European History Video Guides
These guides are meant to help students record and reflect upon the important points made in the corresponding documentaries. It is my hope over the coming weeks and months to add to this section considerably. If there are any requests for specific documentaries I can consider doing those quickly.
The Dark Ages
This excellent documentary examines Europe's Dark Ages - a period of time that spanned from the Fall of Rome to the Crusades. Some of the events covered in this video include Alaric of the Goths sacking Rome, the rise of the Franks under Clovis and his conversion to Christianity, the importance of the monasteries, Charlemagne's Empire, the Viking raids, and the emergence of the knight class. The activity that goes along with this video breaks each section down with both short questions and longer reflection questions.
• Produced By: The History Channel • Initial Release: 2007 • Handouts: Short answer questions & reflection questions • Length: ~90 minutes |
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Islam: Empire of Faith, Part 2 - The Awakening
The European Renaissance had its beginning in the metropolis of Baghdad, a center of learning at a time when Europe was sunk in the Dark Ages. This second of three episodes in the documentary Islam: Empire of Faith recounts early Islam's thirst for knowledge. Muslims of the time saw "no insurmountable contradiction" between faith and natural laws. The Islamic empire sent scholars throughout the world to gather all the knowledge of mankind, which was brought to Baghdad and studied by scholars. While Christians considered Aristotle and Plato blasphemous, Muslim scholars studied and admired the Greek philosophers. Islamic mathematicians devised the system of Arabic numerals we still use today, and medicine was so advanced that Muslim surgeons were performing cataract surgery a thousand years ago.
• Produced By: PBS • Initial Release: 2000 • Handouts: Fill in notes & questions • Length: ~54 minutes |
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The Plague
The Black Death was a watershed moment in the history of Europe. Though plague had struck Europe many times in its history - the Black Death which struck in the mid-14th century was particularly devastating. This documentary puts a human face on those events and is an excellent resource for any students learning about this devastating event in European history. Along with basic questions that students will answer as they watch this program there are also maps and point-form notes for the students.
• Produced By: The History Channel • Initial Release: 2007 • Handouts: Fill in notes, a map, & questions • Length: ~90 minutes |
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The Medici: Godfathers of the Renaissance, Part 1 - Birth of a Dynasty
This fascinating documentary explores the Medici, an Italian family of merchants that rose to power in Florence using charm, patronage, skill, duplicity and ruthlessness, to amass unparalleled wealth and unprecedented power. In the process, they would ignite the most important cultural and artistic revolution in Western history--the European Renaissance. But the forces of change the Medici helped unleash would one day topple their ordered world. An epic drama played out in the courts, cathedrals and palaces of Europe, this series is both the tale of one family's powerful ambition and of Europe's tortured struggle to emerge from the ravages of the dark ages.
• Produced By: PBS • Initial Release: 2004 • Handouts: Fill in notes & questions • Length: ~55 minutes |
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