Introduction:
With the collapse of the Roman Empire in 476 AD, western civilization (Europe) transitioned into what historians call the
Middle Ages.
This time period, also called Medieval times, ended in approximately
1500. ??The study of the Middle Ages (sometimes called the
Dark Age)
offers the opportunity to learn about early development of government,
society and culture in Europe. Important essential questions come to
mind as we look at this time period:
- What do governments do? What does government provide that we cannot do ourselves?
- Why live together? What holds us together?
- The “Dark Ages”… really that dark?
- Why fight?
Making a connection to today, the mayor of our city is in
negotiations to become a sister city with the European city of Bruges
in Belgium. Traveling to Bruges takes one back in time to the Middle
Ages as much of its architecture has been preserved. The mayor needs
background knowledge on the Middle Ages as she works to close the deal
by better understanding the history of Bruges. She has hired your
ESPRAT+G trained teams made up of
economists,
anthropologists,
political scientists,
historians
and
art historians to provide background information and to help her
prepare a special greeting when the mayor of Bruges and her team
arrives to negotiate.