Topic 1
Medieval tournaments and jousting were crude idea, but they were quite popular back in the time. Tournaments were basically scrimmage battles between the different groups of all the knights. Tournaments were a good way of finding the best knight out of all the other competitors that were trying to win. Sometimes the winning knights won the losers’ horses and armor. The losers then had to buy them back. Talented knights could become rich this way. This may have influenced Marco polo to travel so that he and his family could not get caught up in all the tournaments or maybe must participate in the tournaments.
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Medieval Warfare tactics and weaponry were very tactical but were occasionally not the best ideas. Greek fire was an invention which was a liquid oil that enabled the embattled Byzantine Empire to scare off attacking fleets and keep fighting until the early 15th century. With closed military layout, the crossbow which was a new weapon for medieval times soon proved itself the best weapon of positional and guerrilla warfare.
The pike, an 18-foot spear had a small piercing head which was a very deadly weapon, and this was longer than a standard medieval lance which was 9 to 14 feet long. This might have been and influence on Marco polo to find new weapons to help his country fight back and take over more territories.
Knights and knights templar were basically the group for the knights. Knights were told to behave a certain way. These rules were called the Code of Chivalry.
The ideal knight would be loyal, Christian, kind, and have good manners. The knights templar was a Christian organization who believed that anyone who wasn’t a Christian should be killed. The knights templar were also the people who laid the foundation for the modern bank system. This may have inspired Marco polo to travel and find a way to get better money like Kublai khan and the paper money from china.
Architecture in medieval time was very interesting and beautiful. While Western Europe separated from the architectural style of classic designs, while Byzantines remained with relatively simple designs. Byzantine architecture is a sense of classic and favors plain and uncovered exterior surfaces. Though, the Byzantines developed a unique architectural style, separating from the designs of the Romans primarily by creating complex layouts and a favor for domes. The interior of Byzantine buildings was coated in beautiful mosaics and murals. Roman architecture was the name given to the type of architectural designs used in very early Middle Ages. The Normans were the best and the most efficient with their castle building. This may have motivated Marco polo to travel and find more architecture in the whole know world.
Alchemy Is what early medieval chemists thought that they could turn worthless metals is to gold. Spiritual alchemy is what is discussed when turning normal metals into gold as is described. It is a form of mysticism, spiritual self-improvement. It is clear why alchemy was destined to fail it was based on a misunderstanding of basic sciences. Alchemy, a form of speculative thought that, among other aims, tried to transform base metals such as lead or copper into silver or gold and to discover a cure for disease and a way of extending life. This is important to Marco polos travel to try and find a better way of science and how to get more knowledge about science.