1.
Hugh of Italy
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Hugh of Arles was King of Italy from 924 until his death in 947. During his reign, he empowered his relatives at the expense of the aristocracy, Hugh of Arles was born in 880/1, the eldest surviving son of Theobald, Count of Arles, and Bertha of Lotharingia. By inheritance, he was Count of Arles and Vienne, which made him one of the most important and influential nobles in the Kingdom of Provence. After the Emperor Louis III, who was also King of Provence, was captured, blinded, by 911, most of the royal prerogatives were exercised by Hugh and Louis ceded him the titles dux of Provence and marchio of the Viennois. He moved the capital to his familys seat of Arles and in 912 married Willa. Hugh would then attempt to take Burgundy from Rudolphs son. At an unknown date, a Provençal army led by Hugh, his brother Boso, and Hugh Taillefer invaded Lombardy with the support of Hughs mother. On the basis of the account of Constantine Porphyrogenitus, this event has been dated to as late as 923–924, about 922, a sizable faction of Italian nobles revolted against the by-then Emperor Berengar and elected Rudolph II of Burgundy King of Italy. This started a war, which resulted in Berengars death in 924. Rather than accept Rudolph, Berengars partisans now elected Hugh as king, Rudolph was ejected from Italy in 926 and Hugh crossed the Alps to be crowned. In his absence, Louis of Provence transferred his county of Vienne to Charles-Constantine, Louis died on 5 June 928 and Hugh returned to Provence to sort out a succession. He also took control of the right to grant fiefs in Provence, in September 928, Hugh met with Rudolph of France and Herbert II of Vermandois in Burgundy. Hugh granted Herberts son Odo Vienne in opposition to Charles Constantine and he was still in conflict with Rudolph of Burgundy and hoped to ally with the King of France against the Burgundian monarch. By 930, however, Charles was in control of Vienne and by 931. In light of these reverses in his policy, Hugh turned his attention towards securing his rule in Italy. He induced the Italian nobility to recognise his son Lothair as their next king, Hugh, however, had other reasons for deposing Lambert, who presented an obstacle to his second marriage to Marozia. Lamberts supporters called in Rudolph of Burgundy, whom Hugh bribed off with the gift of the Viennois and Lyonnais, in 933, Rudolph relinquished all his rights to Italy. In 936, Hugh replaced Boso of Tuscany with his own son Humbert and he granted Octavion in the Viennois to Hugh Taillefer and patched up his relations with Charles Constantine in a final effort to save influence in Provence
2.
Pope Sergius III
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Pope Sergius III was Pope from 29 January 904 to his death in 911. He was pope during a period of violence and disorder in central Italy. He also actively participated in the farcical Cadaver synod that condemned the pontificate of Formosus, although Sergius was actually elected, a rival candidate, Pope John IX, was also elected. With Lambert’s support, John was successfully installed as pope, and one of his first acts was to convene a synod which excommunicated Sergius and his followers. Sergius was then exiled by Lambert, fleeing to his see at Caere. Putting himself at the head of a faction of the nobility, Theophylact revolted against Christopher, Sergius accepted, and with the armed backing of Adalbert II, he entered Rome, by which stage Christopher had already been cast into prison by Theophylact. Sergius was then consecrated Pope on 29 January 904, all real power now devolved onto Theophylact, and Sergius essentially became his puppet. Perhaps the first clear sign of shift in power was the fate of Sergius’ two predecessors, Pope Leo V and the Antipope Christopher. According to the pro-Formosan Eugenius Vulgarius, Sergius ordered both men to be strangled in prison sometime in early 904 and that both men were murdered during Sergius’ pontificate appears probable, although other accounts state that Christopher at least was allowed to retire to a monastery. Given where the power lay, it seems more likely that either Theophylact gave the orders directly. For the remainder of his pontificate, Sergius promoted his family and members of his party to positions of authority. Pope Sergius III convoked a synod which annulled all the ordinations of Formosus and it was alleged that Sergius managed to get the consent of the Roman clergy at the synod by threatening them with exile, violence or through the use of bribery. The ruling was reversed again after his death. For centuries it was believed that Sergius then had the corpse of Formosus exhumed once more, tried, found guilty again. However, the source for this was Liutprand of Cremona, who placed the cadaver synod in the pontificate of Sergius III, instead of Stephen VI. ”Sergius rebuilt the Lateran Palace, which had been shattered by an earthquake in 896. Sergius refurbished it with objects, images and crucifixes, and decorated its newly built walls with frescos, in 905 he provided funds to the Church of Silva Candida, which had been devastated by a Saracen raid. He also helped with the rebuilding of Nonantola Abbey, which had suffered attacks from the Magyars, Sergius, like his predecessors, continued to defend the Filioque clause of the Nicene Creed, which was at odds with the position of the eastern church. Almost a century later, this led to the removal of Sergius’s name from the Diptychs by Patriarch Sergius II of Constantinople
3.
Rome
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Rome is a special comune and the capital of Italy. Rome also serves as the capital of the Lazio region, with 2,873,598 residents in 1,285 km2, it is also the countrys largest and most populated comune and fourth-most populous city in the European Union by population within city limits. It is the center of the Metropolitan City of Rome, which has a population of 4.3 million residents, the city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, within Lazio, along the shores of the Tiber. Romes history spans more than 2,500 years, while Roman mythology dates the founding of Rome at only around 753 BC, the site has been inhabited for much longer, making it one of the oldest continuously occupied sites in Europe. The citys early population originated from a mix of Latins, Etruscans and it was first called The Eternal City by the Roman poet Tibullus in the 1st century BC, and the expression was also taken up by Ovid, Virgil, and Livy. Rome is also called the Caput Mundi, due to that, Rome became first one of the major centres of the Italian Renaissance, and then the birthplace of both the Baroque style and Neoclassicism. Famous artists, painters, sculptors and architects made Rome the centre of their activity, in 1871 Rome became the capital of the Kingdom of Italy, and in 1946 that of the Italian Republic. Rome has the status of a global city, Rome ranked in 2014 as the 14th-most-visited city in the world, 3rd most visited in the European Union, and the most popular tourist attraction in Italy. Its historic centre is listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site, monuments and museums such as the Vatican Museums and the Colosseum are among the worlds most visited tourist destinations with both locations receiving millions of tourists a year. Rome hosted the 1960 Summer Olympics and is the seat of United Nations Food, however, it is a possibility that the name Romulus was actually derived from Rome itself. As early as the 4th century, there have been alternate theories proposed on the origin of the name Roma. There is archaeological evidence of occupation of the Rome area from approximately 14,000 years ago. Evidence of stone tools, pottery and stone weapons attest to about 10,000 years of human presence, several excavations support the view that Rome grew from pastoral settlements on the Palatine Hill built above the area of the future Roman Forum. Between the end of the age and the beginning of the Iron age. However, none of them had yet an urban quality, nowadays, there is a wide consensus that the city was gradually born through the aggregation of several villages around the largest one, placed above the Palatine. All these happenings, which according to the excavations took place more or less around the mid of the 8th century BC. Despite recent excavations at the Palatine hill, the view that Rome has been indeed founded with an act of will as the legend suggests in the middle of the 8th century BC remains a fringe hypothesis. Traditional stories handed down by the ancient Romans themselves explain the earliest history of their city in terms of legend and myth
4.
Pope John X
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It can also refer to John X of Antioch. Pope John X can also refer to Pope John X of Alexandria, Pope John X was Pope from March 914 to his death in 928. A candidate of the Counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli and he eventually fell out with Marozia, who had him deposed, imprisoned, and finally murdered. John’s pontificate occurred during the known as the Saeculum obscurum. John X, whose name was also John, was born at Tossignano. He was made a deacon by Peter IV, the Bishop of Bologna, where he attracted the attention of Theodora, the wife of Theophylact, Count of Tusculum, the most powerful noble in Rome. It was alleged by Liutprand of Cremona that John became her lover during a visit to Rome, regardless, it was through Theodora’s influence that John was on the verge of succeeding Peter as bishop of Bologna, when the post of Archbishop of Ravenna became available. He was consecrated as Archbishop in 905 by Pope Sergius III, during his eight years as archbishop, John worked hard with Pope Sergius in an unsuccessful attempt to have Berengar of Friuli crowned Holy Roman Emperor and to depose Louis the Blind. After the death of Pope Lando in 914, a faction of the Roman nobility, headed by Theophylact of Tusculum, nevertheless, whilst Theophylact was alive, John adhered to his patron’s cause. The first task that confronted John X was the existence of a Saracen outpost on the Garigliano River, which was used as a base to pillage the Italian countryside. John consulted Landulf I of Benevento, who advised him to help from the Byzantine Empire, and from Alberic, marquis of Camerino. John took his advice and sent Papal legates to King Berengar of Italy, various Italian princes, as well as to Constantinople, the result was a Christian alliance, a precursor to the Crusades of the following century. Meanwhile, Berengar brought with him troops from the parts of Italy, and the campaign was coordinated by John X. After some preliminary engagements at Campo Baccano and at Trevi, the Saracens were driven to their stronghold on the Garigliano. There, at the Battle of Garigliano, the allies proceeded to lay siege to them for three months, at the end of which the Saracens burnt their houses and attempted to burst out of the encirclement. With John leading the way, all were caught and killed, achieving a great victory. John then confirmed the granting of Traetto to the Duke of Gaeta, since King Berengar had defeated and driven the Roman Emperor Louis the Blind out of Italy in 905, he had eagerly pressed for the imperial crown. John X used this as a lever to push Berengar into supporting and providing troops to John’s great Saracen campaign, having completed his end of the bargain, Berengar now insisted that John do likewise
5.
Edward Gibbon
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Edward Gibbon FRS was an English historian, writer and Member of Parliament. Edward Gibbon was born in 1737, the son of Edward and Judith Gibbon at Lime Grove and he had six siblings, five brothers and one sister, all of whom died in infancy. As a youth, Gibbons health was under constant threat and he described himself as a puny child, neglected by my Mother, starved by my nurse. At age nine, he was sent to Dr. Woddesons school at Kingston upon Thames and he then took up residence in the Westminster School boarding house, owned by his adored Aunt Kitty, Catherine Porten. Following a stay at Bath in 1752 to improve his health, at the age of 15 Gibbon was sent by his father to Magdalen College, Oxford, where he was enrolled as a gentleman-commoner. He was ill-suited, however, to the atmosphere and later rued his 14 months there as the most idle and unprofitable of his life. In that tract, Middleton denied the validity of such powers, Gibbon promptly objected and he was further corrupted by the free thinking deism of the playwright/poet couple David and Lucy Mallet, and finally Gibbons father, already in despair, had had enough. David Womersley has shown, however, that Gibbons claim to having been converted by a reading of Middleton is very unlikely, and was introduced only into the final draft of the Memoirs in 1792–93. Within weeks of his conversion, the adolescent was removed from Oxford and sent to live under the care and tutelage of Daniel Pavillard, Reformed pastor of Lausanne, Switzerland. It was here that he one of his lifes two great friendships, that of Jacques Georges Deyverdun, and that of John Baker Holroyd. Just a year and a later, after his father threatened to disinherit him, on Christmas Day,1754. The various articles of the Romish creed, he wrote, disappeared like a dream, Gibbon returned to England in August 1758 to face his father. There could be no refusal of the elders wishes, Gibbon put it this way, I sighed as a lover, I obeyed as a son. He proceeded to cut off all contact with Curchod, even as she vowed to wait for him and their final emotional break apparently came at Ferney, France in the spring of 1764, though they did see each other at least one more time a year later. The following year he embarked on the Grand Tour, which included a visit to Rome, Womersley notes the existence of good reasons to doubt the statements accuracy. In June 1765, Gibbon returned to his fathers house, and these years were considered by Gibbon as the worst five of his life, but he tried to remain busy by making early attempts towards writing full histories. His first historical narrative known as the History of Switzerland, which represented Gibbons love for Switzerland, was never published nor finished, even under the guidance of Deyverdun, Gibbon became too critical of himself, and completely abandoned the project, only writing 60 pages of text. However, after Gibbons death, his writings on Switzerlands history were discovered and published by Lord Sheffield in 1815, soon after abandoning his History of Switzerland, Gibbon made another attempt towards completing a full history
6.
Tiara
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A tiara is a jeweled, ornamental crown traditionally worn by women. It is worn during formal occasions, particularly if the code is white tie. Today, the tiara is often used interchangeably with the word diadem. Both words come from head ornaments worn by ancient men and women to high status. As Geoffrey Munn notes, The word tiara is actually Persian in origin — the name first denoted the high-peaked head-dresses of Persian kings, now, it is used to describe almost every form of decorative head ornament. Ancient Greeks and Romans used gold to make wreath-shaped head ornaments, the use of tiaras and diadems declined along with the decline of the Roman Empire and the rise of Christianity. In the late 18th century, Neoclassicism gave rise to a revival of tiaras, jewelers taking inspiration from Ancient Greece and Rome created new wreaths made from precious gemstones. Napoleon and his wife Joséphine de Beauharnais are credited with popularizing tiaras along with the new Empire style, napoleon wanted the French court to be the grandest in Europe and had given his wife many fabulous Parures which included tiaras. Queen Elizabeth II is said to have the largest and most valuable collection of tiaras in the world and she is often seen wearing them on state occasions. The Queen received many of them through inheritance, especially from Queen Alexandra, Queen Mary, consort of King George V, purchased the Grand Duchess Vladimir tiara in the 1920s. It consists of numerous interlocking diamond circles, pearl drops can be attached inside the circles or emeralds. Queen Mary had a made for the Delhi Durbar held in 1911 in India. It is now on loan for wearing by the Duchess of Cornwall, wife of Charles, Queen Elizabeth II commissioned a ruby and diamond tiara. A gift of aquamarines she received as a present from the people of Brazil were added to diamonds to make a new tiara, other queens, empresses, and princesses regularly wear tiaras at formal evening occasions. The Swedish Royal Family have a magnificent collection as do the Danish, the Dutch, many of the Danish royal jewels originally came into the collection when Princess Louise of Sweden married the future King Frederick VIII of Denmark. The Romanov dynasty had a superb collection up until the revolution of 1917, the Iranian royal family also had a large collection of tiaras. Since the Iranian Revolution, they are housed at the National Jewelry Museum in Tehran, although usually associated with women of reigning and noble families, tiaras have been worn by commoners as well, especially rich American socialites like Barbara Hutton. Tiaras are generally a semi-circular or circular band, usually of precious metal, Tiaras are worn by women around their head or on the forehead as a circlet on very formal or high social occasions
7.
Pope Joan
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Pope Joan was, according to popular legend, a woman who reigned as pope for a few years during the Middle Ages. Her story first appeared in chronicles in the 13th century and subsequently spread throughout Europe, the story was widely believed for centuries, but most modern scholars regard it as fictional. Most versions of her story describe her as a talented and learned woman who disguised herself as a man, in the most common accounts, due to her abilities, she rose through the church hierarchy and was eventually elected pope. Her sex was revealed when she gave birth during a procession, the accounts state that later church processions avoided this spot, and that the Vatican removed the female pope from its official lists and crafted a ritual to ensure that future popes were male. In the 16th century, Siena Cathedral featured a bust of Joan among other pontiffs, Jean de Maillys chronicle, written around 1250, contains the first mention of an unnamed female pope, and it inspired several more accounts over the next several years. The most popular and influential version is that interpolated into Martin of Opavas Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum, Martin introduced details that the female popes birth name was John Anglicus of Mainz, that she reigned in the 9th century, and that she entered the church to follow her lover. Pope Joan is now accepted to be fictional, though the legend remains influential in art, literature, drama. The earliest mention of the female pope appears in the Dominican Jean de Maillys chronicle of Metz, Chronica Universalis Mettensis. In his telling, the pope is not named. One day, while mounting a horse, she gave birth to a child, however, the legend gained its greatest prominence when it appeared in the third recension of Martin of Opavas Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum later in the 13th century. This version, which may have been by Martin himself, is the first to attach a name to the figure and it also changes the date from the 11th to the 9th century, indicating that Joan reigned between Leo IV and Benedict III in the 850s. According to the Chronicon, John Anglicus, born at Mainz, was Pope for two years, seven months and four days, and died in Rome, after there was a vacancy in the Papacy of one month. It is claimed that this John was a woman, who as a girl had led to Athens dressed in the clothes of a man by a certain lover of hers. There she became proficient in a diversity of branches of knowledge, until she had no equal, a high opinion of her life and learning arose in the city, and she was chosen for Pope. While Pope, however, she became pregnant by her companion, after her death, it is said she was buried in that same place. The Lord Pope always turns aside from the street, and it is believed by many that this is done because of abhorrence of the event. Nor is she placed on the list of the Holy Pontiffs, one version of the Chronicon gives an alternative fate for the female pope. According to this, she did not die immediately after her exposure and her son from the affair eventually became Bishop of Ostia, and ordered her entombment in his cathedral when she died
8.
Legitimacy (family law)
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Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy is the status of a child born outside marriage, depending on the cultural context, legitimacy can affect a childs rights of inheritance to the putative fathers estate and the childs right to bear the fathers surname or title. Illegitimacy has also had consequences for the mothers and childs right to support from the putative father, in medieval Wales, a bastard was defined simply as a child not acknowledged by its father. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, that were acknowledged by the father enjoyed the legal rights. Englands Statute of Merton stated, regarding illegitimacy, He is a bastard that is born before the marriage of his parents and this definition also applied to situations when a childs parents could not marry, as when one or both were already married or when the relationship was incestuous. The Poor Law of 1576 formed the basis of English bastardy law and its purpose was to punish a bastard childs mother and putative father, and to relieve the parish from the cost of supporting mother and child. By an act of 1576, it was ordered that bastards should be supported by their putative fathers, if the genitor could be found, then he was put under very great pressure to accept responsibility and to maintain the child. Under English law, a bastard was unable to be an heir to real property, in contrast to the situation under civil law, a younger non-bastard brother would have no claim to the land. The Legitimacy Act 1926 of England and Wales legitimized the birth of a if the parents subsequently married each other. The Legitimacy Act 1959 extended the legitimization even if the parents had married others in the meantime, neither the 1926 nor 1959 Acts changed the laws of succession to the British throne and succession to peerage titles. The Family Law Reform Act 1969 allowed a bastard to inherit on the intestacy of his parents, in canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have also been considered legitimate. Since 2003 in England and Wales,2002 in Northern Ireland and 2006 in Scotland, still, children born out of wedlock may not be eligible for certain federal benefits unless the child has been legitimized in the appropriate jurisdiction. Many other countries have abolished by any legal disabilities of a child born out of wedlock. In France, legal reforms regarding illegitimacy began in the 1970s, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock came into force in 1978. Countries which ratify it must ensure that children born outside marriage are provided with legal rights as stipulated in the text of this Convention, the Convention was ratified by the UK in 1981 and by Ireland in 1988. Use of the illegitimate child is now rare, even in legal contexts. It has been stricken from passports and legal documents as needlessly insulting and stigmatizing to the child, terms such as extra-marital child, love child and child born out of wedlock are more commonly used. Also used in Britain and other English-speaking countries is bastard, though such as natural child are preferred in polite society
9.
Pope
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The pope is the Bishop of Rome and, therefore, the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church. The current pope is Francis, who was elected on 13 March 2013, the office of the pope is the papacy. The pope is considered one of the worlds most powerful people because of his diplomatic and he is also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign city-state entirely enclaved within the Italian capital city of Rome. The papacy is one of the most enduring institutions in the world and has had a prominent part in world history, the popes in ancient times helped in the spread of Christianity and the resolution of various doctrinal disputes. In the Middle Ages, they played a role of importance in Western Europe. Currently, in addition to the expansion of the Christian faith and doctrine, the popes are involved in ecumenism and interfaith dialogue, charitable work, Popes, who originally had no temporal powers, in some periods of history accrued wide powers similar to those of temporal rulers. In recent centuries, popes were gradually forced to give up temporal power, the word pope derives from Greek πάππας meaning father. The earliest record of the use of title was in regard to the by then deceased Patriarch of Alexandria. Some historians have argued that the notion that Peter was the first bishop of Rome, the writings of the Church Father Irenaeus who wrote around AD180 reflect a belief that Peter founded and organised the Church at Rome. Moreover, Irenaeus was not the first to write of Peters presence in the early Roman Church, Clement of Rome wrote in a letter to the Corinthians, c. 96, about the persecution of Christians in Rome as the struggles in our time and presented to the Corinthians its heroes, first, the greatest and most just columns, the good apostles Peter and Paul. St. Ignatius of Antioch wrote shortly after Clement and in his letter from the city of Smyrna to the Romans he said he would not command them as Peter and Paul did. Given this and other evidence, many agree that Peter was martyred in Rome under Nero. Protestants contend that the New Testament offers no proof that Jesus established the papacy nor even that he established Peter as the first bishop of Rome, others, using Peters own words, argue that Christ intended himself as the foundation of the church and not Peter. First-century Christian communities would have had a group of presbyter-bishops functioning as leaders of their local churches, gradually, episcopacies were established in metropolitan areas. Antioch may have developed such a structure before Rome, some writers claim that the emergence of a single bishop in Rome probably did not occur until the middle of the 2nd century. In their view, Linus, Cletus and Clement were possibly prominent presbyter-bishops, documents of the 1st century and early 2nd century indicate that the Holy See had some kind of pre-eminence and prominence in the Church as a whole, though the detail of what this meant is unclear. It seems that at first the terms episcopos and presbyter were used interchangeably, the consensus among scholars has been that, at the turn of the 1st and 2nd centuries, local congregations were led by bishops and presbyters whose offices were overlapping or indistinguishable
