Middle Ages

The assignment:

In one page or less, describe WHAT IS IMPORTANT about (your topic) in the Middle Ages, especially with regard to ART, MUSIC and DRAMA.

You will present your document before the class, providing a distillation of your findings in TWO MINUTES OR LESS.

From your work, generate 4 multiple choice questions. The answer to all of your questions must be in your work. Make sure the questions are meaningful and relevant.

 

Submit your work on disk as a MICROSOFT WORD document (if this is a problem for you, see me.) Also submit a printed copy.

 

You will have 2 class periods to complete this assignment. Because the next part depends on your timely cooperation, no late assignments will be accepted for credit.

 

For depictions in art, submit the source citation (where you found it), whether in our library, at home, or on the web.

 

It is vital that you FULLY CITE ALL SOURCES!

 

Grading criteria:

 

IS IT ACCURATE?

IS IT COHERENT, WILL WRITTEN, INFORMATIVE?

DOES IT DISPLAY YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE SUBJECT MATTER?

CAN OTHERS LEARN FROM IT?

DO THE QUESTIONS YOU CREATED SHOW YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ESSENCE OF YOUR TOPIC?

ARE YOUR SOURCES FULLY CITED?

WERE YOU A VALUABLE CONTRIBUTOR TO YOUR GROUP?

Questions Worksheet Here

Music Study Guide

BEOWULF	Chris, Joseph
BYZANTIUM	Zain, Subir
THE "REAL LIFE" CAMELOT: AVGERIN EMPIRE C. 1150	Anton, Seth
GOTHIC PERIOD/STYLE	Pearl, Nina
ROMANESQUE PERIOD/ STYLE	Jeffrey, Marcus, Shao
CHARLEMANGE	Sang Hyun, Rajiv
THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH	Tiffany, Olivia
SACK OF ROME	Nicolo, Emilio
THE PLAGUE	Michael, Luigi / Kirby, Noriko
THE DARK AGES (500-1000)	Albert, Angeli
MONASTICISM	Nitesh, Kevin
FEUDALISM	Chandana, Ken
THE CRUSADES	Veronica, Yiu Shiu / Donde, Derek
CAROLINGAN "RENAISSANCE" C. 800 AD	Tauseef, Mario
VIKINGS	Laura, Margaux / Jason, Victor
CASTLES	Maggie, Sarena / Chris, Yoko
THE MAGNA CARTA	Tasha, Paolo
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR	Davy, Seung Mo
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 1 Abbey Aisle Apse Barrel Vault Basilica Bay Buttress Capital Cathedral Choir Clerestory Windows Cloisonne Crossing Facade Flying Buttresses Gothic Groin Vault Luv Nova	Paolo
TERMS AND DEFINITIONS 2 Manuscript Minuscule Mosaic Monastery Mosque Narthex Nave Portal Pentecost Reliquary Ribbed Groin Vault Romanesque Sarcophagus Stylized Tesserae Tracery Transept Triforium Tympanum Vault Voussoirs	Paolo

Study Guide

Gregorian Chant - important genre in the Middle Ages. The story goes that the Holy Spirit, in the form of a dove, dictated the chants to Pope Gregory I. Actually it was probably Pope Gregory II who codified the chants which had previously been handed down in an oral tradition. The chants are monophonic melodies; the text setting can be syllabic (one neume, or note, per syllable) or melismatic (many notes per each syllable).

Organum - originally, two voices at the interval of the 5th. The voices grew more independent, and polyphony was born.

Mass - primary service of the Roman Catholic Church. The part that does not change from week to week, the ORDINARY is of the most significance to musicians. The parts of the ordinary are:

Kyrie

Gloria

Credo

Sanctus

Agnus Dei

Also of importance are the OFFICES, a daily cycle of prayers kept by monks even today.

Motet - secular polyphonic vocal work in the Middle Ages. Remember the means of composition was to take a chant and stretch out the rhythmic values, and add voices (the duplum, the triplum, etc) on top. Often, the texts of each voice were only loosely related, and sometimes in different languages. A racy mundane text might coincide with a sacred one.

Other secular music:

Jongleurs - wandering performers (low-class) who brought entertainment and news from castle to castle.

Troubadours and Trouveres - noble wandering poet-musicians who sang of unrequited courtly love and chivalry. Often carried lutes instead of swords.