The First Crusade and the Ideas of Crusading Essay -- essays research

Contrary to many commonly held notions about the first crusade, in his book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, Jonathan Riley-Smith sets out to explain how the idea of crusading thought evolved in the first crusade. In his book, Riley-Smith sets out five main arguments to show how these ideas of crusading evolved. Firstly, he argues that Pope Urban’s original message was conventional, secondly that a more positive reaction was drawn from the laity (due to the ideas surrounding Jerusalem), thirdly, that the original message of crusading had changed because of the horrible experiences of the first crusaders, fourth, that due to these experiences the crusaders developed their own concept of what a crusade was, and lastly, that these ideas were refined by (religious) writers and turned into an acceptable form of theology. Riley-Smith makes excellent points about the crusade; however, before one can delve directly into his argument, one must first understand the backgro und surrounding the rise of the first crusade. Throughout the ten-century, particularly in France, the world had become an extremely violent place. Feudal Knights were often quarreling over land possession, looting, and looking to lay people to provide them with sustenance . Likewise, the power of these knights and the extent of violence flourished due to the increasingly lacking power and authority of the kings . The Church, in an attempt to halt the violence and anarchy attempted to take control and issued such concepts as â€Å"the Peace of God† . Similarly, at this time other movements for peace by the Church were underway, and one of the commonly held ideas was the need to transform the world to more â€Å"monkish ideals†. From these ideals also sprouted the concept of the laity having â€Å"God-given functions to perform, functions that could include fighting to protect the Church†. Pope Leo IX (1049-1054) is an example of this idea; he often used militia to fight against his opponents. In the early ele venth century, there came a pivotal figure in the ideas of Church sanctioned war, Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085). Pope Gregory was involved in the Investiture Contest, and soon turned to scholars to seek out â€Å"justification for his conviction that violence could be used in defense of the Church and could be authorized by it†. The movements generated by Pope Gregory, as well as the results of the Inve... ...f knighthood. The idea of the crusade, and the affiliated pilgrimage came to be regarded as temporary, adopted, migratory monastic life. Although none of the ideas of Robert, Guibert, and Baldric were new, in fact they were derived from the accounts of those who survived the first crusade, they romanticized the idea of the holy war and knighthood, making it more appealing to the common person, and more morally acceptable in religious circles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Riley-Smith adequately proves his argument that although the idea of crusading was not a new one; the outcome of the first crusade had a direct impact on the ideas surrounding a holy war. His book, The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading, is a well developed and coherent argument that is neatly organized and concise, allowing the reader to gain a good understanding of the topic. This book was an excellent choice for first year university students, as it was an easy read, and very easy to identify the main points and arguments of each chapter. Bibliography/Works Cited Riley-Smith, Jonathan. The First Crusade and the Idea of Crusading. The United States of America: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986.

Summary Response: Discrimination

JUST WALK ON BY Have you ever been obsessed by the fear of being different from other people? People usually give the wrong perception on the others based on their appearance, or their skin. In the article â€Å"Just Walk on by†, the uk/rhetorical-devices-in-night-walker-by-brent-staples/">author Brent Staples tells a story about his own experiences, which are how he was discriminated because of his appearance: a black man. The story begins when the author was mistaken for a criminal due to his black skin by a white woman. Although Brent Staples was just a graduate student, every time he went to the public, almost everybody, especially the women tried to run away from him.Simply, he is black, and they considered that a black man could be a rapist, a mugger or worse. The readers can picture how a young black man is isolated from the public through the author’s experiences: being perceived as dangerous on the street, or being mistaken for a burglar at work. At the end, he found out that he was not able to change the bad perception on his black skin, so he learnt to get use to it and tried to be successful. In response to the essay, there are three points that crossed my mind after read the article; specifically, these are the discrimination, the compassion and ways to get over the obstacles. Related essay: On Compassion SummaryTo begin with, discrimination is the first issue which was pointed out very clearly in the article. Discrimination has lasted for many decades. There are many kinds of discrimination, such as skin colour, religion, national origin, and gender. Although many laws, controversies, demonstrations have exploded to against the discrimination, a lot of people are still suffering from that issue. The victims often receive the bad perceptions of the others on their own appearances, and as the results, they are not trusted by anybody or even be considered as a criminal, and worse for the society.For example, the author was mistaken for a burglar at his workplace just because he is the black. He finally chose trying to be successful as a way to overcome the discrimination. However, how many people who are discriminated can be optimistic to get over their obstacles as Brent Staples did? The victims of discrimination usually feel stressed, depressed, and insult ed, so it’s very hard to think of a positive way to overcome it. Some of them choose to suicide or kill any people who hurt them. Obviously, they become worse as a result of discrimination.When we were born, nobody was able to choose our parents, skin colour or gender, so we have no rights to evaluate or give any poor perception on other people based on their appearance. Another point that I want to share after reading the article is the compassion. Being discriminated by other people is the worst feeling in the world. As a person who comes from a poor country, I am often affair of being discriminated. I’m not black, but some people gave me the bad perception because they thought that I come from a poor country which means I have a poor education.Everything I have is worse than theirs. Moreover, I used to be discriminated by a Vietnamese who was born in the America. He usually makes fun of me because I’m not good in English. As the results, I’m often relu ctant and feel shy when talking with a stranger in English. Back to the article, the author’s story about discrimination reminds me of a poem I read many years ago: COLOURED When I born, I Black, When I grow up, I Black, When I go in Sun, I Black, When I scared, I Black, When I sick, I Black, And when I die, I still black, And you White fella,When you born, you Pink, When you grow up, you White, When you go in Sun, you Red, When you cold, you Blue, When you scared, you Yellow, When you sick, you Green, And when you die, you Gray, And you calling me Coloured ? This poem was written by an African child. Eventually, discrimination exists everywhere in the world. The black is usually distrusted in both workplaces and society. In Brent Staples’ story, even though he had a good job in Chicago, he was still considered as a burglar. Not all coloured people are bad and aggressive, and not all the white are good.Therefore, as coloured people, we should show the talents and prove our values to the world that everything white people do, we can do it, and even better. The final thing i learnt from the article is the ways to get over the discrimination. I really admire Brent’s spirit when he faced to his obstacles. He chose to avoid misunderstandings and tried to be successful as ways to against discrimination. Actually, in life, we can see a lot of coloured people who used to be discriminated proved their own values to the world.For example, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and many other celebrities have showed their talents and been admitted by the millions people in the world. Plus, recently, Barack Obama is the first coloured president of America. Nevertheless, beside positive sides, there are some people choosing negative ways to overcome the discrimination. They suicide as a way to escape, or they kill anybody who hurts them. Sometimes, being friendly and optimistic is a good way to solve problems rather than being aggressive and pe ssimistic.Our skin colour doesn’t make any senses; the way we perceive and get over our obstacles will make our own values. In conclusion, I’m strongly against the discrimination, but I also sympathize with the author in the article, and I admire the ways he chose to get over the discrimination. There should have more laws and organizations to support and protect people who are discriminated. Moreover, nobody have rights to evaluate or comment, especially discriminate other people based on their appearances. This world might be peaceful and happy if everyone lived by such tenets as â€Å"Never cause discrimination between human and human†.

American Violet Movie Review

The movie â€Å"American Violet set in Hearne County Texas, depicts the victimization of innocent second class citizens who are subject to racial bias and police corruption. Hearne county, a small town run by a corrupt D. A. was conducting military type drug raids on low income housing units that targeted the African American population, and this was no coincidence. Shockingly, this all took place not many years ago, just in the year 2000. The culture in the south was still apparently highly prejudice and racists, even in the criminal justice system, causing much harm to innocent people.Due to the type of people they were targeting, the working class, the trickle down effect of who was being affected by these arrests was everlasting. Dee Brown, in the movie, a single mother of four, is a prime example who was the only source of income for her children and was only a waitress at that. The victimization process in this movie is incredible, and seems almost unreal how insensitive the D . A. was to these people, using them and manipulating them the way he did without any sign of guilt.This relates directly to our victimization class in how these people are victimized. First, falsely accused and arrested on charges by a single conformant, then forced into a plea bargain or almost a certain conviction. Victimization within the criminal justice system is still a big problem today, as the majority of cases are never sent to trial and almost always settled in a plea bargain. This is corruption within the system and needs to be fixed, but still nothing is done.And in order to save time and money judges push for public defenders to push the plea bargain upon uneducated clients who cannot afford their own attorney. Thus, in order for the public defenders to make any money they must hear many cases, and in order to do this they cannot waste their time taking cases to trial. Even if their client may in fact be not guilty, they cannot run the risk of losing, and also more imp ortantly angering the judge. Therefore the reason to the never-ending vicious cycle of corruption within our criminal justice system which all comes down to power and money.Which was apparently a major reason to why these drug raids were happening in Texas. Federal money was going to the counties with the most drug convictions, and having someone in charge of the D. E. A. with racial bias to the African American community made these projects easy pickings. In a small town in Texas, going against the D. A. was simply asking for a lawsuit to brought up against yourself, and to the reason why these raids went on for years, without anyone speaking up for these poor people being served injustice.I believe we are far from an uncorrupt criminal justice system, but are working in the right the direction. The sad thing is, that behind all the corruption within the system, their will always be victims, and when dealing with corruption many times it is innocent people being victimized. Racial factors also will always be an issue no matter what era we are in, and would be naive to overlook it as the nation did so for so long in Texas, not believing that such racial discrimination could still exist in the 21st century.

Free Essays on Hectors Tragedies

at his cowardly brother. Moreover, although Hector loves his family, he never loses sight of his responsibility to Troy. Admittedly, he runs from Achilles at first, and briefly entertains the delusional hope of negotiating his way out of a duel. However, in the end he stands up to the mighty warrior, even when he realizes that the gods have abandoned him. His... Free Essays on Hector's Tragedies Free Essays on Hector's Tragedies Hector is the mightiest warrior in the Trojan army. Although he meets his match in Achilles, he wreaks havoc on the Achaean army during Achilles's period of abasence. He leads the assault that finally penetrates the Achaean ramparts, he is the first and only Trojan to set fire to an Achaean ship, and he kills Patroclus. Yet his leadership contains discernible flaws, especially toward the end of the epic when the participation of first Patroclus and then Achilles reinvigorates the Achaean army. He demonstrates a certain cowardice, when twice in Book Seventeen he flees Great Ajax. Indeed, he recovers his courage only after receiving the insults of his comrades- first Glaucus and then Aeneas. He can often become emotionally carried away, as well, treating Patroclus and others of his victims with rash cruelty. And later, swept up by a burst of confidence, he foolishly orders the Trojans to camp outside Troy's walls on the night before Achilles's return to battle, thus causing a crucial d ownfall the next day. But although Hector may prove overly impulsive and insufficiently prudent, he does not come across as arrogant or overbearing, as Agamemnon does. Moreover, the fact that Hector fights in his homeland, unlike any of the Achaean commanders, allows Homer to develop him as a tender, family-oriented man. Hector shows deep, sincere love for his wife and children. Indeed, he even treats his brother Paris with forgiveness and indulgence, despite the man's lack of spirit and preference for love-making over military duty. Hector never turns violent with him, merely aiming frustrated words at his cowardly brother. Moreover, although Hector loves his family, he never loses sight of his responsibility to Troy. Admittedly, he runs from Achilles at first, and briefly entertains the delusional hope of negotiating his way out of a duel. However, in the end he stands up to the mighty warrior, even when he realizes that the gods have abandoned him. His...

German First Names and Their English Equivalents

German First Names and Their English Equivalents Anyone researching names soon becomes aware that, because of spelling variations and other changes, it is often difficult to determine the true origin of a name, particularly family names. Many names were altered (Americanized, anglicized) for various reasons. Just one example: The German last name  Schà ¶n  (beautiful) became  Shane, a change that deceptively hides its German origin. Not all German first or last names have an English equivalent, but many do. We wont bother with obvious ones like Adolf, Christoph, Dorothea (dor-o-taya), Georg (gay-org), Michael (meech-ah-el), Monika (mow-ni-kah), Thomas (tow-mas), or Wilhelm (vil-helm). They may be pronounced differently but the resemblance is hard to miss. First Names (Vornamen) Adalbert/Albrecht (Albert)Alois (Aloysius)Anja/Antje/Anke (Anna)Brbel  (Barbara)Beke (north German form of Bertha)Bernd/Bernt (Bernard)Birgit (Swedish form of Brigitte, which is actually a Celtic name)Dolf (short form from names ending in - dolf)Dorle (Dora, Dot, Dorothy)Eugen (oy-gen, Eugene)Franz (Frank)Gabi (form of Gabriele)Gerhard (Gerald)Gottfried (Geoffrey, Jeffrey, Godfrey)Greta (Margaret)Hans/Jens/Johann(es) (Jack, John, Jonathan)Heinrich/Heino/Heinz (Henry)Ilse (Elizabeth)Jakob (James)Jà ¶rg/Jà ¼rgen (George)Jutta (Judy/Judith)Karl/Karla (Charles/Carol)Karsten/Carsten/Kersten (variation of Christian)Katrin (C/Katherine)Kirsten/Kirstin (Christine)Lars (Larry), Leni (Helen/e)Ludwig  (Lewis/Louis)Margit (Martha)Matthias (Mathew)Nastasja (Anastasia),Nils (Nick)Ninja (neen-ya, Nina)Peer (Peter)Reinhold (Reginald)Renate (Renee)Rolf (Rudolph)Rà ¼diger/Rudi (Roger, Rudolph)Sepp (form of Joseph)Silke (Frisian form of Cecily/Cecilia)Steffi (Stephanie)Thea (short form of Doroth ea)Theo (Theodore) Wim (form of Wilhelm).   Female German  First Names These female german names do not have an English equivalent. Ada/AddaAdelheid (Heidi is the familiar form)Astrid, Beate, Brunhild(e)Dagmar (from Danish)DietrunEffi/Elfriede/ElfiEike (also male)ElkeFraukeFriedel (related to Elfriede)GerdaGerlindeGertrud(e)GiselaGunthild(e)HarmkeHedwigHeidrunHeikeHelgaHilde/HildegardHildrunHilkeImkeIrmaIrmgardIrmtraudIngeborgKaiKriemhildLudmillaMarleneMathildeMeinhildOttilieRoswithaSentaSieglindeSigridSigrunSonjaTanja (from Russian)ThedaTilla/TilliTraudeTrudiUlrikeUnaUrsula/UschiUte/UtaWaltraudWilhelmineWinifred Male First Names These male german names do not have an English equivalent. AchimBodo/Bot(h)oDagobert (no, not Dogbert!)Detlef/DetlevDieter,DietmarDirkEberhardEckehard/EckartEgonEmil (masculine form of Emily,  Emilio in Span)EngelbertErhard/ErhartFalkoGandolfGerd/Gert,Golo, Gunt(h)erGustav (from Swedish)Hartmut,HartwigHelgeHelmutHolger (from Danish)HorstIngomarJoachim (Achim)KaiKnutManfredNorbertOdo/UdoOtmarOttoRainer (rye-ner)ReinholdSiegfriedSiegmund/SigmundSà ¶nkTorsten/ThorstenTillUlfUlrich/UliUweVeitVilmarVolkerWaldemarWern(h)erWielandWigandWolfgangWolfram

Why bioinformatics and proteomic application essential in the Annotated Bibliography

Why bioinformatics and proteomic application essential in the diagnosis of complex disease such as cancer - Annotated Bibliography Example However, the article’s limitation is that it does not clearly distinguish the number of females and males plus kids in the study. Martin, J., Regad, L., Etchebest, C., & Camproux, A. (2008). Taking advantage of local structure descriptors to analyze interresidue contacts in protein structures and protein complexes. Proteins: Structure, Function, and Bioinformatics, 73(3), 672-689. 3-Duh, Q. (2004) It is noteworthy that the article first describes cancer as caused by the alteration of not only the proteome, but also a genome. These changes inculcate the ability to evade normal cellular control mechanism on cancer cells hence prompting its uncontrolled growth. The article further demonstrates that prior to the efforts of scientists; cancer is controllable to some extent, or even totally if detected at its early stages. Considerably, among the several individuals who were interviewed on the same, are concluded to be ignorant. It emerged that the respondents sought the medical attention upon developing the symptoms of the disorder. However, the limitation of the article is that it does not illustrate perfectly the reason to why patients usually seek medical help at a later stage of cancer. The importance of bioinformatics in cancer disease is highlighted in this article. Bioinformatics is the study of predictive molecular signatures also called biomarkers. Biomarkers are a form of molecules whose occurrence indicates the pedigree of several diseases. This is a point where the scientists started to explore in their quest to find a limiting factor to this terrible disease. It is imperative that the author of this article did not highlight on the details of the biomarkers, thus, the arguments are limited. The author alludes that the biomarkers have been discovered to limit the severity of the disease in human body. The above article states that, since the growth of cancer portrays a form of multi-scale process, which is dominated by an invariable that exudes

Personal Statement and Critical Reflection on Past Work Experience Essay - 1

Personal Statement and Critical Reflection on Past Work Experience - Essay Example This reporter declares that "as I look for a new, challenging position, I intend to use the existing experience and skills in tackling new challenges as well as improving my professional and personal development. Two of my strongest attributes that have shaped me into the person I am includes; determination and the ability to have a continuous self assessment and evaluation of my strength and weaknesses. This helps me to device ways of improving my weaknesses and strengthening my strengths. For an individual to be capable of facing new challenges, I have a strong belief that, he/she should first conduct self realization and assessment. Anita asserts that self realization is a crucial tool that helps one in self development and achievement of one’s goals and objectives in life. This realization through assessment and evaluation enables one to realize his/her strengths, weaknesses, capabilities and self potential. This tool has enabled me in formulating the efficient and informe d strategies in improving my weaknesses and strengthening my strengths. It has also enabled me devise measures to use in monitoring my improvements. Self awareness has enabled me to understand strengths and weaknesses. My strengths include; possession of exemplary interpersonal skills, persistence, consistency, determination, a teamwork spirit, just to mention but a few. Behind all the glitter, there lie some elements of weaknesses that includes; procrastination, being a perfectionist and lack of ability to follow schedules to the latter."