1.
Christian IV of Denmark
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Christian IV, sometimes colloquially referred to as Christian Firtal in Denmark and Christian Kvart or Quart in Norway, was king of Denmark-Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 to 1648. His 59-year reign is the longest of Danish monarchs, and of Scandinavian monarchies, a member of the house of Oldenburg, Christian began his personal rule of Denmark in 1596 at the age of 19. He is frequently remembered as one of the most popular, ambitious, Christian IV obtained for his kingdom a level of stability and wealth that was virtually unmatched elsewhere in Europe. He engaged Denmark in numerous wars, most notably the Thirty Years War, which devastated much of Germany, undermined the Danish economy and he renamed the Norwegian capital Oslo as Christiania after himself, a name used until 1925. Christian was born at Frederiksborg Castle in Denmark on 12 April 1577 as the child and eldest son of King Frederick II of Denmark–Norway. He was descended, through his mothers side, from king John of Denmark, at the time, Denmark was still an elective monarchy, so in spite of being the eldest son Christian was not automatically heir to the throne. However, in 1580, at the age of 3, his father had him elected Prince-Elect, at the death of his father on 4 April 1588, Christian was 11 years old. He succeeded to the throne, but as he was still under-age a regency council was set up to serve as the trustees of the power while Christian was still growing up. It was led by chancellor Niels Kaas and consisted of the Rigsraadet council members Peder Munk, Jørgen Ottesen Rosenkrantz and his mother Queen Dowager Sophie,30 years old, had wished to play a role in the government, but was denied by the Council. At the death of Niels Kaas in 1594, Jørgen Rosenkrantz took over leadership of the regency council, Christian continued his studies at Sorø Academy and received a good education with a reputation as a headstrong and talented student. In 1595, the Council of the Realm decided that Christian would soon be old enough to assume control of the reins of government. On 17 August 1596, at the age of 19, Christian signed his haandfæstning, twelve days later, on 29 August 1596, Christian IV was crowned at the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen by the Bishop of Zealand, Peder Jensen Vinstrup. He was crowned with a new Danish Crown Regalia which had made for him by Dirich Fyring. On 30 November 1597, he married Anne Catherine of Brandenburg, Christian took an interest in many and varied matters, including a series of domestic reforms and improving Danish national armaments. New fortresses were constructed under the direction of Dutch engineers, the Danish navy, which in 1596 had consisted of but twenty-two vessels, in 1610 rose to sixty, some of them built after Christians own designs. The formation of a national army proved more difficult, up until the early 1620s, Denmarks economy profited from general boom conditions in Europe. This inspired Christian to initiate a policy of expanding Denmarks overseas trade and he founded a number of merchant cities, and supported the building of factories. He also built a number of buildings in Dutch Renaissance style
2.
Christian V of Denmark
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Christian V was king of Denmark and Norway from 1670 until his death in 1699. As king he wanted to show his power as absolute monarch through architecture and he was the first to use the 1671 Throne Chair of Denmark, partly made for this purpose. His motto was, Pietate et Justitia, Christian was elected successor to his father in June 1650. This was not a choice, but de facto automatic hereditary succession. Escorted by his chamberlain Christoffer Parsberg, Christian went on a trip abroad, to Holland, England, France. On this trip, he saw absolutism in its most splendid achievement at the young Louis XIVs court and he returned to Denmark in August 1663. From 1664 he was allowed to attend proceedings of the State College, hereditary succession was made official by Royal Law in 1665. ChristIan was hailed as heir in Copenhagen in August 1665, in Odense and Viborg in September, only a short time before he became king, he was taken into the Council of the Realm and the Supreme Court. He became king upon his fathers death on 9 February 1670 and he was the first hereditary king of Denmark, and in honor of this, Denmark acquired costly new crown jewels and a magnificent new ceremonial sword. The war exhausted Denmarks economic resources without securing any gains, to accommodate non-aristocrats into state service, he created the new noble ranks of count and baron. One of the elevated in this way by the king was Peder Schumacher, named Count Griffenfeld by Christian V in 1670. The results of the war efforts proved politically and financially unremunerative for Denmark, the damage to the Danish economy was extensive. After the Scanian War, his sister, Princess Ulrike Eleonora of Denmark, married the Swedish king Charles XI, Christian V was also often considered dependent on his councillors by contemporary sources. The Danish monarch did nothing to dispel this notion, in his memoirs, he listed hunting, love-making, war and maritime affairs as his main interests in life. Christian V introduced Danske Lov in 1683, the first law code for all of Denmark and it was succeeded by the similar Norske Lov of 1687. He also introduced the land register of 1688, which attempted to out the land value of the united monarchy in order to create a more just taxation. During his reign, science witnessed a golden age due to the work of the astronomer Ole Rømer in spite of the king’s personal lack of scientific knowledge and he died from the after-effects of a hunting accident and was interred in Roskilde Cathedral. Christian V had eight children by his wife and six by his Maîtresse-en-titre, Sophie Amalie Moth, Sophie was the daughter of his former tutor Poul Moth
3.
Sceptre
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A sceptre or scepter is a symbolic ornamental staff or wand held in the hand by a ruling monarch as an item of royal or imperial insignia. Figuratively, it means royal or imperial authority or sovereignty, either right or cruel, the ancient Indian work of Tirukkural dedicates a separate chapter each on the ethics of the right sceptre and the evils of the cruel sceptre. The Was and other types of staffs were signs of authority in Ancient Egypt, for this reason, they are often described as sceptres, even if they are full-length staffs. One of the earliest royal sceptres was discovered in the 2nd Dynasty tomb of Khasekhemwy in Abydos, kings were also known to carry a staff, and Pharaoh Anedjib is shown on stone vessels carrying a so-called mks-staff. The staff with the longest history seems to be the heqa-sceptre, the Bronze Age rulers of Mesopotamia are not regularly depicted with sceptres. However, in instances, they are shown armed, with bow and arrow. Use of a rod or staff as representing authority can be traced to the beginning of Classical Antiquity. Among the early Greeks, the sceptre was a staff, such as Agamemnon wielded or was used by respected elders, and came to be used by judges, military leaders, priests. It is represented on painted vases as a staff tipped with a metal ornament. When the sceptre is borne by Zeus or Hades, it is headed by a bird, when, in the Iliad, Agamemnon sends Odysseus to the leaders of the Achaeans, he lends him his sceptre. Among the Etruscans, sceptres of great magnificence were used by kings, many representations of such sceptres occur on the walls of the painted tombs of Etruria. The British Museum, the Vatican, and the Louvre possess Etruscan sceptres of gold, the Roman sceptre probably derived from the Etruscan. Under the Republic, a sceptre was a mark of consular rank. It was also used by generals who received the title of imperator. In the First Persian Empire, the Biblical Book of Esther mentions the sceptre of the King of Persia. Esther 5,2 When the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, she obtained favor in his sight, so Esther came near, and touched the top of the scepter. Under the Roman Empire, the sceptrum Augusti was specially used by the emperors, the codes of the right and the cruel sceptre are found in the ancient Tamil work of Tirukkural, dating back to between the first and the third centuries BCE. With the advent of Christianity, the sceptre was tipped with a cross instead of with an eagle
4.
Globus cruciger
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The cross represents Christs dominion over the orb of the world, literally held in the hand of an earthly ruler. In the iconography of Western art, when Christ himself holds the globe, he is called Salvator Mundi, holding the world in ones hand, or more ominously, under ones foot, has been used as a symbol since antiquity. To citizens of the Roman Empire, the round globe held by Jupiter represented the world, or the universe. The orbis terrarum was central to the iconography of the Tetrarchy, constantine I claimed to have had a vision of a cross above the sun, with the words In this sign, you shall conquer, at the Battle of Milvian Bridge in 312. His soldiers painted crosses upon their shields, and then defeated their foe, with the growth of Christianity in the 5th century, the orb was topped with a cross, symbolising the Christian Gods dominion over the world. The emperor held the world in his hand, to show that he ruled it on Gods behalf, to non-Christians already familiar with the pagan globe, the surmounting of a cross sent a message about the triumph of Christianity. Although the globe symbolized the entire Earth, its use spread among many Christian rulers who reigned over parts of the earth. The globus cruciger was associated with rulers and celestial beings alike. It first appeared on coins in the early 5th century and remained throughout the Middle Ages in coins, iconography. It may still be seen in the arms of the surviving European monarchies. Even in the era in England, the Sovereigns Orb symbolises both the state and Church of England under the protection and domain of the royal crown. The Ball and the Cross Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch Monde Earth symbol Leslie Brubaker, Dictionary of the Middle Ages, vol 5,564, ISBN 0-684-18161-4 Picture of the 10th century Orb, Scepter and Crown insignia of the Holy Roman Empire
5.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
6.
Royal Regalia
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Regalia is Latin plurale tantum for the privileges and the insignia characteristic of a sovereign. The word stems from the Latin substantivation of the adjective regalis, regal, itself from rex and it is sometimes used in the singular, regale. The term can refer to rights, prerogatives and privileges enjoyed exclusively by any sovereign regardless of title An example is the right to mint coins, especially with ones own effigy. In many cases, especially in feudal societies and generally weak states, some emblems, symbols, or paraphernalia possessed by rulers are a visual representation of imperial, royal or sovereign status. Some are shared with divinities, either to symbolize a gods role as, say, king of the Pantheon or to allow mortal royalty to resemble, identify with, the term crown jewels is commonly used for regalia items designed to lend luster to occasions such as coronations. They feature some combination of materials, artistic merit. Seals, such as the Heirloom Seal of the Realm, represented imperial authority under the Mandate of Heaven in China, Regalia can also stand for other attributes or virtues, i. e. what is expected from the holder. As this ceremony is not public, the regalia are by tradition only seen by the emperor and certain priests, some regalia objects are presented and/or used in the formal ceremonial of enthronement/coronation. Cage with a bird or wren hunting in Celtic ceremonies Coronation stone e. g. Stone of Scone or Lia Fáil, apart from the sovereign himself, attributes can be used for close relatives who are allowed to share in the pomp. For example, in Norway the queen consort and the prince are the only other members of the royal family to possess these attributes. In the Roman Empire the colour Tyrian purple, produced with an extremely expensive Mediterranean mollusk extract, was in principle reserved for the Imperial Court, in late Imperial China, the colour yellow was reserved for the emperor, as it had a multitude of meanings. Consequently, peasants and noblemen alike were forbidden to wear robes made out of yellow. The Imperial Regalia, insignia, or crown jewels are the regalia of the emperors, the most important parts are the Imperial Crown, the Holy Lance and the Imperial Sword. Today they are kept at the Schatzkammer Treasury in the Hofburg palace in Vienna, during the late Middle Ages, the word Imperial Regalia had many variations in the Latin language. The regalia were named in Latin, insignia imperialia, regalia insignia, insignia imperalis capellae quae regalia dicuntur and it is also known as academicals and, in the United States, as academic regalia. By analogy, regalia is also applied to formal insignia in other contexts, such as the dress worn by Aboriginal peoples in Canada for ceremonial purposes
7.
Rosenborg Castle
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Rosenborg Castle is a renaissance castle located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The castle was built as a country summerhouse in 1606 and is an example of Christian IVs many architectural projects. It was built in the Dutch Renaissance style, typical of Danish buildings during this period, architects Bertel Lange and Hans van Steenwinckel the Younger are associated with the structural planning of the castle. The castle was used by Danish regents as a residence until around 1710. After the reign of Frederik IV, Rosenborg was used as a residence only twice. The first time was after Christiansborg Palace burned down in 1794, located on the third floor, the Long Hall was completed in 1624. It was originally intended as a ballroom, around 1700 it was used as Royal Reception Room and for banquets. It was not until the half of the 19th century that it became known as the Knights Hall. Christian V had the hall partly modernised with twelve tapestries depicting the Kings victories in the Scanian War, the stucco ceiling seen today is from the beginning of the 18th century. It shows the Danish Coat of Arms surrounded by the Orders of the Elephant, side reliefs depict historical events from the first years of the reign of Frederik IV, including the liberation of the serfs, the founding of the dragoons and of the land militia among them. The frescos in the ceiling by Hendrick Krock, represent the Regalia, among the main attractions of Rosenborg are the coronation chair of the absolutist kings and the throne of the queens with the three silver lions standing in front. The Long Hall also contains a collection of silver furniture. Some of these once belonged to the nobility and the aristocracy. The castle, now property, was opened to the public in 1838. Of special interest to tourists is a Schatzkammer displaying the Crown Jewels, a Coronation Carpet is also stored there. The Throne Chair of Denmark is located in the castle, in the summer time, flowers bloom in front of the castle in the castle garden. The castle is situated in Kongens Have, also known as Rosenborg Castle Garden, the Rosenborg Castle Garden is the countrys oldest royal garden and was embellished in the Renaissance style by Christian IV shortly before the construction of the main castle. Today, the gardens are a popular retreat for the people of Copenhagen, next to the castle are barracks where the Royal Life Guards is garrisoned
8.
Christian III of Denmark
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Christian III reigned as king of Denmark from 1534 until his death and Norway from 1537 until his death. During his reign, Christian established Lutheranism as the religion within his realms as part of the Protestant Reformation. Christian was the eldest son of future king Frederick I and Anna of Brandenburg and he was born at Gottorf Castle which Frederick I had made a primary residence. In 1514, when he was just ten years old, Christians mother died, four years later, his father remarried to Sophie of Pomerania. In 1523, Frederick I was elected king of Denmark in the place of his nephew, the young prince Christians first public service after his father became king was gaining the submission of Copenhagen, which stood firm for the fugitive Christian II. As stadtholder of the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig in 1526, Christians earliest teacher, Wolfgang von Utenhof, and his Lutheran tutor, the military general Johann Rantzau, were both zealous reformers who had an influence on the young prince. At their urging, while traveling in Germany in 1521, he made present at the Diet of Worms to hear Martin Luther speak. The prince made no secret of his Lutheran views and his outspokenness brought him into conflict, not only with the Roman Catholic Rigsraad, but also with his cautious and temporizing father. At his own court at Schleswig he did his best to introduce the Protestant Reformation and he made the Lutheran Church the State Church of Schleswig-Holstein with the Church Ordinance of 1528. After his fathers death, in 1533, Christian was proclaimed king at an assembly in Rye, Christian II had supported both the Roman Catholics and Protestant Reformers at various times. In opposition to King Christian III, Count Christopher was proclaimed regent at the Ringsted Assembly and this resulted in a two-year civil war, known as the Counts Feud, between Protestant and Catholic forces. Count Christopher had the support of most of Zealand, Scania, the Hanseatic League, Christian III found his support among the nobles of Jutland. In 1534, peasants under Skipper Clement began an uprising in northern Jutland, an army of nobles and their vassals assembled at Svendstrup and suffered a terrible defeat at the hands of the peasants. Clement and his army fled north, taking refuge inside the walls of Aalborg, in December, Rantzaus forces breached the walls and stormed the city. In the following days 3,000 people were massacred and the city was plundered by the Protestant German mercenaries, Clement managed to escape the slaughter, but was apprehended a few days later. He was tried and beheaded in 1535, with Jutland more or less secure, Christian next focused on gaining control of Scania. He appealed to the Protestant Swedish king Gustav Vasa for help in subduing the rebels, Gustav immediately obliged by sending two armies to ravage central Scania and Halland. The peasants suffered a defeat at Loshult in Scania
9.
Brooch
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A brooch /ˈbroʊtʃ/ is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to hold them closed. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold, brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gemstones and may be solely for ornament or sometimes serve a practical function as a fastening, perhaps for a cloak. The earliest known brooches are from the Bronze Age, as fashions in brooches changed rather quickly, they are important chronological indicators. Many sorts of European brooches found in archaeology are usually referred to by the Latin term fibula, the fibula is an ornamental clasp used by Romans, Greeks, Germanic peoples and also by Celts and migratory tribes in Europe from the Early Bronze Age. They may have replaced fibulae made of more perishable Neolithic materials, fibulae are useful type-objects, carefully catalogued local typologies, dating and distribution of fibulae can help date finds where neither numismatic nor ceramic materials provide a secure date. Fibulae were shaped somewhat like a safety pin and were used to hold clothing together. They came in varieties and held prominent significance for the identity of the wearer, indicating ethnicity. Elaborately designed fibulae were an important part of Late Antique dress, the same types of fibulae can often be found on either side of the Roman limites, both among Roman and barbarian populations. The cultural interplay of elite objects designed to show status can be quite complex and it is likely that this type originated among Celtic groups and came to be adopted as an exotic fashion by Roman aristocrats, becoming naturalized as an important Roman emblem, and then exported. From the eighteenth century through the Victorian era it was fashionable to incorporate hair, the practice began as an expression of mourning, then expanded to keepsakes of loved ones who were living. Human hair was encased within the brooch or braided and woven into a band to which clasps were affixed and it was not uncommon for miniature brooch portraits to incorporate ground human hair as pigment. Two sided swivel brooches would display a portrait on one side and a lock of hair on the other, hellenic Ministry of Culture, Katie Demakopoulou, Bronze Age Jewellry in Greece Brooch. Metropolitan jewelry, a catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art Libraries
10.
Elective monarchy
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An elective monarchy is a monarchy ruled by an elected monarch, in contrast to a hereditary monarchy in which the office is automatically passed down as a family inheritance. The manner of election, the nature of candidate qualifications, historically it is not uncommon for elective monarchies to transform into hereditary ones over time, or for hereditary ones to acquire at least occasional elective aspects. Many, if not most, kingdoms were officially elective historically, the kings of Macedon and of Epirus were elected by the army, which was similar in composition to the ecclesia of democracies, the council of all free citizens. Military service often was linked with citizenship among the members of the royal house. In the ancient Kingdom of Rome, the kings were elected by the Assemblies, therefore, the office of Roman and Byzantine emperor remained vaguely elective and heredity never was, and could never be, formally established in law. The Holy Roman Empire is perhaps the best-known example of an elective monarchy, however, from 1453 to 1740, a Habsburg was always elected emperor, the throne becoming unofficially hereditary. During that period, the emperor was elected from within the House of Habsburg by a council of nobles called prince-electors. The secular electoral seats were hereditary, however, spiritual electors were usually elected by the cathedral chapters as religious leaders, but simultaneously ruled as monarch of a territory of imperial immediacy. Thus the prince-bishoprics were elective monarchies too, the same holds true for prince-abbeys, whose prince-abbesses or prince-abbots were elected by a college of clerics and imperially appointed as princely rulers in a pertaining territory. In the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, the kingship was partially elected, during the height of the kingdom in the mid-12th century there was a royal family and a relatively clear line of succession. Nevertheless, the king was elected, or at least recognized, here the king was considered a primus inter pares, and in his absence his duties were performed by his seneschal. Originally, the Kings of Sweden were elected by all men at the Mora Thing. Elective monarchy continued until 1544, when the Riksdag of the Estates designated the heirs of King Gustav Vasa as the heirs to the throne, the Danish monarchy was also officially elective, although the eldest son of the reigning monarch was usually elected. This continued until 1660, when a hereditary and absolute monarchy was instituted by Frederick III, though the monarchy of Norway was originally hereditary, it too became elective in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Candidates had to be of royal blood, but the kingship was elected by a council of noblemen, in 1905 Prince Carl was elected King of Norway, after the male population in an election decided Norway should still be a monarchy. Bernadotte eventually ascended the throne as Charles XIV John of Sweden, in Poland, after the death of the last Piast in 1370, Polish kings were initially elected by a small council, gradually, this privilege was granted to all members of the szlachta. During the election period, the function of the king was performed by an interrex and this unique Polish election was termed the free election. Since medieval times, the King of Bohemia was elected by the Estates of Lands of the Bohemian Crown, since 1526, when the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I assumed the Bohemian Crown, it was always held by the Habsburgs, who expected this situation to go on indefinitely
11.
Anointing
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Anointing is the ritual act of pouring aromatic oil over a persons head or entire body. By extension, the term is applied to related acts of sprinkling, dousing, or smearing a person or object with any perfumed oil, milk, butter. Scented oils are used as perfumes and sharing them is an act of hospitality, in present usage, anointing is typically used for ceremonial blessings such as the coronation of European monarchs. This continues an earlier Hebrew practice most famously observed in the anointings of Aaron as high priest, the concept is important to the figures of the Messiah and the Christ who appear prominently in Jewish and Christian theology and eschatology. Anointing—particularly the anointing of the sick—may also be known as unction, the present verb derives from the now obsolete adjective anoint, equivalent to anointed. The adjective is first attested in 1303, derived from Old French enoint, the past participle of enoindre, from Latin inungere and it is thus cognate with unction. The oil used in a ceremonial anointment may be called chrism, several related words such as chrismation and chrismarium derive from the same root. Anointing served and serves three purposes, it is regarded as a means of health and comfort, as a token of honor. Used in conjunction with bathing, anointment with oil closes pores and it was regarded as counteracting the influence of the sun, reducing sweating. Aromatic oils naturally masked body and other odors, and other forms of fat could be combined with perfumes. Applications of oils and fats are used as traditional medicines. The Bible records olive oil being applied to the sick and poured into wounds and it is still used in traditional Indian medicine to remove illness, bad luck, and demonic possession. For sanitary and religious reasons, the bodies of the dead are sometimes anointed, in medieval and early modern Christianity, the practice was particularly associated with protection against vampires and ghouls who might otherwise take possession of the corpse. Anointing guests with oil as a mark of hospitality and token of honor is recorded in Egypt, Greece and it was a common custom among the ancient Hebrews and continued among the Arabs into the 20th century. For about 3,000 years, Persian Zoroastrians honor their guests with rose extract while holding a mirror in front of their guests face, the guests hold their palms out, collect the rose water, and then spread the perfumed liquid upon their faces and sometimes heads. The words of rooj kori aka might be said as well, east African Arabs traditionally anointed themselves with lions fat to gain courage and provoke fear in other animals. Australian Aborigines would rub themselves with a human victims caul fat to gain his powers, in religions like Christianity where animal sacrifice is no longer practiced, it is common to consecrate the oil in a special ceremony. The most famous example of this is on the throne of Tutankhamun, anointment of the corpse with sweet-smelling oils was an important part of mummification
12.
Throne Chair of Denmark
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The Throne Chair of Denmark is the physical representation of the Throne of the Kingdom of Denmark and of the Throne of the Kingdom of Norway. According to legend, the Throne Chair is made of the horn of unicorns, in reality, it is made from Norwegian narwhal tusks. It is guarded by three silver lions, based on Biblical references, and was a symbol of the absolute monarchy of the Twin Kingdoms. The Throne Chair is located in the Castle of Rosenborg in Copenhagen, following the 1660 introduction of absolute monarchy in Denmark and Norway, King Frederick III ordered a throne chair to be created. The Throne Chair was made between 1662 and 1671 by Bendix Grodtschilling, during the reign of King Christian V, gilt figures were added to the chair. 19 There were six steps to the throne, and the top of the throne was round behind, and there were arms on either side by the place of the seat, and two lions standing beside the arms. 20 And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps, the Throne Chair was used at coronations between 1671 and 1840. When absolute monarchy was replaced by constitutional monarchy in 1849, kings were no longer crowned or anointed, even though Norway was formally an independent realm with its own throne, Denmarks Throne Chair was de facto also Norways until 1814. The Throne Chair is guarded by three lions of silver and they have the same size as natural lions, and each has the weight of 130 kilos. Their eyes, their mane, and their rump are covered with pure gold and they were made between 1665 and 1670 by Ferdinand Kübich. On 20 November 1905, when delegates of the Norwegian parliament entered the Christian VII Palace in Copenhagen in order to offer Prince Carl Norways Throne and this historic moment has been immortalised by photographer Peter Elfelt. Based on Elfelts photograph, painter Paul Fischer made a famous painting, several versions of this painting have existed, and one is included in the art collections in the Castle of Oslo. The silver lions are still in use outside Rosenborg, mainly when protecting the castrum doloris of Kings, Throne Chairs of Norway Monarchy of Denmark Monarchy of Norway Hein, Jørgen, En trone af enhjørninghorn og løver av sølv
13.
Narwhal
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The narwhal, or narwhale, is a medium-sized toothed whale that possesses a large tusk from a protruding canine tooth. It lives year-round in the Arctic waters around Greenland, Canada and it is one of two living species of whale in the Monodontidae family, along with the beluga whale. The narwhal males are distinguished by a long, straight, helical tusk, the narwhal was one of many species described by Carl Linnaeus in his publication Systema Naturae in 1758. Like the beluga, narwhals are medium-sized whales, for both sexes, excluding the males tusk, the total body size can range from 3.95 to 5.5 m, the males are slightly larger than the females. The average weight of an adult narwhal is 800 to 1,600 kg, at around 11 to 13 years old, the males become sexually mature, females become sexually mature at about 5 to 8 years old. Narwhals do not have a fin, and their neck vertebrae are jointed like those of other mammals, not fused as in dolphins. Found primarily in Canadian Arctic and Greenlandic and Russian waters, the narwhal is a uniquely specialized Arctic predator, in winter, it feeds on benthic prey, mostly flatfish, under dense pack ice. During the summer, narwhals mostly eat Arctic cod and Greenland halibut, each year, they migrate from bays into the ocean as summer comes. In the winter, the male narwhals occasionally dive up to 1,500 m in depth, with dives lasting up to 25 minutes, narwhals, like most toothed whales, communicate with clicks, whistles, and knocks. Narwhals can live up to 50 years and they are often killed by suffocation when the sea ice freezes over. Another cause of fatality, specifically among young whales, is starvation, the current population of the narwhal is about 75,000, so narwhals qualify for Near Threatened under the criterion of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. Narwhals have been harvested for over a thousand years by Inuit people in northern Canada and Greenland for meat and ivory, the narwhal was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae. The scientific name, Monodon monoceros, is derived from the Greek, the narwhal is most closely related to the beluga whale. Together, these two species comprise the extant members of the family Monodontidae, sometimes referred to as the white whales. The Monodontidae are distinguished by size, forehead melons, short snouts. Although the narwhal and the beluga are classified as separate genera, with one each, there is some evidence that they may, very rarely. The complete skull of a whale was discovered in West Greenland circa 1990. The white whales, dolphins and porpoises together comprise the superfamily Delphinoidea, fossil evidence shows that ancient white whales lived in tropical waters
14.
Unicorn
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The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. The Bible also describes an animal, the reem, which some versions translate as unicorn, in European folklore, the unicorn is often depicted as a white horse-like or goat-like animal with a long horn and cloven hooves. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace. In the encyclopedias its horn was said to have the power to render poisoned water potable, in medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as unicorn horn. The earliest description is from Ctesias, who in his book Indika described them as wild asses, fleet of foot, having a horn a cubit and a half in length, and colored white, red and black. Aristotle must be following Ctesias when he mentions two one-horned animals, the oryx and the so-called Indian ass, strabo says that in the Caucasus there were one-horned horses with stag-like heads. Cosmas Indicopleustes, a merchant of Alexandria who lived in the 6th century, made a voyage to India and he gives a description of a unicorn based on four brass figures in the palace of the King of Ethiopia. He states, from report, that it is impossible to take this ferocious beast alive, and that all its strength lies in its horn. When it finds itself pursued and in danger of capture, it throws itself from a precipice, and turns so aptly in falling, that it all the shock upon the horn. A one-horned animal is found on seals from the Indus Valley Civilization. Seals with such a design are thought to be a mark of social rank. Medieval knowledge of the fabulous beast stemmed from biblical and ancient sources, the predecessor of the medieval bestiary, compiled in Late Antiquity and known as Physiologus, popularized an elaborate allegory in which a unicorn, trapped by a maiden, stood for the Incarnation. As soon as the unicorn sees her, it lays its head on her lap and this became a basic emblematic tag that underlies medieval notions of the unicorn, justifying its appearance in every form of religious art. Interpretations of the myth focus on the medieval lore of beguiled lovers, whereas some religious writers interpret the unicorn. The myths refer to a beast with one horn that can only be tamed by a virgin, subsequently, with the rise of humanism, the unicorn also acquired more orthodox secular meanings, emblematic of chaste love and faithful marriage. The Throne Chair of Denmark is made of unicorn horns – almost certainly narwhal tusks, the same material was used for ceremonial cups because the unicorns horn continued to be believed to neutralize poison, following classical authors. The unicorn, tamable only by a woman, was well established in medieval lore by the time Marco Polo described them as scarcely smaller than elephants. They have the hair of a buffalo and feet like an elephants and they have a single large black horn in the middle of the forehead
15.
Solomon
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Solomon, also called Jedidiah, was, according to the Bible, Quran, hadith and Hidden Words a fabulously wealthy and wise king of Israel and a son of David, the previous king of Israel. The conventional dates of Solomons reign are circa 970 to 931 BC and he is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, which would break apart into the northern Kingdom of Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah shortly after his death. Following the split, his descendants ruled over Judah alone. According to the Talmud, Solomon is one of the 48 prophets, in the Quran, he is considered a major prophet, and Muslims generally refer to him by the Arabic variant Sulayman, son of David. Solomon was, according to the Quran, a king of ancient Israel as well as the son of David, the Hebrew Bible credits him as the builder of the First Temple in Jerusalem. It portrays him as great in wisdom, wealth, and power any of the previous kings of the country. His sins included idolatry, marrying foreign women, and ultimately turning away from Yahweh, Solomon is the subject of many other later references and legends, most notably in the 1st-century apocryphal work known as the Testament of Solomon. Solomon was born in Jerusalem, the second child of David and his wife Bathsheba. The first child, a son conceived adulterously during Uriahs lifetime, had died before Solomon was conceived as a punishment on account of the death of Uriah by Davids order. Solomon had three named full brothers through Bathsheba, Nathan, Shammua, and Shobab, besides six known older half-brothers through as many mothers, according to the First Book of Kings, when David was old, he could not get warm. So they sought a young woman throughout all the territory of Israel, and found Abishag the Shunammite. The young woman was very beautiful, and she was of service to the king and attended to him, while David was in this state, court factions were maneuvering for power. Solomon greatly expanded his military strength, especially the cavalry and chariot arms and he founded numerous colonies, some of which doubled as trading posts and military outposts. Trade relationships were a focus of his administration, Solomon is considered the most wealthy of the Israelite kings named in the Bible. Solomon also built the First Temple, beginning in the year of his reign. Solomon was the Biblical king most famous for his wisdom, in 1 Kings he sacrificed to God and prayed for wisdom. God personally answered his prayer, promising him great wisdom because he did not ask for self-serving rewards like long life or the death of his enemies. Perhaps the best known story of his wisdom is the Judgment of Solomon, Solomon easily resolved the dispute by commanding the child to be cut in half and shared between the two
16.
Christiansborg Palace
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Christiansborg Palace is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament, the Danish Prime Ministers Office, also, several parts of the palace are used by the Danish monarch, including the Royal Reception Rooms, the Palace Chapel and the Royal Stables. The palace is home to the three supreme powers, the executive power, the legislative power, and the judicial power. It is the building in the world that houses all three of a countrys branches of government. The name Christiansborg is thus also used as a metonym for the Danish political system. The present building, the third with this name, is the last in a series of castles and palaces constructed on the same site since the erection of the first castle in 1167. The palace today bears witness to three eras of Danish architecture, as the result of two serious fires, the first fire occurred in 1794 and the second in 1884. The main part of the current palace, finished in 1928, is in the historicist Neo-baroque style, the chapel dates to 1826 and is in a neoclassical style. The showgrounds were built 1738-46, in a baroque style, Christiansborg Palace is owned by the Danish state, and is run by the Palaces and Properties Agency. Several parts of the palace are open to the public, the first castle on the site was Absalons Castle. According to the Danish chronicler Saxo Grammaticus, Bishop Absalon of Roskilde built a castle in 1167 on an island outside Copenhagen Harbour. The castle was made up by a wall, encircling an enclosed courtyard with several buildings, such as the bishops palace. At the death of Absalon in 1201, possession of the castle, a few decades later, however, a bitter feud erupted between crown and church, and for almost two centuries the ownership of the castle and city was contested between kings and bishops. Furthermore, the castle was frequently under attack, for example by Wend pirates and the Hanseatic cities, in 1369, following a conflict with king Valdemar IV of Denmark, the Hanseatic League sent 40 stonemasons to demolish the castle stone by stone. The castle had long been a nuisance to the Hanseatic cities trade in the Sound. The castle had a wall and was surrounded by a moat and with a large. The castle was still the property of the Bishop of Roskilde until King Eric VII usurped the rights to the castle in 1417, from then on the castle in Copenhagen was occupied by the king. In the middle of the 15th century, the became the principal residence of the Danish kings
17.
Parure
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A parure is a set of various items of matching jewelry, which rose to popularity in 17th-century Europe. A parure typically consists of a combination of a necklace, earrings, brooch, bracelet. A variation is the demiparure which consists of as few as two matching pieces, such as earrings and a necklace or brooch. Cleverly, the parure was not static but modular and could be remade into more fashionable jewelry in order to stay au courant in the court and fashion-forward for the times. Members of court and higher social ranks vied for the best jewelers to create the most imaginative and elaborate collections that would astound one another, some necklaces could be worn intact or temporarily disassembled into bracelets, pendants, hair ornaments or brooches with smart interchangeable components and locking systems. Napoleon was fond of lavishing these gem suites on his beloved first wife, Joséphine, later, he gave similar sets to his second wife, Marie-Louise, including a set made from cut steel. The artisans under Louis XIV were credited with some of the first parure inventions in the 18th century, diamonds, often paired with silver, were popular at that time. The standout example was created for Mademoiselle d’Aubigné’s wedding, which included, earrings, there is a bias to towards paste parures from the period surviving to the present. The low value of the component parts making them less likely to be broken up for reuse, from the mid 19th century Parures made up of hair jewellery or Jet pieces were made for Mourning wear
18.
Margrethe II of Denmark
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Margrethe II is the Queen of Denmark. She is also the authority of the Church of Denmark. Born into the House of Glücksburg, a house with origins in Northern Germany, she was the eldest child of Frederick IX of Denmark. She succeeded her father upon his death on 14 January 1972, having had become heir presumptive to her father in 1953, on her accession, Margrethe became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margaret I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375–1412 during the Kalmar Union. Having been on the Danish throne for 45 years, she is the second longest-reigning Danish monarch after her ancestor Christian IV, in 1967, she married Henri de Laborde de Monpezat, with whom she has two sons, Crown Prince Frederik and Prince Joachim. Princess Margrethe was born 16 April 1940 at Amalienborg Palace in Copenhagen as the first child of Crown Prince Frederick, later King Frederick IX and Crown Princess Ingrid and her birth took place just one week after Nazi Germanys invasion of Denmark on 9 April 1940. She was baptised on 14 May in the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen, since her paternal grandfather was also the King of Iceland, she was given an Icelandic name, Þórhildur. When Margrethe was four years old, in 1944, her first sister, Princess Benedikte later married Prince Richard of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and lives some of the time in Germany. Her second sister Princess Anne Marie was born in 1946, anne-Marie later married Constantine II of Greece and now lives in Greece. Margrethe and her sisters grew up in apartments at Frederick VIIIs Palace at Amalienborg in Copenhagen and she spent summer holidays with the royal family in her parents summer residence at Gråsten Palace in Southern Jutland. On 20 April 1947, King Christian X died and Margrethes father ascended the throne as King Frederick IX. At the time of her birth, only males could ascend the throne of Denmark, as she had no brothers, it was assumed that her uncle Prince Knud would one day assume the throne. The process of changing the constitution started in 1947, not long after her father ascended the throne, the popularity of Frederick and his daughters and the more prominent role of women in Danish life started the complicated process of altering the constitution. The law required that the proposal be passed by two successive Parliaments and then by a referendum, which occurred 27 March 1953, Princess Margrethe therefore became heir presumptive. On her eighteenth birthday,16 April 1958, Margrethe was given a seat in the Council of State and she subsequently chaired the meetings of the Council in the absence of the King. Margrethe was educated at the private school N. Zahles School in Copenhagen from which she graduated in 1959 and she is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London. Queen Margrethe is fluent in Danish, French, English, Swedish and German, Princess Margrethe married a French diplomat, Count Henri de Laborde de Monpezat,10 June 1967, at the Church of Holmen in Copenhagen. Laborde de Monpezat received the style and title of His Royal Highness Prince Henrik of Denmark because of his new position as the spouse of the heir presumptive to the Danish throne, Margrethe gave birth to her first child 26 May 1968
19.
Monarch
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A monarch is the sovereign head of state in a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power in the state, alternatively, an individual may become monarch by conquest, acclamation or a combination of means. A monarch usually reigns for life or until abdication, if a young child is crowned the monarch, a regent is often appointed to govern until the monarch reaches the requisite adult age to rule. A monarch can reign in multiple monarchies simultaneously, for example, the monarchy of Canada and the monarchy of the United Kingdom are separate states, but they share the same monarch through personal union. Monarchs, as such, bear a variety of titles — king or queen, prince or princess, emperor or empress, archduke, duke or grand duke, Prince is sometimes used as a generic term to refer to any monarch regardless of title, especially in older texts. A king can also be a husband and a queen can be a kings wife. If both people in a reign, neither person is generally considered to be a consort. Monarchy is political or sociocultural in nature, and is associated with hereditary rule. Most monarchs, both historically and in the present day, have been born and brought up within a royal family, different systems of succession have been used, such as proximity of blood, primogeniture, agnatic seniority, Salic law, etc. In an elective monarchy, the monarch is elected but otherwise serves as any other monarch, historical examples of elective monarchy include the Holy Roman Emperors and the free election of kings of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In recent centuries, many states have abolished the monarchy and become republics, advocacy of government by a republic is called republicanism, while advocacy of monarchy is called monarchism. A principal advantage of hereditary monarchy is the continuity of national leadership. In cases where the monarch serves mostly as a ceremonial figure real leadership does not depend on the monarch, a form of government may in fact be hereditary without being considered monarchy, such as a family dictatorship. Monarchies take a variety of forms, such as the two co-princes of Andorra, positions held simultaneously by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Urgel and the elected President of France. Similarly, the Yang di-Pertuan Agong of Malaysia is considered a monarch despite only holding the position for five years at a time, hereditary succession within one patrilineal family has been most common, with preference for children over siblings, sons over daughters. Other European realms practice one form or another of primogeniture, whereunder a lord was succeeded by his eldest son or, if he had none, by his brother, the system of tanistry was semi-elective and gave weight also to ability and merit. The Salic law, practiced in France and in the Italian territories of the House of Savoy, in most fiefs, in the event of the demise of all legitimate male members of the patrilineage, a female of the family could succeed. Spain today continues this model of succession law, in the form of cognatic primogeniture, in more complex medieval cases, the sometimes conflicting principles of proximity and primogeniture battled, and outcomes were often idiosyncratic
20.
Order of the Elephant
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The Order of the Elephant is the highest order of Denmark. After the Reformation in 1536 the confraternity died out, but a badge in the form of an elephant with his profile on its side was still awarded by Frederick II. This latter badge may have inspired by the badge of office of the chaplain of the confraternity which is known to have been in the form of an elephant. The order was instituted in its current form on 1 December 1693 by King Christian V as having one class consisting of only 30 noble knights in addition to the Grand Master. The statutes of the order were amended in 1958 by a Royal Ordinance so that men and women could be members of the order. The Danish monarch is the head of the order, the members of the royal family are members of the order, and foreign heads of state are also inducted. In very exceptional circumstances a commoner may also admitted, the most recent member of the order who was neither a current or former head of state nor royal was Mærsk Mc-Kinney Møller, a leading industrialist and philanthropist. The order of the Elephant has one class, Knight of the Order of the Elephant, Knights of the order are granted a place in the 1st Class of the Danish order of precedence. The collar of the order is of gold and it consists of alternating elephants and towers. On the cover of the elephants there is a D which stands for Dania, according to the statutes of the order, the collar is usually only worn on New Years Day and on major occasions. The badge of the order is an elephant made of white-enamelled gold with blue housings. On its back the elephant is bearing a watch tower of pink enameled masonry encircled by a row of small table cut diamonds at the bottom with another row just below the crenellation at the top. At the top of the tower is a large enameled gold ring from which the badge can be hung from the collar or tied to the sash of the Order, there are about 72 elephants at the chancery of the Order or in circulation. It is estimated that together with an number of elephants in museums around the world. The star of the order is a silver star with smooth rays. At its center there is a red enameled disc with a white cross and it is worn on the left side of the chest. The sash of the order is of light-blue silk moiré and 10 cm wide for men 6 cm wide for women and it is placed on the left shoulder with the elephant resting against the right hip. The collar is not worn when the sash is used, over this red mantle was worn a short white shoulder cape with a standing collar, embroidered with scattering of numerous gold flames, upon which was worn the collar of the order
21.
Order of the Dannebrog
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The Order of the Dannebrog is an Order of Denmark, instituted in 1671 by Christian V. In 1808, the Order was reformed and divided into four classes, the Grand Commander class is reserved to persons of princely origin. It is only awarded to royalty with close ties with the Danish Royal House. The statute of the Order was amended in 1951 by a Royal Ordinance so that men and women could be members of the Order. The badge of the Order is a white enamelled Dannebrog cross with a red enamelled border, for the Knights in silver and for everyone else in gold or silver gilt. On its reverse are found the crowned royal cyphers of Valdemar II Sejr, Christian V and Frederik VI, as well as the years 1219,1671 and 1808, in each of the four angles of the cross is found a small Danish royal crown. The Grand Cross can, as an honor, be awarded with diamonds. There is also a Cross of Honour, when the collar is worn the sash is not worn. The star of the Order is a silver star with straight rays with an enamelled Dannebrog cross at the centre. The breast cross of the Order is similar to the cross on the star but larger and with faceted silver instead of white enamel, the ribbon of the Order is white silk moiré with red borders, the national colours of Denmark. The Order originally had a distinctive habit worn by the knights on very solemn occasions, over this red mantle was worn a short white shoulder cape with a standing collar embroidered in gold, upon which was worn the collar of the Order. The habit also had a hat with a plume of white. This habit was almost identical to that worn by the knights of the Order of the Elephant, each Danish ministry has a quota of Knights and Knights 1st class that they may use at their discretion. It is most often given to high-ranking officers of the police, armed forces, also used for politicians in Folketinget after 8 years of elected service. Ministers are given the rank of Knight 1st Class, the rank of Commander is given to Colonels, ministers and other high-ranking officials as a retirement-decoration after long service. Commander 1st class is given for Admirals, Generals, Supreme-court judges, ambassadors, Grand Cross is most often used for admirals, generals, Supreme-court judges, ambassadors and similar as a reward for very meritorious service to Denmark. Grand Cross with Breaststar with Diamonds is most often given to high-ranking officers of the Royal Court, finally, the Grand Commander grade is only given to 8 people. The reigning monarch is always a Grand Commander, and he/she may give the grade to 7 others - most often close family, the Order of the Dannebrog is often used as a tool of diplomacy
22.
Odense
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Odense is the third-largest city in Denmark. It has a population of 175,245 as of January 2016, by road, Odense is located 45 kilometres north of Svendborg,144 kilometres to the south of Aarhus and 167 kilometres to the southwest of Copenhagen. Odense has close associations with Hans Christian Andersen who is remembered above all for his fairy tales and he was born in the city in 1805 and spent his childhood years there. There has been settlement in the Odense area for over 4,000 years, although the name was not mentioned in writing until 988. Canute IV of Denmark, generally considered to be the last Viking king, was murdered by peasants in Odenses St Albans Priory on 10 July 1086. Although the city was burned in 1249 following a royal rivalry, in 1865, one of the largest railway terminals in Denmark was built, further increasing the population and commerce, and by 1900, Odense had reached a population of 35,000. Odenses Odinstårnet was one of the tallest towers in Europe when built in 1935 but was destroyed by the Nazis during World War II, the University of Southern Denmark was established in 1966. In the present day, Odense remains the hub of Funen. Several major industries are located in the city including the Albani Brewery and GASA, Denmarks major dealer in vegetables, fruits and flowers. In sports, Odense has a number of clubs including OB, BM, B1909, and B1913, the Odense Bulldogs professional ice hockey team. Odense is served by Hans Christian Andersen Airport and Odense station, Odense is one of Denmarks oldest cities. Archaeological excavations in the vicinity show proof of settlement for over 4,000 years since at least the Stone Age, the earliest community was centred on the higher ground between the Odense River to the south and Naesbyhoved Lake to the north. Nonnebakken, one of Denmarks former Viking ring fortresses, lay to the south of the river, today, Odenses Møntergården Museum has many artefacts related to the early Viking history in the Odense area. The Vikings built numerous fortifications along the banks to defend it against invaders coming in from the coast. The first church in Odense appears to have been St Marys, the territory, previously part of the vast Archbishopric of Hamburg, was created a Catholic diocese in 988. The first recorded bishops of Odense were Odinkar Hvide and Reginbert, recent excavations have shown that from the early 11th century, the town developed in the area around Albani Torv, Fisketorvet, Overgade and Vestergade. By 1070, Odense had already grown into a city of stature in Denmark, the priory no longer exists, although a church has been situated on the site since about 900. At the beginning of the 12th century, Benedictine monks from England founded St Canutes Abbey and it was here the English monk Ælnoth wrote Denmarks first literary work, Vita et Passio S. Canuti
23.
Nuremberg
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Nuremberg is a city on the river Pegnitz and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia, about 170 kilometres north of Munich. It is the second-largest city in Bavaria, and the largest in Franconia, the population as of February 2015, is 517,498, which makes it Germanys fourteenth-largest city. The urban area also includes Fürth, Erlangen and Schwabach with a population of 763,854. The European Metropolitan Area Nuremberg has ca.3.5 million inhabitants, Nuremberg was, according to the first documentary mention of the city in 1050, the location of an Imperial castle between the East Franks and the Bavarian March of the Nordgau. From 1050 to 1571, the city expanded and rose dramatically in importance due to its location on key trade routes, Nuremberg is often referred to as having been the unofficial capital of the Holy Roman Empire, particularly because Imperial Diet and courts met at Nuremberg Castle. The Diets of Nuremberg were an important part of the structure of the empire. The increasing demand of the court and the increasing importance of the city attracted increased trade. Nuremberg soon became, with Augsburg, one of the two great trade centers on the route from Italy to Northern Europe. In 1298, the Jews of the town were accused of having desecrated the host, behind the massacre of 1298 was also the desire to combine the northern and southern parts of the city, which were divided by the Pegnitz. The Jews of the German lands suffered many massacres during the plague years, in 1349, Nurembergs Jews were subjected to a pogrom. They were burned at the stake or expelled, and a marketplace was built over the former Jewish quarter, the plague returned to the city in 1405,1435,1437,1482,1494,1520 and 1534. Charles was the patron of the Frauenkirche, built between 1352 and 1362, where the Imperial court worshipped during its stays in Nuremberg. Charles IV conferred upon the city the right to conclude alliances independently, frequent fights took place with the burgraves without, however, inflicting lasting damage upon the city. Through these and other acquisitions the city accumulated considerable territory, the Hussite Wars, recurrence of the Black Death in 1437, and the First Margrave War led to a severe fall in population in the mid-15th century. During the Middle Ages, Nurembergs literary culture was rich, varied, the cultural flowering of Nuremberg, in the 15th and 16th centuries, made it the centre of the German Renaissance. In 1525, Nuremberg accepted the Protestant Reformation, and in 1532, during the 1552 revolution against Charles V, Nuremberg tried to purchase its neutrality, but the city was attacked without a declaration of war and was forced into a disadvantageous peace. The state of affairs in the early 16th century, increased trade routes elsewhere, frequent quartering of Imperial, Swedish and League soldiers, the financial costs of the war and the cessation of trade caused irreparable damage to the city and a near-halving of the population. In 1632, the city, occupied by the forces of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden, was besieged by the army of Imperial general Albrecht von Wallenstein, the city declined after the war and recovered its importance only in the 19th century, when it grew as an industrial centre
24.
Putto
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A putto is a figure in a work of art depicted as a chubby male child, usually naked and sometimes winged. However, in the Baroque period of art, the putto came to represent the omnipresence of God, a putto representing a cupid is also called an amorino. The more commonly found form putti is the plural of the Italian word putto, the Italian word comes from the Latin word putus, meaning boy or child. Today, in Italian, putto means either toddler winged angel or, rarely, toddler boy. It may have derived from the same Indo-European root as the Sanskrit word putra, Avestan puθra-, Old Persian puça-, Pahlavi pus and pusar, all meaning son. Putti, in the ancient classical world of art, were winged infants that were believed to influence human lives. Putti are a motif found primarily on child sarcophagi of the 2nd century. Since then, Donatello has been called the originator of the putto because of the contribution to art he made in restoring the form of putto. He gave putto a distinct character by infusing the form with Christian meanings, putti also began to feature in works showing figures from classical mythology, which became popular in the same period. Most Renaissance putti are essentially decorative and they ornament both religious and secular works, without taking any actual part in the events depicted in narrative paintings. There are two forms of the putto as the main subject of a work of art in 16th-century Italian Renaissance art, the sleeping putto. So many artists have depicted them that a list would be pointless, but among the best-known are the sculptor Donatello, the two relaxed and curious putti who appear at the foot of Raphaels Sistine Madonna are often reproduced. They also experienced a revival in the 19th century, where they gamboled through paintings by French academic painters. The iconography of putti is deliberately unfixed, so that it is difficult to tell the difference between putti, cupids, and various forms of angels and they have no unique, immediately identifiable attributes, so that putti may have many meanings and roles in the context of art. In popular culture, putto is also used as a decorative art found on buildings, gardens, a putto smoking a cigarette served as the cover art for Van Halens album 1984. A putto is the protagonist of the 2000 third person shooter Messiah, in the British TV series Doctor Who, infants of the species Weeping Angels appear as putti. In the 1st-person shooter Team Fortress 2, the Meet the Pyro video has the BLU Team appear as putti in Pyroland, in the 2003 video game Drakengard, a group of malevolent god-like figures known as the Watchers appear as putti. The historiography of this matter is very short
25.
Arabesque
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Another definition is Foliate ornament, used in the Islamic world, typically using leaves, derived from stylised half-palmettes, which were combined with spiralling stems. It usually consists of a design which can be tiled or seamlessly repeated as many times as desired. Interlace and scroll decoration are used for most other types of similar patterns. Arabesques are an element of Islamic art but they develop what was already a long tradition by the coming of Islam. The past and current usage of the term in respect of European art can only be described as confused, some Western arabesques derive from Islamic art, but others are closely based on Ancient Roman decorations. At the popular level such theories often appear uninformed as to the context of the arabesque. The case for a connection with Islamic mathematics is much stronger for the development of the patterns with which arabesques are often combined in art. The arabesque developed out of the traditions of plant-based scroll ornament in the cultures taken over by the early Islamic conquests. Early Islamic art, for example in the famous 8th century mosaics of the Great Mosque of Damascus, often contained plant-scroll patterns, in that case by Byzantine artists in their usual style. The plants most often used are stylized versions of the acanthus, with its emphasis on leafy forms, the evolution of these forms into a distinctive Islamic type was complete by the 11th century, having begun in the 8th or 9th century in works like the Mshatta Facade. In the process of development the plant forms became increasing simplified and stylized, typically, in earlier forms there is no attempt at realism, no particular species of plant is being imitated, and the forms are often botanically impossible or implausible. Leaf forms typically spring sideways from the stem, in what is called a half-palmette form, named after its distant and very different looking ancestor in Ancient Egyptian. New stems spring from leaf-tips, a type often called honeysuckle, the early Mshatta Facade is recognisably some sort of vine, with conventional leaves on the end of short stalks and bunches of grapes or berries, but later forms usually lack these. Flowers are rare until about 1500, after which they more often, especially in Ottoman art. In Ottoman art the large and feathery leaves called saz became very popular, eventually floral decoration mostly derived from Chinese styles, especially those of Chinese porcelain, replaces the arabesque in many types of work, such as pottery, textiles and miniatures. The arabesques and geometric patterns of Islamic art are often said to arise from the Islamic view of the world, the depiction of animals and people is generally discouraged, which explains the preference for abstract geometric patterns. There are two modes to arabesque art, the first recalls the principles that govern the order of the world. These principles include the basics of what makes objects structurally sound and, by extension
26.
Pelican
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Pelicans are a genus of large water birds that makes up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterised by a beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey. They have predominantly pale plumage, the exceptions being the brown, the bills, pouches and bare facial skin of all species become brightly coloured before the breeding season. Ibises, spoonbills, herons and the desolate bitterns have been classified in the same order, fossil evidence of pelicans dates back to at least 30 million years to the remains of a beak very similar to that of modern species recovered from Oligocene strata in France. Pelicans frequent inland and coastal waters where they feed principally on fish and they are gregarious birds, travelling in flocks, hunting cooperatively and breeding colonially. Four white-plumaged species tend to nest on the ground, and four brown or grey-plumaged species nest mainly in trees, the relationship between pelicans and people has often been contentious. The birds have been persecuted because of their competition with commercial and recreational fishing. Their populations have fallen through habitat destruction, disturbance and environmental pollution and they also have a long history of cultural significance in mythology, and in Christian and heraldic iconography. The genus Pelecanus was first formally described by Linnaeus in 1758 in the edition of his Systema Naturae. He described the characteristics as a straight bill hooked at the tip, linear nostrils, a bare face. This early definition included frigatebirds, cormorants, and sulids as well as pelicans, the name comes from the Ancient Greek word pelekan, which is itself derived from the word pelekys meaning axe. In classical times, the word was applied to both the pelican and the woodpecker, the family Pelecanidae was introduced by the French polymath Constantine Samuel Rafinesque in 1815. Pelicans give their name to the Pelecaniformes, an order which has a varied taxonomic history, in their place, herons, ibises, spoonbills, the hamerkop and the shoebill have now been transferred into Pelecaniformes. Molecular evidence suggests that the shoebill and the form a sister group to the pelicans. Its beak is almost complete and is identical to that of present-day pelicans. The Late Eocene Protopelicanus may be a pelecaniform or suliform – or an aquatic bird such as a pseudotooth. The supposed Miocene pelican Liptornis from Patagonia is a nomen dubium, fossil finds from North America have been meagre compared with Europe, which has a richer fossil record. The Dalmatian, pink-backed and spot-billed were all related to one another
27.
Courage
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Courage is the choice and willingness to confront agony, pain, danger, uncertainty, or intimidation. In some traditions, fortitude holds approximately the same meaning, more recently, courage has been explored by the discipline of psychology. An early Greek philosopher, Plato, set the groundwork for how courage would be viewed to future philosophers, Platos early writings found in Laches show a discussion on courage, but they fail to come to a satisfactory conclusion on what courage is. During the debate between three leaders, including Socrates, many definitions of courage are mentioned, Laches is an early writing of Platos, which may be a reason he does not come to a clear conclusion. In this early writing, Plato is still developing his ideas, in one of his later writings, The Republic, Plato gives more concrete ideas of what he believes courage to be. Civic courage is described as a sort of perseverance – preservation of the belief that has been inculcated by the law through education about what things, ideas of courage being perseverance also are seen in Laches. Plato further explains this perseverance as being able to persevere through all emotions, like suffering, pleasure, as a desirable quality, courage is discussed broadly in Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics, where its vice of shortage is cowardice and its vice of excess is recklessness. In the Roman Empire, courage formed part of the virtue of virtus. Roman philosopher and statesman Cicero lists the cardinal virtues does not name them such, Virtue may be defined as a habit of mind in harmony with reason and it has four parts, wisdom, justice, courage, temperance. In medieval virtue ethics, championed by Averroes and Thomas Aquinas and still important to Roman Catholicism, according to Thomas Aquinas, Among the cardinal virtues, prudence ranks first, justice second, fortitude third, temperance fourth, and after these the other virtues. Part of his justification for this hierarchy is that Fortitude without justice is an occasion of injustice, since the stronger a man is the more ready is he to oppress the weaker. On fortitudes general and special nature, Aquinas says, The term fortitude can be taken in two ways, secondly, fortitude may be taken to denote firmness only in bearing and withstanding those things wherein it is most difficult to be firm, namely in certain grave dangers. Therefore Tully says, that fortitude is deliberate facing of dangers, on this sense fortitude is reckoned a special virtue, because it has a special matter. For it is difficult to allay fear than to moderate daring, since the danger which is the object of daring and fear. Now to attack belongs to fortitude in so far as the latter moderates daring, therefore the principal act of fortitude is endurance, that is to stand immovable in the midst of dangers rather than to attack them. In both Catholicism and Anglicanism, courage is also one of the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, for Thomas Aquinas, Fortitude is the virtue to remove any obstacle that keeps the will from following reason. In order to true courage in Christianity it takes someone who displays the virtues of faith, hope. Courage is a virtue which Saint Augustine did not consider a virtue for Christians
28.
Justice
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Justice is the legal or philosophical theory by which fairness is administered. The concept of justice differs in every culture, an early theory of justice was set out by the Ancient Greek philosopher Plato in his work The Republic. Advocates of divine command theory argue that justice issues from God, in the 17th century, theorists like John Locke argued for the theory of natural law. Thinkers in the social contract tradition argued that justice is derived from the agreement of everyone concerned. In the 19th century, utilitarian thinkers including John Stuart Mill argued that justice is what has the best consequences, Theories of distributive justice concern what is distributed, between whom they are to be distributed, and what is the proper distribution. Egalitarians argued that justice can only exist within the coordinates of equality, John Rawls used a social contract argument to show that justice, and especially distributive justice, is a form of fairness. Property rights theorists take a view of distributive justice and argue that property rights-based justice maximizes the overall wealth of an economic system. Theories of retributive justice are concerned with punishment for wrongdoing, restorative justice is an approach to justice that focuses on restoring what is good, and necessarily focuses on the needs of victims and offenders. Understandings of justice differ in culture, as cultures are usually dependent upon a shared history. Each cultures ethics create values which influence the notion of justice, although there can be found some justice principles that are one and the same in all or most of the cultures, these are insufficient to create a unitary justice apprehension. In his dialogue Republic, Plato uses Socrates to argue for justice that covers both the just person and the just City State, Justice is a proper, harmonious relationship between the warring parts of the person or city. Hence, Platos definition of justice is that justice is the having and doing of what is ones own, a just man is a man in just the right place, doing his best and giving the precise equivalent of what he has received. This applies both at the level and at the universal level. A persons soul has three parts – reason, spirit and desire, similarly, a city has three parts – Socrates uses the parable of the chariot to illustrate his point, a chariot works as a whole because the two horses power is directed by the charioteer. Lovers of wisdom – philosophers, in one sense of the term – should rule because only they understand what is good, if one is ill, one goes to a medic rather than a farmer, because the medic is expert in the subject of health. Similarly, one should trust ones city to an expert in the subject of the good, not to a politician who tries to gain power by giving people what they want. For Socrates, the way the ship will reach its destination – the good – is if the navigator takes charge. Advocates of divine command theory argue that justice, and indeed the whole of morality, is the command of God
29.
Charity (virtue)
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In Christian theology charity, Latin caritas, is by Thomas Aquinas understood as the friendship of man for God, which unites us to God. He holds it as the most excellent of the virtues, further, Aquinas holds that the habit of charity extends not only to the love of God, but also to the love of our neighbor. Some delineate charity to mean only benevolent giving, while others, in Christian theology charity is the greatest of the three theological virtues. Thomas Aquinas does not simply equate charity to love, which he holds as a passion, not a virtue, rather, translators use the word friendship, confusion can arise from the multiple meanings of the English word love. The love that is caritas is distinguished by its origin, being divinely infused into the soul, according to Aquinas, charity is an absolute requirement for happiness, which he holds as mans last goal. Charity has two parts, love of God and love of man, which includes both love of neighbor and ones self. Paul describes it in the First Letter to the Corinthians, chapter 13, Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies, they fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease, whether there be knowledge. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass, darkly, but then face to face, now I know in part, and now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but the greatest of these is charity. Note that the King James Version uses both the charity and love to translate the idea of caritas / ἀγάπη, sometimes it uses one, then sometimes the other. Most other English translations, both before and since, do not, instead throughout they use the more direct English word love. Love can have meanings in English, but as used in the New Testament it almost always refers to the virtue of caritas. Many times when charity is mentioned in English-language bibles, it refers to love of God, one example is charity shall cover the multitude of sins, which forms the basis of perfect contrition. Catholic Encyclopedia Love Summa Theologica Second Part of the Second Part See Questions 23-46
30.
Frederick III of Denmark
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Frederick III was king of Denmark and Norway from 1648 until his death. He also governed under the name Frederick II as diocesan administrator of the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, and he instituted absolute monarchy in Denmark-Norway in 1660, confirmed by law in 1665 as the first in Western historiography. He also ordered the creation of the Throne Chair of Denmark and he was born the second-eldest son of Christian IV and Anne Catherine of Brandenburg. Frederick was only considered an heir to the throne after the death of his older brother Prince Christian in 1647, in order to be elected king after the death of his father, Frederick conceded significant influence to the nobility. As king, he fought two wars against Sweden and he was defeated in the Dano-Swedish War of 1657–1658, but attained great popularity when he weathered the 1659 Assault on Copenhagen and won the Dano-Swedish War of 1658–1660. Later that year, Frederick used his popularity to disband the elective monarchy in favour of absolute monarchy and he married Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, with whom he fathered Christian V of Denmark. Frederick was born at Haderslev in Slesvig, the son of Christian IV, in his youth and early manhood, there was no prospect of his ascending the Danish throne, as his older brother Christian was elected heir apparent in 1608. Frederick was educated at Sorø Academy and studied in the Netherlands, as a young man, he demonstrated an interest in theology, natural sciences, and Scandinavian history. He was a reserved and enigmatic prince who seldom laughed, spoke little, and wrote less, even though he lacked the impulsive and jovial qualities of his father, Frederick possessed the compensating virtues of moderation and self-control. On 1 October 1643 Frederick wed Sophie Amalie of Brunswick-Lüneburg, the daughter of George, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who had an energetic, passionate and he was an enthusiastic collector of books and his collection became the foundation for the Copenhagen Royal Library. In his youth, Frederick became the instrument of his fathers political schemes in the Holy Roman Empire and he was granted administration of the Prince-Archbishopric of Bremen, the Prince-Bishopric of Verden, and named coadjutor of the Bishopric of Halberstadt. Thus, from an age, he had considerable experience as an administrator. At the age of eighteen, he was the commandant of the Bremian fortress of Stade. During the Torstenson War of 1643–45, Frederick lost control of his possessions within the empire and he was then appointed commander in the royal shares in the Duchies of Schleswig and Holstein by his father. His command was not successful, chiefly owing to his quarrels with the Earl-Marshal Anders Bille and this was Fredericks first collision with the Danish nobility, who afterwards regarded him with extreme distrust. The death of his elder brother Christian in June 1647 opened the possibility for Frederick to be elected heir apparent to the Danish throne, however, this issue was still unsettled when Christian IV died on 28 February 1648. After long deliberation among the Danish Estates and in the Rigsraadet, on 6 July, Frederick received the homage of his subjects, and he was crowned on 23 November. The Haandfæstning included provisions curtailing the already diminished royal prerogative in favour of increased influence for the Rigsraadet, in the first years of his reign, the Rigsraadet was the main power center of Danish politics
31.
Accolade
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The accolade was the central act in the rite of passage ceremonies conferring knighthood in the Middle Ages. From about 1852, the accolade was used much more generally to mean praise or award or honor. Accolade was first used in 1611 and is French, from the Occitan acolada and this, in turn, came from the Latin ad + collum and in Occitan originally meant embrace. Accolade is akin to dubbing or to dub since the tap on the shoulder with the sword is accepted to be the point at which the title is awarded, the accolade is a ceremony to confer knighthood. It may take many forms, including the tapping of the side of a sword on the shoulders of a candidate or an embrace about the neck. In the first example, the knight-elect kneels in front of the monarch on a knighting-stool, first, the monarch lays the side of the swords blade onto the accolades right shoulder. The monarch then raises the sword gently just up over the apprentices head, the new knight then stands up, and the king or queen presents him with the insignia of his new order. Contrary to popular belief, the phrase Arise, Sir. is not used, there is some disagreement among historians on the actual ceremony and in what time period certain methods could have been used. It could have been an embrace or a blow on the neck or cheek. Gregory of Tours wrote that the kings of France, in conferring the gilt shoulder-belt. In knighting his son Henry, with the ceremony of the accolade, the blow, or colée, when first utilized was given with a bare fist, a stout box on the ear. This was later substituted for by a stroke with the flat part of the sword against the side of the neck. This then developed into the custom of tapping on either the right or left shoulder, or both, which is still the tradition in Great Britain today. An early Germanic coming-of-age ceremony, of presenting a youth with a weapon that was buckled on him, was elaborated in the 10th and 11th centuries as a sign that the minor had come of age. Initially this was a rite often performed on the battlefield. A panel in the Bayeux Tapestry shows the knighting of Harold by William of Normandy, some words that might be spoken at that moment were Advances Chevalier au nom de Dieu. In medieval France, early ceremonies of the adoubement were purely secular, around 1200, these ceremonies began to include elements of Christian ritual. The process of becoming a knight generally included these stages, Page — A child started training at about the age of seven or eight, learning obedience, manners, squire — At twelve to fourteen the young man would observe and help other knights
32.
Crown of Christian V
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The crown of King Christian V of Denmark was the crown used at the coronation of all of Denmarks absolutist kings. While the reign of such monarchs ended in 1840, the crown is used during a Danish kings castrum doloris. Used by the kings from Christian V to Christian VIII, made by Paul Kurtz in Copenhagen, 1670–1671. Gold with enamel and table-cut stones, also 2 garnets and 2 sapphires, of which the largest dates back to Frederick I of Denmark. Frederik III had large parts of his daughters trousseau bought in Paris, but the jewellery was commissioned to Kurtz. He was, therefore, considered an outstanding jeweller, in 1670–1671 he made his principal piece of work, Crown of Christian V. In that way a white play of light was created, which was framed by blue and red in the sapphires and garnets of the crown ring, the crown forms part of the National Coat of arms of Denmark and the Royal Coat of arms. Since 1671, the crown has been the de facto symbol of the state power and it is included in stylized and varied forms in most state institutions, including ministries
33.
Christian VIII of Denmark
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Christian VIII was the King of Denmark from 1839 to 1848 and, as Christian Frederick, King of Norway in 1814. He was the eldest son of Hereditary Prince Frederick of Denmark and Norway and his paternal grandparents were King Frederick V of Denmark and his second wife, Duchess Juliana Maria of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Christian was born at Christiansborg Palace in Copenhagen, Christians upbringing was marked by a thorough and broad-spectrum education with exposure to artists and scientists who were linked to his fathers court. Christian inherited the talents of his highly gifted mother, and his amiability, Christian first married his cousin Duchess Charlotte Frederica of Mecklenburg-Schwerin at Ludwigslust on 21 June 1806. Charlotte Frederica was a daughter of Friedrich Franz I, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin and his first-born son was Christian Frederik, who was born and died at Schloss Plön on 8 April 1807. His second son became Frederick VII of Denmark, the marriage was dissolved by divorce in 1810 after Charlotte Frederica was accused of adultery. Christian married his wife, Princess Caroline Amalie of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg at Augustenborg Palace on 22 May 1815. The couple was childless and lived in retirement as leaders of the literary. Christian had ten children, for whom he carefully provided. It is rumored that among these children included the fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen. Christian did all he could personally to strengthen the bonds between the Norwegians and the house of Denmark. He was elected Regent of Norway by an assembly of notables on 16 February 1814, Christian next attempted to interest the great powers in Norways cause, but without success. Sweden refused Christians conditions and a military campaign ensued in which the Norwegian army was defeated by the forces of the Swedish crown prince Charles John. The brief war concluded with the Convention of Moss on 14 August 1814, by the terms of this treaty, King Christian Frederick transferred executive power to the Storting, then abdicated and returned to Denmark. The Storting in its turn adopted the constitutional amendments necessary to allow for a union with Sweden. On 13 December 1839 he ascended the Danish throne as Christian VIII, the Liberal party had high hopes of “the giver of constitutions, ” but he disappointed his admirers by steadily rejecting every Liberal project. Administrative reform was the reform he would promise. In his attitude to the growing national unrest in the duchies of Schleswig and Holstein he often seemed hesitated and half-hearted
34.
Paul Kurtz
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Paul Kurtz was a prominent American skeptic and secular humanist. He has been called the father of secular humanism and he was Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo, having previously also taught at Vassar, Trinity, and Union colleges, and the New School for Social Research. Kurtz founded the publishing house Prometheus Books in 1969 and he was also the founder and past chairman of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, the Council for Secular Humanism, and the Center for Inquiry. He was editor in chief of Free Inquiry magazine, a publication of the Council for Secular Humanism and he was co-chair of the International Humanist and Ethical Union from 1986 to 1994. He was a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Humanist Laureate, president of the International Academy of Humanism, as a member of the American Humanist Association, he contributed to the writing of Humanist Manifesto II. He was an editor of The Humanist, 1967–78, Kurtz published over 800 articles or reviews and authored and edited over 50 books. Many of his books have been translated into over 60 languages, Kurtz was born in Newark, New Jersey, into a Jewish family, the son of Sara Lasser and Martin Kurtz. Kurtz received his bachelors degree from New York University, and the Masters degree, Kurtz was left-wing in his youth, but has said that serving in the United States Army in World War II taught him the dangers of ideology. Kurtz was largely responsible for the secularization of humanism and this can be seen in the first article of the original Humanist Manifesto which refers to Religious Humanists and by Charles and Clara Potters influential 1930 book Humanism, A New Religion. He founded the Center for Inquiry in 1991, in 1999 Kurtz was given the International Humanist Award by the International Humanist and Ethical Union. He did a lot to expand IHEU as a member of the IHEU Growth and Development Committee and then when he was co-chair, also with Rob and he always pushed IHEU to be bigger and bolder. In 2000 he received the International Rationalist Award by Rationalist International, in 2001, he debated Christian philosopher William Lane Craig over the nature of morality. Kurtz believed that the members of the community should take a positive view on life. Religious skepticism, according to Paul Kurtz, is one aspect of the secular humanistic outlook. On May 18,2010, he resigned all these positions. Kurtzs day-to-day management of the organization, Kurtz renewed his efforts in organized humanism by founding The Institute for Science and Human Values and its journal The Human Prospect, A NeoHumanist Perspective in June 2010. Another aspect in Kurtzs legacy is his critique of the paranormal, in 1976, CSICOP started Skeptical Inquirer, its official journal. Like Martin Gardner, Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, James Randi, Ray Hyman and others, Kurtz has popularized scientific skepticism and critical thinking about claims of the paranormal
35.
Crown of Charlemagne
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The Crown of Charlemagne was a name given to the ancient coronation crown of Kings of the Franks, and later Kings of France after 1237. At this time a similar but open crown, the one of the queen, one of them was melted down in 1590 by the Catholic League during the siege of Paris. The remaining crown was used up to the reign of King Louis XVI, the crown of Jeanne dÉvreux was then used for the coronation of the queens. Only one of the 11 personal crowns of the Ancient Regime remains, the Crown of Louis XV, manufactured for the coronation of Louis XV in 1722, the coronation crown, the Crown of Charlemagne, was destroyed in the French Revolution, like some of the regalia. When Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of France, he called his own imperial crown the Crown of Charlemagne. Media related to Crown of Charlemagne at Wikimedia Commons
36.
Sapphire
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Sapphire is a gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, an aluminium oxide. It is typically blue in color, but natural fancy sapphires also occur in yellow, purple, orange, the only color which sapphire cannot be is red - as red colored corundum is called ruby, another corundum variety. This variety in color is due to amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, copper. Commonly, natural sapphires are cut and polished into gemstones and worn in jewelry and they also may be created synthetically in laboratories for industrial or decorative purposes in large crystal boules. Sapphire is the birthstone for September and the gem of the 45th anniversary, a sapphire jubilee occurs after 65 years. Sapphire is one of the two gem-varieties of corundum, the other being ruby, although blue is the best-known sapphire color, they occur in other colors, including gray and black, and they can be colorless. A a pinkish orange variety of sapphire is called padparadscha, significant sapphire deposits are found in Eastern Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, Madagascar, East Africa, and in North America in a few locations, mostly in Montana. Sapphire and rubies are often found in the geological setting. Every sapphire mine produces a range of quality - and origin is not a guarantee of quality. For sapphire, Kashmir receives the highest premium although Burma, Sri Lanka, the cost of natural sapphires varies depending on their color, clarity, size, cut, and overall quality. For gems of exceptional quality, an independent determination from a respected laboratory such as the GIA, gemstone color can be described in terms of hue, saturation, and tone. Hue is commonly understood as the color of the gemstone, saturation refers to the vividness or brightness of the hue, and tone is the lightness to darkness of the hue. Blue sapphire exists in various mixtures of its primary and secondary hues, various tonal levels, blue sapphires are evaluated based upon the purity of their primary hue. Purple, violet, and green are the most common secondary hues found in blue sapphires, violet and purple can contribute to the overall beauty of the color, while green is considered to be distinctly negative. Blue sapphires with up to 15% violet or purple are generally said to be of fine quality, gray is the normal saturation modifier or mask found in blue sapphires. Gray reduces the saturation or brightness of the hue, and therefore has a negative effect. The 423-carat Logan sapphire in the National Museum of Natural History, in Washington, sapphires in colors other than blue are called fancy or parti colored sapphires. Fancy sapphires are found in yellow, orange, green sapphires, brown, purple
37.
Frederick I of Denmark
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Frederick I was the King of Denmark and Norway. His name is also spelled Friedrich in German, Frederik in Danish and Norwegian and he was the penultimate Roman Catholic monarch to reign over Denmark, when subsequent monarchs embraced Lutheranism after the Protestant Reformation. As King of Norway, Frederick is most remarkable in never having visited the country and was never being crowned King of Norway, therefore he was styled King of Denmark, the Vends and the Goths, elected King of Norway. Frederick was the son of the first Oldenburg King Christian I of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Soon after the death of his father, the underage Frederick was elected co-Duke of Schleswig and Holstein in 1482, in 1490 at Fredericks majority, both duchies were divided between the brothers. In 1500 he had convinced his brother King John to conquer Dithmarschen, a great army was called from not only the duchies, but with additions from all of the Kalmar Union for which his brother briefly was king. In addition, numerous German mercenaries took part, the expedition failed miserably, however, in the Battle of Hemmingstedt, where one third of all knights of Schleswig and Holstein lost their lives. In 1523 Christian II, King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, was forced by disloyal nobles to abdicate and it is not certain that Frederick ever learned to speak Danish. After becoming king, he continued spending most of his time at Gottorp, in 1524 and 1525 Frederick had to suppress revolts among the peasants in Jutland and Scania who demanded the restoration of Christian II. The high point of the came in 1525 when Søren Norby. He raised 8000 men who besieged Kärnan, a castle in Helsingborg, Fredericks general, Johann Rantzau, moved his army to Scania and defeated the peasants soundly in April and May 1525. Frederick played a role in the spread of Lutheran teaching throughout Denmark. In his coronation charter, he was made the protector of Roman Catholicism in Denmark. In that role, he asserted his right to select bishops for the Roman Catholic dioceses in the country, Christian II had been intolerant of Protestant teaching, but Frederick took a more opportunist approach. For example, he ordered that Lutherans and Roman Catholics share the same churches, in 1526, when Lutheran Reformer Hans Tausen was threatened with arrest and trial for heresy, Frederick appointed him his personal chaplain to give him immunity. Starting in 1527, Frederick authorized the closure of Franciscan houses and monasteries in 28 Danish cities, during his reign, Frederick was skillful enough to prevent all-out warfare between Protestants and Roman Catholics. In 1532 he succeeded in capturing Christian II who had tried to make a political come-back in Norway, Frederick died on 10 April 1533 in Gottorp, at the age of 61, and was buried in Schleswig Cathedral. Upon Fredericks death, tensions between Roman Catholics and Protestants rose to a pitch which would result in the Counts Feud
38.
Christian I of Denmark
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Christian I was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was King of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, from 1460 to 1481, he was also Duke of Schleswig and Count of Holstein. He was the first Danish monarch of the House of Oldenburg and he was a son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg, a descendant of King Eric IV of Denmark, and Hedwig of Holstein, a descendant of King Eric V of Denmark and Abel of Denmark. His subsequent accessions to the thrones of Norway and Sweden, restored the unity of the Kalmar Union for a short period. In 1460, following the death of his uncle, Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, Count of Holstein, Christian also became Duke of Schleswig. In the 1470s, he undertook several costly travels, in 1474 to Pope Sixtus IV, Christian I was born in February 1426 in Oldenburg in Northern Germany as the eldest son of Count Dietrich of Oldenburg by his second wife, Helvig of Holstein. Christian had two brothers, Maurice and Gerhard, and one sister Adelheid. Through his father, he belonged to the House of Oldenburg, based on the two strongholds of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, the family had gradually expanded its rule over the neighbouring Frisian tribes of the area. Christians father was called the Fortunate as he had reunited and expanded the familys territory, christians mother, Helvig, was a daughter of Gerhard VI, Count of Holstein, and a sister of Adolphus, Duke of Schleswig. Through his father, Christian was a descendant of King Eric IV of Denmark through his daughter Sophia. Christian thus descended from the three surviving sons of Valdemar II and his second wife Berengaria of Portugal, at Dietrich death in 1440, Christian and his brothers jointly succeeded their father as Count of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst. In January 1448, King Christopher of Denmark, Sweden and Norway died suddenly and his death resulted in the break-up of the union of the three kingdoms, as Denmark and Sweden went their separate ways. The vacant Danish throne was first offered by the Council of the Realm to Duke Adolphus of Schleswig, but being relatively old and childless, the duke declined and recommended his nephew, count Christian of Oldenburg. The council also demanded that Christian should marry the widow of his predecessor King Christopher III, on 1 September 1448, after signing his ascension promissory, count Christian was elected to the Danish throne as king Christian I at the assembly in Viborg. His coronation was held on 28 October 1449, in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, meanwhile, Sweden had on 20 June 1448 elected Charles Knutsson as king. Norway was now faced with the choice between a union with Denmark or Sweden, or electing a separate king, the latter option was quickly discarded, and a power-struggle ensued between the supporters of Christian of Denmark and Charles of Sweden. The Norwegian Council of the Realm was divided, in February 1449, a part of the Council declared in favour of Charles as king, but on 15 June the same year, a different group of councillors paid homage to Christian. On 20 November, Charles was crowned king of Norway in Trondheim, however, the Swedish nobility now took steps to avoid war with Denmark
39.
Galeazzo Maria Sforza
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Galeazzo Maria Sforza was the fifth Duke of Milan from 1466 until his death. He was famous for being lustful, cruel and tyrannical and he was born to Francesco Sforza, a popular condottiero and ally of Cosimo de Medici who would gain the Duchy of Milan in 1450, and Bianca Maria Visconti. He married into the Gonzaga family, on the death of his first wife Dorotea Gonzaga, Galeazzo Maria Sforza was born in Fermo, near the familys castle of Girifalco, the first son of Francesco Sforza and Bianca Maria Visconti. At the death of his father, Galeazzo was in France at the head of an expedition to help King Louis XI of France against Charles I of Burgundy. Called back home by his mother, Galeazzo returned to Italy by a trip under a false name. The false identity was necessary as he had to pass by the territories of the enemy, the Duke of Savoy. He entered Milan on 20 March, acclaimed by the populace, in his first years Galeazzo and his mother ruled jointly, but later his ruthless character pushed him to oust Bianca Maria from Milan. Sforza was famous as a patron of music, under his direction, financial backing and encouragement, his chapel grew into one of the most famous and historically significant musical ensembles in Europe. Composers from the north, especially the Franco-Flemish composers from the present-day Low Countries, came to sing in his chapel and write masses, motets, some of the figures associated with the Sforza chapel include Alexander Agricola, Johannes Martini, Loyset Compère, and Gaspar van Weerbeke. However, most of the singers at the Sforza chapel fled after Galeazzos murder and took positions elsewhere, as a result, Galeazzo Sforza is also known to have had a cruel streak. He was a womanizer who often passed his women on to his courtiers once he was tired of them. Sforza once had a poacher executed by forcing him to swallow an entire hare and he also had a priest who predicted a short reign for Sforza punished by being starved to death. This made him enemies in Milan. There were three principal assassins involved in Sforzas death, Carlo Visconti, Gerolamo Olgiati and Giovanni Andrea Lampugnani, Lampugnani, descended from Milanese nobility, is recognized as the leader of the conspiracy. His motives were based primarily on a dispute, in which Galeazzo had failed to intervene in a matter which saw the Lampugnani family lose considerable properties. Visconti and Olgiati also bore the duke enmity - Olgiati was a Republican idealist, supported by about thirty friends, the three men waited in the church for the duke to arrive for mass. When Galeazzo Sforza arrived, Lampugnani knelt before him, after words were exchanged, Lampugnani rose suddenly and stabbed Sforza in the groin. Olgiati and Visconti soon joined in, as did a servant of Lampugnanis, Sforza was dead within a matter of seconds
40.
Spinel
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Spinel is the magnesium aluminium member of the larger spinel group of minerals. It has the formula MgAl2O4 in the crystal system. Its name comes from Latin spina, balas ruby is an old name for a rose-tinted variety of spinel. Spinel crystallizes in the system, common crystal forms are octahedra. It has an imperfect cleavage and a conchoidal fracture. Its hardness is 8, its gravity is 3. 5–4.1. It may be colorless, but is usually shades of red, blue, green, yellow, brown, black. There is a natural white spinel, now lost, that surfaced briefly in what is now Sri Lanka. The Samarian Spinel is the largest known spinel in the world, the transparent red spinels were called spinel-rubies or balas rubies. In the past, before the arrival of modern science, spinels, after the 18th century the word ruby was only used for the red gem variety of the mineral corundum and the word spinel came to be used. Balas is derived from Balascia, the ancient name for Badakhshan, mines in the Gorno Badakhshan region of Tajikistan was for centuries the main source for red and pink spinels. Spinel has long been found in the gravel of Sri Lanka and in limestones of the Badakshan Province in modern-day Afghanistan and Tajikistan. Recently gem quality spinels also found in the marbles of Luc Yen, Mahenge and Matombo, Tsavo and in the gravels of Tunduru and this is why spinel and ruby are often found together. Spinel, 2O4, is common in peridotite in the uppermost Earths mantle, Spinel, Al2O4, is a common mineral in the Ca-Al-rich inclusions in some chondritic meteorites. Synthetic spinel, accidentally produced in the middle of the 18th century, has described more recently in scientific publications in 2000 and 2004. By 2015, transparent spinel was being made in sheets and other shapes through sintering, synthetic spinel which looks like glass but has notably higher strength against pressure, can also have applications in military and commercial use. Spinel group Ceylonite The Samarian Spinel, the largest known spinel in the world, part of the Iranian Crown Jewels Black Princes Ruby Deer, Howie, an Introduction to the Rock-Forming Minerals, Longman, pp. 424–433, ISBN 0-582-44210-9. Gemstones of the World 3rd edition, Sterling, pp. 116–117, Spinel structure at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay Spinel structure at the Institut for materials science of the University of Kiel Value of Spinel
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Garnet
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Garnets are a group of silicate minerals that have been used since the Bronze Age as gemstones and abrasives. All species of garnets possess similar physical properties and crystal forms, the different species are pyrope, almandine, spessartine, grossular, uvarovite and andradite. The garnets make up two solid solution series, pyrope-almandine-spessartine and uvarovite-grossular-andradite, the word garnet comes from the 14th‑century Middle English word gernet, meaning dark red. It is derived from the Latin granatus, from granum, Garnet species are found in many colors including red, orange, yellow, green, purple, brown, blue, black, pink, and colorless, with reddish shades most common. Garnet species light transmission properties can range from the gemstone-quality transparent specimens to the varieties used for industrial purposes as abrasives. The minerals luster is categorized as vitreous or resinous, garnets are nesosilicates having the general formula X3Y23. The X site is occupied by divalent cations 2+ and the Y site by trivalent cations 3+ in an octahedral/tetrahedral framework with 4− occupying the tetrahedra. Garnets are most often found in the crystal habit, but are also commonly found in the trapezohedron habit. They crystallize in the system, having three axes that are all of equal length and perpendicular to each other. Garnets do not show cleavage, so when they fracture under stress, because the chemical composition of garnet varies, the atomic bonds in some species are stronger than in others. As a result, this group shows a range of hardness on the Mohs scale of about 6.5 to 7.5. The harder species like almandine are often used for abrasive purposes, for gem identification purposes, a pick-up response to a strong neodymium magnet separates garnet from all other natural transparent gemstones commonly used in the jewelry trade. Almandine, Fe3Al23 Pyrope, Mg3Al23 Spessartine, Mn3Al23 Almandine, sometimes incorrectly called almandite, is the modern gem known as carbuncle, the term carbuncle is derived from the Latin meaning live coal or burning charcoal. The name Almandine is a corruption of Alabanda, a region in Asia Minor where these stones were cut in ancient times, chemically, almandine is an iron-aluminium garnet with the formula Fe3Al23, the deep red transparent stones are often called precious garnet and are used as gemstones. Almandine occurs in metamorphic rocks like mica schists, associated with such as staurolite, kyanite, andalusite. Almandine has nicknames of Oriental garnet, almandine ruby, and carbuncle, Pyrope is red in color and chemically an aluminium silicate with the formula Mg3Al23, though the magnesium can be replaced in part by calcium and ferrous iron. The color of pyrope varies from red to black. A variety of pyrope from Macon County, North Carolina is a shade and has been called rhodolite
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Volute
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A volute is a spiral, scroll-like ornament that forms the basis of the Ionic order, found in the capital of the Ionic column. It was later incorporated into Corinthian order and Composite column capitals, four are normally to be found on an Ionic capital, eight on Composite capitals and smaller versions on the Corinthian capital. The word derives from the Latin voluta and it has been suggested that the ornament was inspired by the curve of a rams horns, or perhaps was derived from the natural spiral found in the ovule of a common species of clover native to Greece. Alternatively, it may simply be of geometrical origin, the ornament can be seen in Renaissance and Baroque architecture and is a common decoration in furniture design, silverware and ceramics. A method of drawing the complex geometry was devised by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius through the study of classical buildings, arabesque Scrollwork Media related to Volute at Wikimedia Commons
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Diamond cut
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A diamond cut is a style or design guide used when shaping a diamond for polishing such as the brilliant cut. Cut does not refer to shape, but the symmetry, proportioning, the cut of a diamond greatly affects a diamonds brilliance, this means if it is cut poorly, it will be less luminous. In order to best use a diamond gemstones material properties, a number of different diamond cuts have been developed, a diamond cut constitutes a more or less symmetrical arrangement of facets, which together modify the shape and appearance of a diamond crystal. Diamond cutters must consider several factors, such as the shape and size of the crystal, the practical history of diamond cuts can be traced back to the Middle Ages, while their theoretical basis was not developed until the turn of the 20th century. The most popular of diamond cuts is the round brilliant, whose facet arrangements. Also popular are the cuts, which come in a variety of shapes—many of which were derived from the round brilliant. A diamonds cut is evaluated by trained graders, with higher grades given to stones whose symmetry, the strictest standards are applied to the round brilliant, although its facet count is invariable, its proportions are not. Different countries base their cut grading on different ideals, one may speak of the American Standard or the Scandinavian Standard, to give but two examples. The history of diamond cuts can be traced to the late Middle Ages and this was called the point cut and dates from the mid 14th century, by 1375 there was a guild of diamond polishers at Nürnberg. By the mid 15th century, the point cut began to be improved upon, the importance of a culet was also realised, and some table-cut stones may possess one. The addition of four corner facets created the old single cut, neither of these early cuts would reveal what diamond is prized for today, its strong dispersion or fire. At the time, diamond was valued chiefly for its lustre and superlative hardness. For this reason, colored gemstones such as ruby and sapphire were far more popular in jewelry of the era. In or around 1476, Lodewyk van Berquem, a Flemish polisher of Bruges, introduced the technique of absolute symmetry in the disposition of facets using a device of his own invention, the scaif. He cut stones in the known as pendeloque or briolette. However, Indian rose cuts were far less symmetrical as their cutters had the primary interest of conserving carat weight, in either event, the rose cut continued to evolve, with its depth, number and arrangements of facets being tweaked. The first brilliant cuts were introduced in the middle of the 17th century, known as Mazarins, they had 17 facets on the crown. They are also called double-cut brilliants as they are seen as a step up from old single cuts, yet Peruzzi-cut diamonds, when seen nowadays, seem exceedingly dull compared to modern-cut brilliants
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Acanthus (ornament)
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The acanthus is one of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration. The motif is found in decoration in nearly every medium, the relationship between acanthus ornament and the acanthus plant has been the subject of a long-standing controversy. Alois Riegl argued in his Stilfragen that acanthus ornament originated as a version of the palmette. In Ancient Greek architecture acanthus ornament appears extensively in the capitals of the Corinthian and Composite orders, the oldest known example of a Corinthian column is in the Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae in Arcadia, c. 450–420 BC, but the order was used sparingly in Greece before the Roman period, Acanthus decoration continued in popularity in Byzantine, Romanesque, and Gothic architecture. It saw a revival in the Renaissance, and still is used today. A few of her toys were in it, and a tile had been placed over the basket. An acanthus plant had grown through the basket, mixing its spiny. After centuries without decorated capitals, they were revived enthusiastically in Romanesque architecture, often using foliage designs, curling acanthus-type leaves occur frequently in the borders and ornamented initial letters of illuminated manuscripts, and are commonly found in combination with palmettes in woven silk textiles. In the Renaissance classical models were followed closely, and the acanthus becomes clearly recognisable again in large-scale architectural examples. The term is also found describing more stylized and abstracted foliage motifs. Palmette Arabesque Media related to Acanthus ornaments at Wikimedia Commons
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Royal cypher
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In the case where such a cypher is used by an emperor or empress, it is called an imperial cypher. In the system used by various Commonwealth realms, the title is abbreviated as R for rex or regina, previously, I stood for imperator or imperatrix of India. The cypher is displayed on some government buildings, impressed upon royal and state documents, the letter I for Imperatrix was added to Queen Victorias monogram after she became Empress of India in 1877. The purpose seems to have been simply to identify an individual sovereign, the initials were used mostly on government papers, duty stamps and similar objects, and were sometimes surmounted by a stylised version of the Tudor Crown or, more recently, St Edwards Crown. In Scotland, the Crown of Scotland appears in place of the Imperial Crown, though royal symbols differ among the sixteen Commonwealth realms, as they are separate monarchies, the one sovereign uses the same cypher throughout all of his or her countries. Nowadays, the initials are also called the royal cypher, but, to aid clarification, the present Queens cypher is EIIR, standing for Elizabeth II Regina. Cyphers for other members of the Royal Family are designed by the College of Arms or Court of the Lord Lyon and are approved by the Queen. These cyphers have been incorporated by the Canadian Heraldic Authority into the royal standards of Canada. Other royal houses have also use of royal or imperial cyphers. Ottoman sultans had a signature, their tughra. All the monarchs of Europes six other surviving kingdoms use cyphers, Philippe of Belgium uses the letters P and F intertwined, referring to the fact that his name is Philippe in French, but Filip in Dutch, the two main languages in Belgium. King Maha Vajiralongkorn of Thailand uses a cypher made up of his initials in Thai script, Royal sign-manual Signum manus Heraldic badge Personal Flag of Queen Elizabeth II H7 Mon MacCormick v Lord Advocate Pillar Box War
