and shalt penetrate the Netherworld in all forms that thou likes."
"SURVIVAL AS BA - Death, Afterlife and Eschatology - Egyptian Conceptions of Death - Mircea Eliade, "From Primitives to Zen"" Mircea Eliade. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Explanation: The first source is a hymn that an Egyptian would sing to the god, Ra. The second is an excerpt from the judgment of the dead, and the third shows how an Egyptian would be able to survive as the god, Ba. As we can see from each one of these sources, they are all about Egyptian gods, and how to praise them, and survive after life. Egyptians were obviously a culture obsessed with death, as they focused very much on it in their lives.
Question #2:
Who is a better model for modern historians: Herodotus or Thucydides? Why?
Thesis: Thucydides is a better model because he writes about his thoughts on the war, whereas Herodotus only writes about what happened during it.
Primary Source #1:
"What enabled Agamemnon to raise the armament was more, in my opinion, his superiority in strength, than the oaths of Tyndareus, which bound the suitors to follow him. Indeed, the account given by those Peloponnesians who have been the recipients of the most credible tradition is this."
"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #2:
"And from this expedition we may infer the character of earlier enterprises. Now Mycenae may have been a small place, and many of the towns of that age may appear comparatively insignificant, but no exact observer would therefore feel justified in rejecting the estimate given by the poets and by tradition of the magnitude of the armament. For I suppose if Lacedaemon were to become desolate, and the temples and the foundations of the public buildings were left, that as time went on there would be a strong disposition with posterity to refuse to accept her fame as a true exponent of her power. And yet they occupy two-fifths of Peloponnese and lead the whole, not to speak of their numerous allies without. Still, as the city is neither built in a compact form nor adorned with magnificent temples and public edifices, but composed of villages after the old fashion of Hellas, there would be an impression of inadequacy. Whereas, if Athens were to suffer the same misfortune, I suppose that any inference from the appearance presented to the eye would make her power to have been twice as great as it is. We have therefore no right to be sceptical, nor to content ourselves with an inspection of a town to the exclusion of a consideration of its power; but we may safely conclude that the armament in question surpassed all before it, as it fell short of modern efforts; if we can here also accept the testimony of Homer's poems, in which, without allowing for the exaggeration which a poet would feel himself licensed to employ, we can see that it was far from equalling ours. "
"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #3:
"At a later period, certain Greeks, with whose name they are unacquainted, but who would probably be Cretans, made a landing at Tyre, on the Phoenician coast, and bore off the king's daughter, Europe. In this they only retaliated; but afterwards the Greeks, they say, were guilty of a second violence. They manned a ship of war, and sailed to Aea, a city of Colchis, on the river Phasis; from whence, after despatching the rest of the business on which they had come, they carried off Medea, the daughter of the king of the land. The monarch sent a herald into Greece to demand reparation of the wrong, and the restitution of his child; but the Greeks made answer that, having received no reparation of the wrong done them in the seizure of Io the Argive, they should give none in this instance."
"The Internet Classics Archive | The History of Herodotus by Herodotus." The Internet Classics Archive: 441 Searchable Works of Classical Literature. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Explanation of Argument:
As we can see from the first two sources, Thucydides stated his opinion of why things happened, and what he believed was going to happen, or could happen. Herodotus, as we can see from the third source, just states history as it happened, not indicating in any way how he felt about the subject .
Question #3:
Considering all of the conflict of the first century BCE, was Rome better off as an 'empire' than as a republic? Thesis: Rome was better off as a republic, as when it was an empire, leaders who were not good for Rome were given absolute power, but when it was a republic, Rome could choose its leaders, and they would more often be good for Rome.
Primary Source #1:
"Yet even at that time he could not control his natural cruelty and viciousness, but he was a most eager witness of the tortures and executions of those who suffered punishment, revelling at night in gluttony and adultery, disguised in a wig and a long robe,"
"Suetonius ̢ۢ Life of Caligula." Sir Thomas Browne. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #2:
"The people, then, when any such offences demand such punishment, frequently condemn citizens to the payment of a fine: those especially who have been invested with the dignities of the state. To the people alone belongs the right to sentence any one to die. Upon this occasion they have a custom which deserves to be mentioned with applause. The person accused is allowed to withdraw himself in open view, and embrace a voluntary banishment, if only a single tribe remains that has not yet given judgment; and is suffered to retire in safety to Praeneste, Tibur, Naples, or any other of the confederate cities. The public magistrates are allotted also by the people to those who are esteemed worthy of them: and these are the noblest rewards that any government can bestow on virtue. To the people belongs the power of approving or rejecting laws and, which is still of greater importance, peace and war are likewise fixed by their deliberations. When any alliance is concluded, any war ended, or treaty made; to them the conditions are referred, and by them either annulled or ratified. And thus again, from a view of all these circumstances, it might with reason be imagined, that the people had engrossed the largest portion of the government, and that the state was plainly a democracy."
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius : Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History, Book 6]."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #3:
"The people again, on their part, are held in dependence on the senate, both to the particular members, and to the general body. In every part of Italy there are works of various kinds, which are let to farm by the censors, such are the building or repairing of the public edifices, which are almost innumerable; the care of rivers, harbors, mines and lands; every thing, in a word, that falls beneath the dominion of the Romans. In all these things the people are the undertakers: inasmuch as there are scarcely any to be found that are not in some way involved, either in the contracts, or in the management of the works."
"Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius : Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History, Book 6]."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Question #4:
Describe the significance of the Battle of Tours.
Thesis: The Battle of Tours is significant because it stopped the spread of the Muslim faith, and allowed Christianity to continue to spread.
Primary Source #1
"At last night sundered the combatants. The Franks with misgivings lowered their blades, and beholding the numberless tents of the Arabs, prepared themselves for another battle the next day. Very early, when they issued from their retreat, the men of Europe saw the Arab tents ranged still in order, in the same place where they had set up their camp. Unaware that they were utterly empty, and fearful lest within the phalanxes of the Saracens were drawn up for combat, they sent out spies to ascertain the facts. These spies discovered that all the squadrons of the "Ishmaelites" had vanished. In fact, during the night they had fled with the greatest silence, seeking with all speed their home land. The Europeans, uncertain and fearful, lest they were merely hidden in order to come back [to fall upon them] by ambushments, sent scouting parties everywhere, but to their great amazement found nothing. Then without troubling to pursue the fugitives, they contented themselves with sharing the spoils and returned right gladly to their own country."
"Medieval Sourcebook: Arabs, Franks, and the Battle of Tours, 732." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source#2:
"Near the river Owar [Loire], the two great hosts of the two languages and the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of Abderrahman, his captains and his men were filled with wrath and pride, and they were the first to begin to fight. The Moslem horsemen dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, who resisted manfully, and many fell dead on either side, until the going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies: but in the grey of the morning the Moslems returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon hewn their way into the center of the Christian host. But many of the Moslems were fearful for the safety of the spoil which they had stored in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the Moslem horsemen rode off to protect their tents. But it seemed as if they fled; and all the host was troubled. And while Abderrahman strove to check their tumult, and to lead them back to battle, the warriors of the Franks came around him, and he was pierced through with many spears, so that he died. Then all the host fled before the enemy, and many died in the flight. . . ."
"Immediately, Michaelangelo's association with Ghilandaio brought him the oppurtunity to gain experience of panel painting; later he acquired the basic techniques of Fresco."
Bull, George. "Michelangelo: A Biography." Google Books. Web. 10 June 2010.
http://books.google.com/books?id=WLfGOXHUOkAC&pg=PR21&lpg=PR21&dq=Buonarroti,+Michelangelo.+Il+carteggio+di+Michelangelo.+5+vols.+Edited+by+Giovanni+Poggi,+Paola+Barocchi,+and+Renzo+Ristori.+Florence&source=bl&ots=F9ViopOgcZ&sig=AhgYar4zi5rsPJe-GWuhoY5NF2k&hl=en&ei=bBMRTLDkNoT68Ab1xaHuBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Primary Source #3:
"Medieval Sourcebook: Anon Arab Chronicler: The Battle of Poitiers, 732." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #3:
The Muslims planned to go to Tours to destroy the Church of St. Martin, the city, and the whole country. Then came against them the glorious Prince Charles, at the head of his whole force. He drew up his host, and he fought as fiercely as the hungry wolf falls upon the stag. By the grace of Our Lord, he wrought a great slaughter upon the enemies of Christian faith, so that---as history bears witness---he slew in that battle 300,000 men, likewise their king by name Abderrahman. Then was he [Charles] first called "Martel," for as a hammer of iron, of steel, and of every other metal, even so he dashed: and smote in the battle all his enemies. And what was the greatest marvel of all, he only lost in that battle 1500 men. The tents and harness [of the enemy] were taken; and whatever else they possessed became a prey to him and his followers. Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, being now reconciled with Prince Charles Martel, later slew as many of the Saracens as he could find who had escaped from the battle.
"Medieval Sourcebook: Arabs, Franks, and the Battle of Tours, 732." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010..
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/732tours.html
Explanation: The first source shown here shows tan explanation of when the Franks were about to retreat, because they doubted their chances at winning the battle, but they looked back and saw that they actually were not as outnumbered as they had previously thought. The second source tells about when the Franks tricked the Muslims, and the third source tells about a victory that the Muslims had, from the Muslim point of view. The Battle of Tours was so significant for the Franks, even if the Muslims did win some small parts of it, because it let the Franks continue to be able to practice Christianity, which in turn helped Christianity eventually spread.
Question #5:
"
"Medieval Sourcebook: Arabs, Franks, and the Battle of Tours, 732." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010.
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/732tours.html
Explanation: The first source shown here shows tan explanation of when the Franks were about to retreat, because they doubted their chances at winning the battle, but they looked back and saw that they actually were not as outnumbered as they had previously thought. The second source tells about when the Franks tricked the Muslims, and the third source tells about a victory that the Muslims had, from the Muslim point of view. The Battle of Tours was so significant for the Franks, even if the Muslims did win some small parts of it, because it let the Franks continue to be able to practice Christianity, which in turn helped Christianity eventually spread.
Question #5:
What was the significance of the Black Death and the 100 Years' War to the development of Europe as we know it today?
Thesis: The 100 Years' War and the Black Death were important because they both helped shape the development of Europe, by killing many people and making sanitation important, and by shaping territories into what they are today.
Primary Source #1:
"
In the year 1349 there occurred the greatest epidemic that ever happened. Death went from one end of the earth to the other, on that side and this side of the sea, and it was greater among the Saracens than among the Christians. In some lands everyone died so that no one was left. Ships were also found on the sea laden with wares; the crew had all died and no one guided the ship. The Bishop of Marseilles and priests and monks and more than half of all the people there died with them. In other kingdoms and cities so many people perished that it would be horrible to describe. The pope at Avignon stopped all sessions of court, locked himself in a room, allowed no one to approach him and had a fire burning before him all the time. [This last was probably intended as some sort of disinfectant.] And from what this epidemic came, all wise teachers and physicians could only say that it was God's will. And as the plague was now here, so was it in other places, and lasted more than a whole year. This epidemic also came to Strasbourg in the summer of the above mentioned year, and it is estimated that about sixteen thousand people died."
"Jewish History Sourcebook: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #2:
"
I say, then, that the years of the beatific incarnation of the Son of God had reached the tale of one thousand three hundred and forty eight, when in the illustrious city of Florence, the fairest of all the cities of Italy, there made its appearance that deadly pestilence, which, whether disseminated by the influence of the celestial bodies, or sent upon us mortals by God in His just wrath by way of retribution for our iniquities, had had its origin some years before in the East, whence, after destroying an innumerable multitude of living beings, it had propagated itself without respite from place to place, and so calamitously, had spread into the West.
In Florence, despite all that human wisdom and forethought could devise to avert it, as the cleansing of the city from many impurities by officials appointed for the purpose, the refusal of entrance to all sick folk, and the adoption of many precautions for the preservation of health; despite also humble supplications addressed to God, and often repeated both in public procession and otherwise by the devout; towards the beginning of the spring of the said year the doleful effects of the pestilence began to be horribly apparent by symptoms that shewed as if miraculous."
"Medieval Sourcebook: Boccaccio: The Decameron - Introduction." FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Primary Source #3:
"T
hen anon the air began to wax clear, and the sun to shine fair and bright, the which was right in the Frenchmen's eyes and on the Englishmen's backs. When the Genoways were assembled together and began to approach, they made a great [shout] and cry to abash the Englishmen, but they stood still and stirred not for all that: then the Genoways again the second time made another leap and a fell cry, and stept forward a little, and the Englishmen removed not one foot: thirdly, again they lept and cried, and went forth till they came within shot; then they shot fiercely with their crossbows. Then the English archers stept forth one pace and let fly their arrows so wholly [together] and so thick, that it seemed snow. When the Genoways felt the arrows piercing through heads arms and breasts, many of them cast down their crossbows and did cut their strings and returned discomfited. When the French king saw them fly away, he said: "Slay these rascals, for they shall let and trouble us without reason." Then ye should have seen the men at arms dash in among them and killed a great number of them: and ever still the Englishmen shot whereas they saw thickest press; the sharp arrows ran into the men of arms and into their horses, an many fell, horse and men, among the Genoways, and when they were down, they could not relieve again, the press was so thick that on overthrew another. And also among the Englishmen there were certain rascals that went afoot with great knives, and they went in among the men of arms, and slew and murdered many as they lay on the ground, both earls, barons, knights, and squires, whereof the king of England was after displeased, for he had rather they had been taken prisoners.
. "
"Medieval Sourcebook: Jean Froissart: On The Hundred Years War (1337-1453)."FORDHAM.EDU. Web. 10 June 2010. .
Explanation of Arguments: As we can see from the first two sources, the Black Death killed many people. As we can see from the third source, The Hundred Years' War also killed many people, and from many sides. In the particular source quoted above, the French are the ones with the advantage, but they were not the only ones to win a battle in the war. Both events in history were significant because of the people that died, and the good as well as bad that came from both sides.
Question #6:
What were Michelangelo's influences? Consider his works in fresco, sculpture, architecture, poetry and underlying humanist beliefs.
Primary Source #1:
"There was very great disdain between Michelangelo Buonarroti and him, on account of which Michelangelo departed from Florence, with the excuse of Duke Giuliano, having been summoned by the Pope to the competition for the facade of S. Lorenzo. Leonardo, understanding this, departed and went into France, where the King, having had works by his hand, bore him great affection; and he desired that he should colour the cartoon of S. Anne, but Leonardo, according to his custom, put him off for a long time with words."
Primary Source #2:
"Immediately, Michaelangelo's association with Ghilandaio brought him the oppurtunity to gain experience of panel painting; later he acquired the basic techniques of Fresco."
Bull, George. "Michelangelo: A Biography." Google Books. Web. 10 June 2010.
http://books.google.com/books?id=WLfGOXHUOkAC&pg=PR21&lpg=PR21&dq=Buonarroti,+Michelangelo.+Il+carteggio+di+Michelangelo.+5+vols.+Edited+by+Giovanni+Poggi,+Paola+Barocchi,+and+Renzo+Ristori.+Florence&source=bl&ots=F9ViopOgcZ&sig=AhgYar4zi5rsPJe-GWuhoY5NF2k&hl=en&ei=bBMRTLDkNoT68Ab1xaHuBQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
Primary Source #3:
"With the death of Lorenzo de Medici in 1492, Michelangelo lost his first important protector and patron."
Bull, George. "Michelangelo: A Biography." Google Books. Web. 10 June 2010.
Explanation of Arguments: As we can see from the first source, Michelangelo was influenced by Leonardo da Vinci, that the two were rivals. As we can see from the second, Michaelangelo was influenced by
Ghilandaio, and as we can see from the third source, Michelangelo was influenced by Lorenzo de Medci who was his first important protector and patron.
