Who’s a Good Guy? Who’s a Bad Guy?

Wherever you are, wherever you go, you will always encounter many different types of people. There are different extremes of being a ‘good guy’ or a ‘bad guy’, but we all experience both types of people in our lives. Points of view and opinions are what make someone feel that someone else is a good guy or a bad guy. A good person has a moral heart; they are someone who is looking out for himself/herself and others, but a bad person does not have the kind of motives that are encouraging them to make good choices, or they simply are out to be reckless and destructive.

In my opinion, ‘bad guys’ or bad people are few and far between. When looking around me as I sit in a classroom, walk along the sidewalk, or shop in a store, I may encounter others who appear to look as if they are up to bad things and are not doing what they should be. I would not consider these people bad guys, but rather people who have made bad choices in their lives and engage in bad behavior.

A much different view can also be looked at when talking about good guys and bad guys. Instead of thinking about a person who you have found to do a few wrong things, you can look at the main groups of people in history who have really been considered to be ‘bad guys’. I would equip the Vikings with the description of being bad guys because they were ones who raided areas of land and were referred to by monks as “devils from hell.” (http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2039&HistoryID=ab86&gtrack=pthc)The Christians were the victims of the Vikings. Christians were just an innocent group of people who were attacked and brought down by the Vikings. “In 793 A.D., the Viking raiders attacked a monastery where they held monks in captivity.” I would not look at these facts as being good, therefore I would not look at the Vikings as good people. They were powerful and successful, yes, but their ways of gaining their power and success were not justified. They were very skilled and talented, but I think these good qualities are quickly diminished when hearing of their raids. The Vikings did leave a legacy in England, which turned out to be a very good thing, but the end just does not justify the means. (http://www.family-ancestry.co.uk/history/vikings/england/)

I would consider most people in my life to be categorized as good guys. We all make mistakes because we are human, but I do not believe that anyone I know is intentionally mean, deceitful, barbarous, or bad. If you look at things with a broader sense of view, I am sure that a few people or groups of people come to mind when thinking about good guys. You can think about all of the good people you know, and you can also think about the really great people in history that have made an impact on us today. Take, for example, Martin Luther King Jr. and the people who followed him. He was an average American who turned his dreams into reality, in the best way that he could. He led the American Civil Rights Movement, and led it with dignity and courage. He was fighting in a respectful and appropriate way to get his point across that we are all equal and all need to be treated with equality. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.) Martin Luther King Jr. was truly a good person who believed strongly in the equality of humanity and conducted himself in a dignified way while fighting for a cause which changed our country.

Certain qualities will be obtained if you are a good person or a bad person. To determine who is a bad guy and who is a good guy, conclusions can be drawn based on points of view, information known, and experiences with that person.

Works Cited

Family Ancestry. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://www.family-ancestry.co.uk/history/vikings/england/>.

History World. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?groupid=2039&HistoryID=ab86&gtrack=pthc>.

Wikipedia. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther_King,_Jr.>.

Picture Source:

Wikimedia Commons. Web. 18 Mar. 2010. <http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leif_Ericson_on_the_shore_of_Vinland.gif>.

Gibbon and Toynbee Views

Edward Gibbon was and English historian and a member of Parliament. His most important work is the History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon) Arnold J. Toynbee was a British historian and also a member of Parliament. His analysis of history is called A Study of History.( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_J._Toynbee)

Gibbon looks highly upon Rome, by pointing out many of its good qualities. He referred to various places being, "successfully broken by the iron monarchy of Rome." He said that the decline of Rome was an inevitable effect of greatness. He believed that Rome yielded to the pressure of its own weight. Gibbon also says that inside of asking why it fell, we should instead be thinking about how Rome lasted so long. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gibbon-fall.html)

Toynbee, on the other hand, had a different side of view. Toynbee believes that Christianity rose as the empire sank, and the rise of Christianity was the fall of civilizations. He says the life of the civilization had already destroyed itself by turning itself into an idol to which people worshiped. The rise of the philosophies was a consequence. Toynbee believed that, "Civilizations arose in response to some set of challenges of extreme difficulty, when 'creative minorities' devised solutions that reoriented their entire society. " (http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/toynbee.html) Both Toynbee and Gibbon had very interesting views.

Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/gibbon-fall.html>.

Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/toynbee.html>.

Wikipedia. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Gibbon>.

Wikipedia. Web. 17 Mar. 2010. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_J._Toynbee>.

Picture Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Edward_Emily_Gibbon.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:ArnoldToynbee1961.jpg

Eddas and Heimskringla

Viking Helmet With Horns?

The Vikings did wear helmets, but they were not the helmets that many people imagine they wore. The Vikings' helmets were fairly simple, a bowl with a nose guard. There is no evidence that the Viking helmets had horns. Before and after the time of the Vikings, the helmets were made from steel and hammered into shape. During the Viking era, however, helmets were usually made from several pieces of iron riveted together. This way of making a helmet required less labor. It is said by Dr. Wester that the oral tradition of the Viking culture is to blame for why we now believe the Vikings wore helmets with horns attached. The entire history of the Vikings was passed through stories because paper did not arrive in Scandinavia until after the Viking Age. To sum it up, the Vikings did wear helmets, but they did not have horns as we think of them today.

"Viking Age Arms and Armor Viking Helmets." Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/manufacturing/text/viking_helmets.htm>.

Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/viking.html>.

Picture Source:

Flickr. Web. 16 Mar. 2010. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/anytime_armour/3971015415/>.

Vikings as Mascots

The Viking is a very common mascots in sports, including professional teams, high schools, and so on. The word viking is derived from the word vikingr, a word for 'pirate'. Because of its origins, we know that this is a strong word. It describes the Norsemen who raided the coasts of Britain and northwest France. Vikings are thought to be scary, big, vicious, barbarous, and inferior to others, so having this meaning to your team mascot name would be intimidating but appropriate. Vikings are warriors, and if your team wanted to be known as fighting warriors, the Viking as a mascot would be a fitting choice.

"Overview: The Vikings, 800 to 1066." Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab86>.

Picture Source:

Flickr. Web. 15 Mar. 2010. <http://www.flickr.com/photos/daviderickson/2690700258/>.'

Notes on Vikings

Druids
- Earth based religion
- Elders in the tribe

Less integration of Christianity in the north.

The Vikings believed in valhala - the afterlife
Oden (god of afterlife) would greet them as heroes if they died in battle.

Vikings
- Often referred to as Norse or Norsemen
- Older Edda is poetic Edda book about mythology
- Younger Edda is prose Edda book about mythology
- They were written in the 13th century
- Vikings were at their height in the 8th and 9th centuries
- The Eddas are written down by Christianized Norse
- A poet, Snorri Sturluson, in the 13th century wrote the Heimskringla (book of sagas and legends about the kings)
- These were not written until after the Vikings are either gone or Christianized


Norse Mythology
- Eddas tell us about the cosmology of Norse thinking (your concept of the universe)
- Midgard is our world. To the north of us, is Álfheimer (elves).
- To the south is Svartálfaheim (black elves).
- To the east was the world of Vanir in Vanaheirm, Muspellheim was the world of fire, and Jotenheimor was the world of jotnar.
- The west was the world of ice, Niflheim.
- Up is Asgard, world of the AEsir. This is where the gods are.
- Below/down is Hel, the world of the Nioavellir, netherworld.
- The area as far as you can go is Ginnungagap.
- We live in the middle of all of these worlds.

Runes are used before making decision
Yggdrasil tree

Raganarok
- War at the end of the world.
- Series of major events
- Included the gods Odin, Thor, Freyr, Heimdall, and the jotunn Loki


Vikings Coming to England
- The monks were mad and considered the Vikings "devils from hell."
- They had a very disciplined military way.
- Everyone was equipped with a knife, sword, and battle ax.
- 793 AD was the first major Viking sea raid
- 120 ships
- Christians were the victims of the Vikings.

Eric the Red and Leaf Erickson
- Conquered much of Europe
- Leaf Erickson yearns to explore and sets sail in 1000
- Vikings linked Eastern and Western hemispheres
- Christianity presents a reason to unite but find a resistance to give up ancient gods
- Bizerker passed easily through Pagan fire but not Christian fire

Harold Hadrata
- 15 years old

Notes on Late Antiquity, Early Christianity, and the Byzantine Empire

The Severn dynasty is the last dynast of Rome.

It ends with Caracalla.

After him, the empire is throw into chaos.

The Age of the Soldier Emperors

• 4rd century BCE
• All of the emperors are generals and control their own armies.
• There is no consolidation of power in Rome at this time.
• Rome is a mess.
• This age does not end until 284 BCE.

Diocletian

• Fundamentally alters the form of government.
• He sets up the dominate.
• He rules until 305 BCE.
• He sets up a new government, the Tetrarchy. (it means four by four)
• He split the empire into West and East. Two people were in charge of the west and two were in charge of the east.
• There is a war between the two strongest of the Tetrarchs - Maxentius and Constantine I

Battle of Milvian Bridge

• Constantine wins and becomes emperor.
• He saw a vision of the Christian cross on the day of the battle. About it, he saw the Chi Rho. All of his soldiers paint this symbol onto their shields.
• His control of the western empire paved the way for Christianity as the dominant religion for the Roman Empire and ultimately for Europe.

Constantine moved the capital of Rome to Constantinople.

Today, Constantinople is the city of Istanbul.

Late Antiquity

• Crisis of the Third Century (235-284)
• War between two emperors
• Movement of Capitol
• Christianization of Empire
• Rome is sacked in 476 BC, FALL OF ROME

Either you have argument that Rome falls (Gibbons) or Rome evolved into Europe. (Toynbee)

Early Christianity

• Christianity was made illegal at the beginning, so Christians had to meet in secret.
• The picture of Jesus and the sheep shows that the Christians had to come up with coded language and art to get their ideas across to each other.
• Catacombs
• Where and how Christians could meet

Byzantine Empire

• The Byzantine Empire shrinks almost to nothing in the 400's.
• The world becomes split in two, which survives even to this day.

Justinian

• He tries to merge the church and state when he becomes emperor.