The Blessed Past

I throughly enjoyed this weeks reading and would like to tie the readings about the black plague to that of the universities. As a college student I loved learning about the origin of such and the thoughts of those who created them and defended them. If people of this time were not so eager to learn about the world around them, we may have lost the lessons from the Black plague. Iaving lost so much, and with some people looking for someone or something to blame, i.e. God or the jews, or just being mentalling and emotionally spent by the thought it was the end of the world, if the wheels of learning had not been so far into rotation, the black plague may have been even a greater blow. Thank goodness great minds like Newton's had already been developed and dispite all, were still anxious to move on. And with all those who took the time to learn about medicine, and survived the plague, probably gave a base, no matter how small, for the cure we have now. I guess that's why I loved the quote by John of Salisbury, at the beginning of the 12th Century Renaissance article. HOW TRUE!!! I shared it with my husband and we both thought members of our government should be read it. All that we have, all that we are, and that we are currently becoming, is all because of those before us. We are not a generation of geniuses. We are decendents of innovative, courageous, open-minded people, who loved to learn and sought for a better live for themselves and their children. Us. And we have it. THANK YOU to all of you who have sacrificed much to make life better.

Edward the Confessor

This article gives a little more detail of Edward the Confessor. After this week’s reading I had concluded the Edward was a gentler person, not at all like William the Conqueror. However, upon reading the article, I realized that like most men, especially those who were or sought to be king, he was capable of murder and very involved in warfare. He was described as a tough warrior fighting in “fierce urban warfare.” He attempted and failed to kill his brother Harold Harefoot with the help of his brother Alfred. Edward fled, but Alfred was caught and blinded, and died shortly thereafter. In our reading it states that Edward named William the Conqueror as heir to his throne, this fact appears to be disputed. This article states William supplanted Edward’s successors. Despite the turmoil that surrounding his throne, Edward was said to be popular and his reign was filled with peace and prosperity. 1. 2,177 2. The term searched was “Edward the Confessor” and the article it came up with is entitled, “Edward the Confessor”. 3. There is no disambiguation link. 4. Arguments range from reason for his sainthood, to if he was an albino, to the proper citing of his title. There was no real discussion of changes made. 5. First change was April 25, 2004 and the last was September 15, 2008. 6. Five external links 7. One reference 8. Two further reading I thought the article was a well rounded article in providing relatively unbiased information about Edward the Confessor. It is very clear that some of the circumstances surrounding the successor to his throne and why he was childless are in dispute, and I felt the article made this very clear. Additionally, while the discussion page did have a little bantering, it did not appear that unsubstantiated or person preference changes were made to the article. It was nice to see it kept as factual as it was. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_the_Confessor 10/20/08

William the Conqueror

It is amazing to me how quickly a person of such great impact can be forgotten so quickly. I enjoyed reading about William the Conqueror. He was definitely a very smart individual who did not let greed or vengence get in the way of making smart decisions. Although I do not think he was a fair or grateful to those who served him as was Augustus, he did not foolishly make enemies by denying them some reward. While Augustus earned the loyalty of those around him, it was more like William bought it or secured it through intimidation. Knowing this he was very shrewd in what he gave people, guarding well again any likely rebellion against him. You have to give him credit for his shrewdness in protecting his land and patience in obtaining the land. But then again I guess you'd have to in order to survive. Despite all his intelligence and grateness, I would sumise from his death that he never had respect. Again, a big difference between him and Augustus. I am dumb founded at the never-ending fighting we have read about. I've been reminded on occassion of how many wars American has been involved in the century alone. WWI, WWI, the Korean War, Vietam, Desert Storm, Afganistan, etc. But it was not better, if not worse for these people. They fought for centuries to gain land, to keep land, to avenge family, to claim inheritance, to change religious belief, and on and on and on. It a wonder sometimes that we have so much beautiful poetry, music, and architecture from a world so full of bloodshed and hatred. Thank goodness for the optimist. And may be all be realist in learning from the past.

Self v. Others

In reading about the rise of Catholicism and Muslim it reminds me of the early 1800's here in the United States. A time of religions uprising. A time when man good people were trying to improve themselves and the circumstances around them. A time of personal discovery and inlightenment. A time where many took the same ideas of humanity and interpreted them differently to fulfill their own understanding of what is good and right. In the reading of The Rise of Monasticim, Anthony, Pachomius, Basil and Martin, all esstentially started with the same foundation, but changed it to meet their own perspective of how things should be done. Anthony believing in total isolation to obtain personal revelation and understanding. Pachomius understanding the benefits of being self reliant while searching for the relevation and understanding. Basil saw beyond even those and recognized the benefits of working together for a common goal and learning from each other experienses, revelations, and understanding. All different, and yet each of these were based on self improvement and inlightenment. While these men were no doubt an inspiration to many around them, I do not believe their impact was as far reading as Martin's. Martin saw beyond himself to the needs those around him. By sharing both his temporal and spiritual resources, he improved not only his own world but the world of many others. Unfortuantely, like many others who fill their lives with serving others, he was thrust into a position of leadership and even fame. Likely taking him away from the simplicity of helping and teaching the individual, and thus limited even greater influence. For these reasons, I would have to say that if I were looking at joining a religious sect at this time I would probably have to go with Franciscan. I like its simplicity: - having only what you need so you do not develope pride. - speaking kindly when traveling (gentle, peaceful and unassuming) - taking no thought for money beyond your basic needs and those around you - working and not being idle - caring for the sick Last but not least, "be careful not to become angrey and upset. . ., for anger and perturbation in oneself or others impedes love."