Isabella Cabo, Anahi Hurtado, Anthony Alfonso, Alec Goldberg, Lucas Manso and David Arellano

Isabella Cabo, Anahi Hurtado, Anthony Alfonso, Alec Goldberg, Lucas Manso and David Arellano

Mrs. Zananiri

AP World History, O4

7 November 2O11

William Hensley’s tale

William Hensley was a simple man. He rented a small plot of land that he grew various vegetables on and owned a couple cattle and sheep. He did not mind being as poor as he was, he enjoyed having a simple life. He was a serf, who served Lord Templeton. He lived on his small farm with his wife, Elizabeth. William loved Elizabeth more than anything in the world and he would never let anything happen to her. Little did William know, his world was about to be turned upside down and his courtship with Elizabeth was about to be tested to the most severe degree.
It was a brilliant autumn day when William was tending his crops. A new harvest of potatoes had just grown, ensuring a steady supply of food for William and his wife for months. In the distance he heard a galloping sound, almost like a horse. Sure enough when he looked up, three glorious men on horses were coming his way. William did not know what to make of this. As they came closer into view, William realized that these three men were knights. When the three men reached William, they departed their horses. William bowed to the three prestigious knights and said “What can I do for you gentlemen?” The tallest, strongest man began to speak. “I am Sir Templeton, subject to the one and only Lord Ratclif.” “Ah yes, of course I am very loyal to his majesty. I pay taxes every year to him.” Sir Templeton replied “Well unfortunately his majesty has demanded that all his subjects pay double the amount of taxes this year.” William was stunned; he was barely making ends meet as it is. “But…but why? I have nothing else to offer to my lord.” Hearing the commotion outside, William’s wife Elizabeth came outside. The knights were stunned at his wife’s beauty. “I know something that you can give to our Lord” Sir Templeton said, eyeing Elizabeth. After a couple of seconds, William processed what the knight was saying. “No! Absolutely not! Please just give me time but don’t take my wife!” In one quick motion, the knights knocked out William and rode off with his wife. When William awoke from the tremendous blow he had received, he knew he had to rescue Elizabeth.
He knew he wasn’t going to be able to complete this quest without some help, so he traveled to the only friend he knew, Oliver Brokus. Oliver was very poor like William and owned his own piece of land. He was considered a peasant. As Oliver was working his field, he saw William sprinted towards him. “William Hensley! What a grand surprise!” said Oliver “Oliver there’s no time to talk; some knights of Lord Templeton kidnapped Elizabeth. We need to get her back!”. “Lord Templeton? Do you not recall that he’s the most powerful lord for miles and miles. How do you expect to get Elizabeth back from him?” “I don’t know Oliver but we just can’t sit here and chat. We need to do something.” Oliver saw the desperate look in his friend’s eyes and knew he had to help him. “Fine, I’ll help you get Elizabeth back. Let me just go get a few things”. Oliver returns to see an impatient and worried William.
Once everything was together, they set out. After what seems like hours of walking, they saw a monastery in the distance. They were overjoyed that they could finally rest their weary feet. When they knocked on the front door, a bald man in a cloak answered the door. William knew he was a monk. “How can I help you?” said the monk. William recounted the story of how his wife was kidnapped. The monk was shocked that knights of Lord Templeton would commit such a heinous act. “Please spend the night here at this monastery” said the monk. “Tomorrow I will set out with you both to find your kidnapped wife.”
William and Oliver entered the monastery to see hundreds and hundreds of books stacked on bookcases. Most serfs and peasants were illiterate, but William had learned to read as a young boy from his father, who was an advocate for learning. The monk was delighted when he saw the faces of William and Oliver light up at the multitude of books. “Feel free to read as you please. Knowledge is a priceless thing to have.” Oliver asked, “How did you get so many books?” The monk informed them about the invention of the printing press, a mechanical device that pressed inked type onto sheets of paper. Since William and Oliver were so sheltered from the world, they had not known of this revolutionary technological advancement. Being the curious type, William opened up a book on the Black Death. He had heard stories of it, but he had never read accurate descriptions on the disease. As he read on, he learned the Black Death had killed thousands and thousands of people. The disease would nearly wipe out whole towns while bypassing others. Due to the disease, wages were increased to satisfy the limited amount of people to do the job. William learned that serfdom used to be much more abundant before the disease but now it was very rare. William craved more and more knowledge. He asked the monk what books he recommended. “Ah, excellent question. Have you ever heard of Dante Alighieri? William replied that he had not. “Dante Alighieri wrote a long, elegant poem before he died. This poem is called Divine Comedy and tells Dante’s journey through the nine circles of hell and the seven terraces of purgatory before he reaches his final destination of Paradise. The Roman poet Virgil is his guide through hell and purgatory.” As the monk informed William about Divine Comedy, William couldn’t help but think about how he was going through nine circles of hell to get Elizabeth back. He chuckled in his head about his clever analogy. The monk, now eager to educate William and Oliver, began to talk about more classic literature. “Dante’s work influenced Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet, to write the Canterbury Tales. This book is a lengthy poem, which is a collection of often humorous and earthly tales told by fictional pilgrims on their way to the shrine of Thomas à Becket in Canterbury. Oliver then asked, “Did Dante influence any other writers?” The monk nodded his head. “Yes, Dante’s work influenced a literary movement of the humanists. Humanists have a strong interest in humanities, classical disciplines of grammar, rhetoric, poetry, history, and ethics. Their admiration of classical values revived traditions that were overlooked for centuries. Humanists also reformed secondary education, introducing a curriculum based on languages and literature.” As the monk finished his lecture, William and Oliver realized that the sun was now coming up. The monk had talked all night and William and Oliver were so interested they didn’t even realize it! As they said their goodbyes to the monk William asked him why he was so eager to teach them. The monk replied, “I believe a lot in scholasticism my friends. The world used to be a great place of learning and faith. I want to synthesize reason and faith as it once was and teach the uneducated.” William and Oliver kept the monk’s words in mind as they set out to travel once more.
After three consecutive days of walking, the two peasants reached the outskirts of a large city. William and Oliver had no idea where they were, but they knew the knights had come this way. Suddenly a merchant approached them. “Good afternoon gentlemen. Would you care to purchase a goatskin?” The two men politely declined, as they had no money. “Well what are you two doing on the outskirts of the city?” Oliver replied “We can ask the same of you” The merchant gave an approving nod and said “Let’s just say the merchant’s guild is not too happy with me right now”. William was confused; “What’s a guild?” “A guild is an association of craft specialists, such as silversmiths, or of merchants that regulated the business practices of its members and the prices they charged. “ William thought about this for a moment and asked, “What did you do to anger them?” The merchant said “I was selling my goods lower than the agreed upon price so they drove me out of town” Feeling a stroke of confidence, William told the story of his wife’s kidnapping and how they were on a quest to retrieve her. He asked if he wanted to help them. The merchant figured this would restore his reputation so he agreed.
The three men now walked toward the city but William and Oliver still had no clue what it was. When they asked the merchant, he looked at them like they were stupid and said “Paris”. William had heard stories of Paris, and now he was here, it was like a dream. The merchant acknowledged that the university might be able to help them so they went there.
When they reached the university, they wandered around until they met a professor. William was curious about what this whole establishment was, so he asked. “What’s a university? Well a university is a degree-granting corporation specializing in multidisciplinary research and advanced teaching.” “Where was this idea first established?” asked Oliver. “Well it started right here in the Latin West. Nevertheless, all courses are taught in Latin” What are you two doing?” asked the merchant. “I thought we were trying to find your wife”. William totally forgot why they were there in the first place and told the professor about his tragic story. “Unfortunately I am not able to assist you. However my friend who is a priest can. He dwells at the church across the street.”
The three men, leaving the university empty-handed, wandered across the street. On the way to the church, they saw a helpless man being beat by a group of people. “What are they doing to him?” asked William. The merchant answered, “He’s a Jew. They’re not treated so well here. It’s because they’re not part of our Christian faith. It was especially bad around the time of the Black Death. I’ve even heard that in Spain, the attacks were so bad that it destroyed the vibrant Jewish community of Seville. The Jews had no choice but to leave or convert to Christianity. It’s a shame really.
William, Oliver, and the merchant had finally reached the church and they were amazed by the building. It had tall towers with beautifully, colored stained glass and round arches. The merchant explained that this was a Gothic cathedral. When they walked inside they met the priest. They found him talking to a group of people about a certain Joan of Arc who apparently stopped the English of conquering France by putting on a knight’s armor and marching the French troops. Sadly she was captures by the English and burned at the stake for witchcraft. William was shocked at how just a simple peasant could stop an entire army from conquering a country. He felt a little hope for him, although he tried to forget her tragic end. They explained their story to the priest who accepted them happily and told all that had been happening at the moment. He told them that a fellow priest in Florence had said that a new movement was starting; some people said that it was going to be a rebirth of everything intellectual and political. It was being called the Renaissance. He then talked about how England was going through major changes, like the Magna Carta. He told them how the soldiers made King John of England sign the Magna Carta, giving the people more freedoms. When Oliver asked how the priest knew all of this he said that one of his friends in the Hanseatic League told him. Oliver and William had never heard of that the priest explained that the Hanseatic League was a group of trading cities in Europe. They were a group of merchants who traded in northern Europe around the Baltic, coasts of Prussia, Russia and even London. He told them all about the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula and how after centuries of fighting the Christians finally got Spain and Portugal back from the Muslims. The priest talked to them for hours until he remembered that they needed help reaching Lord Ratclif. He told them the best route to take and the best places to stop and rest. Since it was already dark the priest told them to rest for the night and to leave in the morning. When the sun rose William was already getting ready for their trip. Soon the merchant, William and Oliver were leaving the church. They walked for hours until they found one of the rest stops the priest had mentioned, and in perfect time for lunch. When they walked into the house they mentioned the priest’s name and the family accepted them. They had a plentiful meal and the family invited them to stay longer but the men decided to keep on their journey. After days and days of traveling they reached the kingdom of Lord Ratclif. Just like the majority of the villages we had seen along the way, Lord Ratclif’s kingdom’s structure had a design of architecture which was popular in the life of the late middle ages in Europe. The villages mainly consisted of small houses, farms, and animal pens. Even the people were dressed as if they were from that period of time! It was very easy to spot the differences in the status of the inhabitants, the peasants and farmers wore simple garments while the nobility and upper class wore more ostentatious clothing. As William drank the architecture, clothing and way of life to quench his thirst for knowledge, Oliver and the merchant kept to themselves and kept focus to the mission at hand. They soon reached the castle of Lord Ratclif and went inside. That’s when William finally came back to reality and saw Elizabeth! But it wasn’t a pretty sight for Lord Ratclif had her next to his side and treated her like his concubine while she refused, William screamed “Let go of her this instant for she belongs to no one but her husband and that is me!” Suddenly, Lord Ratclif stood from his throne and spoke in his booming voice “Or what you puny serf? How dare you speak to me without my consent and in such manner? For you are no one! I have granted you a place to live in, a piece of land, for only a tiny price which is labor and taxes. Isn’t it fair that you get land and I get your wife? It is a reasonable exchange after all.” William just stood there without saying anything and when he found his voice, he spoke only with the truth pouring out and with such emotion it could’ve broken anyone’s heart “I have noticed that you seem to follow in Europe’s footprints yet you have forgotten one piece of history, the English parliament. The parliament made the rules and abides by them till their death. Yet you seem not to care for the rules so neither will I. I demand my wife back and the taxes be lowered to their original price, which seems like a fair enough pay so that I don’t start a big enough uproar that may cause your fall to the hands of a resistance. I am willing to give up my land and everything I own. Anything but my beloved Elizabeth. She is my everything, my world and reason to live.” As William, Oliver and the merchant waited in silence for what could be taken as the decision whether they lived and left with Elizabeth or died, the Lord’s face twisted as if choosing his words carefully. After what seem like agonizing hours the Lord spoke “You are foolish. You made this journey not knowing whether you could get her back or not and yet you still came. Then you came into my kingdom threatening me and acting as if you would be ready to fight off my knights knowing you had no chance. But there is something I simply can not avoid or reproach. You certainly are in love with this fair maiden. You would give up possessions other would kill for, you would give up land that you have labored over for years and most importantly, you would give up your own life. That shows a true man of character. I will set Elizabeth free but under one condition.” Both Oliver and the merchant spoke, cautious as ever, “and what may that condition be?” Lord Ratclif replied “The three of you must move into my kingdom and serve as my knights for you have proven to be loyal men and that is a good asset I would like to have on my side...” Of course, after much debate, the men acceded the Lord’s request and went home with Elizabeth by William Hensley’s side to stay there forever more.