"hey there! i'm an 18 year old student, studying for a degree in modern history :) (passed my a levels in the summer - welsh, french, history and english lit/lang)
i've always loved watching tennis, but watching andy murray really took my love for the game to a new level - he's such a fantastic player to watch! i don't play tennis myself, but i would LOVE to learn :)
Ultimateshedman wrote: "Are you at Oxford University eira ? What's it like there ? I went to the engineering department open day in the summer which was great. Particularly like their great robotics demo. What's studying modern history like ? I really enjoyed doing the GCSE but for some reason I didn't continue it on to A-level. Which periods of history do you study ?"
Eira arian replied: "yep, i'm at oxford :) it's pretty cool - lovely city, lovely people, but lots and lots of work - and terms are pretty darn short!! modern history is fab - the periods we can study range from 300 to 1945 pretty much, and at the moment im doing 300-1087, which is one of my favourite periods - yey for Vikings and Anglo-Saxons!!!
are you thinking of applying? which college are you considering if you are?"
USF wrote: "You must be really clever getting into Oxford. What was the interview like ? I was really disappointed when I did GCSE History because I wanted to study the Dark Ages [300-1067] as it was my fav period. Unfortunately the only options AQA offered were the 20th Century or social and economic changes in the 19th century. The very name of the 2nd option put me off so I did the 20th century. What did you do for A-level and GCSE history ? what college are you at ? What areas do you study between 300-1087 ? Is it the different Saxon/Viking kings and then the beginning of Norman England ? It must be really interesting. "
Eira Arian replied: "for gcse i did the russian revolution 1905 - 1924, america in the 1920s and 1930s and the middle east 1919 - 1990 (man there are a LOT of wars), as well as coursework on dunkirk and the battle of britain.
for A level i did nazi germany, the consolidation of power, opposition to the regime and focusing on the nature and coming about of the holocaust for my coursework and then a seperate module on the tudors, encompassing elements such as the religious settlement and mary stuart, henry VII's usurpation, martime exploration, the acts of union between england and wales 1536 and 1543 and poverty and vagrancy. (quite Welsh biased - i sat WJEC which is the welsh examinations board)
the interviews are pretty scary, but they're not looking for down and out brilliance, they're looking for someone who can work through things and can be taught (so god knows how i got in, as i have neither brilliance nor a particular aptitude for my subject, but im not going to complain!!) i had one interview on my personal statement(ucas form, sent in in early october), the books i'd read, current affairs, what i thought about particular issues, what i'd bring to the college and myself and another one on a piece of work i'd sent in, linking it to other topics the tutor suggested and so on. i aslo had to do a written test in early november, which is marked but never seen or mentioned again.....
dark ages is basically....the fall of the roman empire (only briefly though) the conversion of the Anglo-Saxons, the invasion of the Anglo-Saxons and how they interacted and dominated the Celts, the nature of Anglo-Saxon kingship and how it developed and changed, the mercian supremacy, the reign of Alfred, looking at sources such as beowulf and how useful they are to us, and then onto the Vikings, the Danelaw and the rise of Wessex, followed by the Norman invasion in 1066.
USF wrote: "I did the Russian revolution for GCSE and Nazi Germany as well as WW1, women's emancipation [tons of boring dates !!!], world events in the 1920s and 1930s and Vietnam. The Middle East must have been a difficult subject to write about.
Your A-level course sounded interesting. I think they ought to introduce a greater range of options for GCSE.
Do you study all the different conflicts during the Dark Ages ?
Who was beowulf by the way ? Am I correct in that Alfred started school ? I think I read that he was a great scholar as well as a warlord [though not too good at cooking !!"
"Alfred did promote a new educational system, but i think it was more to expand the bounds of his power through making his subordinates literate and thus making them understand his laws than a programme of mass literacy for the whole population. i actually have to start reading about him tomorrow for an essay a presentation on monday, so i'll tell you when i find out more! although i did go to a lecture on him today :) i know that he did institute a lot of new things (helped by the stability of his predecessors and examples from merovingian france) such as the navy and burghs etc.
what do you mean by conflicts? there were lots of internal rivalries and boundary expansions between kingdoms and then obviously the vikings, but we havent got to them yet. also should point out that the whole period is extremely badly documented as you probably know.
beowulf is a poem about a warrior called beolwulf and his adventures in scandinavia - it has some realistic and some fantastical elements and is hard to write and essay about as we dont know who is was written by, or when or where or why!!!!!!!"
" It's interesting reading about Alfred and other aspects of the Dark Ages. Please tell me more when you can
By conflicts I did mean the many rivalries between the different kingdoms though Wessex was the strongest wasn't it ?
How much of England did the Vikings actually control, I think there were areas which were still controlled by the Celts eg: Wessex and Wales. Did the Vikings control all of northern England and Scotland ?
I think that's why it's called the Dark Ages isn't it as there isn't much info about it. I think the information is generally from monks and scholars at the time, is that right ?
"yey for lots of history questions! it means i can mess around on the internet instead of doing work!! The rivalries between the kingdoms were intense and power fluctuated greatly between them. Kingdoms originated we think in the 6th century - we know more about them after 597, because it was then that Augustine came to England on his conversion mission and therefore then that christian scholars in later centuries were most interested in and had most information about. By Alfreds reign - 9th century - Wessex was the strongest kingdom (in the south) , but in the 8th century, the Mercians were dominant, Particularly under Offa. Northumbria (the united kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira) remained a constant force in the north throughout the period, although their power was undercut (as in most kingdoms except Wessex) by dynastic rivalry, feud and a large quantity of land being given to the chuches, making the kings power less stable. (other important kingdoms were East Anglia and Kent and there were perhaps hundreds of other tribal groupings which eventually became absorbed into other larger kingdoms e.g. the hwicce and the magonsaete) There were systems of overlordship and patronage and territorial expansion as the midland kingdoms were able to expand into British territory. Throughout the period there was no secure system of inheritance, so whenever a king died, the throne became open to any male member of the royal family with a legitimate claim. this made power transient - until the rise of wessex any gains made by one king were generally lost in the next generation.
the Celts (although they should be called the Britons - celtic refers to the language not the people and is a victorian phrase) inhabited Wales, Cornwall, and some areas of the north and west of england, although in what became 'England' they were for the most part dominated by the Anglo-Saxons (the number of Anglo-Saxon invaders would not have been enough to wipe the Celts out - there must have been some mixed settlement and cooperation, although there was some resistance) the picts inhabited scotland, as well as some Irish descendants in the kingdom of Dal Riada in SW Scotland. Mercia was Anglian, the South Coast Saxon and Jutish. (BIG generalisations here - a lot of info may not be 100% accurate). Wessex was however not Celtic.
Spot on - thats why its called the dark ages. The main source for the period up to 731 is Bede, a monastic scholar living in the double monastery of Monkwearmouth-Jarrow in Northumberland. Christianity introduced literacy to Anglo-Saxon England (although it had continued in British areas, as they had remained Christian and therefore monasteries were centres of learning) We aslo have Gildas who is earlier, but extremely biased and trying to condemn the kings of British areas - he was a Briton, not an Anglo-Saxon. Bede is also biased, as to some extent are all historical sources, but he does attempt to give a chronological account. There are very very few other sources (we have the letters of Alcuin in the 8th for examples and the letter of charlemagne to Offa) until the reign of Alfred - this is why we know so much about him, but we must be careful when we assess the sources that they are not just Alfredian propaganda (although obviously they have a historical value). The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle also dates from Alfreds reign and aims to give a chronological overview - although it borrows heavily from Bede and Bede from Gildas. Archaeological evidence is extremely important - i recommend looking at the finds from sutton hoo if you haven't before.
It is hard to call Beowulf a relaible source - because of how little we know about it, although we do know its post conversion because of the Christian elements. It is not useful in terms of chronicling real events, but it is extremely useful in what it reveals about society - most sources from the 'dark ages' are about kings and churches and although beowulf is too, it also allows us a glimpse into the society of the warrior aristocracy. It tells about 5th (i think, poss 6th) century events, but was recorded in the only version we have in around 1000 - this shows that people still had an interest in their (pagan) past and heroes and other themes raised by the poem and supported by non-fiction and archaeological evidence are also extremely useful in helping to understand the society of the period because we know so little about it.
The area the Vikings came to control stretched roughly along the A5 or Watling Street, dividing the country in 2. alfred managed to become king of the southern area, the first king to legitimately be called 'King of the Anglo-saxons' in an inclusive sense. they also raided and settled around the coast of scotland, in Ireland and on the Welsh coast (as well as on the continent - Normandy = land of the norman = north men)
sorry to everyone else that this post is so long!!
hope that was useful - its quite simplified and generalised because i didnt want to go on and on and bore you all!! any other questions? i'd be happen to answer them! "
"It seems that this forum is full of budding einsteins..apart from me and the 108 yr Madeline you are all seem very focused !
Me i left school in Glasgow with 4 O grades....no highers...nothing....i ended up doing it the hard way working 4 days a week as a labourer for a builder and the other day going to day release...took my seven years and various sacrifices to get where i am....very good pay and a shiny black audi ! "
