III. THE POST-CLASSICAL PERIOD (c. 500- 1500 CE)
This iron mold was probably used to make bread or cake for Muslim children leading up to the festival of Eid al-Adha during the period of the Umayyad Empire.
Ram Mould, J.1651, Jordan Archaeological Museum. Available online: Museum with No Frontiers, Discover Islamic Art, http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;jo;Mus01;43;en (accessed April 1, 2022)
THE POST-CLASSICAL PERIOD (c. 500 - 1500 CE)
(Unknown date) Artifact, Dan passport mask, West Africa
Description: This small “passport mask” was worn by a Dan tribal member to symbolize their family or clan affiliation after their initiation into adulthood; it probably depicts a woman. The Dan believed such masks would bring their wearers protection when they were away from home.
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ introducing all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Dan Passport Masks." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/dan-passport-masks.
Origin of source: Photo of Dan passport mask from The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Dan people of Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire, Accession number B06.2374, http://www.imj.org.il/imagine/collections/item.asp?itemNum=324035. Annotated by Susan Douglass.
(6th century CE) Coptic spell for a man to obtain a lover, Egypt
Description: A spell to attract a man to a man, in this case for ‘Paparo’ to attract ‘Phello’ as his lover.
User notes: Primary source with brief note of explanation.
Citation: “Coptic Spell: Spell for a Man to Obtain a Lover.” The Internet Modern History Sourcebook. Accessed November 3, 2021. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/pwh/copticspell.asp.
Origin of source: “Spell 84: For a Man to Obtain a Male Lover (Ashmolean Museum).” In Paul C. Smither, "A Coptic Love Charm", Journal of Egyptian Archeology 25 (1939: 173-174).
License: “A ‘classroom usable’ sourcebook of copy-permitted material.”
(13th century CE) Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, extract on ‘Unnatural Sex’
Description: This is the section where the greatest medieval theologian responds to the questions of whether “the unnatural vice” (homosexuality) is a species of lust and whether it is the greatest of the sins of lust.
User notes: Primary source with introduction.
Citation: “Medieval Sourcebook: Aquinas on Unnatural Sex.” The Internet Medieval History Sourcebook. Accessed November 3, 2021. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/aquinas-homo.asp.
Origin of source: Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae: II-II, question 154. Translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province.
License: “A ‘classroom usable’ sourcebook of copy-permitted material.”
(7th century CE) Qur’an, Sura on relations between men and women, Saudi Arabia
Description: Extracts from the chapter on ‘al-Ahzab’, or the confederation of men and women, laying out the ideal relationship in marriage and in society; this was to become the base of many later sharia/Islamic law codes.
User notes: Primary document, along with accompanying article on ‘Religious Text.’
Citation: “Religious Text, Confederation Sura.” Women in World History. Accessed September 27, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson3/lesson3.php?menu=1&s=2.
(7th century CE) Qur’an, Sura on women, Saudi Arabia
Description: Extracts from the chapter on ‘al-Nisa’, or women, laying out the legal position of women in early Islamic society that would become the base of many later sharia (Islamic law codes).
User notes: Primary text, along with accompanying article on ‘Religious Text.’
Citation: “Religious Text, Women Sura.” Women in World History. Accessed September 27, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson3/lesson3.php?s=1
(8th century CE) Artifact, baking mold of a ram for Islamic children, Jordan
Description: This iron mold was probably used to make bread or cake for Muslim children leading up to the festival of Eid al-Adha during the period of the Umayyad Empire.
User notes: The artifact has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ introducing all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Animal Baking Mold." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/animal-baking-mold.
Origin of source: Ram Mould, J.1651. Jordan Archaeological Museum. Available online: Museum with No Frontiers, Discover Islamic Art, http://www.discoverislamicart.org/database_item.php?id=object;ISL;jo;Mus01;43.
(600-1600 CE) ‘Women in the Islamic World,’ selection of sources
Description: A collection of nine abridged documents illustrating the role of women in the Islamic world including passages from the Qu’ran and the Hadith, Sufi and Abbasid-era poems, a Jewish marriage contract, and photos of public buildings endowed by women of the era.
User notes: The primary source collection has an ‘Overview’ on its landing page and then each document has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a ‘Document-Based Question’ detailing a full assignment that can be used for the collection.
Citation: Nancy Stockdale and Frances Patchett. “Long Teaching Module: Women in the Islamic World, 600-1600.” In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/long-teaching-module-women-islamic-world-600-1600.
*(1082-3 CE) Kai Kaus, ‘On the Purchase of Slaves,’ extract, Iran
Description: Written by a Muslim ruler, this one section of a full history focuses on the use of slaves as well as their management and purchase during this Islamic period.
User notes: Primary document along with comprehensive explanation and analysis by Timothy May.
Citation: Kaus, Kai. "Kai Kaus On The Purchase Of Slaves: The Full Text." Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
*(1185 CE) Usama’ibn Munquidh, ‘The Book of Contemplation,’ Syria
Description: Written by a Muslim soldier who took part in the First and Second Crusades, this provides a view of the Christian army from an Islamic perspective. He describes the “Franks” (the French) in a series of short stories describing their behavior as he observed them, for instance in areas such as religious practices, medicine, law, cleanliness, and dining.
User notes: Primary document along with comprehensive explanation and analysis by Tia Wheeler.
Citation: Usama Ibn Munqidh. “A Muslim View of the Crusaders: The Full Text." Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
*(1375 CE) Ibn Khaldun, Muqaddimah, extract on ‘Social Solidarity,’ Tunisia
Description: Politician, jurist, historian, and teacher, in this first book of his world history Ibn Khaldun expounds on his theory of the origin of society and of states. One of the key writings by this great Islamic scholar, this theory emphasized reason and saw patterns in human history rather than solely the will of Allah.
Citation: Ibn Khaldūn. “Khaldūn’s “Social Solidarity”: The Full Text.” Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
(6th – 16th centuries CE) Bhakti poems, selection, India
Description: A collection of nine short poems written by women Bhakti followers that suggest the traditional married role of women in India as well as the contrasting life of a devoted female Bhakti follower.
User notes: The primary source collection has an ‘Overview’ on its landing page and then each document has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a ‘Document-Based Question’ detailing a full assignment that can be used for the collection.
Citation: Doris Jakobsh and Elizabeth Ten Dyke. "Long Teaching Module: Bhakti Poets." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/long-teaching-module-bhakti-poets.
*(19th century CE) Monier-Williams, ‘Towers of Silence – Parsi Funerary practices,’ India
Description: This is a description of the Parsis, a small religious minority who originated in the Post-Classical Period and still exist in the Indian subcontinent, by an English professor of the 19th century who was born in India.
User notes: Full document with detailed introduction.
Citation: Morris, Lawrence. "Towers of Silence: Parsi Funerary Practices." In Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2021. https://dailylife2-abc-clio-com.proxymc.vcccd.edu/Search/Display/1438156.
(5th - 6th centuries CE) The Ballad of Mulan, China
Description: The earliest surviving source on the story of Mulan in the form of a poem – somewhat different from the movie.
User notes: PDF file with introduction and questions for discussion; both a short extract and a longer version of the poem are provided.
Citation: “The Ballad of Mulan (Ode of Mulan).” Asia for Educators, 2020. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/mulan.pdf.
Origin of source: The Flowering Plum and the Palace Lady: Interpretations of Chinese Poetry. Edited by Han H. Frankel. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1976. 68-72.
(6th century CE) ‘House Instructions of Yan Zhitui,’ China
Description: Instructions of an eminent family of the period of the north/south division of China for the running of the household, including these extracts on the raising of children and the position of wives.
User notes: PDF file with introduction and questions for discussion; both short extracts and longer versions of the document are provided.
Citation: “House Instructions of Mr. Yan (Yanshi Jiaxun).” Asia for Educators, 2020. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/yan_house_instructions.pdf.
Origin of source: Sources of Chinese Tradition. Compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 541-546. © 1999 Columbia University Press. Reproduced with the permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.
(6th – 8th centuries CE) Deed of the sale of a slave, China
Description: A document recording the sale of a 28 year-old female slave called Jiansheng from one family to another, illustrating the practice of chattel slavery during the Tang Dynasty.
User notes: PDF file with introduction and questions for discussion; both a short extract and a longer version of the legal document are provided.
Citation: “Excerpts from Deed of Sale of a Slave.” Asia for Educators, 2020. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/china/slave_deed.pdf.
Origin of source: Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 2nd ed. New York: The Free Press, 1993. 126-127.
(7th/8th century CE) Li Han, Meng Ch’iu, extract on Empress Ma of the Tang Dynasty, China
Description: This short extract depicts the idealized image of a Han woman who rose from humble background to become the official consort of the emperor; her tale was used to edify later generations of Chinese children.
User notes: The source has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ that discusses all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (accessible from the document link).
Citation: "Meng Ch'iu, Empress Ma in coarse-woven silk." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/meng-chiu-empress-ma-coarse-woven-silk.
Origin of source: Li Han and Hsü Tzu-kuang. Meng Ch'iu: Famous Episodes from Chinese History and Legend. Translated by Burton Watson. New York: Kodansha International, 1979, 129–30.
(8th – 12th centuries CE) ‘Writers of the Heian Era,’ collection of documents, Japan
Description: A collection of seven short extracts from the key works of Japanese women of the court during the Heian Period including extracts from Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book, Murasaki Shikibu’s Tale of Genji, and the Sarashina Diary, along with two illustrations from scrolls of the era.
User notes: The primary source collection has an ‘Overview’ on its landing page and then each document has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also a ‘Document-Based Question’ detailing a full assignment that can be used for the collection.
Citation: Ramirez-Christensen, Esperanza, and Angela Le. "Long Teaching Module: Writers of the Heian Era." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/long-teaching-module-writers-heian-era.
(986-1000 CE) Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji, two passages on the qualities of good wives, Japan
Description: In her novel Murasaki includes a discussion amongst men on the difficulties of finding the perfect wife; these are two extracts from the discussion.
User notes: Two primary texts with introductions and an accompanying article on ‘Writers of the Heian Era.’
The Tale of Genji 1
The Tale of Genji 2
Citation: “Writers of the Heian Era: Fiction, The Tale of Genji 1 and 2.” Women in World History. Accessed September 24, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson2/lesson2.php?menu=1&s=5 and https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson2/lesson2.php?menu=1&s=6.
Origin of source: Murasaki Shiubu. The Tale of Genji. Translated by Edward Seidensticker. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976.
(986-1000 CE) Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book, entry on women and high offices, Japan
Description: As a lady in waiting at the Heian court Sei comments in her journal on the near-impossibility of women receiving important offices.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Writers of the Heian Era.’
Citation: “Writers of the Heian Era: Diary, Sei Shonagon 2.” Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/216.html.
Origin of source: Ivan Morris, trans. The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon. London: Penguin Books, 1971.
(986-1000 CE) Sei Shonagon, The Pillow Book, entry on qualities of male lovers, Japan
Description: As a lady in waiting at the Heian court Sei comments in her journal on the preferred behaviors of men as they leave their lovers’ bedrooms in the early mornings.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on ‘Writers of the Heian Era.’
Citation: “Writers of the Heian Era: Diary, Sei Shonagon 4.” Women in World History. Accessed September 24, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/modules/lesson2/lesson2.php?menu=1&s=4.
Origin of source: Ivan Morris, trans. The Pillowbook of Sei Shonagon. London: Penguin Books, 1971.
(12th century CE) The Tale of the Heiki, Japan
Description: Selections from the most popular account of the Taira (or Heiki) and Minamoto wars of the twelfth century, illustrating the values of Japanese warrior society.
User notes: PDF file with brief introduction and questions for discussion.
Citation: “The Tale of the Heike.” Asia for Educators, 2020. http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1000ce_heike.htm.
Origin of source: The Tale of the Heike translated by Hiroshi Kitagawa and Bruce T. Tsuchida. Tokyo: University of Tokyo Press, 1975. 270-271.
*(1220s CE) Genghis Khan, The Great Yasa, Central Asia
Description: This is an early version of the law code that was put together and promulgated under the orders of Genghis Khan. It was based on the practices of the peoples of the Asian steppes and included quotations of the khan as further guidance; the combined document was used throughout the Mongol empire during his rule and those of his successors.
User notes: Full text of the document as well as comprehensive explanation and analysis by Timothy May.
Citation: “Great Yasa Of Chinggis Khan: The Full Text.” Edited by Brian Bonhomme & Cathleen Boivin. Milestone Documents in World History. Salem, 2010. Online.salempress.com.
(13th century CE) Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae, extract on ‘Unnatural Sex,’ Italy
Description: This is the section where the greatest medieval theologian responds to the questions of whether “the unnatural vice” (homosexuality) is a species of lust and whether it is the greatest of the sins of lust.
User notes: Primary source with introduction.
Citation: “Medieval Sourcebook: Aquinas on Unnatural Sex.” The Internet Medieval History Sourcebook. Accessed November 3, 2021. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/source/aquinas-homo.asp.
Origin of source: Thomas Aquinas. Summa Theologiae: II-II, question 154. Translation by the Fathers of the English Dominican Province.
License: “A ‘classroom usable’ sourcebook of copy-permitted material.”
(1348 CE) Will of a mother during the Black Death, Italy
Description: Made by a mother who had just lost her husband to the plague and was ill with it herself, this will leaves her limited estate to her children and to the church “for the benefit of her soul.”
User notes: The will has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ introducing all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Testament of a Mother during the Black Death." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/testament-mother-during-black-death.
Origin of source: Archivio di Stato di Bologna. Memoriali. Vol. 229, folio 9r.
(15th century CE) Woodcut, ‘The Dance of the Dead,’ France
Description: One of many such woodcuts on this theme produced both before and during the Black Death, this one shows Death taking a child from his crib.
(This source pairs well with the similar woodcut by Hans Holbein, ‘The Dance of Death,’ also detailed under the Post-Classical Period in this bibliography.)
User notes: The woodcut has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "The Dance of the Dead." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/dance-dead.
Origin of source: Marchant, Guy. “La Danse Macabre.” Facsimile. Paris, 1485.
(15th century CE) Hans Holbein, woodcut, ‘The Dance of Death,’ The Netherlands
Description: One of many such woodcuts on this theme produced both before and during the Black Death, this one shows Death tearing a boy from his family. (This source pairs well with the similar woodcut, ‘The Dance of the Dead,’ also detailed under the Post-Classical Period in this bibliography.)
User notes: The woodcut has an ‘Annotation’ introducing it; there is also an ‘Overview’ covering all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "The Dance of Death." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/dance-death.
Origin of source: Holbein, Hans. "The Dance of Death." Woodcut, before 1538. Facsimile, London, 1892.
(1487 CE) Heinrich Kramer, Malleus Maleficarum (Hammer of Witches), Germany
Description: This manual for witch hunters was written by a Dominican monk who served as an inquisitor for the Pope to eliminate heresy in southern Germany. It was used by officials across Europe in their hunt for witches.
User notes: Primary text with introduction and accompanying article on the ‘Early Modern Period.’
Citation: “Early Modern Period: Manual, Witch Hunters.” Women in World History, 2021. https://chnm.gmu.edu/wwh/p/81.html.
Origin of source: Kramer, Heinrich. Malleus Maleficarum, translated by Montague Summers. London: J. Roder, 1928.
(15 – 16th centuries CE) Artifacts, mummified Inca child sacrifices, Argentina
Description: These two desiccated children were found at the highest point in the Inca empire, Mount Llullaillco, having been given as ritual sacrifices to the gods. One was a 15 year-old girl, the second a seven-year old boy; there was also a third mummy in the group.
User notes: The mummies have an ‘Annotation’ introducing them; there is also an ‘Overview’ introducing all the module’s sources on children as well as an ‘Essay’ and ‘Teaching Strategies’ that offer detailed help on how to present them to students (available from the document link).
Citation: "Mummified Inca Child Sacrifices." In World History Commons, 2021. https://worldhistorycommons.org/mummified-inca-child-sacrifices.
Origin of source: Museo de Arqueologia de Alta Montana, Salta, Argentina.http://www.maam.org.ar/?seccion=expoperm&seccion2=ninos&nroimagen=6 and http://www.maam.org.ar/?seccion=expoperm&seccion2=ninos&nroimagen=8. (Neither link still active. per NB)
Annotated by Susan Douglass.