Battle at Canossa essays

Battle at Canossa essays At the meeting in Canossa between Henry IV and Gregory VII, it may appear that Gregory had been victorious. He showed his power over the king by excommunicating him and denying him his throne until he gave penance. But, in actuality, Henry was the victor. By saying he was sorry for his sins by the doing of his penance, the pope had no other choice than to accept Henry back to the church and back to his throne. If a sinner comes to the pope and asks for forgiveness, the pope is obligated by his spiritual duties to forgive him. Gregory did not want to accept Henry back on his own will, but rather the will of God and of the people. The popes power over the king was limited. The showdown at Canossa was not the end of the confrontations between Gregory and Henry. Germany and Italy were at battle between each other and Germany had elected their own king, Rudolph of Swabia, the anti-king. Gregory VII had again tried to excommunicate Henry IV, but at this time he had no power over the king for the people had turned against the pope. The bishops had elected another pope, the anti-pope. Cruel and atrocious civil war continued. Henry and Rudolph battled against each other and Rudolph was killed. After the death of Rudolph, Henry went to Rome and conquered it. He also installed an anti-pope who crowned Henry emperor. In return, Gregory called for help to the Normans in northern Italy. They agreed to help and kicked Henry out of Rome. The Normans were angered that Rome surrendered to the popes enemies so they committed several brutal crimes against the Romans. The Romans blamed these acts of brutality on Gregory and consequently he traveled back to northern Ita ly with the Normans to seek refuge. The struggle of lay investiture was still not over. A compromise could not be reached until 1122 AD. This agreement was the Concordat of Worms. Popes were now in charge of investing the bishops with the symbols of spiritual office. The e...

EFL Learners

Fun Survey for ESL/EFL Learners A common comment made by new English students is that they want to improve their conversational skills. In fact, many students complain that their grammar is OK, but, when it comes to conversing, they feel they are still beginners. This makes sense - especially in academic settings where the emphasis often tends towards structural knowledge. As a first year, enthusiastic ESL/EFL teacher, I can remember striding into class ready to help students converse - only to find out that what I had chosen was of little or no interest to my students. I stammered through the lesson, trying to cajole my students into talking - and, in the end, doing most of the talking myself. Does this scenario sound slightly familiar? Even the most experienced teacher runs into this problem: A student wants to improve his/her speaking ability, but getting them to state an opinion is like pulling teeth. There are many reasons for this common problem: pronunciation problems, cultural tabus, lack of vocabulary for a given topic, etc. In order to combat this tendency, its good to gather a little background information on your students before you begin your conversation lessons. Finding out about your students well ahead of time can also assist in: planning out longer arcs of learning topicsunderstanding the personality of your classgrouping students for activitiesfinding the right authentic materials that will hold your classs attention through the tough bitssuggesting individual research topics for class presentations Its best to distribute this type of fun survey during the first week of class. Feel free to distribute the activity as homework. Once you understand the reading and study habits, as well as the general interests of your class, you will be well on your way to providing engaging materials that will actually encourage your students to say more than yes or no the next time you ask them to make a comment. Fun Survey for Adult ESL/EFL Learners Imagine you are having dinner with your best friend. What topics do you discuss?Imagine you are having a work lunch with colleagues. What topics do you discuss that are non-work related?What do you like best about your profession?What do you like least about your profession?What do you like to read? (circle items)FictionAdventure storiesHistorical fictionScience fictionComic booksThrillersShort StoriesRomance novelsOther (please list)NonfictionBiographyScienceHistoryCookbooksSociologyComputer manualsOther (please list)Do you read any magazines or newspapers? (please list titles)What are your hobbies?What places have you visited?What type of things do you like: (circle items)GardeningGoing to museumsListening to music (please list type of music)MoviesWorking with Computers / Surfing the InternetVideo gamesWatching TV (please list programs)Playing sports (please list sports)Playing an instrument (please list instrument)Other (please list)Think about your best friend, husband or wife fo r a minute. What do you have in common with him/her? Fun Survey for Student ESL/EFL Learners Imagine you are having dinner with your best friend. What topics do you discuss?Imagine you are having lunch with classmates. What topics do you discuss that are school related?Which courses do you most enjoy?Which courses do you least enjoy?What do you like to read?  (circle items)FictionAdventure storiesHistorical fictionScience fictionComic booksThrillersShort StoriesRomance novelsOther  (please list)NonfictionBiographyScienceHistoryCookbooksSociologyComputer manualsOther  (please list)Do you read any magazines or newspapers?  (please list titles)What are your hobbies?What places have you visited?What type of things do you like:  (circle items)GardeningGoing to museumsListening to music  (please list type of music)MoviesWorking with Computers / Surfing the InternetVideo gamesWatching TV  (please list programs)Playing sports  (please list sports)Playing an instrument  (please list instrument)Other  (please list)Think about your best friend for a minute. What do you have in common with him/her