Master Historian Requirements

Here it is, the final stretch in the Historians Guild. On this thread, I'll explain the additional general requirements necessary to complete the Master Historian designation for the order. This is the primary path of work for Master Historian, and may be followed up by work on the Master Medievalist designation. Currently there are not many requirements but they will require some time spent in research, reading, and writing. Put your best effort forward, and on behalf of the guild, good luck!


General Requirements:


- Must be a Knight or higher within the Order.
- Must have completed the Apprentice Lessons.
- Must have completed the Journeyman Lessons.


Specific Requirements:


- Must complete core lessons for the Master Historian, a series of lessons designed to teach the art of presenting on a research topic.
- Complete a research paper and presentation in an area of interest.
- Must complete Community Service related to your area of interest or topic.
- Must develop three lessons related to your topic for up and coming apprentices and journeyman.
- Must serve as a mentor in the guild from Initiation through the Journeyman level.


I’ll explain each of these specific requirements in greater detail in the following posts.

These are a series of lessons created to help you develop a presentation. Like the Apprentice and Journeyman Core lessons in research and writing, they provide a basic structure to help you organize your work and suggestions on what you should or shouldn’t do to give an effective presentation.

The Research Paper and Presentation are the capstone work of the Master Historian. They represent a command of the subject that you chose to explore as part of you research. There are several ways to accomplish the research paper. At a minimum, the research paper will be written at a Secondary (High School) level. It must be well organized, have proper grammar, and represent a body of critical thought that represents your knowledge of the subject. Submissions will be made to the Guild Master(s) for approval. Submissions that do not meet these requirements will be returned to the journeyman for updating and resubmitting.

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Research Paper Requirements:


Secondary Level:

- 2000 words min

- 5 sources

- Finished product is similar to a high school term paper

- Displays sufficient knowledge concerning the topic chosen.


Collegiate Level:

- 5000 words min

- 7 Sources

- Displays some original thought.

- Must have a clearly defined thesis statement

- Finished product is equivalent to a final research paper for a class.

- Displays advanced knowledge of the topic chosen.


Graduate Level:

- 12000-15000 words

- 10 sources

- Abstract Written

- Displays a significant amount of original thought is firmly supported by sources.

- Displays mastery of the subject researched.

- Finished product is equivalent to a shortened Graduate Level Thesis.

Note: Ask the Guild Master(s) for guidance on any additional questions you may have concerning your research paper.

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Presentation Requirements:

- Presentations should be at least 10 minutes and no longer than 20 minutes.

- They should incorporate some type of multimedia, i.e. Microsoft Powerpoint, Google Drive Slides, Youtube video, etc.

- They should be focused on your area of research.

Note: Ask the Guild Master(s) for guidance on any additional questions you may have concerning your presentation.

The community service portion is a fundamental requirement for everything we do here at Mook. We always return to service within our communities and for our fellow men. Because of this, everyone is required to develop a community service project designed to promote one’s chosen area of World History. While we do not decide this for you we offer the following suggestions:


- Hold a class at a local library on your chosen topic of World History: If there is something interesting or notable about your area focus on this and share with the community.

- Design and provide a class for children with something particular to your area of World History:

- Tutor a student in World History.


These are just a few suggestions, but feel free to get creative in your approach to this. We’re only limited by what we think we can or can’t do. Just make sure that your project pertains to your area of World History and after that, the sky’s the limit.

You have spent quite a bit of time working on your area of history. Now it’s time to pass on what you learn! The Journeyman must create 3 lessons pertaining to the subject they researched. More lessons are always welcome, but 3 is the minimum. The lessons should be designed to pass on specific points of knowledge that you think are important to understanding your area of research and should include follow up questions that allow the guild member to think critically about the topic.

This is the final requirement to be a Master in the Historians Guild. One must mentor an initiate through the journeyman level. By mentorship I mean you help the initiate through the process of working through the guild by answering questions that they may have and providing feedback on their assignments. If questions should arise in the course of their research, the mentor should be able to help the individual through these as well. There are a couple of objectives that we are looking for in this process:

-The mentor helps the guild member elevate their writing through a series of exercises during the Apprentice and Journeyman Levels if it is found to be substandard.

-The mentor helps the guild member narrow their focus to an area of interest that is specific enough to research, but is broad enough to have plenty of material associated with it for research.

-The mentor will provide lessons during the journeyman level that focus on developing the member’s area of interest as well as their writing.

-The mentor gives the final recommendation that a Journeyman is ready to begin the requirements for Master.


It is preferable that the individual is one that you have sponsored as a Page or taken on as a Squire so the relationship of trust has been established. Also, while we are in a guidance role as Mentors, we are also looking to develop the best minds for Master Historian. This may not be something that everyone can accomplish. A certain amount of discretion is advised when recommending one have permission to begin the Master requirements. All recommendations for Master entrance must be approved by a majority of Guild Master Historians. In the event of rejection or a tie, more work may be requested of the Journeyman to make a new determination.