HIST 115

As part of your coursework in HIST 115, you must research and write an essay on one of the following topics:

1.       Christianity and Military Monastic Orders (e.g. Templars or Hospitallers) — but not the Teutonic Knights!

The purpose of this assignment is to research a medieval topic using the library’s print and electronic resources, structure an argument, and write an elegant essay.  This means your essay must be thesis-driven, well researched, and well written.

All told, you should handle at least four sources, including primary and secondary source —more are, of course, welcome.  In the course of your research, you must engage edited and translated primary sources and published scholarly secondary sources.  You should read authors who can provide you with the data needed to construct your argument.  You should begin with articles from the Dictionary of the Middle Ages.  From there, you should log onto the electronic version of the International Medieval Bibliography (available via the university catalogue).  Both can point you to books and articles that will be of use to you.

Dictionary of the Middle Ages: https://ocul-wtl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_WTL/5ob3ju/alma998203133505162

 International Medieval Bibliography: https://ocul-wtl.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01OCUL_WTL/5ob3ju/alma993437153505162

Your essay must be 1500–2,000 words long and typed using the Times New Roman (or something comparable) font at a character pitch of 12.  Margins must be 1” on all sides and the assignment must not have a cover page.  If you submit an essay with a cover page, your essay will receive a grade of zero.  You must use footnotes as opposed to endnotes or parenthetical references.  As always, you should consult the Chicago Manual of Style for further formatting details.

Style counts.  The instructor awards points for smooth prose and deducts them for awkward, or incorrect, use of the English language.  You are strongly encouraged to make use of the University of Waterloo’s Writing Centre (http://elpp.uwaterloo.ca/writingcentre.html).

 

Christianity and Military Monastic Orders (e.g. Templars or Hospitallers) — but not the Teutonic Knights!

 

What to write about:

 

Knight Orders-Templars, Hospitallers, Teutonic Knights, Calatrava Order (getasword.com)

 

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015016638978&view=1up&seq=89&q1=knights 

 

Templars

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015066087662&view=1up&seq=8

 

Knights Hospitaller

 

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89097345524&view=1up&seq=3

Order of Saint James

https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/761699

Thesis: What they have in common, their differences, and how they influenced the crusades/Christianity.