STARRING DANTE ALIGHIERI AS THE FONZ: So this post from Sasha Volokh reminded me of some questions I’d been meaning to pose on my site. Volokh, in a fun and quick survey of movies set in the Middle Ages, gives a hint of the somewhat arbitrary but nevertheless fascinating disputes about when the Middle Ages really ended. He settles on the English Middle Ages ending in 1485, with the death of Richard III (last king of England to die leading troops in battle, by the way), and the French M.A.s ending in 1483.

So I ask you a couple different things. First, if you’ve got an opinion on when some historical era (the Middle Ages in various countries; the Renaissance; the modern era; the Roman Republic) actually ended, send it in. You can send in beginnings too if you want. Points for insight, creativity, controversy, etc. (I mean, the Sack of Rome is generally, as far as I can tell, considered the beginning of the early Middle Ages, so unless you want to dispute that, I don’t know that there’s much fun to be had with that question.)

Second–when did these eras jump the shark? To quote the website: “Q. What is jumping the shark?

“A. It’s a moment. A defining moment when you know that your favorite television program has reached its peak. That instant that you know from now on…it’s all downhill. Some call it the climax. We call it ‘Jumping the Shark.’ From that moment on, the program will simply never be the same.”

I’ll put in one vote for the Gracchi as Roman Republic shark-jumpers. Send your thoughts to [email protected]. Win no prizes, etc. Employees of EveTushnet.com are not eligible. I will post the real contest results… uh, sometime.