1.
Westminster Abbey
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It is one of the United Kingdoms most notable religious buildings and the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English and, later, British monarchs. Between 1540 and 1556, the abbey had the status of a cathedral, since 1560, however, the building is no longer an abbey nor a cathedral, having instead the status of a Church of England Royal Peculiar—a church responsible directly to the sovereign. The building itself is the abbey church. According to a tradition first reported by Sulcard in about 1080, a church was founded at the site in the 7th century, at the time of Mellitus, construction of the present church began in 1245, on the orders of King Henry III. Since the coronation of William the Conqueror in 1066, all coronations of English and British monarchs have held in Westminster Abbey. There have been at least 16 royal weddings at the abbey since 1100, two were of reigning monarchs, although, before 1919, there had been none for some 500 years. The first reports of the abbey are based on a tradition claiming that a young fisherman called Aldrich on the River Thames saw a vision of Saint Peter near the site. This seems to be quoted to justify the gifts of salmon from Thames fishermen that the abbey received in later years, in the present was, the Fishmongers Company still gives a salmon every year. The proven origins are that in the 960s or early 970s, Saint Dunstan, assisted by King Edgar, between 1042 and 1052, King Edward the Confessor began rebuilding St Peters Abbey to provide himself with a royal burial church. It was the first church in England built in the Romanesque style, the building was completed around 1090 and was consecrated on 28 December 1065, only a week before Edwards death on 5 January 1066. A week later, he was buried in the church, and, nine years later and his successor, Harold II, was probably crowned in the abbey, although the first documented coronation is that of William the Conqueror later the same year. The only extant depiction of Edwards abbey, together with the adjacent Palace of Westminster, is in the Bayeux Tapestry, construction of the present church was begun in 1245 by Henry III who selected the site for his burial. The abbot and monks, in proximity to the royal Palace of Westminster, the abbot often was employed on royal service and in due course took his place in the House of Lords as of right. The abbey built shops and dwellings on the west side, encroaching upon the sanctuary, the abbey became the coronation site of Norman kings. The Confessors shrine subsequently played a part in his canonisation. The work continued between 1245 and 1517 and was finished by the architect Henry Yevele in the reign of Richard II. Henry III also commissioned the unique Cosmati pavement in front of the High Altar, Henry VII added a Perpendicular style chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary in 1503. Much of the came from Caen, in France, the Isle of Portland
2.
Author
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An author is narrowly defined as the originator of any written work and can thus also be described as a writer. More broadly defined, an author is the person who originated or gave existence to anything, in the copyright laws of various jurisdictions, there is a necessity for little flexibility regarding what constitutes authorship. The United States Copyright Office, for example, defines copyright as a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States to authors of works of authorship. After a fixed amount of time, the copyright expires on intellectual work and it enters the public domain, however, copyright is merely the legal reassurance that one owns his/her work. Technically, someone owns their work from the time its created, an interesting aspect of authorship emerges with copyright in that, in many jurisdictions, it can be passed down to another upon ones death. The person who inherits the copyright is not the author, questions arise as to the application of copyright law. How does it, for example, apply to the issue of fan fiction. If the media responsible for the authorized production allows material from fans, what is the limit before legal constraints from actors, music. Additionally, how does copyright apply to fan-generated stories for books, what powers do the original authors, as well as the publishers, have in regulating or even stopping the fan fiction. In literary theory, critics find complications in the term author beyond what constitutes authorship in a legal setting, in the wake of postmodern literature, critics such as Roland Barthes and Michel Foucault have examined the role and relevance of authorship to the meaning or interpretation of a text. Barthes challenges the idea that a text can be attributed to any single author and he writes, in his essay Death of the Author, that it is language which speaks, not the author. The words and language of a text itself determine and expose meaning for Barthes, with this, the perspective of the author is removed from the text, and the limits formerly imposed by the idea of one authorial voice, one ultimate and universal meaning, are destroyed. The psyche, culture, fanaticism of an author can be disregarded when interpreting a text, because the words are rich enough themselves with all of the traditions of language. To expose meanings in a work without appealing to the celebrity of an author, their tastes, passions, vices, is, to Barthes, to allow language to speak. Michel Foucault argues in his essay What is an author and that all authors are writers, but not all writers are authors. He states that a letter may have a signatory—it does not have an author. For a reader to assign the title of author upon any written work is to certain standards upon the text which. Foucaults author function is the idea that an author exists only as a function of a work, a part of its structure
3.
Bureaucracy
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Bureaucracy means both a body of non-elective government officials and an administrative policy-making group. Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments staffed with non-elected officials, today, bureaucracy is the administrative system governing any large institution. The public administration in many countries is an example of a bureaucracy, since being coined, the word bureaucracy has developed negative connotations. Bureaucracies have been criticized as being inefficient, convoluted, or too inflexible to individuals, the dehumanizing effects of excessive bureaucracy became a major theme in the work of German-language writer Franz Kafka and are central to his novels The Trial and The Castle. The elimination of bureaucracy is a key concept in modern managerial theory and has been an issue in some political campaigns. Others have noted the necessity of bureaucracies in modern life, the term bureaucracy is French in origin and combines the French word bureau – desk or office – with the Greek word κράτος kratos – rule or political power. It was coined in the century by the French economist Jacques Claude Marie Vincent de Gournay and was a satirical pejorative from the outset. Gournay never wrote the term down but was quoted at length in a letter from a contemporary. Here, too, the sense was pejorative, with Irish novelist Lady Morgan referring to the Bureaucratie, or office tyranny, by which Ireland has so long been governed. By the mid-19th century, the word was being used in a neutral sense. In this sense bureaucracy was seen as a form of management. In the1920s, the definition was expanded by the German sociologist Max Weber to include any system of administration conducted by trained professionals according to fixed rules, although the term bureaucracy was not coined until the mid 18th century, organized and consistent administrative systems are much older. Ancient Egypt also had a class of scribes that administered the civil service bureaucracy. The Roman Empire was administered by a hierarchy of regional proconsuls, the reforms of Diocletian doubled the number of administrative districts and led to a large-scale expansion in Roman bureaucracy. After the Empire split, the Byzantine Empire developed a complicated administrative hierarchy. In Ancient China, the Han dynasty established a complicated bureaucracy based on the teachings of Confucius, who emphasized the importance of ritual in family, relationships, with each subsequent Dynasty, the bureaucracy evolved. During the Song dynasty, the bureaucracy became meritocratic, following the Song reforms, competitive exams were held to determine who could hold which positions. The imperial examination system lasted until 1905, six years before the collapse of the Qing Dynasty, a modern form of bureaucracy evolved in the expanding Department of Excise in the United Kingdom, during the 18th century
4.
Late Middle Ages
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The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th and 15th centuries. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the modern era. Around 1300, centuries of prosperity and growth in Europe came to a halt, a series of famines and plagues, including the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the Black Death, reduced the population to around half of what it was before the calamities. Along with depopulation came social unrest and endemic warfare, France and England experienced serious peasant uprisings, such as the Jacquerie and the Peasants Revolt, as well as over a century of intermittent conflict in the Hundred Years War. To add to the problems of the period, the unity of the Catholic Church was shattered by the Western Schism. Collectively these events are called the Crisis of the Late Middle Ages. Despite these crises, the 14th century was also a time of progress in the arts. Following a renewed interest in ancient Greek and Roman texts that took root in the High Middle Ages, combined with this influx of classical ideas was the invention of printing, which facilitated dissemination of the printed word and democratized learning. These two things would lead to the Protestant Reformation. Toward the end of the period, the Age of Discovery began, the rise of the Ottoman Empire, culminating in the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, eroded the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire and cut off trading possibilities with the east. Europeans were forced to seek new trading routes, leading to the expedition of Columbus to the Americas in 1492 and their discoveries strengthened the economy and power of European nations. The changes brought about by these developments have led scholars to view this period as the end of the Middle Ages and beginning of modern history. However, the division is artificial, since ancient learning was never entirely absent from European society. As a result there was continuity between the ancient age and the modern age. Some historians, particularly in Italy, prefer not to speak of the Late Middle Ages at all, but rather see the period of the Middle Ages transitioning to the Renaissance. The term Late Middle Ages refers to one of the three periods of the Middle Ages, along with the Early Middle Ages and the High Middle Ages, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodization in his History of the Florentine People. Flavio Biondo used a framework in Decades of History from the Deterioration of the Roman Empire. Tripartite periodization became standard after the German historian Christoph Cellarius published Universal History Divided into an Ancient, Medieval, for 18th-century historians studying the 14th and 15th centuries, the central theme was the Renaissance, with its rediscovery of ancient learning and the emergence of an individual spirit
5.
Thomas Chaucer
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Thomas Chaucer was the Speaker of the English House of Commons and son of Geoffrey Chaucer and Philippa Roet. Thomas Chaucer was connected with John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster through his aunt Katherine Swynford, sister of his mother, Swynford was first Gaunts mistress, and then his third wife. King Henry IV - son of John of Gaunt by his first marriage to Blanche of Lancaster - was half-brother to Thomas Chaucers Beaufort first cousins, Thomas was able to buy Donnington Castle for his only daughter Alice. Early in life, Thomas Chaucer married Matilda, second daughter and coheiress of Sir John Burghersh, the marriage brought him large estates, including the manor of Ewelme, Oxfordshire. These annuities were confirmed to him by Henry IV, who appointed him constable of Wallingford Castle, about the same time he succeeded Geoffrey Chaucer as forester of North Petherton Park, Somerset. On 5 November 1402 he received a grant of the chief butlership for life and he served as High Sheriff of Berkshire and Oxfordshire for 1400 and 1403 and as High Sheriff of Hampshire for 1413. He attended fifteen parliaments as knight of the shire for Oxfordshire and was Speaker of the House five times, a feat not surpassed until the 18th century. He was chosen speaker in the parliament that met at Gloucester in 1407, the chancellor interrupted him, declaring that they were not ready, and that for the future the lords would not promise them. He asked for a grace, and then made an apology. He was again chosen in 1414, on 23 February 1411 the queen gave him the manor of Woodstock and other estates during her life, and on 15 March the king assigned them to him after her death. In 1414 he also received a commission, in which he is called domicellus, to treat about the marriage of Henry V, a year later he served with the king in France, bringing into the field 12 men-at-arms and 37 archers. He was not present at the Battle of Agincourt, being sent back to England ill after the siege of Harfluer and it is unknown if he was really sick, or used it as an excuse to return to England. His retinue did march on to Agincourt, in 1417 he was employed to treat for peace with France. On the accession of Henry VI he appears to have been superseded in the chief butlership, and to have regained it shortly afterwards. In January 1424 he was appointed a member of the council, in 1430–1 he was appointed one of the executors of the will of the Duchess of York, and was by then very wealthy. Thomas Chaucer died at Ewelme Palace in the village of Ewelme, Thomas only daughter Alice married William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk and her grandson John de la Pole, Earl of Lincoln was the designated heir of Richard III. John and several of his brothers were executed when Richard lost power. They left descendants however, including the Earls of Rutland and Portmore, William Parker, 4th Baron Monteagle, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Hunt, William
6.
English literature
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However, until the early 19th century, it only deals with the literature of the United Kingdom and Ireland. It does not include literature written in the languages of Britain. The English language has developed over the course of more than 1,400 years, the earliest forms of English, a set of Anglo-Frisian dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the fifth century, are called Old English. Middle English began in the late 11th century with the Norman conquest of England, early Modern English began in the late 15th century with the introduction of the printing press to London and the King James Bible as well as the Great Vowel Shift. Through the influence of the British Empire, the English language has spread around the world since the 17th century. 450, after the withdrawal of the Romans, and ending soon after the Norman Conquest in 1066. These works include such as epic poetry, hagiography, sermons, Bible translations, legal works. In all there are about 400 surviving manuscripts from the period, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English, from the 9th century, that chronicle the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The poem Battle of Maldon also deals with history and this is a work of uncertain date, celebrating the Battle of Maldon of 991, at which the Anglo-Saxons failed to prevent a Viking invasion. Oral tradition was strong in early English culture and most literary works were written to be performed. Epic poems were popular, and some, including Beowulf, have survived to the present day. Beowulf is the most famous work in Old English, and has achieved national status in England. The only surviving manuscript is the Nowell Codex, the date of which is debated. Beowulf is the title, and its composition is dated between the 8th and the early 11th century. Cædmon is the earliest English poet whose name is known, and it is also one of the earliest recorded examples of sustained poetry in a Germanic language. The poem, The Dream of the Rood, was inscribed upon the Ruthwell Cross, Two Old English poems from the late 10th century are The Wanderer and The Seafarer. Classical antiquity was not forgotten in Anglo-Saxon England, and several Old English poems are adaptations of late classical philosophical texts, the longest is King Alfreds 9th-century translation of Boethius Consolation of Philosophy. After the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the form of the Anglo-Saxon language became less common. Under the influence of the new aristocracy, French became the language of courts, parliament
7.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
8.
Poets' Corner
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Poets Corner is the name traditionally given to a section of the South Transept of Westminster Abbey because of the high number of poets, playwrights, and writers buried and commemorated there. The first poet interred in Poets Corner was Geoffrey Chaucer, over the centuries, a tradition has grown up of interring or memorialising people there in recognition of their contribution to British culture. In the overwhelming majority of cases, the honour is awarded to writers, on 6 December 2011, former Poet Laureate Ted Hughes was commemorated with a floor stone. On 22 November 2013, the anniversary of his death. The poet Philip Larkin was commemorated with a stone dedicated on 2 December 2016. The first person interred, Geoffrey Chaucer, owed his burial there in 1400 more to his position as Clerk of Works of the Palace of Westminster than to his fame as a writer. The erection of his magnificent tomb, however, by Nicholas Brigham in 1556, burial or commemoration in the Abbey does not always occur at or soon after the time of death. Lord Byron, for example, whose poetry was admired but who maintained a scandalous lifestyle, the poets fate is here in emblem shown, He askd for bread, and he received a stone. Some of those buried in Poets Corner also had memorials erected to them over or near their grave, in some cases, such as Joseph Addison, the burial took place elsewhere in Westminster Abbey, with a memorial later erected in Poets Corner. In some cases a burial of a body took place, in other cases the body was cremated. There are also cases where there was support for an individual to be buried in Poets Corner. Other notable poets and writers, such as Aphra Behn, are buried elsewhere in the Abbey, at least two of the memorials were later moved to a location elsewhere in the Abbey due to the discovery of old paintings on the wall behind them. The memorials can take several forms, some are stone slabs set in the floor with a name and inscription carved on them, while others are more elaborate and carved stone monuments, or hanging stone tablets, or memorial busts. The grave of Ben Jonson is not in Poets Corner, but is in the aisle of the nave. It has the inscription O Rare Ben Johnson on the slab above it and it has been suggested that this could be read Orare Ben Jonson, which would indicate a deathbed return to Catholicism, but the carving shows a distinct space between O and rare. As well as the gravestone in the aisle of the nave. As floor and wall space began to run out, the decision was taken to install a stained glass memorial window, there is room for 20 names, and currently there are six names on this window, with a new entry unveiled on 25 September 2010. The memorial in Poets Corner, Westminster Abbey, to 16 Great War poets is a stone slab with the names of the poets inscribed on it
9.
Astronomer
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An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who concentrates their studies on a specific question or field outside of the scope of Earth. They look at stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies, as well as other celestial objects — either in observational astronomy. Examples of topics or fields astronomers work on include, planetary science, solar astronomy, there are also related but distinct subjects like physical cosmology which studies the Universe as a whole. Astronomers usually fit into two types, Observational astronomers make direct observations of planets, stars and galaxies, and analyze the data, theoretical astronomers create and investigate models of things that cannot be observed. They use this data to create models or simulations to theorize how different celestial bodies work, there are further subcategories inside these two main branches of astronomy such as planetary astronomy, galactic astronomy or physical cosmology. Today, that distinction has disappeared and the terms astronomer. Professional astronomers are highly educated individuals who typically have a Ph. D. in physics or astronomy and are employed by research institutions or universities. They spend the majority of their time working on research, although quite often have other duties such as teaching, building instruments. The number of astronomers in the United States is actually quite small. The American Astronomical Society, which is the organization of professional astronomers in North America, has approximately 7,000 members. This number includes scientists from other such as physics, geology. The International Astronomical Union comprises almost 10,145 members from 70 different countries who are involved in research at the Ph. D. level. Before CCDs, photographic plates were a method of observation. Modern astronomers spend relatively little time at telescopes usually just a few weeks per year, analysis of observed phenomena, along with making predictions as to the causes of what they observe, takes the majority of observational astronomers time. Astronomers who serve as faculty spend much of their time teaching undergraduate and graduate classes, most universities also have outreach programs including public telescope time and sometimes planetariums as a public service to encourage interest in the field. Those who become astronomers usually have a background in maths, sciences. Taking courses that teach how to research, write and present papers are also invaluable, in college/university most astronomers get a Ph. D. in astronomy or physics. Keeping in mind how few there are it is understood that graduate schools in this field are very competitive
10.
Astrolabe
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An astrolabe is an elaborate inclinometer, historically used by astronomers and navigators, to measure the inclined position in the sky of a celestial body, day or night. It can thus be used to identify stars or planets, to determine local latitude given local time and vice versa, to survey and it was used in classical antiquity, the Islamic Golden Age, the European Middle Ages and the Renaissance for all these purposes. While the astrolabe is effective for determining latitude on land or calm seas, the mariners astrolabe was developed to solve that problem. OED gives the translation star-taker for the English word astrolabe and traces it, through medieval Latin, to the Greek word astrolabos from astron star, in the medieval Islamic world the word asturlab was given various etymologies. In Arabic texts, the word is translated as akhdh al-kawakib which corresponds to an interpretation of the Greek word, al-Biruni quotes and criticizes the medieval scientist Hamzah al-Isfahani who had stated, asturlab is an arabization of this Persian phrase. In medieval Islamic sources, there is also a fictional and popular etymology of the words as lines of lab, in this popular etymology, Lab is a certain son of Idris. This etymology is mentioned by a 10th-century scientist named al-Qummi but rejected by al-Khwarizmi, Lab in Arabic also means sun and black stony places. An early astrolabe was invented in the Hellenistic world by Apollonius of Perga, a marriage of the planisphere and dioptra, the astrolabe was effectively an analog calculator capable of working out several different kinds of problems in spherical astronomy. Theon of Alexandria wrote a treatise on the astrolabe. Some historians attribute the invention to Hypatia, the daughter of Theon of Alexandria, noting that Synesius. Astrolabes continued in use in the Greek-speaking world throughout the Byzantine period, about 550 AD the Christian philosopher John Philoponus wrote a treatise on the astrolabe in Greek, which is the earliest extant Greek treatise on the instrument. In addition, Severus Sebokht, a bishop who lived in Mesopotamia, Astrolabes were further developed in the medieval Islamic world, where Muslim astronomers introduced angular scales to the astrolabe, adding circles indicating azimuths on the horizon. It was widely used throughout the Muslim world, chiefly as an aid to navigation and as a way of finding the Qibla, the first person credited with building the astrolabe in the Islamic world is reportedly the 8th-century mathematician Muhammad al-Fazari. The mathematical background was established by the Muslim astronomer Albatenius in his treatise Kitab az-Zij, the earliest surviving dated astrolabe is dated AH315. In the Islamic world, astrolabes were used to find the times of sunrise and the rising of fixed stars, to help schedule morning prayers. In the 10th century, al-Sufi first described over 1,000 different uses of an astrolabe, in areas as diverse as astronomy, astrology, navigation, surveying, timekeeping, prayer, Salat, Qibla, etc. The spherical astrolabe, a variation of both the astrolabe and the sphere, was invented during the Middle Ages by astronomers and inventors in the Islamic world. The earliest description of the spherical astrolabe dates back to Al-Nayrizi, in the 12th century, Sharaf al-Dīn al-Tūsī invented the linear astrolabe, sometimes called the staff of al-Tusi, which was a simple wooden rod with graduated markings but without sights
11.
Court (royal)
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The court of a monarch, or at some periods an important nobleman, is a term for the extended household and all those who regularly attended on the ruler or central figure. It can also refer to the residence of the monarch where the court resides or a series of complexes. In the largest courts, the households, many thousands of individuals comprised the court. Foreign princes and foreign nobility in exile may also seek refuge at a court and this is shown above Near Eastern and Eastern courts often included the harem and concubines as well as eunuchs who fulfilled a variety of functions. At times the harem was walled off and separate from the rest of the residence of the monarch, in Asia concubines were often a more visible part of the court. Lower ranking servants and bodyguards were not properly called courtiers though may be included as part of the court or royal household in the broadest definition, entertainers and others may have been counted as part of the court. A royal household is the highest ranking example of this, a group of individuals dependent on the patronage of a great man, classically in ancient Rome, forms part of the system of clientage that is discussed under vassal. Individual rulers differed greatly in tastes and interests, as well as in political skills, accordingly, some founded elaborate courts based on new palaces, only to have their successors retreat to remote castles or to practical administrative centers. Personal retreats might arise far away from official court centres, etiquette and hierarchy flourish in highly structured court settings, and may leave conservative traces over generations. Most courts featured a strict order of precedence often involving royal and noble ranks, orders of chivalry, some courts even featured court uniforms. One of the markers of a court is ceremony. Most monarchal courts included ceremonies concerning the investiture or coronation of the monarch, some courts had ceremonies around the waking and the sleeping of the monarch called a levée. Orders of chivalry as honorific orders became an important part of court culture starting in the 15th century and they were the right of the monarch to create and grant as the fount of honour. Two of the earliest titles referring to the concept of a courtier were likely the ša rēsi, the imperial court of the Byzantine Empire at Constantinople would eventually contain at least a thousand courtiers. The courts systems became prevalent in other such as those in the Balkan states, the Ottoman Empire. Byzantinism is a term that was coined for this spread of the Byzantine system in the 19th century, however, by the Sui Dynasty the functions of the royal household and the imperial government were clearly divided. During the Heian period, Japanese Emperors and their families developed an exquisitely refined court that played an important role in their culture. After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, a court culture can be recognized in the entourage of the Ostrogoth Theodoric the Great
12.
The Book of the Duchess
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Most sources put the date of composition after 12 September 1368 and 1372, with many recent studies privileging a date as early as the end of 1368. Overwhelming evidence suggests that Chaucer wrote the poem to commemorate the death of Blanche of Lancaster, the evidence includes handwritten notes from Elizabethan antiquary John Stowe indicating that the poem was written at John of Gaunts request. There are repeated instances of the word “White, ” which is almost certainly a play on “Blanche, at the beginning of the poem, the sleepless poet lies in bed, reading a book. A collection of old stories, the tells the story of Ceyx. The story tells of how Ceyx lost his life at sea, unsure of his fate, she prays to the goddess Juno to send her a dream vision. Juno sends a messenger to Morpheus to bring the body of Ceyx with a message to Alcyone, the messenger finds Morpheus and relays Junos orders. Morpheus finds the drowned Ceyx and bears him to Alcyone three hours before dawn, the deceased Ceyx instructs Alcyone to bury him and to cease her sorrow, and when Alcyone opens her eyes Ceyx has gone. Lost in the book and his thoughts, the poet suddenly falls asleep with the book in his hands and he states that his dream is so full of wonder that no man may interpret it correctly. He begins to relay his dream, the poet dreams that he wakes in a chamber with windows of stained glass depictions of the tale of Troy and walls painted with the story of The Romance of the Rose. He hears a hunt, leaves the chamber, and inquires who is hunting, the hunt is revealed to be that of Octavian. The dogs are released and the hunt begins, leaving behind the poet, the poet stumbles upon a clearing and finds a knight dressed in black composing a song for the death of his lady. The poet asks the knight the nature of his grief, the knight replies that he had played a game of chess with Fortuna and lost his queen and was checkmated. The poet takes the message literally and begs the black knight not to become upset over a game of chess. The knight speaks of her beauty and temperament and reveals that her name was “good, fair White. ”The poet, still not understanding the metaphorical chess game, asks the black knight to finish the story. The knight tells the story of his declaration of love and the long time it took for the love to be reciprocated. Still the narrator does not understand, and asks the whereabouts of White, the knight finally blurts out that White is dead. The poet realises what has occurred as the hunt ends and the poet awakes with his still in hand. He reflects on the dream and decides that his dream is so wonderful that it should be set into rhyme, middle English General References, Benson, Larry D. ed
13.
Troilus and Criseyde
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Troilus and Criseyde is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer which re-tells in Middle English the tragic story of the lovers Troilus and Criseyde set against a backdrop of war during the Siege of Troy. It was composed using rime royale and probably completed during the mid 1380s, many Chaucer scholars regard it as the poets finest work. As a finished long poem it is more self-contained than the better known and this poem is often considered the source of the phrase, all good things must come to an end. Although Troilus is a character from Ancient Greek literature, the story of him as a lover was of Medieval origin. The first known version is from Benoît de Sainte-Maures poem Roman de Troie, Chaucer attributes the story to a Lollius, although no writer with this name is known. It also inflects the sorrow of the story with humour, the poem had an important legacy for later writers. Robert Henrysons Scots poem The Testament of Cresseid imagined a tragic fate for Criseyde not given by Chaucer, in historical editions of the English Troilus and Criseyde, Henrysons distinct and separate work was sometimes included without accreditation as an epilogue to Chaucers tale. Other texts, for example John Methams Amoryus and Cleopes, adapt language, shakespeares tragedy Troilus and Cressida, although much blacker in tone, was also based in part on the material. Troilus and Criseyde is usually considered to be a courtly romance and it is part of the Matter of Rome cycle, a fact which Chaucer emphasizes. Troilus, a warrior of Troy, publicly mocks love and is punished by the God of Love by being struck with irreconcilable desire for Criseyde, with the help of sly Pandarus, Criseydes uncle, Troilus and Criseyde begin to exchange letters. Eventually, Pandarus develops a plan to urge the two into bed together, Troilus swoons when he thinks the plan is going amiss, but Pandarus, Pandarus leaves, and Troilus and Criseyde spend a night of bliss together. Calchas eventually persuades the Greeks to exchange a prisoner of war, hector, of Troy, objects, as does Troilus, although he does not voice his concern. Troilus speaks to Criseyde and suggests they elope but she offers an argument as to why it would not be practical. Criseyde promises to deceive her father and return to Troy after ten days, upon arriving in the Greek camp, Criseyde realizes the unlikeliness of her being able to keep her promise to Troilus. She writes dismissively in response to his letters and on the tenth day accepts a meeting with Diomede, later, she accepts him as a lover. Pandarus and Troilus wait for Criseyde, Pandarus sees that she not return. Troilus curses Fortune, even more so because he still loves Criseyde, 2nd ed. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press,2003. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press,1989, garrison, John, “One Mind, One Heart, One Purse, Integrating Friendship Traditions and the Case of Troilus and Criseyde, ” in Medievalia et Humanistica 36, p. 25–48
14.
The Canterbury Tales
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The Canterbury Tales is a collection of 24 stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387–1400. In 1386, Chaucer became Controller of Customs and Justice of Peace and and it was during these years that Chaucer began working on his most famous text, The Canterbury Tales. The prize for this contest is a meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return. He uses the tales and descriptions of its characters to paint an ironic and critical portrait of English society at the time, Chaucers use of such a wide range of classes and types of people was without precedent in English. Although the characters are fictional, they offer a variety of insights into customs. Often, such insight leads to a variety of discussions and disagreements among people in the 14th century, structurally, the collection resembles The Decameron, which Chaucer may have read during his first diplomatic mission to Italy in 1372. It is unclear to what extent Chaucer was seminal in this evolution of literary preference, while Chaucer clearly states the addressees of many of his poems, the intended audience of The Canterbury Tales is more difficult to determine. Chaucer was a courtier, leading some to believe that he was mainly a court poet who wrote exclusively for nobility, the Canterbury Tales is generally thought to have been incomplete at the end of Chaucers life. In the General Prologue, some thirty pilgrims are introduced, according to the Prologue, Chaucers intention was to write two stories from the perspective of each pilgrim on the way to and from their ultimate destination, St. Thomas Beckets shrine. Although perhaps incomplete, The Canterbury Tales is revered as one of the most important works in English literature, not only do readers find it entertaining, but it is also open to a wide range of interpretations. The question of whether The Canterbury Tales is finished has not yet been answered, there are 83 known manuscripts of the work from the late medieval and early Renaissance periods, more than any other vernacular literary text with the exception of The Prick of Conscience. This is taken as evidence of the popularity during the century after Chaucers death. Fifty-five of these manuscripts are thought to have been complete at one time, even the earliest surviving manuscripts are not Chaucers originals, the oldest being MS Peniarth 392 D, compiled by a scribe shortly after Chaucers death. The most beautiful of the manuscripts of the tales is the Ellesmere Manuscript, the first version of The Canterbury Tales to be published in print was William Caxtons 1478 edition. Only 10 copies of this edition are known to exist, including one held by the British Library, since this print edition was created from a now-lost manuscript, it is counted as among the 83 manuscripts. In 2004, Professor Linne Mooney claimed that she was able to identify the scrivener who worked for Chaucer as an Adam Pinkhurst. No authorial, arguably complete version of the Tales exists and no consensus has been reached regarding the order in which Chaucer intended the stories to be placed, textual and manuscript clues have been adduced to support the two most popular modern methods of ordering the tales. Some scholarly editions divide the Tales into ten Fragments, however, between Fragments, the connection is less obvious
15.
Middle English
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This stage of the development of the English language roughly followed the High to the Late Middle Ages. Middle English developed out of Late Old English, seeing many dramatic changes in its grammar, pronunciation and this largely forms the basis for Modern English spelling, although pronunciation has changed considerably since that time. Middle English was succeeded in England by the era of Early Modern English, by that time, a variant of the Northumbrian dialect was developing into the Scots language. During the Middle English period many Old English grammatical features were simplified or disappeared, noun, adjective and verb inflections were simplified, a process that included the reduction of most grammatical case distinctions. Middle English also saw an adoption of Norman French vocabulary, especially in areas such as politics, law. Everyday English vocabulary remained mostly Germanic, with Old Norse influence becoming apparent, significant changes in pronunciation took place, especially for long vowels and diphthongs, which in the later Middle English period began to undergo the Great Vowel Shift. Little survives of early Middle English literature, most likely due to the Norman domination, poets wrote both in the vernacular and courtly English. It is popularly believed that William Shakespeare wrote in Middle English, the latter part of the 11th century was a period of transition from Late Old English to Early Middle English. The influence of Old Norse certainly helped move English from a synthetic language towards a more analytic or isolating word order and it was, after all, a salutary influence. The gain was greater than the loss, there was a gain in directness, in clarity, and in strength. The change to Old English from Old Norse was substantive, pervasive and it is most important to recognise that in many words the English and Scandinavian language differed chiefly in their inflectional elements. The body of the word was so nearly the same in the two languages only the endings would put obstacles in the way of mutual understanding. In the mixed population which existed in the Danelaw these endings must have led to confusion, tending gradually to become obscured. This blending of peoples and languages resulted in simplifying English grammar. There are also many Norman-derived terms relating to the cultures that arose in the 12th century. Sometimes, and particularly later, words were taken from Latin, giving such sets as kingly, later French borrowings came from standard rather than Norman French, this leads to such cognate pairs as warden, guardian. The end of Anglo-Saxon rule did not, of course, change the language immediately, the general population would have spoken the same dialects as before the Conquest, these changed slowly until written records of them became available for study, which varies in different regions. Once the writing of Old English came to an end, Middle English had no standard language, Early Middle English has a largely Anglo-Saxon vocabulary, but a greatly simplified inflectional system
16.
Vernacular
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Some linguists use vernacular and nonstandard dialect as synonyms. The use of vernacular is not recent, here vernacular, mother language and dialect are already in use in a modern sense. The figurative meaning was broadened from the diminutive extended words vernaculus, varro, the classical Latin grammarian, used the term vocabula vernacula, termes de la langue nationale or vocabulary of the national language as opposed to foreign words. In general linguistics, a vernacular is contrasted with a lingua franca, for instance, in Western Europe until the 17th century, most scholarly works had been written in Latin, which was serving as a lingua franca. Works written in Romance languages are said to be in the vernacular, the Divina Commedia, the Cantar de Mio Cid, and The Song of Roland are examples of early vernacular literature in Italian, Spanish, and French, respectively. In Europe, Latin was used instead of vernacular languages in varying forms until c. 1701, in its latter stage as New Latin, in Catholicism, vernacular bibles were later provided, but Latin was used at Tridentine Mass until the Second Vatican Council of 1965. Certain groups, notably Traditionalist Catholics, continue to practice Latin Mass, in India, the 12th century Bhakti movement led to the translation of Sanskrit texts to the vernacular. In science, a user of the vernacular was Galileo. 1600, though some of his works remained in Latin, a later example is Isaac Newton, whose 1687 Principia was in Latin, but whose 1704 Opticks was in English. Latin continues to be used in fields of science, notably binomial nomenclature in biology, while other fields such as mathematics use vernacular. In diplomacy, French displaced Latin in Europe in the 1710s, certain languages have both a classical form and various vernacular forms, with two widely used examples being Arabic and Chinese, see Varieties of Arabic and Chinese language. In the 1920s, due to the May Fourth Movement, Classical Chinese was replaced by written vernacular Chinese, the vernacular is also often contrasted with a liturgical language, a specialized use of a former lingua franca. Similarly, in Hindu culture, traditionally religious or scholarly works were written in Sanskrit or in Tamil in Tamil country. With the rise of the movement from the 12th century onwards, religious works were created in the other languages, Hindi, Kannada, Telugu. These circumstances are a contrast between a vernacular and language variant used by the same speakers, according to one school of linguistic thought, all such variants are examples of a linguistic phenomenon termed diglossia. In it, the language is bifurcated, i. e. the speaker learns two forms of the language and ordinarily uses one but under special circumstances the other. The one most frequently used is the low variant, equivalent to the vernacular, the concept was introduced to linguistics by Charles A. Ferguson, but Ferguson explicitly excluded variants as divergent as dialects or different languages or as similar as styles or registers
17.
Ellesmere Chaucer
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It is considered one of the most significant copies of the Tales. Written most likely in the first or second decade of the century, the early history of the manuscript is uncertain. The manuscript takes its name from the fact that it later belonged to Sir Thomas Egerton, Baron Ellesmere and Viscount Brackley. The library of manuscripts, known as the Bridgewater Library, remained at the Egerton house, Ashridge, Hertfordshire, Huntington purchased the Bridgewater library privately in 1917 through Sothebys. The manuscript is now in the collection of the Huntington Library in San Marino, as such, it was clearly a de luxe product, commissioned by a very wealthy patron. The manuscript is written on vellum and the leaves are approximately 400mm by 284mm in size, there are 240 leaves. Though the text was copied by a single scribe, the illustrations were executed by perhaps as many as three artists. The Ellesmere manuscript is thought to be early in date. It is seen as an important source for efforts to reconstruct Chaucers original text and intentions, though John M. Up until this point the Ellesmere manuscript had been used as the text by several editions, such as that of W. W. Skeat, with variants checked against British Library. The manuscripts scribe has been identified as Adam Pinkhurst, a man employed by Chaucer himself. The same scribe appears to have responsible for writing the Hengwrt Manuscript of the Tales, now considered the earliest, most authoritative. The Ellesmere manuscript is conventionally referred to as El in studies of the Tales, finding Adam, Umaine Today, November–December 2004
18.
Winemaker
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A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in winemaking. Winemakers can also be referred to as oenologists as they study oenology – the science of wine, a vintner is a wine merchant. In some modern use, particularly in American English, the term is used as a synonym for winemaker. The term started to be used in Middle English, when it superseded the earlier term vinter, a vigneron is someone who cultivates a vineyard for winemaking. The word connotes or emphasizes the role that vineyard placement. It is also used when referring to a winemaker from France, vincent of Saragossa is the patron saint of vignerons. A négociant is the French term for a merchant who assembles the produce of smaller growers and winemakers. Négociants buy everything from grapes to grape must to wines in various states of completion, in the case of grapes or must, the négociant performs virtually all the winemaking. If it buys already fermented wine in barrels or en-vrac—basically in bulk containers, it may age the wine further, blend in other wines or simply bottle, the result is sold under the name of the négociant, not the name of the original grape or wine producer. Currently, one of the largest Negociants in the United States and, some négociants have a recognizable house style. It was too expensive for growers to purchase the wine presses, owning only a small portion of a particular high-quality single vineyard meant that a grower often had insufficient wine from a parcel to vinify on its own. Under French inheritance laws, vineyard holdings were split until offspring owned no more than a single row of grapes. Many négociants are also vineyard owners in their own right, in Burgundy for instance, négociants as Bouchard Père et Fils and Faiveley are among the largest owners of vineyards. Oenology Vignerons indépendants de France Viticulture Winemaking cooperative Winery
19.
Ipswich
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Ipswich is the county town of Suffolk, England, located on the estuary of the River Orwell, about 60 miles north east of London. The town has been occupied since the Saxon period. It has also known as Gyppewicus and Yppswyche. Ipswich is one of Englands oldest towns, if not the oldest, the claim has also been made of the Essex town of Colchester, but that town was abandoned for some time, leaving Ipswich to claim to be the oldest continuously inhabited town in England. Under the Roman empire, the area around Ipswich formed an important route inland to towns and settlements via the rivers Orwell. A large Roman fort, part of the defences of Britain, stood at Walton near Felixstowe. The modern town took shape in Anglo-Saxon times around Ipswich dock, gipeswic ) arose as the equivalent to these, serving the Kingdom of East Anglia, its early imported wares dating to the time of King Rædwald, supreme ruler of the English. The famous ship-burial and treasure at Sutton Hoo nearby is probably his grave, the Ipswich Museum houses replicas of the Roman Mildenhall and Sutton Hoo treasures. A gallery devoted to the towns origins includes Anglo-Saxon weapons, jewellery, the 7th-century town was centred near the quay. Towards 700 AD, Frisian potters from the Netherlands area settled in Ipswich and their wares were traded far across England, and the industry was unique to Ipswich for 200 years. With growing prosperity, in about 720 AD a large new part of the town was out in the Buttermarket area. Ipswich was becoming a place of national and international importance, parts of the ancient road plan still survive in its modern streets. After the invasion of 869 Ipswich fell under Viking rule, the earth ramparts circling the town centre were probably raised by Vikings in Ipswich around 900 to prevent its recapture by the English. The town operated a mint under royal licence from King Edgar in the 970s, the abbreviation Gipes appears on the coins. King John granted the town its first charter in 1200, laying the foundations of its modern civil government. In the next four centuries it made the most of its wealth, Five large religious houses, including two Augustinian Priories, and those of the Greyfriars, Ipswich Whitefriars and Ipswich Blackfriars, stood in medieval Ipswich. The last Carmelite Prior of Ipswich was the celebrated John Bale, there were also several hospitals, including the leper hospital of St Mary Magdalene, founded before 1199. During the Middle Ages the Marian Shrine of Our Lady of Grace was a pilgrimage destination
20.
Moneyer
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A moneyer is a private individual who is officially permitted to mint money. Usually the rights to coin money are bestowed as a concession by a state or government, Moneyers have a long tradition, dating back at least to ancient Greece. They became most prominent in the Roman Republic, and continued into the Empire, Moneyers were not limited to the ancient world. When European coinage was revived during the Middle Ages, moneyers again were trusted to create currency on behalf of kings, for a large part of that era, virtually all coins in circulation were silver pennies, and these often bore the name or other identification of the moneyer. In the Roman Republic, moneyers were called tresviri aere argento auro flando feriundo and this was a board of the college of the vigintisexviri. The title was sometimes abbreviated III and these men were collectively known as the tresviri monetales or sometimes, less correctly, as the triumviri monetales. In English, they are sometimes called mint magistrates. It was thought by Niebuhr that they were introduced at the time when the Romans first began to coin silver, in 269 BC and it is known that a college of three was in existence ca 150 BC. A fourth magistrate was added by Julius Caesar in 44 BC during a time when the mint output was particularly large and these magistrates were responsible for the production of the Roman coinage. They were not simple mint workers, they were officials who controlled the process, some coins appear to have been special issues bearing the legend S C or EX S. C. Some of these special issues do not bear the signature of a triumvir monetalis, X. FL. i. e. curator denariorum flandorum, or are signed by praetors, aediles, or quaestors. In any case, the control of the legend on the coinage lent itself to the production of coins containing political messages. This was self-advertising to further the career of the moneyers themselves or that of their patrons, in a word. This article incorporates text from Smith 1875, which is in the public domain, Roman currency Roman Republic Roman Republican coinage Vigintisexviri Babelon, Ernest. Description historique et chronologique des monnaies de la république romaine,2 Volumes Broughton, the Magistrates of the Roman Republic, American Philological Association,3 Volumes. Volume II Philological Monographs Number XV,1952, the Authority to Coin in the Late Republic and Early Empire, Numismatic Chronicle, Seventh Series 17 pp. 37–63. Coinage in the Roman World, Seaby, ISBN 0-900652-85-3 Crawford, Michael H. Roman Republican Coinage, Cambridge University Press,2 Volumes. ISBN 0-521-07492-4 Grierson, Philip & Philip Raymond, Blackburn, Mark, medieval European Coinage, The Early Middle Ages
21.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
22.
William Langland
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William Langland is the presumed author of a work of Middle English alliterative poetry, generally known as Piers Plowman, an allegory with a complex variety of religious themes. Piers Plowman translated the language and concepts of the closter into symbols, in general, the language of the poem is simple and colloquial, and some of the author’s imagery is powerful and direct. Additionally, the device known as dream-vision is used in Langlands Piers Plowman. The attribution of Piers to Langland rests principally on the evidence of a manuscript held at Trinity College, Dublin. This manuscript directly ascribes Piers Plowman to one Willielmi de Langland, son of Stacy de Rokayle, who died in Shipton-under-Wychwood, other manuscripts name the author as Robert or William Langland, or Wilhelms W. The poem itself also seems to point towards Langlands authorship, at one stage the narrator remarks, I have lived in Londen. my name is longe wille. This can be taken as a reference to the poets name. Although there is other evidence, Langlands authorship has been widely accepted since the 1920s. It is not, however, entirely beyond dispute, as recent work by Stella Pates, almost nothing is known of Langland himself. It seems that he was born in the West Midlands of England in 1330, Langlands narrator received his first vision while sleeping in the Malvern Hills, which suggests some level of attachment to the area. The dialect of the poem is consistent with this part of the country. There is an indication that Langland died c. According to Edith Rickert, Johan But himself seems to have died in 1387, most of what is known about the poet must be reconstructed from Piers itself. However, it is probable that the content of episode was not strictly literal. Further details can be inferred from the poem, but these are also problematic, the poem shows no obvious bias towards any particular group or order of churchmen, but is rather even-handed in its anticlericalism, attacking the regular and secular clergy indiscriminately. This makes it difficult to align Langland with any specific order and he is probably best regarded, as John Bowers writes, as a member of that sizable group of unbeneficed clerks who formed the radical fringe of contemporary society. The poorly shod Will is portrayed y-robed in russet traveling about the countryside, malcolm Godden has proposed that he lived as an itinerant hermit, attaching himself to a patron temporarily, exchanging writing services for shelter and food. It is true that Langland and Wyclif shared many concerns, both questioned the value of indulgences and pilgrimage, promoted the use of the vernacular in preaching, attacked clerical corruption, and even advocated disendowment
23.
Pearl Poet
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The Pearl Poet, or the Gawain Poet, is the name given to the author of Pearl, an alliterative poem written in 14th-century Middle English. Its author appears also to have written the poems Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Patience, save for the last, all these works are known from a single surviving manuscript, the British Library holding Cotton Nero A. x. This body of work includes some of the most well-regarded poetry written in Middle English, some scholarship has argued to assign the poem to one John Massey, a member of the landed gentry from Cheshire. This attribution of the poems of Cotton Nero A. x is not widely accepted, however, reflected in the ongoing use of the labels Pearl Poet or Gawain Poet. All four poems of the Cotton Nero A. x manuscript are in the same Middle English dialect, localised to the area of north-western Staffordshire and south-eastern Cheshire, in the English Midlands. This may merely indicate the dialect of the responsible for copying the poems. Any other information must be deduced from the themes, as there is neither a definite authorial attribution within them nor any tradition as to the authors identity. However, the writer of the Cotton Nero A, despite this, the Pearl Poet must have been educated and probably of a certain social standing, perhaps a member of a family of landed gentry. J. R. R. Tolkien and E. V, the Pearl Poet began writing during a time that newly emerging English literature and language was beginning to take hold. This new literature drew upon three older traditions which were Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, and continental, the poets writing was also influenced by contemporary political and social surroundings during the 14th century. Enough features survive, however, that even those people unable to read the poems in the translation are able to profit from the knowledge of the verse forms. In Latin, Purity, Patience, and Pearl show the Pearl Poets knowledge of the Vulgate Bible, in Pearl, the poet shows clear knowledge of not only the Apocalypse of St. John, but also many other parts of the Bible. It is possible that the poet consulted Latin commentaries on the Apocalypse, what most interested the poet, however, was the literal sense of Biblical sources as opposed to their typological or allegorical significance. Pearl also shows the poets understanding of mystical theology, there is no need to suggest any extraordinary learning on the poets part, most of the devotional writings were widely and easily understood. It is difficult to find evidence that the shared knowledge of classical poets, such as Virgil and Ovid. The chronology of the revival in which these works are a significant part of cannot be established with any precision. It is assumed that the revival began in the south-west midlands, while Cheshire monasteries were not as well endowed as those in the south-west midlands, they would have included the main Latin works used as sources by the alliterative poets. Dating the works written by the Gawain-poet is most problematic because the works could have written as early as the 1360s or as late as the manuscript itself
24.
Elizabeth de Burgh, 4th Countess of Ulster
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Elizabeth de Burgh, Duchess of Clarence, suo jure 4th Countess of Ulster and 5th Baroness of Connaught was a Norman-Irish noblewoman who married Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence. Elizabeth was born at Carrickfergus Castle near Belfast, Ireland, the child of William Donn de Burgh, 3rd Earl of Ulster and Maud of Lancaster. She was the last of the legitimate line of the descendants of William de Burgh. Her paternal grandparents were John de Burgh and Elizabeth de Clare, upon Williams murder on 6 June 1333 she became the sole legal heir to all the de Burgh lands in Ireland. As Countess of Ulster she was raised in England and married Lionel of Antwerp and he was the second son of Edward III of England and his queen consort Philippa of Hainault. The couple had one child, Philippa, born on 16 August 1355, Philippa, who succeeded as Countess of Ulster, married Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March in 1368. Both their titles passed to their son Roger Mortimer, and eventually through their granddaughter Anne de Mortimer, the House of York would base its claim to the English throne on their descent from Lionel of Antwerp. Elizabeth died in Dublin in 1363 during her husbands term as Governor of Ireland and she is buried in Clare Priory, Suffolk, England. Britains Royal Families, The Complete Genealogy
25.
Earl of Ulster
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The title of Earl of Ulster has been created several times in the Peerage of Ireland and Peerage of the United Kingdom. Currently, the title is a title of the Duke of Gloucester. Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland. Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence, jure uxoris Earl of Ulster Philippa, Countess of March, 5th Countess of Ulster, lord of the Glens Twescard Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Ulster, Earls of
26.
Lionel of Antwerp, 1st Duke of Clarence
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He was named for his birthplace, at Antwerp in the Duchy of Brabant. Prince Lionel was born of a Flemish mother and was a grandson of William I and he grew to be nearly seven feet in height and had an athletic build. He was called Earl of Ulster from 1347, having been named as his fathers representative in England in 1345 and again in 1346, Lionel joined an expedition into France in 1355, but his chief energies were reserved for the affairs of Ireland. His efforts to secure an effective authority over his Irish lands were only moderately successful, after holding a parliament at Kilkenny, which passed the celebrated Statute of Kilkenny in 1366, he dropped the task in disgust and returned to England. The poet Geoffrey Chaucer was at one time a page in Lionels household, after Lionels first wife Elizabeth died in 1363, a second marriage was arranged with Violante Visconti, daughter of Galeazzo Visconti, lord of Pavia. Journeying to fetch his bride, Lionel was received in great state both in France and Italy and was married to Violante at Milan in June 1368. Some months were spent in festivities, during which Lionel was taken ill at Alba. There was strong speculation at the time that he had been poisoned by his father-in-law, Lionel had only one child, Philippa, daughter of his first wife Elizabeth. In 1368 she married Edmund Mortimer, 3rd Earl of March and their granddaughter and eventual heir, Anne Mortimer, married into the Yorkist branch of the English royal family and was the mother of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. The House of York based its claim to the English throne on this line of descent from Lionel, Lionel was the ancestor of Kings Edward IV, Edward V, Richard III and all later British monarchs beginning with Henry VIII. Ormrod, W. M. Lionel, duke of Clarence, attribution This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Clarence, Dukes of s. v
27.
Edward III of England
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Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
28.
Hundred Years' War
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Each side drew many allies into the war. It was one of the most notable conflicts of the Middle Ages, the war marked both the height of chivalry and its subsequent decline, and the development of strong national identities in both countries. After the Norman Conquest, the kings of England were vassals of the kings of France for their possessions in France, the French kings had endeavored, over the centuries, to reduce these possessions, to the effect that only Gascony was left to the English. Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Charles IV of France, in 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, the French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess. Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crecy, Poitiers, however, the greater resources of the French monarchy precluded a complete conquest. Historians commonly divide the war into three separated by truces, the Edwardian Era War, the Caroline War, and the Lancastrian War. Later historians adopted the term Hundred Years War as a historiography periodization to encompass all of these events, the war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been replaced by professional troops. Although primarily a conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, the war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, the root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic and political crises of 14th century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a rise in tension between the Kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders and Scotland. The dynastic question, which due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext. The question of succession to the French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis X left only a daughter, and his posthumous son John I lived only a few days, Philip, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis X, asserted that women were ineligible to succeed to the French throne. Through his political sagacity he won over his adversaries and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V of France, by the same law that he procured, his daughters were denied the succession, which passed to his younger brother, Charles IV, in 1322
29.
History of the British Army
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The history of the British Army spans over three and a half centuries since its founding in 1660 and involves numerous European wars, colonial wars and world wars. As of 2015, there were 92,000 professionals in the army and 20,480 Volunteer Reserves. Britain has generally maintained only a regular army during peacetme, expanding this as required in time of war. The British Army has been involved in international conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars. Historically, it contributed to the expansion and retention of the British Empire, the British Army has long been at the forefront of new military developments. It was the first in the world to develop and deploy the tank, at the same time the British Army emphasises the continuity and longevity of several of its institutions and military tradition. The English Army was first established as a military force in 1660. In 1707 many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command. Stuart Asquith argues for roots before 1660, Many authorities quote the Restoration of 1660 as the date of our modern British Army. While this may be true as far as continuity of identity is concerned. The evidence of history shows that the creation of an efficient military machine and its proving on the battlefield and it was on the fields of Naseby, Dunbar and Dunes that the foundations of the British professional army were laid. The New Model Army was the first full-time professional army raised within the three kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland and it was created in 1645 by the English Long Parliament and it proved supreme in field. At the end of the First Civil War the New Model Army survived attempts by Parliament to disband it, winston Churchill described its prowess thus, The Story of the Second English Civil War is short and simple. Having survived Parliaments attempts to disband it, the New Model Army prospered as an institution during the Interregnum and it was disbanded in 1660 with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. At his restoration Charles II sought to create a standing army made up of some former Royalist. For political expediency he also included elements of the New Model Army. The whole force consisted of two corps of horse and five or six of infantry and it is, however, on this narrow and solid basis that the structure of the English army was gradually erected. The horse consisted of two regiments the Life Guards, and The Blues, formed by Lord Oxford, out of some of the best New Model Army horse regiments, the foot regiments were Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queens Royals
30.
Reims
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Reims, a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants in the city of Reims proper and its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by the Gauls, it became a city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims housed the Holy Ampulla containing the Saint Chrême and it was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings. Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in both its region and department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital and prefecture of both. Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims, founded circa 80 BC as *Durocorteron, at its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000 -50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the bishopric of Reims, for centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule. Meetings of Pope Stephen II with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III with Charlemagne, took place at Reims, Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. Louis VII gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, by the 10th century Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon, seconded by the monk Gerbert, founded schools which taught the liberal arts. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax, during the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League, but submitted to Henri IV after the battle of Ivry. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international meet, the Grande Semaine dAviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated, hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral, from the end of World War I to the present day an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued. The Palace of Tau, St Jacques Church and the Abbey of St Remi also were protected and restored, the collection of preserved buildings and Roman ruins remains monumentally impressive. During World War II the city suffered additional damage, but in Reims, at 2,41 on the morning of 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht
31.
Flanders
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Flanders is the Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium, although there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, language, politics and history. It is one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, the demonym associated with Flanders is Fleming, while the corresponding adjective is Flemish. The official capital of Flanders is Brussels, although Brussels itself has an independent regional government, in historical contexts, Flanders originally refers to the County of Flanders, which around AD1000 stretched from the Strait of Dover to the Scheldt estuary. In accordance with late 20th century Belgian state reforms the area was made two political entities, the Flemish Community and the Flemish Region. These entities were merged, although geographically the Flemish Community, which has a cultural mandate, covers Brussels. Flanders has figured prominently in European history, as a consequence, a very sophisticated culture developed, with impressive achievements in the arts and architecture, rivaling those of northern Italy. Belgium was one of the centres of the 19th century industrial revolution, geographically, Flanders is generally flat, and has a small section of coast on the North Sea. Much of Flanders is agriculturally fertile and densely populated, with a density of almost 500 people per square kilometer. It touches France to the west near the coast, and borders the Netherlands to the north and east, the Brussels Capital Region is an enclave within the Flemish Region. Flanders has exclaves of its own, Voeren in the east is between Wallonia and the Netherlands and Baarle-Hertog in the consists of 22 exclaves surrounded by the Netherlands. It comprises 6.5 million Belgians who consider Dutch to be their mother tongue, the political subdivisions of Belgium, the Flemish Region and the Flemish Community. The first does not comprise Brussels, whereas the latter does comprise the Dutch-speaking inhabitants of Brussels, the political institutions that govern both subdivisions, the operative body Flemish Government and the legislative organ Flemish Parliament. The two westernmost provinces of the Flemish Region, West Flanders and East Flanders, forming the central portion of the historic County of Flanders, a feudal territory that existed from the 8th century until its absorption by the French First Republic. Until the 1600s, this county also extended over parts of France, one of the regions conquered by the French in Flanders, namely French Flanders in the Nord department. French Flanders can be divided into two regions, Walloon Flanders and Maritime Flanders. The first region was predominantly French-speaking already in the 1600s, the latter became so in the 20th century, the city of Lille identifies itself as Flemish, and this is reflected, for instance, in the name of its local railway station TGV Lille Flandres. The region conquered by the Dutch Republic in Flanders, now part of the Dutch province of Zeeland, the significance of the County of Flanders and its counts eroded through time, but the designation remained in a very broad sense. In the Early modern period, the term Flanders was associated with the part of the Low Countries
32.
Santiago de Compostela
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Santiago de Compostela, commonly known as Santiago, is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the cathedral, as destination of the Way of St. James. In 1985 the citys Old Town was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Santiago is the local Galician evolution of Vulgar Latin Sanctus Iacobus Saint James. Other etymologies derive the name from Latin compositum, local Vulgar Latin Composita Tella, meaning ground, or simply from Latin compositella. Other sites in Galicia share this toponym, akin to Compostilla in the province of León, the cathedral borders the main plaza of the old and well-preserved city. Legend has it that the remains of the apostle James were brought to Galicia for burial, in 813, according to medieval legend, the light of a bright star guided a shepherd who was watching his flock at night to the burial site in Santiago de Compostela. The shepherd quickly reported his discovery to the bishop of Iria, the bishop declared that the remains were those of the apostle James and immediately notified King Alfonso II in Oviedo. To honour St. James, the cathedral was built on the spot where his remains were said to have been found, along the western side of the Praza do Obradoiro is the elegant 18th century Pazo de Raxoi, now the city hall. The Obradoiro façade of the cathedral, the best known, is depicted on the Spanish euro coins of 1 cent,2 cents, Santiago is the site of the University of Santiago de Compostela, established in the early 16th century. The main campus can be seen best from an alcove in the municipal park in the centre of the city. Within the old town there are many narrow winding streets full of historic buildings, the new town all around it has less character though some of the older parts of the new town have some big flats in them. Santiago de Compostela has a substantial nightlife, both in the new town and the old town, a mix of middle-aged residents and younger students maintain a lively presence until the early hours of the morning. Santiago gives its name to one of the four orders of Spain, Santiago, Calatrava, Alcántara. One of the most important economic centres in Galicia, Santiago is the seat for organisations like Association for Equal, under the Köppen climate classification, Santiago de Compostela has a temperate oceanic climate, with mild to warm and somewhat dry summers and mild, wet winters. The prevailing winds from the Atlantic and the surrounding mountains combine to give Santiago some of Spain’s highest rainfall, about 1,545 millimetres annually. The climate is mild, frosts are common only in December, January and February, with an average of just 8 days per year, while snow is rare, temperatures over 30 °C are exceptional. The population of the city in 2012 was 95,671 inhabitants, in 2010 there were 4,111 foreigners living in the city, representing 4. 3% of the total population. The main nationalities are Brazilians, Portuguese and Colombians, by language, according to 2008 data, 21% of the population always speak in Galician, 15% always speak in Spanish and the rest use both interchangeably
33.
Philippa of Hainault
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Philippa of Hainault was Queen of England as the wife of King Edward III. Edward, Duke of Guyenne, her husband, promised in 1326 to marry her within the following two years. She was married to Edward, first by proxy, when Edward dispatched the Bishop of Coventry to marry her in his name in Valenciennes in October 1327. The marriage was celebrated formally in York Minster on 24 January 1328, in August 1328, he also fixed his wifes dower. Philippa acted as regent in 1346, when her husband was away from his kingdom, and she accompanied him on his expeditions to Scotland, France. This popularity helped maintain peace in England throughout Edwards long reign, the eldest of her fourteen children was Edward, the Black Prince, who became a renowned military leader. Philippa died at the age of fifty-five from a closely related to edema. The Queens College, Oxford was founded in her honour and she was one of eight children and the second of five daughters. Her eldest sister Margaret married the German king Louis IV in 1324, williams counties of Zealand and Holland as well as of the seigniory of Frieze were devolved to Margaret after agreement between Philippa and her sister. Edward III of England, however, in 1364–65, in the name of his wife Philippa, demanded the return of Hainaut and he was not successful, as it was the custom in these regions to favour male heirs. King Edward II had decided that an alliance with Flanders would benefit England, the bishops report to the king describes one of the counts daughters in detail. A later annotation says it describes Philippa as a child, the description runs, The lady whom we saw has not uncomely hair, betwixt blue-black and brown. Her head is clean-shaped, her high and broad. Her face narrows between the eyes, and the part of her face is still more narrow and slender than her forehead. Her eyes are blackish-brown and deep and her nose is fairly smooth and even, save that it is somewhat broad at the tip and also flattened, and yet it is no snub-nose. Her nostrils are broad, her mouth fairly wide. Her lips somewhat full, and especially the lower lip and her teeth which have fallen and grown again are white enough, but the rest are not so white. The lower teeth project a little beyond the upper, yet this is and her ears and chin are comely enough
34.
Katherine Swynford
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Katherine Swynford, Duchess of Lancaster, was the third wife of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, a son of King Edward III. She had been the Dukes lover for years before their marriage. The couples children, born before the marriage, were later legitimated during the reign of the Dukes nephew, Richard II. When the Dukes son from his first marriage overthrew Richard, becoming Henry IV and their descendants were members of the Beaufort family, which played a major role in the Wars of the Roses. Henry VII, who became King of England in 1485, derived his claim to the throne from his mother Margaret Beaufort, Katherine was the daughter of Paon de Roet, a herald, and later knight, who was probably christened as Gilles. She had two sisters, Philippa and Isabel de Roet, and a brother, Walter, Isabel later became Canoness of the convent of St. Waudrus, Mons, c. Katherine is generally held to have been his youngest child, however, Alison Weir argues that Philippa was the junior and that both were children of a second marriage. Katherines sister Philippa, a lady in the household of Philippa of Hainault. She was probably born in Hainaut in 1349 or 1350, Katherines birth date may have been 25 November, as that is the feast day of her patron, St. Catherine of Alexandria. She had the children by him, Blanche, Thomas. Katherine became attached to the household of John of Gaunt as governess to his daughters Philippa of Lancaster, on 13 January 1396, two years after the death of the Dukes second wife, Infanta Constance of Castile, Katherine and John of Gaunt married in Lincoln Cathedral. On John of Gaunts death, Katherine became known as dowager Duchess of Lancaster and she outlived him by four years, dying on 10 May 1403, in her early fifties. Katherines tomb and that of her daughter, Joan Beaufort, are under a canopy in the sanctuary of Lincoln Cathedral. A hurried drawing by William Dugdale records their appearance, Sir Thomas Swynford, born in Lincoln while his father Sir Hugh Swynford was away on a campaign with the Duke of Lancaster in Castile fighting for Peter of Castile. Blanche Swynford, named after the Duchess of Lancaster and a godchild of John of Gaunt, in 1846 Thomas Stapleton suggested that there was a further daughter named Dorothy Swynford, born c. 1366, who married Thomas Thimelby of Poolham near Horncastle, Lincolnshire, Sheriff of Lincolnshire in 1380 and their four children had been given the surname Beaufort and with the approval of King Richard II and the Pope were legitimated as adults by their parents marriage in 1396. John Beaufort also had a daughter named Joan Beaufort, who married James I of Scotland and it was also through Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmoreland that the sixth queen of Henry VIII, Catherine Parr, descended. John of Gaunts son — Katherines stepson Henry of Bolingbroke — became Henry IV after deposing Richard II, John of Gaunts child by his second wife Constance, Catherine, was great-grandmother of Catherine of Aragon as well
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John of Gaunt
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John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, KG was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the third of five surviving sons of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. He was called John of Gaunt because he was born in Ghent, when he became unpopular later in life, scurrilous rumours and lampoons circulated that he was actually the son of a Ghent butcher, perhaps because Edward III was not present at the birth. This story always drove him to fury, due to some generous land grants, John was one of the richest men in his era. John of Gaunts legitimate male heirs, the Lancasters, include Kings Henry IV, Henry V and his other legitimate descendants include his daughters Queen Philippa of Portugal and Elizabeth, Duchess of Exeter, and Queen Catherine of Castile. John fathered five children outside marriage, one early in life by a lady-in-waiting to his mother, the children of Katherine Swynford, surnamed Beaufort, were legitimised by royal and papal decrees after John and Katherine married in 1396. Through his daughter Philippa, he was grandfather of King Edward of Portugal, through John II of Castiles great-granddaughter Joanna the Mad, John of Gaunt is also an ancestor of the Habsburg rulers who would reign in Spain and much of central Europe. When John of Gaunt died in 1399, his estates and titles were declared forfeit to the crown, since King Richard II had named Henry a traitor, Henry Bolingbroke returned from exile to reclaim his inheritance and depose Richard. Bolingbroke then reigned as King Henry IV of England, the first of the descendants of John of Gaunt to hold the throne of England, John was the fourth son of King Edward III of England. His first wife, Blanche of Lancaster, was also his third cousin and they married in 1359 at Reading Abbey as a part of the efforts of Edward III to arrange matches for his sons with wealthy heiresses. He also became the 14th Baron of Halton and 11th Lord of Bowland, John inherited the rest of the Lancaster property when Blanches sister Maud, Countess of Leicester, died without issue on 10 April 1362. John received the title Duke of Lancaster from his father on 13 November 1362, by then well established, he owned at least thirty castles and estates across England and France and maintained a household comparable in scale and organisation to that of a monarch. He owned land in almost every county in England, a patrimony that produced a net income of between £8,000 and £10,000 a year, however, Johns ascendancy to political power coincided with widespread resentment of his influence. Although he fought in the Battle of Nájera, for example, when Edward III died in 1377 and Johns ten-year-old nephew succeeded as Richard II of England, Johns influence strengthened. However, mistrust remained, and some suspected him of wanting to seize the throne himself, John took pains to ensure that he never became associated with the opposition to Richards kingship. As de facto ruler during Richards minority, he made unwise decisions on taxation that led to the Peasants Revolt in 1381, when the rebels destroyed his home in London, the Savoy Palace. Unlike some of Richards unpopular advisors, John was away from London at the time of the uprising and thus avoided the direct wrath of the rebels. In 1386 John left England to seek the throne of Castile, claimed in Jure uxoris by right of his wife, Constance of Castile. However, crisis ensued almost immediately in his absence, and in 1387 King Richards misrule brought England to the brink of civil war
36.
Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)
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The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdoms lower chamber of Parliament. The office is held by John Bercow, who was initially elected on 22 June 2009. He was returned as an MP in the 2010 general election and was re-elected as Speaker when the House sat at the start of the new Parliament on 18 May 2010. He was again returned as an MP in the 2015 general election and was re-elected, unopposed, the Speaker presides over the Houses debates, determining which members may speak. The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, the Speaker does not take part in debate or vote. Aside from duties relating to presiding over the House, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, the Speaker has the right and obligation to reside in Speakers House at the Palace of Westminster. The office of Speaker is almost as old as Parliament itself, the earliest year for which a presiding officer has been identified is 1258, when Peter de Montfort presided over the Parliament held in Oxford. Early presiding officers were known by the title parlour or prolocutor, Edward III was frail and in seclusion, his prestigious eldest son, Edward the Black Prince, terminally ill. It was left to the son, a furious John of Gaunt. He arrested De la Mare and disgraced other leading critics, in the next, Bad Parliament, in 1377, a cowed Commons put forward Gaunts steward, Thomas Hungerford, as their spokesman in retracting their predecessors misdoings of the previous year. On 6 October 1399, Sir John Cheyne of Beckford was elected speaker, the powerful Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Arundel, is said to have voiced his fears of Cheynes reputation as a critic of the Church. Eight days later, Cheyne resigned on grounds of ill-health, although he remained in favour with the king, in such a situation, the influence of the speaker should not be underestimated. Sir Thomas More was the first speaker to go on to become Lord Chancellor, until the 17th century, members of the House of Commons often continued to view their Speaker as an agent of the Crown. As Parliament evolved, however, the Speakers position grew into one that involved more duties to the House than to the Crown, such was definitely the case by the time of the English Civil War. This change is said to be reflected by an incident in 1642. The development of Cabinet government under King William III in the late 17th century caused further change in the nature of the Speakership, Speakers were generally associated with the ministry, and often held other government offices. For example, Robert Harley served simultaneously as Speaker and as a Secretary of State between 1704 and 1705, the Speaker between 1728 and 1761, Arthur Onslow, reduced ties with the government, though the office did remain to a large degree political. The Speakership evolved into its modern form—in which the holder is an impartial and apolitical officer who does not belong to any party—only during the middle of the 19th century, over 150 individuals have served as Speaker of the House of Commons
37.
Alice Chaucer, Duchess of Suffolk
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Alice de la Pole, Duchess of Suffolk was a granddaughter of the English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Married three times, she became a Lady of the Most Noble Order of the Garter. Alice was born Alice Chaucer, daughter to Thomas Chaucer and Matilda Burghersh and her grandfather was the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, writer of The Canterbury Tales. When she was 11 she married Sir John Philip, the couple lived briefly at Donnington Castle, but Sir John died within a year. Sir John, also entitled Lord Dennington, had married Maud, Sir John lived at Caldwall Castle during his marriage to Maud and upon her death married Alice Chaucer. Sir John, a personal friend of Henry V, died of dysentery after the successful 22 September 1415 capture of the fortress of Harfleur in Normandy. Sir John is buried at St. Marys Church in Kidderminster, later, after 1421, Alice married Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. Finally, in 1430, she married William de la Pole, Earl and later Duke of Suffolk, William became constable of Wallingford Castle in 1434. Alice was a lady-in-waiting to Margaret of Anjou in 1445, Alice could be both ruthless and acquisitive in pursuit of her son, Johns, inheritance. In 1437, the Duke constructed the Gods House at Ewelme, but after her husbands execution she took back much of her friends, Margaret Pastons, manors in Norfolk, with dubious title deeds. The Pastons grew to loathe this Yorkist family, notorious for their corruption, in 1450, William was impeached by the Commons in Parliament, but Henry VI intervened to exile his favourite rather than have him tried by the Lords. On his way across the Channel his vessel was intercepted by The Nicholas of the Tower whose crew subjected him to a trial, after which he was beheaded. After William was killed, his properties, including the castle and Honour of Wallingford and St Valery and she lent the Crown 3500 Marks and the king spared the family from attainder of title. She survived many challenges to her position, including a trial in 1451. Whilst she had benefited from Lancastrian connections, she switched to supporting the House of York during the Wars of the Roses, in 1455 she was custodian of the Duke of Exeter at the castle. She was officially castellan at Wallingford until at least 1471 and possibly until her death in 1475, in 1472, Alice became custodian of Margaret of Anjou, her former friend and patron. A wealthy landowner, Alice de la Pole held land in 22 counties and she is buried in an elaborate church monument incorporating a Cadaver tomb at St Marys Church, Ewelme. Her effigy was examined by Queen Victorias commissioners in order to discover how a lady should wear the Order of the Garter, Alices son, John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk, married Elizabeth, the second surviving daughter of Richard of York and Cecily Neville
38.
William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk
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William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, KG, was an English commander in the Hundred Years War and Lord High Admiral of England from 1447 until 1450. He also appears prominently in William Shakespeares Henry VI, Part 1 and Henry VI, already holder of the title Earl of Suffolk, he was granted the additional titles Marquess of Suffolk, Earl of Pembroke and Duke of Suffolk. William de la Pole was born at Cotton, Suffolk, the son of Michael, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, and Katherine de Stafford, daughter of Hugh, Earl of Stafford, KG. Almost continually engaged in the wars in France, he was wounded during the Siege of Harfleur. Later that year his older brother Michael, 3rd Earl of Suffolk, was killed at the Battle of Agincourt and he became co-commander of the English forces at the Siege of Orléans, after the death of Thomas, Earl of Salisbury. When that city was relieved by Joan of Arc in 1429 and he remained a prisoner of Charles VII of France for three years, and was ransomed in 1431. After his return to the Kingdom of England in 1434 he was made Constable of Wallingford Castle and he became a courtier and close ally of Cardinal Henry Beaufort. His most notable accomplishment in this period was negotiating the marriage of King Henry VI with Margaret of Anjou in 1444 and this earned him a promotion from Earl to Marquess of Suffolk. However, a clause was put in the agreement which gave Maine and Anjou back to France. With the deaths in 1447 of Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester and Cardinal Beaufort, Suffolk became the power behind the throne of the weak. In short order he was appointed Chamberlain, Admiral of England and he was created Earl of Pembroke in 1447, and Duke of Suffolk in 1448. However, Suffolk was later suspected of being a traitor, on 16 July he met in secret with Jean, Count de Dunois, at his mansion of the Rose in Candlewick street. The first of several meetings in London, they planned a French invasion, Suffolk passed Council minutes to Dunois, the French hero of the Siege of Orleans. It was rumoured that Suffolk never paid his ransom of £20,000 owed to Dunois, Lord Treasurer, Ralph Cromwell, wanted heavy taxes from Suffolk, the dukes powerful enemies included John Paston and Sir John Fastolf. Many blamed Suffolks retainers for lawlessness in East Anglia, the following three years saw the near-complete loss of the English possessions in northern France. Suffolk could not avoid taking the blame for failures, partly because of the loss of Maine. On 28 January 1450 he was arrested, imprisoned in the Tower of London, the king intervened to protect his favourite, who was banished for five years, but on his journey to Calais his ship was intercepted by the Nicholas of the Tower. Suffolk was captured, subjected to a trial, and executed by beheading
39.
John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln
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John de la Pole, 1st Earl of Lincoln was a leading figure in the Yorkist aristocracy during the Wars of the Roses. After the death of his uncle Richard III, de la Pole was reconciled with the new Tudor regime and he sought to place Lambert Simnel on the throne, claiming that Simnel was in fact his cousin Edward, Earl of Warwick. Whether or not de la Pole intended to take the throne for himself if he were successful is not known and he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Stoke in 1487. John de la Pole was the eldest son of John de la Pole, 2nd Duke of Suffolk and Elizabeth of York and his father was the son of Alice Chaucer, granddaughter of Geoffrey Chaucer. His mother was the child and third daughter born to Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York. He was thus the nephew of the Yorkist kings Edward IV of England, johns uncle Edward IV made him Earl of Lincoln in 1467. After King Edwards death, de la Pole became a supporter of his uncle Richard III. He was given revenues of about 500 pounds a year, and was appointed president of the Council of the North, during the last year of Richards reign, Lincoln seems to have been designated heir to the throne, though he was never publicly proclaimed as such. Edward, Earl of Warwick would have had a claim but was attainted after his father, George, Duke of Clarence, was found guilty of treason against his brother, Edward IV. Richard made important land grants to Lincoln and, significantly, granted him the revenues of the Duchy of Cornwall, traditionally given to the heir. After Richards defeat at the Battle of Bosworth Field on 22 August 1485, Lincoln was reconciled with the new king, Henry VII, a clergyman named Symonds introduced him to his protegé, Lambert Simnel, who bore a resemblance to Edward, Earl of Warwick. The real Edward had been imprisoned in the Tower of London by King Henry, Lincoln decided to promote Edward as the true Yorkist heir, while using Simnel to represent him, thus allowing Lincoln to become the actual leader of the Yorkists. Lincoln travelled to Burgundy to persuade his aunt Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy to finance an expedition to take the throne from Henry. While nominally supporting Simnel, in private, he saw his own accession as the ultimate goal of the enterprise. With an army of mercenaries, Lincoln sailed to Ireland, where he was supported by Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Kildare and this was mainly because the Yorkist kings had allowed Irish self-government with FitzGerald as almost the uncrowned king of Ireland. Simnel was proclaimed king in Ireland and crowned in Dublin as Edward VI, however, the town refused to surrender to Lincoln. This may have been a diversion planned by the Yorkists, lincolns army was, however, repeatedly harassed by Lancastrian cavalry under Sir Edward Woodville. The Yorkists then crossed the river Trent and set up their position at the top of a hill near the village of East Stoke, soon the vanguard of the main Lancastrian army under John de Vere, 13th Earl of Oxford caught up with them
40.
Richard III of England
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Richard III was King of England from 1483 until his death in 1485, at the age of 32, in the Battle of Bosworth Field. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty and his defeat at Bosworth Field, the last decisive battle of the Wars of the Roses, marked the end of the Middle Ages in England. He is the subject of the historical play Richard III by William Shakespeare, when his brother King Edward IV died in April 1483, Richard was named Lord Protector of the realm for Edwards son and successor, the 12-year-old Edward V. As the young king travelled to London from Ludlow, Richard met and escorted him to lodgings in the Tower of London, on 25 June, an assembly of Lords and commoners endorsed the claims. The following day, Richard III began his reign, and he was crowned on 6 July 1483. The young princes were not seen in public after August, and accusations circulated that the boys had been murdered on Richards orders, there were two major rebellions against Richard. The first, in October 1483, was led by allies of Edward IV and Richards former ally, Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham. In August 1485, Henry Tudor and his uncle, Jasper Tudor, Henry Tudor landed in southern Wales with a small contingent of French troops and marched through his birthplace, Pembrokeshire, recruiting soldiers. Henrys force engaged Richards army and defeated it at the Battle of Bosworth Field in Leicestershire, Richard was struck down in the conflict, making him the last English king to die in battle on home soil and the first since Harold Godwinson. Henry then ascended the throne as Henry VII, after the battle Richards corpse was taken to Leicester and buried without pomp. His original tomb monument is believed to have been removed during the Reformation, in 2012, an archaeological excavation was commissioned by the Richard III Society on a city council car park on the site once occupied by Greyfriars Priory Church. Richards remains were reburied in Leicester Cathedral on 26 March 2015 and they returned to England following the defeat of the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton and participated in the coronation of Richards eldest brother as King Edward IV in June 1461. At this time Richard was named Duke of Gloucester and made a Knight of the Garter and Knight of the Bath, by the age of seventeen, he had an independent command. With some interruptions, Richard stayed at Middleham either from late 1461 until early 1465, while at Warwicks estate, he probably met Francis Lovell, a strong supporter later in his life, and Warwicks younger daughter, his future wife Anne Neville. As the relationship between the king and Warwick became strained, Edward IV opposed the match, during Warwicks lifetime, George was the only royal brother to marry one of his daughters, the eldest, Isabel, on 12 July 1469, without the kings permission. George joined his father-in-laws revolt against the king, while Richard remained loyal to Edward, in 1468, Richards sister Margaret had married Charles the Bold, the Duke of Burgundy, and the brothers could expect a welcome there. Although only eighteen years old, Richard played crucial roles in the battles of Barnet, during his adolescence, Richard developed idiopathic scoliosis. Following a decisive Yorkist victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Tewkesbury, Richard married Anne Neville, by the end of 1470 Anne had previously been wedded to Edward of Westminster, only son of Henry VI, to seal her fathers allegiance to the Lancastrian party
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Barking Abbey
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Barking Abbey is a former royal monastery located in Barking, in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. It has been described as one of the most important nunneries in the country, originally established in the 7th century, from the late 10th century the abbey followed the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbey had an endowment and sizable income but suffered severely after 1377, when the River Thames flooded around 720 acres of the abbeys land. Despite this, at the time of the dissolution it was still the third wealthiest nunnery in England, the abbey continued to operate for almost 900 years, until its closure in 1539, as part of King Henry VIIIs Dissolution of the Monasteries. During its existence, the abbey had many notable abbesses including several saints, former queens, the abbess of Barking held precedence over all other abbesses in England. The ruined remains of Barking Abbey now form part of an open space known as Abbey Green. Barking Abbey was one of two founded in the 7th century by Saint Erkenwald. Erkenwald founded Chertsey Abbey for himself, and Barking Abbey for his sister Saint Ethelburga, Erkenwald and Ethelburga were of royal ancestry and were born in the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of Lindsey. It is said Ethelburga chose to become a nun to avoid having to marry King Edwin of Northumbria, however, this seems doubtful and there may have been confusion between Ethelburga and Æthelburh of Kent. Either way, Ethelburgas brother Erkenwald founded Barking Abbey specifically for her, Ethelburga served as the Abbeys first abbess. Saint Hildelitha, a nun brought from abroad to teach Ethelburga, Erkenwald himself would die at the abbey in 693, although his body was taken to Chertsey Abbey for burial. The abbey was endowed by the East Saxon Princes, who came from the Anglo-Saxon Kingdom of the East Saxons/Kingdom of Essex, the abbey was initially dedicated to Saint Mary. However, it was dedicated to both Saint Mary and Saint Ethelburga. Saint Wulfhilda became abbess of Barking Abbey during the 10th century, Wulfhilda had grown up at Wilton Abbey, Wiltshire. King Edgar the Peaceful fell in love with Wulfhilda at Wilton, eventually Edgar tried to entrap Wulfhilda, getting her aunt, Abbess Wenflaeda of Wherwell to fake an illness and summon Wulfhilda, Edgar was the one waiting when Wulfhila arrived. On arriving, Wulfhilda found his fervour so alarming that she fled, leaving her sleeve in his hand, Wulfhilda pursued her ambition and became a nun. King Edgar then created her Abbess of Barking and donated considerable estates to Barking Abbey, Wulfhilda herself donated 20 villages to the abbey and established another monastery at Horton in Kent. King Edgars eventual queen, Ælfthryth became jealous of Wulfhilda, Wulfhilda was later restored by Edgars and Ælfthryths son, King Æthelred the Unready
42.
Henry IV of England
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Henry IV, also known as Henry of Bolingbroke, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1399 to 1413, and asserted the claim of his grandfather, Edward III, to the Kingdom of France. Henry was born at Bolingbroke Castle in Lincolnshire, one of Henrys elder sisters, Philippa of Lancaster, married John I of Portugal, and the other, Elizabeth, was the mother of John Holland, 2nd Duke of Exeter. His younger half-sister Catherine, the daughter of his fathers second wife and he also had four half-siblings by Katherine Swynford, originally his sisters governess, then his fathers longstanding mistress, and later his third wife. These four children were given the surname Beaufort after a castle their father held in Champagne, Henrys relationship with his stepmother, Katherine Swynford, was a positive one, but his relationship with the Beauforts varied. In youth he seems to have close to all of them. His brother-in-law Ralph Neville remained one of his strongest supporters, and so did his eldest half-brother John Beaufort, Thomas Swynford, a son from Katherines first marriage to Sir Hugh Swynford, was another loyal companion. Thomas was Constable of Pontefract Castle, where King Richard II is said to have died, Henrys half-sister Joan Beaufort through his fathers relationship with Katherine Swynford was the grandmother of Edward IV and Richard III. Joan had married Ralph Neville, the 1st Earl of Westmorland, when their daughter Cecily married Richard Plantagenet, the 3rd Duke of York, and had several offspring, including Edward IV and Richard III, Joan became the grandmother of two York kings of England. Henry experienced a rather more inconsistent relationship with King Richard II than his father had, first cousins and childhood playmates, they were admitted together to the Order of the Garter in 1377, but Henry participated in the Lords Appellants rebellion against the king in 1387. After regaining power, Richard did not punish Henry, although he did execute or exile many of the rebellious barons. In fact, Richard elevated Henry from Earl of Derby to Duke of Hereford, Henry spent the full year of 1390 supporting the unsuccessful siege of Vilnius by Teutonic Knights with his 300 fellow knights. During this campaign he bought 300 captured Lithuanian princes and then took them back to England. Henrys second expedition to Lithuania in 1392 illustrates the benefits to the Order of these guest crusaders. His small army consisted of over 100 men, including longbow archers and six minstrels, despite the efforts of Henry and his English crusaders, two years of attacks on Vilnius proved fruitless. In 1392–93 Henry undertook a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, where he made offerings at the Holy Sepulchre, later he vowed to lead a crusade to free Jerusalem from the infidel, but he died before this could be accomplished. The relationship between Henry Bolingbroke and the king met with a second crisis, in 1398, a remark by Bolingbroke regarding Richard IIs rule was interpreted as treason by Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk. The two dukes agreed to undergo a duel of honour at Gosford Green near Caludon Castle, Mowbrays home in Coventry, yet before the duel could take place, Richard II decided to banish Henry from the kingdom to avoid further bloodshed. Mowbray himself was exiled for life, John of Gaunt died in 1399
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Inner Temple
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The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales and it is located in the wider Temple area of the capital, near the Royal Courts of Justice, and within the City of London. The Inn is a body that provides legal training, selection. It is ruled by a council called Parliament, made up of the Masters of the Bench, and led by the Treasurer. The Temple takes its name from the Knights Templar, who leased the land to the Temples inhabitants until their abolition in 1312. The Inner Temple was a society from at least 1388. After a disruptive early period it flourished, becoming the second largest Inn during the Elizabethan period, the Inner Temple expanded during the reigns of James I and Charles I, with 1,700 students admitted between 1600 and 1640. The First English Civil Wars outbreak led to a suspension of legal education. Following the English Restoration the Inner Templars welcomed Charles II back to London personally with a lavish banquet. After a period of decline in the 18th century, the following 100 years saw a restoration of the Temples fortunes, with buildings constructed or restored, such as the Hall. Much of this work was destroyed during The Blitz, when the Hall, Temple, Temple Church, rebuilding was completed in 1959, and today the Temple is a flourishing and active Inn of Court, with over 8,000 members. The Inner Temple is one of the four Inns of Court, along with Grays Inn, Lincolns Inn, and the Middle Temple. The Inns are responsible for training, regulating, and selecting barristers within England and Wales, the Temple is an independent, unincorporated organisation, and works as a trust. It has approximately 8,000 members and around 450 apply to join per year, the original Temple covered much of what is now the northern part of Chancery Lane, which the Knights created to provide access to their new buildings. The old Temple eventually became the London palace of the Bishop of Lincoln, after the Reformation it became the home of the Earl of Southampton, and the location is now named Southampton Buildings. The first group of lawyers came to live here during the 13th century, the Knights fell out of favour, and the order was dissolved in 1312, with the land seized by the king and granted to the Knights Hospitaller. The Hospitallers probably did not live on the property, but rather used it as a source of revenue through rent, during the 12th and 13th centuries, the law was taught in the City of London, primarily by the clergy. As a result, the system of education fell apart
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