Calliope articles from April 2008

Calliope archives from April 2008

5 fascinating French facts.(Country overview)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... 1. Two-thirds of present-day France consists of mountains and hills. The Alps to the east and the Pyrenees to the south are two of the largest ranges. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] 2. France's Mont Blanc, in the Alps, is Europe's highest...

Musings.(Joan of Arc)(Quotation)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... One life is all we have, and we live it as we believe in living. But to sacrifice what you are and to live without belief, that is a fate more terrible than dying. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] --Joan of Arc

Joan's world.(Joan of Arc)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The quotation above is Joan's philosophy simply stated. Read it before you read the articles in this issue. Then read it again after you have finished--and you are certain to say, "Yes, Joan's commitment to her...

Timeline.(Chronology)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATIONS OMITTED] 1412 Joan is born in the village of Domremy. 1422 Charles VI of France dies. He leaves a son, Charles the Dauphin, an uncrowned king. John, Duke of Bedford, is appointed as regent for the infant English...

Meeting with the Dauphin.(Joan of Arc's meeting with Charles VII)
April 1, 2008... The streets that nestled below the castle of Chinon were unusually crowded s Sunday morning, March 6, 1429, and knights, courtiers, and royal messenger had rushed over the bridges connecting the three fortresses of the castle. Rumor had it that...

A divided France.
April 1, 2008... Today, France and England are two separate nations, peaceful partners in the European Union. But when Joan of Arc was growing up in Domremy, the two were embroiled in war. That war had been going on for more than half a century, and its origins...

Royal caps.(ACTIVITY)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Can you find the 26 words hidden in the maze below? Each is a proper noun--the name of a geographical location or a person--and all are found in the articles on pages 4-9. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Answers to Royal Caps [ILLUSTRATION...

The voices.
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Thirteen-year-old Joan was standing in her father's garden when she suddenly felt surrounded by a great light and heard a voice speaking to her. The voice told her to follow the Church's teachings, to pray, and to...

The church's say.
April 1, 2008... The Christian Church was the largest and the most powerful institution in 15th-century Europe. Its rulings were followed by politicians, clergy, and laypeople throughout the continent. It also greatly influenced the decrees and laws made by the...

On to Orleans!(Joan of Arc and Chales VII)
April 1, 2008... Convinced that she was divinely chosen to aid France in ending the long dispute with England, Joan was determined to see the Dauphin crowned as Charles VII. Her first task was to persuade the reluctant Dauphin to journey from Chinon to Reims,...

Ready for battle.(French and English troops)(Era overview)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For military commanders in the Middle Ages, there were two general rules when making war. The first was to avoid battles. The second was to camp just out of range of the defensive weapons of a useful, important city...

What's different?(ACTIVITY)(Joan of Arc)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... It is said that Joan did sit for a portrait, but it has not survived. The portraits of Joan that have survived from the 1400s, therefore, are based on recollections of what people saw or heard from others. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Many...

My lord, the king.(Charles VII)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] All of a sudden the hubbub of the crowd ceased. Four knights on horseback had solemnly entered Reims Cathedral. These Guardians of the Holy Vial, as they were known, were escorting a precious flask that contained...

To the battlefield or the table?(Charles VII)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The fifth son of Charles VI never expected to become king, but after his four brothers died childless, he was named Dauphin in 1417. But Charles had enemies, and rumors quickly spread that he might not be the...

Word origins.(FUN WITH WORDS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... TRIAL When you hear the word "trial," you probably think of a courtroom and disputes being settled by examining evidence and information before a judge or jury. This definition of "trial" was first used in 1577. Before that time, it meant "the...

Word stories.(FUN WITH WORDS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... MARTYR In the days of the early Roman Empire, government officials would publicly read decrees honoring generous citizens. These praises were called martyriai, a term that can be traced back to Biblical times. Early Christians adopted the Greek...

Expressions.(FUN WITH WORDS)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... "PRISONER OF WAR" This phrase, better known today as "POW," describes a non-civilian involved in a war, who is imprisoned by the enemy during or immediately following an armed conflict. The U.S. Army uses the term "prisoner of war" only to...

A friend to Compiegne.(Joan of Arc)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In the spring of 1430, the Burgundian army was on the move. Having taken advantage of the truce to regroup and plan a fresh assault, the Duke of Burgundy set his sights on the city of Compiegne. For months its...

The trial.(Joan of Arc's trial)
April 1, 2008... As a prisoner of Joan was taken to the fortress of Beaurevoir to await a decision about her future. Traditionally, valuable political prisoners were released in exchange for the payment of a large sum of money. Yet, there is no evidence that...

The verdict.(Joan of Arc's sentence)
April 1, 2008... On May 24, after five months of intense questioning, Joan was led in chains to the cemetery of the Abbey of Saint-Ouen to hear her sentence. Bishop Pierre Cauchon was there, along with prelates, assessors, and a large audience seated in viewing...

Cleaning an old iron tool.(ACTIVITY)(Table)
April 1, 2008... "Costumes in steel" perfectly describes the suits of armor European soldiers and cavalrymen wore into battle from the 1400s through the early 1900s. Since the condition of one's weapons and armor could mean the difference between life and...

Rethinking the past.(FROM PAST TO PRESENT)
April 1, 2008... Even on the day that Joan was put to death, some witnesses had doubts about the guilty verdict. Contemporary accounts tell of a Frenchman who worked for the English going to a nearby tavern after the execution and saying, with tears in his...

Ask Calliope.
April 1, 2008... Can you tell me what a tapestry is? --Julie, 10, Web post Tapestry is actually a type of weave structure, with one warp and one weft woven into a web by a simple "tabby" (over one/under one) weave. The design is created by densely...

From our readers ...(Letter to the editor)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Hello Calliope! Our class was assigned to write a nonfiction article on anything we wanted. I chose Marie Antoinette... I also wanted to try to include some of the sad things that happened to her... ...

Books.(OFF THE SHELF)(Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc, Joan of Arc: The Teenager Who Saved Her Nation, The Life and Times of Joan of Arc, and Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc)(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Beyond the Myth: The Story of Joan of Arc by Polly Schoyer Brooks (Houghton Mifflin, 1999, www.hmco.com) explores the year during the 15th century in which Joan's greatest accomplishments occurred, and includes...

Cobblestone resources.(OFF THE SHELF)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Materials that complement this issue's theme, "Joan of Arc, Defender of France," and are available form Cobblestone Publishing include: Louis XIV (CAL0203) Napoleon A.D. 1769-1821 (CAL0404) [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

On the net.(biographies of Joan of Arc)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... Here are two detailed biographies of Joan of Arc, with links to a variety of sites: http://archive.joan-of-arc.org/joanofarc_short_biography.html www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=aa41 For more...

'Joan's body'.(Joan of Arc)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Joan of Arc was burned at the stake on May 30, 1431, atop a scaffold of wood and plaster that the English had erected in the market square of Rouen. After the Maid of Orleans died of smoke inhalation, the executioner...

Then and now.(fleur-de-lis)(Brief article)
April 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] WHAT'S CHANGED? France is now a democracy, and Detroit has no political connection with France. WHAT'S THE SAME? The fleur-de-lis is now used internationally as a symbol, For example, lie Scout Movement uses...