King Francis-Personal Narrative

In June 1791, King Louis XVI and his family snuck out of Paris during the night, hoping to escape from the French Revolution and its violence. He planned to escape the country and return with foreign assistance to reclaim control of France, but the people of Varennes stopped and detained him until authorities arrived and sent him back to Paris. Louis’ attempted escape, in addition to the letter he left behind denouncing the Revolution, “profoundly influenced the political and social climate of France” (223). His escape outraged many people and left the administration in shambles, and this caused tensions to break out. To control the situation, the people of France quickly organized

To begin with, after being told her husband’s secret, she deserted him for a “less dangerous man”. She said the following: “Fair friend," said she, "be happy. That which you have coveted so long a time, I will grant without delay. Never again will I deny your suit. My heart, and all I have to give, are yours, so take me now as love and dame.”

Henry the Fifth has been noted as England’s best King throughout history. He was loved among the common people and nobles alike for his fairness, his effectiveness on the throne, his justness, and his ability to relate to people of all classes. The kings that reigned before him, especially his father King Henry IV and King John, provide a striking contrast to Hal’s attitude on the throne. Kings of the past had not experienced the life of the common people, and chose to lead their lives in the realm of the castle. As we witnessed in I Henry IV, Hal’s father even went as far to discuss this approach to ruling at length with Hal. Henry IV believed that a king was best admired and supplicated if he was kept

The only child of James V of Scotland and his French-born wife Mary of Guise, I was born in December 1542 in the Linlithgow Palace as Mary Stuart. My Father died a six days after my birth, and then I became Mary, Queen of Scots, with my mother acting as a regent in my stead (Source 1). At just five years of age, I was betrothed to Henry VIII’s son, Edward, but my Catholic guardians were opposed to the match, and took me too Stirling Castle, breaking the agreement(Source 1). The Scots betrothed me to the son of Henry II, Francis, the four year old heir to the French crown, and sent me to be raised at his courts (Source 1). I loved him with a strong sisterly affection (Source 4) and he loved me as a brother would love a sister.

Marie de France is concerned with living the good life which consists of following true love. In her story entitled “Lanval,” Marie de France describes a knight who is envied by many because of his “valour, generosity, beauty, and prowess” (295). Although many people are envious of Lanval and his

Mary Tudor: Old and New Perspectives, is a new look at a woman that has been studied for decades. This book is a positive, and different, look on Mary Tudors reign as queen of England. This novel is composed of essays by ten different historians who analyze different aspects of Mary’s reign and provide new perspectives on it. The book is split into two sections, old and new perspectives. The first section, old perspectives, is a broader look of Mary’s reign and reputation after her death. The second section, new perspectives, looks closer at the details of her life. Susan Doran and Thomas Freeman argue in the beginning of the book that if Mary Tudor had lived ten years longer, her reign would have been looked at successfully, and England, Scotland, and most of Europe would be Catholic. They continue on to say that if she would have lived longer, Mary Queen of Scots would have ascended to the throne after her. This would have kept England catholic and there would have not been aid to any protestant rebellions in Europe that came about during Elizabeth’s reign. Though this seems to be the argument in the introduction and the essays of Doran and Freeman, there lacks evidence of this in other essays. This argument, although it is based on fiction, sets the tone of the rest of the novel that Mary’s reign was not as bad as it is portrayed. Overall the novel is successful in conveying its message, but I did not enjoy the book. It is hard for me to read people’s opinions of what

There are many events that happened in history that makes the world how it is today. Many people don’t realize that society has changed dramatically from the 17th century to now. In those days they dealt with a different type of government system, (monarchy) in which the king is in control of the government. Some kings are great in which they run their country well and have the respect of those around them and beneath them in society, and you also have those who don’t have the respect or the authority to the people.

There once lived a beautiful, innocent, and pure maiden named Hope. This girl was filled with love, compassionate, and a sense of happiness that enlivens her whole body. One day, she was gathering water in a nearby river, but then she started to feel like she was being watched. She immediately stopped, and said in her soft voice, "Is anyone there?" She looked around, and all of a sudden, a knight appeared. "Oh my, you startled me", she said with a smile. She kept a content demeanor while looking at the knight, but the knight was not speaking at all. The knight started to walk closer to Hope, but Hope did not expect anything wrong with this. After realizing that the knight is getting really close to her, she started to back up, but then the knight reached out and grabbed her arm. Hope jumped, fear rushing through her whole body, she started to struggle. Hope began crying and screaming for help as she was unclothed and sexually violated.

The economics of marriage was not the only pressure on children to marry where their parents directed. Sixteenth-century children, and girls in particular, were very much brought up to obey, and to believe that it was their duty to their parents… to marry the person chosen for them. It would have taken a very strong-minded girl indeed to have refused to follow her parents’ wishes. Girls who did refuse the partner offered could find themselves bullied by their parents. (3)

     This essay explores the role of women in Homer's Odyssey, James Joyce's Ulysses (1922) and Derrick Walcott's Omeros (1990), epics written in very different historical periods.  Common to all three epics are women as the transforming figure in a man's life, both in the capacity of a harlot and as wife.

After the announcement, my sister and I decided to head upstairs and prepare for the next school day, for the meeting had ceased. As time flew by, I never bothered paying attention to the looming figure known as the ceremony date. My actions were justified, for I was too busy defeating such complex beasts known only as homework. Suddenly, the date finally caught up to me, as soon as my mother exclaimed, “Come on guys, it’s time to go to the ceremony.” I complied with a simple reply, the reply being, “Yes mother, I’ll be there in a

While exploring the ways of European royalty by journeying through lives, I was struck by the system of arranged marriages. Kings and Queens would arrange the marriages of their children with the royalty of other countries to serve as treaties between borderlines. Often, children were promised to those who were tens years or more their senior or junior, such as the case of Henry VIII’s younger sister, Mary Tudor. Mary was betrothed at age eighteen to the recently widowed 52-year-old Louis XII of France. This marriage was arranged as an act of peace that settled any rivalry between France and

Lancelot and Penelope had what other couples dreamed about. Romantic nights on the town, exotic vacations, wild nights, and even wilder nights in the bedroom. They were unstoppable, nothing could get between their love or so Lancelot thought. Things started to heat up and get serious. He knew it was time to pop the biggest question every man has to ask in his life. The night came and the time felt perfect. It was a beautiful starry night during one of their expensive vacations in Parris. They were standing on top of the Eiffel Tower; the view was

Capitalism is an economic system in a society in which private owners control industry and trade within a country, rather than the state. Both Karl Marx and Max Weber, have written theories on how this system develops in countries and creates a nation state that is characterised by production and wealth. Marx’s theory takes more of a top-down approach, suggesting that people have little power in how their society is run. On the other hand, Weber’s bottom-up approach demonstrates how people have the ability to initiate capitalism and change their society. Marx’s theory of historical materialism is based on a 5-stage system inevitable of any society, Weber’s theory of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism states that it was a much smaller group within a feudal society whose religiosity inadvertently kick-started capitalism. Although both these theories look at how capitalism develops within a society, Marx’s macro-scale theory is more applicable to every society, unlike Weber’s micro-scale approach that focuses on one group within society and their ‘spirit of capitalism’. Naturally, the theories vary due to the time of writing and the economic or political situation. Marx wrote of historical materialism during a German economic crisis, whereas Weber wrote his theory a generation after, seeing the economy develop and stabilise. This impacted the message they were portraying and influenced two opposing theories.

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer is a piece of work that resembles both a historical and sociological introduction the late middle ages. Chaucer’s ability to interpret basic human nature from different viewpoints is exemplified in the characters he created. I have selected two stories, The Prioress Tale and The Knights Tale, within the Canterbury Tales that manifest the strengths and weaknesses of human character. Than I will compare Chaucer’s pilgrims to figures portrayed by Dante in the Divine Comedy.