1.
Aristocracy
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Aristocracy is a form of government that places power in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning rule of the best, at the time of the words origins in Ancient Greece, the Greeks conceived it as rule by the best qualified citizens—and often contrasted it favourably with monarchy, rule by an individual. In later times, aristocracy was usually seen as rule by a group, the aristocratic class. The Greeks did not like the concept of monarchy, and as their democratic system fell, in Ancient Rome, the Republic consisted of an aristocracy—as well as consuls, a senate, and a tribal assembly. In the Middle Ages and early modern era, aristocracies primarily consisted of an aristocratic class, privileged by birth. Since the French Revolution, aristocracy has generally been contrasted with democracy, however, this distinction is often oversimplified. In exchange feudal aid is received from tenants or vassals, oaths of military allegiance, however an oligarchy, nobility or royalty had the right to set taxes, assemble or raise armies and command loyalty by virtue of traditional authority. In the 1651 book Leviathan, Thomas Hobbes describes an aristocracy as a commonwealth in which the representative of the citizens is an assembly by part and it is a system in which only a small part of the population represents the government. Modern depictions of aristocracy tend to regard it not as the ancient Greek concept of rule by the best, history, John Cannon, Oxford University Press,1997, ISBN 978-0-19-866176-4 Aristocracy in the Modern World, Ellis Wasson, Palgrave Macmillan,2006
2.
Slovakia
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Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Slovakias territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5 million and comprises mostly ethnic Slovaks, the capital and largest city is Bratislava. The Slavs arrived in the territory of present-day Slovakia in the 5th and 6th centuries, in the 7th century, they played a significant role in the creation of Samos Empire and in the 9th century established the Principality of Nitra. In the 10th century, the territory was integrated into the Kingdom of Hungary, which became part of the Habsburg Empire. After World War I and the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a separate Slovak Republic existed in World War II as a client state of Nazi Germany. In 1945, Czechoslovakia was reëstablished under Communist rule as a Soviet satellite, in 1989 the Velvet Revolution ended authoritarian Communist rule in Czechoslovakia. Slovakia became an independent state on 1 January 1993 after the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. The country maintains a combination of economy with universal health care. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Eurozone on 1 January 2009, Slovakia is also a member of the Schengen Area, NATO, the United Nations, the OECD, the WTO, CERN, the OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Visegrád Group. The Slovak economy is one of the fastest growing economies in Europe and its legal tender, the Euro, is the worlds 2nd most traded currency. Although regional income inequality is high, 90% of citizens own their homes, in 2016, Slovak citizens had visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 165 countries and territories, ranking the Slovak passport 11th in the world. Slovakia is the world’s biggest per-capita car producer with a total of 1,040,000 cars manufactured in the country in 2016 alone, the car industry represents 43 percent of Slovakia’s industrial output, and a quarter of its exports. Radiocarbon datingputs the oldest surviving archaeological artefacts from Slovakia – found near Nové Mesto nad Váhom – at 270,000 BC and these ancient tools, made by the Clactonian technique, bear witness to the ancient habitation of Slovakia. Other stone tools from the Middle Paleolithic era come from the Prévôt cave near Bojnice, the most important discovery from that era is a Neanderthal cranium, discovered near Gánovce, a village in northern Slovakia. The most well-known finds include the oldest female statue made of mammoth-bone, the statue was found in the 1940s in Moravany nad Váhom near Piešťany. Numerous necklaces made of shells from Cypraca thermophile gastropods of the Tertiary period have come from the sites of Zákovská, Podkovice, Hubina and these findings provide the most ancient evidence of commercial exchanges carried out between the Mediterranean and Central Europe. The Bronze Age in the territory of modern-day Slovakia went through three stages of development, stretching from 2000 to 800 BC
3.
Social class
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Class is an essential object of analysis for sociologists, political scientists, anthropologists, and social historians. However, there is not a consensus on the best definition of the class, the precise measurements of what determines social class in society has varied over time. According to philosopher Karl Marx, class is determined entirely by ones relationship to the means of production, the term class is etymologically derived from the Latin classis, which was used by census takers to categorize citizens by wealth, in order to determine military service obligations. In the late 18th century, the class began to replace classifications such as estates, rank. Historically social class and behavior was sometimes laid down in law, definitions of social classes reflect a number of sociological perspectives, informed by anthropology, economics, psychology, and sociology. The major perspectives historically have been Marxism and Structural functionalism, the common stratum model of class divides society into a simple hierarchy of working class, middle class and upper class. For Marx, class is a combination of objective and subjective factors, objectively, a class shares a common relationship to the means of production. Subjectively, the members will necessarily have some perception of their similarity, Class consciousness is not simply an awareness of ones own class interest but is also a set of shared views regarding how society should be organized legally, culturally, socially and politically. These class relations are reproduced through time and this is the fundamental economic structure of work and property, a state of inequality that is normalized and reproduced through cultural ideology. Marxists explain the history of civilized societies in terms of a war of classes between those who control production and those who produce the goods or services in society, in the Marxist view of capitalism, this is a conflict between capitalists and wage-workers. Furthermore, in countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, an industrial army of workmen, under the command of a capitalist, requires, like a real army, officers and sergeants who, while the work is being done, command in the name of the capitalist. This would mark the beginning of a society in which human needs rather than profit would be motive for production. In a society with democratic control and production for use, there would be no class, no state and no need for financial and banking institutions and money. Max Weber formulated a three-component theory of stratification, that saw social class as emerging from an interplay between class, status and power. Weber believed that class position was determined by a relationship to the means of production. Weber derived many of his key concepts on social stratification by examining the structure of many countries. He noted that contrary to Marxs theories, stratification was based on more than simply ownership of capital, Weber pointed out that some members of the aristocracy lack economic wealth yet might nevertheless have political power. Likewise in Europe, many wealthy Jewish families in lack prestige and honor, Class, A persons economic position in a society
4.
Upper class
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The upper class in modern societies is the social class composed of the wealthiest members of society, who also wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the class is generally distinguished by immense wealth which is passed on from generation to generation. Prior to the 20th century, the aristocracy was widely used. The term is used in conjunction with terms like upper-middle class, middle class. Upper-class status commonly derived from the position of ones family. Much of the population that composed the upper consisted of aristocrats, ruling families, titled people. These people were born into their status and historically there was not much movement across class boundaries. This is to say that it was harder for an individual to move up in class simply because of the structure of society. The Transatlantic Slave Trade also helped create a class of white Europeans while maintaining a lower class of black Europeans, Americans and Africans. This fact is often edited out of academic research both in publications and online ones such as Wikipedia. In many countries, the upper class was intimately associated with hereditary land ownership. Political power was often in the hands of the landowners in many pre-industrial societies despite there being no legal barriers to land ownership for other social classes. Upper-class landowners in Europe were often members of the titled nobility, though not necessarily. Some upper classes were almost entirely untitled, for example, the Szlachta of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, in England, Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, the upper class traditionally comprised the landed gentry and the aristocracy of noble families with hereditary titles. The vast majority of post-medieval aristocratic families originated in the merchant class and were ennobled between the 14th and 19th centuries while intermarrying with the old nobility and gentry. Since the Second World War, the term has come to encompass rich, members of the English gentry organized the colonization of Virginia and New England and ruled these colonies for generations forming the foundation of the American upper class or East Coast Elite. In this respect, the US differs little from such as the UK where membership of the upper class is also dependent on other factors. The American upper class is estimated to less than 1% of the population
5.
Caste
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Its paradigmatic ethnographic example is the division of Indian society into rigid social groups, with roots in Indias ancient history and persisting until today. However, the significance of the caste system in India has been declining as a result of urbanization. The term is applied to non-human populations like ants and bees. The English word caste derives from the Spanish and Portuguese casta, when the Spanish colonized the New World, they used the word to mean a clan or lineage. The use of the caste, with this latter meaning, is first attested to in English in 1613. Modern Indias caste system is based on the social groupings called jāti, the system of varnas appears in Hindu texts dating back to 1000 BCE and envisages the society divided into four classes, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras. The texts do not mention any separate, untouchable category in varna classification, scholars believe that the system of varnas was a theoretical classification envisioned by the Brahmins, but never truly operational in the society. The practical division of the society had always been in terms of jātis, which are not based on any specific principle, but could vary from ethnic origins to occupations. The jātis have been endogamous groups without any fixed hierarchy but subject to vague notions of rank articulated over time based on lifestyle, starting with the British colonial Census of 1901 led by Herbert Hope Risley, all the jātis were grouped under the theoretical varnas categories. The classical authors scarcely speak of anything other than the varnas, as it provided a convenient shorthand, upon independence from Britain, the Indian Constitution listed 1,108 castes across the country as Scheduled Castes in 1950, for positive discrimination. The Untouchable communities are sometimes called Scheduled Castes, Dalit or Harijan in contemporary literature, in 2001, Dalits were 16. 2% of Indias population. Most of the 15 million bonded child workers are from the lowest castes, independent India has witnessed caste-related violence. Indias National Crime Records Bureau records crimes against scheduled castes and scheduled tribes – the most disadvantaged groups - in a separate category, the socio-economic limitations of the caste system are reduced due to urbanization and affirmative action. Nevertheless, the system still exists in endogamy and patrimony, and thrives in the politics of democracy. The globalization and economic opportunities from foreign businesses has influenced the growth of Indias middle-class population, some members of the Chhattisgarh Potter Caste Community are middle-class urban professionals and no longer potters unlike the remaining majority of traditional rural potter members. The co-existence of the middle-class and traditional members in the CPCC has created intersectionality between caste and class, there is persistence of caste in Indian politics. Caste associations have evolved into caste-based political parties, political parties and the state perceive caste as an important factor for mobilization of people and policy development. It is not politics that gets caste-ridden, it is caste that gets politicized, the Nepalese caste system resembles that of the Indian jāti system with numerous jāti divisions with a varna system superimposed for a rough equivalence
6.
Country
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A country is a region that is identified as a distinct national entity in political geography. Sometimes the word countries is used to both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. The word country comes from Old French contrée, itself derived from Vulgar Latin contrata and it most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century. Areas much smaller than a state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country, Constable Country. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the territory, as in the German Bundesländer. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, the term country is frequently used to refer to sovereign states. There is no agreement on the number of countries in the world. There are 206 sovereign states, of which 193 states are members of the United Nations, all are defined as states by declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood. The latest proclaimed state is South Sudan in 2011, the Kingdom of Denmark, a sovereign state, comprises Metropolitan Denmark and two nominally separate countries—the Faroe Islands, and Greenland—which are almost fully internally self-governing. The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a state, comprises four separate countries, Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao. The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely, some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas territories, with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own
7.
Social stratification
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Social stratification is a societys categorization of people into socioeconomic strata, based upon their occupation and income, wealth and social status, or derived power. As such, stratification is the social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic region. The upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum, moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship or caste, or both. Determining the structures of social stratification arises from inequalities of status among persons, therefore, generally, the greater the social complexity of a society, the more social strata exist, by way of social differentiation. Social stratification is a used in the social sciences to describe the relative social position of persons in a given social group, category. In modern Western societies, stratification is often classified into three major divisions of social class, upper class, middle class, and lower class. Each of these classes can be subdivided into smaller classes. Social strata may also be delineated on the basis of kinship ties or caste relations, the concept of social stratification is often used and interpreted differently within specific theories. So-called conflict theories, such as Marxism, point to the inaccessibility of resources, talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, asserted that stability and social order are regulated, in part, by universal values. Such values are not identical with consensus but can as well be an impetus for ardent social conflict as it has multiple times through history. Parsons never claimed that universal values, in and by themselves, indeed, the constitution of society is a much more complicated codification of emerging historical factors. Theorists such as Ralf Dahrendorf alternately note the tendency toward an enlarged middle-class in modern Western societies due to the necessity of a workforce in technological economies. Various social and political perspectives concerning globalization, such as dependency theory, four principles are posited to underlie social stratification. First, social stratification is socially defined as a property of a society rather than individuals in that society, second, social stratification is reproduced from generation to generation. Third, social stratification is universal but variable, fourth, social stratification involves not just quantitative inequality but qualitative beliefs and attitudes about social status. Although stratification is not limited to complex societies, all complex societies exhibit features of stratification, the term stratification system is sometimes used to refer to the complex social relationships and social structure that generate these observed inequalities. Social mobility is the movement of individuals, social groups or categories of people between the layers or strata in a stratification system and this movement can be intragenerational or intergenerational. Such mobility is used to classify different systems of social stratification
8.
Nobility
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The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be largely honorary, and vary from country to country and era to era. There is often a variety of ranks within the noble class. g, san Marino and the Vatican City in Europe. Hereditary titles often distinguish nobles from non-nobles, although in many nations most of the nobility have been un-titled, some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil. The term derives from Latin nobilitas, the noun of the adjective nobilis. In modern usage, nobility is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies and it rapidly came to be seen as a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is based on income. Being wealthy or influential cannot, ipso facto, make one noble, various republics, including former Iron Curtain countries, Greece, Mexico, and Austria have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se, usually privileges were granted or recognised by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small and it also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, that is, from the proceeds of these possessions, work involving manual labour or subordination to those of lower rank was either forbidden or frowned upon socially. In some countries, the lord could impose restrictions on such a commoners movements. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting, in France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. In some parts of Europe the right of war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimised, in France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a nobles prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged, if erected by the crown into, e. g. a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled, in other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. Nobility might be inherited or conferred by a fons honorum
9.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
10.
Elite
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Elite, is a term that originates from Latin eligere. In political and sociological theory for a group of powerful people that controls a disproportionate amount of wealth. Insofar as national events are decided, the elite are those who decide them. Mills states that the elite members recognize other members mutual exalted position in society. As a rule, hey accept one another, understand one another, marry one another, tend to work and to think and it is a well-regulated existence where education plays a critical role. These memberships in turn pave the way to the prominent social clubs located in all major cities, the Military Circle, In Mills time a heightened concern about warfare existed, making top military leaders and such issues as defense funding and personnel recruitment very important. Most prominent corporate leaders and politicians were strong proponents of military spending and these two groups tended to be mutually supportive. Unlike the ruling class, a formation based on heritage and social ties. According to Mills, the power elite rose from the reorganization of the propertied classes into the more or less unified stratum of the corporate rich. Domhoff further clarified the differences in the two terms, The upper class as a whole does not do the ruling, Power elite is a term used by American sociologist C. Wright Mills to describe a relatively small, loosely connected group of individuals who dominate American policymaking. The basis for membership of a power élite is institutional power, one study of power élites in the United States under President George W. Bush identified 7,314 institutional positions of power encompassing 5,778 individuals. A later study of U. S. Ethnicity White Anglo-Saxons dominate in the power élite, with Protestants representing about 80 percent of the top business leaders, education Nearly all the leaders have a college education, with almost half graduating with advanced degrees. About 54 percent of the leaders and 42% of the government élite graduated from just 12 prestigious universities with large endowments. Social clubs Most holders of top positions in the power élite possess exclusive membership in one or more social clubs. About a third belong to a number of especially prestigious clubs in major cities like London, New York City, Chicago, Boston. In the 1970s an organized set of policies promoted reduced taxes, especially for the wealthy, starting with legislation in the 1980s, the wealthy banking community successfully lobbied for reduced regulation. Doing so would hopefully alleviate various destructive conditions affecting large numbers of affluent citizens. Mills determined that there is a core of the power elite involving individuals that are able to move from one seat of institutional power to another
11.
Ancient Greek
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Ancient Greek includes the forms of Greek used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around the 9th century BC to the 6th century AD. It is often divided into the Archaic period, Classical period. It is antedated in the second millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek, the language of the Hellenistic phase is known as Koine. Koine is regarded as a historical stage of its own, although in its earliest form it closely resembled Attic Greek. Prior to the Koine period, Greek of the classic and earlier periods included several regional dialects, Ancient Greek was the language of Homer and of fifth-century Athenian historians, playwrights, and philosophers. It has contributed many words to English vocabulary and has been a subject of study in educational institutions of the Western world since the Renaissance. This article primarily contains information about the Epic and Classical phases of the language, Ancient Greek was a pluricentric language, divided into many dialects. The main dialect groups are Attic and Ionic, Aeolic, Arcadocypriot, some dialects are found in standardized literary forms used in literature, while others are attested only in inscriptions. There are also several historical forms, homeric Greek is a literary form of Archaic Greek used in the epic poems, the Iliad and Odyssey, and in later poems by other authors. Homeric Greek had significant differences in grammar and pronunciation from Classical Attic, the origins, early form and development of the Hellenic language family are not well understood because of a lack of contemporaneous evidence. Several theories exist about what Hellenic dialect groups may have existed between the divergence of early Greek-like speech from the common Proto-Indo-European language and the Classical period and they have the same general outline, but differ in some of the detail. The invasion would not be Dorian unless the invaders had some relationship to the historical Dorians. The invasion is known to have displaced population to the later Attic-Ionic regions, the Greeks of this period believed there were three major divisions of all Greek people—Dorians, Aeolians, and Ionians, each with their own defining and distinctive dialects. Often non-west is called East Greek, Arcadocypriot apparently descended more closely from the Mycenaean Greek of the Bronze Age. Boeotian had come under a strong Northwest Greek influence, and can in some respects be considered a transitional dialect, thessalian likewise had come under Northwest Greek influence, though to a lesser degree. Most of the dialect sub-groups listed above had further subdivisions, generally equivalent to a city-state and its surrounding territory, Doric notably had several intermediate divisions as well, into Island Doric, Southern Peloponnesus Doric, and Northern Peloponnesus Doric. The Lesbian dialect was Aeolic Greek and this dialect slowly replaced most of the older dialects, although Doric dialect has survived in the Tsakonian language, which is spoken in the region of modern Sparta. Doric has also passed down its aorist terminations into most verbs of Demotic Greek, by about the 6th century AD, the Koine had slowly metamorphosized into Medieval Greek
12.
Athens
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Athens is the capital and largest city of Greece. In modern times, Athens is a cosmopolitan metropolis and central to economic, financial, industrial, maritime. In 2015, Athens was ranked the worlds 29th richest city by purchasing power, Athens is recognised as a global city because of its location and its importance in shipping, finance, commerce, media, entertainment, arts, international trade, culture, education and tourism. It is one of the biggest economic centres in southeastern Europe, with a financial sector. The municipality of Athens had a population of 664,046 within its limits. The urban area of Athens extends beyond its administrative city limits. According to Eurostat in 2011, the Functional urban areas of Athens was the 9th most populous FUA in the European Union, Athens is also the southernmost capital on the European mainland. The city also retains Roman and Byzantine monuments, as well as a number of Ottoman monuments. Athens is home to two UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Acropolis of Athens and the medieval Daphni Monastery, Athens was the host city of the first modern-day Olympic Games in 1896, and 108 years later it welcomed home the 2004 Summer Olympics. In Ancient Greek, the name of the city was Ἀθῆναι a plural, in earlier Greek, such as Homeric Greek, the name had been current in the singular form though, as Ἀθήνη. It was possibly rendered in the later on, like those of Θῆβαι and Μυκῆναι. During the medieval period the name of the city was rendered once again in the singular as Ἀθήνα, an etiological myth explaining how Athens has acquired its name was well known among ancient Athenians and even became the theme of the sculpture on the West pediment of the Parthenon. The goddess of wisdom, Athena, and the god of the seas, Poseidon had many disagreements, in an attempt to compel the people, Poseidon created a salt water spring by striking the ground with his trident, symbolizing naval power. However, when Athena created the tree, symbolizing peace and prosperity. Different etymologies, now rejected, were proposed during the 19th century. Christian Lobeck proposed as the root of the name the word ἄθος or ἄνθος meaning flower, ludwig von Döderlein proposed the stem of the verb θάω, stem θη- to denote Athens as having fertile soil. In classical literature, the city was referred to as the City of the Violet Crown, first documented in Pindars ἰοστέφανοι Ἀθᾶναι. In medieval texts, variant names include Setines, Satine, and Astines, today the caption η πρωτεύουσα, the capital, has become somewhat common
13.
Citizen
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Citizenship is the status of a person recognized under the custom or law as being a legal member of a sovereign state. A person may have multiple citizenships and a person who does not have citizenship of any state is said to be stateless. Nationality is often used as a synonym for citizenship in English – notably in international law – although the term is understood as denoting a persons membership of a nation. In some countries, e. g. the United States, each country has its own policies, regulations and criteria as to who is entitled to its citizenship. A person can be recognised or granted citizenship on a number of bases, usually citizenship based on the place of birth is automatic, in other cases an application may be required. If one or both of a persons parents are citizens of a state, then the person may have the right to be a citizen of that state as well. Formerly this might only have applied through the line. Citizenship is granted based on ancestry or ethnicity, and is related to the concept of a nation state common in China, where jus sanguinis holds, a person born outside a country, one or both of whose parents are citizens of the country, is also a citizen. States normally limit the right to citizenship by descent to a number of generations born outside the state. This form of citizenship is not common in civil law countries, Some people are automatically citizens of the state in which they are born. This form of citizenship originated in England where those who were born within the realm were subjects of the monarch, in many cases both jus solis and jus sanguinis hold, citizenship either by place or parentage. Many countries fast-track naturalization based on the marriage of a person to a citizen, States normally grant citizenship to people who have entered the country legally and been granted permit to stay, or been granted political asylum, and also lived there for a specified period. Some states allow dual citizenship and do not require naturalized citizens to renounce any other citizenship. In the past there have been exclusions on entitlement to citizenship on grounds such as color, ethnicity, sex. Most of these no longer apply in most places. The United States grants citizenship to those born as a result of reproductive technologies, Some exclusions still persist for internationally adopted children born before Feb 27,1983 even though their parents meet citizenship criteria. Polis meant both the assembly of the city-state as well as the entire society. Citizenship has generally been identified as a western phenomenon, there is a general view that citizenship in ancient times was a simpler relation than modern forms of citizenship, although this view has come under scrutiny
14.
Martial
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In these short, witty poems he cheerfully satirises city life and the scandalous activities of his acquaintances, and romanticises his provincial upbringing. He wrote a total of 1,561, of which 1,235 are in elegiac couplets, Martial has been called the greatest Latin epigrammatist, and is considered the creator of the modern epigram. Knowledge of his origins and early life are derived almost entirely from his works, which can be more or less dated according to the well-known events to which they refer. In Book X of his Epigrams, composed between 95 and 98, he mentions celebrating his birthday, hence he was born during March 38,39,40 or 41 AD. His place of birth was Augusta Bilbilis in Hispania Tarraconensis and his parents, Fronto and Flaccilla, appear to have died in his youth. Martial professes to be of the school of Catullus, Pedo, the epigram bears to this day the form impressed upon it by his unrivalled skill in wordsmithing. The success of his countrymen may have been what motivated Martial to move to Rome, from Hispania, once he had completed his education. This move occurred in AD64, in which Seneca the Younger and Lucan may have served as his first patrons, not much is known of the details of his life for the first twenty years or so after he came to Rome. He published some poems of which he thought very little in his later years. Martial had neither youthful passion nor youthful enthusiasm to precociously mold him a poet and he made many influential friends and patrons and secured the favor of both Titus and Domitian. From them he obtained various privileges, among others the semestris tribunatus, the earliest of his extant works, known as Liber spectaculorum, was first published at the opening of the Colosseum in the reign of Titus. It relates to the performances given by him, but the book as it now stands was presented to the world in or about the first year of Domitian, i. e. about the year 81. The two books, numbered by editors xiii. and xiv. and known by the names of Xenia, in 86 he bore for the world the first two of the twelve books on which his pendulous and sterling reputation rests. From that time till his return to Hispania in 98 he published a volume almost every year. The first nine books and the first edition of Book X. appeared in the reign of Domitian, Book XI. appeared at the end of 96, shortly after the accession of Nerva. A revised edition of book X. that which we now possess extant, appeared in 98, the last book was written after three years absence in Hispania, shortly before his lamentable death, which happened about the year 102 or 103. These twelve books bring Martials ordinary mode of life between the age of forty-five and sixty very fully before us for leisurely consideration of a Sunday afternoon and his regular home for thirty-five years was the bustle of metropolitan Rome. He lived at first up three flights of stairs, and his garret overlooked the laurels in front of the portico of Agrippa
15.
Virtue
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A virtue is a trait or quality that is deemed to be morally good and thus is valued as a foundation of principle and good moral being. Personal virtues are characteristics valued as promoting collective and individual greatness, the opposite of virtue is vice. The four classic cardinal virtues are, temperance, prudence, courage, Christianity derives the three theological virtues of faith, hope and love from 1 Corinthians. Together these make up the seven virtues, Buddhisms four brahmavihara can be regarded as virtues in the European sense. The Japanese Bushidō code is characterized by up to ten virtues, including rectitude, courage, for Immanuel Kant a person is virtuous when they act in accordance with moral principles. During Egyptian civilization, Maat or Maat, also spelled māt or mayet, was the ancient Egyptian concept of truth, balance, order, law, morality, and justice. Maat was also personified as a goddess regulating the stars, seasons, the deities set the order of the universe from chaos at the moment of creation. Her counterpart was Isfet, who symbolized chaos, lies, some scholars consider either of the above four virtue combinations as mutually reducible and therefore not cardinal. It is unclear whether multiple virtues were of later construct, in his work Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle defined a virtue as a point between a deficiency and an excess of a trait. The point of greatest virtue lies not in the exact middle, however, the virtuous action is not simply the mean between two opposite extremes. This is not simply splitting the difference between two extremes, for example, generosity is a virtue between the two extremes of miserliness and being profligate. Further examples include, courage between cowardice and foolhardiness, and confidence between self-deprecation and vanity, in Aristotles sense, virtue is excellence at being human. Seneca, the Roman Stoic, said that perfect prudence is indistinguishable from perfect virtue, thus, in considering all consequences, a prudent person would act in the same way as a virtuous person. The same rationale was expressed by Plato in Meno, when he wrote that only act in ways that they perceive will bring them maximum good. It is the lack of wisdom that results in the making of a bad choice instead of a prudent one, in this way, wisdom is the central part of virtue. Plato realized that because virtue was synonymous with wisdom it could be taught and he then added correct belief as an alternative to knowledge, proposing that knowledge is merely correct belief that has been thought through and tethered. The term virtue itself is derived from the Latin virtus, and had connotations of manliness, honour, worthiness of deferential respect, most Roman concepts of virtue were also personified as a numinous deity. The primary Roman virtues, both public and private, were, Auctoritas – spiritual authority – the sense of social standing, built up through experience, Pietas
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Ancient Greece
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Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
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Arete (moral virtue)
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Arete, in its basic sense, means excellence of any kind. The term may also mean moral virtue, in its earliest appearance in Greek, this notion of excellence was ultimately bound up with the notion of the fulfillment of purpose or function, the act of living up to ones full potential. The term from Homeric times onwards is not gender specific, Homer applies the term of both the Greek and Trojan heroes as well as major female figures, such as Penelope, the wife of the Greek hero Odysseus. In the Homeric poems, Arete is frequently associated with bravery, the man or woman of Arete is a person of the highest effectiveness, they use all their faculties—strength, bravery and wit—to achieve real results. In the Homeric world, then, Arete involves all of the abilities and potentialities available to humans, in some contexts, Arete is explicitly linked with human knowledge, where the expressions virtue is knowledge and Arete is knowledge are used interchangeably. The highest human potential is knowledge and all other human abilities are derived from this central capacity, the Ancient Greeks applied the term to anything, for example, the excellence of a chimney, the excellence of a bull to be bred and the excellence of a man. The meaning of the word changes depending on what it describes, since everything has its own peculiar excellence and this way of thinking comes first from Plato, where it can be seen in the Allegory of the Cave. By the 5th and 4th centuries BC, arete as applied to men had developed to include quieter virtues, Plato attempted to produce a moral philosophy that incorporated this new usage, but it was in the work of Aristotle that the doctrine of arete found its fullest flowering. Aristotles Doctrine of the Mean is an example of his thinking. Arete has also used by Plato when talking about athletic training. Stephen G. Miller delves into this usage in his book Ancient Greek Athletics, Aristotle is quoted as deliberating between education towards arete. or those that are theoretical. Educating towards arete in this means that the boy would be educated towards things that are useful in life. But even Plato himself says that arete is not something that can be agreed upon and he says, Nor is there even an agreement about what constitutes arete, something that leads logically to a disagreement about the appropriate training for arete. It was commonly believed that the mind, body, and soul each had to be developed and prepared for a man to live a life of arete and this led to the thought that athletics had to be present in order to obtain arete. They did not need to consume ones life, merely exercise the body into the condition for arete, just like the mind. In Homers Iliad and Odyssey, arete is used mainly to describe heroes and nobles and their mobile dexterity, with reference to strength and courage. Penelopes arete, for example, relates to co-operation, for which she is praised by Agamemnon, the excellence of the gods generally included their power, but, in the Odyssey, the gods can grant excellence to a life, which is contextually understood to mean prosperity. Arete was also the name of King Alcinouss wife, according to Bernard Knoxs notes found in the Robert Fagles translation of The Odyssey, arete is also associated with the Greek word for pray, araomai
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Royal family
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A royal family is the immediate family of a king or queen regnant, and sometimes his or her extended family. However, in common parlance members of any family which reigns by hereditary right are often referred to as royalty or royals and it is also customary in some circles to refer to the extended relations of a deposed monarch and his or her descendants as a royal family. A dynasty is referred to as the House of. As of July 2013, there are 26 active sovereign monarchies in the world who rule or reign over 43 countries in all, in some cases, royal family membership may extend to great grandchildren and more distant descendants of a monarch. In certain monarchies where voluntary abdication is the norm, such as the Netherlands, there is often a distinction between persons of the blood royal and those that marry into the royal family. In certain instances, such as in Canada, the family is defined by who holds the styles Majesty. Under most systems, only persons in the first category are dynasts and this is not always observed, some monarchies have operated by the principle of jure uxoris. In addition, certain relatives of the monarch possess special privileges and are subject to certain statutes, conventions, the precise functions of a royal family vary depending on whether the polity in question is an absolute monarchy, a constitutional monarchy, or somewhere in between. The specific composition of royal families varies from country to country, as do the titles and royal, the composition of the royal family may be regulated by statute enacted by the legislature, the sovereigns prerogative and common law tradition, or a private house law. Public statutes, constitutional provisions, or conventions may also regulate the marriages, names, the members of a royal family may or may not have a surname or dynastic name. Some countries have abolished royalty altogether, as in post-revolutionary France, whilst mediatization occurred in other countries such as France, Italy and Russia, only the certain houses within the former Holy Roman Empire are collectively called the Mediatized Houses
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French Revolution
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Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
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United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
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Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
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Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
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Hereditary peer
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Hereditary peers form part of the peerage in the United Kingdom. There are over eight hundred peers who hold titles that may be inherited. Formerly, most of them were entitled to sit in the House of Lords, Peers are called to the House of Lords with a writ of summons. A hereditary title is not necessarily a title of the peerage, for instance, baronets and baronetesses may pass on their titles, but they are not peers. Conversely, the holder of a title may belong to the peerage. Peerages may be created by means of letters patent, but the granting of new hereditary peerages has dwindled, with six having been created since 1965. The hereditary peerage, as it now exists, combines several different English institutions with analogous ones from Scotland and Ireland, English Earls are an Anglo-Saxon institution. Around 1014, England was divided into shires or counties, largely to defend against the Danes, each shire was led by a great man, called an earl. When the Normans conquered England, they continued to appoint earls, but not for all counties, Earldoms began as offices, with a perquisite of a share of the legal fees in the county, they gradually became honours, with a stipend of £20 a year. Like most feudal offices, earldoms were inherited, but the kings frequently asked earls to resign or exchange earldoms, William the Conqueror and Henry II did not make Dukes, they were themselves only Dukes of Normandy or Aquitaine. But when Edward III of England declared himself King of France, he made his sons Dukes, to them from other noblemen. Later Kings created Marquesses and Viscounts to make finer gradations of honour, which men were ordered to Council varied from Council to Council, a man might be so ordered once and never again, or all his life, but his son and heir might never go. Under Henry VI of England, in the 15th century, just before the Wars of the Roses, the first claim of hereditary right to a writ comes from this reign, so does the first patent, or charter declaring a man to be a Baron. The five orders began to be called Peers, holders of older peerages also began receive greater honour than Peers of the same rank just created. If a man held a peerage, his son would succeed to it, if he had no children, if he had a single daughter, his son-in-law would inherit the family lands, and usually the same Peerage, more complex cases were decided depending on circumstances. Customs changed with time, Earldoms were the first to be hereditary, after Henry II became the Lord of Ireland, he and his successors began to imitate the English system as it was in their time. A writ does not create a peerage in Ireland, all Irish peerages are by patent or charter, in the 18th century, Irish peerages became rewards for English politicians, limited only by the concern that they might go to Dublin and interfere with the Irish Government. Scotland evolved a system, differing in points of detail
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House of Lords Act 1999
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The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament, for centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats, the Act removed such a right. However, as part of a compromise, the Act did permit ninety-two hereditary peers to remain in the House on an interim basis, another ten were created life peers to enable them to remain in the House. The Act decreased the membership of the House from 1,330 in October 1999 to 669 in March 2000, as another result of the Act, the majority of the Lords were now life peers, whose numbers had been gradually increasing since the Life Peerages Act 1958. As of August 2012, there were 825 Peers, of whom 26 were senior Church of England bishops, prior to the 16th century, the Lords was the stronger of the two houses of Parliament. The rising wealth of the Commons eventually allowed it to two civil wars, dethrone two Kings, and gradually reduce the power of the Lords. Furthermore, the Commons has absolute power when it comes to money bills, the Labour Party had for years endorsed abolition of the unelected House of Lords in its election platforms, though since 1992 this had changed to a policy of reforming the House instead. In the first year of the Blair government, the Lords passed back Government bills 38 times, the rejection considered the most contentious was of the European Elections Bill, against which the Lords voted five times. Blair stated that the Conservatives were using the hereditary peers to frustrate, here Blair found an opportunity to implement one of Labours campaign promises, reforming the Lords. In it, she suggested that her Government would pursue a reform of the House of Lords and these remarks were followed by shouts of Hear. Hear. from supportive Labour Members of Parliament, and by similar shouts of Shame, Shame. from Conservative peers, such outbursts were unprecedented, for the Queens Speech is with few exceptions heard by a silent Parliament. The House of Lords Bill was expected to face a fight in the House of Lords. Several Lords threatened to disrupt the Governments other bills if they continued with the plan to abolish the right to sit in the House of Lords. The Earl of Onslow, for instance, said, Im happy to force a division on each, each division takes 20 minutes and there are more than 270 clauses. Lords had plenty of other means by which they could obstruct the Governments programme, Lord Randall put forward the idea of phasing out the hereditary peers by disqualifying their heirs. Baroness Jay reminded the House that under the Salisbury Convention they could not block the bill. In order to convince some peers to vote for reform, Tony Blair announced that he would compromise by allowing a number of peers to remain in the House of Lords on an interim basis. On 2 December 1998, the Conservative Leader of the Opposition, William Hague and he suggested that Blairs changes indicated his lack of principles, claiming that Blair wanted to turn the House of Lords into a House of Cronies
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House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
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Upper house
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An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the house is usually smaller. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UKs House of Lords, Canadas Senate, Indias Rajya Sabha, Russias Federation Council, Irelands Seanad, Germanys Bundesrat, a legislature composed of only one house is described as unicameral. An upper house is different from the lower house in at least one of the following respects, Powers, In a parliamentary system. Therefore, in countries the Upper House votes on only limited legislative matters. Cannot vote a motion of no confidence against the government, while the house always can. In a presidential system, It may have equal or nearly equal power with the lower house and it may have specific powers not granted to the lower house. For example, It may give advice and consent to some executive decisions and it may have the sole power to try impeachments against officials of the executive, following enabling resolutions passed by the lower house. Status, In some countries, its members are not popularly elected, membership may be indirect and its members may be elected with a different voting system than that used to elect the lower house. Less populated states, provinces, or administrative divisions may be represented in the upper house than in the lower house. Members terms may be longer than in the house. Members may be elected in portions, for staggered terms, rather than all at one time, in some countries, the upper house cannot be dissolved at all, or can be dissolved only in more limited circumstances than the lower house. It typically has fewer members or seats than the lower house and it has usually a higher age of candidacy than the lower house. In parliamentary systems the upper house is seen as an advisory or revising chamber. Some or all of the restrictions are often placed on upper houses. No absolute veto of proposed legislation, though suspensive vetoes are permitted in some states, in countries where it can veto legislation, it may not be able to amend the proposals. A reduced or even absent role in initiating legislation, additionally, a Government must have the consent of both to remain in office, a position which is known as perfect bicameralism or equal bicameralism. An example is the British House of Lords, bills can only be delayed for up to one year before the Commons can use the Parliament Act, although economic bills can only be delayed for one month
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Legislature
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A legislature is a deliberative assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. Legislatures form important parts of most governments, in the separation of model, they are often contrasted with the executive. Laws enacted by legislatures are known as legislation, legislatures observe and steer governing actions and usually have exclusive authority to amend the budget or budgets involved in the process. The members of a legislature are called legislators, each chamber of legislature consists of a number of legislators who use some form of parliamentary procedure to debate political issues and vote on proposed legislation. There must be a number of legislators present to carry out these activities. Some of the responsibilities of a legislature, such as giving first consideration to newly proposed legislation, are delegated to committees made up of small selections of the legislators. The members of a legislature usually represent different political parties, the members from each party generally meet as a caucus to organize their internal affairs, the internal organization of a legislature is also shaped by the informal norms that are shared by its members. Legislatures vary widely in the amount of power they wield, compared to other political players such as judiciaries, militaries. In 2009, political scientists M. Steven Fish and Matthew Kroenig constructed a Parliamentary Powers Index in an attempt to quantify the different degrees of power among national legislatures, such a system renders the legislature more powerful. Legislatures will sometime delegate their legislative power to administrative or executive agencies, legislatures are made up of individual members, known as legislators, who vote on proposed laws. For example, a legislature that has 100 seats has 100 members, by extension, an electoral district that elects a single legislator can also be described as a seat, as, for, example, in the phrases safe seat and marginal seat. In parliamentary systems of government, the executive is responsible to the legislature which may remove it with a vote of no confidence, names for national legislatures include parliament, congress, diet and assembly. A legislature which operates as a unit is unicameral, one divided into two chambers is bicameral, and one divided into three chambers is tricameral. In bicameral legislatures, one chamber is considered the upper house. In federations, the upper house typically represents the component states. This is a case with the legislature of the European Union. Tricameral legislatures are rare, the Massachusetts Governors Council still exists, tetracameral legislatures no longer exist, but they were previously used in Scandinavia. Legislatures vary widely in their size, among national legislatures, Chinas National Peoples Congress is the largest with 2987 members, while Vatican Citys Pontifical Commission is the smallest with 7
28.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
29.
Duke of Norfolk
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The Duke of Norfolk is the premier Duke in the peerage of England, and also, as Earl of Arundel, the premier Earl. The Duke of Norfolk is, moreover, the Earl Marshal, the seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current Duke of Norfolk is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, the dukes have historically been Catholic, a state of affairs known as recusancy in England. All past and present dukes have been descended from Edward I, the son of Thomas Howard, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, was Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, the Earl was descended from both King Edward I and King Edward III. Before the Dukes of Norfolk, there were the Bigod Earls of Norfolk and their male line ended with Roger Bigod, 5th Earl of Norfolk, who died without an heir in 1307, so their titles and estates reverted to the crown. Edward II then created his brother Thomas of Brotherton earl in 1312 and it passed to Thomass daughter, granddaughter of King Edward I, Margaret, and then to her grandson Thomas Mowbray. When King Richard II created Thomas Mowbray duke in 1397, he conferred upon him the estates and titles that had belonged to the earls and his elderly grandmother Margaret was still alive, and so at the same time she was created Duchess of Norfolk for life. Mowbray died in exile in 1399, some months after his grandmother and his widow took the title Countess of Norfolk. Between 1401 and 1476, the Mowbray family held the title, John Mowbray, the 4th duke, died without male issue in 1476, his only surviving child being the 3-year-old Anne Mowbray. At the age of 3, a marriage was arranged between Anne and Richard, Duke of York, the son of King Edward IV of England. She remained Richards child bride until she died at the age of 8, in accordance with the marriage arrangements, Richard inherited the lands and wealth of the Mowbray family. He was also made Duke of Norfolk, however, upon the death of Edward IV, the throne was usurped by Edwards brother, Richard III. Prince Richard and his brother were declared illegitimate and confined to the Tower of London in mid-1483. They subsequently disappeared, and the titles of both York and Norfolk were forfeited to the crown, from this point to the present, the title has remained in the hands of the descendants of John Howard. The Catholic faith of the Howard dynasty often resulted in conflict with the monarch, particularly during. In 1546, Thomas Howard, the third Duke, fell out of favour with the dying Henry and was attainted on 27 January 1547, he was stripped of his titles and his lands reverted to the Crown. However, the Duke died the year aged around 81. Following Marys death and the accession of her sister Elizabeth I, in 1660, the fourth Dukes great-great-grandson, the 23rd Earl of Arundel, was restored to the family lands and dukedom
30.
Earl Marshal
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Earl Marshal is a hereditary royal officeholder and chivalric title under the sovereign of the United Kingdom used in England. He is the eighth of the Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord High Constable, the Earl Marshal has among his responsibilities the organisation of major ceremonial state occasions like the monarchs coronation in Westminster Abbey and state funerals. He is also an officer of arms and oversees the College of Arms. The current Earl Marshal is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk, there was formerly an Earl Marshall of Ireland and Earl Marischal of Scotland. The office of royal marshal existed in much of Europe, involving managing horses, in England, the office became hereditary under John FitzGilbert the Marshal after The Anarchy, and rose in prominence under his second son, William Marshal, later Earl of Pembroke. He served under several kings, acted as regent, and organised funerals, after passing through his daughters husband to the Earls of Norfolk, the post evolved into Earl Marshal and the title remained unchanged, even after the earldom of Norfolk became a dukedom. In the Middle Ages, the Earl Marshal and the Lord High Constable were the officers of the horses and stables. When chivalry declined in importance, the constables post declined and the Earl Marshal became the head of the College of Arms, in 1672, the office of Marshal of England and the title of Earl Marshal of England were made hereditary in the Howard family. The Earl Marshal is considered the eighth of the Great Officers of State, with the Lord High Constable above him, nowadays, the Earl Marshals role has mainly to do with the organisation of major state ceremonies such as coronations and state funerals. Annually, the Earl Marshal helps organise the State Opening of Parliament, the Earl Marshal also remains to have charge over the College of Arms and no coat of arms may be granted without his warrant. As a symbol of his office, he carries a baton of gold with black finish at either end, in the general order of precedence, the Earl Marshal is currently the highest hereditary position in the United Kingdom outside the Royal Family. Although other state and ecclesiastical officers rank above in precedence, they are not hereditary, the holding of the Earl Marshalship secures the Duke of Norfolks traditional position as the first peer of the land, above all other dukes. Among the men who have held the title of Earl Marshal of Ireland are William Marshal, 1st Earl of Pembroke, 1652–1661 James Howard, 3rd Earl of Suffolk 1661–1662 in commission 1662–1672. Deputy Earls Marshal have been named at various times, discharging the responsibilities of the office during the minority or infirmity of the Earl Marshal, prior to an Act of Parliament in 1824, Protestant deputies were required when the Earl Marshal was a Roman Catholic. Lord Lyon King of Arms Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Earl Marshal, the Court Register and Statesmans Remembrancer Round, J. H. The Commune of London, and other Studies
31.
Lord Great Chamberlain
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In the United Kingdom, the Lord Great Chamberlain is the sixth of the Great Officers of State, ranking beneath the Lord Privy Seal and above the Lord High Constable. The Lord Great Chamberlain has charge over the Palace of Westminster, on formal state occasions, he wears a distinctive scarlet court uniform and bears a gold key and a white stave as the insignia of his office. The position is a one, held since 1780 in gross. At any one time, a person actually exercises the office of Lord Great Chamberlain. For instance, the Marquesses of Cholmondeley hold one-half of the office, the office of Lord Great Chamberlain is distinct from the non-hereditary office of Lord Chamberlain of the Household, a position in the monarchs household. This office arose in the 14th century as a deputy of the Lord Great Chamberlain to fulfil the duties in the Royal Household. The office was held by Robert Malet, a son of one of the leading companions of William the Conqueror. In 1133, however, King Henry I declared Malets estates and titles forfeit, thereafter, the Earls of Oxford held the title almost continuously until 1526, with a few intermissions due to the forfeiture of some Earls for treason. In 1526, however, the fourteenth Earl of Oxford died, the earldom was inherited by a more distant heir-male, his second cousin. The Sovereign then decreed that the office belonged to The Crown, the Sovereign appointed the fifteenth Earl to the office, but the appointment was deemed for life and was not heritable. The familys association with the office was interrupted in 1540, when the earl died and Thomas Cromwell. Later, Queen Mary I ruled that the Earls of Oxford were indeed entitled to the office of Lord Great Chamberlain on an hereditary basis. The House of Lords eventually ruled that the office belonged to the male, Robert Bertie, 14th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. The office remained vested in the Earls of Lindsey, who later became Dukes of Ancaster, in 1779, however, the fourth Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven died, leaving two sisters as female heirs, and an uncle as an heir male. The uncle became the fifth and last Duke, but the House of Lords ruled that the two sisters were jointly Lord Great Chamberlain and could appoint a Deputy to fulfil the functions of the office, the younger sister later married the first Marquess of Cholmondeley. The office of Lord Great Chamberlain, however, was divided between Priscilla and her younger sister Georgiana, priscillas share was eventually split between two of her granddaughters, and has been split several more times since then. By contrast, Georgianas share has been inherited by a male heir each time, that individual has in each case been the Marquess of Cholmondeley. The fractions show the share in the office, and the date they held it
32.
Marquess of Cholmondeley
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Marquess of Cholmondeley is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1815 for George Cholmondeley, 4th Earl of Cholmondeley and their eldest son David le Belward inherited the feudal barony of Malpas and was the ancestor of the Egerton family. The second son, Robert le Belward, became lord of the barony of Cholmondeley, which he passed to his son Sir Hugh de Cholmondeley. His lineal descendent was Sir Hugh Cholmondeley, knighted by King Henry VIII and his eldest son was Robert Cholmondeley, 1st Earl of Leinster, while his youngest son Thomas was the ancestor of the Barons Delamere. Another son, his namesake Hugh, was the father of Robert Cholmondeley and he succeeded to the estates of his uncle Lord Leinster and was created Viscount Cholmondeley, of Kells in the County of Meath, in the Peerage of Ireland in 1661. He was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Viscount and he was a supporter of King William III and Queen Mary II and also served as Comptroller of the Household and as Treasurer of the Household. In 1689 he was created Baron Cholmondeley, of Nantwich in the County of Chester, in the Peerage of England, Lord Cholmondeley never married and was succeeded according to the special remainders by his younger brother George, the second Earl. He was a prominent military commander and commanded the Horse Guards at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, on his death the titles passed to his son, the third Earl. He was a politician and held office as Lord Privy Seal and he was succeeded by his grandson, the fourth Earl. He was the son of George Cholmondeley, Viscount Malpas, Lord Cholmondeley was also a prominent politician and served as Captain of the Yeomen of the Guard and as Lord Steward of the Household. In 1815 he was created Earl of Rocksavage, in the County of Chester and he was succeeded by his eldest son, the second Marquess. He represented Castle Rising in the House of Commons but in 1821 he was summoned to the House of Lords through a writ of acceleration in his fathers title of Baron Newburgh. Lord Cholmondeley was childless and was succeeded by his younger brother and he sat as Member of Parliament for Castle Rising and South Hampshire. As of 2016, the titles are held by his great-great-great-grandson, the seventh Marquess, the courtesy title of the Marquesss heir is Earl of Rocksavage, while Lord Rocksavages eldest son is known as Viscount Malpas. As both sons had died before him, the 3rd marquess was succeeded in his titles by his grandson, the family seats are Houghton Hall, Norfolk, and Cholmondeley Castle, which is surrounded by a 7,500 acres estate near Malpas, Cheshire. The second, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh holders of the marquessate have all held this office, peers in the House of Lords can hold their 70th birthday parties in the Cholmondeley Room at the Palace of Westminster. Among other uses, Baroness Elliot of Harwood organised a dinner in 1984 for all female Conservative members of Parliament and peers, the Cholmondeley Room and Terrace and the Attlee Room are available for private functions, sponsored by Members for personal use or for external organisations. His younger twin brother is Lord Oliver Timothy George Cholmondeley, Earl of Leinster Baron Delamere Lodge, Edmund
33.
Representative peer
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In the United Kingdom, representative peers were those peers elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the British House of Lords. Until 1999, all members of the Peerage of England held the right to sit in the House of Lords, they did not elect a limited group of representatives. All peers who were created after 1707 as Peers of Great Britain, representative peers were introduced in 1707, when the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, a similar arrangement was adopted when the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland merged into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in January 1801. Scotland was allowed to elect sixteen representative peers, while Ireland could elect twenty-eight and those chosen by Scotland sat for a single term, and following each dissolution new Scottish peers were elected. In contrast, Irish representative peers sat for life, elections for Irish peers ceased when the Irish Free State came into existence as a Dominion in December 1922. However, already-elected Irish peers continued to be entitled to sit until their death, elections for Scottish peers ended in 1963, when all Scottish peers obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords. Under the 1999 House of Lords Act, a new form of representative peer was introduced to some hereditary peers to stay in the House of Lords. Under articles XXII and XXIII of the Act of Union of 1707, each served for one Parliament or a maximum of seven years, but could be re-elected during future Parliaments. Upon the summons of a new Parliament, the Sovereign would issue a proclamation summoning Scottish peers to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The elections were held in the Great Gallery, a room decorated by eighty-nine of Jacob de Wets portraits of Scottish monarchs. The Lord Clerk Register would read out the Peerage Roll as indicates his presence when called, the Roll was then re–read, with each peer responding by publicly announcing his votes and the return being sent to the clerk of the crown at London. The same procedure was used whenever a vacancy arose, the block voting system was used, with each peer casting as many votes as there were seats to be filled. The Lord Clerk Register was responsible for tallying the votes, the position and rights of Scottish peers in relation to the House of Lords remained unclear during most of the eighteenth century. In 1711, The 4th Duke of Hamilton, a peer of Scotland, was made Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain. They reasoned that the Act of Union 1707 had established the number of Scots peers in the House of Lords at no more and no less than sixteen. Under the Peerage Act 1963, all Scottish peers procured the right to sit in the House of Lords, Scottish as well as British and English hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the Upper House with the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999. During the debate on the House of Lords Bill, a question arose as to whether the proposal would violate the Treaty of Union
34.
Life Peerages Act 1958
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The Life Peerages Act 1958 established the modern standards for the creation of life peers by the monarch of the United Kingdom. This Act was made during the Conservative governments of 1957–1964, when Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister, elizabeth II had ascended to the throne just over five years before the Act. The Conservatives tried to introduce life peerages to modernise the House of Lords, give it more legitimacy, prior to the Life Peerages Act 1958, membership in the House of Lords was strictly male and overwhelmingly based on possession of an hereditary title. There existed a few exceptions to the principle, such as for the Lords Spiritual. The Act made it possible for life peers of both sexes to be members of the Lords, Life peers are either barons or baronesses and are members of the House of Lords for life, but their titles and membership in the Lords are not inherited by their children. Judicial life peers already sat in the House under the terms of the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 and this gradually began to diminish the numerical dominance of hereditary peers. The Act allowed for the creation of peers entitled to sit in the House of Lords. The first such women took their seats on 21 October 1958. A life peer is created by the sovereign by Letters Patent under the Great Seal on the advice of the Prime Minister, before the Act was passed, former Prime Ministers were usually created Viscounts or Earls in gratitude for their public service in high office. This similarly applied to the Viceroys of India and exceptional military or front bench figures, for example the former Secretary of State for India and earlier for Air, Viscount Stansgate. The last Prime Minister and the last non-royal to be made an Earl was paradoxically one of the Acts proponents, Harold Macmillan, on Thatchers advice, in modern practice, only members of the Royal Family are granted new hereditary peerages. The reform provided by the Life Peerages Act 1958 was a successful reform of the operation of the second Chamber. History has proved that the Labour party was wrong and Conservative Ministers were right in 1958, after this agreed with a question from fellow Labour MP, Mark Fisher which stated, The White Paper — and all that I have heard from my right hon. For example, Earl of Home or Viscount Stansgate, House of Lords Act 1999 - which restricted the right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords to only 92, elected by the hereditary peers at large. Notes References UK Parliament website about the Life Peerages Act
35.
John Gummer
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John Selwyn Gummer, Baron Deben, PC is a British Conservative Party politician, formerly Member of Parliament for Suffolk Coastal and now a member of the House of Lords. Lord Deben is Chairman of the UKs independent Committee on Climate Change and he is a non-executive director of Veolia Voda, The Catholic Herald and the Castle Trust – a mortgage and investment firm. He is also a Trustee of the conservation charity, Blue Marine Foundation. John Gummer stood down from the House of Commons at the 2010 general election and was appointed to the Upper House as Lord Deben. The eldest son of a Church of England priest, Canon Selwyn Gummer, his brother is Peter Gummer, Baron Chadlington. Gummer attended Kings School, Rochester, before going up to Selwyn College, Cambridge where he read History, first elected to Parliament at the 1970 general election, where he defeated sitting MP James Dickens in Lewisham West, Gummer had previously contested Greenwich in 1964 and 1966. In 1979, he returned to the House of Commons, securing Eye in Suffolk and he held the constituency and its successor Suffolk Coastal until his retirement from the Commons in 2010. He joined the Cabinet in 1989 as Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, as Environment Secretary he introduced the Environment Act 1995 and the Landfill Tax, which was the first such environmental tax in the UK. The BBC Wildlife magazine described him as the Environment Secretary against which all others are judged, in 1997, he was also awarded the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Medal. and Friends of the Earth described his as the best Environment Secretary weve ever had. He had responsibility for safety during the mad cow disease epidemic in 1989–90 which eventually claimed 176 British lives. At the height of the crisis in May 1990, he attempted to refute the evidence for BSE/Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease by feeding his 4-year-old daughter a burger before press cameras. Gummer opposed reduction of beds at the Aldeburgh Cottage Hospital, following the 1997 Labour election victory he became a backbencher and chairman of the All-Party Group on Architecture and Planning. During this time he actively pursued environmental causes, introducing an Early Day Motion on Climate Change to Parliament along with Michael Meacher and he was also instrumental in the passing of the Climate Change Act of 2008. Because of his credentials, in 2005 David Cameron asked Deben to chair the Quality of Life Policy Group with Zac Goldsmith as his deputy. In 2009, Lord Deben attracted attention in the United Kingdom parliamentary expenses scandal, after claiming £36,000 for gardening over 4 years, as an parliamentary expense. Although the claims were encouraged and initially approved by the Parliamentary Fees Office and he repaid £11,538 for gardening and household bills and donated £11,500 to charity, paying above the minimum required in order to demonstrate corporate social responsibility for the expenses system. Consequently, the Legg Report showed that 343 MPs had been asked to repay some money with Gummer paying the 7th highest figure and it was announced that Gummer would be awarded a peerage in the 2010 Dissolution Honours List. As a pro-European moderate, Lord Deben supported Kenneth Clarkes leadership bids, in September 2012, Lord Deben was confirmed as Chairman of the UKs independent Committee on Climate Change, succeeding Adair, Lord Turner
36.
Landed gentry
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Landed gentry is a largely historical British social class consisting of land owners who could live entirely from rental income. It was distinct from, and socially below, the aristocracy or peerage and they often worked as administrators of their own lands, while others became public, political and armed forces figures. The decline of this privileged class largely stemmed from the 1870s agricultural depression, by the late 19th century, the term was also applied to peers such as the Duke of Westminster who lived on landed estates. The book series Burkes Landed Gentry recorded the members of this class, successful burghers often used their accumulated wealth to buy country estates, with the aim of establishing themselves as landed gentry. Knights, originally a rank, this status was increasingly awarded to civilians as a reward for service to the Crown. Holders have the right to be addressed as Sir as are baronets, but unlike baronet, Esquires, originally men aspiring to knighthood, were the principal attendants on a knight. After the Middle Ages the title of Esquire - Esq. - became an honour that could be conferred by the Crown, gentlemen, possessors of a social status recognised as a separate title by the Statute of Additions of 1413. Generally men of birth or rank, good social standing, and wealth. The term landed gentry, although used to mean nobility. Once identical, eventually these terms became complementary, in the sense that their definitions began to fill in parts of what the other lacked, the historical term gentry by itself, so Peter Coss argues, is a construct that historians have applied loosely to rather different societies. Any particular model may not fit a specific society, yet a single definition nevertheless remains desirable, the phrase landed gentry referred in particular to the untitled members of the landowning upper class. The most stable and respected form of wealth has historically been land, the primary meaning of landed gentry encompasses those members of the land owning classes who are not members of the peerage. It was a designation, one belonged to the landed gentry if other members of that class accepted one as such. However, during the 19th century, as the new rich of the Industrial Revolution became more and more numerous and politically powerful, from the late 16th-century, the gentry emerged as the class most closely involved in politics, the military and law. It provided the bulk of Members of Parliament, with many gentry families maintaining political control in a locality over several generations. Owning land was a prerequisite for suffrage in county constituencies until the Reform Act 1832, until then, Members of the landed gentry were upper class, this was a highly prestigious status. Particular prestige was attached to those who inherited landed estates over a number of generations and these are often described as being from old families. Titles are often considered central to the class, but this is certainly not universally the case
37.
James Douglas-Hamilton, Baron Selkirk of Douglas
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Since 1997 he has been a member of the House of Lords as a life peer. He was educated at Eton and Balliol College, Oxford where he was president of the Oxford Union and he served as an advocate and an interim Procurator Fiscal Depute from 1968 to 1972. During this time he served in the Scottish Office, in the years between 1987 and 1995 he served as Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Scotland, and thereafter as Minister of State between 1995 and 1997. He had previously been a Lord Commissioner of the Treasury between 1979 and 1981 and he was appointed a Privy Counsellor and Queens Counsel in 1996. Due to the terms of the Peerage Act 1963, Selkirk was considered to be unable to vote in the House of Commons until he had disclaimed the title, as the Conservative government of the day had a small majority, he felt obliged to disclaim immediately. In 1997, he was elevated to the House of Lords as a peer, being created Baron Selkirk of Douglas. From 1999 to 2007 he was a member of the Scottish Parliament and was deputy Convener of its Education Committee, in November 2005, Lord Selkirk of Douglas announced his intention to retire at the end of the 2003-2007 session of the Scottish Parliament. He continues to sit in the House of Lords, taking a particular interest in British legislation as it affects Scotland, 1942–1974, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton 1974–1996, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton MP1994, The Rt Hon. The Earl of Selkirk 1994–1996, Lord James Douglas-Hamilton MP 1996–1997, The Rt Hon. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton QC MP1997, The Rt Hon. Lord James Douglas-Hamilton QC 1997–1999, the Lord Selkirk of Douglas PC QC 1999–2007, The Rt Hon. The Lord Selkirk of Douglas PC QC MSP 2007–, The Rt Hon, the Lord Selkirk of Douglas PC QC In 1974 he married the Hon. Susan Buchan, a granddaughter of the politician and novelist John Buchan, and daughter of Johnnie Buchan, the 2nd Baron Tweedsmuir, and his wife, a life peeress in her own right, Lady Tweedsmuir. They have four sons of whom the eldest, John Andrew Douglas-Hamilton, Lord Selkirk of Douglas is also fifth in line to the Dukedom of Hamilton, after the sons and the brother of the present duke. Hamilton House Commission on Scottish Devolution Hansard 1803–2005, contributions in Parliament by Lord Selkirk of Douglas Scottish Parliament biography
38.
Winston Churchill
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Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill KG OM CH TD PC DL FRS RA was a British statesman who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. Churchill was also an officer in the British Army, a historian. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1953 for his overall, in 1963, he was the first of only eight people to be made an honorary citizen of the United States. Churchill was born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough and his father, Lord Randolph Churchill, was a charismatic politician who served as Chancellor of the Exchequer, his mother, Jennie Jerome, was an American socialite. As a young officer, he saw action in British India, the Anglo–Sudan War. He gained fame as a war correspondent and wrote books about his campaigns, at the forefront of politics for fifty years, he held many political and cabinet positions. Before the First World War, he served as President of the Board of Trade, Home Secretary, during the war, he continued as First Lord of the Admiralty until the disastrous Gallipoli Campaign caused his departure from government. He then briefly resumed active service on the Western Front as commander of the 6th Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. He returned to government under Lloyd George as Minister of Munitions, Secretary of State for War, Secretary of State for Air, at the outbreak of the Second World War, he was again appointed First Lord of the Admiralty. Following the resignation of Neville Chamberlain on 10 May 1940, Churchill became Prime Minister and he led Britain as Prime Minister until victory over Nazi Germany had been secured. After the Conservative Party suffered a defeat in the 1945 general election. He publicly warned of an Iron Curtain of Soviet influence in Europe, after winning the 1951 election, Churchill again became Prime Minister. His second term was preoccupied by foreign affairs, including the Malayan Emergency, Mau Mau Uprising, Korean War, domestically his government laid great emphasis on house-building. Churchill suffered a stroke in 1953 and retired as Prime Minister in 1955. Upon his death aged ninety in 1965, Elizabeth II granted him the honour of a state funeral and his highly complex legacy continues to stimulate intense debate amongst writers and historians. Born into the family of the Dukes of Marlborough, a branch of the noble Spencer family, Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, like his father. His ancestor George Spencer had changed his surname to Spencer-Churchill in 1817 when he became Duke of Marlborough, to highlight his descent from John Churchill, Churchill was born on 30 November 1874, two months prematurely, in a bedroom in Blenheim Palace, Woodstock, Oxfordshire. From age two to six, he lived in Dublin, where his grandfather had been appointed Viceroy, Churchills brother, John Strange Spencer-Churchill, was born during this time in Ireland
39.
Gentry
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Gentry are well-born, genteel and well-bred people of high social class, especially in the past. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to the social class of the landed aristocracy or to the minor aristocracy whose income derives from their large landholdings. The idea of gentry in the sense of noblesse is extinct in common parlance in modern day Britain. Though the untitled nobility in modern day Britain are normally termed gentry, the older sense of nobility is that of a quality identical to gentry. The fundamental social division in most parts of Europe in the Middle Ages was between the nobiles, i. e. the tenants in chivalry, and the ignobles, i. e. the villeins, citizens and burgesses. The division into nobles and ignobles in smaller regions of Europe in the Middle Ages was less due to a more rudimentary feudal order. After the Reformation, intermingling between the class and the often hereditary clerical upper class became a distinctive feature in several Nordic countries. Besides the gentry there have been other analogous traditional elites, the Indo-Europeans who settled Europe, Western Asia and the Indian subcontinent conceived their societies to be ordered in a tripartite fashion, the three parts being castes. Castes came to be divided, perhaps as a result of greater specialisation. The classic formulation of the system as largely described by Georges Dumézil was that of a priestly or religiously occupied caste, a warrior caste. Dumézil divided the Proto-Indo-Europeans into three categories, sovereignty, military, and productivity and he further subdivided sovereignty into two distinct and complementary sub-parts. One part was formal, juridical, and priestly, but rooted in this world, the other was powerful, unpredictable, and also priestly, but rooted in the other, the supernatural and spiritual world. The second main division was connected with the use of force, the military, finally, there was a third group, ruled by the other two, whose role was productivity, herding, farming, and crafts. This system of roles can be seen in the castes which flourished on the Indian subcontinent. Emperor Constantine convoked the First Council of Nicaea in 325 whose Nicene Creed included belief in one holy catholic and apostolic Church, emperor Theodosius I made Nicene Christianity the state church of the Roman Empire with the Edict of Thessalonica of 380. In this power vacuum, the Church rose to become the dominant power in the West, the classical heritage flourished throughout the Middle Ages in both the Byzantine Greek East and Latin West. During the Middle Ages it was customary to classify the population of Christendom into laboratores, bellatores, the last group, though small in number, monopolized the instruments and opportunities of culture, and ruled with almost unlimited sway half of the most powerful continent on the globe. The clergy, like Platos guardians, were placed in authority, in the latter half of the period in which they ruled, the clergy were as free from family cares as even Plato could desire
40.
Baronet
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A baronet or the rare female equivalent, a baronetess, is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The practice of awarding baronetcies was originally introduced in England in the 14th century and was used by James I of England in 1611 as a means of raising funds. A baronetcy is the only British hereditary honour that is not a peerage, with the exception of the Anglo-Irish Black Knight, White Knight, Baronets are not deemed members of the nobility, but rather, titled gentry. Their social rank is equivalent to the petty nobility in some countries of continental Europe. The term baronet has medieval origins, Sir Thomas de La More, describing the Battle of Boroughbridge, mentioned that baronets took part, along with barons and knights. Edward III is known to have created eight baronets in 1328, at least one, Sir William de La Pole in 1340, was created for payment of money. Whether or not these early creations were hereditary, all have died out, in 1619 James I established the Baronetage of Ireland, Charles I in 1625 created the Baronetages of Scotland and Nova Scotia. The new baronets were each required to pay 2,000 marks or to support six settlers for two years. Over a hundred of these baronetcies, now known as Scottish baronetcies. As a result of the Union of England and Scotland in 1707, following the Union of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801, new creations were styled as baronets of the United Kingdom. Under royal warrants of 1612 and 1613, certain privileges were accorded to baronets, firstly, no person or persons should have place between baronets and the younger sons of peers. These privileges were extended to baronets of Ireland, and for baronets of Scotland the privilege of depicting the Arms of Nova Scotia as an augmentation of honour, the former applies to this day for all baronets of Great Britain and of the United Kingdom created subsequently. The title of baronet was initially conferred upon noblemen who lost the right of summons to Parliament. A similar title of rank was banneret. Like knights, baronets are accorded the style Sir before their first name, baronetesses in their own right use Dame, also before their first name, while wives of baronets use Lady followed by the husbands surname only, this by longstanding courtesy. Wives of baronets are not baronetesses, only women holding baronetcies in their own right are so styled, unlike knighthoods—which apply to the recipient only—a baronetcy is hereditarily entailed. With some exceptions granted with special remainder by letters patent, baronetcies descend through the male line, a full list of extant baronets appears in Burkes Peerage and Baronetage, which also published a record of extinct baronetcies. A baronetcy is not a peerage, so baronets like knights and junior members of families are commoners
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Barons in Scotland
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In Scotland, a Baron is the head of a feudal barony. This used to be attached to a piece of land on which was the caput, or the essence of the barony, normally a building. Accordingly, the owner of the piece of land containing the caput was the Baron or Baroness, the Court of the Lord Lyon issued a new ruling April 2015 that recognises a person possessing the dignity of baron and other feudal titles. Lord Lyon now prefers the approach of recognizing the particular feudal noble dignity as expressed in the Crown Charter that the petitioner presents and these titles are recognised as the status of a minor baron but not a peer. Scottish feudal baronies may be passed to any person, of either sex, Scotland has a distinct legal system within the United Kingdom. Historically, in the Kingdom of Scotland, the Lord Lyon King of Arms, as the Sovereign’s Minister in matters armorial, is at once Herald, the Scottish equivalent of an English baron is a Lord of Parliament. Statutes of 1592 and the Baronetcy Warrants of King Charles I show the non-peerage Table of Precedence as, Baronets, Knights, Barons and Lairds, Esquire and Gentlemen. A General Register of Sasines was set up by Statute in 1617, with entry in the Register giving the right, after so many years. The individual who owned the piece of land containing the caput was hence the Baron or Baroness. Uncertainty over armorial right was removed by the Lyon Register being set up by Statute in 1672, up until 1874 each new Baron was confirmed in his Barony by the Crown by Charter of Confirmation. Up until 28 November 2004 a Barony was an estate of land held directly of the Crown, or the Prince and Great Steward of Scotland. It was an element of a barony title that there existed a Crown Charter erecting the land into a Barony. Often the original Charter was later lost, however an Official Extract has the legal status as the original Charter. In 1999 the devolved Scottish Parliament was established, and Private law measures can now be passed at Holyrood, using a prescriptive feudal grant allowed developers to impose perpetual conditions affecting the land. The courts became willing to accept the validity of such obligations, in practical and commercial terms, these real burdens were like English leasehold tenure. The first Scottish Executive was committed to abolishing the anachronism of the feudal system, on 28 November 2004 the Abolition of Feudal Tenure etc. Act 2000 came into force and effect, putting an end to Scotlands feudal system. After 28 November 2004 under Scots law, a Scottish Barony, prior to the Act coming into effect, Scottish Feudal Baronies were the only genuine title of UK nobility capable of being transferred following the sale of land containing a caput
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Laird
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Laird is a generic name for the owner of a large, long-named Scottish estate, roughly equivalent to an esquire in England, yet ranking above the same in Scotland. In the Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranks below a baron and this rank is only held by those lairds holding official recognition in a territorial designation by the Lord Lyon King of Arms. They are usually styled of, and are entitled to place The Much Honoured before their name. g. THE HOLDER IS THE LORD OF THE MANOR/LAIRD OF and it is a description rather than a title, and is not appropriate for the owner of a normal residential property, far less the owner of a small souvenir plot of land. It goes without saying that the term ‘laird’ is not synonymous with that of ‘lord’ or ‘lady’, ownership of a souvenir plot of land is not sufficient to bring a person otherwise ineligible within the jurisdiction of the Lord Lyon for the purpose of seeking a Grant of Arms. Historically, the bonnet laird was applied to rural, petty landowners. Bonnet lairds filled a position in society below lairds and above husbandmen, the word laird is known to have been used from the 15th century, and is a shortened form of laverd, derived from the Old English word hlafweard meaning warden of loaves. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the designation was used for land owners holding directly of the Crown, lairds reigned over their estates like princes, their castles forming a small court. Originally in the 16th and 17th centuries, the designation was applied to the chief of a highland clan. The laird may possess certain local or feudal rights, a certain level of landownership was a necessary qualification. A laird is said to hold a lairdship, a woman who holds a lairdship in her own right has been styled with the honorific Lady. Although laird is sometimes translated as lord and historically signifies the same, the designation is a corporeal hereditament, i. e. the designation cannot be held in gross, and cannot be bought and sold without selling the physical land. A laird possessing a Coat of Arms registered in the Public Register of All Arms, several websites, and internet vendors on websites like Ebay, sell Scottish lairdships along with small plots of land. They see their contract purporting to sell a plot of Scottish souvenir land as bestowing them the right to the title Laird. This is despite the fact that the buyer does not acquire ownership of the plot because registration of the plot is prohibited by Land Registration Act 2012, s 22. While tolerating public access, he feels threatened by new legislation, traditionally, a laird is formally styled in the manner evident on the 1730 tombstone in a Scottish churchyard. It reads, The Much Honoured Laird of, the section titled Scottish Feudal Baronies in Debretts states that the use of the prefix The Much Hon. is correct, but that most lairds prefer the unadorned name and territorial designation. By the early 20th century, the wife came to adopt her husbands full surname
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Gentleman
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In modern parlance, the term gentleman refers to any man of good, courteous conduct. It may also refer to all men collectively, as in indications of gender-separated facilities, the modern female equivalent is lady. In its original meaning, the term denoted a man of the lowest rank of the English gentry, standing below an esquire, in this sense, the word equates with the French gentilhomme, which latter term has been, in Great Britain, long confined to the peerage. Maurice Keen points to the category of gentlemen in this context as thus constituting the nearest contemporary English equivalent of the noblesse of France, by social courtesy the designation came to include any well-educated man of good family and distinction, analogous to the Latin generosus. To a degree, gentleman came to signify a man with a derived from property, a legacy, or some other source. The term was used of those who could not claim any other title or even the rank of esquire. Widening further, it became a politeness for all men, as in the phrase Ladies, chaucer, in the Meliboeus, says, Certes he sholde not be called a gentil man, that. For no creation could make a man of blood than he is. The word gentleman, used in the wide sense with which birth, William Harrison, writing in the late 1500s, says, gentlemen be those whom their race and blood, or at the least their virtues, do make noble and known. Being called also to the wars what soever it cost him, he will both array and arm himself accordingly, and show the more manly courage, and all the tokens of the person which he representeth. No man hath hurt by it but himself, who peradventure will go in wider buskins than his legs will bear, or as our proverb saith, now and then bear a bigger sail than his boat is able to sustain. In this way, Shakespeare himself was demonstrated, by the grant of his coat of arms, to be no vagabond, the inseparability of arms and gentility is shown by two of his characters, Petruchio, I swear Ill cuff you if you strike again. Katharine, So may you lose your arms, If you strike me, you are no gentleman, And if no gentleman, however, although only a gentleman could have a coat of arms, the coat of arms recognised rather than created the status. Thus, all armigers were gentlemen, but not all gentlemen were armigers, hence, Henry V, act IV, scene iii, For he today that sheds his blood with me Shall be my brother, be he neer so vile, This day shall gentle his condition. And gentlemen in England now abed Shall think themselves accursd they were not here And hold their manhoods cheap whilst any speaks That fought with us upon St. Crispins Day. At the last, the wearing of a sword on all occasions was the outward and visible sign of a gentleman, the custom survives in the sword worn with court dress. The suggestion is discredited by an examination, in England, of the records of the High Court of Chivalry and, in Scotland, the Far East held similar ideas to the West of what a gentleman is, which are based on Confucian principles. The term Jūnzǐ is a crucial to classical Confucianism
