Sworn to Serve
(save this in your document folder for easier use.)
You are a member of a wealthy family in eleventh
century England. The Roman Empire has long since
fallen and feudalism is now prevalent in England. Your
family seeks to become the vassals to Lord and Lady
Whinesalot. As vassals you'll get land, protection,
knights, power and wealth. In return you must provide
the lord with loyalty, taxes, and soldiers when he is at
war.
The Task
For Lord and Lady Whinesalot to choose your family as vassals, you must first provide them
with your family's portfolio which will include the following:
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a story about a heroic event from your family's history
family coat of arms
a design for your proposed castle
a map of your fief (which you hope he'll grant you)
a code of chivalry
an oath of fealty
(The portfolio is to be handed in on May 22, the day of the feast, with all of the above
items included.)
The Process
1. As a group, draft a family history on which future decisions can be based. Because
religion played such a vital role in medieval life, be sure to address this in your family's
history. Also include heroic events to depict family character. Read histories of
medieval figures to get ideas.
2. Identify group member's roles. Use the resource links below to find out specific
information for your role:
o Herald - create the coat of arms (family crest) and a report of historical events
supporting the components of the coat of arms
o Architect / Cartographer - design a model and floor plan of the castle, with
supporting explanation for design decisions and draw a map of your proposed
fief and explain how your family will rule its subjects
o Knight - develop the oath of fealty and code of chivalry your family will swear
to Lord and Lady Whinsalot. You must also know the stages of becoming a
knight as well as recite a poem from the Middle Ages.
3. Meet regularly with your group to compare information, check for consistency, and
get feedback from group members.
4. Once individual tasks are complete, we will have a feast for your family visit to the
lord's court (your class) to persuade him/her to choose you as his
vassals.
Resources
Use the following resources to develop a family history and to better
understand the feudal system of medieval time.
(Resources for other project components are listed under the role
description links above.)
General Information:
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http://www.kathimitchell.com/middleages.htm
Herald Sites
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http://www.cps.ci.cambridge.ma.us/Edtech/longfellow%20unit/fampeeps.pdf
(provides names of famous people from the Middle Ages…be careful when you pick
an ancestor…you are living in the 11th century!)
Heraldry on the Internet (provides links for coat of arms, medieval resources, castles,
maps order of chivalry, etc.) http://www.heraldica.org/elsewhere.htm
http://www.themiddleages.net/ (provides history of the middle ages)
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/medieval/index.htm ( more history information)
Oath of Kings of Arms (includes specific statements to be considered in writing oaths)
http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/oaths.html
Avalon Project: Assize of Clarendon 1166 (an actual document by King Henry II stating
the laws of his land. Great source of medieval language too)
http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/medieval/assizecl.htm
Architect/ Cartographer Sites
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Castles of Wales (incredible wealth of resources including pictures of castles, maps,
historical information) http://www.castlewales.com/home.html
Castles on the Web (provides links to many castle sites)
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/
Glossary of Castle Terms (definitions of words related to castles)
http://www.castlesontheweb.com/glossary.html
Heraldry on the Internet (provides links for coat of arms, medieval resources, castles,
maps, order of chivalry, etc.) http://www.heraldica.org/elsewhere.htm
Regia Anglorum's index page (provides links to articles on medieval culture, people,
and villages) http://www.regia.org/listings.htm#index
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Wichamstow (a virtual tour of the fictional medieval estate with maps, interviews of
villagers, medieval culture) http://www.regia.org/village.htm
Feudal Capitularies (gives a brief statement of some basic governing values)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/feud-caps.html
Truce of God (lists laws citizens were to abide by in one medieval land)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/t-of-god.html
Wharram Percy, the Lost Medieval Village (provides images, maps, and a wealth of
information on a medieval village)
http://loki.stockton.edu/~ken/wharram/wharram.htm
Knight
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Late Medieval Oaths for Heralds (provides actual oaths of Kings of Arms, Heralds, and
Pursuivant) http://pages.ripco.net/~clevin/oaths.html ,
For poetry: http://wikisource.org/wiki/AngloSaxon_and_Old_Norse_Poems#The_Seafarer , http://www.bartleby.com/40/14.html ,
http://www.skell.org/explore/indexF.htm
Code of Chivalry (gives a quick list of noble virtues and items included in a code of
chivalry) http://www.astro.umd.edu/~marshall/chivalry.html
Charter of Homage and Fealty (an actual oath written by Bernard Atton, Viscount of
Carcassonne) http://history.hanover.edu/courses/excerpts/344hom.html
Feudal Oaths of Fidelity (provides a sample oath of fealty)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/feud-oath1.html
On Feudal Obligations (provides a brief explanation of the duties of vassals)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulbert1.html
Ten Rules of Chivalry (provides a quick list of possible concerns to address in a code of
chivalry) http://www.mamajama.com/chivalry.html
Other sites of interest
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Middle Ages (Annenberg/CPB Project Exhibits Collection)
http://www.learner.org/exhibits/middleages/
Learning Advice
Identifying resources (fictional vs. non-fictional)
The resources provided throughout this project include fictional and non-fictional
sites. Look for information on the web page indicating who created the page,
what their background is, and what their purpose for creating the page was.
Verify historical facts by using more than one source and determining the
credibility of the author (ie: is he/she a professor, historian, sociologist, etc).
Group presentation to Lord and Lady Whinesalot and the court
Remember to be persuasive. To do this consider the following:
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Capture your audience's attention with visuals, enthusiastic attitude, and unique style.
Consider using pictures, models, costumes, etc.
Be well prepared. Have all components complete, memorize your part, and know
background information about your part so you can respond to questions.
Be unique! Look for unusual details to add to your part. Consider unique ways of
presenting your information.
Group Evaluation
Your final product will be evaluated on the following:
1. Was there consistency between all components of your family's portfolio?
2. Was your presentation convincing, unique, and interesting?
3. Did your group work effectively as a team, supporting each other to complete all
components of the portfolio?
4. Are all components based on medieval facts and yet unique and creative (not
copied)?
5. Did you go above and beyond the minimum requirements?
Conclusion
Discuss one or more of the following:
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What impact did Christianity have on the feudal system?
What values and beliefs guided decisions in medieval society?
Compare the feudal system to the governmental system of another country you have
studied or your own country. Create a table showing the advantages and
disadvantages of each system. How did these systems effect the development of
these societies?
Reflection
In this project you had an independent responsibility in the role you played, but success
depended on working as a group to pull the pieces together. How did your group manage
this? How will you improve this process the next time?
You accessed a variety of sources to complete this project, both fictional and non-fictional.
How were fictional sources helpful to you? How were non-fictional sources helpful to you?
Due Date……May 22, 2008