Making 
The
Middle
Ages
Fun
 
 

This website is the product of a Summer Teachers Institute, “Making the Middle Ages Fun,” that was sponsored by the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities in June of 2000. Our on-going project has been to create a website that might serve as a resource for teachers K-12 who include (or even would like to include) medieval materials in their courses. The contents here are as eclectic as our interests and teaching experiences. Here you will find syllabi, handouts, and reviews of material that we have found helpful in our own teaching and studies. We’ve also tried to create links to web materials that seem particularly useful as well. You’ll also find a number of projects, many of which incorporate materials from around New Orleans and the surrounding areas –whether bits of architecture, stained glass, a St. Joseph’s Day altar, or even a medieval-themed Mardi Gras parade – all of which are testimonies to the fact that the Middle Ages are not as remote as one might think. 

Our plan is to keep updating this page at regular intervals. If you have comments, suggestions, or materials that you think might be of use to other teachers, please email us at midages@loyno.edu. 

 
"And pilgrims were they alle" -- Chaucer
Charlene W. Bailey 
 Derek D. Bardell 
 Steve B. Barton 
 Carolyn A. Barras 
 Nancy Berault 
 Elizabeth M. Clemens 
 Sharon B. Coll 
 John W. Cosey, Jr. 
 Tim Daley 		 Kathryne C. Delcarpio 
Sandra DeMers 
Sharon Edmondson 
Jeanette M. Enmon 
Freida Harris 
Warren Jones, III 
Melody D. Lee 
Sara Lemle		 Kevin N. McDermott 
Jennifer Meleen 
Phyllis K. Meyer 
Mary Meyers 
Andrew Moore 
Freddy J. Waguespack, Jr. 
Julian Wasserman 
Nancy Wohl 
Cassie Zanca

Books for Young Readers, An Annotated List: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass3.html

Beowulf: For an annotated list of websites ranging from Beowulf, Monster-Slayer
comic books to digitalized images of the manuscript in the British Library, see
          www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/fwagues.html

Moore's Notes: An Idiot's Guide to Teaching Beowulf: http://www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/moore.html

Beowulf Translations, A Review: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/cbarras.html

Writing Assignment: Alliterative verse ("Casey at the Bat," Medieval Style!): www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/kmcderm.html

Grammar Connection: Appositives and the Old English "Wanderer": www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/kmcderm.html

Sutton Hoo Viking burial: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/slemle.html

Norse Mythology (5th through 8th grades): www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/mlee.html

Medieval Russia: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/sbarton.html

Health in the Middle Ages: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/jmeleen.html

Midwifery in the Middle Ages: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/NWohl.html

Arthurian Literature: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/kdelca/html

Introduction to the Hero's Journey: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/sdemers.html

Knights in Shing Armor: A lesson Plan for Third Grade Social Studies:
        www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Knights1.html

Marksburg at Branbach: A Medieval Castle: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/jenmon.html

Castles, Knights and Heraldry: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass6.html

Middle Ages Fun for Kindergartners: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/sedmond.html

Local Field Trips to Medieval and Medieval-Related Materials: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass10.html

Projects:
        Lusher castle and heraldry projects: www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass6.html

        St Peter School Medieval and Renaissance Fair:  www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass20.html

Got a question? Need help? Want a guest speaker?
        There are a number of medievalists at New Orleans area universities who would
be happy to answer questions or recommend resources about the Middle Ages. Many are
willing to visit local classrooms.Go to www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass7.html

Clothing and Costume: For a wonderful historical costume site, see
        http://www.suie.edu/COSTUMES/history.html. Use "Index" at the back to find
        the desired century.

Lay Investiture: This page contains resources as well as assignments that will make
you want to discuss all those quibbling Popes and Kings. See Lay Invesiture:
         http://www.loyno.edu./~MidAges/fharris.html

Fiction: THE SWORD IN THE STONE
    (A dramatization based on the Arthurian Legends)

An Architectural and Symbolic Tour of a Local "Cathedral" (Holy Name Church)
        (Still Under Construction) http://www.loyno.edu/~MidAges/Jwass30.html

Medieval Symbols in Holy Name of Mary Church: http://www.loyno.edu/~Midages/cbarra1.html

The Middle Ages Today: http://www.loyno.edu/~Midages/Jwass50.html

Food for Thought: Want to put on a Medieval Feast? See this great link:
        http://www.godecookery.com/chaucer/ccookery.htm

Teaching Chaucer, Sir Gawain, Everyman or other Middle English works?
Check out this  very helpful site which includes sample student essays as well as
background materials: http://www.luminarium.org/medlit/index.html