AAmber

//Below is my Heraldry Assignment... //

** Heraldry Assignment **




 * Introduction **

In Medieval times, when Heraldry was an extremely important part of life, a Coat of Arms was often used by important families. The Coat of Arms symbolised the wealth and power of the family, and depicted below is a labelled example.

A Coat of Arms was traditionally used in battle as a way of identifying knights on the battlefield. Each family’s Coat of Arms was displayed on the knight’s shield, and the animals, colours and other symbols all symbolised something important to the family.

**Challenges **

The challenge was to create a Coat of Arms to represent the family of Akkurt in an obvious and distinguishable manner. This Coat of Arms also had to be presented in a place where people would recognise it as concerning this family and the individuals within it. This assignment was challenging in a few different ways, but there were also some aspects of it that were fairly simple, such as thinking about what to put on it. Luckily, the name Akkurt means white wolf in Turkish, and so a white wolf would be an obvious animal that could be used to represent the family.

The more challenging aspect of this task was, first and foremost, creating the actual Coat of Arms. As it was decided that it would be presented through embroidery, the first challenge was to learn the stich that was going to be used; the rope stich. This stich was quite challenging to master, but after many finger pricks, knots and mistakes an acceptable Coat of Arms was finally produced!

**Design **



**Colours **

The colours red and white were chosen for the background and border of the Coat of Arms because the Akkurt family originally came from Turkey, and these are the colours of the Turkish flag. The grapes on either side of the crest are green because it is one of the colours most associated with Australia, as is gold, which is the colour used for the letter 'A' at the top of the crest. The reason these Australian colours were chosen is because, although both sides of the Akkurt family come from overseas, they now consider themselves to be Australian. The colours of the books at the bottom of the crest are less symbolic than that of the other colours; they were chosen because they looked good!

**Symbols **

In the centre of the crest is a white wolf. This animal was chosen to represent the Akkurt family because the name �Akkurt� means white wolf in the Turkish language. To the left and right of the wolf are grapes. These represent the fact that the family traditionally grew grapes. The books below the wolf symbolise education, as education is very important to the family. Since coming to Australia the family which was traditionally from a peasant culture, has become university educated. The letter 'A' is the first letter of both the male and female sides of the Akkurt family (the female side originally being Atherton). The crescent moon and the star above the shield also represent the fact that the Akkurt family comes from Turkey, as these symbols are on the Turkish flag. The scroll underneath the shield contains the words Loup Blanc. This is French for white wolf and the reason it has been written in French is because traditionally the language used in heraldry was French.

**Display **

The family crest is displayed on a saddlecloth because horses and riding are a big part of the Akkurt family�s life. Also, historically knights would have worn their Coat of Arms when mounted on their charges whilst heading into battles. Obviously, horses no longer go into battle, but they still compete in dressage, which was used to train horses for battle many years ago. This is why the Akkurt family�s Coat of Arms is presented on a dressage saddle cloth.

**<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Making of the Coat of Arms **

//<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Step 1: //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">The outline of the Coat of Arms was draw onto a piece of red fabric which was held taunt by a circular tapestry frame.

//<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Step 2: //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">The design was then sewn onto the fabric using a range of coloured embroidery threads.

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//<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Step 3: //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">A saddle cloth was made using quilted fabric.

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<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">//Step 4:// Ironing the fabric to create a hem and to remove creases.

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Step 5: //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif';">Sewing the Coat of Arms onto the saddle cloth. <span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; line-height: 0px; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; overflow: hidden;">

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Below is the finished product:



* * * * * * * * * //<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Below is my Essay on the fall of the feudal system... //

<span style="font-family: 'Old English Text MT'; font-size: 18pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">Why Did the Feudal System End?

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The Feudal system was essentially the code that everyone lived by as the Roman Empire fell, and all throughout the Middle Ages. It was a set of political and military customs for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour. The wealthy relied on the peasants to work their land and provide other services, whilst the wealthy classes gave them protection. During this time the majority of the human population was made up of peasants, and these peasants were all directly loyal to their local noble. This system lasted for a long period of time; 500, 600, in some places even 700 years. The feudal system was basically attacked by three different events: The Crusades, the rise of towns and the Plague. The Crusades began in 1095 when Pope Clairemont started preaching about the necessity to free Jerusalem.

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The Crusades involved a series of Holy Wars launched by the Christian states of Europe against the Saracens (Muslims). They were great military expeditions encouraged by the Pope with the purpose of rescuing the holy places of Palestine from the hands of the Muslims. These military expeditions affected the feudal system because, upon their return, the peasants were sent back to work on the farms for the rest of their lives after having taste of money, travel and freedom. This unsettled the people, as no one desired to return to a life of hardship and toil with very little reward. This lead to a great deal of unrest amongst the peasants who began to demand to be paid for their services with money and greater autonomy. The Crusades brought back new ideas such as trading goods, and need for customers caused people to move closer together. This gave rise to the formation of towns.

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The rise of towns began with the discovery of crop rotation, which lead to higher productivity for those working on the land. The increase in production meant that people could sell their excess produce. It also meant that not everyone had to farm to have access to food, and this caused farming to basically become a specialist occupation. To maximise the number of people they could sell their goods to they rented land from nobles, usually targeting cross roads. This is where towns eventually came to form. By renting land from nobles to sell their goods on, a higher level of power and independence was awarded to the people. This was caused by the fact that they no longer belonged to the land they lived on, they were able to leave the land anytime they wished. Nobles also benefited from this relationship due to the fact that the rent was given in actual cash, whereas the product produced by the peasants working on the nobles’ land would have to be sold to gain any income. Merchant guilds and schools were established, mayors were elected, all of this causing a dramatic decrease in the power of the nobles. With the rise of towns came overcrowding, lack of hygiene and disease, which ultimately lead to the spread of ‘The Black Death’ or plague.

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">The plague dramatically undermined the feudal system due to the large loss of life its appearance resulted in. It was a pandemic illness that caused its victims to suffer terrible pain which often resulted in death. It was carried by rats, and then spread to humans, who spread the disease even further through travel (through use of ship etc.). Sicily, Italy is the first known location the plague infected, and by quarantining Sicily, the people unintentionally spread the illness further via ships that arrived and were immediately sent away again. While peasants were left to suffer the inevitable consequences of the Black Death, nobles, and sometimes even priests, abandoned the areas that the plague had struck, once again spreading the plague further and further. The tacit agreement between the peasants and nobles had been broken; the nobles had promised to protect them and they had failed to do so. Over 70 million people died in this onslaught and the peasants felt hurt and betrayed by their so called protectors, and this affected the feudal system for the worse. Also, because one in three peasants were dying, the value of the poorer class increased. People were now being paid in money for their work. This sudden example of wealth caused the peasants to want more and more of it, and the peasants now had the option of working for different nobles if they so desired. This knew found freedom and power over their own lives caused the feudal system to be destroyed by the peoples’ hunger for power, and so began the Renaissance.

<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;">With the Renaissance came many scientific, artistic and religious ideas, and a new presence of national identity. People began to question religion and new types of Christian churches were built. All in all, time, change and people all inevitably destroyed the feudal system, and so began a new era of independence and knowledge.

<span style="display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">* * * * * * * * * <span style="display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;">//<span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">Below is my analytical piece in response to "The Death of Jinini"... // <span style="display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; margin: 0in 0in 10pt;"> ** // How do you know the children are listening to Ole Ma Jilamara? // **

In the story, ‘The Death of Jinini’, you can tell that the children are listening to Ole Ma Jilamara for a number on reasons, the first of these being hinted by the fact that at the beginning of the story they very eagerly gather around the fire, even before Ole Ma herself has sat down. They also plead, “Story,” which suggests that, since they are excited to hear the story, and so clearly they want to listen to Ole Ma. Another means of telling that the children are listening is their reactions at different points of the story. At one stage, when Ole Ma turns to the boys and lowers her voice, “Eddy’s eyes (grow) large and round.” so you can tell that he is intrigued by the story, and therefore is listening. When Ole Ma looks at Nona in one part of the story, the author writes that, “She could see in the girl’s large brown eyes that she understood.” and this also shows that Nona is listening. Jacky also urged Ole Ma on, asking, “What next?” in multiple parts of the story. This shows he is listening because he is awaiting the next part of the tale excitedly. The author acknowledges that Eddy is still listening by writing, “Eddy sat in silence, his eyes like moons”. Also, when Jacky reacts to a part of the story by, “… (clenching) both fists and (holding) them up in the air in silence.” it shows that he was listening well enough to react this way. The author also writes, “He didn’t dare speak though.” and so it’s possible that here he doesn’t speak because he didn’t want to interrupt Ole Ma and stop her. Another reaction made by Jacky was when he, “… caught his breath and swallowed hard.” which is quite obviously caused by suspense in the story. Nona “… had heard the story before and she knew what was coming next.” and for her to know this, she must be listening. When Ole Ma raised a finger and pointed into the darkness above, “Jacky lay on his back and looked up into the night sky.” and “Eddy leaned back on his arms and hung his head backwards.” which shows they were both listening. As the story neared its conclusion, “The children kept very still and listened… all was silent.” and when Ole Ma announced that she would finish the story another day, “Jacky nodded vigorously.” and, “Eddy screwed up his nose.” they obviously had follow what was going on in the story. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">* * * * * * * * * <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">//<span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: 'Andalus','serif'; font-size: 16px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">Below is my analytical piece in response to "The Dollhouse - A Jinini Horror Story"... // <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"> <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">**//How does the author make the reader believe in the dragon?//** <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">In the story, ‘The Dollhouse – A Jinini Horror Story’, the author makes the reader believe in the dragon by using many tactful styles of writing. The anthropomorphism used by the author in this story contributes to the eerie atmosphere that controls the tale. It is also one of the main factors that are used to make the reader believe in the dragon. The frequent reference to wind and breath throughout the whole story causes the reader to almost be able to hear the dragon breathing as the tale unfolds. At the beginning of the story “Mary took a deep breath” and when her mother talked on the phone “there was a breathy pause” on the other end of the line. When the mother goes out that night, she “(lowered her head) into the maddening gale” and later “the wind drew in its breath” as Mary screamed for her missing mother. Another time the wind and breath was mentioned was when “Mary sucked in her breath and held it for several seconds. She glanced furtively towards the window… but the gale was resting, saving its strength like a panting beast ready for its next strike”. When Mary was standing, frozen in the middle of the kitchen, listening for any sound of an intruder, “she could hear his… breathing slow and deep”. She began to run, screaming, the intruder so close behind that “she could feel his heavy breath warm upon the back of her neck”. Mary fell and the nightlight slipped from her fingers, “the back door flew open and the gale came rushing in. The wind had become the dragon. Throughout the story inanimate objects other than the wind are also brought to life by the author’s use of anthropomorphism, for example “the dustbin lid rolled drunkenly” and the flames appeared to be alive when “an orange mushroom billowed out across the ceiling”. These images make the reader more likely to believe that the wind could actually come to life and be the dragon. <span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: times new roman; font-size: 16px; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; font-family: Times New Roman; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">When Mary was playing with her dollhouse, she acted out her own life through the dolls. She believed that her parents would protect her from the dragon, and that she would be safe as long as they were there. This game she played with her dolls was dismissed by her mother as a childish fantasy, but in fact, the mother should have realised that what her daughter was saying could apply to a real life situation, meaning if both parents did actually leave the house, and the child unattended, disastrous consequences may really occur. As Mary falls to sleep that night, her mother leaves with another man, abandoning her child, and with that, her responsibilities as a parent. This is when the dragon swoops down and snatches her child from her. The author draws the reader into the child’s world so that eventually the reader sees the world through the eyes of the child. The image of the parents standing guard over Mary in the dollhouse is a very strong image, and, because the little girl thinks that she can cause real life to mirror the toy family, we too think that her parents would be able to protect her from the very real threat of a dragon. <span style="display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: #000000; display: block; font-family: 'andalus','serif'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 115%; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: auto;">* * * * * * * * *

The Aztecs – The Report

//<span style="font-family: 'Aparajita','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">When and Where the Aztecs Existed //
 * Figure 1: The Aztec Empire ||

<span style="font-family: 'Aparajita','sans-serif'; font-size: 19px;">The Aztec civilisation was located in Mexico, and it stretched between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, as is illustrated by the below map of the Aztec Empire. The Aztecs first discovered Mexico at some stage after AD1200, at around about the same time that Europe was entering the Renaissance. By around 1400, the Aztecs had become the most powerful nation in the central area of Mesoamerica, their territory rapidly increasing. The map on the left shows us just how far their reign reached. Their capital city, Tenochtitlan, was where this amazing empire began: on an island in the middle of Lake Texcoco. This lake was situated in the Central Valley of Mexico, surrounded by rocky, mountainous country as well as many of the Aztecs cities, which can be seen on the map below. The only flat lowlands in Mexico were found along the coasts in narrow strips, and one of the only places with fertile soil was the Valley of Mexico, many other areas being barren, with only scrubby trees and grasses growing. Frequently, drought parched the hot, dry land even further, and horrible earthquakes and volcanoes were regular occurrences. Below are some comparative timelines of the Renaissance in Europe and the Aztecs.
 * Figure 2: The Valley of Mexico during the Aztec's reign ||

//<span style="font-family: 'Aparajita','sans-serif'; font-size: 21px;">Aztec Timeline //
 * 1111  ||   1168   ||   1250   ||   1345   ||
 * Mexicans leave Aztlan || Fall of Toltec capitol of Tula || Around this time, Aztecs reach Valley of Mexico || Tenochtitlan founded ||
 * 1358  ||   1417   ||   1426   ||   1428   ||
 * Tlatelolco founded || Chitmalpopoca becomes Emperor || Itzalcoatl becomes Emperor || Aztecs overthrow Tepanecs ||
 * 1440  ||   1446   ||   1450   ||   1468   ||
 * Montezuma I becomes Emperor || War against Chalco(1446 - 1449) begins || Great famine (1450 - 1454) begins || Axayacatl becomes Emperor ||
 * 1481  ||   1486   ||   1492   ||   1500   ||
 * Tizoc becomes Emperor || Ahuitzotl becomes Emperor || Columbus discoveres West Indies || Flooding of Tenochtitlan ||
 * 1502  ||   1504   ||   1511   ||   1519   ||
 * Montezuma II becomes Emperor || War against Tlaxcala begins || Spanish capture Cuba || Cortes begins expedition to Mexico (10 Feb) ||
 * 1520  ||   1520   ||   1521   ||   1521   ||
 * Death of Montezuma II (27 June) || Cortes abandons Tenochtitlan || Final siege begins (28 April) || Fall of Tenochtitlan (13 August) ||
 * Cuitlahuac becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Cuauhtemoc becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Tizoc becomes Emperor || Ahuitzotl becomes Emperor || Columbus discoveres West Indies || Flooding of Tenochtitlan ||
 * 1502  ||   1504   ||   1511   ||   1519   ||
 * Montezuma II becomes Emperor || War against Tlaxcala begins || Spanish capture Cuba || Cortes begins expedition to Mexico (10 Feb) ||
 * 1520  ||   1520   ||   1521   ||   1521   ||
 * Death of Montezuma II (27 June) || Cortes abandons Tenochtitlan || Final siege begins (28 April) || Fall of Tenochtitlan (13 August) ||
 * Cuitlahuac becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Cuauhtemoc becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Death of Montezuma II (27 June) || Cortes abandons Tenochtitlan || Final siege begins (28 April) || Fall of Tenochtitlan (13 August) ||
 * Cuitlahuac becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Cuauhtemoc becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||
 * Cuauhtemoc becomes Emperor ||  ||   ||   ||