The Medieval Experience, Essay Example

If you had lived in Europe during the Middle Ages, explain whether you would have rather gone on a pilgrimage or on a Crusade? Refer to specific aspects of the journey to justify your choice.

I would have been a pilgrim. Crusaders were generally cruel, violence mass of people. I think the former better expresses the impetus of Abrahamic religion. That is, religion is a matter of peaceful contemplation about our place in the Universe, not a military campaign to conquer it.

Compare aspects of the Bayeux Tapestry to aspects of a war film depicting a real-life military battle. How do both the Bayeux Tapestry and the film influence the viewer to be more sympathetic to one side over another?

Clearly, it revels in the victory of Normans over the English. By depicting characters and the events of war, both film and the tapestry seek to gain support of the viewer. What differs is for whom the support is sought to be won. In the tapestry, they seek to gain allegiance and legitimacy for the leaders of the campaign. Modern war movies usually seek to gain compassion for those most disenfranchised by war, namely civilians and infantrymen. These are two separate ideas. One seeks to glorify. The other seeks to warn.