1.
Spanish language
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Spanish —also called Castilian —is a Romance language that originated in the Castile region of Spain, with hundreds of millions of native speakers around the world. It is usually considered the worlds second-most spoken native language after Mandarin Chinese and it is one of the few languages to use inverted question and exclamation marks. Spanish is a part of the Ibero-Romance group of languages, which evolved from several dialects of Vulgar Latin in Iberia after the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century. Beginning in the early 16th century, Spanish was taken to the colonies of the Spanish Empire, most notably to the Americas, as well as territories in Africa, Oceania, around 75% of modern Spanish is derived from Latin. Greek has also contributed substantially to Spanish vocabulary, especially through Latin, Spanish vocabulary has been in contact from an early date with Arabic, having developed during the Al-Andalus era in the Iberian Peninsula. With around 8% of its vocabulary being Arabic in origin, this language is the second most important influence after Latin and it has also been influenced by Basque as well as by neighboring Ibero-Romance languages. It also adopted words from languages such as Gothic language from the Visigoths in which many Spanish names and surnames have a Visigothic origin. Spanish is one of the six languages of the United Nations. It is the language in the world by the number of people who speak it as a mother tongue, after Mandarin Chinese. It is estimated more than 437 million people speak Spanish as a native language. Spanish is the official or national language in Spain, Equatorial Guinea, speakers in the Americas total some 418 million. In the European Union, Spanish is the tongue of 8% of the population. Spanish is the most popular second language learned in the United States, in 2011 it was estimated by the American Community Survey that of the 55 million Hispanic United States residents who are five years of age and over,38 million speak Spanish at home. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses the term castellano to define the language of the whole Spanish State in contrast to las demás lenguas españolas. Article III reads as follows, El castellano es la lengua española oficial del Estado, las demás lenguas españolas serán también oficiales en las respectivas Comunidades Autónomas. Castilian is the official Spanish language of the State, the other Spanish languages as well shall be official in their respective Autonomous Communities. The Spanish Royal Academy, on the hand, currently uses the term español in its publications. Two etymologies for español have been suggested, the Spanish Royal Academy Dictionary derives the term from the Provençal word espaignol, and that in turn from the Medieval Latin word Hispaniolus, from—or pertaining to—Hispania
Spanish language
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A page of
Cantar de Mio Cid, the oldest preserved Spanish
epic poem, in medieval Spanish.
Spanish language
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Spanish is sole official language at the national level
Spanish language
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Antonio de Nebrija, author of
Gramática de la lengua castellana, the first grammar of modern European languages.
Spanish language
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Miguel de Cervantes author of
Don Quixote, considered the first modern European novel.
2.
Saltire
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A saltire, also called Saint Andrews Cross, is a heraldic symbol in the form of a diagonal cross, like the shape of the letter X in Roman type. The word comes from the Middle French sautoir, possibly owing to the shape of the areas in the design. It appears in flags, including those of Scotland and Jamaica. A variant, also appearing on many past and present flags, a warning sign in the shape of a saltire is also used to indicate the point at which a railway line intersects a road at a level crossing. In Unicode, the cross is encoded at U+2613 ☓ saltire, see X mark#Unicode for similar symbols that might be more accessible. The saltire appears on vexilla that are represented consistently on coinage of Christian emperors of Rome, in the ninth and tenth century the saltire was revived in Constantinople as a symbol of Christian-imperial power. Anne Roes detected the symbol, which appears with balls in the quadrants formed by the arms of the chi-cross. She suggested that early Christians endorsed its solar symbolism as appropriate to Christ and she also wrote, although it cannot be proved. In the white saltire of St. Andrew we still have a reminiscence of the old standard of the Persepolitan kingdom, when two or more saltires appear, they are usually blazoned as cut off. A saltorel is a saltire, the term is usually defined as one-half the width of the saltire. A field per saltire is divided into four areas by a saltire-shaped cut, otherwise, each of the four divisions may be blazoned separately. Examples include, Suffolk County Council, England, The Corporation of the Municipality of Brighton, when five or more compact charges are in saltire, one is in the center and one or more lie on each arm of an invisible saltire. The Saint Andrews Cross was worn as a badge on hats in Scotland, the Cross of Burgundy, a form of the Saint Andrews Cross, is used in numerous flags across Europe and the Americas. It was first used in the 15th century as an emblem by the Valois Dukes of Burgundy, the Duchy of Burgundy, forming a large part of eastern France and the Low Countries, was inherited by the House of Habsburg on the extinction of the Valois ducal line. As a result, the Cross of Burgundy has appeared in a variety of flags connected with territories formerly part of the Burgundian or Habsburg inheritance. Examples of such diversity include the Spanish naval ensign, the flag of Carlism, the flag of the Dutch municipality of Eijsden, the naval ensign of the Imperial Russian and Russian navies is a blue saltire on a white field. Prior to the Union the Royal Scots Navy used a red ensign incorporating the St Andrews Cross, with its colours exchanged, the same design forms part of the arms and flag of Nova Scotia. The Brazilian cities of Rio de Janeiro and Fortaleza also use a blue saltire on a white field, the flags of the Spanish island of Tenerife and the remote Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia also use a white saltire on a blue field
Saltire
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St Andrew crucified crucified on a diagonal cross
Saltire
Saltire
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Timber framing Saltire in Duderstadt, Germany
Saltire
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A blue-and-white saltire used on a road sign to represent the
Flag of Scotland.
3.
House of Valois-Burgundy
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The House of Valois-Burgundy, or the Younger House of Burgundy, was a noble French family deriving from the royal House of Valois. It is distinct from the Capetian House of Burgundy, descendants of King Robert II of France, though both houses stem from the Capetian dynasty. The term Valois Dukes of Burgundy is employed to refer to the dynasty which began after King John II of France granted the French Duchy of Burgundy to his youngest son, Philip the Bold in 1363. During the Hundred Years War, the dukes rivalled with their royal cousins uniting a number of French. However, their plans to establish an autonomous kingdom ultimately failed when the last duke, Charles the Bold, the final ruler of the dynasty, Mary, Duchess of Burgundy, attempted to assert her authority within her domains, but failed. Her lands outside of France passed to her eldest son, Philip, to become the Habsburg Netherlands, Mary died in 1482, thus ending the House of Valois-Burgundy. The former Frankish Kingdom of Burgundy had been divided into a East and West Frankish part by the 843 Treaty of Verdun. The Capetian House of Burgundy became extinct when Duke Philip I died in 1361, before he was able to consummate the marriage with Margaret of Dampierre, the Duchy of Burgundy was then unified with the French royal domain under the Valois king John II. Soon after, however, Johns fourth son Philip the Bold received the Duchy of Burgundy as an appanage from the hands of his father, Philip the Bold ruled as Duke Philip II of Burgundy from 1363 to 1404. Already upon the death of King Charles V of France in 1380, Philip together with Duke Louis I of Anjou, raised in Flanders, Duke John the Fearless succeeded his father in 1404 and unified the heritage of his mother Margaret of Dampierre with the Burgundian duchy. Like his father he quarrelled with his Valois cousin Louis I of Orléans, the remaining tensions with the Orléans liensmen led to the French Armagnac–Burgundian Civil War, whereby Duke John allied with King Henry V of England and in 1418 occupied Paris. Lured into an ambush and murdered by the Armagnac leader Tanneguy du Chastel the next year. Johns son Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy from 1419, by the 1435 Congress of Arras Duke Philip acknowledged the rule of King Charles VII of France and in turn reached the formal independence of the Burgundian lands from the French Crown. In 1441 he also purchased the Duchy of Luxembourg from the last duchess regnant Elisabeth of Görlitz, the Valois-Burgundy duke Charles the Bold, ideal picture of a knightly duke, wore himself out in armed conflicts. With the acquisition of Guelders, the Burgundian Netherlands reached their greatest extent, enraged at the reluctance of the emperor, Charles started the unsuccessful Siege of Neuss in 1474 and became involved in the Burgundian Wars against the Duchy of Lorraine and the Swiss Confederacy. In consequence, the Valois-Burgundy dukes became extinct in the line when Charles was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. The French king could only seize the Duchy of Burgundy proper, Artois, the House of Habsburg abruptly rose to a royal dynasty of European scale, however, at the price of the centuries-long France–Habsburg rivalry. History of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy
House of Valois-Burgundy
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Marriage of Philip the Bold and Margaret of Flanders,
Chroniques de France, late 14th century
House of Valois-Burgundy
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Philip the Bold
House of Valois-Burgundy
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John the Fearless
House of Valois-Burgundy
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Philip the Good
4.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
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One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
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Flag
France
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The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
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With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
5.
Low Countries
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Most of the Low Countries are coastal regions bounded by the North Sea or the English Channel. The countries without access to the sea have linked themselves politically and economically to those with access to one union of port. The Low Countries were the scene of the northern towns, newly built rather than developed from ancient centres. In that period, they rivaled northern Italy for the most densely populated region of Europe, all of the regions mainly depended on trade, manufacturing and the encouragement of the free flow of goods and craftsmen. Germanic languages such as Dutch and Luxembourgish were the predominant languages, secondary languages included French, Romance-speaking Belgium, the Romance Flanders, and Namur. Governor Mary of Hungary used both the expressions les pays de par deça and Pays dEmbas, which evolved to Pays-Bas or Low Countries, today the term is typically fitted to modern political boundaries and used in the same way as the term Benelux, which also includes Luxembourg. The name of the country the Netherlands has the same meaning. The same name of countries can be found in other European languages, for example German Niederlande, French, les Pays-Bas, and so on. In the Dutch language itself no plural is used for the name of the modern country, so Nederland is used for the modern nation and de Nederlanden for the 16th century domains of Charles V. In Dutch, and to an extent in English, the Low Countries colloquially means the Netherlands and Belgium, sometimes the Netherlands. For example, a Derby der Lage Landen, is an event between Belgium and the Netherlands. Belgium was renamed only in 1830, after splitting from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, politically, before the Napoleonic wars, it was referred to as the Southern, Spanish or later Austrian Netherlands. It is still referred to as part of the low countries, the region politically had its origins in Carolingian empire, more precisely, most of it was within the Duchy of Lower Lotharingia. After the disintegration of Lower Lotharingia, the Low Countries were brought under the rule of various lordships until they came to be in the hands of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy. Hence, a part of the low countries came to be referred to as the Burgundian Netherlands also called the Seventeen Provinces up to 1581. Even after the secession of the autonomous Dutch Republic in the north. The Low Countries were part of the Roman provinces of Gallia Belgica, Germania Inferior and they were inhabited by Belgic and Germanic tribes. In the 4th and 5th century, Frankish tribes had entered this Roman region and they came to be ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, under which dynasty the southern part was re-Christianised
Low Countries
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The Low Countries as seen from space with modern day boundaries drawn in thin blue.
6.
Duchy of Burgundy
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Upon the extinction of the line with the death of Duke Philip I in 1361, the duchy fell back to King John II of France and the royal House of Valois. The Burgundian duchy rose to a complex of a European scale after in 1363 King John II of France ceded the duchy to his younger son Philip of Valois. By his marriage with Countess Margaret of Flanders, he laid the foundation for a Burgundian realm further north in the Low Countries collectively known as the Burgundian Netherlands. The Burgundian sphere, in its own right, was one of the largest ducal territories that existed at the time of the emergence of Early Modern Europe. Including the thriving regions of Flanders and Brabant, it was a centre of trade. After about one hundred years of Valois-Burgundy rule, however, the last duke Charles the Bold rushed to the Burgundian Wars and was killed in the 1477 Battle of Nancy. With the abdication of the Habsburg emperor Charles V in 1556, the Burgundians settled in the area around Dijon, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Autun and Châtillon-sur-Seine, and gave the name to the region. The Kingdom of the Burgundians was annexed by the Merovingian Kings of the Franks Childebert I in 534 following their defeat by the Franks and it was recreated, however, on several occasions when Frankish territories were redivided between the sons on the death of a Frankish king. As part of the Kingdom of the Franks, Burgundy maintained a semi-autonomous existence, with the Burgundians maintaining their own law code, however, southern Burgundy was pillaged by the Saracen invasion of the 8th century. When Charles Martel drove the invaders out, he divided Burgundy into four commands, Arles-Burgundy, Vienne-Burgundy, Alamanic Burgundy and he appointed his brother Childebrand governor of Frankish Burgundy. Under the Carolingians, Burgundian separatism lessened and Burgundy became a geographical term. As a vital military defender of the West Frankish border, Guerin was sometimes known by the Latin term for leader – Dux or Duke, by the time of Richard the Justiciar, the Duchy of Burgundy was beginning to emerge. Richard was officially recognised by the king as a duke, he stood as individual count of each county he held. As Duke of Burgundy, he was able to wield an increasing amount of power over his territory, to the collective body of his territory there came to be applied the term ducatus. Included in the ducatus of Richard were the regions of Autunais, Beaunois, Avalois, Lassois, Dijonais, Memontois, Attuyer, Oscheret, under Richard, these territories were given law and order, protected from the Normans, and served as a haven for persecuted monks. It was from his territories in Burgundy that he drew the resources needed to fight those who challenged his right to rule, under Hugh the Black came the beginning of what would be a long and troubled saga for Burgundy. His neighbours were the Robertian family, who held the title of Duke of Francia and this family, wanting to improve their standing in France and against the Carolingian kings, attempted to subject the duchy to the suzerainty of their own duchy. They failed, eventually, when they appeared close to success, they were forced to scrap the scheme, two brothers of Hugh Capet, the first Capetian King of France, took up the rule of Burgundy as duke
Duchy of Burgundy
–
Flag
7.
House of Habsburg
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The House of Habsburg, also called House of Hapsburg, or House of Austria, was one of the most influential royal houses of Europe. The throne of the Holy Roman Empire was continuously occupied by the Habsburgs between 1438 and 1740, from the sixteenth century, following the reign of Charles V, the dynasty was split between its Austrian and Spanish branches. Although they ruled distinct territories, they maintained close relations. The House takes its name from Habsburg Castle, a built in the 1020s in present-day Switzerland, in the canton of Aargau, by Count Radbot of Klettgau. His grandson Otto II was the first to take the name as his own. The House of Habsburg gathered dynastic momentum through the 11th, 12th, by 1276, Count Radbots seventh generation descendant Rudolph of Habsburg had moved the familys power base from Habsburg Castle to the Duchy of Austria. Rudolph had become King of Germany in 1273, and the dynasty of the House of Habsburg was truly entrenched in 1276 when Rudolph became ruler of Austria, which the Habsburgs ruled until 1918. A series of dynastic marriages enabled the family to expand its domains to include Burgundy, Spain and its colonial empire, Bohemia, Hungary. In the 16th century, the separated into the senior Habsburg Spain and the junior Habsburg Monarchy branches. The House of Habsburg became extinct in the 18th century, the senior Spanish branch ended upon the death of Charles II of Spain in 1700 and was replaced by the House of Bourbon. It was succeeded by the Vaudemont branch of the House of Lorraine, the new successor house styled itself formally as the House of Habsburg-Lorraine, although it was often referred to as simply the House of Habsburg. His grandson Radbot, Count of Habsburg founded the Habsburg Castle, the origins of the castles name, located in what is now the Swiss canton of Aargau, are uncertain. There is disagreement on whether the name is derived from the High German Habichtsburg, or from the Middle High German word hab/hap meaning ford, the first documented use of the name by the dynasty itself has been traced to the year 1108. The Habsburg Castle was the seat in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Habsburgs expanded their influence through arranged marriages and by gaining political privileges, in the 13th century, the house aimed its marriage policy at families in Upper Alsace and Swabia. They were also able to high positions in the church hierarchy for their members. Territorially, they often profited from the extinction of other families such as the House of Kyburg. By the second half of the 13th century, count Rudolph IV had become one of the most influential territorial lords in the area between the Vosges Mountains and Lake Constance
House of Habsburg
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House of Habsburg
House of Habsburg
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Growth of the Habsburg Empire in Central Europe.
House of Habsburg
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A map of the dominion of the Habsburgs following the
Battle of Mühlberg (1547) as depicted in The Cambridge Modern History Atlas (1912); Habsburg lands are shaded green, but do not include the lands of the
Holy Roman Empire over which they presided, nor the vast Castilian holdings outside of Europe, particularly in the
New World.
House of Habsburg
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Spanish branch's family tree with connections to Emperors' branch
8.
Spain
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By population, Spain is the sixth largest in Europe and the fifth in the European Union. Spains capital and largest city is Madrid, other urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Bilbao. Modern humans first arrived in the Iberian Peninsula around 35,000 years ago, in the Middle Ages, the area was conquered by Germanic tribes and later by the Moors. Spain is a democracy organised in the form of a government under a constitutional monarchy. It is a power and a major developed country with the worlds fourteenth largest economy by nominal GDP. Jesús Luis Cunchillos argues that the root of the span is the Phoenician word spy. Therefore, i-spn-ya would mean the land where metals are forged, two 15th-century Spanish Jewish scholars, Don Isaac Abravanel and Solomon ibn Verga, gave an explanation now considered folkloric. Both men wrote in two different published works that the first Jews to reach Spain were brought by ship by Phiros who was confederate with the king of Babylon when he laid siege to Jerusalem. This man was a Grecian by birth, but who had given a kingdom in Spain. He became related by marriage to Espan, the nephew of king Heracles, Heracles later renounced his throne in preference for his native Greece, leaving his kingdom to his nephew, Espan, from whom the country of España took its name. Based upon their testimonies, this eponym would have already been in use in Spain by c.350 BCE, Iberia enters written records as a land populated largely by the Iberians, Basques and Celts. Early on its coastal areas were settled by Phoenicians who founded Western Europe´s most ancient cities Cadiz, Phoenician influence expanded as much of the Peninsula was eventually incorporated into the Carthaginian Empire, becoming a major theater of the Punic Wars against the expanding Roman Empire. After an arduous conquest, the peninsula came fully under Roman Rule, during the early Middle Ages it came under Germanic rule but later, much of it was conquered by Moorish invaders from North Africa. In a process took centuries, the small Christian kingdoms in the north gradually regained control of the peninsula. The last Moorish kingdom fell in the same year Columbus reached the Americas, a global empire began which saw Spain become the strongest kingdom in Europe, the leading world power for a century and a half, and the largest overseas empire for three centuries. Continued wars and other problems led to a diminished status. The Napoleonic invasions of Spain led to chaos, triggering independence movements that tore apart most of the empire, eventually democracy was peacefully restored in the form of a parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Spain joined the European Union, experiencing a renaissance and steady economic growth
Spain
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Lady of Elche
Spain
–
Flag
Spain
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Altamira Cave paintings, in
Cantabria.
Spain
–
Celtic castro in
A Guarda,
Galicia.
9.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
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Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
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A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
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Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
10.
Americas
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The Americas, also collectively called America, encompass the totality of the continents of North America and South America. Together they make up most of the land in Earths western hemisphere, along with their associated islands, they cover 8% of Earths total surface area and 28. 4% of its land area. The topography is dominated by the American Cordillera, a chain of mountains that runs the length of the west coast. The flatter eastern side of the Americas is dominated by river basins, such as the Amazon, St. Lawrence River / Great Lakes basin, Mississippi. Humans first settled the Americas from Asia between 42,000 and 17,000 years ago, a second migration of Na-Dene speakers followed later from Asia. The subsequent migration of the Inuit into the neoarctic around 3500 BCE completed what is regarded as the settlement by the indigenous peoples of the Americas. The first known European settlement in the Americas was by the Norse explorer Leif Ericson, however, the colonization never became permanent and was later abandoned. The voyages of Christopher Columbus from 1492 to 1502 resulted in permanent contact with European powers, diseases introduced from Europe and Africa devastated the indigenous peoples, and the European powers colonized the Americas. Mass emigration from Europe, including numbers of indentured servants. Decolonization of the Americas began with the American Revolution in 1776, the population is over 1 billion, with over 65% of them living in one of the three most populous countries. As of the beginning of the 2010s, the most populous urban agglomerations are Mexico City, New York, Sao Paulo, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro, all of them megacities. The name America was first recorded in 1507 in the Cosmographiae Introductio, apparently written by Matthias Ringmann and it first applied to both North and South America by Gerardus Mercator in 1538. Amerigen means land of Amerigo and derives from Amerigo and gen, America accorded with the feminine names of Asia, Africa, and Europa. When conceived as a continent, the form is generally the continent of America in the singular. However, without a context, singular America in English commonly refers to the United States of America. In some countries of the world, America is considered a continent encompassing the North America and South America subcontinents, the first inhabitants migrated into the Americas from Asia. Habitation sites are known in Alaska and the Yukon from at least 20,000 years ago, beyond that, the specifics of the Paleo-Indian migration to and throughout the Americas, including the dates and routes traveled, are subject to ongoing research and discussion. Widespread habitation of the Americas occurred during the glacial maximum
Americas
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CIA political map of the Americas in
Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection
Americas
–
The Americas
Americas
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Parkin Site, a Mississippian site in Arkansas, circa 1539.
Americas
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World map of
Waldseemüller (Germany, 1507), which first used the name America (in the lower-left section, over South America)
11.
Crown of Castile
–
The title of King of Castile remained in use by the Habsburg rulers during the 16th and 17th centuries. Charles I was King of Aragon, Majorca, Valencia, and Sicily, in the early 18th century, Philip of Bourbon won the War of the Spanish Succession and imposed unification policies over the Crown of Aragon, supporters of their enemies. This unified the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile into the kingdom of Spain, even though the Nueva Planta decrees did not formally abolish the Crown of Castile, the country of was called Spain by both contemporaries and historians. King of Castile also remains part of the title of Felipe VI of Spain. The Kingdom of León arose out of the Kingdom of Asturias, the Kingdom of Castile appeared initially as a county of the Kingdom of León. From the second half of the 10th century to the first half of the 11th century it changed hands between León and the Kingdom of Navarre, in the 11th century it became a kingdom in its own right. The two kingdoms had been united twice previously, From 1037 until 1065 under Ferdinand I of León, upon his death his kingdoms passed to his sons, León to Alfonso VI, Castile to Sancho II, and Galicia to García. From 1072 until 1157 under Alfonso VI, Urraca, and Alfonso VII, from 1111 until 1126 Galicia was separate from the union under Alfonso VII. In 1157 the kingdoms were divided between Alfonsos sons, with Ferdinand II receiving León and Sancho III Castile, from then on the two kingdoms were united under the name of the Kingdom of León and Castile, or simply as the Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III later conquered the Guadalquivir Valley, while his son Alfonso X conquered the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus, the heir to the throne has been titled Prince of Asturias since the 14th century. Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III, the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three estates, which corresponded with the nobility, the church and the cities, and included representation from Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Navarre, under Alfonso X, most sessions of the Cortes of both kingdoms were held jointly. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid comprised representatives of Castile, Extremadura and León, subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora, but the representatives demanded that the parliaments be reunited from then on. These laws continued to be in force until 1889, when a new Spanish civil code, in the 13th century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castilian, Leonese, Basque and Galician-Portuguese. But, as the century progressed, Castilian gained increasing prominence as the language of culture, henceforth all public documents were written in Castilian, likewise all translations of Arabic legal and government documents were made into Castilian instead of Latin. In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs, the first edition of the Grammar of the Castilian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published, Castilian was eventually carried to the Americas in the 16th century by the conquistadors. Because of Castilians importance in the land ruled by the Spanish Crown, on the death of Alfonso XI a dynastic conflict started between his sons, the Infantes Peter and Henry, Count of Trastámara, which became entangled in the Hundred Years War. Alfonso XI had married Maria of Portugal with whom he had his heir, however, the King also had many illegitimate children with Eleanor of Guzman, among them the above-mentioned Henry, who disputed Peters right to the throne once the latter became king
Crown of Castile
–
The Recapture of Granada (F. Padilla)
Crown of Castile
–
Royal Standard
Crown of Castile
–
Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs (The return of Columbus)
Crown of Castile
–
"The Comuneros Padilla, Bravo and Maldonado in the Patíbulo ", by
Antonio Gisbert, 1860.
12.
Crown of Aragon
–
Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
Crown of Aragon
–
Petronilla of Aragon (1136–1173) and
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona (ca. 1131–1162) depicted in a 16th-century painting.
Crown of Aragon
–
Standard
Crown of Aragon
–
Equestrian heraldic representation of King of Aragon in the "Equestrian armorial of the Golden Fleece" 1433-1435.
Crown of Aragon
–
Ferdinand V and
Isabella I,
King and Queen of Castile and León, and later of Aragon, Valencia, Sicily, and Majorca
13.
Ensign
–
Ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern of the ship, the naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle, the ensign differs from the jack which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel. In its widest sense, an ensign is just a flag or other standard, the European military rank of ensign, once responsible for bearing a units standard derives from it. In contrast, the Arab rank of ensign, liwa, derives from the command of a unit or units with an ensign, not the carrier of such a units ensign, and is a general officer. In Arab armies, ensign is a title equivalent to a Western brigade. In nautical use, the ensign is flown on a ship or boat to indicate its appartenance, while this includes its nationality, it may well indicate more information rather than being the national flag itself. This is particularly common for commonwealth and European countries, ensigns are usually at the stern flagstaff when in port, and may be shifted to a gaff or mast amidships when the ship is under way, becoming known as a steaming ensign. Vexillologists distinguish three varieties of a national flag used as an ensign, A civil ensign is worn by merchant. In some countries the yacht ensign, used on boats or ships instead of merchant vessels. A state ensign or government ensign is worn by government vessels, a naval ensign is used by a countrys navy. Such ensigns are strictly regulated and indicate if the vessel is a warship, a merchant ship, several Commonwealth countries national flags had their origin in the ensigns of their original colonising power, the United Kingdom. Most notable of these flags are those of Australia, New Zealand. It is also likely that the original design from which the flag of the United States developed was strongly influenced by the British Red Ensign or the flag of the East India Company. With the creation of independent air forces and the growth in aviation in the first half of the 20th century. These may be divided into air force ensigns and civil air ensigns, in heraldry, an ensign is the ornament or sign, such as the crown, coronet, or mitre, borne above the charge or arms. Distinguishing mark Maritime flag Znamierowski, Alfred, the world encyclopedia of flags, The definitive guide to international flags, banners, standards and ensigns
Ensign
–
National civil ensign of New Zealand flown from the stern of
Hikitia
Ensign
Ensign
14.
Jeton
–
Jetons were token or coin-like medals produced across Europe from the 13th through the 17th centuries. They were produced as counters for use in calculation on a board similar to an abacus. They also found use as a substitute in games, similar to modern casino chips or poker chips. Thousands of different jetons exist, mostly of religious and educational designs, as well as portraits, addition is straightforward, and relatively efficient algorithms for multiplication and division were known. As Arabic numerals and the zero came into use, pen reckoning gradually displaced counter casting as the accounting method. Jetons for calculation were commonly used in Europe from about 1200 to 1400, from the late 13th century to the end of the 14th century, purpose-made jetons were produced in England, similar in design to contemporary Edwardian pennies. Although they were made of brass they were pierced or indented at the centre to avoid them being plated with silver. By the middle of the 14th century, English jetons were being produced at a larger size, throughout the 15th century, competition from France and the Low Countries ended jeton manufacture in England, but this did not last long. Nuremberg jeton masters initially started by copying counters of their European neighbours, later - counter casting being obsolete - the production shifted to jetons for use in games and toys, sometimes copying more or less famous jetons with a political background as the following. In the Nederlanden, the Low Countries, the mints in the late Middle Ages in general produced the counters for the official bookkeeping. These mostly show the effigy of the ruler within a text and on the reverse the rulers escutcheon. During the Dutch Revolt this pattern changed and by both parties, the North in front, about 2,000 different, mostly political, jetons were minted depicting the victories, ideals and aims. In the sixteenth century, the Czech Royal Treasury bought between two and three pieces at the beginning of each year. They are usually made of metal or hard plastic, and are generally called tokens in English-speaking countries, in France and other countries, jeton is also a small amount of money paid to members of a society or a legislative chamber each time they are present in a meeting. In the German language, the word Jeton refers specifically to casino tokens, in the Polish language, the word żeton, pronounced similarly to French jeton, refers both to tokens used in the vending machines, phones etc. as well to those used in the casinos. The word жетон has the use in the Russian language. In the Hungarian language the word zseton is slang for money, menninger, Karl W. Number Words and Number Symbols, A Cultural History of Numbers. Rouyer, Jules, Eugène Frédéric Ferdinand Hucher, Michel Pastoureau, histoire du jeton au Moyen âge
Jeton
–
Jeton, Nuremberg, ca 1553, the moneychanger, diam 28 mm
Jeton
–
Counting table (woodcut probably from Strasbourg). The lines and the spaces between the lines function like the wires on an abacus. The place value is marked at the end.
Jeton
–
Jeton, Dordrecht 1588, the invincible Armada destroyed, diam 30 mm
Jeton
15.
Lille
–
Lille is a city in northern France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near Frances border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern-day quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes, and Vieux Lille. The legend of Lydéric and Phinaert puts the foundation of the city of Lille at 640, in the 8th century, the language of Old Low Franconian was spoken here, as attested by toponymic research. Lilles Dutch name is Rijsel, which comes from ter ijsel, the French equivalent has the same meaning, Lille comes from lîle. From 830 until around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders, after the destruction caused by Norman and Magyar invasion, the eastern part of the region was ruled by various local princes. The first mention of the dates from 1066, apud Insulam. At the time, it was controlled by the County of Flanders, the County of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the Scheldt, one of the richest and most prosperous regions of Europe. A notable local in this period was Évrard, who lived in the 9th century and participated in many of the days political, there was an important Battle of Lille in 1054. From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow, in 1144 Saint-Sauveur parish was formed, which would give its name to the modern-day quartier Saint-Sauveur. Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders was imprisoned and the county fell into dispute, it would be his wife, Jeanne, Countess of Flanders and Constantinople and she was said to be well loved by the residents of Lille, who by that time numbered 10,000. He pushed the kingdoms of Flanders and Hainaut towards sedition against Jeanne in order to recover his land and she called her cousin, Louis VIII. He unmasked the imposter, whom Countess Jeanne quickly had hanged, in 1226 the King agreed to free Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders. Count Ferrand died in 1233, and his daughter Marie soon after, in 1235, Jeanne granted a city charter by which city governors would be chosen each All Saints Day by four commissioners chosen by the ruler. On 6 February 1236, she founded the Countesss Hospital, which one of the most beautiful buildings in Old Lille. It was in her honour that the hospital of the Regional Medical University of Lille was named Jeanne of Flanders Hospital in the 20th century, the Countess died in 1244 in the Abbey of Marquette, leaving no heirs. The rule of Flanders and Hainaut thus fell to her sister, Margaret II, Countess of Flanders, then to Margarets son, Lille fell under the rule of France from 1304 to 1369, after the Franco-Flemish War. The county of Flanders fell to the Duchy of Burgundy next, after the 1369 marriage of Margaret III, Countess of Flanders, Lille thus became one of the three capitals of said Duchy, along with Brussels and Dijon. By 1445, Lille counted some 25,000 residents, Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, was even more powerful than the King of France, and made Lille an administrative and financial capital
Lille
–
Grand' place, Lille city centre.
Lille
–
The 'Vieille Bourse' on the 'Grand Place'
Lille
–
1641 map of Lille (Rijssel) in
Flandria Illustrata by
Anton Sander (Sanderus)
Lille
–
Entrance to the 'Vauban Citadel' (17th century)
16.
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Charles V was ruler of both the Spanish Empire from 1516 and the Holy Roman Empire from 1519, as well as of the Habsburg Netherlands from 1506. He voluntarily stepped down from these and other positions by a series of abdications between 1554 and 1556, through inheritance, he brought together under his rule extensive territories in western, central, and southern Europe, and the Spanish colonies in the Americas and Asia. As a result, his domains spanned nearly four square kilometers and were the first to be described as the empire on which the sun never sets. Charles was the heir of three of Europes leading dynasties, the Houses of Valois-Burgundy, Habsburg, and Trastámara and he inherited the Burgundian Netherlands and the Franche-Comté as heir of the House of Valois-Burgundy. From his own dynasty, the Habsburgs, he inherited Austria and he was also elected to succeed his Habsburg grandfather, Maximilian I, as Holy Roman Emperor, a title held by the Habsburgs since 1440. Charles was the first king to rule Castile and Aragon simultaneously in his own right, the personal union, under Charles, of the Holy Roman Empire with the Spanish Empire resulted in the closest Europe would come to a universal monarchy since the death of Louis the Pious. France recovered and the wars continued for the remainder of Charless reign, enormously expensive, they led to the development of the first modern professional army in Europe, the Tercios. The struggle with the Ottoman Empire was fought in Hungary and the Mediterranean, after seizing most of eastern and central Hungary in 1526, the Ottomans’ advance was halted at their failed Siege of Vienna in 1529. A lengthy war of attrition, conducted on his behalf by his younger brother Ferdinand, in the Mediterranean, although there were some successes, Charles was unable to prevent the Ottomans’ increasing naval dominance and the piratical activity of the Barbary Corsairs. Charles opposed the Reformation and in Germany he was in conflict with the Protestant Princes of the Schmalkaldic League who were motivated by religious and political opposition to him. Once the rebellions were quelled the essential Castilian and Burgundian territories remained mostly loyal to Charles throughout his rule, Charles’s Spanish dominions were the chief source of his power and wealth, and they became increasingly important as his reign progressed. In the Americas, Charles sanctioned the conquest by Castillian conquistadors of the Aztec, Castillian control was extended across much of South and Central America. The resulting vast expansion of territory and the flows of South American silver to Castile had profound long term effects on Spain. Charles was only 56 when he abdicated, but after 34 years of rule he was physically exhausted and sought the peace of a monastery. Upon Charles’s abdications, the Holy Roman Empire was inherited by his younger brother Ferdinand, the Spanish Empire, including the possessions in the Netherlands and Italy, was inherited by Charles’s son Philip II. The two empires would remain allies until the 18th century, Charles was born in 1500 as the eldest son of Philip the Handsome and Joanna of Castile in the Flemish city of Ghent, which was part of the Habsburg Netherlands. The culture and courtly life of the Burgundian Low Countries were an important influence in his early life and he was tutored by William de Croÿ, and also by Adrian of Utrecht. He also gained a decent command of German, though he never spoke it as well as French, a witticism sometimes attributed to Charles is, I speak Spanish to God, Italian to women, French to men and German to my horse
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Charrles V by
Titian, 1548.
Alte Pinakothek, Munich, Germany
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Signature
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
Copper coin "korte" with portrait of Charles V, struck in Antwerp, 1548
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
–
A young Charles V, by
Bernard van Orley,
Louvre Museum, Paris, France
17.
Duke of Burgundy
–
Under the Ancien Régime, the Duke of Burgundy was the premier lay peer of the kingdom of France. Beginning with Robert II of France, the title was held by the Capetians and it was granted to Roberts younger son, Robert, who founded the House of Burgundy. When the senior line of the House of Burgundy became extinct, John granted the duchy as an appanage for his younger son, Philip the Bold. The Valois Dukes of Burgundy became dangerous rivals to the line of the House of Valois. When the male line of the Valois Dukes of Burgundy became extinct, today, the title is used by the House of Bourbon as a revived courtesy title. His descendants and their relatives by marriage ruled the duchy until its annexation over a century later by the French crown, their suzerain. Richard the Justiciar Rudolph, then King of France Hugh the Black Gilbert Otto Eudes Henry the Great Otto William In 1004, Burgundy was annexed by the king, Otto William continued to rule what would come to be called the Free County of Burgundy. His descendants formed another House of Ivrea, Robert Henry Robert, son of Robert II of France, received the Duchy as a peace settlement, having disputed the succession to the throne of France with his brother Henry. John II of France, the second Valois king, successfully claimed the Duchy after the death of Philip, John then passed the duchy to his youngest son Philip as an apanage. In 1477, the territory of the Duchy of Burgundy was annexed by France, in the same year, Mary married Maximilian, Archduke of Austria, giving the Habsburgs control of the remainder of the Burgundian Inheritance. They often used the term Burgundy to refer to it, until the late 18th century, at the same time, various members of the French royal family, most notably Louis, Dauphin of France, the father of Louis XV of France, also used the title. Duchess of Burgundy Kingdom of Burgundy King of Burgundy Duchy of Burgundy County of Burgundy Count of Burgundy Dukes of Burgundy family tree Calmette, the Golden Age of Burgundy, the Magnificent Dukes and Their Courts. Les Origines du Duché de Bourgogne
Duke of Burgundy
–
Robert I the Old (Robert I er le Vieux)
Duke of Burgundy
–
Cross of Burgundy Flag
Duke of Burgundy
–
Odo I Borel the Red (Eudes I er Borel le Roux)
Duke of Burgundy
–
Hugh II (Hugues II)
18.
Andrew the Apostle
–
Andrew the Apostle, also known as Saint Andrew and called in the Orthodox tradition Prōtoklētos or the First-called, was a Christian Apostle and the brother of Saint Peter. The name Andrew, like other Greek names, appears to have been common among the Jews, Christians, no Hebrew or Aramaic name is recorded for him. According to Orthodox tradition, the successor to Saint Andrew is the Patriarch of Constantinople. The New Testament states that Andrew was the brother of Simon Peter and he was born in the village of Bethsaida on the Sea of Galilee. Both he and his brother Peter were fishermen by trade, hence the tradition that Jesus called them to be his disciples by saying that he make them fishers of men. At the beginning of Jesus public life, they were said to have occupied the house at Capernaum. In the Gospel of Matthew and in the Gospel of Mark Simon Peter and these narratives record that Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, observed Simon and Andrew fishing, and called them to discipleship. In the parallel incident in the Gospel of Luke Andrew is not named, the narrative indicates that Simon was not the only fisherman in the boat but it is not until the next chapter that Andrew is named as Simons brother. However, it is understood that Andrew was fishing with Simon on the night in question. Matthew Poole, in his Annotations on the Holy Bible, stressed that Luke denies not that Andrew was there. In contrast, the Gospel of John states that Andrew was a disciple of John the Baptist, whose testimony first led him, Andrew at once recognized Jesus as the Messiah, and hastened to introduce him to his brother. Thenceforth, the two brothers were disciples of Christ, on a subsequent occasion, prior to the final call to the apostolate, they were called to a closer companionship, and then they left all things to follow Jesus. Subsequently, in the gospels, Andrew is referred to as being present on important occasions as one of the disciples more closely attached to Jesus. Andrew told Jesus about the boy with the loaves and fishes, Andrew was present at the Last Supper. Andrew was one of the four disciples who came to Jesus on the Mount of Olives to ask about the signs of Jesus return at the end of the age, Eusebius in his church history 3,1 quoted Origen as saying that Andrew preached in Scythia. The Chronicle of Nestor adds that he preached along the Black Sea and the Dnieper river as far as Kiev, hence, he became a patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia. According to tradition, he founded the See of Byzantium in AD38, according to Hippolytus of Rome, Andrew preached in Thrace, and his presence in Byzantium is also mentioned in the apocryphal Acts of Andrew. Basil of Seleucia also knew of Apostle Andrews missions in Thrace, Scythia and this diocese would later develop into the Patriarchate of Constantinople
Andrew the Apostle
–
Saint Andrew the Apostle by
Artus Wolffort
Andrew the Apostle
–
The Calling of Saints Peter and Andrew by
Caravaggio
Andrew the Apostle
–
Crucifixion of St. Andrew, by
Juan Correa de Vivar (1540 - 1545).
Andrew the Apostle
–
Saint Andrew of Patras basilica, where St. Andrew's relics are kept
19.
Heraldry
–
The beauty and pageantry of heraldic designs allowed them to survive the gradual abandonment of armour on the battlefield during the seventeenth century. Heraldry has been described poetically as the handmaid of history, the shorthand of history, in modern times, heraldry is used by individuals, public and private organizations, corporations, cities, towns, and regions to symbolize their heritage, achievements, and aspirations. Various symbols have been used to represent individuals or groups for thousands of years, similar emblems and devices are found in ancient Mesopotamian art of the same period, and the precursors of heraldic beasts such as the griffin can also be found. In the Bible, the Book of Numbers refers to the standards and ensigns of the children of Israel, the Greek and Latin writers frequently describe the shields and symbols of various heroes, and units of the Roman army were sometimes identified by distinctive markings on their shields. The Book of Saint Albans, compiled in 1486, declares that Christ himself was a gentleman of coat armour, the medieval heralds also devised arms for various knights and lords from history and literature. Notable examples include the toads attributed to Pharamond, the cross and martlets of Edward the Confessor, and the arms attributed to the Nine Worthies. These too are now regarded as an invention, rather than evidence of the antiquity of heraldry. The development of the modern heraldic language cannot be attributed to an individual, time. Yet no individual is depicted twice bearing the arms, nor are any of the descendants of the various persons depicted known to have borne devices resembling those in the tapestry. A Spanish manuscript from 1109 describes both plain and decorated shields, none of which appears to have been heraldic, in England, from the time of the Norman conquest, official documents had to be sealed. A notable example of an armorial seal is attached to a charter granted by Philip I, Count of Flanders. Seals from the part of the eleventh and early twelfth centuries show no evidence of heraldic symbolism. One of the earliest known examples of armory as it came to be practiced can be seen on the tomb of Geoffrey Plantagenet, Count of Anjou. An enamel, probably commissioned by Geoffreys widow between 1155 and 1160, depicts him carrying a shield decorated with six golden lions rampant. He wears a helmet adorned with another lion, and his cloak is lined in vair. A medieval chronicle states that Geoffrey was given a shield of this description when he was knighted by his father-in-law, Henry I, in 1128, but this account probably dates to about 1175. Since Henry was the son of Geoffrey Plantagenet, it seems reasonable to suppose that the adoption of lions as an emblem by Henry or his sons might have been inspired by Geoffreys shield. Richard is also credited with having originated the English crest of a lion statant and it is from this garment that the phrase coat of arms is derived
Heraldry
–
The German
Hyghalmen Roll was made in the late 15th century and illustrates the German practice of repeating themes from the arms in the crest. (See
Roll of arms).
Heraldry
–
Shields of Magister Militum Praesentalis II. Page from the
Notitia Dignitatum, a medieval copy of a Late Roman register of military commands
Heraldry
–
An extravagant example of marshalling: the 719 quarterings of the
Grenville Armorial at
Stowe.
Heraldry
–
The
Zechariah Seal coat of arms.
20.
Blazon
–
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to such a description. Blazon also refers to the language in which a blazon is written. This language has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, or rules governing word order, other objects — such as badges, banners, and seals — may also be described in blazon. The word blazon is not to be confused with the verb to emblazon, or the noun emblazonment, the word blazon is derived from French blason, shield. It was found in English by the end of the 14th century, formerly, experts in heraldry assumed that the word was related to the German verb blasen, to blow. Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved, the blazon of armorials follows a rigid formula, designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic. The rules of blazonry are as follows, Every blazon of a coat of arms begins by describing the field, with first letter as a capital, in a majority of cases this is a single tincture, e. g. Azure. If the field is complex, the variation is described, followed by the used, e. g. Chequy gules. The most common names are historically abbreviated. A Tincture is named only once in a given blazon, the principal charge are then named, with their tincture, e. g. a bend or. The principal charge is followed by any other charges placed around or on it, if a charge be a bird or beast, its attitude is described, followed by the animals tincture, followed by anything that may be differently coloured, e. g. An eagle displayed gules armed and wings charged with trefoils or, any accessories present — such as crown/coronet, helmet, torse, mantling, crest, motto, supporters and compartment — are then described in turn, using the same terminology and syntax. According to Boutell, It appears desirable always to print all heraldic blazon in italic, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word-order and punctuation, and showing it in italics thus indicates to the reader the presence of a quasi-foreign language. A quartered shield is blazoned one quarter at a time, proceeding by rows from chief to base, a divided shield is blazoned party per or parted per, though the word party or parted is almost always omitted. A tincture is sometimes replaced by of the first, of the second etc. to avoid repetition of tincture names, counterchanged means that a charge which straddles a line of division is tinctured of the same tinctures as the divided field, reversed. But as to the formulae of blazoning, John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, wrote in 1985
Blazon
–
Azure, a
bend or. A coat made famous by the mediaeval court case
Scrope v. Grosvenor.
21.
Argent
–
In heraldry, argent /ˈɑːrdʒənt/ is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures, called metals. It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it, in engravings and line drawings, regions to be tinctured argent are either left blank or indicated with the abbreviation ar. in them. The name derives from Latin argentum, translated as silver or white metal, the word argent had the same meaning in Old French blazon, from which it passed into the English language. In some historical depictions of coats of arms, a kind of leaf was applied to those parts of the device that were argent. Over time, the content of these depictions has tarnished and darkened. As a result, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish regions that were intended as argent from those that were sable. This leaves an impression that the rule of tincture has been violated in cases where. He bases this in part on the labels used to difference the arms of members of the British Royal Family. However, it has argued that these could be regarded as white labels proper. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since the information is so often sought after. Many sources give different meanings, but argent is often said to represent the following, Of jewels, the pearl Of heavenly bodies, the Moon Of metals, silver
Argent
–
For other uses, see
Argent (disambiguation).
22.
Gules
–
In heraldry, gules is the tincture with the colour red, and belongs to the class of dark tinctures called colours. In engraving, it is depicted as a region of vertical lines or else marked with gu. as an abbreviation. In Polish heraldry, gules is the most common tincture of the field, through the sixteenth century, nearly half of all noble coats of arms in Poland had a field gules with one or more argent charges on them. The original coat of arms of the family was plain gules. Sometimes, the different tinctures are said to be connected with special meanings or virtues, even if this is an idea mostly disregarded by serious heraldists throughout the centuries, it may be of anecdotal interest to see what they are, since people often ask for this information. Many sources give different meanings, but the gules tincture is said to represent the following, of jewels. The term gules derives from the Old French word goules, literally meaning throats, for many decades, heraldic authors have believed that the term may have arisen from the Persian word گل, but according to Brault there is no evidence to support this derivation
Gules
–
The
escutcheon in the
coat of arms of Amsterdam has a
field gules.
23.
Pedro de Ayala
–
His mission to Scotland was concerned with the Kings marriage and the international crisis caused by the pretender Perkin Warbeck. In his later career he supported Catherine of Aragon in England but was involved in a decade of rivalry with the resident Spanish ambassador in London, Ayala was a Papal prothonotary, Archdeacon of London, and Bishop of the Canary Islands. Sources in English reveal little of Ayalas background, however he was from the family of the Counts of Fuensalida in Toledo. He was the son of Pedro Lopez de Ayala, Commendator of Mora and Treze and his contemporary, the historian Polydore Virgil, who may have known him in England, remarks that he was clever, but no scholar. In November 1493, Don Pedro de Ayala and Don Garcí Lopez de Carbajal were sent in embassy to King John II of Portugal and their mission concerned the line of demarcation between Spanish and Portuguese maritime exploration. The issue now particularly concerned Ferdinand and Isabella as sponsors of Christopher Columbus, King John II was displeased by the embassy and the news of Columbuss latest voyage. He is said to have shown the Spanish ambassadors the strength of his cavalry, as if to intimidate them, and later mocked Don Pedro for his limp, and Don Garcia for his frivolous character. A second negotiation by Portuguese commissioners in Spain in March 1494 was more successful, before Pedro de Ayala arrived in Scotland, James IV had received several brief Spanish embassies. In 1489, Don Martin de Torre got a formal reception at Linlithgow Palace, martins servants presented a sword and a dagger to James and he gave them gloves containing gold coins. Martin then departed to England with the Scottish Snawdoun Herald and he returned two years later in July 1491 bringing a troop of Spanish dancers who performed on Edinburghs Royal Mile outside the Lord Treasurers house. Once again, Martin came to Scotland with a colleague Garcia de Herrara in September 1495, unfortunately, their confidential instructions concerning Ferdinand and Isabellas lukewarm position on a Spanish marriage for James IV arrived first, and James read them. Despite this poor start, they stayed through the winter, the Spanish ambassadors obtained a Latin copy of a love letter believed to be Perkin Warbecks proposal to Lady Catherine Gordon. There was already a veteran ambassador in London, Dr Rodrigo Gonzalez de Puebla and this alliance between Spain and England was a ratification of the Treaty of Medina del Campo, to be sealed by the marriage of Catherine of Aragon to Arthur, Prince of Wales. James reserved a house in Edinburgh for the Spanish embassy, paying £40 for a years rent, the house stood at the head of Niddrys Wynd on the south side of the Royal Mile, known as the late Walter Bertrames House, now the site of South Bridge. Spain only had permanent resident ambassadors at Rome, Venice, in London, with Maximilian, Isabella had told her ambassador in London, Dr Puebla, that Ayalas job would be to keep James IV in suspense. This was prejudicial to Spains alliance with England by the Treaty of Woking, because of the Auld Alliance between France and Scotland, a Scottish invasion might lead to England at war with France. Henry VIIs response was to join the Holy League in October 1496, Don Pedro de Ayala employed his diplomatic skill to ingratiate himself with James IV and undermine Perkin Warbeck. Twice Ayala went to the English border with the Scottish army, four of his Spanish servants were killed and three were injured in the fighting
Pedro de Ayala
–
James IV of Scotland counted Pedro de Ayala as a friend
Pedro de Ayala
–
Twizell Castle on the
River Till was destroyed by the Scots in 1496, the ruins were partially reconstructed in the 18th-century
Pedro de Ayala
–
Norham Castle; Pedro de Ayala was present at the siege in August 1497, after holding talks with the keeper
Richard Foxe in July
Pedro de Ayala
–
Pedro de Ayala was accused of advising
Juana la Loca, the sister of
Catherine of Aragon, behind her husband's back.
24.
Flag of Scotland
–
The Flag of Scotland, also known as St Andrews Cross or the Saltire, is the national flag of Scotland. As the national flag, the Saltire, rather than the Royal Standard of Scotland, is the flag for all individuals. It is also, where possible, flown from Scottish Government buildings every day from 8am until sunset, according to legend, the Christian apostle and martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, was crucified on an X-shaped cross at Patras, in Achaea. Use of the iconography of his martyrdom, showing the apostle bound to an X-shaped cross. It was again depicted on seals used during the late 13th century, including on one used by the Guardians of Scotland, using a simplified symbol which does not depict St. Andrews image, the saltire or crux decussata, began in the late 14th century. In June 1385, the Parliament of Scotland decreed that Scottish soldiers serving in France would wear a white Saint Andrews Cross, both in front and behind, for identification. The earliest reference to the Saint Andrews Cross as a flag is found in the Vienna Book of Hours, circa 1503, supposedly, a miraculous white saltire appeared in the blue sky and Óengus troops were roused to victory by the omen. Consisting of a blue background over which is placed a white representation of an X-shaped cross, in heraldic language, it may be blazoned azure, a saltire argent. The tincture of the Saltire can appear as silver or white. In the case of the Saltire, variations in shades of blue have resulted in the background of the flag ranging from sky blue to navy blue. Some flag manufacturers selected the same navy blue colour trend of the Union Flag for the Saltire itself, leading to a variety of shades of blue being depicted on the flag of Scotland. Having taken advice from a number of sources, including the office of the Lord Lyon King of Arms, recent versions of the Saltire have therefore largely converged on this official recommendation. The flag proportions are not fixed, however the Lord Lyon King of Arms states that 5,4 is suitable. The ratio of the width of the bars of the saltire in relation to the width of the field is specified in heraldry in relation to shield width rather than flag width. However, this ratio, though not rigid, is specified as one-third to one-fifth of the width of the field. According to legend, in 832 A. D. Óengus II led an army of Picts and Scots into battle against the Angles, led by Æthelstan, near modern-day Athelstaneford, East Lothian. On the morning of battle white clouds forming the shape of an X were said to have appeared in the sky, Óengus and his combined force, emboldened by this apparent divine intervention, took to the field and despite being inferior in terms of numbers were victorious. The white saltire set against a blue background is said to have been adopted as the design of the flag of Scotland on the basis of this legend
Flag of Scotland
–
Saint Andrew
Flag of Scotland
–
Scotland
Flag of Scotland
–
Challenger 1 tank of the
Royal Scots Dragoon Guards flying a Saltire from the whip antenna.
Flag of Scotland
–
Royal Navy Sea King Mk5 of
HMS Gannet.
25.
John the Fearless
–
John the Fearless, also known as John of Valois and John I of Burgundy, was Duke of Burgundy from 1404 to 1419. He was a member of the Burgundian branch of the Valois Dynasty, for a period of time, he served as regent of France on behalf of his first cousin King Charles VI of France, who suffered from severe mental illness. John was born in Dijon on 27 May 1371 to Philip II the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, in 1385, a double wedding for the Burgundian family took place in Cambrai. The marriage took place after John cancelled his engagement to Catherine of France, before his accession to the Duchy of Burgundy, John was one of the principal leaders of the French forces sent to aid King Sigismund of Hungary in his war against Sultan Bayezid I. John fought in the Battle of Nicopolis of 25 September 1396 with such enthusiasm, despite his personal bravery, his impetuous leadership ended in disaster for the European expedition. He was captured and did not recover his liberty until the year after an enormous ransom was paid. Both men attempted to fill the vacuum left by the demented king. John played a game of marriages by exchanging his daughter Margaret of Burgundy for Michelle of Valois, for her part, Margaret was married to Louis, Duke of Guyenne, the heir to the French throne from 1401 until his death in 1415. For all his concentration on aristocratic politics, John nonetheless did not overlook the importance of the class of merchants. Louis tried to gain the favour of the wife of Charles VI, Queen Isabeau of France and this did not improve relations between John and the Duke of Orléans. Soon the two descended into making open threats. Their uncle, John, Duke of Berry, secured a vow of solemn reconciliation on 20 November 1407, the order, no one doubted, had come from the Duke of Burgundy, who shortly admitted to the deed and declared it to be a justifiable act of tyrannicide. After an escape from Paris and a few skirmishes against the Orléans party, in the treaty of Chartres, signed on 9 March 1409, the King absolved the Duke of Burgundy of the crime, and he and Louis son Charles pledged a reconciliation. A later edict renewed Johns guardianship of the Dauphin, even with the Orléans dispute resolved in his favour, John did not lead a tranquil life. Chief among these allies was his father-in-law Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac, because of this alliance, their faction became known as the Armagnacs in opposition to the Burgundians. With peace between the factions solemnly sworn in 1410, John returned to Burgundy and Bernard remained in Paris, at this time, King Henry V of England invaded French territory and threatened to attack Paris. During the peace negotiations with the Armagnacs, Henry was also in contact with John, despite this, he continued to be wary of forming an alliance with the English for fear of destroying his immense popularity with the common people of France. When Henry demanded Burgundys support for his claim to be the rightful King of France, John backed away and decided to ally himself with the Armagnacs
John the Fearless
–
John the Fearless
John the Fearless
–
Double groat or 'Braspenning', struck under John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy
John the Fearless
–
Miniature showing John the Fearless' assassination painted by
Master of the Prayer Books
John the Fearless
–
John's tomb, photo by
Eugene Trutat
26.
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
–
Alexander Stewart was a Scottish nobleman, Earl of Mar from 1404. He was a son of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Buchan. This event sent major shockwaves throughout the kingdom and Alexander only escaped punishment because he was a relation to the Royal Family. His possession of the Earldom was later regularised in 1424 by grant of his cousin, King James I. Alexander led the so-called Lowland army, in fact that of the north-east and eastern Highlands, against Domhnall of Islay, Lord of the Isles at the bloody and indecisive battle of Harlaw in 1411. Unlike his father, who had been unable to keep the peace in the fractious north-east, Alexander, Walter Bower says, Alexander first married to Isabel Douglas, Countess of Mar. Alexander remarried with Marie van Hoorn, daughter of Willem, Lord of Duffel, in 1410. He died without having a male heir, and the Earldom of Mar passed to the crown. Boardman, Stephen I. The Early Stewart Kings, Robert II and Robert III Edinburgh, ISBN 978-1-904607-68-7 Grant, Alexander, The Wolf of Badenoch in W. D. H. Scottish Society for Northern Studies, Edinburgh,1993, ISBN 0-9505994-7-6 Nigel Tranter, The Stewart Trilogy, Dunton Green, Sevenoaks, Kent, Coronet Books,1986
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
–
Alexander Stewart Alasdair mac Alasdair Mór
Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
–
Heraldic Arms of Alexander Stewart, Earl of Mar
27.
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas
–
Archibald Douglas, Duke of Touraine, Earl of Douglas, Earl of Wigtown, Lord of Annandale, Lord of Galloway, Lord of Bothwell, and 13th Lord of Douglas, was a Scottish nobleman and warlord. He is sometimes given the epithet Tyneman, but this may be a reference to his great-uncle Sir Archibald Douglas, by 1390 he had married the Princess Margaret of Carrick, a daughter of King Robert III of Scotland. Around this time, his father bestowed upon him the regalities of the Ettrick Forest, Lauderdale and Romannobridge, on 4 June 1400, King Robert appointed him Keeper of Edinburgh Castle for life, on a pension of 200 merks a year. At Candlemas 1400 George I, Earl of March and Henry Hotspur Percy had entered Scotland, the villages of Traprain, Markle and Hailes were burnt and two unsuccessful attempts were made to invest Hailes Castle. The Master of Douglas, who held the office of Lord Warden of the Marches, surprised them by night at their camp near East Linton, the Douglases chased the enemy away as far as Berwick upon Tweed, slaughtering many stragglers in the woods near Cockburnspath. Later that summer Douglas was second in command to David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay, Henry was unsuccessful in his endeavours and with Owain Glyndŵrs rebellion gathering apace in Wales, he became the last English monarch to ever invade Scotland in person. Archibald, the 3rd Earl died at Christmas 1400, and the new 4th Earl became the largest and most powerful magnate in the realm and his fathers vast lordships stretched from Galloway Douglasdale, Moray, Clydesdale to the shires of Stirling and Selkirk. These were augmented by the lands of the Earl of Dunbar in Lothian. In 1402 Douglas brother-in-law, the heir to the throne, David Stewart, Duke of Rothesay was held in close arrest, first at the Bishops Palace at St Andrews, at Falkland, Duke David died on 27 March, in what have been alleged to be mysterious circumstances. The Duke was 24 years old and in health prior to his arrest. Prince David had been arrested under a warrant issued in the name of his father the decrepit Robert III, by his uncle, Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany, both Albany and Douglas, were rumoured to have been the authors of any foul play suspected. This can be shewn by the fact both men were summoned to appear before Parliament. This can be considered a whitewash, as the Kingdom of Scots could not afford to lose its two most powerful men due to renewed English hostility, Douglas and Albany were considered to be the only fit antidote to the traitorous Earl of March and his English allies. On 22 June the same year, a small Scots force was beaten by George Dunbar, Douglas led a punitive raid with Murdoch of Fife, Albanys son, as far as Newcastle to avenge the battle. At the head of 10,000 men he laid waste to the whole of Northumberland, March persuaded Henry Percy, 1st Earl of Northumberland, and his son Harry Hotspur Percy to lie in wait for the returning Scots at Wooler. Once Douglas men had made camp at Millfield, relatively low ground, the Scots did however have keen sentries and the army was able to retreat to the higher ground of Homildon hill, and organised into traditional Schiltron formations. Douglas had not learnt the lessons that had defeated his uncle at the Battle of Halidon Hill seventy years previously. The Schiltrons presented a large target for the English Longbowmen, a hundred men, under Sir John Swinton of the Swintons of that Ilk, chose to charge the enemy saying, Better to die in the mellay than be shot down like deer
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas
–
Seal of the 4th Earl of Douglas
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas
–
Seal of the Princess Margaret, Duchess of Touraine, Countess of Douglas. Daughter of
Robert III of Scotland
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas
–
Site of the Battle of Homildon Hill
Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas
–
19th century depiction of Douglas on the left defending the mortally wounded Hotspur at Shrewsbury
28.
Juan Carlos I
–
Juan Carlos I was King of Spain from 1975 until his abdication in 2014. Juan Carlos is the grandson of Alfonso XIII, the last king of Spain prior to the abolition in 1931. Juan Carlos was born in Rome, Italy, during his familys exile, Juan Carloss father, Don Juan, was the fourth child of Alfonso who had renounced his claims to the throne in January 1941. Don Juan was seen by Franco to be too liberal and in 1969, was bypassed in favour of Juan Carlos as Francos successor, Juan Carlos spent his early years in Italy and came to Spain in 1947 to continue his studies. After completing his education in 1955, he began his military training. Later, he attended the Naval Military School, the General Academy of the Air, in 1962, Juan Carlos married Princess Sophia of Greece in Athens, daughter of King Paul. The couple had two daughters and a son together, Elena, Cristina, and Felipe, due to Francos declining health, Juan Carlos first began periodically acting as Spains head of state in the summer of 1974. Expected to continue Francos legacy, soon after his accession, Juan Carlos, however, introduced reforms to dismantle the Francoist regime and this led to the approval of the Spanish Constitution of 1978 in a referendum, which re-established a constitutional monarchy. In 1981, Juan Carlos played a role in preventing a coup that attempted to revert Spain to Francoist government in the Kings name. In 2008, he was considered the most popular leader in all Ibero-America, in 2014, Juan Carlos, citing personal reasons, abdicated in favour of his son, who acceded the throne as Felipe VI. He was baptized as Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias and he was given the name Juan Carlos after his father and maternal grandfather, Prince Carlos of Bourbon-Two Sicilies. His early life was dictated largely by the concerns of his father. He moved to Spain in 1948 to be educated there after his father persuaded Franco to allow it and he began his studies in San Sebastián and finished them in 1954 at the San Isidro Institute in Madrid. He then joined the army, doing his officer training from 1955 to 1957 at the Military Academy of Zaragoza, Juan Carlos has two sisters, Infanta Pilar, Duchess of Badajoz, and Infanta Margarita, Duchess of Soria. He also had a brother, Alfonso. On the evening of Holy Thursday,29 March 1956, Juan Carloss younger brother Alfonso died in a gun accident at the familys home Villa Giralda in Estoril, Portugal. The accident took place at 20.30 hours, after the Infantes return from the Maundy Thursday religious service and it is alleged that Juan Carlos began playing with a gun that had apparently been given to Alfonso by General Franco. Rumors appeared in newspapers that the gun had actually held by Juan Carlos at the moment the shot was fired
Juan Carlos I
–
Juan Carlos I in 2009
Juan Carlos I
–
Juan Carlos de Borbón, painting by
Augusto Ferrer-Dalmau (2014)
Juan Carlos I
–
Juan Carlos de Borbón in 1971
Juan Carlos I
–
Juan Carlos I of Spain on a 100
peseta coin from 1988
29.
Supporter
–
In heraldry, supporters, sometimes referred to as attendants, are figures or objects usually placed on either side of the shield and depicted holding it up. Early forms of supporters are found in medieval seals, however, unlike the coronet or helmet and crest, supporters were not part of early medieval heraldry. As part of the achievement, they first become fashionable towards the end of the 15th century. The arms of nutritionist John Boyd-Orr use two garbs as supporters, the arms of the USS Donald Cook, missiles, the arms of the state of Rio Grande do Norte in Brazil, letters of the alphabet are used as supporters in the arms of Valencia, Spain. Human supporters can also be allegorical figures, or, more rarely, specifically named individuals, the arms of the Congo provide an extremely unusual example of two supporters issuing from behind the shield. While such single supporters are generally eagles with one or two heads, there are examples, including the cathedra in the case of some Canadian cathedrals. At the other extreme and even rarer, the Scottish chief Dundas of that Ilk had three supporters, two red lions and the whole supported by a salamander. The coat of arms of Iceland even has four supporters, an example of whales non-rampant is the arms of the Dutch municipality of Zaanstad. However, medieval Scottish seals afford numerous examples in which the 13th and 14th century shields were placed between two creatures resembling lizards or dragons, further, on his retirement from office as Chief Herald, Robert Watt was granted supporters as an honour. Trees and other objects which are sometimes used are called Soutiens. Knights Grand Companion and Principal Companions of the New Zealand Order of Merit are granted the use of heraldic supporters, originally, in England, supporters were regarded as little more than mere decorative and artistic appendages. In the United Kingdom, supporters are typically an example of royal favour. Hereditary supporters are normally limited to hereditary peers, certain members of the Royal Family, knights banneret were also granted non-hereditary supporters, but no such knight has been created since the time of Charles I. Tom Brown was so knighted by George II at the Battle of Dettingen, supporters may also be granted to corporations which have a royal charter
Supporter
–
An angel is the single supporter of this
Kraków sculpture of the
arms of Poland.
Supporter
Supporter
–
Flags and cannons are the supporters in the arms of Kazimierz Raczyński
30.
Philip I of Castile
–
Philip I called the Handsome or the Fair, was the first member of the house of Habsburg to be King of Castile. He was the first Habsburg monarch in Spain, the future King Henry VIII of England met Philip the Handsome on a visit Philip made to Henrys fathers court in London and regarded him as providing a model of leadership towards which he aspired. The two would become brothers-in-law since Philip married Joanna of Castile, and Henry married Joannas youngest sister, in 1482, upon the death of his mother, he succeeded to her Burgundian possessions under the guardianship of his father. A period of turmoil ensued which witnessed sporadic hostilities between, principally, the towns of Flanders and the supporters of Maximilian. Both sides came to terms in the Treaty of Senlis in 1493 and this smoothed over the internal power struggle as the two sides agreed to make the 15-year-old Philip prince in the following year. On 20 October 1496, he married Joanna, daughter of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile, in Lier, the matter became more urgent after Charles VIIIs invasion of Italy. Philips sister Margaret married John, Prince of Asturias, only son of Ferdinand and Isabella and heir apparent to the crowns of Castile. The double alliance was never intended to let the Spanish kingdoms fall under Habsburg control, at the time of her marriage to Philip, Joanna was third in line to the throne, with John and their sister Isabella married and hopeful of progeny. In 1500, shortly after the birth in Flanders of Joanna and Philips second child, the heir apparent, John, had died in 1497 very shortly after his marriage to Margaret of Austria. The crown thereby seemed destined to devolve upon his and Joannas elder sister Isabella, the succession to the Castilian and Aragonese crowns now fell to Joanna. Because Ferdinand could produce another heir, the Cortes of Aragon refused to recognize Joanna as heir presumptive to the Kingdom of Aragon, in the Kingdom of Castile, however, the succession was clear. Moreover, there was no Salic tradition which the Castilian Cortes could use to thwart the succession passing to Joanna. Philip and the majority of the returned to the Low Countries in the following year, leaving a pregnant Joanna behind in Madrid. Philips life with Joanna was rendered extremely unhappy by his infidelity and political insecurity, most historians now agree she was merely clinically depressed at the time, not insane as commonly believed. Before her mothers death, in 1504, husband and wife were living apart. In 1504, Philips mother-in-law, Queen Isabella of Castile, died, Isabella Is widower and former co-monarch, King Ferdinand II, endeavored to lay hands on the regency of Castile, but the nobles, who disliked and feared him, forced him to withdraw. Philip was summoned to Spain, where he was recognized as king, however, en route to Spain in January 1506, Philip and Joanna were caught in a tempest and shipwrecked off the Dorset coast, forcing them on shore near Melcombe Regis. The couple stayed as guests of Henry VII of England but were in fact hostages for the duration of their stay, after handing over Edmund, Philip and Joanna were allowed to leave England after a stay of six weeks
Philip I of Castile
–
Philip I
Philip I of Castile
–
Holland, gold florin 'Philippus Goudgulden', struck in Dordrecht under the reign of Philip the Fair
Philip I of Castile
–
Philip by the
Master of the Legend of the Magdalen
Philip I of Castile
–
Engraving of Philip I of Castile
.svg)
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