The Long Dial · Classic English

Your task

Europe after the fall of Rome is a long story. Historians choose a few turning points and tell the story through them. The events you choose decide the story you tell.

Turn the dial. Read at least eight events.
Mark three to five events that you think changed Europe most. Press Connect and read how they link.
Answer the questions below. Your marked events are sent with your answers.

To start with a ready-made set, press "Load the military five": 1241, 1453, 1618, 1792 and 1914.

My marked events

None yet

1. What is the through-line of your events? Explain it in your own words, and name one event that does not fit it. 2. Tours (732) or the Mongol invasion (1241): which one belongs in a list of the five most important events? Tours suggests that Europe survived because it defended itself. 1241 suggests that Europe survived by luck, because the Mongols left. Which story do you believe, and why? 3. Choose the single event that changed Europe most. Write one paragraph (150–250 words). Use evidence from at least two threads on the screen.

Hard words on the dial

sovereign: a ruler with the highest power; (adj.) fully independent
sovereignty: the highest power to rule a country
depose: to remove a ruler from power
codify: to collect laws and write them in one ordered system
excommunicate: to put someone out of the Church
schism: a split into two opposing groups, especially in a church
indulgence: a paper from the Church promising less punishment for sins
siege: surrounding a city with an army to force it to give up
conscription: forcing people by law to join the army
mobilize: to make people or resources ready for war or action
annihilation: complete destruction
integration: joining separate parts into one whole
contagion: the spread of disease from one person to another
balance of power: a situation where no single country is strong enough to dominate the others
dispute: to argue that something is not true
through-line: one idea or theme that runs through a whole story