1.
Ynyslas
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Ynyslas is a small Welsh village about 1.5 miles north of Borth and 8 miles north of Aberystwyth, within the county of Ceredigion. It is sandwiched between a sandy beach in Cardigan Bay and the beach in the Dyfi Estuary. The area between the sea and the beach is made up of the Ynyslas Sand Dunes which are part of the Dyfi National Nature Reserve and home to many rare plants. The sands of the beach can be driven onto and parked upon. The nature reserve has a centre with toilets and a small shop. At the start of some BBC1 programmes it shows people flying kites on sand dunes, the northern end of the Ceredigion Coast Path extends to the Dyfi Estuary National Nature Reserve at Ynyslas. The Dyfi National Nature Reserve and the Ynyslas Sand Dunes are situated where mouth of Afon Leri joins the Dyfi Estuary at Ynyslas, cors Fochno is situated to the east beyond the Afon Leri. At low tide the remains of an ancient submerged forest with stumps of petrified oak, pine, birch, willow, from 1867 Ynyslas had a railway station on the Cambrian Railways, with sidings serving the riverside wharves. The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway proposed to create a line to the wharves in the 1890s. Ynyslas railway station was closed by the London Midland Region of British Railways on 14 June 1965, Borth Rowing Club stores its boat at, and launches from the Ynyslas Boatyard on the banks of the Afon Leri. The 18 hole golf course at the Borth & Ynyslas Golf Club stretches from Borth to Ynyslas, the beach is ideal for windsurfing, surfing and kiting both on the seafront and in the estuary. Ynyslas was the home of the Aberystwyth Beach Cricket Society, under the name the Ynyslas Oval
2.
Welsh mythology
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Welsh mythology consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. Like most predominately oral societies found in the prehistoric Britain, Welsh mythology and this oral record has been lost or altered as result of outside contact and invasion over the years. The only character to appear in every branch is Pryderi fab Pwyll, the king of Dyfed, who is born in the first Branch, is killed in the fourth, and is probably a reflex of the Celtic god Maponos. The only other recurring characters are Pryderis mother Rhiannon, associated with the peaceful British prince Manawydan and he manages to win her hand at the expense of Gwawl, to whom she is betrothed, and she bears him a son, but the child disappears soon after his birth. Rhiannon is accused of killing him and forced to carry guests on her back as punishment. The child has been taken by a monster, and is rescued by Teyrnon and his wife and they return him to his real parents, Rhiannon is released from her punishment, and the boy is renamed Pryderi. In the second branch, Branwen, sister of Brân the Blessed, king of Britain, is given in marriage to Matholwch, Matholwch and Branwen have a son, Gwern, but Matholwch proceeds to mistreat Branwen, beating her and making her a drudge. Branwen trains a starling to take a message to Bran, who goes to war against Matholwch and his army crosses the Irish Sea in ships, but Brân is so huge he wades across. The Irish offer to make peace, and build a big enough to entertain Bran, but inside they hang a hundred bags, telling Efnysien they contain flour. Efnysien kills the warriors by squeezing the bags, later, at the feast, Efnysien throws Gwern on the fire and fighting breaks out. Seeing that the Irish are using the cauldron to revive their dead, Efnysien hides among the corpses and destroys the cauldron, only seven men, all Britons, survive the battle, including Pryderi, Manawyddan and Bran, who is mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. Brân asks his companions to cut off his head and take it back to Britain, Branwen dies of grief on returning home. Five pregnant women survive to repopulate Ireland, Pryderi and Manawydan return to Dyfed, where Pryderi marries Cigfa and Manawydan marries Rhiannon. However, a mist descends on the land, leaving it empty, eventually they return to Dyfed and become hunters again. While hunting, a white boar leads them to a mysterious castle, Pryderi, against Manawydans advice, goes inside, but does not return. Rhiannon goes to investigate and finds him clinging to a bowl, the same fate befalls her, and the castle disappears. Manawydan and Cigfa return to England as shoemakers, but once again the locals drive them out and they sow three fields of wheat, but the first field is destroyed before it can be harvested. The next night the field is destroyed
3.
Ramsey Island
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Ramsey Island is an island about 1 km off the coast of the St Davids peninsula in Pembrokeshire on the northern side of St Brides Bay, in southwest Wales. In Welsh the island is named after Saint David, the saint of Wales. It was the home of his confessor, Saint Justinian, the nearest town, strictly a city, is St Davids. Ramsey Island is less than 3.2 km long and its highest point is 136 metres above sea level at Carnllundain and it is the fourth largest island in Wales, after Anglesey, Holy Island and Skomer. The island has a diverse geology for a small area, it comprises sedimentary, volcanic. The larger part of the north of the island is formed from mudstones of the Tetragraptus Mudstone Formation, however Carnysgubor stands proud to their west as it is formed from a more resistant microtonalite intrusion. The rock strata are typically steeply tilted and commonly faulted, running NW–SE across the centre of the island from Aber Mawr to the vicinity of The Bitches is a band of late Arenig age tuffs and pencil slates assigned to the Abermawr Formation. Its boundary with the sediments to the north is a fault, the south of the island is dominated by a rhyolite intrusion as are the islets off its southern coast. To the west of the Ramsey Fault which runs from Aber Mawr to Porth Lleuog, is Carnllundain which is formed from the tough rhyolitic tuffs of the Carn Llundain Formation and these tuffs arose as volcanic ash falls, ash flows and turbidite deposits. Smaller areas of grey mudstones interbedded with debris flows grouped together as the Porth Llauog Formation occur around the margins of the rhyolite. Part of the margin of the inlet of Aber Mawr is characterised by the mudstones and sandstones of the Trwyn Llundain Formation. The waters around the island have significant tidal effects, and tidal waterfalls occur between The Bitches, the asymmetrical underwater flow can be 3.8 m/s northward and 1.9 m/s southward, with some turbulence. The sound reaches some 66 metres deep, although a tidal island called Horse Rock protrudes from the water at low tide, a 400 kW tidal power turbine project was planned from 2014 and the first turbine of three was installed in December 2015. Owned and managed by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Ramsey has the most important grey seal breeding colony in southern Britain, with over 400 seal pups born each autumn. It is one of the best sites in Wales to see choughs, other breeding species include ravens, common buzzards, peregrines, northern wheatears, gulls, auks, Manx shearwaters, razorbills and guillemots. With a permanent population of just two human residents, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Warden and Assistant Warden who live in a farmhouse there, the island is otherwise uninhabited. Tourist boats sail around the island and a service run by Thousand Islands Expeditions operates from Easter-31 October from Saint Justinians RNLI lifeboat station on the mainland
4.
Bardsey Island
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Bardsey Island, known as the legendary Island of 20,000 Saints, lies 1.9 miles off the Llŷn Peninsula in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. The Welsh name means The Island in the Currents, although its English name refers to the Island of the Bards, or possibly the island of the Viking chieftain, Bardsey is 0.6 miles wide,1.0 mile long and 179 hectares in area. The north east rises steeply from the sea to a height of 548 feet at Mynydd Enlli, to the south the island narrows to an isthmus, connecting to a peninsula on which the lighthouse stands. Since 1974 it has included in the community of Aberdaron. It is the fourth largest offshore island in Wales, the island has been an important religious site since Saint Cadfan built a monastery in 516. In medieval times it was a centre of pilgrimage and, by 1212. The monastery was dissolved and its buildings demolished by Henry VIII in 1537, Bardsey Island is now as famous for its wildlife and rugged scenery. A bird observatory was established in 1953, largely due to the position on important migration routes. It is of European importance, cited as a place for Manx shearwaters and choughs, its rare plants. It is one of the best places in Gwynedd to see seals. It has inspired award-winning literature, and attracted internationally renowned singers, like the western and northern parts of nearby Llŷn the island is formed from rocks of the late Precambrian Gwna Group, itself a part of the Monian Supergroup. Blocks of sheared granite within this melange are visible in the coastal cliffs of the island. Elsewhere clasts of quartzite, limestone, sandstone, mudstone, jasper, the deposit is interpreted as an olistostrome, a giant underwater landslide possibly triggered by an earthquake some time after 614 million years ago. A dolerite dyke of Ordovician age intrudes the melange at Trwyn y Gorlech in the north whilst an olivine dolerite dyke of Tertiary age is seen at Cafn Enlli in the southeast, further dykes occur in the cliffs at Ogof y Gaseg and at Ogof Hir. A thin spread of glacial till stretches across the centre of the island, there is a small patch of blown sand at Porth Solfach on the west coast and a landslip at Briw Cerrig at the foot of the cliffs on the east coast. The island was inhabited in Neolithic times, and traces of hut circles remain, during the 5th century, the island became a refuge for persecuted Christians, and a small monastery existed. Around 516, Saint Einion, king of Llyn, invited the Breton Saint Cadfan to move to the island from his first residence in Tywyn, under Cadfans guidance, St Marys Abbey was built. For centuries, the island was important as the place of burial for all the bravest and best in the land
5.
Cardigan Bay
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Cardigan Bay is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales, Cardigan Bay has numerous beaches, and a unique marine life. Smaller coastal villages include Cwmtydu, Nanternis and Llangrannog, major rivers flowing into the bay include the Afon Glaslyn, Teifi, Rheidol, Dyfi, Aeron, Dysynni, and Mawddach. Until the early 20th century, Cardigan Bay supported a strong maritime industry. Cardigan is located at the mouth of the River Teifi – hence the Welsh name, Aberteifi, and at the turn of the 19th century, at this time more than 300 ships were registered at Cardigan—seven times as many as Cardiff, and three times as many as Swansea. The central and northern areas of the Bay are the location of the legendary Cantrer Gwaelod, due to climate change and rising sea levels, the forest was buried under layers of peat, sand and saltwater. The Cardigan Bay Special Area of Conservation was set up to preserve the wildlife in the area. Other mammals, such as whales, Rissos dolphins and common dolphins, together with many species of sea birds, such as puffin. Since the late 1990s and early 2000s, the Bay has been invaded by spider crabs, not a seafood normally consumed by British people, since 2010 the local fishermen have supplied the Michelin-starred restaurants of Raymond Blanc. A military testing range was first established in Cardigan Bay during the Second World War, the range is controlled from a main operating base located near Aberporth, known as MOD Aberporth. Historically, the Range has played a significant part in the development, today the Ministry of Defence range within Cardigan Bay provides a large secure safety area for the testing of air launched weapons and unmanned aerial systems. The Range is a significant employer in the West Wales area, the staff also work closely with the local communities to foster good relationships, which are vital to ensure the successful operation of the Range. The Range Danger Area covers some 6,500 km2 of Cardigan Bay from sea level to unlimited height, to supplement the safe operation of the Range, there are a number of small outposts located on the edge of Cardigan Bay and the Llŷn Peninsula. These outposts contain equipment that enables the Range to effectively assess the performance of weapons, qinetiq operates the Cardigan Bay/Aberporth Range on behalf of the MOD under the terms of a Long Term Partnering Agreement. The purpose of the agreement is to deliver defence test, evaluation and training services to ensure air launched weapon systems, associated sub-systems and UAS are safe
6.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
7.
Atlantis
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In the story, Athens repels the Atlantean attack unlike any other nation of the known world, supposedly giving testament to the superiority of Platos concept of a state. At the end of the story, Atlantis eventually falls out of favor with the gods, despite its minor importance in Platos work, the Atlantis story has had a considerable impact on literature. The allegorical aspect of Atlantis was taken up in works of several Renaissance writers, such as Francis Bacons New Atlantis. On the other hand, 19th-century amateur scholars misinterpreted Platos account as historical tradition, most notably in Ignatius L. Donnellys Atlantis, The Antediluvian World. As a consequence, Atlantis has become a byword for any and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations and continues to inspire contemporary fiction, while present-day philologists and historians accept the storys fictional character, there is still debate on what served as its inspiration. Platos dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written in 360 BC, contain the earliest references to Atlantis, for unknown reasons, Plato never completed Critias. Now in this island of Atlantis there existed a confederation of kings, of great and marvelous power, which held sway over all the island, and over many other islands also and parts of the continent. The four people appearing in those two dialogues are the politicians Critias and Hermocrates as well as the philosophers Socrates and Timaeus of Locri, in his works Plato makes extensive use of the Socratic method in order to discuss contrary positions within the context of a supposition. The Timaeus begins with an introduction, followed by an account of the creations and structure of the universe and ancient civilizations. In the introduction, Socrates muses about the society, described in Platos Republic. Critias mentions a historical tale that would make the perfect example. In his account, ancient Athens seems to represent the perfect society and Atlantis its opponent, representing the very antithesis of the perfect traits described in the Republic. According to Critias, the Hellenic gods of old divided the land so that each god might have their own lot, Poseidon was appropriately, and to his liking, bequeathed the island of Atlantis. The island was larger than Ancient Libya and Asia Minor combined, fifty stadia from the coast was a mountain that was low on all sides. Broke it off all round about, the central island itself was five stades in diameter. In Platos myth, Poseidon fell in love with Cleito, the daughter of Evenor and Leucippe, who bore him five pairs of male twins. The eldest of these, Atlas, was made king of the entire island and the ocean, and was given the mountain of his birth. Atlass twin Gadeirus, or Eumelus in Greek, was given the extremity of the island towards the pillars of Hercules
8.
Cardigan, Ceredigion
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Cardigan is a town in the county of Ceredigion in Wales. It lies on a reach of the River Teifi at the point where Ceredigion meets Pembrokeshire. It was the county town of the county of Cardiganshire and is the second largest town in present-day Ceredigion. The settlement at Cardigan was developed around the Norman castle built in the late 11th or early 12th century, the castle was the location of the first National Eisteddfod in 1176, it underwent restoration in 2014. The town became an important port in the 18th century, the population in 2001 was 4,203, reducing slightly to 4,184 at the 2011 Census. Modern Cardigan is a compact and busy town with most facilities for retail, education, health, worship, Cardigan is an anglicisation of the Welsh Ceredigion, the surrounding territory its Norman castle once controlled. Ceredig was supposedly one of the sons of Cunedda Wledig, who Welsh legend records invaded from the north to recover lands in Roman Britain from invading Irishmen in late antiquity. The nearest known Roman forts were at Loventium and Bremia at the mines near Llanio above the River Teifi on the Sarn Helen road. The present town grew up near the forts established to control the access of the Teifi. A castle was built by Roger de Montgomery in 1093 after a Norman army conquered Ceredigion, the town itself held out until 1164. Rhys ap Gruffydd fortified the town and was credited with the establishment of the castle near the bridge over the Teifi, in 1176, he instituted the first eisteddfod. Contestants came from all over the British Isles to compete for chairs in music, lord Rhys grandson Maelgwn razed the castle and sacked the town. In 1199 the town received its first charter and became an important trade centre, in 1227 a weekly market was established which continues to this day. Welsh rule over Cardigan continued, for periods under royal lordship. The town wall was built in the 1240s and the castle was rebuilt, St Marys Church was established as a Benedictine Priory and parish church in mediaeval times and survived the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The castle ceased being the centre of the county with the Act of Union in 1536. Until the 16th century, Cardigan had been a small, walled town with river traffic. A small Benedictine priory operated until the Reformation and the important abbey of St Dogmaels was also nearby
9.
Black Book of Carmarthen
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The Black Book of Carmarthen is thought to be the earliest surviving manuscript written solely in Welsh. It is currently part of the collection of the National Library of Wales and it is believed that the manuscript is first recorded when it came into the possession of Sir John Price of Brecon, whose work was to search the monasteries dissolved by Henry VIII. It was given to him by the treasurer of St Davids Cathedral, Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin was described by William Forbes Skene as one of the Four Ancient Books of Wales. Written before 1250, the manuscript is a small, incomplete, vellum codex of 54 folios in eight gatherings, the opening folios, written in a large textura on alternating ruled lines, are followed by folios in a much smaller, cramped script. One of the poems, The Elegy of Gereint son of Erbin, refers to the Battle of Llongborth, the location of which can no longer be pinpointed, in 2002, it was announced that the Black Book had been scanned, and made available online. In 2014 it was suggested an interactive display about the book could be created in Carmarthens St Peters Church, in March 2015, University of Cambridge Professor Paul Russell and Ph. D. Jarman, A. O. H. Llyfr Du Caerfyrddin, a diplomatic edition of the original text. An introduction with translations of some of the poems, accompanied by corresponding reproductions of the J Evans diplomatic text, the Black Book of Carmarthen at the National Library of Wales. Gives access to images of Peniarth MS1. The Black Book of Carmarthen at the Celtic Literature Collective, uses Skenes incomplete and inaccurate translation from 1848. Full list of poems with translations at the Celtic Literature Collective, the diplomatic edition of the complete MS
10.
Hen Ogledd
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Yr Hen Ogledd, in English the Old North, is the region of Northern England and the southern Scottish Lowlands inhabited by the Celtic Britons of sub-Roman Britain and the Early Middle Ages. Its denizens spoke a variety of the Brittonic language known as Cumbric, smaller kingdoms or districts included Aeron, Calchfynydd, Eidyn, Lleuddiniawn, and Manaw Gododdin, the latter three were evidently parts of Gododdin. The Angle kingdoms of Deira and Bernicia both had Brittonic-derived names, suggesting they may have been Brittonic kingdoms in origin, the legacy of the Hen Ogledd remained strong in Wales. Welsh tradition included genealogies of the Gwŷr y Gogledd, or Men of the North, a number of important early Welsh texts were attributed to the Men of the North, such as Taliesin, Aneirin, Myrddin Wyllt, and the Cynfeirdd poets. Heroes of the such as Urien, Owain mab Urien, and Coel Hen and his descendants feature in Welsh poetry. Almost nothing is known of Central Britain before c. By 550, the region was controlled by native Brittonic-speaking peoples except for the coastal areas. To the north were the Picts, themselves also called Manau with the Gaelic kingdom of Dál Riata to the northwest, all of these peoples would play a role in the history of the Old North. From a historical perspective, wars were frequently internecine, and Britons were aggressors as well as defenders, as was true of the Angles, Picts. However, those Welsh stories of the Old North that tell of Briton fighting Anglian have a counterpart, the interests of kingdoms of this era were not restricted to their immediate vicinity. Alliances were not made only within the ethnic groups, nor were enmities restricted to nearby different ethnic groups. An alliance of Britons fought against another alliance of Britons at the Battle of Arfderydd, Áedán mac Gabráin of Dál Riata appears in the Bonedd Gwŷr y Gogledd, a genealogy among the pedigrees of the Men of the North. The Historia Brittonum states that Oswiu, king of Northumbria, married a Briton who may have had some Pictish ancestry, a marriage between the Northumbrian and Pictish royal families would produce the Pictish king Talorgan I. Áedán mac Gabráin fought as an ally of the Britons against the Northumbrians, cadwallon ap Cadfan of the Kingdom of Gwynedd allied with Penda of Mercia to defeat Edwin of Northumbria. Conquest and defeat did not necessarily mean the extirpation of one culture and its replacement by another. For Celtic peoples, this organisation was still in effect hundreds of later, as shown in the Irish Brehon law, the Welsh Laws of Hywel Dda. The Germanic Anglo-Saxon law had different origins, but with many similarities to Celtic law. Like Celtic law, it was based on tradition, without any perceivable debt to the Roman occupation of Britain
11.
17th century
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The 17th century was the century that lasted from January 1,1601, to December 31,1700, in the Gregorian calendar. The greatest military conflicts were the Thirty Years War, the Great Turkish War, in the Islamic world, the Ottoman, Safavid Persian and Mughal empires grew in strength. In Japan, Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo period at the beginning of the century, European politics were dominated by the Kingdom of France of Louis XIV, where royal power was solidified domestically in the civil war of the Fronde. With domestic peace assured, Louis XIV caused the borders of France to be expanded and it was during this century that English monarch became a symbolic figurehead and Parliament was the dominant force in government – a contrast to most of Europe, in particular France. It was also a period of development of culture in general,1600, On February 17 Giordano Bruno is burned at the stake by the Inquisition. 1600, Michael the Brave unifies the three Romanian countries, Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania after the Battle of Șelimbăr from 1599. 1601, Battle of Kinsale, England defeats Irish and Spanish forces at the town of Kinsale, driving the Gaelic aristocracy out of Ireland and destroying the Gaelic clan system. 1601, Michael the Brave, voivode of Wallachia, Moldavia and Transylvania, is assassinated by the order of the Habsburg general Giorgio Basta at Câmpia Turzii, 1601–1603, The Russian famine of 1601–1603 kills perhaps one-third of Russia. 1601, Panembahan Senopati, first king of Mataram, dies and passes rule to his son Panembahan Seda ing Krapyak 1601,1602, Matteo Ricci produces the Map of the Myriad Countries of the World, a world map that will be used throughout East Asia for centuries. 1602, The Portuguese send an expeditionary force from Malacca which succeeded in reimposing a degree of Portuguese control. 1602, The Dutch East India Company is established by merging competing Dutch trading companies and its success contributes to the Dutch Golden Age. 1602, Two emissaries from the Aceh Sultanate visit the Dutch Republic,1603, Elizabeth I of England dies and is succeeded by her cousin King James VI of Scotland, uniting the crowns of Scotland and England. 1603, Tokugawa Ieyasu takes the title of Shogun, establishing the Tokugawa Shogunate and this begins the Edo period, which will last until 1869. 1603–1623, After modernizing his army, Abbas I expands the Persian Empire by capturing territory from the Ottomans,1603, First permanent Dutch trading post is established in Banten, West Java. First successful VOC privateering raid on a Portuguese ship,1604, A second English East India Company voyage commanded by Sir Henry Middleton reaches Ternate, Tidore, Ambon and Banda. 1605, Gunpowder Plot failed in England,1605, The fortresses of Veszprém and Visegrad are retaken by the Ottomans. 1605, February, The VOC in alliance with Hitu prepare to attack a Portuguese fort in Ambon,1605, Panembahan Seda ing Krapyak of Mataram establishes control over Demak, former center of the Demak Sultanate. 1606, Treaty of Vienna ends anti-Habsburg uprising in Royal Hungary,1606, Assassination of Stephen Bocskay of Transylvania
12.
Levee
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A levee, dike, dyke, embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines, the word levee, from the French word levée, is used in American English. It originated in New Orleans a few years after the founding in 1718 and was later adopted by English speakers. The name derives from the trait of the ridges being raised higher than both the channel and the surrounding floodplains. The modern word dike or dyke most likely derives from the Dutch word dijk, the 126 kilometres long Westfriese Omringdijk was completed by 1250, and was formed by connecting existing older dikes. The Roman chronicler Tacitus even mentions that the rebellious Batavi pierced dikes to flood their land, the word dijk originally indicated both the trench and the bank. It is closely related to the English verb to dig, in Anglo-Saxon, the word dic already existed and was pronounced as dick in northern England and as ditch in the south. Similar to Dutch, the English origins of the lie in digging a trench. This practice has meant that the name may be given to either the excavation or the bank, thus Offas Dyke is a combined structure and Car Dyke is a trench though it once had raised banks as well. In the midlands and north of England, and in the United States, a dike is what a ditch is in the south, a property boundary marker or small drainage channel. Where it carries a stream, it may be called a dike as in Rippingale Running Dike. The Weir Dike is a dike in Bourne North Fen, near Twenty and alongside the River Glen. In the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads, a dyke may be a ditch or a narrow artificial channel off a river or broad for access or mooring, some longer dykes being named. In parts of Britain, particularly Scotland, a dyke may be a field wall, Levees can be mainly found along the sea, where dunes are not strong enough, along rivers for protection against high-floods, along lakes or along polders. Furthermore, levees have been built for the purpose of empoldering, the latter can be a controlled inundation by the military or a measure to prevent inundation of a larger area surrounded by levees. Levees have also built as field boundaries and as military defences. More on this type of levee can be found in the article on dry-stone walls, Levees can be permanent earthworks or emergency constructions built hastily in a flood emergency. When such a bank is added on top of an existing levee it is known as a cradge
13.
Sarn Badrig
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Sarn Badrig, also spelled Sarn Padrig, is one of several more or less parallel shingle reefs extending under the sea in Cardigan Bay on the west coast of Wales. The causeway is made of glacial deposits left by receding ice sheets at the end of the last ice age and it is a hazard to shipping. A neighbouring causeway is that of Sarn y Bwch, which is close to Tywyn, another example can be found at Sarn Gynfelyn, which is north of Aberystwyth. In Welsh legend it is one of the dykes which protected the drowned realm of Cantrer Gwaelod, Cantrer Gwaelod Map of Cardigan Bay underwater features Sarn Badrig - St. Patricks Causeway www. geograph. co. uk, photos of Sarn Badrig
14.
Saint Patrick
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Saint Patrick was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the Apostle of Ireland, he is the patron saint of Ireland, along with saints Brigit of Kildare. He is also venerated in the Anglican Communion, the Old Catholic Church and in the Eastern Orthodox Church as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland. The dates of Patricks life cannot be fixed with certainty but there is agreement that he was active as a missionary in Ireland during the second half of the 5th century. He has been generally so regarded ever since, despite evidence of some earlier Christian presence in Ireland, after becoming a cleric, he returned to northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about the places where he worked, by the seventh century, he had already come to be revered as the patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patricks Day is observed on 17 March, the date of his death. It is celebrated inside and outside Ireland as a religious and cultural holiday, in the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, it is also a celebration of Ireland itself. Two Latin works survive which are accepted as having been written by St. Patrick. These are the Declaration and the Letter to the soldiers of Coroticus, the Declaration is the more biographical of the two. In it, Patrick gives an account of his life. Most available details of his life are from subsequent hagiographies and annals, the only name that Patrick uses for himself in his own writings is Pātricius, which gives Old Irish Pátraic and Modern Irish Pádraig, English Patrick and Welsh Padrig. Hagiography records other names he is said to have borne, Magonus appears in the ninth century Historia Brittonum as Maun, descending from British *Magunos, meaning servant-lad. Succetus, which appears in Muirchú moccu Machthenis seventh century Life as Sochet, is identified by Mac Neill as a word of British origin meaning swineherd. The dates of Patricks life are uncertain, there are conflicting regarding the year of his death. His own writings provide no evidence for any dating more precise than the 5th century generally, the Letter to Coroticus implies that the Franks were still pagans at the time of writing, their conversion to Christianity is dated to the period 496–508. The Irish annals for the century date Patricks arrival in Ireland at 432. The date 432 was probably chosen to minimise the contribution of Palladius, who was known to have sent to Ireland in 431
15.
Sluice
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A sluice is a water channel controlled at its head by a gate. A mill race, leet, flume, penstock or lade is a sluice channelling water toward a water mill, the terms sluice, sluice gate, knife gate, and slide gate are used interchangeably in the water and wastewater control industry. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway, Sluice gates commonly control water levels and flow rates in rivers and canals. They are also used in treatment plants and to recover minerals in mining operations. Sluice gate refers to a gate allowing water to flow under it. When a sluice is lowered, water may spill over the top, usually, a mechanism drives the sluice up or down. This may be a simple, hand-operated, chain pulled/lowered, worm drive or rack-and-pinion drive, flap sluice gate A fully automatic type, controlled by the pressure head across it, operation is similar to that of a check valve. It is a gate hinged at the top, when pressure is from one side, the gate is kept closed, a pressure from the other side opens the sluice when a threshold pressure is surpassed. Vertical rising sluice gate A plate sliding in the vertical direction, radial sluice gate A structure, where a small part of a cylindrical surface serves as the gate, supported by radial constructions going through the cylinders radius. On occasion, a counterweight is provided, rising sector sluice gate Also a part of a cylindrical surface, which rests at the bottom of the channel and rises by rotating around its centre. Needle sluice A sluice formed by a number of thin needles held against a solid frame through water pressure as in a needle dam. The gates of a Guillotine lock work in a way similar to a sluice gate, in the mountains of the United States, sluices transported logs from steep hillsides to downslope sawmill ponds or yarding areas. Nineteenth-century logging was traditionally a winter activity for men who spent summers working on farms, where there were freezing nights, water might be applied to logging sluices every night so a fresh coating of slippery ice would reduce friction of logs placed in the sluice the following morning. Sluice boxes are used in the recovery of black sands, gold. They may be small-scale, as used in prospecting, or much larger, as in commercial operations, typical sluices have transverse riffles over a carpet, which trap the heavy minerals, gemstones, and other valuable minerals. Cast Iron Cast iron has been popular when constructing sluice gates for years and this material is great at keeping the strength needed when dealing with powerful water levels. Stainless Steel Stainless steel in most cases is lighter than the older cast iron material, fibre-reinforced plastic Rather recently a new technologies such as fibre-reinforced plastic are being used to build sluices. This modern technology has many of the attributes as the older ways while bringing in new attributes such as corrosion resistance, in the Somerset Levels, sluice gates are known as clyse or clyce
16.
River Conwy
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The River Conwy is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is a little over 27 miles long, Conwy was formerly Anglicised as Conway. The name Conwy derives from the old Welsh words cyn and gwy, from Betws-y-coed the river continues to flow north through Llanrwst, Trefriw and Dolgarrog before reaching Conwy Bay at Conwy. During spring tides the river is tidal as far as Tan-lan, the Conwy is bounded to the east by the rolling ancient mudstone hills of the Silurian period, the Migneint Moors. These acid rocks are covered in thin, often acid soils and for large parts of the upland areas the cover is of moor-grass — Mollinia spp. Excellent examples of torrential river geomorphology can be seen at Conwy Falls, the land to the East is highly forested with planted non-native conifers. On the western side of the valley are a number of lakes, the rocks are also rich in minerals and there are many abandoned mine sites where copper, lead and silver have been mined since Roman times. The river valley down-stream of Betws-y-Coed is relatively wide and fertile, in wintertime these pastures are used to nurture the sheep brought down from the mountains to avoid the worst of the winter weather. Aber Afon Conwy is a site of special interest and it has acquired such a status due to its marine and terrestrial biology. The tidal reach of the site reaches around 16 kilometres and its upstream boundary is south of Tal y Cafn, and the whole site encompasses Conwy Bay. The shoreline is supported by rock, in addition to boulder clay cliff, sand dune, salt marsh. The scattered communities along the Conwy valley have ancient traditions with archeological evidence of habitation back to the Stone Age, the Romans occupied this area up to 400 AD and there has been continuous habitation since that time. The valley is home to two of the oldest churches in Wales, those at Llanrhychwyn and Llangelynin, which date back to the 11th and 12th centuries. At the mouth of the Conwy as it discharges into Conwy Bay is the town of Conwy with its World Heritage Site castle — Conwy Castle and two famous bridges. One of the earliest road suspension bridges by Thomas Telford now carries a footpath whilst Robert Stephensons tubular iron bridge still carries the main Holyhead to London railway line. A third bridge now takes road traffic, and more still the A55 now runs in a tunnel under the estuary. The River Conwy is routinely monitored for quality by the Environment Agency, the river quality tends to be acidic in the headwaters with very low concentrations of the common anions and cations. Whilst conductivity rises as the river flows towards the sea, the overall organic quality remains very good despite some slight increases in ammonia due to agricultural inputs
17.
Masonic manuscripts
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There are a number of masonic manuscripts that are important in the study of the emergence of Freemasonry. Most numerous are the Old Charges or Constitutions and these documents outlined a history of masonry, tracing its origins to a biblical or classical root, followed by the regulations of the organisation, and the responsibilities of its different grades. More rare are old hand-written copies of ritual, affording a limited understanding of early masonic rites, All of those which pre-date the formation of Grand Lodges are found in Scotland and Ireland, and show such similarity that the Irish rituals are usually assumed to be of Scottish origin. The earliest Minutes of lodges formed before the first Grand Lodge are also located in Scotland, other early documentation is included in this article. The Kirkwall Scroll is a hand painted roll of linen, probably used as a floorcloth and its dating and the meaning of its symbols have generated considerable debate. Early operative documents and the later printed constitutions are briefly covered, the Old Charges of the masons lodges were documents describing the duties of the members, part of which every mason had to swear on admission. For this reason, every lodge had a copy of its charges, occasionally written into the beginning of the minute book, since then, aside from the occasional rediscovery of another old document, little has been done to update the field. The oldest, the Regius poem, is unique in being set in verse, the rest, of which over a hundred survive, usually have a three part construction. They start with a prayer, invocation of God, or a declaration, followed by a description of the Seven Liberal Arts. There follows a history of the craft, and how it came to the British Isles, the last part consists of the charges or regulations of the lodge, and the craft of masonry in general, which the members are bound to maintain. The earliest masonic documents are those of their employers, the church. The first claimed by modern Freemasons as the ancestors of their own Charges relate to the self-organisation of masons as a fraternity with mutual responsibilities. The Halliwell Manuscript, also known as the Regius Poem, is the earliest of the Old Charges and it consists of 64 vellum pages of Middle English written in rhyming couplets. In this, it differs from the prose of all the later charges, the poem begins by describing how Euclid counterfeited geometry and called it masonry, for the employment of the children of the nobility in Ancient Egypt. It then recounts the spread of the art of geometry in divers lands, the document relates how the craft of masonry was brought to England during the reign of King Athelstan. This is followed by fifteen articles for the master concerning both moral behaviour and the operation of work on a building site, there are then fifteen points for craftsmen which follow a similar pattern. Warnings of punishment for breaking the ordinances are followed by provision for annual assemblies. There follows the legend of the Four Crowned Martyrs, a series of moral aphorisms, the origins of the Regius are obscure
18.
William Owen Pughe
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William Owen Pughe was a Welsh antiquarian and grammarian best known for his Welsh and English Dictionary, published in 1803, but also known for his grammar books and Pughisms. He was born William Owen at Llanfihangel-y-pennant, Merionethshire, but the family moved to Ardudwy when William was about seven and he relocated to London in 1776. It was here that he got to know Owen Jones, initially he worked as a clerk in a solicitors office, subsequently becoming a teacher both in a school and as a private tutor for the children of the wealthy. In 1783 he joined the Society of Gwyneddigion, and soon began compiling his Welsh-English dictionary, pughes influence on Welsh orthography is now generally considered as negative. In 1806, he inherited the estates of the Rev. Rees Pughe, of Nantglyn, Denbighshire and it was in order to inherit his cousins lands that he added the name Pughe to his birth-name. After this he enjoyed an income which meant that he was able to devote his whole time to literary. He remained in London after 1815, when his wife died and he died ten years later in a friends cottage beside Tal-y-llyn Lake. In 1790 Pughe married Sarah Elizabeth Harper, the marriage produced two recorded daughters and one son, the noted scholar Aneurin Owen. The Cambrian Biography Coll Gwynfa Hu Gadarn For Reess Cyclopædia he wrote about history, Welsh Biography Online archives network wales
19.
Ceredigion
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Ceredigion is a county in Mid Wales. In the Middle Ages, it was a minor kingdom also known for a time as Seisyllwg, following its Norman conquest, the name was anglicised to Cardigan and then Cardiganshire and it began to be administered as a county in 1282. The county had a population of 75,900 at the 2011 UK census and its largest town, Aberystwyth, is one of the two administrative centres, the other being Aberaeron. Aberystwyth houses Aberystwyth University, Bronglais Hospital and the National Library of Wales, the inland town of Lampeter houses part of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David. Ceredigion is considered to be a centre of Welsh culture and more than half the population speaks Welsh, the county is mainly rural with over 50 miles of coastline and a mountainous hinterland. The numerous sandy beaches, together with the long-distance Ceredigion Coast Path provide excellent views of Cardigan Bay, the economy became highly dependent on dairy farming and the rearing of livestock for the English market. Ceredigion has been inhabited since prehistoric times,170 hill forts and enclosures have been identified across the county, around the time of the Roman invasion of Britain, the area was between the realms of the Demetae and Ordovices. The Sarn Helen road ran through the territory, with forts at Bremia, following the Roman withdrawal, Irish raids and invasions were repulsed, supposedly by the forces under a northerner named Cunedda. The 9th-century History of the Britons attributed to Nennius records that Cuneddas son Ceredig settled the area around the Teifi in the 5th century. The territory supposedly remained a kingdom under his dynasty until its extinction upon the drowning of Gwgon ap Meurig c. 871, after which it was administered by Rhodri Mawr of Gwynedd before passing to his son Cadell. Many pilgrims passed through Cardiganshire on their way to St Davids, some came by sea and made use of the churches at Mwnt and Penbryn, while others came by land seeking hospitality at such places as Strata Florida Abbey. Both the abbey and Llanbadarn Fawr were important monastic sites of scholarship, place names including ysbyty denote their association with pilgrims. In 1282, Edward I of England conquered the principality of Wales, one of thirteen traditional counties in Wales, Cardiganshire was also a vice-county. Cardiganshire was split into the five hundreds of Genaur-Glyn, Ilar, Moyddyn, Penarth, every community built its own chapel or meeting house, and Cardiganshire became one of the centres of Methodism in Wales with the Aeron Valley being at the centre of the revival. Cardigan was one of the ports of southern Wales, but its harbour silted in the mid-19th century. In the uplands, wheeled vehicles were rare in the 18th century, on the coast, trade in herrings and corn took place across the Irish Sea. In the 19th century, many of the rural poor emigrated to the New World from Cardigan, Aberystwyth became the main centre for the export of lead and Aberaeron and Newquay did brisk coastal trade. The building of the railway from Shrewsbury in the 1860s encouraged visitors and this area of the county of Dyfed became a district of Wales under the name Ceredigion in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, and since 1996, has formed the county of Ceredigion
20.
River Ystwyth
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The Ystwyth is a river in the county of Ceredigion, Wales. The length of the river is 20.5 miles. Its catchment area covers 75 square miles and its source is a number of streams that include the Afon Diliw, located on the west slopes of Plynlimon on the border of Ceredigion and Powys in the Cambrian Mountains. The river flows westwards before draining into Cardigan Bay at Aberystwyth where it shares the harbour with the River Rheidol. The Ystwyth valley is now populated with only a few towns and villages such as Ysbyty Ystwyth, Cwm Ystwyth, Pont-rhyd-y-groes, Llanilar. In previous centuries, however, the Ystwyth valley was relatively densely populated due to its mineral wealth, silver, lead and zinc have been mined in the valley since Roman times, an activity that reached its peak in the 18th century. The largest of the many mines was Cwm Ystwyth Mine. It is reputed that the age at death of the miners in Cwm Ystwyth was 32. There is no active mining in the Ystwyth valley today. The River still carries elevated levels of lead, zinc and silver in its water, mostly due to seepage from abandoned mine tailings, at the Frongoch Mine near Pont-rhyd-y-groes, Natural Resources Wales has introduced a new technique for reducing the pollution. Water is drawn away from the mine in a leat to a wetland area, a similar approach is being used at Cwm Rheidol mine, near Aberystwyth. These remedies are considered important because the area supports a variety of wildlife, as well as bringing anglers. Green, John, Afon Ystwyth, The Story of a River, ISBN 0-9513909-7-X Media related to Afon Ystwyth at Wikimedia Commons
21.
River Teifi
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It flows into the sea below the town of Cardigan. The Teifi has its source in Llyn Teifi, one of several known collectively as the Teifi Pools. These are situated towards the north of the county of Ceredigion and this wide area of Mid-Wales, with a very sparse population, is part of what is sometimes called the desert of Wales. The river flows past Strata Florida Abbey and then through Pontrhydfendigaid before reaching the river valley floor. Here it passes one of the great raised mires of Britain, Gors Goch Glan Teifi. From here the river descends through pastures and bogs forming meanders on farmland below, several small tributaries join from the valley with gorges, rocky and tree-lined sections also in the area. The river becomes tidal below Llechryd and descends into Cardigan through the steep-sided Cilgerran Gorge, on the lower parts of the river the wildlife is rich. There is a large variety ranging from crowfoot river plants to Atlantic salmon as well as otters, wetland birds, there have also been sightings of bottle-nosed dolphins where the river opens into the estuary and flows into Cardigan Bay. Afon Tywi at 120 km and Afon Teifi at 117 km are the longest rivers wholly in Wales, the river is susceptible to flooding and there were some heavy floods in 2007 and 2008. If the swollen river is backed up by a tide, flooding can occur in Cardigan. The most recent flooding was in December 2015, the Teifi and its tributaries are underlain by ancient Ordovician and Silurian mudstones which have been extensively glaciated during the ice ages. The resultant landform is one of rolling hills supporting a range of agriculture in which dairy. Ceredigion had the reputation of supplying London with its milk in the 19th century, the landscapes of the Teifi valley are very attractive and the Teifi is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful rivers in Wales. Teifi Pools, the source of the Teifi, are a series of small lakes left by past glacial activity, the lakes are upland and acid in nature. Some have been enlarged by damming and now provide a source of drinking water, the very extensive raised mire above Tregaron acts as a huge sponge at the head of the river and evens out extremes in flow. Rapids and waterfalls are uncommon but the examples at Henllan and, a dramatic painting of the falls was made by Frank Miles and is now at Nottingham City Museum. Miless father inherited Cardigan Priory from his father, Philip John Miles, the gorge between Llechryd and Cilgerran has a special brooding quality. Few visitors stray into the gorge and the river winds its way almost silently between the densely wooded sides with their distinctive under-storey flora of sedges, Afon Teifi is a Site of Special Scientific Interest in Ceredigion, Wales
22.
Samuel Lewis (publisher)
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Samuel Lewis was the editor and publisher of topographical dictionaries and maps of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The aim of the texts was to give in a condensed form, the firm of Samuel Lewis and Co. was based in London. Samuel Lewis the elder died in 1865 and his son of the same name predeceased him in 1862. This work contains every fact of importance tending to illustrate the history of England. There were six subsequent editions, the last of which was in four volumes, first published in 1833, there was a second edition in 1844 and a third in 1849. With an appendix, describing the boundaries of the several boroughs. By Samuel Lewis in two volumes, the work is in two large volumes with a folding map of Wales and separate county maps facing the entry for each individual county. First published in 1837 in two volumes, with an atlas, it marked a new and significantly higher standard in such accounts of Ireland. Apart from The Parliamentary Gazetteer of Ireland published in 1845, it has not been superseded, the first edition is available online. A second edition was published in 1842, the extreme paucity of such works, in relation to Ireland, imposed the necessity of greater assiduity in the personal survey, and proportionately increased the expense. He also used the various reports and in particular the census of 1831. Local contributors were given the proof sheets for final comment and revision, the names of places are those in use prior to the publication of the Ordnance Survey Atlas in 1838. The dictionary gives a picture of Ireland before the Great Famine. First published in 1846 in two volumes and an atlas, a Topographical Dictionary of Ireland, first edition, full text on Library Ireland. A Topographical Dictionary of Scotland, first edition, full text on British History Online
23.
Cartography
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Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively, the fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to, Set the maps agenda and select traits of the object to be mapped. This is the concern of map editing, traits may be physical, such as roads or land masses, or may be abstract, such as toponyms or political boundaries. Represent the terrain of the object on flat media. This is the concern of map projections, eliminate characteristics of the mapped object that are not relevant to the maps purpose. This is the concern of generalization, reduce the complexity of the characteristics that will be mapped. This is also the concern of generalization, orchestrate the elements of the map to best convey its message to its audience. This is the concern of map design, modern cartography constitutes many theoretical and practical foundations of geographic information systems. The earliest known map is a matter of debate, both because the term map isnt well-defined and because some artifacts that might be maps might actually be something else. A wall painting that might depict the ancient Anatolian city of Çatalhöyük has been dated to the late 7th millennium BCE, the oldest surviving world maps are from 9th century BCE Babylonia. One shows Babylon on the Euphrates, surrounded by Assyria, Urartu and several cities, all, in turn, another depicts Babylon as being north of the world center. The ancient Greeks and Romans created maps since Anaximander in the 6th century BCE, in the 2nd century AD, Ptolemy wrote his treatise on cartography, Geographia. This contained Ptolemys world map – the world known to Western society. As early as the 8th century, Arab scholars were translating the works of the Greek geographers into Arabic, in ancient China, geographical literature dates to the 5th century BCE. The oldest extant Chinese maps come from the State of Qin, dated back to the 4th century BCE, in the book of the Xin Yi Xiang Fa Yao, published in 1092 by the Chinese scientist Su Song, a star map on the equidistant cylindrical projection. Early forms of cartography of India included depictions of the pole star and these charts may have been used for navigation. Mappa mundi are the Medieval European maps of the world, approximately 1,100 mappae mundi are known to have survived from the Middle Ages. Of these, some 900 are found illustrating manuscripts and the remainder exist as stand-alone documents, the Arab geographer Muhammad al-Idrisi produced his medieval atlas Tabula Rogeriana in 1154
24.
Ptolemy
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Claudius Ptolemy was a Greek writer, known as a mathematician, astronomer, geographer, astrologer, and poet of a single epigram in the Greek Anthology. He lived in the city of Alexandria in the Roman province of Egypt, wrote in Koine Greek, beyond that, few reliable details of his life are known. His birthplace has been given as Ptolemais Hermiou in the Thebaid in a statement by the 14th-century astronomer Theodore Meliteniotes. This is a very late attestation, however, and there is no reason to suppose that he ever lived elsewhere than Alexandria. Ptolemy wrote several treatises, three of which were of importance to later Byzantine, Islamic and European science. The first is the astronomical treatise now known as the Almagest, although it was entitled the Mathematical Treatise. The second is the Geography, which is a discussion of the geographic knowledge of the Greco-Roman world. The third is the treatise in which he attempted to adapt horoscopic astrology to the Aristotelian natural philosophy of his day. This is sometimes known as the Apotelesmatika but more known as the Tetrabiblos from the Greek meaning Four Books or by the Latin Quadripartitum. The name Claudius is a Roman nomen, the fact that Ptolemy bore it indicates he lived under the Roman rule of Egypt with the privileges and political rights of Roman citizenship. It would have suited custom if the first of Ptolemys family to become a citizen took the nomen from a Roman called Claudius who was responsible for granting citizenship, if, as was common, this was the emperor, citizenship would have been granted between AD41 and 68. The astronomer would also have had a praenomen, which remains unknown and it occurs once in Greek mythology, and is of Homeric form. All the kings after him, until Egypt became a Roman province in 30 BC, were also Ptolemies, abu Mashar recorded a belief that a different member of this royal line composed the book on astrology and attributed it to Ptolemy. The correct answer is not known”, Ptolemy wrote in Greek and can be shown to have utilized Babylonian astronomical data. He was a Roman citizen, but most scholars conclude that Ptolemy was ethnically Greek and he was often known in later Arabic sources as the Upper Egyptian, suggesting he may have had origins in southern Egypt. Later Arabic astronomers, geographers and physicists referred to him by his name in Arabic, Ptolemys Almagest is the only surviving comprehensive ancient treatise on astronomy. Ptolemy presented his models in convenient tables, which could be used to compute the future or past position of the planets. The Almagest also contains a catalogue, which is a version of a catalogue created by Hipparchus
25.
Moraine
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A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth, through geomorphological processes. Moraines are formed from debris previously carried along by a glacier, lateral moraines are formed at the side of the ice flow and terminal moraines at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines, till-covered areas with irregular topography, moraines may be composed of debris ranging in size from silt-sized glacial flour to large boulders. The debris is typically sub-angular to rounded in shape, moraines may be on the glacier’s surface or deposited as piles or sheets of debris where the glacier has melted. Moraines may form through a number of processes, depending on the characteristics of sediment, the dynamics on the ice, moraine forming processes may be loosely divided into passive and active. Passive processes involve the placing of chaotic supraglacial sediments onto the landscape with limited reworking and these moraines are composed of supraglacial sediments from the ice surface. Active processes form or rework moraine sediment directly by the movement of ice and these form push moraines and thrust-block moraines, which are often composed of till and reworked proglacial sediment. Moraine may also form by the accumulation of sand and gravel deposits from glacial streams emanating from the ice margin and these fan deposits may coalesce to form a long moraine bank marking the ice margin. Several processes may combine to form and rework a single moraine, moraines can be classified either by origin, location with respect to a glacier or former glacier, or by shape. Some moraine types are only from ancient glaciers, while medial moraines of valley glaciers are poorly preserved. Lateral moraines are parallel ridges of debris deposited along the sides of a glacier, the unconsolidated debris can be deposited on top of the glacier by frost shattering of the valley walls and/or from tributary streams flowing into the valley. The till is carried along the glacial margin until the glacier melts, lateral moraines stand high because they protect the ice under them from the elements, causing it to melt or sublime less than the uncovered parts of the glacier. Multiple lateral moraines may develop as the glacier advances and retreats, ground moraines are till-covered areas with irregular topography and no ridges, often forming gently rolling hills or plains. They are accumulated at the base of the ice as lodgment till, in alpine glaciers, ground moraines are often found between the two lateral moraines. Ground moraines may be modified into drumlins by the overriding ice, Rogen moraines or ribbed moraines are a type of basal moraines that form a series of ribs perpendicular to the ice flow in an ice sheet. The depressions between the ribs are sometimes filled with water, making the Rogen moraines look like tigerstripes on aerial photographs, Rogen moraines are named after Lake Rogen in Härjedalen, Sweden, the landform’s type locality. End moraines, or terminal moraines, are ridges of unconsolidated debris deposited at the snout or end of the glacier and they usually reflect the shape of the glaciers terminus. Glaciers act much like a belt, carrying debris from the top of the glacier to the bottom where it deposits it in end moraines
26.
Glacial landform
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Glacial landforms are landforms created by the action of glaciers. Most of todays glacial landforms were created by the movement of ice sheets during the Quaternary glaciations. Some areas, like Fennoscandia and the southern Andes, have extensive occurrences of glacial landforms, other areas, such as the Sahara, as the glaciers expanded, due to their accumulating weight of snow and ice, they crush and abrade scoured surface rocks and bedrock. The resulting erosional landforms include striations, cirques, glacial horns, arêtes, trim lines, U-shaped valleys, roches moutonnées, overdeepenings, Cirque, Starting location for mountain glaciers Cirque stairway, a sequence of cirques U-shaped valley, U-shaped valleys are created by mountain glaciers. When filled with water so as to create an inlet. Arête, spiky high land between two glaciers, if the glacial action erodes through, a spillway forms, later, when the glaciers retreated leaving behind their freight of crushed rock and sand, they created characteristic depositional landforms. Examples include glacial moraines, eskers, and kames, drumlins and ribbed moraines are also landforms left behind by retreating glaciers. The stone walls of New England contain many glacial erratics, rocks that were dragged by a glacier many miles from their bedrock origin, esker, Built up bed of a subglacial stream. Moraine, Feature can be terminal, lateral, or medial, outwash fan, Braided stream flowing from the front end of a glacier. Lakes and ponds may also be caused by glacial movement, kettle lakes form when a retreating glacier leaves behind an underground or surface chunk of ice that later melts to form a depression containing water. Moraine-dammed lakes occur when glacial debris dam a stream, Jackson Lake and Jenny Lake in Grand Teton National Park are examples of moraine-dammed lakes, though Jackson Lake is enhanced by a man-made dam. Kettle lake, Depression, formed by a block of ice separated from the main glacier, tarn, A lake formed in a cirque by overdeepening. Paternoster lake, A series of lakes in a glacial valley, glacial Lake, A lake that formed between the front of a glacier and the last recessional moraine. Apart from the left behind by glaciers, glaciers themselves may be striking features of the terrain. Notable examples include valley glaciers where glacial flow is restricted by the walls, crevasses in the upper section of glacial ice
27.
Ice age
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An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earths surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual pulses of cold climate are termed glacial periods, in the terminology of glaciology, ice age implies the presence of extensive ice sheets in both northern and southern hemispheres. In 1742 Pierre Martel, an engineer and geographer living in Geneva, two years later he published an account of his journey. He reported that the inhabitants of that valley attributed the dispersal of erratic boulders to the glaciers, later similar explanations were reported from other regions of the Alps. In 1815 the carpenter and chamois hunter Jean-Pierre Perraudin explained erratic boulders in the Val de Bagnes in the Swiss canton of Valais as being due to glaciers previously extending further. An unknown woodcutter from Meiringen in the Bernese Oberland advocated a similar idea in a discussion with the Swiss-German geologist Jean de Charpentier in 1834, comparable explanations are also known from the Val de Ferret in the Valais and the Seeland in western Switzerland and in Goethes scientific work. Such explanations could also be found in parts of the world. When the Bavarian naturalist Ernst von Bibra visited the Chilean Andes in 1849–1850, meanwhile, European scholars had begun to wonder what had caused the dispersal of erratic material. From the middle of the 18th century, some discussed ice as a means of transport, the Swedish mining expert Daniel Tilas was, in 1742, the first person to suggest drifting sea ice in order to explain the presence of erratic boulders in the Scandinavian and Baltic regions. In 1795, the Scottish philosopher and gentleman naturalist, James Hutton, two decades later, in 1818, the Swedish botanist Göran Wahlenberg published his theory of a glaciation of the Scandinavian peninsula. He regarded glaciation as a regional phenomenon, only a few years later, the Danish-Norwegian geologist Jens Esmark argued a sequence of worldwide ice ages. In a paper published in 1824, Esmark proposed changes in climate as the cause of those glaciations and he attempted to show that they originated from changes in Earths orbit. During the following years, Esmarks ideas were discussed and taken over in parts by Swedish, Scottish, at the University of Edinburgh Robert Jameson seemed to be relatively open to Esmarks ideas, as reviewed by Norwegian professor of glaciology Bjørn G. Andersen. Jamesons remarks about ancient glaciers in Scotland were most probably prompted by Esmark, in Germany, Albrecht Reinhard Bernhardi, a geologist and professor of forestry at an academy in Dreissigacker, since incorporated in the southern Thuringian city of Meiningen, adopted Esmarks theory. In a paper published in 1832, Bernhardi speculated about former polar ice caps reaching as far as the zones of the globe. When he read his paper before the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft, most scientists remained sceptical, finally, Venetz convinced his friend Jean de Charpentier. De Charpentier transformed Venetzs idea into a theory with a limited to the Alps. In fact, both men shared the same volcanistic, or in de Charpentiers case rather plutonistic assumptions, about the Earths history, in 1834, de Charpentier presented his paper before the Schweizerische Naturforschende Gesellschaft
28.
BBC
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The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. It is headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, the BBC is the worlds oldest national broadcasting organisation and the largest broadcaster in the world by number of employees. It employs over 20,950 staff in total,16,672 of whom are in public sector broadcasting, the total number of staff is 35,402 when part-time, flexible, and fixed contract staff are included. The BBC is established under a Royal Charter and operates under its Agreement with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The fee is set by the British Government, agreed by Parliament, and used to fund the BBCs radio, TV, britains first live public broadcast from the Marconi factory in Chelmsford took place in June 1920. It was sponsored by the Daily Mails Lord Northcliffe and featured the famous Australian Soprano Dame Nellie Melba, the Melba broadcast caught the peoples imagination and marked a turning point in the British publics attitude to radio. However, this public enthusiasm was not shared in official circles where such broadcasts were held to interfere with important military and civil communications. By late 1920, pressure from these quarters and uneasiness among the staff of the licensing authority, the General Post Office, was sufficient to lead to a ban on further Chelmsford broadcasts. But by 1922, the GPO had received nearly 100 broadcast licence requests, John Reith, a Scottish Calvinist, was appointed its General Manager in December 1922 a few weeks after the company made its first official broadcast. The company was to be financed by a royalty on the sale of BBC wireless receiving sets from approved manufacturers, to this day, the BBC aims to follow the Reithian directive to inform, educate and entertain. The financial arrangements soon proved inadequate, set sales were disappointing as amateurs made their own receivers and listeners bought rival unlicensed sets. By mid-1923, discussions between the GPO and the BBC had become deadlocked and the Postmaster-General commissioned a review of broadcasting by the Sykes Committee and this was to be followed by a simple 10 shillings licence fee with no royalty once the wireless manufactures protection expired. The BBCs broadcasting monopoly was made explicit for the duration of its current broadcast licence, the BBC was also banned from presenting news bulletins before 19.00, and required to source all news from external wire services. Mid-1925 found the future of broadcasting under further consideration, this time by the Crawford committee, by now the BBC under Reiths leadership had forged a consensus favouring a continuation of the unified broadcasting service, but more money was still required to finance rapid expansion. Wireless manufacturers were anxious to exit the loss making consortium with Reith keen that the BBC be seen as a service rather than a commercial enterprise. The recommendations of the Crawford Committee were published in March the following year and were still under consideration by the GPO when the 1926 general strike broke out in May. The strike temporarily interrupted newspaper production and with restrictions on news bulletins waived the BBC suddenly became the source of news for the duration of the crisis. The crisis placed the BBC in a delicate position, the Government was divided on how to handle the BBC but ended up trusting Reith, whose opposition to the strike mirrored the PMs own
29.
Coast (TV series)
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Coast is a BBC documentary series first broadcast on BBC Two television in 2005. A second series started on 26 October 2006, a third in early 2007 and it covers various subjects relating to both the natural and social history of the British coastline and also more recently, that of Britains near neighbours. A fifth series was aired in 2010, followed by a sixth in 2011, a seventh series aired in 2012 and followed a different format from previous series. Series eight started in 2013 while series nine aired in 2014, the series is a collaboration between the Open University and BBC Productions, Birmingham. In December 2013, the first reversion of the series format, hosted by Neil Oliver, it was the second highest rating show in the history of the channel. It started airing on BBC Two from 14 May 2014, series 2 was aired in 2015, Coast New Zealand aired in 2016. Series 4 reintroduced the circular element, starting at Whitstable and ending at Hull, though with visits to Ireland, Normandy, the format of the seventh series abandoned the geographical element and instead each episode focused on a particular theme and featured locations from around the British Isles. All but one of the episodes in the first series ended with Nicholas Crane stating that in the British Isles, Remember, Neil Oliver closed the fifth series with the same statement. Series 4 onwards were simulcast on the BBC HD channel, as the aerial shots from the Coast programmes are made in high-definition, they are also used in this way on BBC HD. Episodes from old series have shown on Yesterday. Series 5 was shown overseas before being shown on the BBC, Series 1 to 5 of Coast have been released on Region 2 DVD by Contender Home Entertainment, or, following their acquisition, by E1 Entertainment. Series 6 onwards have been released on Region 2 DVD and Region B Blu-ray by Acorn Media UK, numerous box sets have been released, including one which packaged Series 1 with another BBC documentary, A Picture of Britain. The first series of Coast was originally aired on BBC2 during the summer of 2005, the series follows a circumnavigation of the coastline, starting and finishing in Dover. Series 1 is the series yet to include more than eight episodes. A review episode was shown on 2 September 2005, looking back over the series highlights, the second series of Coast was originally aired on BBC2 during the autumn of 2006. Whilst the series starts in Dover and finishes in nearby Margate and it is the first series to feature the Republic of Ireland. The subtitle of the series is The Journey Continues, the third series of Coast was originally aired on BBC2 during the summer of 2007. In common with the series, the journey does not follow a circular course
30.
Neil Oliver
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Neil Oliver is a Scottish television presenter, archaeologist and author. He is best known as a presenter of several BBC documentary series, including A History of Scotland, Vikings and his long hair is a distinguishing feature. Oliver was born in Renfrewshire and grew up in Ayr and Dumfries where he attended Dumfries Academy and he then attended the University of Glasgow to study archaeology. He subsequently worked as a reporter on the Annandale Observer in Annan, Dumfries, in addition to the TV series, Oliver co-wrote the two accompanying books. In 2005, he wrote a book for the Channel 4 documentary, Not Forgotten. In 2006 Oliver appeared in two documentary series, Channel 4s The Face of Britain and BBC Twos Scotlands History. In August 2006 he also appeared on the special Big Royal Dig edition of Channel 4s Time Team, Oliver was a contributor to BBC Ones The One Show in the summer of 2007. He also appeared that year as one of the presenters of BBC Two series The History Detectives, olivers series A History of Scotland began airing on 9 November 2008 on BBC One Scotland and was broadcast throughout the UK in 2009. The series also has links to radio, online and Open University materials, like Coast, the programme is a co-production of the BBC and the Open University. On 23 March 2009, Neil Oliver presented a programme on Cleopatra on BBC One, in February 2011 he presented A History of Ancient Britain on BBC Two. This was followed later in the year by A History of Celtic Britain and he also provided the voice over for VisitScotlands 2011 television advertisement. Oliver presented the three-part series Vikings 11 September 2012 –25 September 2012, Oliver presented the three-part series Sacred Wonders of Britain for BBC Two and Coast Australia, aired in 2013–14. Neil Oliver also presented a BBC documentary called Scotland and the Klan, highlighting the Scottish/Northern Irish foundations of the Klu Klux Klan and it won one game, on a judges decision, but lost the other 2 on knockout and was eliminated. He lives in Stirling with his wife Trudi and their three children and he is a patron of the Association of Lighthouse Keepers. I would rather that it would just go away – or that it had never happened and he went on to say that he liked the status quo. com Neil Oliver at the Internet Movie Database
31.
Sarn Gynfelyn
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The Sarn Gynfelyn shingle spit on the coast of Cardigan Bay, in the county of Ceredigion, Mid-Wales, in the United Kingdom. It is located at Wallog, a few north of Llangorwen, close to Clarach Bay. Similar landform examples are found at points along the Cardigan Bay coast. They are thought to be long subtidal banks of glacial moraines and these protruding banks resemble man-made causeways and have long been part of the centuries-old legend of Cantrer Gwaelod, a fabled sunken kingdom which was lost beneath the waters of Cardigan Bay. According to legend, Sarn Gynfelyn was one of the leading to the lost land. The legend of Cantrer Gwaelod is comparable to the myth found in nearly every ancient culture. In a 2006 episode of the BBC television documentary Coast, presenter Neil Oliver visited Sarn Gynfelyn to explore the legend of Cantrer Gwaelod. The programme also featured the remains of the submerged forest at Ynyslas, some 5 miles north of Sarn Gynfelyn, which is also associated with the legend. The vista of dead oak, pine, birch, willow, Sarn Badrig Sarn y Bwch Photograph of Sarn Gynfelyn,1999 Video clip, Sarn Gynfelyn Shingle spit jutting out to sea Cantrer Gwaelod website article
32.
Borth
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Borth is a coastal village 7 miles north of Aberystwyth in the county of Ceredigion, Mid Wales. It lies on the Ceredigion Coast Path, the population was 1,523 in 2001. Borth has a beach and is a holiday seaside resort. There is a hostel in the village and caravan and camping sites nearby. An ancient submerged forest is visible at low tide along the beach, radiocarbon dating suggests these trees died about 1500 BC. This submerged forest is also associated with the legend of Cantrer Gwaelod, the long distance footpath the Dyfi Valley Way passes through the village. The towns main railway station is served by the Cambrian Line. The station building houses a museum displaying community and railway historical artifacts, Borth is also the location of the Borth Animalarium and Borth & Ynyslas Golf Club. The Borth inshore lifeboat station was established in 1966 and is located at the end of the beach. The villages war memorial, situated above a cliff south of the beach, was destroyed by lightning on 21 March 1983 and had to be rebuilt, in 2008 and 2009 Borth hosted the Square Festival. In 2011 works commenced on the first phase of the £12 million coastal protection scheme along the Borth to Ynyslas coastline, an electoral ward in the same name exists. This ward stretches south-easterly to Geneur Glyn The total population of the ward at the 2011 Census was 2,078, according to both the 1991 and 2001 censuses, 43% of the residents of Borth are Welsh-speakers. Nancy Bonds award-winning childrens novel A String in the Harp is set in Borth and the surrounding countryside. Borth, Borth bog, and the Borth railway station form the backdrop to the storyline in Season 1, Episode 4 of Y Gwyll, transmitted on S4C in 2013. The first councillor elected was the Rev. Enoch Watkin James, Brynderwen, from the 1970s until his death in 2001, Borth was represented on Ceredigion District Council and, latterly, Ceredigion County Council, by Tom Raw-Rees. Borth is also the name of a ward on the current Ceredigion County Council, which covers the communities of Borth and Llandre
33.
Hypoxia (environmental)
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Hypoxia refers to low oxygen conditions. Normally,20. 9% of the gas in the atmosphere is oxygen, the partial pressure of oxygen in the atmosphere is 20. 9% of the total barometric pressure. In water however, oxygen levels are lower, approximately 1%. Atmospheric hypoxia occurs naturally at high altitudes, total atmospheric pressure decreases as altitude increases, causing a lower partial pressure of oxygen which is defined as hypobaric hypoxia. Oxygen remains at 20. 9% of the gas mixture, differing from hypoxic hypoxia. This is common, for example, in the burrows of some subterranean animals. Atmospheric hypoxia is also the basis of training which is a standard part of training for elite athletes. Several companies mimic hypoxia using normobaric artificial atmosphere, dissolved oxygen is typically expressed as a percentage of the oxygen that would dissolve in the water at the prevailing temperature and salinity. An aquatic system lacking dissolved oxygen is termed anaerobic, reducing, or anoxic, most fish cannot live below 30% saturation. A healthy aquatic environment should seldom experience less than 80%, the exaerobic zone is found at the boundary of anoxic and hypoxic zones. Hypoxia can occur throughout the column and also at high altitudes as well as near sediments on the bottom. It usually extends throughout 20-50% of the column, but depending on the water depth. It can occur in 10-80% of the water column, for example, in a 10-meter water column, it can reach up to 2 meters below the surface. In a 20-meter water column, it can extend up to 8 meters below the surface, while phytoplankton, through photosynthesis, will raise DO saturation during daylight hours, the dense population of a bloom reduces DO saturation during the night by respiration. When phytoplankton cells die, they sink towards the bottom and are decomposed by bacteria, if oxygen depletion progresses to hypoxia, fish kills can occur and invertebrates like worms and clams on the bottom may be killed as well. Hypoxia may also occur in the absence of pollutants, in estuaries, for example, because freshwater flowing from a river into the sea is less dense than salt water, stratification in the water column can result. Vertical mixing between the bodies is therefore reduced, restricting the supply of oxygen from the surface waters to the more saline bottom waters. The oxygen concentration in the layer may then become low enough for hypoxia to occur
34.
Tide
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Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
35.
Flood myth
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A flood myth or deluge myth is a narrative in which a great flood, usually sent by a deity or deities, destroys civilization, often in an act of divine retribution. Most flood myths also contain a culture hero, who represents the human craving for life, the Mesopotamian flood stories concern the epics of Ziusudra, Gilgamesh, and Atrahasis. In the Sumerian King List, it relies on the motif to divide its history into preflood and postflood periods. The preflood kings had enormous lifespans, whereas postflood lifespans were much reduced, in the Atrahasis version, the flood is a river flood. In the Genesis mythology of the Hebrew Bible, Yahweh decides to flood the earth because of the depth of the state of mankind. Righteous Noah is given instructions to build an ark, when the ark is completed, Noah, his family, and representatives of all the animals of the earth are called upon to enter the ark. When the destructive flood begins, all life outside of the ark perishes, after the waters recede, all those aboard the ark disembark and have Gods promise that he will never judge the earth with a flood again. He gives the rainbow as the sign of this promise, in the 19th century, Assyriologist George Smith translated the Babylonian account of a great flood. Further discoveries produced several versions of the Mesopotamian flood myth, with the account closest to that in Genesis found in a 700 BCE Babylonian copy of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the vessel would save Utnapishtim, his family, his friends, and the animals. In Platos Timaeus, Timaeus says that because the Bronze race of Humans had been making wars constantly Zeus was angered and decided to punish humanity by a flood. Prometheus the Titan knew of this and told the secret to Deucalion, after 9 nights and days, the water started receding and the ark was landed at Mount Parnassus. In ancient Mesopotamia, the Sumerian King List reads After kingship came down from heaven, the kingship was taken to Shuruppak. In Shuruppak, Ubara-Tutu became king, he ruled for 5 sars and 1 ner, in 5 cities 8 kings, they ruled for 241,200 years. Excavations in Iraq have revealed evidence of localized flooding at Shuruppak, a layer of riverine sediments, radiocarbon dated to about 2900 BC, interrupts the continuity of settlement, extending as far north as the city of Kish, which took over hegemony after the flood. Polychrome pottery from the Jemdet Nasr period was discovered immediately below the Shuruppak flood stratum, other sites, such as Ur, Kish, Uruk, Lagash, and Ninevah, all present evidence of flooding. However, this comes from different time periods. Geologically, the Shuruppak flood coincides with the 5.9 kiloyear event at the end of the Older Peron, in Israel, there is no such evidence of a widespread flood. Given the similarities in the Mesopotamian flood story and the Biblical account, floods in the wake of the last glacial period may have inspired myths that survive to this day
36.
Celtic mythology
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Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and it is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved. The Celtic peoples who maintained either their political or linguistic identities left vestigial remnants of their ancestral mythologies, however, from what has survived of Celtic mythology, it is possible to discern commonalities which hint at a more unified pantheon than is often given credit. Indeed, many Gaelic myths were first recorded by Christian monks, the oldest body of myths stemming from the Heroic Age is found only from the early medieval period of Ireland. As Christianity began to take over, the gods and goddesses were slowly eliminated as such from the culture, the Tuatha Dé represent the functions of human society such as kingship, crafts and war, while the Fomorians represent chaos and wild nature. The leader of the gods for the Irish pantheon appears to have been the Dagda, the Dagda was the figure on which male humans and other gods were based because he embodied ideal Irish traits. Celtic gods were considered to be a clan due to their lack of specialization. Irish tales depict the Dagda as a figure of power, armed with a club, in Dorset there is a famous outline of an ithyphallic giant known as the Cerne Abbas Giant with a club cut into the chalky soil. While this was produced in relatively modern times, it was long thought to be a representation of the Dagda. In Gaul, it is speculated that the Dagda is associated with Sucellus, the Morrígan was a tripartite battle goddess of the Celts of Ancient Ireland. She was known as the Morrígan, but the different sections she was divided into were also referred to as Nemain, Macha and she is most commonly known for her involvement in the Táin Bó Cúailnge. The god appearing most frequently in the tales is Lugh, the most famous of these are the cities of Lugdunum, Lugdunum Batavorum and Lucus Augusti. Lug is described in the Celtic myths as the last to be added to the list of deities, in Ireland a festival called the Lughnasadh was held in his honour. Other important goddesses include Brigid, the Dagdas daughter, Aibell, Áine, Macha, notable is Epona, the horse goddess, celebrated with horse races at the summer festival. Significant Irish gods include Nuada Airgetlám, the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, Goibniu, the smith and brewer, Dian Cecht, the patron of healing, less is known about the pre-Christian mythologies of Britain than those of Ireland. Important reflexes of British mythology appear in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi, especially in the names of characters, such as Rhiannon, Teyrnon. The children of Llŷr in the Second and Third Branches, and the children of Dôn in the Fourth Branch are major figures, indeed, though there is much in common with Irish myth, there may have been no unified British mythological tradition per se. Whatever its ultimate origins, the material has been put to good use in the service of literary masterpieces that address the cultural concerns of Wales in the early
37.
Breton mythology
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Breton mythology is the mythology or corpus of explanatory and heroic tales originating in Brittany. The Bretons are the descendants of insular Britons who settled in Brittany from at least the third century, while the Britons were already Christianised in this era, the migrant population maintained an ancient Celtic mythos, similar to those of Wales and Cornwall. Breton mythology has many gods and mythical creatures specifically associated with nature cults, in this tradition of gods and creatures rooted in nature, there exist traces of certain Breton Catholic saints. This mythological background was accepted by Romans who were soon Christianized, resulting in the loss of grand epics
38.
Ys
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Ys, also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ville dYs in French, is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean. Most versions of the place the city in the Baie de Douarnenez. According to some versions of the legend, Ys was built below sea level by Gradlon, King of Cornouaille, upon the request of his daughter Dahut, to protect Ys from inundation, a dike was built with a gate that was opened for ships during low tide. The one key that opened the gate was held by the king, Ys was the most beautiful and impressive city in Europe, but quickly became a city of sin under the influence of Dahut. She organized orgies and had the habit of killing her lovers when morning broke, Saint Winwaloe decried the corruption of Ys and warned of Gods wrath and punishment, but was ignored by Dahut and the populace. One day, a knight dressed in red came to Ys, Dahut asked him to come with her, and one night, he agreed. A storm broke out in the middle of the night and the waves could be heard smashing against the gate, Dahut said to the knight, Let the storm rage. The gates of the city are strong, and it is King Gradlon, my father, the knight replied, Your father the king sleeps. You can now take his key. Dahut stole the key from her father and gave it to the knight, the devil, or, in another version of the story, a wine-besotted Dahut herself, then opened the gate. Because the gate was open during storm and at high tide, King Gradlon and his daughter climbed on Morvarch, his magical horse. Saint Winwaloe approached them and told Gradlon, Push back the demon sitting behind you, Gradlon initially refused, but he finally gave in and pushed his daughter into the sea. The sea swallowed Dahut, who became a mermaid or morgen, Gradlon took refuge in Quimper, which became his new capital. An equestrian statue of Gradlon still stands between the spires of the Cathedral of Saint Corentin in Quimper, folklore asserts that the bells of the churches of Ys can still be heard in the calm sea. A legend says that when Paris is swallowed, the city of Ys will rise up from under the waves, Pa vo beuzet Paris and this history is also sometimes viewed as the victory of Christianity over druidism, as Gradlon was converted by Saint Winwaloe. Dahut and most inhabitants of Ys were worshippers of Celtic gods, however, another Breton folktale asserts that Gradlon met, spoke with and consoled the last Druid in Brittany, and oversaw his pagan burial, before building a chapel in his sacred grove. An early mention of Ys appears in Pierre Le Bauds Cronicques et ystoires des Bretons in which Gradlon is the king of the city, but Dahut is not mentioned. Bernard dArgentres La histoire de Bretagne and mystery plays on the life of St. Winwaloe, in the sixteenth century, also provide early references to the city
39.
King Arthur
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King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthurs story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, the sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthurs name also occurs in early sources such as Y Gododdin. Arthur is a figure in the legends making up the so-called Matter of Britain. The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouths fanciful, how much of Geoffreys Historia was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot, in these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics. The historical basis for the King Arthur legend has long debated by scholars. These culminate in the Battle of Badon, where he is said to have single-handedly killed 960 men, recent studies, however, question the reliability of the Historia Brittonum. The other text that seems to support the case for Arthurs historical existence is the 10th-century Annales Cambriae, the Annales date this battle to 516–518, and also mention the Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut were both killed, dated to 537–539. These details have often used to bolster confidence in the Historias account. Problems have been identified, however, with using this source to support the Historia Brittonums account, the latest research shows that the Annales Cambriae was based on a chronicle begun in the late 8th century in Wales. Additionally, the textual history of the Annales Cambriae precludes any certainty that the Arthurian annals were added to it even that early. They were more likely added at point in the 10th century. The Badon entry probably derived from the Historia Brittonum and this lack of convincing early evidence is the reason many recent historians exclude Arthur from their accounts of sub-Roman Britain. These modern admissions of ignorance are a recent trend, earlier generations of historians were less sceptical
40.
Lyonesse
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Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, in medieval Arthurian legend, there are no references to the sinking of Lyonesse, because the name originally referred to a still-existing place. Lyonesse is an English alteration of French Léoneis or Léonois, a development of Lodonesia, the name was not attached to Cornish legends of lost coastal lands until the reign of Elizabeth I of England, however. However, the legendary lost land between Lands End and Scilly has a distinct Cornish name, Lethowsow and this derives from the Cornish name for the Seven Stones reef, on the reputed site of the lost lands capital and the site of the notorious wreck of the Torrey Canyon. The name means the ones, from the constant white water surrounding the reef. Alfred, Lord Tennysons Arthurian epic Idylls of the King describes Lyonesse as the site of the battle between Arthur and Mordred. The legend of a sunken kingdom appears in both Cornish and Breton mythology, there is a Breton parallel in the tale of the Cité dYs, similarly drowned as a result of its debauchery with a single virtuous survivor escaping on a horse, in this case King Gradlon. The Welsh equivalent to Lyonesse and Ker Ys is Cantrer Gwaelod and it is often suggested that the tale of Lyonesse represents an extraordinary survival of folk memory of the flooding of the Isles of Scilly and Mounts Bay near Penzance. For example, the Cornish name of St Michaels Mount is Karrek Loos yn Koos - literally, Cornish people around Penzance still get occasional glimpses at extreme low water of a sunken forest in Mounts Bay, where petrified tree stumps become visible. The importance of the maintenance of memory can be seen in that it came to be associated with the legendary British hero Arthur. Dicksons The Dragon and the Gnarly King, the book in the Dragon Knight series, and features much more prominently in The Dragon in Lyonesse. In Stephen R. Lawheads Pendragon Cycle, Lyonesse is where refugees from Atlantis settle, in the film First Knight, Lyonnesse is the home of Guinevere, a small land situated between Camelot and Malagants territory. Lyonesse was ruled by Guineveres father until his death, after which Guinevere became the Lady of Lyonesse, the Trevelyan family of Cornwall takes its coat of arms from a local legend, in which a man named Trevelyan escaped the inundation by riding a white horse. To this day the familys shield bears a white horse rising from the waves, to this day the familys shield bears a white horse fully bridled with one foot over the waves. The horse leapt, with Vyvyan aboard, and where it landed, both Thomas Hardy and Sylvia Plath published poems referring to Lyonnesse, the latter taking the mythical lands name as its title. English composer Gerald Finzi set the Hardy poem, When I Set Out for Lyonnesse, to music in his song cycle Earth and Air and Rain. Sam Llewellyn wrote two books set in the sinking Lyonesse, with original Celtic names for the cast of Arthurian legend, Lyonesse, The Well Between The Worlds and Lyonesse. Lyonesse is a song, by Cornish folk composer Richard Gendall, in Evelyn Waughs Brideshead Revisited, the narrator describes the Oxford of his youth as being submerged now and obliterated, irrecoverable as Lyonnesse, so quickly have the waters come flooding in
Sarn Gynfelyn and the submerged forest at Borth
