1.
Harthacnut I of Denmark
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Harthacnut or Cnut I was a legendary King of Denmark. Along with two of his sons, Gyrd and Gnupa, Harthacnut took the realm by force of arms, Adam reports that they were followed by a Sigtrygg. That Sigtrygg was the son of Gnupa, by a Danish noblewoman named Asfrid, is shown on two runestones near Schleswig, erected by his mother after his death, Harthacnut immediately deposed the young king Sigtrygg, and then ruled unopposed for approximately thirty years. However, the Saxon chronicles of Widukind of Corvey report the defeat, likewise, Olav Tryggvassons Saga tells of Gnupas defeat by Gorm the Old. Some historians have taken these as indications that Sigtryggs father Gnupa still ruled at least part of Denmark much later than credited by Adam of Bremen, the only primary source about Harthacnut of Denmark are two clauses from Adam of Bremen. 1,52 reads, king Sveins son, Hardegon in the oldest manuscript which was changed to king Sveins son, Harthacnut but also changed to king Sveins son. 1,55 says Hardecnudth Vurm, a name not uncommon in that era, later changed to Hardecnudths son, Vurm. Historians generally agree that Vurm is a German rendering of the Danish name Gorm,1,56 says Vurm had been attacked by King Heinrich I. That attack was in 934 and Widukind 1.40 says the Danish kings name was Chnuba, even though Adam names king Sweyn Estridsson as his source, this does not preclude the possibility of errors on his part. Adams history contains other statements that are rejected or deemed unlikely by historians, the saga Ragnarssona þáttr relates the acts of the sons of Ragnar Lodbrok, and proceeds to link them genealogically to the later rulers of the Scandinavian kingdoms. It makes Harthacnut son of Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye, scholarly opinion is divided as to the degree to which the material found in such heroic sources is to be taken as authentic history and genealogy. In the late and legend-influenced Gesta Danorum of Saxo Grammaticus, Hardakanute appears as Knut and he is described as a son of Erik, a descendent of Ragnar Lodbrok, by Gudorm, the granddaughter of Harald Klak. In his version of the tale, Hardakanute is raised by Ennignup, in the Silverdale Hoard is a silver coin impressed with the name Airdeconut an Anglicized variant of Hardeknut. The silver treasure is roughly dated to the time that Hardeknut lived
2.
Cnut the Great
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King Cnut the Great, also known as Canute, was King of Denmark, England, and Norway, together often referred to as the Anglo-Scandinavian or North Sea Empire. After his death, the deaths of his heirs within a decade, the medieval historian Norman Cantor said he was the most effective king in Anglo-Saxon history, though he was Danish and not a Briton or Anglo-Saxon. Cnuts father was Sweyn Forkbeard, King of Denmark, the identity of his mother is uncertain, although medieval tradition makes her a daughter of Mieszko I. As a Danish prince, Cnut won the throne of England in 1016 in the wake of centuries of Viking activity in northwestern Europe and his accession to the Danish throne in 1018 brought the crowns of England and Denmark together. Cnut maintained his power by uniting Danes and English under cultural bonds of wealth and custom, after a decade of conflict with opponents in Scandinavia, Cnut claimed the crown of Norway in Trondheim in 1028. The Swedish city Sigtuna was held by Cnut and he had coins struck there that called him king, but there is no narrative record of his occupation. Cnut attempted to gain concessions on the tolls his people had to pay on the way to Rome from other magnates of medieval Christendom, the Anglo-Saxon kings used the title king of the English. Cnut was ealles Engla landes cyning—king of all England, Cnut was a son of the Danish Prince Sweyn Forkbeard, who was the son and heir to King Harald Bluetooth from a line of Scandinavian rulers central to the unification of Denmark. Neither the place nor the date of his birth are known, Harthacnut was the semi-legendary founder of the Danish royal house at the beginning of the 10th century, and his son, Gorm the Old, was the first in the official line. Harald Bluetooth, Gorms son and Cnuts grandfather, was the Danish king at the time of the Christianization of Denmark, Cnut was two years old when his grandfather, Harald Bluetooth, died, and his father, Sweyn Forkbeard, assumed the throne. The Chronicon of Thietmar of Merseburg and the Encomium Emmae report Cnuts mother as having been a daughter of Mieszko I of Poland, since in the Norse sagas the king of Vindland is always Burislav, this is reconcilable with the assumption that her father was Mieszko. Different theories regarding the number and ancestry of Sweyns wives have been brought forward, Cnuts brother Harald was the first born and crown prince. His date of birth, like his mothers name, is unknown, contemporary works such as the Chronicon and the Encomium Emmae, do not mention this. Even so, in a Knútsdrápa by the skald Óttarr svarti and it also mentions a battle identifiable with Sweyn Forkbeards invasion of England and attack on the city of Norwich, in 1003/04, after the St. Brices Day massacre of Danes by the English, in 1002. If it is the case that Cnut was part of this, his birthdate may be near 990, if not, and the skalds poetic verse envisages another assault, such as Forkbeards conquest of England in 1013/14, it may even suggest a birth date nearer 1000. There is a passage of the Encomiast with a reference to the force Cnut led in his English conquest of 1015/16, here it says all the Vikings were of mature age under Cnut the king. He had a fair complexion none-the-less, and a fine, thick head of hair and his eyes were better than those of other men, both the handsomer and the keener of their sight. Hardly anything is known for sure of Cnuts life until the year he was part of a Scandinavian force under his father, King Sweyn and it was the climax to a succession of Viking raids spread over a number of decades
3.
Magnus the Good
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Magnus Olafsson, better known as Magnus the Good, was the King of Norway from 1035 and King of Denmark from 1042, ruling over both countries until his death in 1047. He was a son of Olaf II of Norway. He returned to Norway in 1035 and was crowned king at the age of 11, in 1042, he was also crowned king of Denmark. Magnus ruled the two countries until 1047, when he died under unclear circumstances, after his death, his kingdom was split between Harald Hardrada in Norway and Sweyn Estridsson in Denmark. Magnus was a son of King Olaf Haraldsson, by his English concubine Alfhild. Born prematurely, the child was weak and unable to breathe for the first few minutes, Olaf was not present at the childs birth, and his Icelandic skald Sigvatr Þórðarson became his godfather. In a hasty baptism, Sigvatr named Magnus after the greatest king he knew of, also Olafs greatest role model, Karla Magnus, against the odds, Magnus went on to grow strong and healthy, and he became of vital importance to Olaf as his only son. Olaf was dethroned by the Danish king Cnut the Great in 1028 and they travelled over the mountains and through Eidskog during the winter, entered Värmland, and were given shelter by a chieftain called Sigtrygg in Närke. After a few months, they departed Närke, and by March went eastwards towards Sigtuna, the party thereafter sailed through the Baltic Sea and into the Gulf of Finland, eventually landing in Kievan Rus. They made their first stop at Staraya Ladoga to organise the further journey, from there they travelled southwards to Novgorod, where Olaf sought assistance from Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise. Yaroslav, however, did not want to directly involved in the Scandinavian power-struggles. After some time, in early 1030, Olaf learned that the Earl of Lade Håkon Eiriksson, Cnuts regent in Norway, had disappeared at sea, Magnus was left to be fostered by Yaroslav and his wife Ingegerd. In early 1031, a party including Magnuss uncle Harald Sigurdsson arrived to report the news of his fathers death at the Battle of Stiklestad, for the next few years, Magnus was educated in Old Russian and some Greek and was trained as a warrior. After Cnuts death in 1035, the Norwegian noblemen did not want to be under the rule of his son Svein. After receiving the approval of Ingegerd, they returned with Magnus to Sigtuna in early 1035, Astrid immediately became an important supporter of Magnus, and an army was gathered in Sweden, headed by Einar and Kalf, to place Magnus on the Norwegian throne. Magnus was proclaimed king in 1035, at 11 years of age, at first Magnus sought revenge against his fathers enemies, but on Sigvatrs advice he stopped doing so, which is why he became known as good or noble. Another son of Cnut, Harthacnut, was on the throne of Denmark and wanted his country to reunite with Norway, however, the noblemen of both countries brought the two kings together at the Göta älv, the border between their kingdoms. They made peace and agreed that the first of them to die would be succeeded by the other, as part of consolidating his control, Magnus destroyed the Jomsborg, headquarters of the Jomsvikings
4.
Harold Harefoot
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Harold I, also known as Harold Harefoot, was King of England from 1035 to 1040. Harolds nickname Harefoot is first recorded as Harefoh or Harefah in the century in the history of Ely Abbey. The son of Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northampton, Harold was elected regent of England and he was initially ruling England in place of his brother Harthacnut, who was stuck in Denmark due to a rebellion in Norway, which had ousted their brother Svein. Although Harold had wished to be crowned king since 1035, Æthelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury and it was not until 1037 that Harold, supported by earl Leofric and many others, was officially proclaimed king. While en route to Ely he was blinded and soon died of his wounds. Harold died in 1040, having ruled just five years, his half-brother Harthacnut soon returned, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle reports that Harold said that he was a son of Cnut the Great and Ælfgifu of Northampton, although it was not true. Florence of Worcester elaborates on the subject, claiming that Ælfgifu wanted to have a son by the king but was unable to, she secretly adopted the newborn children of strangers and pretended to have given birth to them. Harold was reportedly the son of a cobbler, while his brother Svein Knutsson was the son of a priest. She deceived Cnut into recognizing both children as his own, Harriet OBrien doubts that Cnut, the shrewd politician who masterminded the bloodless takeover of Norway could have been deceived in such a way. She suspects that the tale started out as a myth, or intentional defamation presumably tailored by Emma of Normandy. Harthacnut, however, was unable to travel to his coronation in England because his Danish kingdom was under threat of invasion by King Magnus I of Norway, there is some dispute in primary sources about Harolds initial role. Versions E and F mention him as regent, the others as co-ruler, Ian Howard points out that Cnut had been survived by three sons, Svein, Harold, and Harthacnut. The Encomium Emmae Reginae also describes Edward the Confessor and Alfred Aetheling as the sons of Canute, Harold could claim the regency or kingship because he was the only one of the five present at England in 1035. Harthacnut was reigning in Denmark, and Svein had joined him there following his deposition from the Norwegian throne, while Edward, Harold could reign in the name of his absent brothers, with Emma rivaling him as candidate for the regency. The Heimskringla of Snorri Sturluson claims that Svein and Harthacnut had agreed to share the kingdom between them and this agreement would include Denmark and England. Snorri quotes older sources on the subject and could be preserving valuable details, Harold reportedly sought coronation as early as 1035. According to the Encomium Emmae Reginae, however, Æthelnoth, Archbishop of Canterbury, coronation by the Archbishop would be a legal requirement to become a king. Æthelnoth reportedly placed the sceptre and crown on the altar of a temple, offering to consecrate Harold without using any of the royal regalia would have been an empty honour
5.
Edward the Confessor
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Edward the Confessor, also known as Saint Edward the Confessor, was among the last Anglo-Saxon kings of England, and usually considered the last king of the House of Wessex, ruling from 1042 to 1066. When Edward died in 1066, he was succeeded by Harold Godwinson, Edgar the Ætheling, who was of the House of Wessex, was proclaimed king after the Battle of Hastings in 1066, but never ruled and was deposed after about eight weeks. As discussed below, historians disagree about Edwards fairly long reign and his nickname reflects the traditional image of him as unworldly and pious. Confessor reflects his reputation as a saint who did not suffer martyrdom, some portray this kings reign as leading to the disintegration of royal power in England and the advance in power of the House of Godwin, because of the infighting after his heirless death. About a century later, in 1161, Pope Alexander III canonised the late king, Saint Edward was one of Englands national saints until King Edward III adopted Saint George as the national patron saint c. His feast day is 13 October, celebrated by both the Church of England and the Catholic Church in England and Wales, Edward was the seventh son of Æthelred the Unready, and the first by his second wife, Emma of Normandy. Edward was born between 1003 and 1005 in Islip, Oxfordshire, and is first recorded as a witness to two charters in 1005 and he had one full brother, Alfred, and a sister, Godgifu. In charters he was always listed behind his older half-brothers, showing that he ranked behind them, during his childhood England was the target of Viking raids and invasions under Sweyn Forkbeard and his son, Cnut. Following Sweyns seizure of the throne in 1013, Emma fled to Normandy, followed by Edward and Alfred, Sweyn died in February 1014, and leading Englishmen invited Æthelred back on condition that he promised to rule more justly than before. Æthelred agreed, sending Edward back with his ambassadors, Æthelred died in April 1016, and he was succeeded by Edwards older half-brother Edmund Ironside, who carried on the fight against Sweyns son, Cnut. According to Scandinavian tradition, Edward fought alongside Edmund, as Edward was at most thirteen years old at the time, Edmund died in November 1016, and Cnut became undisputed king. Edward then again went into exile with his brother and sister, in the same year Cnut had Edwards last surviving elder half-brother, Eadwig, executed, leaving Edward as the leading Anglo-Saxon claimant to the throne. Edward spent a quarter of a century in exile, probably mainly in Normandy and he probably received support from his sister Godgifu, who married Drogo of Mantes, count of Vexin in about 1024. In the early 1030s Edward witnessed four charters in Normandy, signing two of them as king of England, Edward was said to have developed an intense personal piety during this period, but modern historians regard this as a product of the later medieval campaign for his canonisation. In Frank Barlows view in his lifestyle would seem to have been that of a member of the rustic nobility. He appeared to have a slim prospect of acceding to the English throne during this period, Cnut died in 1035, and Harthacnut succeeded him as king of Denmark. It is unclear whether he was intended to have England as well and it was therefore decided that his elder half-brother Harold Harefoot should act as regent, while Emma held Wessex on Harthacnuts behalf. In 1036 Edward and his brother Alfred separately came to England, Alfred was captured by Godwin, Earl of Wessex who turned him over to Harold Harefoot
6.
Lambeth
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Lambeth is a district in Central London, England, located in the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated 1 mile south of Charing Cross, the population of Lambeth was 23,937 in 2011. The area experienced some growth in the medieval period as part of the manor of Lambeth Palace. By the Victorian era the area had seen significant development as London expanded, the changes brought by World War II altered much of the fabric of Lambeth. Subsequent development in the late 20th century and early 21st century has seen an increase in the number of high-rise buildings, the area is home to the International Maritime Organization. The origins of the name of Lambeth come from its first record in 1062 as Lambehitha, meaning landing place for lambs, in the Domesday Book, Lambeth is called Lanchei, likely in error. The name refers to a harbour where lambs were either shipped from or to and it is formed from the Old English lamb and hythe. South Lambeth is recorded as Sutlamehethe in 1241 and North Lambeth is recorded in 1319 as North Lamhuth, the manor of Lambeth is recorded as being under ownership of the Archbishop of Canterbury from at least 1190. The Archbishops led the development of much of the manor, with Archbishop Hubert Walter creating the residence of Lambeth Palace in 1197, Lambeth and the palace were the site of two important 13th century international treaties, the Treaty of Lambeth 1217 and the Treaty of Lambeth 1212. Edward, the Black Prince lived in Lambeth in the 14th century in an estate that incorporated the land not belonging to the Archbishops, which also included Kennington. As such, much of the land of Lambeth to this day remains under Royal ownership as part of the estate of the Duchy of Cornwall. The road names, Norfolk Place and Norfolk Row reflect the history, Lambeth Palace lies opposite the southern section of the Palace of Westminster on the Thames. The two were linked by a horse ferry across the river. Until the mid-18th century the north of Lambeth was marshland, crossed by a number of roads raised against floods, the marshland in the area, known as Lambeth Marshe, was drained in the 18th century but is remembered in the Lower Marsh street name. The subsequent growth in road and marine transport, along with the development of industry in the wake of the revolution brought great change to the area. The area grew with a population at this time, many of whom were considerably poor. As a result, Lambeth opened a workhouse in 1726. In 1777 a parliamentary report recorded a parish workhouse in operation accommodating up to 270 inmates and its operation was overseen by an elected Board of twenty Guardians
7.
Winchester Cathedral
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Winchester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It is one of the largest cathedrals in Europe, with the longest nave, dedicated to the Holy Trinity, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, and before the Reformation, Saint Swithun, it is the seat of the Bishop of Winchester and centre of the Diocese of Winchester. The cathedral is a Grade I listed building, the cathedral was founded in 642 on a site immediately to the north of the present one. This building became known as the Old Minster and it became part of a monastic settlement in 971. Saint Swithun was buried near the Old Minster and then in it, so-called mortuary chests said to contain the remains of Saxon kings such as King Eadwig of England, first buried in the Old Minster, and his wife Ælfgifu, are in the present cathedral. The Old Minster was demolished in 1093, immediately after the consecration of its successor, in 1079, Bishop Walkelin began work on a completely new cathedral. Much of the used to build the structure was brought across from the Isle of Wight from quarries around Binstead. Nearby Quarr Abbey draws its name from these workings, as do many local places such as Stonelands, the building was consecrated in 1093. A substantial amount of the fabric of Walkelins building, including the crypt, transepts, the original crossing tower, however, collapsed in 1107, an accident blamed by the cathedrals medieval chroniclers on the fact that the dissolute William Rufus had been buried beneath it in 1100. Its replacement, which today, is still in the Norman style. It is a squat, square structure,50 feet wide, the Tower is 45.7 m tall. Following the accession of Godfrey de Lucy in 1189 a retrochoir was added in the Early English style, the next major phase of rebuilding was not until the mid-fourteenth century, under bishops Edington and Wykeham. Edingdon, removed the two westernmost bays of the nave, built a new west front and began the remodelling of the nave, the wooden ceilings were replaced with stone vaults. Wykehams successor, Henry of Beaufort, carried out fewer alterations, adding only a chantry on the side of the retrochoir. His successor, William of Waynflete, built another chantry in a position on the north side. Under Bishops Peter Courtenay and Thomas Langton, there was more work, de Lucys Lady Chapel was lengthened, and the Norman side aisles of the presbytery replaced. In 1525, Bishop Richard Foxe added the side screens of the presbytery, with its progressive extensions, the east end is now about 110 feet beyond that of Walkelins building. After King Henry VIII seized control of the Catholic Church in England and declared himself head of the Church of England, the Benedictine foundation, the priory surrendered to the king in 1539
8.
Dynasty
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A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
9.
Emma of Normandy
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Emma of Normandy was a queen consort of England, Denmark and Norway. She was the daughter of Richard I, Duke of Normandy, through her marriages to Æthelred the Unready and Cnut the Great, she became the Queen Consort of England, Denmark, and Norway. She was the mother of three sons, Edward the Confessor, Alfred, and Harthacnut, as well as two daughters, Goda of England, and Gunhilda of Denmark, even after her husbands deaths Emma remained in the public eye, and continued to participate actively in politics. She is the figure within the Encomium Emmae Reginae, a critical source for the history of early 11th-century English politics. As Catherine Karkov notes, Emma is one of the most visually represented early medieval queens, in an attempt to pacify Normandy, King Æthelred of England married Emma in 1002. Viking raids on England were often based in Normandy in the late 10th century, upon their marriage, Emma was given the Anglo-Saxon name of Ælfgifu, which was used for formal and official matters, and became Queen of England. She received properties of her own in Winchester, Rutland, Devonshire, Suffolk, Æthelred and Emma had two sons, Edward the Confessor and Alfred, and a daughter, Goda of England. When King Sweyn Forkbeard of Denmark invaded and conquered England in 1013, Emma and her children were sent to Normandy and they returned to England after Sweyn’s death in 1014. Emma and Æthelred’s marriage ended with death in London in 1016. Æthelred’s oldest son from his first marriage, Æthelstan, had been heir apparent until his death in June 1014, Emma’s sons had been ranked after all of the sons from his first wife, the oldest surviving of whom was Edmund Ironside. Emma made an attempt to get her oldest son, Edward, in 1015, Cnut, the son of Sweyn Forkbeard, invaded England. He was held out of London until the deaths of Æthelred and Edmund in April and November 1016, Queen Emma attempted to maintain Anglo-Saxon control of London until her marriage to Cnut was arranged. Some scholars believe that the marriage saved her sons lives, as Cnut tried to rid himself of rival claimants, Edmund died shortly afterwards on 30 November, and Cnut became the king of all England. At the time of their marriage, Emmas sons from her marriage to Æthelred were sent to live in Normandy under the tutelage of her brother, at this time Emma became Queen of England, and later of Denmark, and Norway. Emma was not particularly active in the first years of Cnuts reign, however, she became more active in 1020, when she began to befriend clergy on the European continent, as well as taking the role of patroness to the church. She developed a relationship with Ælfsige of Peterborough, who advised her on many spiritual matters throughout her life. Her close relationship with clergy and the church strengthened her husbands claim to the throne as a Christian king, the Encomium Emmae Reginae suggests in its second book that Emma and Cnuts marriage, though begun as a political strategy, became an affectionate marriage. During their marriage, Emma and Cnut had a son, Harthacnut, in 1036, Alfred Aetheling and Edward the Confessor, Emmas sons with Æthelred, returned to England from their exile in Normandy in order to visit their mother
10.
History of Christianity in Britain
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The history of Christianity in Britain covers the religious organisations, policies, theology, and popular religiosity since ancient times. The early history of Christianity in Britain is highly obscure, the Saxon invasions of Britain destroyed most of the formal church as they progressed, replacing it with a form of Germanic polytheism. There seems to have been a lull traditionally attributed to the Battle of Badon but, following the arrival of Justinians Plague around 547, by the time Cornwall was subjugated by Wessex at Hingston Down in 838, however, it was largely left to its native people and practices. Christianity was largely reintroduced to Britain by the Gregorian Mission, c. 600, early English Christian documents surviving from this time include the 7th-century illuminated Lindisfarne Gospels and the historical accounts written by the Venerable Bede. By the 11th century, the Normans had overrun England and begun the annexation of Wales, although John quickly reneged on his payments, Innocent thereafter took his side and roundly condemned the Magna Carta, calling it not only shameful and demeaning but illegal and unjust. A major reform movement or heresy of the 14th century was Lollardy, led by John Wycliffe, posthumously condemned, his body was exhumed and burnt and its ashes thrown into the River Swift. Even before the Conquest, Edward the Confessor had returned from Normandy with masons who constructed Westminster Abbey in the Romanesque style, the cruciform churches of Norman architecture often had deep chancels and a square crossing tower, which has remained a feature of English ecclesiastical architecture. England has many cathedrals, most notably York Minster, Durham Cathedral. After a fire damaged Canterbury Cathedral in 1174, Norman masons introduced the Gothic style, Oxford and Cambridge began as religious schools in the 11th and 13th centuries, respectively. Henry VIII was named Defender of the Faith for his opposition to Luthers Reformation, a law passed the same year made it an act of treason to publicly oppose these measures, SS John Fisher and Thomas More and many others were martyred for their continued Catholicism. Religious rebellions in Lincolnshire and Yorkshire in 1536, in Cumberland in 1537, meanwhile, laws in 1535 and 1542 fully merged Wales with England. For the next 150 years, religious policy varied with the ruler, Edward VI and his regents favored greater Protestantism, including new books of Common Prayer and Common Order. His sister Mary restored Catholicism after negotiations with the pope ended Romes claims to the church lands. The vicissitudes of the clergy during the period were satirized in The Vicar of Bray, Charles I provoked the Bishops Wars in Scotland and ultimately the Civil War in England. The victorious Long Parliament restructured the church at the 1643 Westminster Assembly, following the Restoration, onerous Penal Laws were enacted against nonconformists, including the Clarendon Code. The religious settlement of 1689 shaped policy down to the 1830s, the Church of England was not only dominant in religious affairs, but it blocked outsiders from responsible positions in national and local government, business, professions and academe. In practice, the doctrine of the right of kings persisted Old animosities had diminished. Restrictions on Nonconformists were mostly ignored or slowly lifted
11.
Danish language
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There are also minor Danish-speaking communities in Norway, Sweden, Spain, the United States, Canada, Brazil and Argentina. Due to immigration and language shift in urban areas, around 15–20% of the population of Greenland speak Danish as their home language. Along with the other North Germanic languages, Danish is a descendant of Old Norse, until the 16th century, Danish was a continuum of dialects spoken from Schleswig to Scania with no standard variety or spelling conventions. With the Protestant Reformation and the introduction of printing, a language was developed which was based on the educated Copenhagen dialect. It spread through use in the system and administration though German. Today, traditional Danish dialects have all but disappeared, though there are variants of the standard language. The main differences in language are between generations, with youth language being particularly innovative, Danish has a very large vowel inventory comprising 27 phonemically distinctive vowels, and its prosody is characterized by the distinctive phenomenon stød, a kind of laryngeal phonation type. The grammar is moderately inflective with strong and weak conjugations and inflections, nouns and demonstrative pronouns distinguish common and neutral gender. As in English, Danish only has remnants of a case system, particularly in the pronouns. Its syntax is V2, with the verb always occupying the second slot in the sentence. Danish is a Germanic language of the North Germanic branch, other names for this group are the Nordic or Scandinavian languages. Along with Swedish, Danish descends from the Eastern dialects of the Old Norse language, Scandinavian languages are often considered a dialect continuum, where there are no sharp dividing lines between the different vernacular languages. Like Norwegian and Swedish, Danish was significantly influenced by Low German in the Middle Ages, Danish itself can be divided into three main dialect areas, West Danish, Insular Danish, and East Danish. Danish is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Swedish, both Swedes and Danes also understand Norwegian better than they understand each others languages. By the 8th century, the common Germanic language of Scandinavia, Proto-Norse, had some changes. This language was called the Danish tongue, or Norse language. Norse was written in the alphabet, first with the elder futhark. From the 7th century the common Norse language began to undergo changes that did not spread to all of Scandinavia, most of the changes separating East Norse from West Norse started as innovations in Denmark, that spread through Scania into Sweden and by maritime contact to southern Norway
12.
King of Denmark
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The Monarchy of Denmark, colloquially known as the Danish Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes not only Denmark, but the regions of Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark were already consolidated in the late 8th century, originally an elective monarchy, it became hereditary only in the 17th century during the reign of Frederick III. A decisive transition to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1849 with the writing of the first Constitution, the current Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the same royal house as the Norwegian and former Greek royal families. The Danish Monarchy is constitutional and as such, the role of the monarch is defined and limited by the Constitution of Denmark, the monarch is, in practice, limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, Queen Margrethe II ascended the throne on the death of her father, King Frederick IX, on 14 January 1972. On her accession, Queen Margrethe II became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375‒1412, during the Kalmar Union. Danish regnal names have traditionally alternated between Frederick and Christian, Margrethe has taken the place of a Christian, and accordingly her heir apparent is Crown Prince Frederik. The modern Kingdom of Denmark dates back to Harthacnuts son, Gorm the Old, the first King of a united Scotland was King Kenneth MacAlpin who died around 80 years before Gorm the Old was born. The Danes were united and officially Christianized in 965 CE by Harald Bluetooth, furthermore, the Jelling stones attests that Harald had also won Norway. The son of Harald, Sweyn Forkbeard, mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, the reign of Cnut represented the peak of the Danish Viking age, his North Sea Empire included Denmark, Norway, England and held strong influence over the north-eastern coast of Germany. The last monarch descended from Valdemar IV, Christopher III of Denmark, Count Christian of Oldenburg, descendant of Valdemar IVs aunt Richeza, was chosen as his successor and became the next monarch of Denmark, ruling under the name Christian I. Originally the Danish monarchy was elective, but in practice the eldest son of the monarch was elected. Later a Coronation Charter was signed by the king to restrict the powers of the Danish monarch, in 1657, during the Second Northern War, King Frederick III launched a war of revenge against Sweden which turned into a complete disaster. The war became a disaster for two reasons, Primarily, because Denmarks new powerful ally, the Netherlands, remained neutral as Denmark was the aggressor and Sweden the defender. Secondly, the Belts froze over in an occurrence during the winter of 1657-1658. In the following Treaty of Roskilde, Denmark–Norway capitulated and gave up all of Eastern Denmark, in addition to the counties of Bohuslän, but the Second Northern War was not yet over. Three months after the treaty was signed, Charles X Gustav held a council of war where he decided to simply wipe Denmark from the map
13.
King of England
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This list of kings and queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, one of the petty kingdoms to rule a portion of modern England. While Alfred was not the first king to lay claim to all of the English, his rule represents the first unbroken line of Kings to rule the whole of England. The last monarch of a kingdom of England was Queen Anne. For monarchs after Queen Anne, see List of British monarchs, arguments are made for a few different kings deemed to control enough of the ancient kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxons to be deemed the first King of England. For example, Offa, king of Mercia, and Egbert, king of Wessex, are described as kings of England by popular writers. In the late eighth century Offa achieved a dominance over southern England that did not survive his death in 796, in 829 Egbert conquered Mercia, but he soon lost control of it. By the late ninth century Wessex was the dominant Anglo-Saxon kingdom and its king, Alfred the Great, was overlord of western Mercia and used the title King of the Angles and Saxons, but he never ruled eastern and northern England, which was then the Danelaw. Since that time, except for King Edward III, the eldest sons of all English monarchs have borne this title. After the death of Queen Elizabeth I without issue, in 1603, the crowns of England and Scotland were joined in personal union under King James VI of Scotland, however, this is not accepted by all historians. Also, it is unclear whether Ælfweard was declared king of the kingdom or of Wessex only, there is evidence that when Edward died, Ælfweard was declared king in Wessex. England came under the control of Sweyn Forkbeard, a Danish king, after an invasion in 1013, during which Æthelred abandoned the throne, following the death of Sweyn Forkbeard, Æthelred the Unready returned from exile and was again proclaimed king on 3 February 1014. His son succeeded him after being chosen king by the citizens of London, following the decisive Battle of Assandun on 18 October 1016, King Edmund signed a treaty with Cnut in which all of England except for Wessex would be controlled by Cnut. Upon Edmunds death on 30 November, Cnut ruled the kingdom as its sole king. After Harthacnut, there was a brief Saxon Restoration between 1042 and 1066, in 1066, several rival claimants to the English throne emerged. Harald and William both invaded separately in 1066, godwinson successfully repelled the invasion by Hardrada, but ultimately lost the throne of England in the Norman conquest of England. After the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror made permanent the recent removal of the capital from Winchester to London. William was crowned King William I of England on Christmas Day 1066, in Westminster Abbey, Henry I left no legitimate male heirs, his son William Adelin having died in the White Ship disaster. This ended the direct Norman line of kings in England, Henry named his eldest daughter, the dowager Empress Matilda as his heir
14.
Denmark
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The term Danish Realm refers to the relationship between Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands and Greenland—three countries constituting the Kingdom of Denmark. The legal nature of the Kingdom of Denmark is fundamentally one of a sovereign state. The Faroe Islands and Greenland have been part of the Crown of Denmark since 1397 when the Kalmar Union was ratified, legal matters in The Danish Realm are subject to the Danish Constitution. Beginning in 1953, state law issues within The Danish Realm has been governed by The Unity of the Realm, a less formal name for The Unity of the Realm is the Commonwealth of the Realm. In 1978, The Unity of The Realm was for the first time referred to as rigsfællesskabet. The name caught on and since the 1990s, both The Unity of The Realm and The Danish Realm itself has increasingly been referred to as simply rigsfællesskabet in daily parlance. The Danish Constitution stipulates that the foreign and security interests for all parts of the Danish Realm are the responsibility of the Danish government, the Faroes received home rule in 1948 and Greenland did so in 1979. In 2005, the Faroes received a self-government arrangement, and in 2009 Greenland received self rule, the Danish Realms unique state of internal affairs is acted out in the principle of The Unity of the Realm. This principle is derived from Article 1 of the Danish Constitution which specifies that constitutional law applies equally to all areas of the Danish Realm, the Constitutional Act specifies that sovereignty is to continue to be exclusively with the authorities of the Realm. The language of Denmark is Danish, and the Danish state authorities are based in Denmark, the Kingdom of Denmarks parliament, with its 179 members, is located in the capital, Copenhagen. Two of the members are elected in each of Greenland and the Faroe Islands. The Government ministries are located in Copenhagen, as is the highest court, in principle, the Danish Realm constitutes a unified sovereign state, with equal status between its constituent parts. Devolution differs from federalism in that the powers of the subnational authority ultimately reside in central government. The Self-Government Arrangements devolves political competence and responsibility from the Danish political authorities to the Faroese, the Faroese and Greenlandic authorities administer the tasks taken over from the state, enact legislation in these specific fields and have the economic responsibility for solving these tasks. The Danish government provides a grant to the Faroese and the Greenlandic authorities to cover the costs of these devolved areas. The 1948 Home Rule Act of the Faroe Islands sets out the terms of Faroese home rule, the Act states. the Faroe Islands shall constitute a self-governing community within the State of Denmark. It establishes the government of the Faroe Islands and the Faroese parliament. The Faroe Islands were previously administered as a Danish county, the Home Rule Act abolished the post of Amtmand and these powers were expanded in a 2005 Act, which named the Faroese home government as an equal partner with the Danish government
15.
Norway
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The Antarctic Peter I Island and the sub-Antarctic Bouvet Island are dependent territories and thus not considered part of the Kingdom. Norway also lays claim to a section of Antarctica known as Queen Maud Land, until 1814, the kingdom included the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland. It also included Isle of Man until 1266, Shetland and Orkney until 1468, Norway has a total area of 385,252 square kilometres and a population of 5,258,317. The country shares a long border with Sweden. Norway is bordered by Finland and Russia to the north-east, Norway has an extensive coastline, facing the North Atlantic Ocean and the Barents Sea. King Harald V of the Dano-German House of Glücksburg is the current King of Norway, erna Solberg became Prime Minister in 2013, replacing Jens Stoltenberg. A constitutional monarchy, Norway divides state power between the Parliament, the Cabinet and the Supreme Court, as determined by the 1814 Constitution, the kingdom is established as a merger of several petty kingdoms. By the traditional count from the year 872, the kingdom has existed continuously for 1,144 years, Norway has both administrative and political subdivisions on two levels, counties and municipalities. The Sámi people have an amount of self-determination and influence over traditional territories through the Sámi Parliament. Norway maintains close ties with the European Union and the United States, the country maintains a combination of market economy and a Nordic welfare model with universal health care and a comprehensive social security system. Norway has extensive reserves of petroleum, natural gas, minerals, lumber, seafood, the petroleum industry accounts for around a quarter of the countrys gross domestic product. On a per-capita basis, Norway is the worlds largest producer of oil, the country has the fourth-highest per capita income in the world on the World Bank and IMF lists. On the CIAs GDP per capita list which includes territories and some regions, from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2009 to 2017, Norway had the highest Human Development Index ranking in the world. It also has the highest inequality-adjusted ranking, Norway ranks first on the World Happiness Report, the OECD Better Life Index, the Index of Public Integrity and the Democracy Index. Norway has two names, Noreg in Nynorsk and Norge in Bokmål. The name Norway comes from the Old English word Norðrveg mentioned in 880, meaning way or way leading to the north. In contrasting with suðrvegar southern way for Germany, and austrvegr eastern way for the Baltic, the Anglo-Saxon of Britain also referred to the kingdom of Norway in 880 as Norðmanna land. This was the area of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway, and because of him
16.
Scandinavia
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Scandinavia /ˌskændᵻˈneɪviə/ is a historical and cultural region in Northern Europe characterized by a common ethnocultural North Germanic heritage and mutually intelligible North Germanic languages. The term Scandinavia always includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the remote Norwegian islands of Svalbard and Jan Mayen are usually not seen as a part of Scandinavia, nor is Greenland, an overseas territory of Denmark. This looser definition almost equates to that of the Nordic countries, in Nordic languages, only Denmark, Norway and Sweden are commonly included in the definition of Scandinavia. In English usage, Scandinavia sometimes refers to the geographical area, the name Scandinavia originally referred vaguely to the formerly Danish, now Swedish, region Scania. Icelanders and the Faroese are to a significant extent descended from the Norse, Finland is mainly populated by Finns, with a minority of approximately 5% of Swedish speakers. A small minority of Sami people live in the north of Scandinavia. The Danish, Norwegian and Swedish languages form a continuum and are known as the Scandinavian languages—all of which are considered mutually intelligible with one another. Faroese and Icelandic, sometimes referred to as insular Scandinavian languages, are intelligible in continental Scandinavian languages only to a limited extent, Finnish and Meänkieli are closely related to each other and more distantly to the Sami languages, but are entirely unrelated to the Scandinavian languages. Apart from these, German, Yiddish and Romani are recognized minority languages in Scandinavia, the southern and by far most populous regions of Scandinavia have a temperate climate. Scandinavia extends north of the Arctic Circle, but has mild weather for its latitude due to the Gulf Stream. Much of the Scandinavian mountains have a tundra climate. There are many lakes and moraines, legacies of the last glacial period, Scandinavia usually refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. Some sources argue for the inclusion of the Faroe Islands, Finland and Iceland, though that broader region is known by the countries concerned as Norden. Before this time, the term Scandinavia was familiar mainly to classical scholars through Pliny the Elders writings, and was used vaguely for Scania, as a political term, Scandinavia was first used by students agitating for Pan-Scandinavianism in the 1830s. After a visit to Sweden, Andersen became a supporter of early political Scandinavism, the term is often defined according to the conventions of the cultures that lay claim to the term in their own use. More precisely, and subject to no dispute, is that Finland is included in the broader term Nordic countries, various promotional agencies of the Nordic countries in the United States serve to promote market and tourism interests in the region. The official tourist boards of Scandinavia sometimes cooperate under one umbrella, Norways government entered one year later. All five Nordic governments participate in the joint promotional efforts in the United States through the Scandinavian Tourist Board of North America, Scandinavia can thus be considered a subset of the Nordic countries
17.
Encomium Emmae Reginae
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Encomium Emmae Reginae or Gesta Cnutonis Regis is an 11th-century Latin encomium in honour of Queen Emma of Normandy. It was written in 1041 or 1042 probably by a monk of St Omer, until 2008 it was believed that there was just a single manuscript surviving from that time, lavishly illustrated and believed to be the copy sent to Queen Emma or a close reproduction of that copy. One leaf has been lost from the manuscript in modern times, a new manuscript has been found in the library of the Earl of Devon however, believed to have been compiled in 1043, around two years after the other surviving text. It adds detail to the content, showing the rise and succession of Edward the Confessor in a positive light. The other manuscript offers him just a fleeting mention, the new manuscript has been acquired by the Royal Library of Denmark. It is usually thought that the text was written in 1041 or 1042, Harthacnut, Emmas son by Cnut, was king of England and Edward, her son by Æthelred, had been invited back from exile in Normandy and sworn in as Harthacnuts successor. The presence of a king and another claimant to the throne was a recipe for social unrest, especially considering that Edwards brother, as the portrait emphasises, the work appears to have been specifically directed at Harthacnut and Edward, instilling a message about their past and future. As such, the Encomium is a biased and selective work. Despite its shortcomings the Encomium is an important primary source for early 11th-century English, the anonymous author, often simply referred to as the Encomiast, was probably a Flemish monk, as he identifies himself in the text as a monk of St Bertins or St Omers. The Encomium is divided into three books, the first deals with Sweyn Forkbeard and his conquest of England. The second deals with his son, Cnut the Great, his reconquest of England, marriage to Emma and period of rule. The third deals with events after Cnuts death, Emmas troubles during the reign of Harold Harefoot, the form and style of the text are much indebted to classical authors. Vergil and his Aeneid are explicitly cited in the letter and in Bk I, Ch.4, while influences from Sallust, Lucan, Ovid, Horace, Juvenal. London, Royal Historical Society Campbell, Alistair and Simon Keynes, cambridge University Press ISBN 0-521-62655-2 Stafford, P. The Encomium Emmae Reginae, A Political Pamphlet of the Eleventh Century, literary Background to the Encomium Emmae Reginae. The Eyes of the Beholders were Dazzled, Treasure and Artifice in Encomium Emmae Reginae, Encomium Emmae Reginae Overview by Stephen J. Murray Encomium Emmae reginae Georg Heinrich Pertzs 1865 edition
18.
Haakon Ericsson
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Haakon Ericsson was Earl of Lade and governor of Norway as a vassal under Knut the Great. Håkon Eiriksson was from a dynasty of Norwegian rulers in the part of Trondheim. He was the son of Eirik Håkonson, ruler of Norway and his mother is commonly believed to have been Gytha, a daughter of Sweyn Forkbeard and Sigrid the Haughty of Denmark and half-sister of King Knut. After the Battle of Svolder, Eirik Håkonson, with his brother Sveinn Hákonarson, in 1014 or 1015 Eirik Håkonson left Norway and joined Knut for his campaign in England. The north English earldom of Northumbria was given by Knut to Eirik after he won control of the north, Eirik remained as earl of Northumbria until his death between 1023 and 1033. After some years absence in England fighting the Danes, Olaf Haraldsson returned to Norway in 1015, in 1016, Olaf defeated Sveinn Hákonarson at the Battle of Nesjar. After the victory of Olaf Haraldsson, Håkon fled to England where he was received by King Knut. After the Battle of the Helgeå, Norwegian nobles rallied behind Knut and he is recorded as being the ruler of the Sudreyar from 1016 until 1030. In 1028, Håkon Eiriksson returned as Knuts vassal ruler of Norway, Håkon died in a shipwreck in the Pentland Firth, between the Orkney Islands and the Scottish mainland, in either late 1029 or early 1030
19.
Olaf II of Norway
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Olaf II Haraldsson, later known as St. Olaf, was King of Norway from 1015 to 1028. He was posthumously given the title Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae and canonised in Nidaros by Bishop Grimkell and his remains were enshrined in Nidaros Cathedral, built over his burial site. He is also a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church. The exact position of Saint Olafs grave in Nidaros has been unknown since 1568, Saint Olaf is symbolised by the axe in Norways coat of arms, and the Olsok is still his day of celebration. Many Christian institutions with Scandinavian links and Norways Order of St. Olav, are named after him, modern historians generally agree that Olaf was inclined to violence and brutality, and they accuse earlier scholars of neglecting this side of Olafs character. Especially during the period of Romantic Nationalism, Olaf was a symbol of independence and pride. Olaf IIs Old Norse name is Ólafr Haraldsson, during his lifetime he was known as Olaf the fat or the stout or simply as Olaf the big. In Norway today, he is referred to as Olav den hellige or Heilage-Olav in honour of his sainthood. Olaf Haraldsson had the given name Óláfr in Old Norse, Olav is the modern equivalent in Norwegian, formerly often spelt Olaf. His name in Icelandic is Ólafur, in Faroese Ólavur, in Danish Oluf, Olave was the traditional spelling in England, preserved in the name of medieval churches dedicated to him. Other names, such as Oláfr hinn helgi, Olavus rex and he is sometimes referred to as Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae, a designation which goes back to the thirteenth century. The term Ola Nordmann as epithet of the archetypal Norwegian may originate in this tradition and his mother was Åsta Gudbrandsdatter, and his father was Harald Grenske, great-great-grandchild of Harald Fairhair, the first king of Norway. Harald Grenske died when Åsta Gudbrandsdatter was pregnant with Olaf and she later married Sigurd Syr, with whom she had other children including Harald Hardrada, who would reign as a future king of Norway. There are many texts giving information concerning Olaf Haraldsson, the oldest source that we have is the Glælognskviða or Sea-Calm Poem, composed by Þórarinn loftunga, an Icelander. It praises Olaf and mentions some of the miracles attributed to him. Olaf is also mentioned in the Norwegian synoptic histories and these include the Ágrip af Nóregskonungasögum, the Historia Norwegiae and a Latin text, Historia de Antiquitate Regum Norwagiensium by Theodoric the Monk. Icelanders also wrote extensively about Olaf and we also have several Icelandic sagas about him, the famous Heimskringla, written by Snorri Sturluson, largely bases its account of Olaf on the earlier Fagrskinna. We also have the important Oldest Saga of St. Olaf, finally, there are many hagiographic sources describing St. Olaf, but these focus mostly on miracles attributed to him and cannot be used to accurately recreate his life
20.
Monarchy of Denmark
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The Monarchy of Denmark, colloquially known as the Danish Monarchy, is a constitutional institution and a historic office of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Kingdom includes not only Denmark, but the regions of Greenland. The Kingdom of Denmark were already consolidated in the late 8th century, originally an elective monarchy, it became hereditary only in the 17th century during the reign of Frederick III. A decisive transition to a constitutional monarchy occurred in 1849 with the writing of the first Constitution, the current Royal House is a branch of the princely family of Glücksburg, originally from Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, the same royal house as the Norwegian and former Greek royal families. The Danish Monarchy is constitutional and as such, the role of the monarch is defined and limited by the Constitution of Denmark, the monarch is, in practice, limited to non-partisan functions such as bestowing honours and appointing the Prime Minister. The monarch and his or her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic, Queen Margrethe II ascended the throne on the death of her father, King Frederick IX, on 14 January 1972. On her accession, Queen Margrethe II became the first female monarch of Denmark since Margrethe I, ruler of the Scandinavian countries in 1375‒1412, during the Kalmar Union. Danish regnal names have traditionally alternated between Frederick and Christian, Margrethe has taken the place of a Christian, and accordingly her heir apparent is Crown Prince Frederik. The modern Kingdom of Denmark dates back to Harthacnuts son, Gorm the Old, the first King of a united Scotland was King Kenneth MacAlpin who died around 80 years before Gorm the Old was born. The Danes were united and officially Christianized in 965 CE by Harald Bluetooth, furthermore, the Jelling stones attests that Harald had also won Norway. The son of Harald, Sweyn Forkbeard, mounted a series of wars of conquest against England, the reign of Cnut represented the peak of the Danish Viking age, his North Sea Empire included Denmark, Norway, England and held strong influence over the north-eastern coast of Germany. The last monarch descended from Valdemar IV, Christopher III of Denmark, Count Christian of Oldenburg, descendant of Valdemar IVs aunt Richeza, was chosen as his successor and became the next monarch of Denmark, ruling under the name Christian I. Originally the Danish monarchy was elective, but in practice the eldest son of the monarch was elected. Later a Coronation Charter was signed by the king to restrict the powers of the Danish monarch, in 1657, during the Second Northern War, King Frederick III launched a war of revenge against Sweden which turned into a complete disaster. The war became a disaster for two reasons, Primarily, because Denmarks new powerful ally, the Netherlands, remained neutral as Denmark was the aggressor and Sweden the defender. Secondly, the Belts froze over in an occurrence during the winter of 1657-1658. In the following Treaty of Roskilde, Denmark–Norway capitulated and gave up all of Eastern Denmark, in addition to the counties of Bohuslän, but the Second Northern War was not yet over. Three months after the treaty was signed, Charles X Gustav held a council of war where he decided to simply wipe Denmark from the map
21.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries across England, where they were independently updated. In one case, the Chronicle was still being updated in 1154. Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of historical value. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfreds reign and these manuscripts collectively are known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Taken as a whole, however, the Chronicle is the single most important historical source for the period in England between the departure of the Romans and the following the Norman conquest. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere, in addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language, in particular, the later Peterborough text is one of the earliest examples of Middle English in existence. Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts and fragments now reside in the British Library, the remaining two are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. All of the manuscripts are copies, so it is not known for certain where or when the first version of the Chronicle was composed. It is generally agreed that the version was written in the late 9th century by a scribe in Wessex. After the original Chronicle was compiled, copies were made and distributed to various monasteries, additional copies were made, for further distribution or to replace lost manuscripts, and some copies were updated independently of each other. Some of these copies are those that have survived. The earliest extant manuscript, the Winchester Chronicle, was written by a single scribe up to the year 891, the scribe wrote the year number, DCCCXCII, in the margin of the next line, subsequent material was written by other scribes. It is known that the Winchester manuscript is at least two removes from the original Chronicle, as a result, there is no proof that the Chronicle was compiled at Winchester. The Chronicle, as well as the distribution of copies to other centres of learning, of the nine surviving manuscripts, seven are written entirely in Old English. One, known as the Bilingual Canterbury Epitome, is in Old English with a translation of each annal into Latin, another, the Peterborough Chronicle, is in Old English except for the last entry, which is in early Middle English. The oldest is known as the Winchester Chronicle or the Parker Chronicle, six of the manuscripts were printed in an 1861 edition for the Rolls Series by Benjamin Thorpe with the text laid out in columns labelled A to F. He also included the few remnants of a burned seventh manuscript
22.
Bruges
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Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country. The area of the whole city amounts to more than 13,840 hectares, including 1,075 hectares off the coast, the historic city centre is a prominent World Heritage Site of UNESCO. It is oval and about 430 hectares in size, the citys total population is 117,073, of whom around 20,000 live in the city centre. The metropolitan area, including the commuter zone, covers an area of 616 km2 and has a total of 255,844 inhabitants as of 1 January 2008. Along with a few other canal-based northern cities, such as Amsterdam and Stockholm, Bruges has a significant economic importance thanks to its port and was once one of the worlds chief commercial cities. Bruges is well known as the seat of the College of Europe, the name probably derives from the Old Dutch for bridge, brugga. Also compare Middle Dutch brucge, brugge, and modern Dutch bruggehoofd, the form brugghe would be a southern Dutch variant. The Dutch word and the English bridge both derive from Proto-Germanic *brugjō-, Bruges was a location of coastal settlement during prehistory. This Bronze Age and Iron Age settlement is unrelated to medieval city development, in the Bruges area, the first fortifications were built after Julius Caesars conquest of the Menapii in the first century BC, to protect the coastal area against pirates. The Franks took over the region from the Gallo-Romans around the 4th century. The Viking incursions of the century prompted Count Baldwin I of Flanders to reinforce the Roman fortifications, trade soon resumed with England. Bruges received its city charter on 27 July 1128, and new walls and canals were built, in 1089 Bruges became the capital of the County of Flanders. Since about 1050, gradual silting had caused the city to lose its access to the sea. A storm in 1134, however, re-established this access, through the creation of a channel at the Zwin. The new sea arm stretched all the way to Damme, a city became the commercial outpost for Bruges. Bruges had a location at the crossroads of the northern Hanseatic League trade. They developed, or borrowed from Italy, new forms of merchant capitalism, whereby several merchants would share the risks and profits and they employed new forms of economic exchange, including bills of exchange and letters of credit. The city eagerly welcomed foreign traders, most notably the Portuguese traders selling pepper and other spices, the citys entrepreneurs reached out to make economic colonies of England and Scotlands wool-producing districts
23.
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
24.
Sandwich, Kent
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Sandwich /ˈsændwᵻdʒ/ is a historic town and civil parish on the River Stour in the non-metropolitan district of Dover, within the ceremonial county of Kent, south-east England. It has a population of 4,985, Sandwich gave its name to the bread snack by way of John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich, as described below. The word sandwich is now found in many languages, Sandwich was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings, including several listed public houses and gates in the old town walls, churches, almshouses and the White Mill. While once a port, it is now two miles from the sea due to the disappearance of the Wantsum Channel. Its historic centre has been preserved, Sandwich Bay is home to nature reserves and two world-class golf courses, Royal St Georges and Princes. The town is home to educational and cultural events. The place-name Sandwich is first attested in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, where it appears as Sondwic in 851, in the Domesday Book of 1086 it appears as Sandwice. The name means town on sandy soil. In 1028 King Canute granted a charter to the monks of Christ Church, Canterbury to operate a ferry across the river, in 1192, returning from the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart was jailed by the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. Henry released Richard in February 1194. On 13 March 1194, Richard landed at the port of Sandwich, the coat of arms of Sandwich is Per pale Gules and Azure three demi-Lions passant guardant in pale Or conjoined with as many sterns of demi-Ships Argent. Before Sandwich became a Cinque Port, the ancient Saxon town of Stonar on the bank of the Wantsum estuary and it remained a place of considerable importance but it disappeared almost without trace in the 14th century. The ruins of the major Roman fort of Richborough are close by and it was the landing place of the Roman invasion of Britain in AD43. In 2008, an archaeological dig proved that this was a site of a Roman beachhead. On 21 May 1216, Prince Louis of France landed at Sandwich in support of the war against King John of England. The Port of Sandwich is no stranger to odd events in English history and it was here in 1255 that the first captive elephant was landed in England. The prize beast arrived at Sandwich quayside, delivered as a gift to the English monarch Henry III from the French king, and was then taken on foot to the kings menagerie in the Tower of London. The journey through Kent is reported to have proceeded without incident, except when a bull in a field by the roadside took umbrage at the great beast passing, in one move, the animal was thrown by the elephant and killed outright. The Fisher Gate on the dates from 1384, and has been scheduled as an Ancient Monument
25.
Midsummer
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The exact dates vary between different cultures. The Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr St John the Baptist, and these are commemorated by many Christian denominations. In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been discussions to make the Midsummers Eve into the National Day of Sweden. It may also be referred to as St. Hans Day, european midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin. The fire festival or Litha – Summer solstice – is a tradition for many neopagans, Solstice celebrations still centered on the day of the astronomical summer solstice. Some choose to hold the rite on June 21, even when this is not the longest day of the year, and some celebrate June 24, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec, the traditional Midsummer day, June 24, is a public holiday. So it was also in Sweden and Finland, but in these countries it was, in the 1950s. In Wicca, practitioners celebrate on the longest day and shortest night of the year which has not had a set date since the retirement of the 13-month Celtic calendar, the celebration of Midsummers Eve was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southward again, in later years, witches were also thought to be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings. The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the cycle of the year since Neolithic times. In Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Estonia, Midsummers Eve is the greatest festival of the year, comparable only with Walpurgis Night, Christmas Eve, Ancient Romans would hold a festival to honor the god Summanus on June 20. In the 7th century, Saint Eligius warned the recently converted inhabitants of Flanders against the pagan solstice celebrations. According to the Vita by his companion Ouen, hed say, on St. Johns Eve in certain regions the boys collect bones and certain other rubbish, and burn them, and therefrom a smoke is produced on the air. They also make brands and go about the fields with the brands, thirdly, the wheel which they roll. The fires, explained the monk of Winchcombe, were to drive away dragons, on St Johns Day 1333 Petrarch watched women at Cologne rinsing their hands and arms in the Rhine so that the threatening calamities of the coming year might be washed away by bathing in the river. In Austria the midsummer solstice is celebrated each year with a procession of ships down the Danube River as it flows through the wine-growing Wachau Valley just north of Vienna. Up to 30 ships sail down the river in line as fireworks erupt from the banks and hill tops while bonfires blaze, lighted castle ruins also erupt with fireworks during the 90-minute cruise downstream. This nationwide festival, called Festa Junina, or São João, rural life is celebrated through typical clothing, food, and dance
26.
Wessex
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Wessex was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom in the south of Great Britain, from 519 until England was unified by Æthelstan in the early 10th century. The Anglo-Saxons believed that Wessex was founded by Cerdic and Cynric, the two main sources for the history of Wessex are the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and the West Saxon Genealogical Regnal List, which sometimes conflict. Wessex became a Christian kingdom after Cenwalh was baptised and was expanded under his rule, cædwalla later conquered Sussex, Kent and the Isle of Wight. His successor, Ine, issued one of the oldest surviving English law codes, the throne subsequently passed to a series of kings with unknown genealogies. During the 8th century, as the hegemony of Mercia grew and it was during this period that the system of shires was established. Under Egbert, Surrey, Sussex, Kent, Essex, and Mercia and he also obtained the overlordship of the Northumbrian king. However, Mercian independence was restored in 830, during the reign of his successor, Æthelwulf, a Danish army arrived in the Thames estuary, but was decisively defeated. When Æthelwulfs son, Æthelbald, usurped the throne, the kingdom was divided to avoid war, Æthelwulf was succeeded in turn by his four sons, the youngest being Alfred the Great. Wessex was invaded by the Danes in 871, and Alfred was compelled to pay them to leave and they returned in 876, but were forced to withdraw. In 878 they forced Alfred to flee to the Somerset Levels, during his reign Alfred issued a new law code, gathered scholars to his court and was able to devote funds to building ships, organising an army and establishing a system of burhs. Alfreds son, Edward, captured the eastern Midlands and East Anglia from the Danes and became ruler of Mercia in 918 upon the death of his sister, Edwards son, Æthelstan, conquered Northumbria in 927, and England became a unified kingdom for the first time. Cnut the Great, who conquered England in 1016, created the wealthy and powerful earldom of Wessex, modern archaeologists use the term Wessex culture for a Middle Bronze Age culture in this area. Although agriculture and hunting were pursued during this period, there is little archaeological evidence of human settlements. During the Roman occupation numerous country villas with attached farms were established across Wessex, the Romans, or rather the Romano-British, built another major road that integrated Wessex, running eastwards from Exeter through Dorchester to Winchester and Silchester and on to London. The early 4th century CE was a time in Roman Britain. However, following a previous incursion in 360 that was stopped by Roman forces and they devastated many parts of Britain and laid siege to London. The Romans responded promptly, and Count Theodosius had recovered the land up to the Wall by 368, the Romans temporarily ceased to rule Britain on the death of Magnus Maximus in 388. Stilicho attempted to restore Roman authority in the late 390s, two subsequent Roman rulers of Britain, appointed by the remaining troops, were murdered
27.
Worcester, England
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Worcester is a city in Worcestershire, England,31 miles southwest of Birmingham and 27 miles north of Gloucester. The River Severn flanks the western side of the city centre, the Battle of Worcester was the final battle of the English Civil War, where Oliver Cromwells New Model Army defeated King Charles Is Cavaliers. Worcester is known as the home of Royal Worcester Porcelain, composer Edward Elgar, Lea & Perrins, makers of traditional Worcestershire sauce, the trade route past Worcester which later formed part of the Roman Ryknild Street dates to Neolithic times. The position commanded a ford over the River Severn and was fortified by the Britons around 400 BC and it would have been on the northern border of the Dobunni and probably subject to the larger communities of the Malvern hillforts. It may have been the Vertis mentioned in the 7th-century Ravenna Cosmography, using charcoal from the Forest of Dean, the Romans operated pottery kilns and ironworks at the site and may have built a small fort. In the 3rd century, Roman Worcester occupied an area than the subsequent medieval city. Industrial production ceased and the settlement contracted to a position along the lines of the old British fort at the river terraces southern end. This settlement is identified with the Cair Guiragon listed among the 28 cities of Britain by the History of the Britons attributed to Nennius. This is not a British name but an adaption of its Old English name Weorgoran ceaster, the Weorgoran were precursors of Hwicce and probably West Saxons who entered the area some time after the 577 Battle of Dyrham. The oldest known church was St Helens, which was certainly British, the town was almost destroyed in 1041 after a rebellion against the punitive taxation of Harthacanute. During this time, the relocated to the nearby Bevere Island,2 miles upriver. The following century, the town was attacked several times during The Anarchy, by late medieval times the population had grown to around 10,000 as the manufacture of cloth started to become a large local industry. The town was designated a county corporate, giving it autonomy from local government. Worcester was the site of the Battle of Worcester, when Charles II attempted to regain the crown, in the fields a little to the west and south of the city. Worcester had supported the Parliamentary cause before the outbreak of war in 1642 but spent most of the war under Royalist occupation. After the war it used its location as the site of the final battles of the First Civil War. As part of this and not based upon any historical fact, it invented the epithet Fidelis Civitas, in 1670, the River Severn broke its banks and the subsequent flood was the worst ever seen by Worcester. The closest flood height to what is known as The Flood of 1670 was when the Severn flooded in the rains of July 2007
28.
Kingdom of Northumbria
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The Kingdom of Northumbria was a medieval Anglian kingdom in what is now northern England and south-east Scotland, which subsequently became an earldom in a unified English kingdom. The name reflects the southern limit to the kingdoms territory. Northumbria was formed by Æthelfrith in central Great Britain in Anglo-Saxon times, at the beginning of the 7th century, the two kingdoms of Bernicia and Deira were unified. At its height, the kingdom extended at least from just south of the Humber to the River Mersey, the later earldom came about when the southern part of Northumbria was lost to the Danelaw. The earldom was bounded by the River Tees in the south, much of this land was debated between England and Scotland, but the Earldom of Northumbria was eventually recognised as part of England by the Anglo-Scottish Treaty of York in 1237. On the northern border, Berwick-upon-Tweed, which is north of the Tweed but had changed many times, was defined as subject to the laws of England by the Wales. The local Environment Agency office, located in Newcastle Business Park, otherwise, the term is not the official name for the UK and EU region of North East England. See also, List of monarchs of Northumbria and Timeline of Northumbria Northumbria was originally formed from the union of two independent kingdoms, Bernicia and Deira, Bernicia covered lands north of the Tees, while Deira corresponded roughly to modern-day Yorkshire. Bernicia and Deira were first united by Aethelfrith, a king of Bernicia who conquered Deira around the year 604. He was defeated and killed around the year 616 in battle at the River Idle by Raedwald of East Anglia, who installed Edwin, the son of Ælla, a former king of Deira, as king. Edwin, who accepted Christianity in 627, soon grew to become the most powerful king in England, he was recognised as Bretwalda and conquered the Isle of Man and Gwynedd in northern Wales. He was, however, himself defeated by an alliance of the king of Gwynedd, Cadwallon ap Cadfan. After Edwins death, Northumbria was split between Bernicia, where Eanfrith, a son of Aethelfrith, took power, and Deira, cumbria tended to remain a country frontier with the Britons. Both of these rulers were killed during the year that followed, after the murder of Eanfrith, his brother, Oswald, backed by warriors sent by Domnall Brecc of Dál Riata, defeated and killed Cadwallon at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634. He incorporated Gododdin lands northwards up to the Firth of Forth and also extended his reach westward, encroaching on the remaining Cumbric speaking kingdoms of Rheged. Thus, Northumbria became not only part of modern Englands far north, King Oswald re-introduced Christianity to the Kingdom by appointing St. Aidan, an Irish monk from the Scottish island of Iona to convert his people. This led to the introduction of the practices of Celtic Christianity, a monastery was established on Lindisfarne. In 642, Oswald was killed by the Mercians under Penda at the Battle of Maserfield and this battle marked a major turning point in Northumbrian fortunes, Penda died in the battle, and Oswiu gained supremacy over Mercia, making himself the most powerful king in England
29.
Siward, Earl of Northumbria
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Siward or Sigurd was an important earl of 11th-century northern England. The Old Norse nickname Digri and its Latin translation Grossus are given to him by near-contemporary texts, Siward was probably of Scandinavian origin, perhaps a relative of Earl Ulf, and emerged as a powerful regional strongman in England during the reign of Cnut. Cnut was a Scandinavian ruler who conquered England in the 1010s, Siward subsequently rose to become sub-ruler of most of northern England. From 1033 at the latest Siward was in control of southern Northumbria and he entrenched his position in northern England by marrying Ælfflæd, the daughter of Ealdred, Earl of Bamburgh. After killing Ealdreds successor Eadulf in 1041, Siward gained control of all Northumbria and he exerted his power in support of Cnuts successors, kings Harthacnut and Edward, assisting them with vital military aid and counsel. He probably gained control of the shires of Northampton and Huntingdon by the 1050s. In the early 1050s Earl Siward turned against the Scottish ruler Mac Bethad mac Findlaích, despite the death of his son Osbjorn, Siward defeated Mac Bethad in battle in 1054. More than half a millennium later the Scotland adventure earned him a place in William Shakespeares Macbeth, Siward died in 1055, leaving one son, Waltheof, who would eventually succeed to Northumbria. St Olaves church in York and nearby Heslington Hill are associated with Siward, source material on Siwards life and career is scarce, and only a small and potentially unrepresentative amount of information exists. Other sources include the material attributed to Symeon of Durham, Siwards career in northern England spanned the reigns of four different monarchs. It began during the reign of Cnut, and lasted through those of Harold Harefoot, most important was the reign of Cnut, in which so many new political figures rose to power that some historians think it comparable to the Norman conquest five decades later. These new men were military figures, usually with weak hereditary links to the West Saxon royal house that Cnut had deposed, as Cnut ruled several Scandinavian kingdoms in addition to England, power at the highest level was delegated to such strongmen. In England, it fell to a handful of newly promoted ealdormen or earls, Siward was, in the words of historian Robin Fleming, the third man in Cnuts new triumvirate of earls, the other two being Godwine, Earl of Wessex and Leofwine, Earl of Mercia. Northern England in the 11th-century was a quite distinct from the rest of the country. The former kingdom of Northumbria stretched from the Humber and Mersey estuaries, northward to the Firth of Forth, the former is associated with the stronghold of Bamburgh, while the latter is associated with the great Roman city of York. It was a fragmented region. One such example was the magnate Thurbrand, a hold in Yorkshire, probably based in Holderness, historians generally claim Siward to be of Scandinavian origin, a conclusion supported by the Vita Ædwardi Regis, which states that Siward was Digri in the Danish tongue. Historian Timothy Bolton has recently argued that the similarities between these genealogies is evidence of a family tradition between the descendants of Siward and Thorgil Sprakling
30.
Bernicia
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Bernicia was an Anglo-Saxon kingdom established by Anglian settlers of the 6th century in what is now southeastern Scotland and North East England. In the early 7th century, it merged with its neighbour, Deira, to form the kingdom of Northumbria. Bernicia occurs in Old Welsh poetry as Bryneich or Brynaich and in the 9th-century Historia Brittonum and this was most likely the name of the native Brittonic kingdom, whose name was then adopted by the Anglian settlers who rendered it in Old English as Bernice or Beornice. Local linguistic evidence suggests continued political activity in the area before the arrival of the Angles, analysis of a potential derivation has not produced a consensus. The most commonly cited etymology gives the meaning as Land of the Mountain Passes or Land of the Gaps, an earlier derivation from the tribal name of the Brigantes has been dismissed as linguistically unsound. The Brythonic kingdom of the area was formed from what had once been the lands of the Votadini. This northern realm is referred to by Welsh scholars as Yr Hen Ogledd or, literally, the kingdom may have been ruled from the site that later became the English Bamburgh, which certainly features in Welsh sources as Din Guardi. Near this high-status residence lay the island of Lindisfarne, which became the seat of the Bernician bishops and it is unknown when the Angles finally conquered the whole region, but around 604 is likely. There are several Old Welsh pedigrees of princely Men of the North that may represent the kings of the British kingdom in the area, some of the Angles of Bernicia may have been employed as mercenaries along Hadrians Wall during the late Roman period. Others are thought to have migrated north from Deira in the early 6th century, the first Anglian king in the historical record is Ida, who is said to have obtained the throne and the kingdom about 547. His sons spent many years fighting a force from the surrounding Brythonic kingdoms until their alliance collapsed into civil war. Ida’s grandson, Æthelfrith, united Deira with his own kingdom by force around the year 604 and he ruled the two kingdoms until he was defeated and killed by Rædwald of East Anglia around the year 616. The early part of Edwins reign was spent finishing off the remaining resistance coming from the Brythonic exiles of the old British kingdom. After he had defeated the remaining Brythonic population of the area, Bernicia was then briefly ruled by Eanfrith, son of Æthelfrith, but after about a year he went to Cadwallon to sue for peace and was killed. Eanfriths brother Oswald then raised an army and finally defeated Cadwallon at the Battle of Heavenfield in 634, after this victory, Oswald appears to have been recognised by both Bernicians and Deirans as king of a properly united Northumbria. The kings of Bernicia were thereafter supreme in that kingdom, although Deira had its own sub-kings at times during the reigns of Oswiu, language and History in Early Britain. The Gododdin, The Oldest Scottish poem, the Gododdin of Aneurin, Text and context from Dark-Age North Britain. ISBN 0-7083-1374-4 Rollason, David W. Northumbria, 500–1100, Creation and Destruction of a Kingdom, Alcock, Leslie, Kings and Warriors, Craftsmen and Priests in Northern Britain AD 550–850
31.
Ramsey Abbey
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Ramsey Abbey is a former Benedictine abbey located in Ramsey, Cambridgeshire, England, southeast of Peterborough. Ramsey Abbey was founded in 969 by Saint Oswald, Bishop of Worcester through the gift of a local magnate, the foundation was part of the mid-10th century English Benedictine reform, in which Ely and Peterborough were also refounded. It paid 4000 eels yearly in Lent to Peterborough Abbey for access to its quarries of Barnack limestone, the important Ramsey Psalter or Psalter of Oswald appears to have been made for it around 980. This is not to be confused with another Ramsey Psalter in the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York, a Prior and twelve monks formed the original foundation. The Abbey itself was situated on a peninsula of gravel, known as Bodsey Island. The chapel was replaced by a large, stone-built church over the five years. It was thought to have founded by Earl Ailwyn, an effigy of whom is thought to be within the Abbey dating from 1230. Considerable damage was inflicted upon the Abbey by Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1143, he expelled the monks, in the order of precedence for abbots in Parliament, Ramsey was third after Glastonbury and St Albans. The abbey prospered until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 and was a centre of Hebrew scholarship in the late Middle Ages. In 1787 Mark Noble noted, The abbey of Ramsey, i. e, at the time of the Dissolution there were still 34 monks. Stone from the abbey was used to build Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge, Kings College, Cambridge, the Abbey lands were sold to Sir Richard Williams. Sir Henry Cromwell started to build the present country house on the site, in 1737 the abbey was bought by Coulson Fellowes, MP for Huntingdonshire from 1741 to 1761. It passed down several generations of Fellowes, who became the Barons de Ramsey. In 1931 the family moved their seat to Abbots Ripton Hall at the coming of age of the 4th Baron, in 1952 they donated the gatehouse to the National Trust, who allow it to be used as part of the school. Ramsey Abbey House, the Gatehouse, Almshouses and the church can still be seen. The Abbey Gatehouse is a National Trust property, part of the gatehouse was removed by the son and heir of Sir Richard to form the main gateway to Hinchingbrooke House in Huntingdon, his newly built winter residence. Today, what remains of the gatehouse also forms a part of the college, the towns parish church of St Thomas Becket was built ca. 1180-90 as a hospital, infirmary or guesthouse of the abbey and it was originally an aisled hall with a chapel at the east end with a vestry on the north side and the wardens lodgings on the south, but both these have been demolished
32.
Normandy
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Normandy is one of the regions of France, roughly corresponding to the historical Duchy of Normandy. Administratively, Normandy is divided into five departments, Calvados, Eure, Manche, Orne and it covers 30,627 km², forming roughly 5% of the territory of France. Its population of 3.37 million accounts for around 5% of the population of France, Normans is the name given to the inhabitants of Normandy, and the region is the homeland of the Norman language. The historical region of Normandy comprised the region of Normandy, as well as small areas now part of the départements, or departments of Mayenne. For a century and a following the Norman conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman. Archaeological finds, such as paintings, prove that humans were present in the region in prehistoric times. Celts invaded Normandy in successive waves from the 4th to the 3rd century BC, when Julius Caesar invaded Gaul, there were nine different Celtic tribes living in Normandy. The Romanisation of Normandy was achieved by the methods, Roman roads. Classicists have knowledge of many Gallo-Roman villas in Normandy, in the late 3rd century, barbarian raids devastated Normandy. Coastal settlements were raided by Saxon pirates, Christianity also began to enter the area during this period. In 406, Germanic tribes began invading from the east, while the Saxons subjugated the Norman coast, the Roman Emperor withdrew from most of Normandy. As early as 487, the area between the River Somme and the River Loire came under the control of the Frankish lord Clovis, the Vikings started to raid the Seine Valley during the middle of the 9th century. As early as 841, a Viking fleet appeared at the mouth of the Seine, after attacking and destroying monasteries, including one at Jumièges, they took advantage of the power vacuum created by the disintegration of Charlemagnes empire to take northern France. The fiefdom of Normandy was created for the Norwegian Viking leader Hrólfr Ragnvaldsson, Rollo had besieged Paris but in 911 entered vassalage to the king of the West Franks, Charles the Simple, through the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for his homage and fealty, Rollo legally gained the territory which he, the name Normandy reflects Rollos Viking origins. The descendants of Rollo and his followers adopted the local Gallo-Romance language and they became the Normans – a Norman-speaking mixture of Saxons and indigenous Franks and Celts. Besides the Norman conquest of England and the subsequent conquests of Wales and Ireland, Norman families, such as that of Tancred of Hauteville, Rainulf Drengot and Guimond de Moulins played important parts in the Norman conquest of southern Italy and Crusades. They also carved out a place for themselves and their descendants in the Crusader states of Asia Minor, the 14th century Norman explorer Jean de Béthencourt established a kingdom in the Canary Islands
33.
Halfdan Egedius
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Halfdan Egedius was a Norwegian painter and illustrator. Halfdan Johnsen Egedius was born in Drammen in Buskerud county and grew up in Christiania and his interest in painting and illustration began at the age of 5 and he showed exceptional artistic abilities early. He attended art school from the age of 9 at the school of art of Knud Bergslien, in 1891 he was a pupil of Erik Werenskiold, and from 1891 to 1892 he studied at the Arts and Crafts School in Christiania. In 1894 he attended the Harriet Backer art school, during spring 1896, he was a student of Kristian Zahrtmann in Copenhagen. From the age of 15 he began painting the landscape of Telemark, professionally known as Halfdan Johnsen Egedius, he was active from the age of 16 until his premature death at the age of 21. In his short life he managed to create several Norwegian masterpieces in a variety of styles and he is best known for his illustrations of the Heimskringla in a style inspired by Werenskiold. Halfdan Egedius became ill during a stay in Telemark in 1898, and after relapsing before Christmas, was hospitalized in Christiania. The cause of death was actinomycosis, an infection that attacked the internal organs. He was buried in the churchyard at Vestre Aker, fifty years after his death, a memorial stone was erected. ISBN 82-09-01753-5 Works by Halfdan Egedius at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Halfdan Egedius at Internet Archive
34.
Heimskringla
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Heimskringla is the best known of the Old Norse kings sagas. It was written in Old Norse in Iceland by the poet, the name Heimskringla was first used in the 17th century, derived from the first two words of one of the manuscripts. Snorri had himself visited Norway and Sweden, for events of the mid-12th century, Snorri explicitly names the now lost work Hryggjarstykki as his source. The composition of the sagas is Snorris, the earliest parchment copy of the work is referred to as Kringla. It voyaged from Iceland to Bergen, Norway and was moved to Copenhagen, at that time it had lost the first page, but the second starts Kringla heimsins, the Earths circle of the Laing translation. In the 17th century copies were made by Icelanders Jon Eggertson, eggertsons copy went to the Royal Library at Stockholm. The Copenhagen manuscript was among the many destroyed in the Copenhagen Fire of 1728. Only one leaf of the manuscript survived and it is now kept in the National, by the mid-16th century, the Old Norse language was unintelligible to Norwegian, Swedish or Danish readers. At that time several translations of extracts were made in Norway into the Danish language, the first complete translation was made around 1600 by Peder Claussøn Friis, and printed in 1633. This was based on a known as Jofraskinna. This edition also included the first printing of the text in Old Norse, a new Danish translation with the text in Old Norse and a Latin translation came out in 1777-1783. An English translation by Samuel Laing was finally published in 1844, in the 19th century, as Norway was achieving independence after centuries of union with Denmark and Sweden, the stories of the independent Norwegian medieval kingdom won great popularity in Norway. Heimskringla, although written by an Icelander, became an important national symbol for Norway during the period of romantic nationalism, Heimskringla consists of several chapters, each one individually called a saga, which can be literally translated as tale. The subsequent sagas are devoted to individual rulers, starting with Halfdan the Black, the stories are told with a life and freshness, giving a picture of human life in all its reality. A version of the Óláfs saga helga, which is about the saint Olaf II of Norway, is the main part and his 15-year-long reign takes up about one third of the entire work. This saga is an epic in prose, and is also of particular relevance to the history of England. The first part of the Heimskringla is rooted in Norse mythology, as it advances, fable and fact all curiously intermingle, the value of Heimskringla as a historical source has been estimated in different ways during recent times. The historians of mid-19th century put great trust in the truth of Snorris narrative
35.
Harald Hardrada
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Harald Sigurdsson, given the epithet Hardrada in the sagas, was King of Norway from 1046 to 1066. In addition, he claimed the Danish throne until 1064. Prior to becoming king, Harald had spent around fifteen years in exile as a mercenary and military commander in Kievan Rus, when he was fifteen years old, in 1030, Harald fought in the Battle of Stiklestad together with his half-brother Olaf Haraldsson. Olaf sought to reclaim the Norwegian throne, which he had lost to the Danish king Cnut the Great two years prior, in the battle, Olaf and Harald were defeated by forces loyal to Cnut, and Harald was forced into exile to Kievan Rus. He thereafter spent some time in the army of Grand Prince Yaroslav the Wise, eventually obtaining rank as a captain, Harald amassed considerable wealth during his time in the Byzantine Empire, which he shipped to Yaroslav in Kievan Rus for safekeeping. He finally left the Byzantines in 1042, and arrived back in Kievan Rus in order to prepare his campaign of reclaiming the Norwegian throne, possibly to Haralds knowledge, in his absence the Norwegian throne had been restored from the Danes to Olafs illegitimate son Magnus the Good. In 1046, Harald joined forces with Magnuss rival in Denmark, the pretender Sweyn II of Denmark, Magnus, unwilling to fight his uncle, agreed to share the kingship with Harald, since Harald in turn would share his wealth with him. The co-rule ended abruptly the next year as Magnus died, domestically, Harald crushed all local and regional opposition, and outlined the territorial unification of Norway under a national governance. Haralds reign was one of relative peace and stability, and he instituted a viable coin economy. Probably seeking to restore Cnuts North Sea Empire, Harald also claimed the Danish throne, although the campaigns were successful, he was never able to conquer Denmark. Harald went along and entered Northern England in September 1066, raided the coast, although initially successful, Harald was defeated and killed in an attack by Harold Godwinsons forces in the Battle of Stamford Bridge. Modern historians have often considered Haralds death at Stamford Bridge, which brought an end to his invasion, Harald is also commonly held to have been the last great Viking king, or even the last great Viking. Through his mother Åsta, Harald was the youngest of King Olaf Haraldssons three half-brothers, in his youth, Harald displayed traits of a typical rebel with big ambitions, and admired Olaf as his role model. He thus differed from his two brothers, who were more similar to their father, down-to-earth and mostly concerned with maintaining the farm. The Icelandic sagas, in particular Snorri Sturluson in Heimskringla, claim that Sigurd, following a revolt in 1028, Haralds brother Olaf was forced into exile until he returned to Norway in early 1030. On hearing news of Olafs planned return, Harald gathered 600 men from the Uplands to meet Olaf and his men upon their arrival in the east of Norway. After a friendly welcome, Olaf went on to gather an army and eventually fight in the Battle of Stiklestad on 29 July 1030, the battle was part of an attempt to restore Olaf to the Norwegian throne, which had been captured by the Danish king Cnut the Great. The battle resulted in defeat for the brothers at the hands of those Norwegians who were loyal to Cnut, Harald was nonetheless remarked to have shown considerable military talent during the battle
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