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This was pure choas!

That's when I realized there were only men surrounding me.  A few of them were giving me weird looks.Just then a young teen approached me and said, "What you doing here?  We both know that women aren't citizens and are defiantly not welcome to vote

After all majority rules."

had always complained how long the US elections took because of the voting method.  

calm and done in an ordered manor.

 Just the representatives that people voted for

representative democracy.  T

I tried to think back to social studies class and suddenly regretted taking that nap during our study of government.  

THEOCRACY!  Wait, no.  That wouldn't be good.  Ruled by religion? Not fun.  

oligarchy?"

In an oligarchy only the rich have say.  They don't understand what it is like to be a commoner.  T

that those soldiers would think for themselves.

 It hurt, but I did something that might not have changed anything, but now the people of Sparta were thinking and thinking leads to ideas.  Ideas that can change the world.

"dared to challenge me in public.  Tais, you are bound to the ground you are on."  The general raised his whip and struck.  And struck and struck again.

You remember how you said all those silly things about the geography and then your clothes morphed into those tights and a short toga?" Coriander laughed.  "You looked weird for about a second and then you started crying and you looked normal again."

 I took note of a very cute, broad-shouldered, blonde as he put away his gear.  

Why in the world would you wait until tonight? I thought.  What's wrong with right now? 

as I remembered Coriander was the "very cute, broad-shouldered, blonde" I noticed three seconds ago.  

each for one side of the debate.  It was quite obvious that the pile for stopping the use of the boat was a bit larger, so without any counting, everybody declared that the majority ruled.

"At least it's not Sparta.  Oligarchies," a small woman nearby talking the elder that I had ran into before whispered.

Only a small group of probably aristocratic people can make decisions.

Starting to think about our representative democracy back in the United States of America, I headed back to my sleeping spot the previous night.  The debate had taken so long, it was almost sunset.  Direct democracies are much more different than our representative democracy, I thought. 

In a direct democracy, there are no separation of powers: citizens create laws, enforce laws, and act as judges, whereas in a representative democracy, some people have more power than others and citizens vote people to create laws, enforce laws, and act as judges.  But both direct and representative democracies are different than theocracies or monarchies.  

There were at least 17 rules to the knights code of chivalry and vows of knighthood. The most important were to serve God, serve their liege lord (the King), be courteous to all women (though what they meant was all women of the noble class), and to defend the weak. Other rules included to fight for the welfare of all, to live by honor and glory, and to refrain from the wanton giving of offence; basically, don’t act like ye olde arse.

this was meant to defend the elderly, women and children, but of the upper class. Knights were often brutal to peasants and it was considered acceptable because of the low social status of the peasants. 

From this, came rules like if a woman was of equal or higher status, he should stand when she enters a room and sit only after she does, the best foods at a meal should be offered to her, and when walking on the sidewalk, the man should walk closest to the street. This was to protect the woman from getting spattered with mud and the contents of chamber pots (buckets that were used as toilets) that were thrown out windows. It was a way to show that the gentleman honored the woman to have the poop hit him instead.

nights kept their skills sharp by competing in tournaments known as jousts where two heavily armored horseman race at another at high speed

Medieval tournaments brought knights and lords together in friendly competitions to show off their skills at hand to hand combat, horse back riding, and of course, jousting

A head shot for example was the most damaging but also the most difficult target, and therefore was awarded the most points.

Cash prizes, called a purse, would be given to the winners and this was the best way to move up the social ladder if you didn't get a chance to show off your skills on the battle field. 

To become a knight was a long and difficult path.

sent to live in the castle with his Lord where his training would begin around the age of seven

road to knighthood he was known as a page. A page's training involved learning to ride a horse and receiving religious instruction from the priest of the manor. And, when he wasn't riding or praying, a page spent his days running errands and serving the ladies of the manor. He would also be taught to dance, sing, and play a musical instrument which were considered honorable qualities for a knight to have.

a page would be promoted to the role of squire. A squire worked directly with his knight. The squire learned skills from his knight (who was also his Lord) such as sword fighting and hand to hand combat. The squire pretty much acted as personal assistant to his knight, polishing his armor, caring for his horse, and even waiting on him at meal times. During times of battle, it was the job of the squire to help his Lord into the armor and look after him if he was wounded. He also had the awful task of cleaning out the armor which, after a long day on the battle field would be covered in all sorts of bodily fluids.

The law followed in a feudal court was largely based on old Germanic customs. The court did not act in the public interest, as with us, but waited until the plaintiff requested service. Moreover, until the case had been decided, the accuser and the accused received the same treatment. Both were imprisoned; and the plaintiff who lost his case suffered the same penalty which the defendant, had he been found guilty, would have undergone.

The burden of proof lay on the accused, who had to clear himself of the charge, if he could do so.

Ordeals, however, formed a method of appealing to God, the results of which could be immediately observed. A common form of ordeal was by fire. The accused walked barefoot over live brands, or stuck his hand into a flame, or carried a piece of red-hot iron for a certain distance. In the ordeal by hot water he plunged his arm into boiling water. A man established his innocence through one of these tests, if the wound healed properly after three days. The ordeal by cold water rested on the belief that pure water would reject the criminal. Hence the accused was thrown bound into a stream: if he floated he was guilty; if he sank he was innocent and had to be rescued. Though a crude method of securing justice, ordeals were doubtless useful in many instances. The real culprit would often prefer to confess, rather than incur the anger of God by submitting to the test and ordeals.

a trial by combat.