1.
Cutlery
–
Cutlery includes any hand implement used in preparing, serving, and especially eating food in the Western world. A person who makes or sells cutlery is called a cutler, the city of Sheffield in England has been famous for the production of cutlery since the 17th century and a train – the Master Cutler – running from Sheffield to London was named after the industry. Cutlery is more known as silverware or flatware in the United States. Although the term silverware is used irrespective of the composition of the utensils. The major items of cutlery in the Western world are the knife, fork, in recent times, hybrid versions of cutlery have been made combining the functionality of different eating implements, including the spork, spife, and knork or the sporf which combines all three. The word cutler derives from the Middle English word cuteler and this in turn derives from Old French coutelier which comes from coutel, the words early origins can be seen in the Latin word culter. The first documented use of the term cutler in Sheffield appeared in a 1297 tax return, a Sheffield knife was listed in the Kings possession in the Tower of London fifty years later. Several knives dating from the 14th century are on display at the Cutlers Hall in Sheffield, sterling silver is the traditional material from which good quality cutlery is made. Historically, silver had the advantage over other metals of being less chemically reactive, chemical reactions between certain foods and the cutlery metal can lead to unpleasant tastes. Gold is even less reactive than silver, but the use of gold cutlery was confined to the exceptionally wealthy, even comparatively modest households might have one or two items of silver, often silver spoons. It contained, among other items, a gravy ladle, mustard spoon. Steel was always used for more utilitarian knives, and pewter was used for some cheaper items, from the nineteenth century, electroplated nickel silver was used as a cheaper substitute for sterling silver. In 1913, the British metallurgist Harry Brearley discovered stainless steel by chance, an alternative is melchior, corrosion-resistant nickel and copper alloy, which can also sometimes contain manganese and nickle-iron. Plastic cutlery is made for use, and is frequently used outdoors for camping, excursions. Plastic cutlery is also used at fast-food or take-away outlets. Wooden disposable cutlery is available as a biodegradable alternative. Cutlery has been made in many places, in Britain, the industry became concentrated by the late 16th century in and around Birmingham and Sheffield. However, the Birmingham industry increasingly concentrated on swords, made by long cutlers, at Sheffield the trade of cutler became divided, with allied trades such as razormaker, awlbladesmith, shearsmith and forkmaker emerging and becoming distinct trades by the 18th century
Cutlery
–
Silver forks and a spoon
Cutlery
–
Starch-polyester disposable cutlery
Cutlery
–
French travelling set of cutlery, 1550-1600,
Victoria and Albert Museum
2.
Tine (structural)
–
Tines or prongs or teeth are parallel or branching spikes forming parts of a tool or natural object. They are used to spear, hook, move or otherwise act on other objects and they may be made of metal, wood, bone or other hard, strong materials. The number of tines on tools varies widely – a pitchfork may have just two, a fork may have four, and a rake or harrow many. Tines may be blunt, such as those on a used as an eating utensil, or sharp, as on a pitchfork, or even barbed. The terms tine and prong are mostly interchangeable, a tooth of a comb is a tine. Tines and prongs occur in nature—for example, forming the branched bony antlers of deer or the horns of pronghorn antelopes. The term tine is also used for mountains, such as the fictional Silvertine in The Lord of the Rings, in chaos theory, the branches of a bifurcation diagram are called tines and subtines
Tine (structural)
–
A three-tine pitchfork
3.
Knife
–
A knife is a tool with a cutting edge or blade, hand-held or otherwise, with most having a handle. Some types of knives are used as utensils, including knives used at the dining table, many types of knives are used as tools, such as the utility knife carried by soldiers, the pocket knife carried by hikers and the hunting knife used by hunters. Knives are also used as a traditional or religious implement, such as the kirpan, some types of knives are used as weapons, such as daggers or switchblades. Some types of knives are used as sports equipment, Knives are also used in agriculture, food harvesting etc. the sickle, the scythe and even the combine harvester are knives. Knife-like tools were used at least two-and-a-half million years ago, as evidenced by the Oldowan tools. Originally made of rock, bone, flint, and obsidian, knives have evolved in construction as technology has, with blades being made from bronze, copper, iron, steel, ceramics, many cultures have their unique version of the knife. Due to its role as humankinds first tool, certain cultures have attached spiritual, most modern-day knives follow either a fixed-blade or a folding construction style, with blade patterns and styles as varied as their makers and countries of origin. The word knife possibly descends from an old Norse word knifr for blade, single-edged knives may have a reverse edge or false edge occupying a section of the spine. These edges are serrated and are used to further enhance function. The handle, used to grip and manipulate the blade safely, may include a tang, Knives are made with partial tangs or full tangs. The handle may include a bolster, a piece of heavy material situated at the front or rear of the handle, the bolster, as its name suggests, is used to mechanically strengthen the knife. Knife blades can be manufactured from a variety of materials, each of which has advantages and disadvantages, carbon steel, an alloy of iron and carbon, can be very sharp. It holds its edge well, and remains easy to sharpen, stainless steel is an alloy of iron, chromium, possibly nickel, and molybdenum, with only a small amount of carbon. It is not able to quite as sharp an edge as carbon steel. High carbon stainless steel is steel with a higher amount of carbon, intended to incorporate the better attributes of carbon steel. High carbon stainless steel blades do not discolor or stain, laminate blades use multiple metals to create a layered sandwich, combining the attributes of both. For example, a harder, more brittle steel may be sandwiched between a layer of softer, tougher, stainless steel to reduce vulnerability to corrosion. In this case, however, the part most affected by corrosion, pattern-welding is similar to laminate construction
Knife
–
A Bowie-class knife of pattern-welded steel
Knife
–
A butter knife resting on a stand
Knife
–
Characteristic parts of a knife
Knife
–
Knife blade mass production
4.
Pitchfork
–
A pitchfork is an agricultural tool with a long handle and tynes used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw or leaves. A pitchfork is a tool with a long handle and long, thick, widely separated pointed tynes used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay. True pitchforks typically have two or three tynes, while manure forks have four or more. However, some forks with more than three tynes are also used for handling loose material such as hay or silage, other forks have up to ten tynes with different lengths and spacing depending on purpose. They are usually made of steel with a wooden handle. In some parts of England a pitchfork is known as a prong and, in parts of Ireland, the pitchfork is similar to the shorter and sturdier garden fork. Pitchforks and scythes have frequently used as weapons by those who could not afford or did not have access to more expensive weapons such as swords, or, later. As a result, pitchforks and scythes are stereotypically carried by angry mobs or gangs of enraged peasants, in Europe, the pitchfork was first used in the early Middle Ages, at about the same time as the harrow. The pitchfork was originally made entirely of wood, today, the tynes are usually made of hard metal, a notable American artistic display of a three-pronged pitchfork is in American Gothic, the painting by Grant Wood. In this painting it symbolizes hand labour, there are other paintings by various artists which depict a wide variety of pitchforks and other tools in use and at rest. The Hellenistic deity Pluto wields a bident, a two-pronged weapon strikingly similar in form to a pitchfork, trident Fork Media related to Pitchfork at Wikimedia Commons
Pitchfork
–
A pitchfork next to a
compost bin
Pitchfork
–
Pitching
hay
Pitchfork
–
Farmer with a pitchfork, by
Winslow Homer, 1874
5.
Ancient Egypt
–
Ancient Egypt was a civilization of ancient Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. It is one of six civilizations to arise independently, Egyptian civilization followed prehistoric Egypt and coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh Narmer. In the aftermath of Alexander the Greats death, one of his generals, Ptolemy Soter and this Greek Ptolemaic Kingdom ruled Egypt until 30 BC, when, under Cleopatra, it fell to the Roman Empire and became a Roman province. The success of ancient Egyptian civilization came partly from its ability to adapt to the conditions of the Nile River valley for agriculture, the predictable flooding and controlled irrigation of the fertile valley produced surplus crops, which supported a more dense population, and social development and culture. Its art and architecture were widely copied, and its antiquities carried off to far corners of the world and its monumental ruins have inspired the imaginations of travelers and writers for centuries. The Nile has been the lifeline of its region for much of human history, nomadic modern human hunter-gatherers began living in the Nile valley through the end of the Middle Pleistocene some 120,000 years ago. By the late Paleolithic period, the climate of Northern Africa became increasingly hot and dry. In Predynastic and Early Dynastic times, the Egyptian climate was less arid than it is today. Large regions of Egypt were covered in treed savanna and traversed by herds of grazing ungulates, foliage and fauna were far more prolific in all environs and the Nile region supported large populations of waterfowl. Hunting would have been common for Egyptians, and this is also the period when many animals were first domesticated. The largest of these cultures in upper Egypt was the Badari, which probably originated in the Western Desert, it was known for its high quality ceramics, stone tools. The Badari was followed by the Amratian and Gerzeh cultures, which brought a number of technological improvements, as early as the Naqada I Period, predynastic Egyptians imported obsidian from Ethiopia, used to shape blades and other objects from flakes. In Naqada II times, early evidence exists of contact with the Near East, particularly Canaan, establishing a power center at Hierakonpolis, and later at Abydos, Naqada III leaders expanded their control of Egypt northwards along the Nile. They also traded with Nubia to the south, the oases of the desert to the west. Royal Nubian burials at Qustul produced artifacts bearing the oldest-known examples of Egyptian dynastic symbols, such as the crown of Egypt. They also developed a ceramic glaze known as faience, which was used well into the Roman Period to decorate cups, amulets, and figurines. During the last predynastic phase, the Naqada culture began using written symbols that eventually were developed into a system of hieroglyphs for writing the ancient Egyptian language. The Early Dynastic Period was approximately contemporary to the early Sumerian-Akkadian civilisation of Mesopotamia, the third-century BC Egyptian priest Manetho grouped the long line of pharaohs from Menes to his own time into 30 dynasties, a system still used today
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Great Sphinx and the
pyramids of Giza are among the most recognizable symbols of the civilization of ancient Egypt.
Ancient Egypt
–
A typical Naqada II jar decorated with gazelles. (Predynastic Period)
Ancient Egypt
–
The
Narmer Palette depicts the unification of the Two Lands.
6.
Bronze Age
–
The Bronze Age is a historical period characterized by the use of bronze, proto-writing, and other early features of urban civilization. The Bronze Age is the principal period of the three-age Stone-Bronze-Iron system, as proposed in modern times by Christian Jürgensen Thomsen. An ancient civilization is defined to be in the Bronze Age either by smelting its own copper and alloying with tin, arsenic, or other metals, or by trading for bronze from production areas elsewhere. Copper-tin ores are rare, as reflected in the fact there were no tin bronzes in Western Asia before trading in bronze began in the third millennium BC. Worldwide, the Bronze Age generally followed the Neolithic period, with the Chalcolithic serving as a transition, although the Iron Age generally followed the Bronze Age, in some areas, the Iron Age intruded directly on the Neolithic. Bronze Age cultures differed in their development of the first writing, according to archaeological evidence, cultures in Mesopotamia and Egypt developed the earliest viable writing systems. The overall period is characterized by use of bronze, though the place and time of the introduction. Human-made tin bronze technology requires set production techniques, tin must be mined and smelted separately, then added to molten copper to make bronze alloy. The Bronze Age was a time of use of metals. The dating of the foil has been disputed, the Bronze Age in the ancient Near East began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC. Societies in the region laid the foundations for astronomy and mathematics, the usual tripartite division into an Early, Middle and Late Bronze Age is not used. Instead, a division based on art-historical and historical characteristics is more common. The cities of the Ancient Near East housed several tens of thousands of people, ur in the Middle Bronze Age and Babylon in the Late Bronze Age similarly had large populations. The earliest mention of Babylonia appears on a tablet from the reign of Sargon of Akkad in the 23rd century BC, the Amorite dynasty established the city-state of Babylon in the 19th century BC. Over 100 years later, it took over the other city-states. Babylonia adopted the written Semitic Akkadian language for official use, by that time, the Sumerian language was no longer spoken, but was still in religious use. Elam was an ancient civilization located to the east of Mesopotamia, in the Old Elamite period, Elam consisted of kingdoms on the Iranian plateau, centered in Anshan, and from the mid-2nd millennium BC, it was centered in Susa in the Khuzestan lowlands. Its culture played a role in the Gutian Empire and especially during the Achaemenid dynasty that succeeded it
Bronze Age
–
Chalcolithic copper mine in
Timna Valley,
Negev Desert,
Israel.
Bronze Age
–
Diffusion of metallurgy in
Europe and
Asia Minor. The darkest areas are the oldest.
Bronze Age
–
A
Shang Dynasty two-handled bronze gefuding gui (1600–1046 BC).
Bronze Age
–
Spring and Autumn Period pu bronze vessel with interlaced
dragon design (722–481 BC)
7.
Qijia culture
–
The Qijia culture was an early Bronze Age culture distributed around the upper Yellow River region of Gansu and eastern Qinghai, China. It is regarded as one of the earliest bronze cultures, the Qijia Culture is named after the Qijiaping Site in Gansu Province. Prior to Qijia culture, in the area there existed Majiayao culture that was also familiar with metalwork. At the end of the third millennium B. C, Qijia culture succeeded Majiayao culture at sites in three main geographic zones, Eastern Gansu, Middle Gansu, and Western Gansu/Eastern Qinghai. Johan Gunnar Andersson discovered the site at Qijiaping in 1923. Qijia culture was a culture, based on agriculture, and breeding pigs. Archeological evidence points to early contact between the Qijia culture and Central Asia. Qijia culture produced some of the earliest bronze and copper found in China. Extensive domestication of horses are found at many Qijia sites, the archaeological sites at Lajia, Huangniangniangtai, Qinweijia, and Dahezhuang are associated with the Qijia culture. Qijia sites were found in Ningxia province and Inner Mongolia. A total of over 350 sites of the Qijia culture have been superimposed on the Majiayao culture. A large quantity of metal ware, mostly copper objects, including bronzes, have been excavated from various sites in Gansu province. 25 pieces of metalwork were analyzed for their composition and those made from copper were the most numerous, accounting for 64 per cent of the total. The rest represented various copper alloys, including tin, techniques of pottery-making are marked by a fine red ware and a coarse reddish-brown ware. There are also a few pieces of grey ware and they are handmade, there being no evidence of wheel-made ware. While the Qijia culture pottery has its own characteristics, it also shares many traits in common with the Longshan culture in Shaanxi. Some elements of the Majiayao culture are also present, Machang culture also flourished in 2500-2000 BC along the Yellow River, it was an outgrowth of the Banshan culture. Machang culture was partly contemporary with the Qijia, although they were quite different, some scholars consider Machang culture as only a phase of the larger Majiayao culture, they also say that the Qijia derived from the Machang
Qijia culture
–
Bronze mirror, Gansu. Qijia culture (2400 - 1900)
National Museum of China
Qijia culture
–
Qijia culture
8.
Shang dynasty
–
The Shang dynasty or Yin dynasty, according to traditional historiography, ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Zhou dynasty. The classic account of the Shang comes from such as the Book of Documents, Bamboo Annals. The Xia–Shang–Zhou Chronology Project dated them from c.1600 to 1046 BC, the Shang dynasty is the earliest dynasty of traditional Chinese history supported by archaeological evidence. Tens of thousands of bronze, jade, stone, bone, the Anyang site has yielded the earliest known body of Chinese writing, mostly divinations inscribed on oracle bones – turtle shells, ox scapulae, or other bones. More than 20,000 were discovered in the scientific excavations during the 1920s and 1930s. The inscriptions provide critical insight into many topics from the politics, economy, many events concerning the Shang dynasty are mentioned in various Chinese classics, including the Book of Documents, the Mencius and the Zuo Zhuan. Working from all the documents, the Han dynasty historian Sima Qian assembled a sequential account of the Shang dynasty as part of his Records of the Grand Historian. His history describes some events in detail, while in other cases only the name of a king is given, a closely related, but slightly different, account is given by the Bamboo Annals. The Annals were interred in 296 BC, but the text has a complex history, the name Yīn is used by Sima Qian for the dynasty, and in the current text version of the Bamboo Annals for both the dynasty and its final capital. It has been a name for the Shang throughout history. Since the Records of Emperors and Kings by Huangfu Mi, it has often used specifically to describe the later half of the Shang dynasty. In Japan and Korea, the Shang are still referred to almost exclusively as the Yin dynasty, however it seems to have been a Zhou name for the earlier dynasty. The word does not appear in the bones, which refer to the state as Shāng. It also does not appear in securely-dated Western Zhou bronze inscriptions, xie is said to have helped Yu the Great to control the Great Flood and for his service to have been granted a place called Shang as a fief. Sima Qian relates that the dynasty itself was founded 13 generations later, when Xies descendant Tang overthrew the impious and cruel final Xia ruler in the Battle of Mingtiao. The Records recount events from the reigns of Tang, Tai Jia, Tai Wu, Pan Geng, Wu Ding, Wu Yi and the final king Di Xin. According to the Records, the Shang moved their capital five times, Di Xin, the last Shang king, is said to have committed suicide after his army was defeated by Wu of Zhou. Legends say that his army and his equipped slaves betrayed him by joining the Zhou rebels in the decisive Battle of Muye, according to the Yi Zhou Shu and Mencius the battle was very bloody
Shang dynasty
–
History of China
Shang dynasty
–
Remnants of advanced, stratified societies dating back to the Shang period have been found in the Yellow River Valley.
Shang dynasty
–
The site of
Yin, the capital (1350–1046 BC) of the Shang dynasty, also called Yin dynasty
Shang dynasty
–
Oracle bones pit at Yin
9.
Eastern Han
–
The Han dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms period. Spanning over four centuries, the Han period is considered an age in Chinese history. To this day, Chinas majority ethnic group refers to itself as the Han people and it was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han, and briefly interrupted by the Xin dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang. This interregnum separates the Han dynasty into two periods, the Western Han or Former Han and the Eastern Han or Later Han, the emperor was at the pinnacle of Han society. He presided over the Han government but shared power with both the nobility and appointed ministers who came largely from the gentry class. The Han Empire was divided into areas controlled by the central government using an innovation inherited from the Qin known as commanderies. These kingdoms gradually lost all vestiges of their independence, particularly following the Rebellion of the Seven States, from the reign of Emperor Wu onward, the Chinese court officially sponsored Confucianism in education and court politics, synthesized with the cosmology of later scholars such as Dong Zhongshu. This policy endured until the fall of the Qing dynasty in 1911 AD, the Han dynasty was an age of economic prosperity and saw a significant growth of the money economy first established during the Zhou dynasty. The coinage issued by the government mint in 119 BC remained the standard coinage of China until the Tang dynasty. The period saw a number of limited institutional innovations, the Xiongnu, a nomadic steppe confederation, defeated the Han in 200 BC and forced the Han to submit as a de facto inferior partner, but continued their raids on the Han borders. Emperor Wu of Han launched several campaigns against them. The ultimate Han victory in these wars eventually forced the Xiongnu to accept vassal status as Han tributaries, the territories north of Hans borders were quickly overrun by the nomadic Xianbei confederation. Imperial authority was seriously challenged by large Daoist religious societies which instigated the Yellow Turban Rebellion. When Cao Pi, King of Wei, usurped the throne from Emperor Xian, following Liu Bangs victory in the Chu–Han Contention, the resulting Han dynasty was named after the Hanzhong fief. Chinas first imperial dynasty was the Qin dynasty, the Qin unified the Chinese Warring States by conquest, but their empire became unstable after the death of the first emperor Qin Shi Huangdi. Within four years, the authority had collapsed in the face of rebellion. Although Xiang Yu proved to be a commander, Liu Bang defeated him at Battle of Gaixia. Liu Bang assumed the title emperor at the urging of his followers and is known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu, Changan was chosen as the new capital of the reunified empire under Han
Eastern Han
–
History of China
Eastern Han
–
A map of the Western Han Dynasty in 2 AD: 1) the territory shaded in dark blue represents the principalities and centrally-administered
commanderies of the Han Empire; 2) the light blue area shows the extent of the
Tarim Basin protectorate of the
Western Regions.
Eastern Han
–
A
silk banner from
Mawangdui,
Changsha,
Hunan province. It was draped over the coffin of
Lady Dai (d. 168 BC), wife of the Marquess Li Cang (利蒼) (d. 186 BC), chancellor for the Kingdom of Changsha.
Eastern Han
–
Han dynasty in 1 AD.
10.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman Empire
–
The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman Empire
–
Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman Empire
–
A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman Empire
–
A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
11.
Bronze
–
These additions produce a range of alloys that may be harder than copper alone, or have other useful properties, such as stiffness, ductility, or machinability. The archeological period where bronze was the hardest metal in use is known as the Bronze Age. In the ancient Near East this began with the rise of Sumer in the 4th millennium BC, with India and China starting to use bronze around the same time, everywhere it gradually spread across regions. The Bronze Age was followed by the Iron Age starting from about 1300 BC and reaching most of Eurasia by about 500 BC, the discovery of bronze enabled people to create metal objects which were harder and more durable than previously possible. Bronze tools, weapons, armor, and building such as decorative tiles were harder and more durable than their stone. It was only later that tin was used, becoming the major ingredient of bronze in the late 3rd millennium BC. Tin bronze was superior to arsenic bronze in that the process could be more easily controlled. Also, unlike arsenic, metallic tin and fumes from tin refining are not toxic, the earliest tin-alloy bronze dates to 4500 BCE in a Vinča culture site in Pločnik. Other early examples date to the late 4th millennium BC in Africa, Susa and some ancient sites in China, Luristan, ores of copper and the far rarer tin are not often found together, so serious bronze work has always involved trade. Tin sources and trade in ancient times had a influence on the development of cultures. In Europe, a source of tin was the British deposits of ore in Cornwall. In many parts of the world, large hoards of bronze artefacts are found, suggesting that bronze also represented a store of value, in Europe, large hoards of bronze tools, typically socketed axes, are found, which mostly show no signs of wear. With Chinese ritual bronzes, which are documented in the inscriptions they carry and from other sources and these were made in enormous quantities for elite burials, and also used by the living for ritual offerings. Pure iron is soft, and the process of beating and folding sponge iron to wrought iron removes from the metal carbon. Careful control of the alloying and tempering eventually allowed for wrought iron with properties comparable to modern steel, Bronze was still used during the Iron Age, and has continued in use for many purposes to the modern day. Among other advantages, it does not rust, the weaker wrought iron was found to be sufficiently strong for many uses. Archaeologists suspect that a disruption of the tin trade precipitated the transition. The population migrations around 1200–1100 BC reduced the shipping of tin around the Mediterranean, limiting supplies, there are many different bronze alloys, but typically modern bronze is 88% copper and 12% tin
Bronze
–
Yoruba bronze head sculpture, Ife, Nigeria c. 12th century AD
Bronze
–
Bronze deer figurine dating from between the 9th and 6th centuries BC,
National Archaeological Museum of
Sofia
Bronze
–
A hoard of bronze socketed axes from the
Bronze Age found in modern Germany. This was the top tool of the period, and also seems to have been used as a store of value.
Bronze
–
Chinese Ding,
Western Zhou (1046–771 BC)
12.
Eastern Roman Empire
–
It survived the fragmentation and fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and continued to exist for an additional thousand years until it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. During most of its existence, the empire was the most powerful economic, cultural, several signal events from the 4th to 6th centuries mark the period of transition during which the Roman Empires Greek East and Latin West divided. Constantine I reorganised the empire, made Constantinople the new capital, under Theodosius I, Christianity became the Empires official state religion and other religious practices were proscribed. Finally, under the reign of Heraclius, the Empires military, the borders of the Empire evolved significantly over its existence, as it went through several cycles of decline and recovery. During the reign of Maurice, the Empires eastern frontier was expanded, in a matter of years the Empire lost its richest provinces, Egypt and Syria, to the Arabs. This battle opened the way for the Turks to settle in Anatolia, the Empire recovered again during the Komnenian restoration, such that by the 12th century Constantinople was the largest and wealthiest European city. Despite the eventual recovery of Constantinople in 1261, the Byzantine Empire remained only one of several small states in the area for the final two centuries of its existence. Its remaining territories were annexed by the Ottomans over the 15th century. The Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 finally ended the Byzantine Empire, the term comes from Byzantium, the name of the city of Constantinople before it became Constantines capital. This older name of the city would rarely be used from this point onward except in historical or poetic contexts. The publication in 1648 of the Byzantine du Louvre, and in 1680 of Du Canges Historia Byzantina further popularised the use of Byzantine among French authors, however, it was not until the mid-19th century that the term came into general use in the Western world. The Byzantine Empire was known to its inhabitants as the Roman Empire, the Empire of the Romans, Romania, the Roman Republic, Graikia, and also as Rhōmais. The inhabitants called themselves Romaioi and Graikoi, and even as late as the 19th century Greeks typically referred to modern Greek as Romaika and Graikika. The authority of the Byzantine emperor as the legitimate Roman emperor was challenged by the coronation of Charlemagne as Imperator Augustus by Pope Leo III in the year 800. No such distinction existed in the Islamic and Slavic worlds, where the Empire was more seen as the continuation of the Roman Empire. In the Islamic world, the Roman Empire was known primarily as Rûm, the Roman army succeeded in conquering many territories covering the entire Mediterranean region and coastal regions in southwestern Europe and north Africa. These territories were home to different cultural groups, both urban populations and rural populations. The West also suffered heavily from the instability of the 3rd century AD
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Tremissis with the image of
Justinian the Great (r. 527–565) (see
Byzantine insignia)
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Byzantine
lamellar armour klivanium (Κλιβάνιον) - a predecessor of Ottoman krug
mirror armour
Eastern Roman Empire
–
The Baptism of Constantine painted by
Raphael 's pupils (1520–1524,
fresco, Vatican City,
Apostolic Palace);
Eusebius of Caesarea records that (as
was common among converts of early Christianity) Constantine delayed receiving
baptism until shortly before his death
Eastern Roman Empire
–
Restored section of the Theodosian Walls.
13.
Ancient Greece
–
Ancient Greece was a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th-9th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and this was followed by the period of Classical Greece, an era that began with the Greco-Persian Wars, lasting from the 5th to 4th centuries BC. Due to the conquests by Alexander the Great of Macedonia, Hellenistic civilization flourished from Central Asia to the end of the Mediterranean Sea. Classical Greek culture, especially philosophy, had a influence on ancient Rome. For this reason Classical Greece is generally considered to be the culture which provided the foundation of modern Western culture and is considered the cradle of Western civilization. Classical Antiquity in the Mediterranean region is considered to have begun in the 8th century BC. Classical Antiquity in Greece is preceded by the Greek Dark Ages and this period is succeeded, around the 8th century BC, by the Orientalizing Period during which a strong influence of Syro-Hittite, Jewish, Assyrian, Phoenician and Egyptian cultures becomes apparent. The end of the Dark Ages is also dated to 776 BC. The Archaic period gives way to the Classical period around 500 BC, Ancient Periods Astronomical year numbering Dates are approximate, consult particular article for details The history of Greece during Classical Antiquity may be subdivided into five major periods. The earliest of these is the Archaic period, in which artists made larger free-standing sculptures in stiff, the Archaic period is often taken to end with the overthrow of the last tyrant of Athens and the start of Athenian Democracy in 508 BC. It was followed by the Classical period, characterized by a style which was considered by observers to be exemplary, i. e. classical, as shown in the Parthenon. This period saw the Greco-Persian Wars and the Rise of Macedon, following the Classical period was the Hellenistic period, during which Greek culture and power expanded into the Near and Middle East. This period begins with the death of Alexander and ends with the Roman conquest, Herodotus is widely known as the father of history, his Histories are eponymous of the entire field. Herodotus was succeeded by authors such as Thucydides, Xenophon, Demosthenes, Plato, most of these authors were either Athenian or pro-Athenian, which is why far more is known about the history and politics of Athens than those of many other cities. Their scope is limited by a focus on political, military and diplomatic history, ignoring economic. In the 8th century BC, Greece began to emerge from the Dark Ages which followed the fall of the Mycenaean civilization, literacy had been lost and Mycenaean script forgotten, but the Greeks adopted the Phoenician alphabet, modifying it to create the Greek alphabet. The Lelantine War is the earliest documented war of the ancient Greek period and it was fought between the important poleis of Chalcis and Eretria over the fertile Lelantine plain of Euboea. Both cities seem to have suffered a decline as result of the long war, a mercantile class arose in the first half of the 7th century BC, shown by the introduction of coinage in about 680 BC
Ancient Greece
–
The
Parthenon, a temple dedicated to
Athena, located on the
Acropolis in
Athens, is one of the most representative symbols of the culture and sophistication of the ancient Greeks.
Ancient Greece
–
Dipylon Vase of the late Geometric period, or the beginning of the Archaic period,
c. 750 BC.
Ancient Greece
–
Political geography of ancient Greece in the Archaic and Classical periods
14.
Europe
–
Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
Europe
–
Reconstruction of
Herodotus ' world map
Europe
Europe
–
A medieval
T and O map from 1472 showing the three continents as domains of the sons of
Noah — Asia to Sem (
Shem), Europe to Iafeth (
Japheth), and Africa to Cham (
Ham)
Europe
–
Early modern depiction of
Europa regina ('Queen Europe') and the mythical
Europa of the 8th century BC.
15.
Peter Damian
–
Saint Peter Damian was a reforming Benedictine monk and cardinal in the circle of Pope Leo IX. Dante placed him in one of the highest circles of Paradiso as a predecessor of Saint Francis of Assisi. His feast day is February 21, Peter was born in Ravenna, Italy, around 1007, the youngest of a large noble, but poor family. Orphaned early, he was at first adopted by an elder brother, after some years, another brother, Damianus, who was archpriest at Ravenna, had pity on him and took him away to be educated. About 1035, however, he gave up his calling and, avoiding the compromised luxury of Cluniac monasteries, entered the isolated hermitage of Fonte Avellana. Both as novice and as monk, his fervor was remarkable but led him to extremes of self-mortification in penance that his health was affected. On his recovery, he was appointed to lecture to his fellow monks, soon after his return to Fonte Avellana he was appointed economus of the house by the prior, who designated him as his successor. In 1043 he became prior of Fonte Avellana, and remained so until his death in February 1072, subject-hermitages were founded at San Severino, Gamogna, Acerreta, Murciana, San Salvatore, Sitria and Ocri. Another innovation was that of the siesta, to make up for the fatigue of the night office. During his tenure of the priorate a cloister was built, silver chalices and a processional cross were purchased. Extending the area of his activities, he entered into communication with the Emperor Henry III, after this he returned to his hermitage. About 1050, during the pontificate of Pope Leo IX, Peter wrote a treatise on the vices of the clergy, including sexual abuse of minors. Liber Gomorrhianus was openly addressed to the pope, meanwhile, the question arose as to the validity of the ordinations of simoniacal clerics. Pope Benedict XVI described him as one of the most significant figures of the 11th century, a lover of solitude and at the same time a fearless man of the Church, committed personally to the task of reform. He claimed that the first grammarian was the Devil, who taught Adam to decline deus in the plural and he argued that monks should not have to study philosophy, because Jesus did not choose philosophers as disciples, and so philosophy is not necessary for salvation. But the idea that philosophy should serve theology as a servant serves her mistress originated with him, however, this apparent animosity may reflect his view that logic is only concerned with the validity of argument, rather than the nature of reality. Similar views are found in Al-Ghazali and Wittgenstein, Damians tract De divina omnipotentia is frequently misunderstood. Damians purpose is to defend the doctrine of omnipotence, which he defines as the ability of God to do anything that is good, toivo J. Holopainen identifies De divina omnipotentia as an interesting document related to the early developments of medieval discussion concerning modalities and divine omnipotence
Peter Damian
–
Bust of Peter Damian.
Santa Maria degli Angeli, Florence.
Peter Damian
–
Saint Peter Damian (far right), depicted with Saints
Augustine,
Anne, and
Elizabeth
Peter Damian
–
Vita Beati Romualdi
Peter Damian
–
Virgin Mary
16.
Theophanu
–
Theophanu, also spelled Theophania, Theophana or Theophano, was the niece of the Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimiskes. By her marriage with Holy Roman Emperor Otto II, she was Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire and her name is derived from Medieval Greek Theophaneia, appearance of God. According to the certificate issued on 14 April 972—a masterpiece of the Ottonian Renaissance—Theophanu is identified as the neptis of Emperor John I Tzimiskes who was of Armenian descent. Holy Roman Emperor Otto the Great had requested a Byzantine princess for his son, Otto II, with the ascension of John I Tzimiskes, who had not been personally referred to other than as Roman Emperor, the treaty negotiations were able to resume. However, not until a delegation led by Archbishop Gero of Cologne arrived in Constantinople, were they successfully completed. Nevertheless, when Archbishop Gero conducted her to Rome, Emperor Otto knew that he could not refuse the offer, the young princess duly arrived in grand style in 972, with a magnificent escort including Byzantine artists, architects and artisans, and bearing great treasure. Theophanu and Otto were married by Pope John XIII on April 14,972 at Saint Peters and their children were, Adelaide I, Abbess of Quedlinburg and Gandersheim, born 973/974, died 1045. Sophia I, Abbess of Gandersheim and Essen, born October 975, mathilde, born summer 978, died 1025, who married Ezzo, count palatine of Lotharingia. Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor, born end June/early July 980, a daughter, a twin to Otto, who died before October 8,980. Otto II succeeded his father on 8 May 973 and it is known that she was frequently at odds with her mother-in-law, Adelaide of Italy, which caused an estrangement between Otto II and Adelaide. According to Abbot Odilo of Cluny, Adelaide was very happy when that Greek woman died, the Benedictine chronicler Alpert of Metz describes Theophanu as being an unpleasant and talkative woman. Theophanu was also criticized for her decadence, which manifested in her once a day and introducing luxurious garments. The theologian Peter Damian even asserts that Theophanu had an affair with John Philagathos. Otto II died suddenly on 7 December 983 at the age of 28 and his three-year-old son, Otto III, had already been appointed King of the Romans during a diet held on Pentecost of that year at Verona. At Christmas, Theophanu had him crowned by the Mainz archbishop Willigis at Aachen Cathedral, upon the death of Emperor Otto II, Bishop Folcmar of Utrecht released his cousin, the Bavarian duke Henry the Quarrelsome from custody. Duke Henry allied with Archbishop Warin of Cologne and seized his nephew Otto III in spring 984, nevertheless he was forced to surrender the child to his mother, who was backed by Archbishop Willigis of Mainz and Bishop Hildebald of Worms. Theophanu officially took over regency in May 985 and reigned the Holy Roman Empire until her death in 991, including the lands of Italy and Lotharingia. By her prudent policies, she also was able to conclude peace with Duke Henrys former supporter Duke Mieszko I of Poland, however, her ability to rule was hindered by a serious and life-threatening illness in the summer of 988
Theophanu
–
Statue at St Dionysius Church,
Eschwege
Theophanu
–
Marriage Charter of Empress Theophanu, State Archive,
Wolfenbüttel
Theophanu
–
Otto II and Theophanu, crowned and blessed by
Jesus Christ, Byzantine ivory relief,
Musée de Cluny,
Paris
Theophanu
–
Sarcophagus of Empress Theophanu,
St. Pantaleon,
Cologne
17.
Holy Roman Emperor
–
The Holy Roman Emperor was the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire. From an autocracy in Carolingian times the title evolved into an elected monarchy chosen by the Prince-electors, until the Reformation the Emperor elect was required to be crowned by the Pope before assuming the imperial title. The title was held in conjunction with the rule of the Kingdom of Germany, in theory, the Holy Roman Emperor was primus inter pares among the other Catholic monarchs, in practice, a Holy Roman Emperor was only as strong as his army and alliances made him. Various royal houses of Europe, at different times, effectively became hereditary holders of the title, after the Reformation many of the subject states and most of those in Germany were Protestant while the Emperor continued to be Catholic. The Holy Roman Empire was dissolved by the last Emperor as a result of the collapse of the polity during the Napoleonic wars, from the time of Constantine I the Roman emperors had, with very few exceptions, taken on a role as promoters and defenders of Christianity. In the west, the title of Emperor was revived in 800, as the power of the papacy grew during the Middle Ages, popes and emperors came into conflict over church administration. The best-known and most bitter conflict was known as the Investiture Controversy. After Charlemagne was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, no pope appointed an emperor again until the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. Under Otto and his successors, much of the former Carolingian kingdom of Eastern Francia fell within the boundaries of the Holy Roman Empire, the various German princes elected one of their peers as King of the Germans, after which he would be crowned as emperor by the Pope. After Charles Vs coronation, all succeeding emperors were called elected Emperor due to the lack of papal coronation, the term sacrum in connection with the medieval Roman Empire was first used in 1157 under Frederick I Barbarossa. Charles V was the last Holy Roman Emperor to be crowned by the Pope, the final Holy Roman Emperor-elect, Francis II, abdicated in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars that saw the Empires final dissolution. The standard designation of the Holy Roman Emperor was August Emperor of the Romans, the word Holy had never been used as part of that title in official documents. In German-language historiography, the term Römisch-deutscher Kaiser is used to distinguish the title from that of Roman Emperor on one hand, the English term Holy Roman Emperor is a modern shorthand for emperor of the Holy Roman Empire not corresponding to the historical style or title. Successions to the kingship were controlled by a variety of complicated factors, elections meant the kingship of Germany was only partially hereditary, unlike the kingship of France, although sovereignty frequently remained in a dynasty until there were no more male successors. The Electoral council was set at seven princes by the Golden Bull of 1356, another elector was added in 1690, and the whole college was reshuffled in 1803, a mere three years before the dissolution of the Empire. After 1438, the Kings remained in the house of Habsburg and Habsburg-Lorraine, with the exception of Charles VII. Maximilian I and his successors no longer travelled to Rome to be crowned as Emperor by the Pope, Maximilian therefore named himself Elected Roman Emperor in 1508 with papal approval. This title was in use by all his uncrowned successors, of his successors only Charles V, the immediate one, received a papal coronation
Holy Roman Emperor
–
Francis II
Holy Roman Emperor
–
Quaternion Eagle
Holy Roman Emperor
–
Replicas of the Crown jewels
Holy Roman Emperor
–
Holy Roman Emperors of Habsburg dynasty and their families
18.
Otto II
–
Otto II, called the Red, was Holy Roman Emperor from 973 until his death in 983. A member of the Ottonian dynasty, Otto II was the youngest and sole surviving son of Otto the Great, Otto II was made joint-ruler of Germany in 961, at an early age, and his father named him co-Emperor in 967 to secure his succession to the throne. His father also arranged for Otto II to marry the Byzantine Princess Theophanu, when his father died after a 37-year reign, the eighteen-year-old Otto II became absolute ruler of the Holy Roman Empire in a peaceful succession. Otto II spent his reign continuing his fathers policy of strengthening Imperial rule in Germany, Otto II also continued the work of Otto I in subordinating the Catholic Church to Imperial control. Early in his reign, Otto II defeated a revolt against his rule from other members of the Ottonian dynasty who claimed the throne for themselves. His victory allowed him to exclude the Bavarian line of Ottonians from the line of Imperial succession and this strengthened his authority as Emperor and secured the succession of his own son to the Imperial throne. With domestic affairs settled, Otto II would focus his attention from 980 onward to annexing the whole of Italy into the Empire and his conquests brought him into conflict with the Byzantine Empire and with the Muslims of the Fatimid Caliphate, who both held territories in southern Italy. While he was preparing to counterattack Muslim forces, an uprising by the Slavs broke out in 983. Otto II died suddenly in 983 at the age of 28 after a ten-year reign and he was succeeded as Emperor by his three-year-old son Otto III, plunging the Empire into a political crisis. Otto II was born in 955, the son of the King of Germany Otto I. By 957, Otto IIs older brothers Henry and Bruno had died, as well as Otto Is son from his first wife Eadgyth, with his older brothers dead, the two-year-old Otto IIs became the Kingdoms crown prince and Otto Is heir apparent. Otto I entrusted his son, Archbishop William of Mainz, with Otto IIs literary. Margrave Odo, commander of the Eastern March, taught the young prince the art of war. Needing to put his affairs in order prior to his descent into Italy, Otto I summoned a Diet at Worms and had Otto II elected, at the age of six, co-regent in May 961. Otto II was later crowned by his uncle Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne, while Otto I had secured succession of the throne, he had violated the Kingdoms unwritten law that succession rights could only be granted to a child who has reached the age of majority. He was likely motivated by the associated with his expedition into Italy to claim the Imperial title from the Pope. Otto I crossed the Alps into Italy, while Otto II remained in Germany, after three and a half year absence in Italy, Otto I returned to Germany early in 965 as Holy Roman Emperor. In order to give the hope of dynastic continuity after his death, Otto I again confirmed Otto II as his heir on February 2,965, though Otto I was crowned Emperor in 962 and returned to Germany in 965, the political situation in Italy remained unstable
Otto II
–
Otto II
Otto II
–
Otto II (left) and Theophano anointed as Emperor and Empress
19.
Italian peninsula
–
The Italian Peninsula or Apennine Peninsula is the central and the smallest of the three large peninsulas of Southern Europe. It extends 1,000 km from the Po Valley in the north to the central Mediterranean Sea in the south, the peninsulas shape gives it the nickname lo Stivale. Three smaller peninsulas contribute to this shape, namely Calabria, Salento. Geographically, the Italian peninsula consists of the south of a line extending from the Magra to the Rubicon rivers. It excludes the Po Valley and the slopes of the Alps. All of the lies within the territory of the Italian Republic except for the microstates of San Marino. Additionally, Sicily, Elba and other islands, such as Palagruža, are usually considered as islands off the peninsula. The peninsula lies between the Tyrrhenian Sea on the west, the Ionian Sea on the south, and the Adriatic Sea on the east, the backbone of the Italian peninsula consists of the Apennine Mountains, from which it takes one of its names. Most of its coast is lined with cliffs, the Italian Peninsulas location between the centre of Europe and the Mediterranean Sea made it the target of many conquests. The peninsula has mainly a Mediterranean climate, though in the parts the climate is much cooler. Its natural vegetation includes macchia along the coasts and deciduous and mixed coniferous forests in the interior. Political divisions of the peninsula sorted by area, Apennine Mountains Roman Republic Roman Italy Insular Italy Media related to Italian Peninsula at Wikimedia Commons
Italian peninsula
–
Satellite view of the peninsula in March 2003.
20.
Pasta
–
Pasta is a staple food of traditional Italian cuisine, with the first reference dating to 1154 in Sicily. It can also be made with flour from other cereals or grains, pastas may be divided into two broad categories, dried and fresh. Most dried pasta is produced via an extrusion process although it can be produced in most homes. Both dried and fresh pasta come in a number of shapes and varieties, in Italy the names of specific pasta shapes or types often vary with locale. For example, the form cavatelli is known by 28 different names depending on region, common forms of pasta include long shapes, short shapes, tubes, flat shapes and sheets, miniature soup shapes, filled or stuffed and specialty or decorative shapes. As a category in Italian cuisine, both fresh and dried pastas are classically used in one of three kinds of prepared dishes, as pasta asciutta cooked pasta is plated and served with a complementary sauce or condiment. A second classification of pasta dishes is pasta in brodo in which the pasta is part of a soup-type dish, a third category is pasta al forno in which the pasta incorporated into a dish that is subsequently baked. Pasta is generally a dish, but comes in many varieties due to its versatility. Some pasta dishes are served as a first course in Italy because the portion sizes are small, Pasta is also prepared in light lunches, such as salads or large portion sizes for dinner. It can be prepared by hand or food processor and served hot or cold, Pasta sauces vary in taste, color and texture. When choosing which type of pasta and sauce to serve together, simple sauces like pesto are ideal for long and thin strands of pasta while tomato sauce combines well with thicker pastas. Thicker and chunkier sauces have the ability to cling onto the holes and cuts of short, tubular. The extra sauce left on the plate after all of the pasta is eaten is often mopped up with a piece of bread. First attested in English in 1874, the word comes from Italian pasta, in turn from Latin pasta dough, pastry cake. In the 1st century AD writings of Horace, lagana were fine sheets of fried dough and were an everyday foodstuff, an early 5th century cookbook describes a dish called lagana that consisted of layers of dough with meat stuffing, a possible ancestor of modern-day lasagna. The first concrete information concerning pasta products in Italy dates from the 13th or 14th century, historians have noted several lexical milestones relevant to pasta, none of which changes these basic characteristics. For example, the works of the 2nd century AD Greek physician Galen mention itrion, homogeneous compounds made of flour, the Jerusalem Talmud records that itrium, a kind of boiled dough, was common in Palestine from the 3rd to 5th centuries AD. A dictionary compiled by the 9th century Arab physician and lexicographer Isho bar Ali defines itriyya and its ever-flowing streams propel a number of mills
Pasta
–
Different types of pasta on display in a shop window in
Venice, Italy
Pasta
–
Pasta made from
durum wheat
Pasta
–
Making pasta; illustration from the 15th century edition of
Tacuinum Sanitatis, a Latin translation of the
Arabic work Taqwīm al-sihha by
Ibn Butlan.
Pasta
–
Boy with Spaghetti by Julius Moser, c. 1808
21.
Spoon
–
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery, especially as part of a place setting, Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients. Present day spoons are made from metal, wood, porcelain or plastic, preserved examples of various forms of spoons used by the ancient Egyptians include those composed of ivory, flint, slate and wood, many of them carved with religious symbols. During the Neolithic Ozieri civilization in Sardinia, ceramic ladles and spoons were already in use, in Shang Dynasty China, spoons were made of bone. Early bronze spoons in China were designed with a sharp point, the spoons of the Greeks and Romans were chiefly made of bronze and silver and the handle usually takes the form of a spike or pointed stem. There are many examples in the British Museum from which the forms of the types can be ascertained. In the early Muslim world, spoons were used for eating soup, medieval spoons for domestic use were commonly made of cow horn or wood, but brass, pewter, and latten spoons appear to have been common in about the 15th century. The full descriptions and entries relating to silver spoons in the inventories of the royal and other point to their special value. The earliest English reference appears to be in a will of 1259, in the wardrobe accounts of Edward I for the year 1300 some gold and silver spoons marked with the fleur-de-lis, the Paris mark, are mentioned. One of the most interesting medieval spoons is the coronation spoon used in the anointing of the English sovereign. The earlier English spoon-handles terminate in an acorn, plain knob or a diamond, at the end of the 16th century, the baluster and seal ending becomes common, the bowl being fig-shaped. During The Restoration, the handle becomes broad and flat, the bowl is broad and oval and the termination is cut into the shape known as the hinds foot. In the first quarter of the 18th century, the bowl becomes narrow and elliptical, with a tongue or rats tail down the back, and the handle is turned up at the end. The modern form, with the tip of the bowl narrower than the base, in Southeast Asia, spoons are the primary utensil used for eating, forks are used to push foods such as rice onto the spoon as well as their western usage for piercing the food. Spoons are also used in cooking and serving. In baking, batter is usually enough to pour or drop from a spoon. Rolled dough dropped from a spoon to a sheet can be made into rock cakes and other cookies. A spoon is similarly useful in processing jelly, sugar and syrup, a test sample of jelly taken from a boiling mass may be allowed to slip from a spoon in a sheet, in a step called sheeting
Spoon
–
Spoon engraved in reindeer antler,
Magdalenian MHNT
Spoon
–
Spoons from
Pompeii displayed at
Naples National Archaeological Museum
Spoon
–
Coconut shell spoons hanging in a traditional spoon hanger at a
Sri Lankan home
Spoon
–
A wooden honey spoon
22.
Infanta Beatrice, Duchess of Viseu
–
Infanta Beatriz of Portugal was a Portuguese infanta, daughter of Infante João, Lord of Reguengos and Isabella of Barcelos a daughter of Afonso I, Duke of Braganza. She was also predominant in the Order of Santiago, acting as tutor for her son Diogo, Infanta Beatrice protected and encouraged Gil Vicente, a Portuguese playwright, considered as the father of the Portuguese theatre. She founded the Religiosas da Conceição monastery, in Beja, where her husband was buried, in 1447, Beatrice married her cousin Infante Ferdinand, 2nd Duke of Viseu, son of King Edward of Portugal. From this marriage, they had ten children, Infante João, 3rd Duke of Viseu, 2nd Duke of Beja, became King of Portugal, as Manuel I, following his cousins death. Duke of Beja Duke of Viseu List of Portuguese Dukedoms ”Nobreza de Portugal e do Brasil” – Vol. I, genealogy of Infanta Beatrice, Duchess os Viseu, in Portuguese
Infanta Beatrice, Duchess of Viseu
–
Infanta Beatriz in a 1534 miniature in the Genealogy of D. Manuel Pereira, 3rd Count of Feira
23.
Manuel I of Portugal
–
Manuel I, the Fortunate, King of Portugal and the Algarves, was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, by his wife, the Infanta Beatrice of Portugal. His name is associated with a period of Portuguese civilization that was distinguished by significant achievements both in political affairs and the arts. Manuels mother was the granddaughter of King John I of Portugal, whereas his father was the surviving son of King Edward of Portugal. In 1495, Manuel succeeded his first cousin, King John II of Portugal, Manuel grew up amidst conspiracies of the Portuguese upper nobility against King John II. He was aware of people being killed and exiled. His older brother Diogo, Duke of Viseu, was stabbed to death in 1484 by the king himself, as a result of this stroke of luck, he was nicknamed the Fortunate. Manuel would prove a worthy successor to his cousin John II for his support of Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean, during his reign, the following achievements were realized,1498 — The discovery of a maritime route to India by Vasco da Gama. 1500 — The discovery of Brazil by Pedro Álvares Cabral,1505 — The appointment of Francisco de Almeida as the first viceroy of India. 1503–1515 — The establishment of monopolies on maritime routes to the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf by Afonso de Albuquerque. All these events made Portugal wealthy from trade as it formally established a vast overseas empire. Manuel used the wealth to build a number of royal buildings, commercial treaties and diplomatic alliances were forged with China and the Persian Empire. Pope Leo X received an embassy from Portugal during his reign designed to draw attention to Portugals newly acquired riches to all of Europe. In Manuels reign, royal absolutism was the method of government, the Portuguese Cortes met only three times during his reign, always in Lisbon, the kings seat. He reformed the courts of justice and the municipal charters with the crown, modernizing taxes, during his reign, the laws in force in the kingdom of Portugal were recodified with the publication of the Manueline Ordinations. Manuel also endeavoured to promote another crusade against the Turks and his relationship with the Portuguese Jews started out well. At the outset of his reign, he released all the Jews who had been made captive during the reign of John II, unfortunately for the Jews, he decided that he wanted to marry Infanta Isabella of Aragon, then heiress of the future united crown of Spain. Ferdinand and Isabella had expelled the Jews in 1492 and would never marry their daughter to the king of a country that still tolerated their presence, in the marriage contract, Manuel I agreed to persecute the Jews of Portugal. In December 1496, it was decreed that all Jews either convert to Christianity or leave the country without their children, however, those expelled could only leave the country in ships specified by the king
Manuel I of Portugal
–
Manuel I of Portugal, in a miniature from the frontispiece of the Livro 1 de Além Douro of the Leitura Nova (penned 15??-1521).
Manuel I of Portugal
–
Saint Aleixo's Wedding of Manuel and Maria; Garcia Fernandes, 1541.
Manuel I of Portugal
–
The Family of King D. Manuel I at the Fons Vitae;
Colijn de Coter, 1518.
Manuel I of Portugal
–
The Interment of D. Manuel from the
Book of hours of D. Manuel; 1517-1551.
24.
Southern Europe
–
Southern Europe is the southern region of the European continent. Most definitions of Southern Europe, also known as Mediterranean Europe, include the countries of the Iberian peninsula, different methods can be used to define Southern Europe, including its political, economic, and cultural attributes. Southern Europe can also be defined by its natural features — its geography, climate, geographically, Southern Europe is the southern half of the landmass of Europe. This definition is relative, with no clear limits and those areas of Mediterranean climate present similar vegetations and landscapes throughout, including dry hills, small plains, pine forests and olive trees. Cooler climates can be found in parts of Southern European countries, for example within the mountain ranges of Spain. Additionally, the north coast of Spain experiences a wetter Atlantic climate, Southern Europes flora is that of the Mediterranean Region, one of the phytochoria recognized by Armen Takhtajan. The period known as classical antiquity began with the rise of the city-states of Ancient Greece, Greek influence reached its zenith under the expansive empire of Alexander the Great, spreading throughout Asia. The Roman Empire came to dominate the entire Mediterranean basin in a vast empire based on Roman law and it promoted trade, tolerance, and Greek culture. By 300 AD the Roman Empire was divided into the Western Roman Empire based in Rome, during the Middle Ages, the Eastern Roman Empire survived, though modern historians refer to this state as the Byzantine Empire. In Western Europe, Germanic peoples moved into positions of power in the remnants of the former Western Roman Empire and established kingdoms, the period known as the Crusades, a series of religiously motivated military expeditions originally intended to bring the Levant back into Christian rule, began. Several Crusader states were founded in the eastern Mediterranean, the Crusaders would have a profound impact on many parts of Europe. Their Sack of Constantinople in 1204 brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. Though it would later be re-established, it would never recover its former glory, the Crusaders would establish trade routes that would develop into the Silk Road and open the way for the merchant republics of Genoa and Venice to become major economic powers. The Reconquista, a movement, worked to reconquer Iberia for Christendom. The Late Middle Ages represented a period of upheaval in Europe, the epidemic known as the Black Death and an associated famine caused demographic catastrophe in Europe as the population plummeted. Dynastic struggles and wars of conquest kept many of the states of Europe at war for much of the period, in the Balkans, the Ottoman Empire, a Turkish state originating in Anatolia, encroached steadily on former Byzantine lands, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453. An unprecedented series of wars and political revolutions took place around Europe. Observers at the time, and many historians since, have argued that wars caused the revolutions, galileo Galilei, invented the telescope and the thermometer which allowed him to observe and describe the solar system
Southern Europe
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Geographic features of countries surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
25.
Etiquette
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Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group. The French word étiquette, literally signifying a tag or label, was used in a sense in English around 1750. Etiquette has changed and evolved over the years, in the 3rd millennium BC, Ptahhotep wrote The Maxims of Ptahhotep. The Maxims were conformist precepts extolling such civil virtues as truthfulness, self-control, learning by listening to everybody and knowing that human knowledge is never perfect are a leitmotif. Avoiding open conflict wherever possible should not be considered weakness, stress is placed on the pursuit of justice, although it is conceded that it is a gods command that prevails in the end. Some of the maxims refer to ones behaviour when in the presence of the great, how to choose the right master, others teach the correct way to lead through openness and kindness. Greed is the base of all evil and should be guarded against, while generosity towards family, confucius was a Chinese teacher, editor, politician, and philosopher whose philosophy emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. Baldassare Castiglione, count of Casatico, was an Italian courtier, diplomat, soldier and a prominent Renaissance author, who is probably most famous for his authorship of The Book of the Courtier. The work was an example of a book, dealing with questions of the etiquette and morality of the courtier, and was very influential in 16th century European court circles. ”During the Enlightenment era. Upwardly mobile middle class bourgeoisie increasingly tried to identify themselves with the elite through their adopted artistic preferences and their standards of behaviour. They became preoccupied with precise rules of etiquette, such as when to show emotion, influential in this new discourse was a series of essays on the nature of politeness in a commercial society, penned by the philosopher Lord Shaftesbury in the early 18th century. Its stated goal was to enliven morality with wit, and to temper wit with morality, the allied notion of civility – referring to a desired social interaction which valued sober and reasoned debate on matters of interest – also became an important quality for the polite classes. Established rules and procedures for proper behaviour as well as conventions, were outlined by gentlemens clubs. Periodicals, including The Tatler and The Spectator, infused politeness into English coffeehouse conversation, as their explicit purpose lay in the reformation of English manners and morals. It was Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield who first used the word etiquette in its meaning, in his Letters to His Son on the Art of Becoming a Man of the World. This work comprised over 400 letters written from 1737 or 1738 and continuing until his sons death in 1768, the letters were first published by his sons widow Eugenia Stanhope in 1774. Chesterfield endeavoured to decouple the issue of manners from conventional morality, the Letters were full of elegant wisdom and perceptive observation and deduction. Frequent and loud laughter is the characteristic of folly and ill-manners, it is the manner in which the mob express their joy at silly things
Etiquette
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In Company Shocked at a Lady Getting up to Ring the Bell (1805)
James Gillray caricatured "A widow and her suitors, who seem to have forgot their manners in the intensity of their admiration."
Etiquette
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Louis XIV 's court at the
Palace of Versailles developed an elaborate form of etiquette.
Etiquette
–
Members of a
Gentlemen's club had to conform to a socially acceptable standard of politeness. The painting, A Club of Gentlemen by
Joseph Highmore c. 1730.
Etiquette
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The Earl of Chesterfield invented the term 'etiquette' in the mid-18th century. Painting by
William Hoare.
26.
Poland
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Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe, situated between the Baltic Sea in the north and two mountain ranges in the south. Bordered by Germany to the west, the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south, Ukraine and Belarus to the east, the total area of Poland is 312,679 square kilometres, making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. With a population of over 38.5 million people, Poland is the 34th most populous country in the world, the 8th most populous country in Europe, Poland is a unitary state divided into 16 administrative subdivisions, and its capital and largest city is Warsaw. Other metropolises include Kraków, Wrocław, Poznań, Gdańsk and Szczecin, the establishment of a Polish state can be traced back to 966, when Mieszko I, ruler of a territory roughly coextensive with that of present-day Poland, converted to Christianity. The Kingdom of Poland was founded in 1025, and in 1569 it cemented a political association with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania by signing the Union of Lublin. This union formed the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, one of the largest and most populous countries of 16th and 17th century Europe, Poland regained its independence in 1918 at the end of World War I, reconstituting much of its historical territory as the Second Polish Republic. In September 1939, World War II started with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany, followed thereafter by invasion by the Soviet Union. More than six million Polish citizens died in the war, after the war, Polands borders were shifted westwards under the terms of the Potsdam Conference. With the backing of the Soviet Union, a communist puppet government was formed, and after a referendum in 1946. During the Revolutions of 1989 Polands Communist government was overthrown and Poland adopted a new constitution establishing itself as a democracy, informally called the Third Polish Republic. Since the early 1990s, when the transition to a primarily market-based economy began, Poland has achieved a high ranking on the Human Development Index. Poland is a country, which was categorised by the World Bank as having a high-income economy. Furthermore, it is visited by approximately 16 million tourists every year, Poland is the eighth largest economy in the European Union and was the 6th fastest growing economy on the continent between 2010 and 2015. According to the Global Peace Index for 2014, Poland is ranked 19th in the list of the safest countries in the world to live in. The origin of the name Poland derives from a West Slavic tribe of Polans that inhabited the Warta River basin of the historic Greater Poland region in the 8th century, the origin of the name Polanie itself derives from the western Slavic word pole. In some foreign languages such as Hungarian, Lithuanian, Persian and Turkish the exonym for Poland is Lechites, historians have postulated that throughout Late Antiquity, many distinct ethnic groups populated the regions of what is now Poland. The most famous archaeological find from the prehistory and protohistory of Poland is the Biskupin fortified settlement, dating from the Lusatian culture of the early Iron Age, the Slavic groups who would form Poland migrated to these areas in the second half of the 5th century AD. With the Baptism of Poland the Polish rulers accepted Christianity and the authority of the Roman Church
Poland
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Reconstruction of a
Bronze Age,
Lusatian culture settlement in
Biskupin, c. 700 BC
Poland
–
Flag
Poland
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Earliest known contemporary depiction of a Polish ruler; King
Mieszko II Lambert of Poland being presented with a
Liturgical book by
Matilda of Swabia, 1025–1031
Poland
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Drawing of the
Battle of Grunwald, which was fought against the
German Order of Teutonic Knights, 15 July 1410
27.
Henry III of France
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Henry III was a monarch of the House of Valois who was elected the monarch of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth from 1573 to 1575 and ruled as King of France from 1574 until his death. He was the last French monarch of the Valois dynasty, as the fourth son of King Henry II of France and Catherine de Medici, Henry was not expected to assume the throne of France. He was thus a candidate for the vacant Commonwealth throne. Henrys rule over Commonwealth was brief, but notable, the Henrician Articles he signed into law accepting the Commonwealth throne established Poland as an elective monarchy subject to free election by the Polish nobility. Of his three brothers, two would live long enough to ascend the French throne, but both died young and without a legitimate male heir. He abandoned Commonwealth upon receiving word that he had inherited the throne of France at the age of 22, Henry III was himself a politique, arguing that a strong and religiously tolerant monarchy would save France from collapse. Henry IIIs legitimate heir was his distant cousin Henry, King of Navarre, the Catholic League, led by Henry I, Duke of Guise, sought to exclude Protestants from the succession and championed the Catholic Charles, Cardinal of Bourbon, as Henry IIIs heir. Henry was born at the royal Château de Fontainebleau, the son of King Henry II and Catherine de Medici and grandson of Francis I of France. His older brothers were Francis II of France, Charles IX of France and he was made Duke of Angoulême and Duke of Orléans in 1560, then Duke of Anjou in 1566. He was his mothers favourite, she called him chers yeux and lavished fondness and his elder brother, Charles, grew to detest him, partially because he resented his better health. In his youth, Henry was considered the best of the sons of Catherine de Medici, unlike his father and elder brothers, he had little interest in the traditional Valois pastimes of hunting and physical exercise. Although he was fond of fencing and skilled in it, he preferred to indulge his tastes for the arts. These predilections were attributed to his Italian mother, at one point in his youth he showed a tendency towards Protestantism as a means of rebelling. At the age of nine, calling himself a little Huguenot, he refused to attend Mass, sang Protestant psalms to his sister Margaret and his mother firmly cautioned her children against such behaviour, and he would never again show any Protestant tendencies. Instead, he became nominally Roman Catholic, reports that Henry engaged in same sex relations with his court favourites, known as the mignons, date back to his own time. Certainly he enjoyed relationships with them. The scholar Louis Crompton provides substantial contemporary evidence of Henry IIIs homosexuality, and it is difficult, he writes, to reconcile the king whose use of favourites is so logically strategic with the man who goes to pieces when one of them dies. In 1570, discussions commenced to arrange for Henry to court Queen Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth, almost 37, was expected by many parties in her country to marry and produce an heir
Henry III of France
–
Henry III when Duke of Anjou by
François Clouet
Henry III of France
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Henry III by
Étienne Dumonstier, c.1578
Henry III of France
–
The
Siege of La Rochelle by the Duke of Anjou in 1573 ("History of Henry III" tapestry, completed in 1623)
Henry III of France
–
Henry III on the Polish throne, in front of the
Polish Diet and
aristocracy surrounded by
halberdiers, 1574.
28.
Venice
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Venice is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is situated across a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and these are located in the shallow Venetian Lagoon, an enclosed bay that lies between the mouths of the Po and the Piave Rivers. Parts of Venice are renowned for the beauty of their settings, their architecture, the lagoon and a part of the city are listed as a World Heritage Site. In 2014,264,579 people resided in Comune di Venezia, together with Padua and Treviso, the city is included in the Padua-Treviso-Venice Metropolitan Area, with a total population of 2.6 million. PATREVE is a metropolitan area without any degree of autonomy. The name is derived from the ancient Veneti people who inhabited the region by the 10th century BC, the city was historically the capital of the Republic of Venice. Venice has been known as the La Dominante, Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water, City of Masks, City of Bridges, The Floating City, and City of Canals. The City State of Venice is considered to have been the first real international financial center which gradually emerged from the 9th century to its peak in the 14th century and this made Venice a wealthy city throughout most of its history. It is also known for its several important artistic movements, especially the Renaissance period, Venice has played an important role in the history of symphonic and operatic music, and it is the birthplace of Antonio Vivaldi. Venice has been ranked the most beautiful city in the world as of 2016, the name Venetia, however, derives from the Roman name for the people known as the Veneti, and called by the Greeks Eneti. The meaning of the word is uncertain, although there are other Indo-European tribes with similar-sounding names, such as the Celtic Veneti, Baltic Veneti, and the Slavic Wends. Linguists suggest that the name is based on an Indo-European root *wen, so that *wenetoi would mean beloved, lovable, a connection with the Latin word venetus, meaning the color sea-blue, is also possible. The alternative obsolete form is Vinegia, some late Roman sources reveal the existence of fishermen on the islands in the original marshy lagoons. They were referred to as incolae lacunae, the traditional founding is identified with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo on the islet of Rialto — said to have taken place at the stroke of noon on 25 March 421. Beginning as early as AD166 to 168, the Quadi and Marcomanni destroyed the center in the area. The Roman defences were again overthrown in the early 5th century by the Visigoths and, some 50 years later, New ports were built, including those at Malamocco and Torcello in the Venetian lagoon. The tribuni maiores, the earliest central standing governing committee of the islands in the Lagoon, the traditional first doge of Venice, Paolo Lucio Anafesto, was actually Exarch Paul, and his successor, Marcello Tegalliano, was Pauls magister militum. In 726 the soldiers and citizens of the Exarchate rose in a rebellion over the controversy at the urging of Pope Gregory II
Venice
–
A collage of Venice: at the top left is the
Piazza San Marco, followed by a view of the city, then the
Grand Canal, and (smaller) the interior of
La Fenice and, finally, the Island of San Giorgio Maggiore
Venice
–
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Venice
–
Photography of Venice at dusk
Venice
–
The Grand Canal seen from the bridge at
Ponte di Rialto
29.
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
–
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon, was a French soldier, diplomat and noted diarist. He was born in Paris at the Hôtel Selvois,6 rue Taranne, the familys ducal peerage, granted in 1635 to his father Claude de Rouvroy, served as both perspective and theme in Saint-Simons life and writings. Men of the noblest blood might not be and, in most cases were not and their legal pre-eminence derived from hereditary membership in the Parlement of Paris, the highest of Frances judicial and quasi-legislative assemblies. Strictly speaking, a French peerage was granted in favour of a designated fief rather than upon the titleholder per se, had Saint-Simon succeeded in his lifelong ideal and ambition of conversion of Frances peers into a Great Council of the Nation, history might have followed a different course. The familys principal seat, where Saint-Simons Mémoires were written, was at La Ferté-Vidame and his father, Claude, the first duke, was a tall and taciturn man who was keen on hunting. Louis de Saint-Simon was the opposite, garrulous, much shorter and his father had been a favorite hunting companion of Louis XIII. King Louis had appointed his father as Master of Wolfhounds before granting him a dukedom in 1635 at a young age. Saint-Simon ranked thirteenth in the order of precedence among Frances eighteen dukes and she was a formidable woman whose word was law in the family, and became more so in extreme old age. Her son Louis was well educated, largely by her, for whom Louis XIV, after further tuition from the Jesuits, he joined the Mousquetaires gris in 1692, serving at the Siege of Namur and at the Battle of Neerwinden. Saint-Simon fought in a more military campaigns, although not under Luxembourg. In 1695 he married Marie-Gabrielle de Durfort, daughter of Guy-Aldonce, duc de Lorges and he seems to have regarded her with a respect and affection unusual between husband and wife in that era, and she sometimes succeeded in suppressing his pompous ideals. As he did not receive further promotion in the army, he resigned his commission in 1702, Saint-Simon, for his own part, appears to have played only an intermediate role in court life. Having previously served in London, he was nominated as ambassador to Rome in 1705, at last he attached himself to Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Louis XIVs nephew and the future regent. He also allied himself with Louis, Duke of Burgundy, the Dauphins son, Saint-Simon loathed the bastards, Louis XIVs illegitimate children, and not, apparently, entirely because they were accorded ceremonial precedence above Frances peers. The Saint-Simon that is revealed through the Mémoires had many enemies, the death of Louis XIV seemed to have given Saint-Simon a chance of realizing his hopes. The Duke of Orleans became regent and Saint-Simon was appointed to his Regency Council, but no steps were taken to carry out his preferred vision of a France ruled by the noble élite, exposing how little real influence he had with the Regent. Whilst in Spain he did, however, secure a grandeeship and, despite having caught smallpox, he was satisfied with his efforts there. After his return to France he had little to do with public affairs, but there can be little doubt that he was eclipsed, and even expelled from the château de Meudon by Cardinal Dubois
Louis de Rouvroy, duc de Saint-Simon
–
Louis de Rouvroy
30.
James II of England
–
James II and VII was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685 until he was deposed in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. He was the last Roman Catholic monarch of England, Scotland and Ireland, the second surviving son of Charles I, he ascended the throne upon the death of his brother, Charles II. Members of Britains Protestant political elite increasingly suspected him of being pro-French and pro-Catholic and he was replaced by his eldest, Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange. James made one attempt to recover his crowns from William. After the defeat of the Jacobite forces by the Williamites at the Battle of the Boyne in July 1690 and he lived out the rest of his life as a pretender at a court sponsored by his cousin and ally, King Louis XIV. James, the surviving son of King Charles I and his wife. Later that same year, he was baptised by William Laud and he was educated by private tutors, along with his brother, the future King Charles II, and the two sons of the Duke of Buckingham, George and Francis Villiers. At the age of three, James was appointed Lord High Admiral, the position was honorary, but would become a substantive office after the Restoration. He was designated Duke of York at birth, invested with the Order of the Garter in 1642, as the Kings disputes with the English Parliament grew into the English Civil War, James stayed in Oxford, a Royalist stronghold. When the city surrendered after the siege of Oxford in 1646, in 1648, he escaped from the Palace, aided by Joseph Bampfield, and from there he went to The Hague in disguise. When Charles I was executed by the rebels in 1649, monarchists proclaimed Jamess older brother as Charles II of England, Charles II was recognised as king by the Parliament of Scotland and the Parliament of Ireland, and was crowned King of Scotland at Scone in 1651. Although he was proclaimed King in Jersey, Charles was unable to secure the crown of England and consequently fled to France, like his brother, James sought refuge in France, serving in the French army under Turenne against the Fronde, and later against their Spanish allies. In the French army James had his first true experience of battle where, according to one observer, he ventures himself, in the meantime, Charles was attempting to reclaim his throne, but France, although hosting the exiles, had allied itself with Oliver Cromwell. In 1656, Charles turned instead to Spain – an enemy of France – for support, in consequence, James was expelled from France and forced to leave Turennes army. James quarrelled with his brother over the choice of Spain over France. In 1659, the French and Spanish made peace, James, doubtful of his brothers chances of regaining the throne, considered taking a Spanish offer to be an admiral in their navy. Ultimately, he declined the position, by the year the situation in England had changed. After Richard Cromwells resignation as Lord Protector in 1659 and the subsequent collapse of the Commonwealth in 1660, although James was the heir presumptive, it seemed unlikely that he would inherit the Crown, as Charles was still a young man capable of fathering children
James II of England
–
Portrait by
Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1684
James II of England
–
Turenne, James's commander in France
James II of England
–
James and Anne Hyde in the 1660s, by Sir
Peter Lely
James II of England
–
Mary of Modena, James's second wife
