Saturday, October 25, 2008
edit to Illness article
Dr Knox provided a link in comment to my article that shows that the nursery rhyme ring around the Rosey is believed to not be tied to the Plague. I received this information through another article i read (linked in original posting) But It is good to see other people have researched it and can not find evidence of this link.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Illness at the Extreme
the 14th century brought many changes to Europe and the world as it was known at the time. The Plague or Black Death as it is known drastically impacted the world as it was known. Trade routes carried this plague from China to Russia and everything in between. The effects of this illness was severe and often effected whole families and towns. Some towns lost as much as 75% of their population over several outbreaks of the plague. Many people don not realize that the Bubonic Plague was not just a medieval illness. This plague is still known in the modern world.
I find it very interesting that the common children's rhyme "Ring around the Rosy" is believed to be referring to the lesions and the rapid mortality of the disease. The words of this song when thought of in this context are very morbid and it is hard to believe that children are taught this rhyme regularly. "Ring around the Rosy Pocket full of posies Ashes Ashes we all fall down" What a thought to share with young children...
I found a very interesting article dated May 10, 2004 by Carmen Walker of National Geographic. This article suggests that the plague might have originated in the Nile region Several thousand years before the major outbreak in Europe. The theory presented is that the Nile Rats were the original carriers and that Fleas are native to Egypt and were the first parasite of the Nile River Rats. The article also discusses that the Plague has become more common in recent years and during the 90's it showed the most presence in the Island nation of Madagascar. Which to this day sees 500 to 2000 cases per year. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0310_040310_blackdeath.html
The CDC has information available to the public regarding the Bubonic plague. On their website they talk about and list high risk regions were rodents are more prone to carry the plague. These areas include the Western United States, southern Africa and Middle Asia. This website also includes countries that reported the plague between 1970 and 1998. This list includes the United States, Brazil, China, India and South Africa just to name just a few. The last significant urban outbreak listed by the CDC in the United States was in the LA area in 1924-1925. The United States averages 10-15 reported cases of the Plague each year with the World Health Organization reporting 1000 to 3000 documented cases world wide each year.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/
I find it interesting that historically the Bubonic Plague has had major ramifications on the world population which also impacted the culture and structure of living in the 14th century and very few people realise it still exist to this day. Every person who owns pets (a common practice in the US) has a possibility of being exposed to the Bubonic Plague. That sure makes me want to make sure my cats have up to date flea medicine at all times.
I find it very interesting that the common children's rhyme "Ring around the Rosy" is believed to be referring to the lesions and the rapid mortality of the disease. The words of this song when thought of in this context are very morbid and it is hard to believe that children are taught this rhyme regularly. "Ring around the Rosy Pocket full of posies Ashes Ashes we all fall down" What a thought to share with young children...
I found a very interesting article dated May 10, 2004 by Carmen Walker of National Geographic. This article suggests that the plague might have originated in the Nile region Several thousand years before the major outbreak in Europe. The theory presented is that the Nile Rats were the original carriers and that Fleas are native to Egypt and were the first parasite of the Nile River Rats. The article also discusses that the Plague has become more common in recent years and during the 90's it showed the most presence in the Island nation of Madagascar. Which to this day sees 500 to 2000 cases per year. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/03/0310_040310_blackdeath.html
The CDC has information available to the public regarding the Bubonic plague. On their website they talk about and list high risk regions were rodents are more prone to carry the plague. These areas include the Western United States, southern Africa and Middle Asia. This website also includes countries that reported the plague between 1970 and 1998. This list includes the United States, Brazil, China, India and South Africa just to name just a few. The last significant urban outbreak listed by the CDC in the United States was in the LA area in 1924-1925. The United States averages 10-15 reported cases of the Plague each year with the World Health Organization reporting 1000 to 3000 documented cases world wide each year.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/plague/
I find it interesting that historically the Bubonic Plague has had major ramifications on the world population which also impacted the culture and structure of living in the 14th century and very few people realise it still exist to this day. Every person who owns pets (a common practice in the US) has a possibility of being exposed to the Bubonic Plague. That sure makes me want to make sure my cats have up to date flea medicine at all times.
agriculture advancement
many advancements in agricultural technology came during the medival era. I find it fascinating how many of these advancements are still used today and are common practice each day on farms around this country and around the world. Heavy Wheeled Plows became common in use in villages centered on farming. the cooperative style of village allowed for more animals to make the use of these plows more feesable.
Crop Rotation also found its routes in medival uses. Many fields became over used causing a shortage of crops for the peasants. Eventually peas and beans became common crops to offset grains. This took some getting use to by the people but the benefits of these plants were found to be more far reaching than as food stores. These plants restored the soil and made them usable again. We still see this all around in farming communities. Corn husks are plowed under, Hay is used to protect plants and fields and crop rotation is evident in many areas.
Many things pertaining to the care of horses came about due to these changes in farming. Horses were used to pull the plows yet they often sunk into the fresh turned earth due to this the horseshoe was developed. These prevented the hoofs of the horses from getting soft and allowed full use of the horses on a regular basis. Also with the use of horses to pull plows the need to have better harnesses and collars became evident. Because horses were not built in the same manner as oxen the need for special collars became evident. These new collars helped control the horses as well as provide for a way to harness multiple horses to the plows to increase power available. This allowed for one plow to do more work.
These inventions helped increase farming productivity which allowed for peasants to persue other endeavors.
I think these inventions are important not only to the advancement of the medival culture but have played a vital role in modern farming.
Crop Rotation also found its routes in medival uses. Many fields became over used causing a shortage of crops for the peasants. Eventually peas and beans became common crops to offset grains. This took some getting use to by the people but the benefits of these plants were found to be more far reaching than as food stores. These plants restored the soil and made them usable again. We still see this all around in farming communities. Corn husks are plowed under, Hay is used to protect plants and fields and crop rotation is evident in many areas.
Many things pertaining to the care of horses came about due to these changes in farming. Horses were used to pull the plows yet they often sunk into the fresh turned earth due to this the horseshoe was developed. These prevented the hoofs of the horses from getting soft and allowed full use of the horses on a regular basis. Also with the use of horses to pull plows the need to have better harnesses and collars became evident. Because horses were not built in the same manner as oxen the need for special collars became evident. These new collars helped control the horses as well as provide for a way to harness multiple horses to the plows to increase power available. This allowed for one plow to do more work.
These inventions helped increase farming productivity which allowed for peasants to persue other endeavors.
I think these inventions are important not only to the advancement of the medival culture but have played a vital role in modern farming.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Wikipedia Assignment #2 week 7
CRUSADES
The Article in which I decided to work on was titled Crusades.
The Crusades as they have become known consisted of multiple military campaigns of a religious nature. Many of these were fought between the growing Roman Catholic Church and numerous other enemies. These enemies included any political enemy of the pope, Muslims, Slavs (Pagan), Jews, Greek and Russian Orthodox and many others seen as heretics to the Pope. These were with the Popes blessing and often started with a religious aim. the 1st crusade was a call to arms to save Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The 4th crusade included the sack of the Christian city of Constantinople. The 6th crusade did not receive the blessing of the pope. The 7th and 8th crusades were seen as victories and the 9th crusade marked the final crusade of the middle ages. Many pilgrims were making their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and during this time the church was destroyed and rebuilt. Many pilgrims were captured and many clergy died. When the Muslims of the area figured out the economic influence of the pilgrims the persecutions stopped but the Christian world was already angry. In 1063 Pope Alexander II gave his blessing to the Iberian Christians in support of their war against the Muslims in their area. Much propaganda and promises of salvation fueled the drive of the Crusades. The first crusade was from 1095-1099 with the plea of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I for assistance at the Council of Piacenza as the first major movement towards the Crusade to Jerusalem. 1099 the city of Jerusalem was attacked by the Franks. The Jews and Muslims of the city combined forces against the invasion. However the Crusaders succeeded in entering the city and proceeded to massacre all the remaining Jews and Muslims. The 2nd Crusade covered the years of 1147-1149 while the 3rd covered 1187-1192. The 3rd Crusade resulted from Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, regaining control of Jerusalem. Pope Gregory VIII called for a crusade in which many prominent figures in leadership of Europe responded, including Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart). The 4th crusade covered 1202-1204 and was followed by the Children's Crusade of 1212. Many facts of this crusade are either misinterpreted or fictitious but the story is of 37000 children marching on crusade to Jerusalem due to the failure of their elders. None of the children returned home and all were lost at sea or sold into slavery. The 5th Crusade covered 1217-1221 while the 6th Crusade took place from 1228-1229. The 6th Crusade was repeatedly vowed to by the Roman Emperor Fredick II and when he failed to act Pope Gregory IX excommunicated the emperor in 1228. We see the Templars Fight Egypt in the 7th Crusade during 1248-1254. The 8th Crusade was relatively short during 1270 and the 9th and Final Crusade, 1271-1272, of the Middle Ages was demeaned a failure. Many other Crusades of note took place however none on the scale of the Crusades to Jerusalem. Due to the length and knowledge based in this article I will stop my summary here.
-This article is titled Crusades and the search term used was 'Crusades'
-The word count for this article was 10138 words and 24.5 pages printed.
-The Disambiguation Link for this article provided references to Military, Political & Cultural, Entertainment and Sports. It also contained other references and uses including Catholic Kings vs Northern Pagans, Cross References to Film, Use of the term Crusaders in modern culture including a reference to the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corp (side note i had several friends who marched with this organization in the late 1990's). Many references to Television. Definition provided by this link: one of a series of Wars between Roman Catholic Europe and Muslim Polities or other enemy.
-The Discussion page included notation that the article had been removed from the 'History Good Articles' suggestion list. Needed suggested edits for renomination. Part of 9 wikiprojects and a suggestion for a image subtitle alteration. Also included multiple edit suggestions
- The History page showed 5831 edits starting with December 21, 2001 and the most recent at time of research on October 2, 2008
-This article contained 10 external links including link to Knox, Crusades course through BSU.
-This article contained 1 reference and 49 notes
-There were no further reading links to outside sources however there were 36 see also Wikipedia links.
This article Covered a large amount of information regarding the crusades. I only summarized a small portion of the article due to the magnitude and detail of the article. I would highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone seeking a starting point in the study of the Crusades. I think this article can provide many search suggestions and starting points for the amateur historian as well as the student. The article does focus more on some facts than others and at times can seem very overwhelming. I personally had to reread several sections a couple of times to grasp the full data contained. While it does seem like a very large and daunting article it provides a great amount of information and historical content to the reader. I recommend this article to the history buff or student.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades
The Article in which I decided to work on was titled Crusades.
The Crusades as they have become known consisted of multiple military campaigns of a religious nature. Many of these were fought between the growing Roman Catholic Church and numerous other enemies. These enemies included any political enemy of the pope, Muslims, Slavs (Pagan), Jews, Greek and Russian Orthodox and many others seen as heretics to the Pope. These were with the Popes blessing and often started with a religious aim. the 1st crusade was a call to arms to save Jerusalem from Muslim rule. The 4th crusade included the sack of the Christian city of Constantinople. The 6th crusade did not receive the blessing of the pope. The 7th and 8th crusades were seen as victories and the 9th crusade marked the final crusade of the middle ages. Many pilgrims were making their way to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and during this time the church was destroyed and rebuilt. Many pilgrims were captured and many clergy died. When the Muslims of the area figured out the economic influence of the pilgrims the persecutions stopped but the Christian world was already angry. In 1063 Pope Alexander II gave his blessing to the Iberian Christians in support of their war against the Muslims in their area. Much propaganda and promises of salvation fueled the drive of the Crusades. The first crusade was from 1095-1099 with the plea of Byzantine Emperor Alexius I for assistance at the Council of Piacenza as the first major movement towards the Crusade to Jerusalem. 1099 the city of Jerusalem was attacked by the Franks. The Jews and Muslims of the city combined forces against the invasion. However the Crusaders succeeded in entering the city and proceeded to massacre all the remaining Jews and Muslims. The 2nd Crusade covered the years of 1147-1149 while the 3rd covered 1187-1192. The 3rd Crusade resulted from Saladin, Sultan of Egypt, regaining control of Jerusalem. Pope Gregory VIII called for a crusade in which many prominent figures in leadership of Europe responded, including Richard I of England (Richard the Lionheart). The 4th crusade covered 1202-1204 and was followed by the Children's Crusade of 1212. Many facts of this crusade are either misinterpreted or fictitious but the story is of 37000 children marching on crusade to Jerusalem due to the failure of their elders. None of the children returned home and all were lost at sea or sold into slavery. The 5th Crusade covered 1217-1221 while the 6th Crusade took place from 1228-1229. The 6th Crusade was repeatedly vowed to by the Roman Emperor Fredick II and when he failed to act Pope Gregory IX excommunicated the emperor in 1228. We see the Templars Fight Egypt in the 7th Crusade during 1248-1254. The 8th Crusade was relatively short during 1270 and the 9th and Final Crusade, 1271-1272, of the Middle Ages was demeaned a failure. Many other Crusades of note took place however none on the scale of the Crusades to Jerusalem. Due to the length and knowledge based in this article I will stop my summary here.
-This article is titled Crusades and the search term used was 'Crusades'
-The word count for this article was 10138 words and 24.5 pages printed.
-The Disambiguation Link for this article provided references to Military, Political & Cultural, Entertainment and Sports. It also contained other references and uses including Catholic Kings vs Northern Pagans, Cross References to Film, Use of the term Crusaders in modern culture including a reference to the Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corp (side note i had several friends who marched with this organization in the late 1990's). Many references to Television. Definition provided by this link: one of a series of Wars between Roman Catholic Europe and Muslim Polities or other enemy.
-The Discussion page included notation that the article had been removed from the 'History Good Articles' suggestion list. Needed suggested edits for renomination. Part of 9 wikiprojects and a suggestion for a image subtitle alteration. Also included multiple edit suggestions
- The History page showed 5831 edits starting with December 21, 2001 and the most recent at time of research on October 2, 2008
-This article contained 10 external links including link to Knox, Crusades course through BSU.
-This article contained 1 reference and 49 notes
-There were no further reading links to outside sources however there were 36 see also Wikipedia links.
This article Covered a large amount of information regarding the crusades. I only summarized a small portion of the article due to the magnitude and detail of the article. I would highly recommend it as a starting point for anyone seeking a starting point in the study of the Crusades. I think this article can provide many search suggestions and starting points for the amateur historian as well as the student. The article does focus more on some facts than others and at times can seem very overwhelming. I personally had to reread several sections a couple of times to grasp the full data contained. While it does seem like a very large and daunting article it provides a great amount of information and historical content to the reader. I recommend this article to the history buff or student.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crusades
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