A. Discuss the treatment, status, and experiences of noble and royal women in the Middle Ages from the fifth through the twelfth centuries in relation to how the different cultures—Germanic and Catholic Christianity—viewed women. How did the treatment and status of noble and royal women change over time? How were women viewed in monastic and clerical circles? B. Charlemagne admonished bishops; Pope Gregory VII condemned an emperor. Explain how these statements reflect the changes in church-state relations from ca. 800 to 1122 A.D. and how those changes were implemented. C. “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Explain how this quote from Charles Dickens might well apply to the conditions of life in Europe from ca. 1300 – ca. 1500, specifically to those people whose lives were directly tied to the land, the peasantry. This essay topic does not involve the nobility nor movements that had little impact at the time on the peasantry such as the Italian Renaissance.