1 Primary Source Questions The documents found in your reader are known as primary sources that is documents produced at roughly the same time as the events they are describing One of a historian s main tasks is analyzing primary sources they are the basis for all that information found in your textbook During each class meeting we will discuss some aspect of the primary sources assigned for that day the specific sources are listed on your section syllabus and in your reader and you will be tested on your ability to analyze these materials The following questions are designed to give you a starting point for understanding and thinking about documents and language that may be quite unfamiliar to you Before you begin your day s reading you should look over these questions and after you finish a source try to answer each of the questions It would be a good idea to write down your answers so that you can use them when studying for your exams too With that level of preparation you should also have something great to contribute to class discussion which will help with your class participation grade and have a good start towards learning to analyze these sources The Conversion of Constantine What is Constantine s attitude towards Christianity and Christians two different things before and after his conversion How can Eusebius story be seen as Christian propaganda Explain the logic behind Constantine s conversion In other words why did he think converting to Christianity was a good idea Are his reasons particularly Christian The Edict of Milan What privileges are the Christians given Does this law make them legally superior to other religions in the Empire Based on this law can you tell if Constantine is Christian or not According to this law why does Constantine grant the Christians freedom to worship in the Empire Nicene Creed Pick one clause in the Creed and ask how it responds to the heretical movements facing the Christian Church in the third and fourth centuries How does the Nicene Creed address the debates in early Christianity The Doctrine of Two Swords What is the distinction between power and authority that Gelasius is making How might this distinction influence the way the Church as an institution and various rulers and governments relate to each other Disillusioned Romans What are the qualities that these Romans fell the Roman Empire now lacks How might those qualities contribute to a stronger Roman Empire in reality and according to these authors 2 What advice do they give for regaining a stronger Empire Do Romans have more or fewer faults than the peoples around them Alaric s Sack of Rome What is Procopius s attitude towards Alaric the Visigoths more generally and the Romans What importance does Procopius seem to assign to the conquest of the city of Rome The Salic Law There are no questions because we had a paper assigned on this source Einhard s The Life of Charlemagne How do the qualities that Einhard depicts Charlemagne as having contribute to building Charlemagne s reputation Choose one of the following sections 17 18 22 24 25 or 27 Using just that section describe as much as you can about Charlemagne s society culture etc not about Charlemagne himself Why might Einhard describe Charlemagne s coronation and his time in Rome in the way he does Notker s The Life of Charlemagne Describe the relationship between Charlemagne and the clergy What benefits do both receive from each other What tensions do or might exist In what way s does Notker create an idealized ruler in his description of Charlemagne Why might these characteristics be perceived as ideal during Notker s lifetime How can you tell that they re ideal characteristics not the way Charlemagne really was Compare Notker s and Einhard s descriptions of one aspect of Charlemagne his life or his society How might you explain any similarities or differences General Capitulary for the missi dominici A capitulary is basically a series of official statements sometimes laws sometimes directives sometimes more wishful thinking made by governing officials in this case those working for Charlemagne How do the missi s activities act to support Charlemagne s rule What type of problems does the law anticipate that the missi might have What does this document reveal about Charlemagne s vision of himself and his empire In what ways were his Christian beliefs central to both Why might Charlemagne have considered it necessary for all freemen to swear an oath of fidelity to him as emperor How was the notion of fidelity crucial to the success of his government What do the articles suggest about the means by which Charlemagne sought to unify his empire Annals of Xanten An annal is something between a diary and a history and it s generally full of events that are believed to have personally affected the author in this case a monk from the 3 abbey of Xanten What do the tone and content of the entries tell you about a ninthcentury monk s concerns Three Accounts of the Viking Invasions Compare the first record to the Annals of Xanten How do you explain any similarities and differences How do the clergy explain the Viking invasions and other events of the ninth century Describe the attitudes of the Vikings and the Francs towards each other What is the relationship like between Rollo and the king of the Franks How does this relationship compare to ideal feudal relationships Compare the way the authors tell about what happened Which style do you find more plausible and why Excerpts from the Rule of St Benedict Why regulate the type of activities that Benedict does here In other words I want you to try to think about Benedict s logic If it helps think about the type of daily activities that Benedict hasn t regulated That might suggest to you why these ones are especially important Choose a chapter that you find particularly striking and be prepared to explain in class why you find it so memorable A Description of Clairvaux How does the Clairvaux depicted here represent an ideal medieval monastic community In what way s does it differ from common practice at the time Jocelyn of Bracelond Based on what you have here describe how an abbey functions Are there any activities that Jocelyn takes for granted or approves of that surprise you How would you describe the relationship between the abbey and the ruler of England On Feudal Obligations According to Fulbert what is the appropriate relationship between a lord and his vassal Fulbert is often
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