WORLD HISTORY Year IV A Second Quarter, 2013-2014 William Oswald Kendall L o r d o f W a i n s b o r o u g h GOAL To write an entry in the Chronicles of Wainsborough,

the historical archives of the feudal land, which contains details of important events for future generations. ROLE

1. You are William Oswald Kendall, 2nd Earl of Huntington, feudal lord of Wainsborough, in what is today Wales. GODFREY, your loyal and dependable vassal has just passed away. He is a tough act to follow, model of loyalty, efficiency, leadership, etc. You are now looking for his replacement and have narrowed your choices to four: Peyton, Sigbert, Bertram, and Manfred. 2. Or you are one of the four candidates.
AUDIENCE (or readership) The Chronicles of Wainsborough are the record of events and administrative matters in that place. Everything is recorded wars fought, harvests, livestock, loans, business transactions, lands acquired, etc. As feudal lord, you want everything important to be written down including how you decide on an administrative matter such as this. This is for all future generations especially of your family who may look into the past and try to learn from it. You also want a record of the individual candidates. SITUATION The setting is Europe in the so-called Dark Ages, sometime between 800 and 1000 AD. Its an era fraught with danger and challenges. You have gathered reports about the candidates. The short list is as follows: Candidate #1: PEYTON His loyalty seems beyond question; he has fought bravely in wars against other lords. He once rescued the lord when an enemy held him captive. His fighting skills are also beyond question. He is in-charge of training men in military skills and has improved the fighting skills of many. He is generally perceived as arrogant, pushy, and a complainer, but he always gets work done and gets others to work well. Many complain that he interferes with their work by telling them what they should do, even if it is not his domain. He claims their work affects his and so he interferes. Many believe he is too serious and lacks cheerfulness. Most ambitious among candidates, he may grumble a great deal and let others know about it, if not appointed. He knows very little about farming but is very good with horses. He is married with four sons, no daughters. Candidate # 2: SIGBERT The good looking eldest son of Godfrey, he has almost all of the skills and many of the good qualities of his father. He takes his sonship seriously. He does not want to tarnish the good name of his father. But he is only 20 years old, so age and lack of experience may be a factor against him. His fighting skills are good to very good, in spite of youth. He is very hard working, and never complains. He is creative he found a solution to a water supply problem. He also redesigned plows to make them more efficient and durable. He is quick-tempered, impatient with others, and indecisive. He once had a serious fight with Bertram who accused him of seducing one of his daughters.

He used to be impulsive. When he was thirteen, he was found guilty of stealing from a neighboring feudal land. He has since been punished and learned his lesson. He is unmarried, with a slight reputation as womanizer. He seems to have matured over the years but some doubt this.

Candidate # 3: BERTRAM He was assistant to Godfrey, but not a sub-vassal. He is generally regarded as leadership material, respected by many in the feudal land. However he is also reluctant to lead, and prefers to be low key. Some believe this may be his chance to show his true worth as a leader. He is also sometimes referred to as The Half-breed or The Foreigner because of his distinct features. He seems to have Asian or Egyptian features. A few regard him with suspicion because of this. Because he is a bit mysterious about his origins and background, some believe he may have something to hide. He has an eye for details and organizes people and activities very well. He is very good with animals takes care of cattle, oxen, sheep, and horses. Sometimes his loyalty to the lord seems questionable. Race issue is brought up when loyalty is questioned. His fighting skills are very good. He is married with three daughters, no sons. People who know him swear he is a very good family man. Candidate # 4: MANFRED He is very popular among serfs and their families because he is cheerful, helpful, and generous. He has helped settle peacefully many interpersonal and inter-family conflicts. He is known to deal fairly with others. He is popular and respected but not really looked upon as a leader. He might simply be a nice guy and nothing more, or a real leader whose potential has not yet been tapped. His fighting skills are fair to good. He is known to drink to excess occasionally. His knowledge of agriculture is very good, but he tends to work too slowly. The reason for the slowness is not clear maybe it is his personality and capacity; maybe he tries to do too much at a time. He has helped breed better varieties of grain, fruits, and vegetables. He also helped breed better varieties of livestock and horses. He shares good agricultural ideas and practices with others. Godfrey used to consult him frequently on farming matters. He is a widower with two sons and two daughters whom he has raised well. His wife died when the children were still small. PRODUCT 1. The chronicle entry must address the following: GUIDE QUESTIONS for the LORD: Which of them would you choose as your vassal? Why do you think he would make a good vassal? Why do you think their weaknesses are not necessarily detriments to good leadership? How do you plan to address the weaknesses? How do you intend to take advantage of his strengths? How would this vassal live up to the demands of the oath of loyalty? 2. Each shortlisted candidate must submit a letter of intent to show that he is interested in taking up the role of vassal and that he is a worthy candidate.

GUIDE QUESTIONS for the ASPIRING VASSAL: Why do you think you would make a good vassal? How can you show that you will be loyal to the lord and live up to the demands of vassalage? Why do you think you can live up to the demands of the oath of loyalty? How will you take advantage of your strengths and talents? What will you do about your perceived weaknesses? How will you mitigate them? Are they really weaknesses to begin with? STANDARDS Your teacher will look for the following: For both lord and aspiring vassal: evidence of understanding of the nature of a feudal land, the roles of a feudal lord, a vassal, and serfs. concrete details of feudal life that have a bearing on your choice historical data or references to the feudal oaths or the nature of the oaths For the lord: how you are reacting emotionally to the whole experience of choosing, because of how important the role of the vassal is, and what could go wrong if you choose the wrong man. how you justify your choice. Do not just say, Wala lang. You may talk about the process you went through in arriving at your decision for example, how you eliminated certain candidates. Take note of the following: There is no such thing as a perfect leader. Not all of the information cited above is necessarily relevant to leadership. Consider your own experience and that of others in leading and being led. What is your definition of a leader? Or what are the qualities of a good leader? How do leaders and followers interact? You may write the essay in 1st person. The lord need not allude to the letters of intent of the vassal candidates. He may simply refer to the reports he has received. You may add or allude to fictional events certain crises, wars, problems, etc, but you may not add substantially to what is given about the candidates or contradict directly what are given as facts. You may question what are given as perceptions or rumors. You need not try to approximate a Medieval or pseudo-Medieval style of discourse. (For example, no need to use such archaic words and expressions as forsooth, by my troth, gadzooks, methinks, thou dost, thou didst etc.

INSTRUCTIONS 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Two to three typewritten sheets of short bond paper. Times new Roman, size 11, no ALL CAPS or All Bold 1.5 space settings 1 margins, right and left, top and bottom Schedule: Day One: Orientation, Instructions, etc. Days Two and Three: meeting, writing, consulting, etc. Day Four: Submission, preferably in class

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