Choose ONE (1) of the following questions and write a 1200-1500 word essay (1500 words maximum
for the entire exam – this is a strict limit) answering the question. Make sure you use the “word count”
tool in Word before you submit your exam. While I admire that some of you are so interested in the
topic that you cannot limit yourselves to 1500 words, writing more is not fair to those students who
remain within the limit. You will be penalized according to the following scale if you go over the word
limit: 1-100 words over: -1 point, 101-200 words over: -2 points, etc. Please edit and revise your
answers so they fit within the word limit. Editing and revision are very important skills for writers in
general and historians in particular). This exam is worth 20% of your final grade for the course.
Since you will have more than one week to write it, we expect you to use proper grammar, spelling,
diction, etc. Please proofread your work.
1. How did the tournament, hunting, and ball games influence medieval and early modern
European views of social status, gender, and age?
2. How did the Church view games in medieval and early modern Europe. Did church officials
all share the same opinions about the value or danger of games and pastimes? Why or why
not?
We will be evaluating your essay based on two factors: 1) the quality of your arguments and your
presentation of these arguments; 2) the breadth and depth of your knowledge of games and play in
medieval and early modern Europe as demonstrated by your use of the most relevant evidence from
the course materials (texts, images, films, websites, lectures, etc.) to support your arguments. You
should focus on the primary sources, but you should also use the secondary sources to help support
your arguments. Make sure to present balanced and nuanced analyses. Do not simply ignore
contradictory evidence. Do not use outside sources. You are responsible for all materials
assigned in weeks 1-4, and you should consider materials from all four weeks when
answering either of the questions. CITE ALL YOUR SOURCES (not just direct quotations) –
parenthetical citations with abbreviations are fine – e.g. (Charny, 22). If you cite my lectures put the
week and lecture number – e.g. (Milliman 4.1). If you use an Internet source, please give the URL.
Your citations do not need to be perfect, so don’t worry if you cannot figure out exactly how to cite a
source. Just do your best. The purpose of citations is to make your research reproducible, so your
readers can look up your references. If you have any questions, please ask me.
Under no circumstances should you even consider plagiarizing or other forms of cheating. It
is better to get a bad grade on one assignment than to fail the entire course, which is what will
happen if you get caught cheating. This essay must be your own original work. This is not a group
project.