EPQ Initial Ideas
HISTORY
Medieval Europe
The medieval period (1066-1485 in England, 987-15th Century in France) is the area of history that I am most interested in and is also better documented than the Dark Ages
Life at Court/of the Upper Classes
The Dark Ages
This is the field that I am generally most interested, and hopefully the area that I will study at university
Vikings
Again, this would be the best documented and the most interesting (eg. regarding internal politics, attitudes, etc.)
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Royal bastards
Pretenders to the Throne
William the Conqueror
INITIAL QUESTION: Was William the Conqueror’s life typical of noble bastard/illegitimate children during the Middle Ages?
Probably the most famous of all illegitimate royal children and would allow me to provide a base for studying other bastards (especially given that he usurped the throne of another country)
Not only is this a subject that I do not know a huge amount about (which would make the research and completion of the EPQ more edifying and beneficial), but this field would also be useful for comparisons into how different bastards were treated in different periods, dynasties, etc.
This was my first developed idea for this section, as it is not an area that I have in-depth knowledge in. However, I eventually decided that I would be able to make a more fleshed-out and analytical project on illegitimate children, and so abandoned this idea
Another period of history that I am interested in, though there may be problems in acquiring primary sources or high levels of detail due to the way that things were recorded during this time
I am primarily interested in this specific area of the Dark Ages, especially the way that the Vikings shaped the history of Britain through raiding and settling. I am also interested in learning more about their general way of life outside the British Isles. However, there may be problems obtaining primary sources, as the Vikings did not record their own history
This is my initial question, taking into account the choices thus far. I will continue to develop it to make sure that it is viable
FINAL QUESTION: The Tale of Two Bastards: A Comparison of the Lives of William the Conqueror and Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester
I decided to change my topic to this, whch keeps in the same theme of my previous topic (medieval royal bastards), but is more specific and will hopefully allow me to create a more in-depth and comparative project
Roman Empire
Celts
How Romans viewed different parts of their empire
Given the Roman Empire is such a broad and influential topic this could open up equally broad avenues for research
As I am particularly interested in the history of the British Isles, the Celts would be the most apt choice for studying Britain in the Roman period
Stemming from the possibility of covering the Roman Celts, this may make an ancient history project more broad and comparative