3-4+Alec+W.

** A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver ** ** Wiki Post 1 ** **Friday, March 23, 2012**
 * +Alec Wenning **

**1. Eleanor and Louis were betrothed later than usual for the 12th century because William of Aquitaine was on his death bed, which would have set back the marriage of Louis and Eleanor. While William of Aquitaine was ill, he offered Louis the choice of marrying Eleanor, which he turned down until William died. Duke William sent a message to William of Aquitaine about marriage of Eleanor and Louis. William of Aquitaine couldn't turn this down for which there was a lot of conflicts between lords and dukes. In this case, Eleanor would need a Husband. This shows that Eleanor's family cares about her health and safety and thinks a head. Louis was not betrothed at a young age because he was going to wait for William of Aquitaine(Eleanor's father) to die. William of Aquitaine made several requests for Louis to marry Eleanor but Louis turned them down. "William of Aquitaine knew that king Louis could not pass up a bargain. And, sick though he was, King Louis VI did not. The King was ill, very ill,"(Konigsburg 15-16). This explains the request the William of Aquitaine had sent to Louis of marriage but time and time again they were declined. These are some of the reasons and answers to the questions asked in the topic.**

**2. There are many factors that have been reflected that relate between Eleanor and Louis. The three topics that will be executed are behaviors, choices and actions of Eleanor and Louis. First, behaviors are voiced throughout the book mostly by the outspoken Eleanor. Eleanor's idea of going on a crusade was to get excitement out of her and Louis the Fat. She saw her life as his wife boring. She just wanted to explore the world and later buy carpets from Constantinople. On this journey, Eleanor was difficult with Louis and made him angry at her for not being easy going and being a stickler over everything. Second, choices are voiced throughout the book, //A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver.// Eleanor wanted to stay a couple days in Constantinople where she wanted to buy carpets and other goods for her home in central Europe. Louis had the feeling that the Turks were on the move and they need to evacuate. Eleanor was hard-headed about that and fought over the fact of leaving. Later, as they would find, they would have died if it wasn't for Louis's decision to leave. If they chose to stay and leave later, the Turks would have been ready and prepared for action. Finally, Louis's action to evacuate Constantinople was a very blunt and brave decision which would have altered their future. The Turks would have had full control over the m in the desert and would have engulfed them easily. This is how Louis's decision of leaving saved both their lives and their men's lives who came with them in the crusade. These are many reasons and events that show the three topics in action between Eleanor and Louis in the book, //A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver.//**

**This would have been similar to the caravan that Eleanor and Louis** **rode in on their crusade. It would be a lot larger due to the "Amazons's,"** **luggage.**

** Alec Wenning ** ** A Proud Taste For Scarlet and Miniver ** ** Wiki Post 2 ** ** Tuesday, March 27, 2012 **

**1: Divine justice is very or almost identical to karma. Karma, according to (dictionary.com), means the good or bad emanations felt to be generated by someone or something. Divine justice is justice that is a result of something that happened in the past in my words. Abbot Bernard thinks that Geoffrey died because of this idea. When Geoffrey was head of the front caravan, they stopped at the beginning of a meadow or grass lands. Eleanor wanted to go down and camp in the meadow because it, "Reminded her of home." The caravan needed to stay in close quarters due to the Turks presence in the surrounding area. They didn't know that scouts were watching their every move from a mountain top far away. When Geoffrey attended to Eleanor's needs, they were attacked in the meadow. Louis came and fought off the Turks and was angry for their loss of men. When he saw Geoffrey that night, King Louis threatened to hang him. Eleanor stepped in, telling the truth about what happened, so Geoffrey's life was spared. Of course, King Louis didn't hang his wife. She was spared but suffered greatly. Geoffrey was excluded from the crusade and booted out on his own. After that when he got to civilization, he then attacked the steward's castle. "As soon as Louis returned from Crusade, Geoffrey went right to the source of the trouble. He poured boiling oil on the rafters of the steward's very own castle,"(Konigsburg 79). He took the steward as prisoner and brought him to court. Abbot Bernard excommunicated Geoffrey for holding the king's steward prisoner. It was a sin to hold an officer of the king prisoner which is why Abbot Bernard saw this act of life, Divine Justice. The choices that Geoffrey chose, both being attacking the steward's castle and holding him prisoner, changed his life and others dramatically. This choice affected him in a religious way. Karma or divine justice chose his fate by killing him with a fever according to Abbot Bernard. This may not be true in real life but religiously, it is. His death changed his wife's (Matilda-Empress) life and also his son's life. It is one less, very valuable person that is not in their lives anymore.**


 * 2: Eleanor and Matilda are against Becket being appointed Archbishop because they claim that he is a man of conscience. They feel that an Archbishop needs to be strong in character and sure of himself in order to be able to function in stressful situations. They do not feel that Becket fulfills these character requirements in their opinion. What Matilda is saying is that he is a man of inner thoughts rather that serving Henry. He is more religious having more of an urge to serve God. King Henry asked Matilda and Eleanor why they disagreed with his move. Matilda says,"because it will not work. Becket will make a choice. He is a man of conscience. I see that by how conscientiously he serves you as chancellor. He will choose to serve god instead of you. If you make him archbishop, you gibe him too much power and too hard a choice,"(Konigsburg 113). This is why Eleanor and Matilda were not for it. Henry, on the other hand, was. His reasoning was based on an example of a boy who stole a bale of wool in London. The wool merchant came up with the conclusion that the boy was lying and cut his tongue off for it. This, to me, sounds very brutal and barbaric. It concludes that the merchant and the boy went to court with witnesses. The merchant was appointed by the church, not the court because this merchant was a member of the clergy. The merchant was not found guilty. **


 * This is a "semi-accurate" representation of King Henry's **
 * court that he would summon people if their were problems **
 * to choose their fate. **


 * Alec Wenning **
 * A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver **
 * Wiki Post 3 **
 * Monday, April 2, 2012 **


 * 1: There are many differences between King Henry and Eleanor's teaching methods. King Henry was a very different teacher than Eleanor. Young Henry, his apprentice, was treated more as an errand boy than a prince. After conquering Ireland, King Henry had Young Henry travel around England to give him company and to teach him. Young Henry was annoyed that he was not being taught and treated as a normal student would be taught by his teacher. Perhaps this was because his teacher was not only the King and his father. Obviously this was not a normal relationship between a student and a teacher and one that could often get in the way of the student's ability to learn. He was suppose to be taught about the government and how it operates. Young Henry's anger worsened over time, especially when he observed how Eleanor taught Richard. He envied the responsibilities that Richard was given by his teacher, Eleanor and wished he could have the same. When William the Marshal says, "Young Henry saw how his mother taught Richard the ways of the Aquitaine, how she allowed him to make decisions as well as to do the routine, and his anger at his father grew," it explains how his father is not a great teacher (Konigsburg 140). This connects to the Essential Question because King Henry's actions and neglect of proper instruction for Young Henry resulted in Young Henry being careless and reckless. It didn't foster responsibility or pride in his work or the teachings of his father. **


 * Eleanor, although imprisoned by way of house arrest, was observed by young Henry as being an excellent teacher by his standards. He yearned for more responsibility and tasks to do of more importance. He found himself busy with simple errands and learning very little from his father. Eleanor engaged Richard with meaningful opportunities and young Henry envied this. Queen Eleanor allowed Richard to travel with her everywhere if possible and observe her in her daily duties. When William the Marshal says, "He took part in every ceremony. He sat by his mother when she held court and when she collected taxes. He learned everything about government at her side," it gives a further understanding on why Young Henry is jealous and angry (Konigs burg 139). The way this connects to the Essential Question is that by encouraging Richard and engaging him in the life of an Aquitaine, he became strong and driven to be the best he could be. He was inspired by his mother to be a great leader and fearless, earning his title "Richard the Lionheart". His mother nurtured his greatness and he became successful because of this. **

** 2: The Courts of Love established by Eleanor and Marie were considered to be a great success because they had a great influence on the way in which men treated women. The Courts of Love incorporated laws requiring men to be polite, neat and to use less roughness. The Courts of Love state, "The Courts of Love had laws: the male must be polite, he must be neat, he must regard his lady-love as someone above earthly temptation, as someone too frail to be exposed to the roughness of life, as someone to protect, as someone who must be helped to sit at a table, as someone whose delicate ears must not hear naughty words, as someone to tips someone's hat to," further clearing my statement before the quote (Konigsburg 134). The rules have affected the way that men treat women for the most part in today's world. The majority of men treat women respectfully and in a polite manner. However, there is still a small portion of men in today's society in who disrespect women and treat them harshly. Typically, you will see men opening doors for women when they enter rooms or a building. Older gentle men, like my grandfather, will still pull a chair out for a woman when she takes a seat at a table. These common niceties can be seen in all types of settings from malls to restaurants to schools. In The art of Courtly Love there are many rules of love to consider. Howeve r, rule 18 directly referring to a man's good character alone, makes him worthy of love is directly related to Eleanor and Marie's Courts of Love. This means if a man shows good character, he is worthy of a woman's love and respect. I am in a family of men and in my opinion we all have good character and are worthy of love. The affects of Eleanor and Marie's rules on today's soceity has been great and can be seen everywhere, even in your own home. **

**This is a man opening a car door for a women. This is** **what is to be expected out of men who follow the Courts** **of Love.**