The Real Story of Saint Nicholas

Many people have grown to learn that Santa Claus is not real, but what they do not realize that "Good ol' Saint Nick" was a real man. Saint Nicholas was born during the third century, in a Greek city known as Patara. Which now lies on the coast of Turkey. He was raised a Christian by his parents who died when he was still a child. Nicholas followed Jesus' teachings and gave all of his inheritance to those who needed it. He gave all that he owned.

Saint Nicholas became the Bishop of Myra and dedicated all of his life to serving God. Bishop Nicholas was known all over for his love for children, being generous to all who need, and his concern for ships and sailors. Nicholas was alive during the rule of Diocletian, the Roman Empire, and for being a Christian was punished. He was exiled and sent to prison.

These prison were so full of the clergy and the church workers that there was absolutely no room for the actual criminals. He was released from the prisons and soon attended the Council of Nicaea in 325 A.D. Less than twenty years later Saint Nicholas died in Myra on December 6, 343 A.D. He was buried in his church. December 6Th is known as Saint Nicholas Day and is a day of celebration.

Many can see the resemblance of this real Saint, and the made up character during Christmas season. One can see how the love of children turned into the giving of toys and how much care was given to all. It is interesting to learn how such a great Saint was turned into a mythological man.

In conclusion, Saint Nicholas was an extraordinary man. He followed the teachings of Jesus and gave all he owned to those in need. His death is still remembered today and he is a very well looked up to man. I can see why, however it happened, his life turned into a fairytale man who gives toys to kids for Christmas.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

The Bubonic Plague

During the Ancient and Medieval world plague was one of the most feared diseases. The biggest epidemic of the Bubonic Plague was during the 1300's in France, England, Germany, and Italy. One out of every three people were killed. People back then did not know how it was spread which, in turn was a contributing factor to the rate at which it spread.

The Bubonic Plague first began with aching limbs, and vomiting of blood. Then the lymph nodes would begin to swell, found within your armpits, neck, and groin. The lymph nodes would swell for three to four more days until they burst. How quick the disease spread, the excruciating pain, and the awful appearances of the people, all made the plague even worse.

The plague was also known as the "Black Death" because the skin of the infected people would turn a dark gray color. It began in China’s Gobi Desert, and it killed about 35 million people living there. When sailors traveled to Asia infected rats returned with them and were back inside Europe. Fleas living on the infected blood would then carry it to the European people.

Merchant ships traveled from Asia on the Black Sea. They arrived in port at Messina, Italy. The disease spread as far as England within a year. The reason it spread so quickly was due to the fact many did not know why it was spreading. The people thought that if they all gathered together to pray they would find healing. They were in fact completely wrong.

By being so close to each other for so many amounts of time the disease spread much more rapidly. If people had avoided contact with each other the death count would have been much lower. Now we have a cure but death still exist due to the Bubonic Plague.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Tudor Dynasty

The Tudor Dynasty occurred in England from around 1485-1603. Many people know this dynasty by two very important monarchs who were members of the Tudor Dynasty. Both King Henry VII and his daughter Elizabeth I played a key role within this dynasty. During the Tudor Dynasty, England survived a great number of economic, religious, social, and political reforms that drastically changed the country and the people.

The founder of the Tudor Dynasty was Henry VII, who reigned from 1485-1509. In 1485 a great civil war within England took place titled the War of the Roses. Henry Tudor took the crown away from Richard III and then married Elizabeth of Your, establishing the Tudor Dynasty.

Henry VII was succeeded by his son Henry the VIII, who reigned from 1509-1547. Henry the VIII was a significant figure in History and certainly made his mark. He is commonly known for having many wives and killing them, along with proclaiming himself the Head of the Church of England. Henry VIII was followed by his son Edward VI in 1547, who ruled until 1553. He was a very young hing who didn't hold the thrown for long.

Lady Jane Grey held the thrown for a very short while and was soon followed by Mary I. Mary I is more commonly known as "Bloody Mary" and was the daughter of Henry VIII. She reigned from 1553 to 1558. Her main goal during her reign was to reestablish a Catholic England, which was newly a protestant country. This failed miserably.

Elizabeth I followed her sister in ruling the Dynasty from 1558-1603. During her reign many great changes occurred in England. They became an economic power and prospered commercially. Her 44 year reign led England to be a great naval power and trade was booming. After the death of Elizabeth the Tudor Dynasty ended and the Stuart Monarch began.


McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Failures of the Crusades

One of the biggest failures of the Crusades was very obvious in my opinion. If you have to recapture a city, or try to, shoots up a giant warning of failures to come. After the First Crusade, the Second Crusade began to recapture the city of Edessa. This is just one of the failures shown throughout the Crusades.

The Second Crusade began to recapture the city of Edessa in 1147. It was called for by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and led by two kings. Louis VII, King of France, and Conrad III, the German Emperor, led this crusade. They so poorly managed this crusade that nothing at all was accomplished.

During the Third Crusade Saladin, the Muslim leader, recaptured Jerusalem. This led to the German Emperor Frederick I, called "Barbarossa" {Red Beard}; Philip Augustus, King of France; and King Richard the Lion-Hearted of England to become leaders of the Third Crusade. This Crusade also ended in failure.

So I guess one could say another event that showed the failures was the fact that more than one crusade was needed. The First Crusade was the only Crusade that actually succeeded. After that there were only failures and this led to even more failures and many more deaths.

In conclusion, one of the biggest events, that led to failures, was the fact that they had recapture city's so many times. After the First Crusade failures were unstoppable. Nothing truly was accomplished after this and many lives were lost.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux and the Second Crusade

Saint Bernard of Clairvaux was born in the year 1090 and died August 20 1153. He was a French monk during the Crusades who's father was a knight and his mother was a daughter of nobility. Bernard sought to reform Cistercian monastic order.

Saint Bernard was the main force for the Second Crusade. He was a Cistercian monk who had a great passion for the Second Crusade which was ultimately a failure. In 1115 he founded a new Cistercian Abbey at Clairvaux, which at its largest, had 700 monks. 68 other houses had become due to this Abbey at Clairvaux.

Bernard preached of the Second Crusade and many, thousands, of men became crusaders. Due to the loss of Edessa, to the Muslims, Bernard was very enthusiastic about the Second Crusade. His enthusiasm caught on and for the first time western Monarchs, including King Louis VII of France and King Conrad III of Germany came to the east to see for themselves.

King Louis and King Conrad led the Second Crusade after hearing of Saint Bernard. Nothing was accomplished in this Crusade although many still went on into Asia Minor. Although nothing was achieved during this Crusade, many things came from Saint Bernard's success.

Saint Bernard died August 20, 1153, in Clairvaux, Champagne, France. He was a remarkable speaker and a very driven Monk. The Second Crusade was mainly a result of his perseverance. Saint Bernard made a great impact upon Cistercian Monasticism.


McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

The First Crusade

The First Crusade was first launched by Pope Urban in 1096 when Alexius called on him for help. The Crusade was created in order to regain Jerusalem from the infidels, or the Muslims, who had captured it from the Eastern Christians. The idea was to free the Eastern Christians from Islamic rule, but it turned into much more.

In 1095 Pope Urban made a very convincing speech at Clermont, France. He urged the common people to join them in theCrusade and to fight to regain their holy city. He obviously made a very convincing speech because almost everyone left for the crusade right away. One of the reasons for this was that the Pope told them that they would be given immunization for any past, present, and future sins if they fought for the Lord.

One issue came into play. The Crusaders were killing people who they thought were the infidel but really Christians whop spoke different language. They stopped in Nicaea and decided they were going to try to capture it. This presented a problem. Some of the Crusaders went off on their own and ended up getting themselves killed. Most of the commoners were killed in this part of the Crusade and one would think the crusade was over but not yet.

After this people's part of the Crusade the knights were finally arriving. These Crusaders had 3 main goals, the first was to conquer Nicaea, the next was to conquer Antioch, and last was their final and most important goal, Jerusalem. Nicaea fell easily to the Crusaders, but what was ahead took a lot longer to accomplish. Antioch took seven months to fall, but the next target was what was going to take the longest of all.

They finally reached Jerusalem,and the attack began in the summer of 1099. Jerusalem was very well defended by very tall walls and fortresses. They Crusaders were short many materials, but when the materials arrived they were very ready to siege the city. Some of the crusaders got inside the city and let the rest of them in. They killed whoever they wished and the Muslims that were spared had to dispose of the dead bodies because of the smell. The Muslims later claimed that 70'000 were killed and the Crusaders took whatever they pleased from the Dome of the Rock.

In conclusion ,the First crusade was successful in regaining Jerusalem from the Muslims. They created the kingdom of Jerusalem and the first King they crowned was
Godfrey of Bouillon. He passed away in 1100 and his brother succeeded him. This gain led the Crusaders to want more and that led to many more crusades in the future, but this crusade was very successful.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.

William the Conqueror

William 1 of England (better known as William the Conqueror) led a very interesting life. He was born the only son of Robert 1, Duke of Normandy, and Herleva of Falaise. He was an illegitimate son due to the fact that his parents were never married. He was also known as William the Bastard due to the fact that his parents were never married. When his father passed, William inherited his father's name but none of his riches because he was and illegitimate son.

William was born 1028 in Falaise. William was given the title of Duke of Normady in 1035 at the very young age of 7 years. In 1052 William married Matlida of Flanders. They had 10 children together, 6 daughters and 4 sons.

In 1066 many important events occured. In the spring of 1066 the Normans went to Rome to ask for papal support during the Norman invasion. In July William prepares his fleet and in september the invasion begins against King Harold of the Saxons. During September and October many fights occur during the Norman invasion. On December 25 William is finally crowned king of england in the Westminster Abbey in London.(Guy, 25)

On September 19, 1087, 21 years after he was crowned King of England, William died in France. His reign was magnificent and glorious. Even though he was not able to inherit his fathers riches he still became very rich and was a great leader. "William of Normandy conquered England with warriors from all over Northern France." (Mc Kitterick, 122)

In conclusion, King William conquered King Harold of the Saxons, and many other groups. He was eventually crowned king of England and was a great leader. He was a good husband and a great leader. He got far in his career and even though he was an
illegitimate son he was a great leader.

McKitterick, Rosamond. Times Medieval World. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

Guy, John. Medieval Life. London: Ticktock Media Limited, 2001.