Medieval Lit
Website Evaluation Project
For my evaluation project, I chose http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook.html. After finding this site, I soon realized the sample evaluation was from the same site. Yet, the sample evaluation only describes a select few of the many features this site offers. The site, run by the siteÕs editor Paul Halsall, boasts the feature of an Internet Medieval Sourcebook. The sourcebook can also be found at the Fordham University Center for Medieval studies, showing the siteÕs credibility as being [IÕm not sure this is necessarily the case, i.e., that any funding is involved except insofar as providing server space=>]funded by a prominent university. Among the many sections viewers can navigate, there are several sections that would be of value to those with even the [word choice=>smallest] curiosity for all things medieval. These sections are located in the multimedia are of the Internet sourcebook.
There are three sections of multimediaÑmedieval maps, films and music. I
found the films section to be extremely fun to navigate as each section of the
middle ages is broken down and categorized by a series of dates. [rework=>Then, films that were produced pertaining
to a certain date in medieval history would find themselves in the according categories.]
Accompanying each film are comments on the films themselves, detailing their
historical accuracy and either recommending the film to others or shunning a
filmÕs mere existence. Blockbuster films such as [italicize
or place in quotation marks=>Braveheart, Gladiator and Ben Hur] have received mixed reviews but are still films
dealing with life during medieval times. Also on the site is an essay, written
by Halsall, discussing movies as a medium for telling historical tales. The
essay does a wonderful job of discerning a lot of the unnecessary criticism heralded towards films for having a tendency to be
historically inaccurate. The essay gives film approval from a noted medieval
historian and shows how some historians can be overly critical.
The Internet Medieval Sourcebook is a fantastic place to find out all
sorts of information ranging from any period of time
from a number of different sources. ItÕs a credible, university-sanctioned site
with an [easy to navigate => easy-to-navigate] web setup. Each time period
has a link on the left side of the page and shortcuts to the various sources,
either full-text or [extracted? excerpted? selected], and several [sub=>subordinate] pages with links at the top of site
for different periods in history. While I was more interested in the sites
multimedia section, there are enough section
throughout the site to keep anybody interested.