Branwen is the name of a character in some versions of Tristan and Iseult. Branwen, Daughter of Llŷr is a major character in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi, sometimes called the "Mabinogi of Branwen" after her. Branwen is a daughter of Penarddun, she is married to Matholwch, King of Ireland. The story opens with Branwen's brother, Brân the Blessed and King of Britain, sitting on a rock by the sea at Harlech and seeing the vessels of Matholwch, King of Ireland, approaching. Matholwch has come to ask for the hand of Branwen in marriage. Brân agrees to this, a feast is held to celebrate the betrothal. During the feast, Efnysien, a half-brother of Branwen and Brân, arrives at the stables and asks of the nature of the celebration. On being told, he is furious that his half sister has been given in marriage without his consent, flying into a rage he mutilates the horses belonging to the Irish. Matholwch is offended, but conciliated by Brân, who gives him a magical cauldron which can bring the dead to life.

When Matholwch returns to Ireland with his new bride, he consults with his nobles about the occurrences in the Isle of the Mighty. They are outraged and believe that Matholwch was not compensated enough for the mutilation of his horses. In order to redeem his honor, Matholwch banishes Branwen to work in the kitchens. Branwen is treated cruelly by her husband Matholwch as punishment for Efnysien's mutilation of the horses, though not before she gives birth to an heir, Gwern, she tames a starling and sends it across the Irish Sea with a message to her brother and Brân brings a force from Wales to Ireland to rescue her. Some swineherds see the giant Brân wading the sea and report this to Matholwch, who retreats beyond a river and destroys the bridges. However, Brân lays himself down over the river to serve as a bridge for his men, he said. Matholwch, fearing war, tries to reconcile with Brân by building a house big enough for him to fit into in order to do him honour. Matholwch agrees to pacify Brân.

The Irish lords do not like the idea, many hide themselves in flour bags tied to the pillars of the huge, newly-built house to attack the Welsh. Efnysien, inspecting the house prior to the arrival of Brân and his men, uncovers the men hidden in the bags and kills them all by crushing their heads one by one. At the subsequent feast to celebrate Gwern's investiture as King of Ireland, Efnysien, in an unprovoked moment of rage, throws his nephew Gwern into the fire; this causes chaos between the two countries, they start fighting each other. The Irish forces at first appear to be losing, but by resurrecting their dead soldiers using the magical cauldron begin to win the battle. However, Efnisien sees what he has done, regrets it. Disguised as a dead Irish soldier he is thrown into the magical cauldron, pushes against its walls so that it breaks into four pieces. Efnisien dies in the attempt; the war is still bloody, leaves no survivors except for Branwen and seven Welsh soldiers. They sail home to Wales.

Upon reaching Wales, they realize that Bran has been hit by a poisoned arrow to his leg, he dies. Branwen, overwhelmed with grief for everyone she has lost, dies of a broken heart. In the ensuing war, all the Irish are killed save for five pregnant women who lived in Wales who repopulate the island, while only seven of the Welsh survive to return home with Branwen, taking with them the severed head of Bendigeidfran. On landing in Wales at Aber Alaw in Anglesey, Branwen dies of grief that so much destruction had been caused on her account, crying, Oi, a fab Duw! Gwae fi o'm genedigaeth. Da o ddwy ynys a ddiffeithwyd o'm hachos i!, "Oh Son of God, woe to me that I was born! Two fair islands have been laid waste because of me!" She was buried beside the Afon Alaw. Brân had commanded his men to cut off his head and to "bear it unto the White Mount, in London, bury it there, with the face towards France." And so for seven years, his men spent feasting in Harlech, accompanied by three singing birds and Brân's head.

After the seven years they go to Gwales in Penfro. They go to London and bury the head of Brân in the White Mount. Legend said. At Llanddeusant, Anglesey on the banks of the Alaw can be found the cairn called Bedd Branwen, her supposed grave. Now in ruins, it still has one standing stone, it was dug up in 1800, again in the 1960s by Frances Lynch, who found several urns with human ashes. It is believed that if the story of Branwen is based on real events, these must have taken place during the Bedd Branwen Period of Bronze Age British history. Mabinogion The Children of Llyr Medieval Welsh literature Christopher Williams painted three paintings from the Mabinogion. Brânwen can be viewed at Swansea. Branwen Ferch Lyr. Ed. Derick S. Thomson. Medieval and Modern Welsh Series Vol. II. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976. ISBN 1-85500-059-8 Ford, Patrick K. "Branwen: A Study of the Celtic Affinities," Studia Celtica 22/23: 29-35. In 1994 a feature film was released called Branwen. Branwen Uerch Lŷr: The Second Branch Of The Mabinogi Translated by Lady Charlotte Guest Branwen uerch Lyr The original Welsh text Goddess Branwen Who was Branwen

Hugh le Despenser, 1st Lord Despenser referred to as "the younger Despenser", was the son and heir of Hugh le Despenser, Earl of Winchester by his wife Isabella de Beauchamp, daughter of William de Beauchamp, 9th Earl of Warwick. He rose to national prominence as a favourite of Edward II of England. Despenser made many enemies across the nobility of England which, after the overthrow of Edward led to him being charged with high treason and hanged and quartered. Hugh le Despenser the Younger rose to become Chamberlain and a close advisor to King Edward II, much as Despenser the Elder had been. Despenser the Younger claimed the Lordship of Glamorgan in 1317 through his wife Eleanor de Clare, he accumulated more lands in the Welsh Marches and in England. At various points he was a knight of Hanley Castle in Worcestershire, Constable of Odiham Castle, the Keeper of Bristol Castle, Portchester Castle and Dryslwyn Castle plus their respective towns, the region of Cantref Mawr in Carmarthenshire, he was Keeper of the castles and lands of Brecknock, Cantref Selyf, etc. in County Brecon, Huntington, Herefordshire in England.

He was additionally given Wallingford Castle in Berkshire, despite this having been given to Queen Isabella of France for life. In May 1306 Despenser was knighted at the Feast of the Swans alongside Prince Edward, in that summer he married Eleanor de Clare, daughter of powerful noble Gilbert de Clare, Joan of Acre. Eleanor's grandfather, Edward I, had owed the elder Despenser 2,000 marks, a debt which the marriage settled; when Eleanor's brother, was killed in 1314 at the Battle of Bannockburn, she unexpectedly became one of the three co-heiresses to the rich Gloucester earldom, in her right, Hugh inherited Glamorgan and other properties. In just a few years Hugh went from a landless knight to one of the wealthiest magnates in the kingdom. Eleanor was the niece of the new king, Edward II of England, this connection brought Despenser closer to the English royal court, he joined the baronial opposition to the king's favourite. Eager for power and wealth, Despenser seized Tonbridge Castle in 1315, after his brother-in-law's death under the misapprehension that it belonged to his mother-in-law.

In 1318 he murdered a Welsh hostage in his custody. Eleanor and Hugh had nine children who survived infancy: Hugh le Despencer, Baron Le Despencer, summoned to Parliament in 1338. At his death without issue, his nephew Edward, son of his brother Edward, was created Baron Le Despencer in 1357. Gilbert le Despenser. Edward le Despenser, killed at the siege of Vannes. Isabel le Despenser, Countess of Arundel, married, as his 1st wife, Richard Fitzalan, 10th Earl of Arundel; the marriage was annulled and their child, was disinherited. John le Despenser. Eleanor le Despenser, nun at Sempringham Priory Joan le Despenser, nun at Shaftesbury Abbey Margaret le Despenser, nun at Whatton Priory Elizabeth le Despenser, married Maurice de Berkeley, 4th Baron Berkeley. Despenser became royal chamberlain in 1318; as a royal courtier, Despenser manoeuvred into the affections of King Edward, displacing the previous favourite, Roger d'Amory. This came much to the dismay of the baronage as they saw him both taking their rightful places at court at best, at worst being the new, worse Gaveston.

By 1320 his greed was running free. He supposedly vowed revenge on Roger Mortimer, because Mortimer's grandfather had killed his own. By 1321 he had earned many enemies in every stratum of society, from Queen Isabella in France, to the barons, to the common people. There was a plot to kill Despenser by sticking his wax likeness with pins; the barons took action against King Edward and, at the beseeching of Queen Isabella, forced Despenser and his father into exile in August 1321. However, Edward's intent to summon them back to England was no secret; the king rallied support after an attack against Isabella's party at Leeds Castle, an event orchestrated. Early in the following year, with Mortimer's barons busy putting down uprisings in their lands, the Despensers were able to return. Edward, with the Despensers backing him once more, was able to crush the rebellion, securing first Mortimer's surrender and that of Lancaster, subsequently executed. King Edward reinstated Despenser as royal favourite.

The period from the Despensers' return from exile until the end of Edward II's reign was a time of uncertainty in England. With the main baronial opposition leaderless and weak, having been defeated at the Battle of Boroughbridge, Edward willing to let them do as they pleased, the Despensers were left unchecked; this maladministration caused hostile feeling for them and, by extension, Edward II. A year after his surrender and imprisonment, Mortimer escaped to France, where he began organizing a new rebellion. Like his father, the younger Despenser was accused of widespread criminality. Amongst other examples, Despenser seized the Welsh lands of his wife's inheritance while ignoring the claims of his two brothers-in-law, he further cheated his sister-in-law Elizabeth de Clare out of Gower and Usk, forced Alice de Lacy, 4th Countess of Lincoln, to give up her lands to him. He had murdere

Minuscule 317, Nι31, is a Greek minuscule manuscript of the New Testament, on parchment. Palaeographically it has been assigned to the 12th century; the codex contains the text of the John 10:9-21:25 on 352 parchment leaves. The text is written in 29 lines per page; the biblical text is surrounded by a catena. Kurt Aland did not place the Greek text of the codex in any Category; the manuscript belonged to the family of Medicis. It was added to the list of New Testament manuscripts by Scholz, it was described by Paulin Martin. C. R. Gregory saw the manuscript in 1885; the manuscript is housed at the Bibliothèque nationale de France at Paris. List of New Testament minuscules Biblical manuscript Textual criticism Gregory, Caspar René. Textkritik des Neuen Testaments. 1. Leipzig: Hinrichs. P. 179. Minuscule 317 at the Encyclopedia of Textual Criticism

The Adorable Outcast is a 1928 Australian silent film directed by Norman Dawn about an adventurer who romances an island girl. It was one of the most expensive films made in Australia until that time, was Dawn's follow up to For the Term of His Natural Life, it did not perform as well at the box office and helped cause Australasian Films to abandon feature film production. For the American market, the film was retitled Black Cargoes of the South Seas. A young adventurer, Stephen Conn is in love with Luya. An evil blackbirder Fursey kidnaps Luya to get hands on some gold, but Stephen rescues her with the help of Luya's tribe; when it is revealed that Luya's parents were white and Stephen are married. Edith Roberts as Luya Edmund Burns as Stephen Conn Walter Long as Fursey Jessica Harcourt as Diedre Rose John Gavin as Carberry Katherine Dawn as Elizabeth Arthur McLaglen as Iron Devil Arthur Tauchert as Mack Fred Twitcham as Sir John Blackberry Compton Coutts as Pooch William O'Hanlon as pearler Claude Turton as pearler The big-budget film was shot on location in Fiji from April to June 1927, with some studio work done at Bondi Junction in Sydney.

The three leads, Edith Roberts, Edmund Burns and Walter Long, were all established Hollywood actors. The film performed at the box office but soon tailed off, expected overseas success did not eventuate, it was estimated the combined losses of this and Norman Dawn's earlier film, For the Term of His Natural Life came to £30,000. It was released in the US as Black Cargoes of the South Seas. Fifteen minutes of the film are in the possession of Australia's National Sound Archive; the Adorable Outcast on IMDb The Adorable Outcast at National Film and Sound Archive

Lady Diana Beauclerk was an English noblewoman and artist. She was born into the Spencer family as the daughter of Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough and the Honourable Elizabeth Trevor, her siblings were George and Elizabeth. She was raised at Langley Park, where she was introduced to art at an early age. Joshua Reynolds, an artist, was a family friend, she married Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke in 1757. From 1762–1768 she was Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte, she became known as'Lady Di'. She had four children during this first marriage: George St John, 3rd Viscount Bolingbroke Henriette St John 1 Aug 1762 who married in 1792 Henry Towcester Anne Frederick St John This marriage was unhappy and her husband was notoriously unfaithful. In February 1768 he petitioned for divorce on grounds of adultery; the petition required an act of parliament, passed the next month. Within two days she married Topham Beauclerk of Old Windsor, they had three children: Elisabeth Beauclerk, married her cousin George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke Mary Day Beauclerk, twin of Elisabeth.

She famously had a long-term relationship with her own half-brother Bolingbroke, had four sons by him. After he abandoned her, she married 1797 Franz Raugraf Jenison von Walworth, a German count of English parentage, had legitimate issue 2 sons and four daughters.. Charles George Beauclerk, M. P. for Richmond, in 1799 he married Emily Charlotte Ogilvie, daughter of Emily Mary Lennox, Duchess of Leinster, by second husband, William Ogilvie. Their circle of friends included Samuel Johnson, Georgiana Cavendish — who maintained a glittering salon — Edward Gibbon, David Garrick, Charles Fox, James Boswell and Edmund Burke. Fanny Burney recorded in her diary the feelings of Edmund Burke about Lady Diana after the death of Topham Beauclerk: From the window of the dining-parlour, Sir Joshua directed us to look at a pretty white house which belonged to Lady Di. Beauclerk. "I am glad," said Mr. Burke, "to see her at last so well housed. I never, myself, so much enjoyed the sight of happiness in another, as in that woman when I first saw her after the death of her husband.

It was enlivening to behold her placed in that sweet house, released from all her cares, a thousand pounds a year at her own disposal,and — her husband was dead! Oh, it was pleasant, it was delightful to see her enjoyment of her situation!" "But, without considering the circumstances" said Mr. Gibbon, "this may appear strange, when they are stated, it is rational and unavoidable." "Very true," said Mr. Burke, "if the circumstances are not considered, Lady Di. may seem reprehensible." He addressing himself to me, as the person least to be acquainted with the character of Mr. Beauclerk, drew it himself in strong and marked expressions, describing the misery he gave his wife, his singular ill-treatment of her, the necessary relief the death of such a man must give. On the other hand, James Boswell records that Samuel Johnson said of her, "The woman's a whore and there's an end on't." Beauclerk illustrated a number of literary productions, including Horace Walpole's tragedy The Mysterious Mother, the English translation of Gottfried August Bürger's Leonora and The Fables of John Dryden.

After 1785 she was one of a circle of women, along with Emma Crewe and Elizabeth Templetown, whose designs for Josiah Wedgwood were made into bas-reliefs on jasper ornaments. Her second husband died in 1780 and, due to restricted finances, she began to lead a more retired life, she was buried in Richmond. In the mid-1990s a portrait of her hung in Kenwood House, on Hampstead Heath in London, with the caption: "Lady Diana Spencer, known chiefly for the unhappiness of her first marriage." Surtees, Virginia.'Beauclerk, Lady Diana.' in Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Ed. H. C. G. Matthew and Brian Harrison. Oxford: OUP, 2004. 8 May 2007. Erskine, Beatrice. Lady Diana Beauclerk, her life and her work. Hicks, Carola. Improper Pursuits: The Scandalous Life of an Earlier Lady Diana Spencer. Editors Delia Gaze, Maja Mihajlovic, Leanda Shrimpton. Entry at Dictionary of Women Artists: Artists. Taylor & Francis, 1997. *Kim Sloan. A Noble Art: Amateur Artists and Drawing Masters, C.1600-1800'. British Museum Press, 2000.

Lady Diana Beauclerk on Artnet Three children, seated in a landscape, with a basket of wild flowers British Museum collection of 73 works

Vice-Admiral Taj Muhammad Khattak, HI. SI, SJ, is a retired three-star rank admiral in the Pakistan Navy and a defence analyst, writing columns in the political correspondent, News International. In addition, he served as chairman of the Port Qasim Authority from 2002 until 2005, while serving in active duty with the Navy. Taj Muhammad Khattak was born in Montgomery, now Sahiwal, Punjab in Pakistan into a Punjabi-Pathan family on 20 February 1948. After his matriculation, he attended the Cadet College in Hasan Abdal and joined the Pakistan Navy in 1965 as Sub-Lieutenant, he participated well in the second war with India in 1965, went to trained with the Royal Navy to complete his military training, specialized in the navigation. In 1969, the Military Academy in Kakul awarded him the Sword of Honour for the best graduates of the academy. In 1969-70, Lt Khattak was posted in East-Pakistan, joining the crew of PNS Jessor, a gunboat, served in the Naaf River that located in the East Pakistan–Burma border.

He participated in the military operation in Barisal, notably securing the Biharis who were loyal to Pakistan. In 1971, Lt. Khattak became the commanding officer of the PNS Jessor, the gunboat and fighting in the Khulna-Mangla-Barisal sector during the civil war in East Pakistan. After the surrendering of the Eastern Command in 1971, Lt. Khattak was taken war prisoner by the Indian Army and held in India for two years, his efforts and action of valor won him the praise from the government, was honoured with Sitara-i-Jurat in 1971 in his absence. Cdr Khattak served as a commanding officer in the surface warship command, commanding various warships during his career in 1970s. Upon his repatriated to Pakistan in 1973, was directed to attend the National Defence University in Islamabad where he attained MSc. in Strategic studies. In 1990, Commodore Khattak was appointed Naval Secretary at the Navy NHQ, working under Chief of Naval Staff Admiral SM Khan, his staff appointments included his appointment at the Ministry of Ports and Shipping as an additional secretary, as well as director-general at the Ministry of Communications in 1990s.

In 1997, he was promoted as two-star rank admiral, subsequently moved in the Navy NHQ, to be appointed as DCNS, DCNS in 1998–99. In 1999, Rear-Admiral Khattak was appointed as Flag Officer Sea Training in the Navy and elevated as a senior fleet commander in 2000-2001. In 2002, he was promoted to three-star rank, Vice-Admiral, while serving as the senior fleet commander, Commander Pakistan Fleet. On 26 June 2002, Vice-Admiral Khattak was appointed as Vice Chief of Naval Staff with an immediate effect. Shortly, after his appointment, the Government of Pakistan announced to promote Vice-Admiral Shahid Karimullah as a four-star admiral in the Navy, subsequently appointing him as Chief of Naval Staff on 3 October 2002; the promotion was controversial. Following the news, Vice-Admiral Khattak was moved as secondment and took over the chairmanship of Port Qasim Authority, which he served until he seek retirement in 2005. After retiring, he became a defence columnist, writing on country's major political correspondents and authoring articles on defence magazines.

Port of Karachi Civil war in East Pakistan Pakistani prisoners of war in India Port Qasim Authority Chairmen