Middle Ages
updated September 30, 2023

Recorded here is my own personal collection of articles, resources, favorite links, teaching ideas, and lesson plans. It encompasses many years, from the very beginning of my experience studying and learning about Waldorf to the present time. People from all around the world visit my site and recommend it to others. Welcome!

This site records my journey. I hope my honesty is encouraging and helps break down some barriers that may prevent people from trying Waldorf methods. Because this is an ongoing site documenting my curriculum planning and ideas, some materials are more Waldorf-y than others. Please feel free to take what you like and leave the rest.

amazing chalkboard drawing

This was a brand new block for me in March 2016 (I had never taught it nor any version of it). I was unable to finish the block at that time due to a family emergency. So now we are returning to it. I have some notes from before -- and I so love having this website because I can quickly and easily organize and then later find all of my notes and links --- but still need to plan out the remainder.

These are my notes as I go along. If you have suggestions, please contact me!

Main Text

We are using the highly-recommended The World of Walls: The Middle Ages in Western Europe by Polly Schoyer Brooks and Nancy Zinsser Walworth. Leah had already read The Arabs In The Golden Age and Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde before we began this block.

Part I - The Barbarian Invasion


Part II - The Early Middle Ages

• Gregory the Great
• The Rise of the Franks
• Charlemagne
• The End of the Dark Ages
• William the Conqueror


Part III - The Peak of the Middle Ages

• Eleanor of Aquitaine
• Richard the Lion Heart
• Francis of Assisi
• Beginnings of English Liberties
• Simon de Montfort


Part IV - The Last of the Middle Ages

• Geoffrey Chaucer

I based my introductory chalkboard drawing on this one: "The 3-Fold Society of the Middle Ages"

Main Lesson Book Pages / Chalkboard Drawings

Middle Ages MLB pages from Schooling from the Heart

Pinterest - Renee Schwartz
My curated collection of visuals! Browse sample main lesson book pages, watercolor paintings, chalkboard drawings, etc. for Middle Ages.

Art Projects

Learning About the World Through Modeling: Sculptural Ideas for School and Home
by Arthur Auer (grades 1-8)

Medieval Castle, p.98

Creative Pathways: Activities that Strengthen the Child's Cognitive Forces
by Elizabeth Auer (grades 1-8)
AVAILABLE FREE as a download from the Online Waldorf Library

Tissue Paper 'Stained Glass,' pp.56-59
Medieval Knighting Ceremony, pp.59-61

12 inch x 18 inch art tissue paper (25 colors, 50 sheets)
from Nova Natural


Fermented Pokeberry Ink - my blog post

List of Stories

Story #1 "The Fall of Rome / The Barbarian Invasion"

MLB page inspired by Roman Technology illustration (roads, aqueduct)

there are also good illustrations in our 1958 World Book encyclopedia entry for Rome (volume 14, page 7000)

Story #2 "Gregory the Great" - born 540

SHEG Lesson: The Black Death in Florence


Chant: Music For The Soul
by The Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz

MLB page - The Life of a Benedictine Monk - Winter Schedule / Summer Schedule

MLB page inspired by The Hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church illustration

The Story of Benedict (PDF)

Life in a Monastery (PDF)

Food in the Middle Ages: Pottage recipe

Medieval Pottage Stew recipe
Brand New Vegan

Food in the Middle Ages: Salmon with Wine and Ginger Sauce recipe

*** Becca chose to live the life of a monk on December 4, 2016. This was her own idea! She started by getting up at 2:30 am. It was a very interesting day! We even went to a 4 pm concert in our town of Taize monastery music (a contemporary form of Benedictine chant). It was an amazing coincidence that this concert was being held on her "Monk Day." ***

"Monk Day" by Becca, age 11 blog post

Story #3 "The Rise of the Franks" aka the Feudal System

SHEG Lesson: Seville Quran

The Five Pillars of Islam
The Met



Abrahamic Religions Triple Venn Diagram -- really useful!

MLB page inspired by Feudal Society illustration

another nice image for Feudalism

MLB page inspired by Knight on Horseback illustration (chalk pastels)

Story #4 "Charlemagne" - born 742

The Arabs in the Golden Age
by by Mokhtar Moktefi and Veronique Ageorges


The House of Wisdom
by Florence Parry Heide and J. Heide Gilliland


The Elephant from Baghdad
by Mary Tavener

white elephant marionette


Son of Charlemagne
by Barbara Willard

MLB page inspired by Illuminated Manuscript illustration

A is for Aviary
B is for Bric-a-Brac
C is for Cornucopia
H is for Horology


MLB page - Charlemagne's Empire (map) - p.46 of The World of Walls
glue dots work well for gluing in tracing paper

"Tissue Paper Stained Glass" activity from Creative Pathways: Activities that Strengthen the Child's Cognitive Forces by Elizabeth Auer, pp.56-59


we are basing our stained glass design on the front cover of Saints in Art by Rosa Giorgi
(Saint Anthony Abbot Blessing the Animals, the Poor, and the Sick, Cologne, circa 1400-10)

The Everyday Life of a Cathedral Builder
by Giovanni Caselli
France, 1206

Story #5 "The End of the Dark Ages"

MLB page - wet on dry watercolor painting of a Viking ship illustration

The Secret of Kells
animated film, 1 hr 15 min, 2010

Research Projects - Viking Reports blog post

Story #6 "William the Conqueror" - born 1027

MLB page inspired by William and Harold illustration

Statutes of William the Conqueror - The Avalon Project, Yale Law School

BBC Hands-On History lesson plan (PDF):
The Normans: The Battle of Hastings and the Bayeux Tapestry

Bayeux Tapestry website - Reading Museum

MLB page inspired by "Breaking Battle" activity from above lesson plan

Story #7 "Eleanor of Aquitaine" - born 1122

MLB page - Henry and Eleanor's Lands (map) - p.107 of The World of Walls
glue dots work well for gluing in tracing paper

another nice option would be this Eleanor of Aquitaine's family tree illustration

The Other Half of History: Women in Medieval Times
by Fiona Macdonald

Didn't find this book until after the block was done, but I would love to use it next time!!! It is basically the Eleanor chapter from World of Walls, but you can assign it to students as independent reading (without giving up your expensive out-of-print and HTF teacher book).

Queen Eleanor: Independent Spirit of the Medieval World
by Polly Schoyer Brooks


Rose Windows and How to Make Them
by Helga Meyerbröker


The Book of Massively Epic Engineering Disasters: 33 Thrilling Experiments Based on History's Greatest Blunders
by Sean Connolly
"Collapsing Cathedral" chapter and experiment

Story #8 "Richard the Lion Heart" - born 1157

It ended up that I combined a discussion of King Richard with King John in story #10.
King Richard did not get his own MLB page. So, I went from Eleanor on to Francis, then back to both of Eleanor's sons and what became of them.

Laws of Richard I (Coeur de Lion) Concerning Crusaders Who Were to Go by Sea
The Avalon Project, Yale Law School
1189 A.D.

Story #9 "Francis of Assisi" - born 1182

Francis of Assisi story from the Online Waldorf Library (PDF)

Brother Francis: The Life of Francis Assisi
by Jakob Streit
available as a free PDF from the Online Waldorf Library; also available in Spanish


MLB page - "Canticle of the Sun" - p.109 of The Waldorf Book of Poetry

This book of poetry also has an excerpt from "St. Francis' Sermon to the Birds" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on page 110

Although the study of Francis as a historical figure in 6th grade is quite different from Francis as a saint in 2nd grade, these resources may prove helpful for a mixed age group:

Painting and Drawing in Waldorf Schools: Classes 1-8 by Thomas Wildgruber has several watercolor paintings:

• Saint Francis and the wolf, page 150
  goes well with Saints Among the Animals by Cynthia Zarin
• Saint Francis preaching to the birds, page 151
  goes well with Stories of the Saints: A Collection for Children by Siegwart Knijpenga
• Saint Francis and the robbers, page 152
• Saint Francis: Vision of the Cross, page 153
• Saint Francis: Death, page 153

Magic Wool: Creative Pictures and Tableaux with Natural Sheep's Wool contains instructions for making a flat wool picture of St. Francis preaching to the birds (figure 27).

Story #10 "The Magna Carta" - signed 1215

Historian's Court: People of England vs. King John (Magna Carta drama activity)
FREE from Teachers Pay Teachers

King Richard vs. King John (critical thinking activity)
FREE from Teachers Pay Teachers

there is a Shakespeare play for "King John" which may be fun to read or watch if you have older children (grade 8) as well

Note: I start my Renaissance & Reformation block with Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo, the Hundred Years War, and the Plague, so we read the chapter about Geoffrey Chaucer
(born 1343) to finish off our block but did not add it to our main lesson books.

Check your public library for an audio CD of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales read in the original Middle English. It's almost impossible for students to understand that English used to be different unless they hear it for themselves! It was fun for us to listen to this while having our culminating Medieval Feast before leaving for Winter Break.

Some Possible Supplemental Resources

Look for a stained glass workshop near you, or find an opportunity to learn or practice woodworking, leather working, or metalworking.

*NEW* History Odyssey: Middle Ages (PDF)
"An Activity-Based Study Guide Combining History, Geography, Literature"

Three Knight Tales by Jakob Streit - offered free online at the Online Waldorf Library

Magic in the Middle Ages free online class offered by the University of Barcelona (in English). For parent background or just for fun!

free 12 lesson Latin tutorial from nationalarchives.gov.uk
"These lessons cover the type of Latin used in official documents written in England between 1086 and 1733. This can be quite different from classical Latin, as used by the Ancient Romans."

Live Ed sample lesson "The Medieval Industrial Revolution" from The Middle Ages
1000 AD to 1300 AD

The Arabs In The Golden Age
by Mokhtar Moktefi
700's - 1200's

SHEG (Stanford History Education Group) Reading Like a Historian lesson: First Crusade
1095

Genghis Khan and the Mongol Horde
by Harold Lamb
born 1162 - died 1227

Becca's homeschool group played the board game Risk after studying Genghis Khan

Catapult Challenge STEM task card
Teachers Pay Teachers free resource
Great for a homeschool co-cop group activity!

15 Easy Catapults to Make With Kids
blog post - Kids Activities

Heraldry Game ???
"Free on-line heraldry game - learn about Shields, Knights and Heraldry.
Role-play as a young aristocrat, recognizing friends and enemies."
This looks interesting so I am including it, but it might only be useful to a very few people.

Dye Paper to Look Like Parchment

A Medieval Feast
by Aliki

Note: a good song to go with Aliki's book is found on the This is the Way We Wash-a-Day CD by Mary Thienes-Schunemann, "Kitchen Cries," track 35

Life in a Medieval Castle and Village Coloring Book (Dover History Coloring Book)
Helpful resource for illustrations.

Castle
by David Macaulay
England, 1200's

Cathedral: The Story of Its Construction
by David Macaulay
France, construction begins in 1252

Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village
by Laura Amy Schlitz
England, 1255
Download these poems as a PDF, courtesy of Franklin KY schools

Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
England, 1290

Adam of the Road
by Elizabeth Janet Gray
England, 1294 - 1295

The Midwife's Apprentice
by Karen Cushman
England, late 1200's - early 1300's

The Door in the Wall
by Marguerite de Angeli
England, 1348

The Book of Boy
by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
1350

Crispin: The Cross of Lead
by Avi
England, 1377

Marguerite Makes a Book
by Bruce Robertson
France, 1400's

The Complete Calligrapher: A Comprehensive Guide from Basic Techniques to Inspirational Alphabets
by Emma Callery

Humorous and informative? Or ridiculous? I've never read any of this series by Fiona MacDonald but I'm curious... either for teacher background information or just to check out from the library and leave lying around the living room invitingly and let the kids read them for fun in the evenings. If anyone has read these books, I'd love a book review from the Waldorf point of view: