1.
Oxfordshire
–
Oxfordshire is a county in South East England bordering on Warwickshire, Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The county has major education and tourist industries and is noted for the concentration of performance companies and facilities. Oxford University Press is the largest firm among a concentration of print and publishing firms, the main centre of population is the city of Oxford. The highest point is White Horse Hill, in the Vale of White Horse, oxfordshires county flower is the Snakes-head Fritillary. Historically the area has always had some importance, since it contains valuable agricultural land in the centre of the county, largely ignored by the Romans, it was not until the formation of a settlement at Oxford in the eighth century that the area grew in importance. Alfred the Great was born across the Thames in Wantage, Vale of White Horse, the University of Oxford was founded in 1096, though its collegiate structure did not develop until later on. The university in the county town of Oxford grew in importance during the Middle Ages, the area was part of the Cotswolds wool trade from the 13th century, generating much wealth, particularly in the western portions of the county in the Oxfordshire Cotswolds. Morris Motors was founded in Oxford in 1912, bringing industry to an otherwise agricultural county. The importance of agriculture as an employer has declined rapidly in the 20th century though, nonetheless, Oxfordshire remains a very agricultural county by land use, with a lower population than neighbouring Berkshire and Buckinghamshire, which are both smaller. The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, the army unit in the area, was based at Cowley Barracks on Bullingdon Green. Conversely, the Caversham area of Reading, now administratively in Berkshire, was part of Oxfordshire as was the parish of Stokenchurch. This is a chart of trend of gross value added of Oxfordshire at current basic prices published by the Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling. Oxfordshire has a comprehensive education system with 23 independent schools and 35 state secondary schools. Only eight schools do not have a form, these are mostly in South Oxfordshire. The county has two universities, the ancient University of Oxford and the modern Oxford Brookes University, both located in Oxford, in addition, Wroxton College, located in Banbury, is affiliated with Fairleigh Dickinson University of New Jersey. The dreaming spires of the buildings of the University of Oxford are among the reasons for Oxford being the sixth most visited city in the United Kingdom for international visitors. Among many notable University buildings are the Sheldonian Theatre, built 1664–68 to the design of Sir Christopher Wren, Blenheim Palace close to Woodstock was built by the great architect John Vanbrugh for John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, after he had won the battle of Blenheim. The gardens, which can be visited, were designed by the landscape gardener Capability Brown, in the palace, which can also be visited by the public, Sir Winston Churchill was born in 1874
2.
Order of the Garter
–
The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
3.
English people
–
The English are a nation and an ethnic group native to England, who speak the English language. The English identity is of medieval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Angelcynn. Their ethnonym is derived from the Angles, one of the Germanic peoples who migrated to Great Britain around the 5th century AD, England is one of the countries of the United Kingdom. Collectively known as the Anglo-Saxons, they founded what was to become England along with the later Danes, Normans, in the Acts of Union 1707, the Kingdom of England was succeeded by the Kingdom of Great Britain. Over the years, English customs and identity have become closely aligned with British customs. The English people are the source of the English language, the Westminster system and these and other English cultural characteristics have spread worldwide, in part as a result of the former British Empire. The concept of an English nation is far older than that of the British nation, many recent immigrants to England have assumed a solely British identity, while others have developed dual or mixed identities. Use of the word English to describe Britons from ethnic minorities in England is complicated by most non-white people in England identifying as British rather than English. In their 2004 Annual Population Survey, the Office for National Statistics compared the ethnic identities of British people with their national identity. They found that while 58% of white people in England described their nationality as English and it is unclear how many British people consider themselves English. Following complaints about this, the 2011 census was changed to allow respondents to record their English, Welsh, Scottish, another complication in defining the English is a common tendency for the words English and British to be used interchangeably, especially overseas. In his study of English identity, Krishan Kumar describes a common slip of the tongue in which people say English, I mean British. He notes that this slip is made only by the English themselves and by foreigners. Kumar suggests that although this blurring is a sign of Englands dominant position with the UK and it tells of the difficulty that most English people have of distinguishing themselves, in a collective way, from the other inhabitants of the British Isles. In 1965, the historian A. J. P. Taylor wrote, When the Oxford History of England was launched a generation ago and it meant indiscriminately England and Wales, Great Britain, the United Kingdom, and even the British Empire. Foreigners used it as the name of a Great Power and indeed continue to do so, bonar Law, by origin a Scotch Canadian, was not ashamed to describe himself as Prime Minister of England Now terms have become more rigorous. The use of England except for a geographic area brings protests and this version of history is now regarded by many historians as incorrect, on the basis of more recent genetic and archaeological research. The 2016 study authored by Stephan Schiffels et al, the remaining portion of English DNA is primarily French, introduced in a migration after the end of the Ice Age
4.
Ela of Salisbury, 3rd Countess of Salisbury
–
Ela held the post of High Sheriff of Wiltshire for two years after Williams death, then became a nun, and eventually Abbess of Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire, which she had founded in 1229. Ela was born in Amesbury, Wiltshire in 1187, the child and heiress of William FitzPatrick, 2nd Earl of Salisbury. In 1196, she succeeded her father as suo jure 3rd Countess of Salisbury, there is a story that immediately following her fathers death she was imprisoned in a castle in Normandy by one of her paternal uncles who wished to take her title and enormous wealth for himself. In 1198, Elas mother married her husband, Gilbert de Malesmains. Longespee became 3rd Earl of Salisbury by right of his wife, the Continuator of Florence recorded that their marriage had been arranged by King Richard I of England, who was Williams legitimate half-brother. William was killed while on crusade at the Battle of Mansurah, Richard Longespée, clerk and canon of Salisbury. Nicholas Longespée, Bishop of Salisbury Isabella Longespée, married as his first wife shortly after 16 May 1226, William de Vescy, Lord of Alnwick, by whom she had issue. Petronilla Longespée, died unmarried Ela Longespée, who first married Thomas de Beaumont, 6th Earl of Warwick, ida II de Longespée, married Sir Walter FitzRobert, son of Robert Fitzwalter, by whom she had issue including Ela FitzWalter, wife of William de Odyngsells. Elas and Williamss grandsons include William de Clinton and John de Grey, in 1225, Elas husband William was shipwrecked off the coast of Brittany, upon returning from Gascony. He spent months recovering at a monastery on the Island of Ré in France and he died at Salisbury Castle on 7 March 1226 just several days after arriving in England. Ela held the post of Sheriff of Wiltshire for two following her husbands death. Three years later in 1229, Ela founded Lacock Abbey in Wiltshire as a nunnery of the Augustinian order, in 1238, she entered the abbey as a nun, she was made Abbess of Lacock in 1240, and held the post until 1257. The Book of Lacock recorded that Ela founded the monasteries at Lacock, during her tenure as abbess, Ela obtained many rights for the abbey and village of Lacock. Ela, Countess of Salisbury died on 24 August 1261 and was buried in Lacock Abbey, the inscription on her tombstone, originally written in Latin, reads, Below lie buried the bones of the venerable Ela, who gave this sacred house as a home for the nuns. Ela has been described as having one of the two towering female figures of the mid-13th century, the other one being Margaret de Quincy
5.
Coat of arms
–
A coat of arms is an heraldic visual design on an escutcheon, surcoat, or tabard. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the heraldic achievement which in its whole consists of shield, supporters, crest. A coat of arms is traditionally unique to a person, family, state. The ancient Romans used similar insignia on their shields, but these identified military units rather than individuals, the first evidence of medieval coats of arms has been attributed to the 11th century Bayeux Tapestry in which some of the combatants carry shields painted with crosses. However, that heraldic interpretation remains controversial, coats of arms came into general use by feudal lords and knights in battle in the 12th century. By the 13th century, arms had spread beyond their initial battlefield use to become a flag or emblem for families in the social classes of Europe. Exactly who had a right to use arms, by law or social convention, in the German-speaking regions both the aristocracy and burghers used arms, while in most of the rest of Europe they were limited to the aristocracy. The use of spread to the clergy, to towns as civic identifiers. Flags developed from coats of arms, and the arts of vexillology, the coats of arms granted to commercial companies are a major source of the modern logo. Despite no widespread regulation, heraldry has remained consistent across Europe, some nations, like England and Scotland, still maintain the same heraldic authorities which have traditionally granted and regulated arms for centuries and continue to do so in the present day. In England, for example, the granting of arms is and has controlled by the College of Arms. Unlike seals and other emblems, heraldic achievements have a formal description called a blazon. Many societies exist that also aid in the design and registration of personal arms, in the heraldic traditions of England and Scotland, an individual, rather than a family, had a coat of arms. In those traditions coats of arms are legal property transmitted from father to son, wives, undifferenced arms are used only by one person at any given time. Other descendants of the bearer could bear the ancestral arms only with some difference. One such charge is the label, which in British usage is now always the mark of an apparent or an heir presumptive. Because of their importance in identification, particularly in seals on legal documents and this has been carried out by heralds and the study of coats of arms is therefore called heraldry. In time, the use of arms spread from military entities to educational institutes, the author Helen Stuart argues that some coats of arms were a form of corporate logo
6.
Lord Steward
–
The Lord Steward or Lord Steward of the Household, in England, is an important official of the Royal Household. Until 1924, he was always a member of the Government, until 1782, the office was one of considerable political importance and carried Cabinet rank. The Lord Steward receives his appointment from the Sovereign in person and bears a white staff as the emblem and he is the first dignitary of the court. In an Act of passed in 1539 for placing of the lords and he presided at the Board of Green Cloth, until the Board of Green Cloth disappeared in the reform of local government licensing in 2004, brought about by the Licensing Act 2003. In his department are the Treasurer of the Household and Comptroller of the Household and these officials were usually peers or the sons of peers and Privy Councillors. They also sat at the Board of Green Cloth, carry white staves, the offices are now held by Government whips in the House of Commons. However, by the Coroners Act 1988, the Lord Steward still appoints the Coroner of the Queens Household. He is not named in the Black Book of Edward IV or in the Statutes of Henry VIII and is entered as master of the household and clerk of the green cloth in the Household Book of Queen Elizabeth. But he has superseded the lord steward of the household, as the steward of the household at one time superseded the Lord High Steward of England. In the Lord Stewards department were the officials of the Board of Green Cloth, the Coroner, and Paymaster of the Household, and the officers of the Royal Almonry. The Lord Steward had formerly three courts besides the Board of Green Cloth under him—the Lord Stewards Court, superseded in 1541 by the Marshalsea Court, the Lord Steward or his deputies formerly administered the oaths to the members of the House of Commons. In certain cases the lords with white staves are the persons to bear communications between the Sovereign and the Houses of Parliament.1485 The Lord FitzWalter 1485–aft. 1486 The Lord Willoughby de Broke 1488–1502 The Earl of Shrewsbury 1502–1538 The Earl of Sussex 1538–1540
7.
Edward III of England
–
Edward III transformed the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe. Edward was crowned at age fourteen after his father was deposed by his mother, Isabella of France, at age seventeen he led a successful coup against Mortimer, the de facto ruler of the country, and began his personal reign. After a successful campaign in Scotland he declared himself heir to the French throne in 1337. This started what would become known as the Hundred Years War, following some initial setbacks the war went exceptionally well for England, victories at Crécy and Poitiers led to the highly favourable Treaty of Brétigny. Edwards later years, however, were marked by international failure and domestic strife, largely as a result of his inactivity, Edward III was a temperamental man but capable of unusual clemency. He was in ways a conventional king whose main interest was warfare. Admired in his own time and for centuries after, Edward was denounced as an adventurer by later Whig historians such as William Stubbs. This view has been challenged recently and modern historians credit him with some significant achievements, Edward was born at Windsor Castle on 13 November 1312, and was often referred to as Edward of Windsor in his early years. The reign of his father, Edward II, was a problematic period of English history. One source of contention was the inactivity, and repeated failure. Another controversial issue was the kings patronage of a small group of royal favourites. The birth of an heir in 1312 temporarily improved Edward IIs position in relation to the baronial opposition. To bolster further the independent prestige of the prince, the king had him created Earl of Chester at only twelve days of age. In 1325, Edward II was faced with a demand from his brother-in-law, Charles IV of France, Edward was reluctant to leave the country, as discontent was once again brewing domestically, particularly over his relationship with the favourite Hugh Despenser the Younger. Instead, he had his son Edward created Duke of Aquitaine in his place, the young Edward was accompanied by his mother Isabella, who was the sister of King Charles, and was meant to negotiate a peace treaty with the French. While in France, however, Isabella conspired with the exiled Roger Mortimer to have Edward deposed, to build up diplomatic and military support for the venture, Isabella had Prince Edward engaged to the twelve-year-old Philippa of Hainault. An invasion of England was launched and Edward IIs forces deserted him completely, the king was forced to relinquish the throne to his son on 25 January 1327. The new king was crowned as Edward III on 1 February 1327 and it was not long before the new reign also met with other problems caused by the central position at court of Roger Mortimer, who was now the de facto ruler of England
8.
Bedale
–
Bedale is a market town and civil parish in the district of Hambleton, North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, it is situated 34 miles north of Leeds,26 miles south-west of Middlesbrough and 7 miles south-west of the county town of Northallerton. It was originally in Richmondshire and listed in the Domesday Book as part of Catterick wapentake, before the Harrying of the North Bedale was held by Torpin, a patronym retained by the infamous Dick Turpin. The parish church dates from this time, before significant remodelling. The original 9th century church escaped destruction in the Harrying of the North and was recorded in the Domesday Book, the recent discovery of the Bedale Hoard provides further evidence of high-status Anglo-Saxon and Viking age activity in the area. The town was recorded as Bedell or Bedhal and derives from Bedas Halh which means the corner or place of Beda. Bedale Hall marks the site of a built in the reign of King Edward I of England by Sir Bryan FitzAlan, Lord of the Manor of Bedale. This baron also built Killerby Castle and Askham Bryan in Yorkshire and his co-heir jure uxoris, Sir Gilbert de Stapleton of Carleton, Knt, was a conspirator in the assassination of Piers Gaveston. Sir Miles Stapleton was a founding Knight of the Order of the Garter, the Stapletons were Lollard knights and were Lords of the Manor of Bedale for generations. Bedale had traditionally been a Lancastrian area, until the Kingmaker, Clarence and Gloucester obtained Richmond, the inhabitants of the region went on several recusancy strikes, such as the Pilgrimage of Grace and made trouble for John Nevill, 3rd Baron Latymer in Snape Castle. Middleham Castle was subsequently ordered to be demolished by the Parliamentarians so that the Royalists could not take it again, however, there is no documentary proof that this order was ever carried out. Lord of the Manor of Bedale, &c. was a descendant of Conan I of Rennes and he had two known sons, the younger being Theobald FitzAlan of Stow and Quy, and was succeeded at Bedale by the eldest, Sir Brian FitzAlan Knt. He was summoned to parliament from 24 June 1295 to 22 January 1305 by Writs directed to Briano filio Alani whereby he is held to have become Lord FitzAlan, upon his death any hereditary peerage created by the Writ of 1295 is held to be in abeyance. His daughters Agnes and Katherine were his co-heirs in his landed estates and they were also co-heirs to his brother, Theobald. Katherine married Sir John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield and his younger brother Brian Stapleton of Crispings and Hasilden, Norfolk died about the same time and they both left only co-heiresses. An electoral ward in the name exists. This ward includes Aiskew parish and had a population of 4,601 at the 2011 Census. This Gothic church retains some Catholic relics, although during the English Civil War Puritans vandalised features such as statues, when Scots raided the countryside, inhabitants expected to find security in St Gregorys pele tower
9.
John, King of England
–
John, also known as John Lackland, was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death in 1216. The baronial revolt at the end of Johns reign led to the sealing of Magna Carta, John, the youngest of five sons of King Henry II of England and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine, was at first not expected to inherit significant lands. Following the failed rebellion of his brothers between 1173 and 1174, however, John became Henrys favourite child. He was appointed the Lord of Ireland in 1177 and given lands in England, Johns elder brothers William, Henry and Geoffrey died young, by the time Richard I became king in 1189, John was a potential heir to the throne. John unsuccessfully attempted a rebellion against Richards royal administrators whilst his brother was participating in the Third Crusade, John spent much of the next decade attempting to regain these lands, raising huge revenues, reforming his armed forces and rebuilding continental alliances. Johns judicial reforms had a impact on the English common law system. An argument with Pope Innocent III led to Johns excommunication in 1209, Johns attempt to defeat Philip in 1214 failed due to the French victory over Johns allies at the battle of Bouvines. When he returned to England, John faced a rebellion by many of his barons, although both John and the barons agreed to the Magna Carta peace treaty in 1215, neither side complied with its conditions. Civil war broke out shortly afterwards, with the barons aided by Louis of France and it soon descended into a stalemate. John was born to Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine on 24 December 1166, Henry had inherited significant territories along the Atlantic seaboard—Anjou, Normandy and England—and expanded his empire by conquering Brittany. The result was the Angevin Empire, named after Henrys paternal title as Count of Anjou and, more specifically, its seat in Angers. The Empire, however, was fragile, although all the lands owed allegiance to Henry. As one moved south through Anjou and Aquitaine, the extent of Henrys power in the provinces diminished considerably, scarcely resembling the concept of an empire at all. Some of the ties between parts of the empire such as Normandy and England were slowly dissolving over time. It was unclear what would happen to the empire on Henrys death, most believed that Henry would divide the empire, giving each son a substantial portion, and hoping that his children would continue to work together as allies after his death. To complicate matters, much of the Angevin empire was held by Henry only as a vassal of the King of France of the line of the House of Capet. Henry had often allied himself with the Holy Roman Emperor against France, shortly after his birth, John was passed from Eleanor into the care of a wet nurse, a traditional practice for medieval noble families. Eleanor then left for Poitiers, the capital of Aquitaine, and sent John and this may have been done with the aim of steering her youngest son, with no obvious inheritance, towards a future ecclesiastical career
10.
Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh
–
Henry FitzHugh, 3rd Baron FitzHugh KG was an English administrator and diplomat who served under Henry IV and Henry V. Summoned to parliament in 1388, FitzHugh became active in public affairs following Henry IVs succession and he was engaged in Anglo-Scottish diplomacy, taking part in the Battle of Humbleton Hill in 1402 and negotiating the surrender of his uncle, Archbishop of York Richard le Scrope, in 1405. The next year he travelled to Denmark as part of the escort of Philippa, Henrys daughter, for her marriage to Eric of Pomerania, king of Denmark, Norway, at the coronation of Henry V in 1413, FitzHugh was Constable. During Henrys reign, he served as Chamberlain of the Household and he participated in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415 and subsequent diplomacy with the French, which led to the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. He travelled with the king to France, and he escorted the remains back to England following his death in 1422. He was an executor of Henrys will and was a feoffee of lands in the will and he became a Knight of the Garter about 1409. After his death on 11 January 1425, FitzHugh was buried at Jervaulx Abbey in Yorkshire at his request, an English order was established in 1415 at Twickenham with the assistance of Henry V. He also attended the Council of Constance in 1415, a descendant of Akarius Fitz Bardolph, FitzHugh was the first son of Hugh FitzHugh, 2nd Baron FitzHugh, and Joan, daughter of Henry Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Masham. He married Elizabeth Grey, daughter of Sir Robert de Grey and his wife, Robert was a son of John de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Rotherfield and Avice Marmion. They had eight sons and six daughters, including, William FitzHugh, 4th Baron FitzHugh, married to Margery Willoughby, daughter of William Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby de Eresby. Robert FitzHugh, Bishop of London Eleanor FitzHugh, who married firstly to Philip Darcy, 6th Lord Darcy of Knayth, they were parents to Elizabeth Darcy, Eleanor married secondly to Thomas Tunstall and thirdly to Henry Bromflete, 1st Baron Vesci. Elizabeth FitzHugh, married firstly on 10 December 1427 to Sir Ralph Gray of Chillingham and secondly, in 1445 and her only issue was by her first husband. Elizabeth was a lady-in-waiting to queen consort Margaret of Anjou, maud FitzHugh, wife of Sir William Eure of Witton. Laura or Lora FitzHugh, wife of Sir Maurice de Berkeley of Beverstone, Gloucestershire
