1.
Football
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Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball with the foot to score a goal. Unqualified, the football is understood to refer to whichever form of football is the most popular in the regional context in which the word appears. Sports commonly called football in certain places include, association football, gridiron football, Australian rules football, rugby football and these different variations of football are known as football codes. Various forms of football can be identified in history, often as popular peasant games, contemporary codes of football can be traced back to the codification of these games at English public schools during the nineteenth century. The expanse of the British Empire allowed these rules of football to spread to areas of British influence outside of the directly controlled Empire, in 1888, The Football League was founded in England, becoming the first of many professional football competitions. During the twentieth century, several of the kinds of football grew to become some of the most popular team sports in the world. They tend to use throwing and running as the ways of moving the ball. Body tackling is a skill, and games typically involve short passages of play of 5–90 seconds. Association football, Australian rules football and Gaelic football tend to use kicking to move the ball around the pitch, body tackles are less central to the game, and players are freer to move around the field. Common rules among the sports include, Two teams of usually between 11 and 18 players, some variations that have fewer players are also popular, a clearly defined area in which to play the game. Scoring goals or points by moving the ball to an opposing teams end of the field and either into a goal area, goals or points resulting from players putting the ball between two goalposts. The goal or line being defended by the opposing team, players being required to move the ball—depending on the code—by kicking, carrying, or hand-passing the ball. Players using only their body to move the ball, in all codes, common skills include passing, tackling, evasion of tackles, catching and kicking. In most codes, there are rules restricting the movement of players offside, there are conflicting explanations of the origin of the word football. It is widely assumed that the word refers to the action of the foot kicking a ball. There is an explanation, which is that football originally referred to a variety of games in medieval Europe. There is no evidence for either explanation. The Ancient Greeks and Romans are known to have played ball games
2.
Europe
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Europe is a continent that comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Europe is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, yet the non-oceanic borders of Europe—a concept dating back to classical antiquity—are arbitrary. Europe covers about 10,180,000 square kilometres, or 2% of the Earths surface, politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a population of about 740 million as of 2015. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast, Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization. The fall of the Western Roman Empire, during the period, marked the end of ancient history. Renaissance humanism, exploration, art, and science led to the modern era, from the Age of Discovery onwards, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at times the Americas, most of Africa, Oceania. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to economic, cultural, and social change in Western Europe. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the west and the Warsaw Pact in the east, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1955, the Council of Europe was formed following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill and it includes all states except for Belarus, Kazakhstan and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, the EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The European Anthem is Ode to Joy and states celebrate peace, in classical Greek mythology, Europa is the name of either a Phoenician princess or of a queen of Crete. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, wide, broad and ὤψ eye, broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. For the second part also the divine attributes of grey-eyed Athena or ox-eyed Hera. The same naming motive according to cartographic convention appears in Greek Ανατολή, Martin Litchfield West stated that phonologically, the match between Europas name and any form of the Semitic word is very poor. Next to these there is also a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning darkness. Most major world languages use words derived from Eurṓpē or Europa to refer to the continent, in some Turkic languages the originally Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa
3.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
4.
Shrovetide
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Shrovetide, also known as the Pre-Lenten Season, is the Christian period of preparation before the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. Shrovetide starts on Septuagesima Sunday, includes Sexagesima Sunday, Quinquagesima Sunday, as well as Shrove Monday, one hallmark of Shrovetide is the merrymaking associated with Carnival. In the Roman Rite, and in similar Anglican and Lutheran uses, the form of the Roman Rite that includes this special period of 17 days refers to it as the season of Septuagesima. The liturgy of the period is characterized by violet vestments, the omission of the Alleluia before the Gospel, fasting does not commence until the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. The earliest the Pre-Lenten season can begin is January 18 and the latest it can end is March 9 and it is absent in more recent forms of all these traditions, but may be found in some Lutheran churches who use the One-Year Lectionary to organize the church year. In Northern Germany, local tradition states that if sausages and sauerkraut are eaten at Shrovetide, thus begins the first day of the Great Fast, which is known as Clean Monday. The weeks of pre-Lent and Great Lent are anticipatory by nature, they begin on Monday and end on Sunday, the hymns used during the Pre-Lenten and Lenten seasons are taken from a book called the Triodion. The weeks of the Pre-Lenten Season break are, Zacchaeus Sunday is sometimes regarded as a pre-Lenten Sunday because of its place in the Slavic lectionary, in that tradition, it is the 11th Sunday before Pascha. There are no hymns proper to this Sunday, however, its distinguishing feature is the reading of the Gospel concerning Zacchaeus. This lectionary reading is also appointed on the same Sunday in the Byzantine lectionary. The week following this Sunday is a normal, non-Lenten time, the Publican and the Pharisee, 10th Sunday before Pascha. The week following this Sunday is a week, lest the faithful be tempted. The Prodigal Son, 9th Sunday before Pascha, the week following this Sunday is the last during which the laity may eat meat or meat products. The Last Judgment or Meat-Fare Sunday, 8th Sunday before Pascha, the week following this Sunday is called Cheese-Fare Week and is a fast-free week, with the exception that meat and meat products are forbidden. Sunday of Forgiveness or Cheese-Fare Sunday, 7th Sunday before Pascha and this Sunday is the last day dairy products may be consumed. Throughout Great Lent, fish, wine, and olive oil will be allowed only on certain days
5.
Great Britain
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Great Britain, also known as Britain, is a large island in the north Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of 209,331 km2, Great Britain is the largest European island, in 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the worlds third-most populous island after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan. The island of Ireland is situated to the west of it, the island is dominated by a maritime climate with quite narrow temperature differences between seasons. Politically, the island is part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, most of England, Scotland, and Wales are on the island. The term Great Britain often extends to surrounding islands that form part of England, Scotland, and Wales. A single Kingdom of Great Britain resulted from the union of the Kingdom of England, the archipelago has been referred to by a single name for over 2000 years, the term British Isles derives from terms used by classical geographers to describe this island group. By 50 BC Greek geographers were using equivalents of Prettanikē as a name for the British Isles. However, with the Roman conquest of Britain the Latin term Britannia was used for the island of Great Britain, the oldest mention of terms related to Great Britain was by Aristotle, or possibly by Pseudo-Aristotle, in his text On the Universe, Vol. III. To quote his works, There are two large islands in it, called the British Isles, Albion and Ierne. The name Britain descends from the Latin name for Britain, Britannia or Brittānia, Old French Bretaigne and Middle English Bretayne, Breteyne. The French form replaced the Old English Breoton, Breoten, Bryten, Breten, Britannia was used by the Romans from the 1st century BC for the British Isles taken together. It is derived from the writings of the Pytheas around 320 BC. Marcian of Heraclea, in his Periplus maris exteri, described the group as αἱ Πρεττανικαὶ νῆσοι. The peoples of these islands of Prettanike were called the Πρεττανοί, Priteni is the source of the Welsh language term Prydain, Britain, which has the same source as the Goidelic term Cruithne used to refer to the early Brythonic-speaking inhabitants of Ireland. The latter were later called Picts or Caledonians by the Romans, the Greco-Egyptian scientist Ptolemy referred to the larger island as great Britain and to Ireland as little Britain in his work Almagest. The name Albion appears to have out of use sometime after the Roman conquest of Britain. After the Anglo-Saxon period, Britain was used as a term only. It was used again in 1604, when King James VI and I styled himself King of Great Brittaine, France, Great Britain refers geographically to the island of Great Britain, politically to England, Scotland and Wales in combination
6.
Roman Britain
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Roman Britain was the area of the island of Great Britain that was governed by the Roman Empire, from AD43 to 410. Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55 and 54 BC as part of his Gallic Wars, the Britons had been overrun or culturally assimilated by other Celtic tribes during the British Iron Age and had been aiding Caesars enemies. He received tribute, installed a king over the Trinovantes. Planned invasions under Augustus were called off in 34,27, in AD40, Caligula assembled 200,000 men at the Channel, only to have them gather seashells. Three years later, Claudius directed four legions to invade Britain, the Romans defeated the Catuvellauni, and then organized their conquests as the Province of Britain. By the year 47, the Romans held the lands southeast of the Fosse Way, control over Wales was delayed by reverses and the effects of Boudicas uprising, but the Romans expanded steadily northward. Around 197, the Severan Reforms divided Britain into two provinces, Britannia Superior and Britannia Inferior, during the Diocletian Reforms, at the end of the 3rd century, Britannia was divided into four provinces under the direction of a vicarius, who administered the Diocese of the Britains. A fifth province, Valentia, is attested in the later 4th century, for much of the later period of the Roman occupation, Britannia was subject to barbarian invasions and often came under the control of imperial usurpers and imperial pretenders. The final Roman withdrawal from Britain occurred around 410, the kingdoms are considered to have formed Sub-Roman Britain after that. Following the conquest of the Britons, a distinctive Romano-British culture emerged as the Romans introduced improved agriculture, urban planning, industrial production, after the initial invasions, Roman historians generally only mention Britain in passing. Thus, most present knowledge derives from archaeological investigations and occasional epigraphic evidence lauding the Britannic achievements of an emperor, over the centuries Roman citizens settled in Britain from many parts of the Empire, such as Italy, Spain, Syria and Algeria. Britain was known to the Classical world, the Greeks, Phoenicians and Carthaginians traded for Cornish tin in the 4th century BC, the Greeks referred to the Cassiterides, or tin islands, and placed them near the west coast of Europe. The Carthaginian sailor Himilco is said to have visited the island in the 5th century BC, however, it was regarded as a place of mystery, with some writers refusing to believe it existed at all. The first direct Roman contact was when Julius Caesar undertook two expeditions in 55 and 54 BC, as part of his conquest of Gaul, believing the Britons were helping the Gallic resistance. The second invasion involved a larger force and Caesar coerced or invited many of the native Celtic tribes to pay tribute. A friendly local king, Mandubracius, was installed, and his rival, hostages were taken, but historians disagree over whether any tribute was paid after Caesar returned to Gaul. Caesar conquered no territory and left no troops behind but he established clients, Augustus planned invasions in 34,27 and 25 BC, but circumstances were never favourable, and the relationship between Britain and Rome settled into one of diplomacy and trade. Strabo, writing late in Augustuss reign, claimed that taxes on trade brought in annual revenue than any conquest could
7.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
8.
Harpastum
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Harpastum, also known as harpustum, was a form of ball game played in the Roman Empire. The Romans also referred to it as the ball game. The ball used was small and hard, probably about the size, the word harpastum is the latinisation of the Greek ἁρπαστόν, the neuter of ἁρπαστός, carried away, from the verb ἁρπάζω, to seize, to snatch. This game was apparently a version of a Greek game called phaininda. It involved considerable speed, agility and physical exertion, little is known about the exact rules of the game, but sources indicate the game was a violent one with players often ending up on the ground. In Greece, a spectator once had his leg broken when he got caught in the middle of play, athenaeus writes, Harpastum, which used to be called phaininda, is the game I like most of all. Great are the exertion and fatigue attendant upon contests of ball-playing, hence Antiphanes, Damn it, what a pain in the neck Ive got. He describes the game thus, He seized the ball and passed it to a team-mate while dodging another and he pushed it out of the way of another. Another fellow player he raised to his feet, all the while the crowd resounded with shouts of Out of bounds, Too far, Right beside him, Over his head, On the ground, Up in the air, Too short, Pass it back in the scrum. Galen, in On Exercise with the Small Ball, describes harpastum as, better than wrestling or running because it exercises every part of the body, takes up little time and it was profitable training in strategy, and could be played with varying degrees of strenuousness. To watch such play the populace remains stockstill, and the crowd suddenly abandons its own games. It is likely that this is the same as the game with the ball, which takes its name from harpazein. More than once he fell prone, and had to pick himself up from such collapses as best he could, the general impression from these descriptions is of a game quite similar to rugby. Additional descriptions suggest a line was drawn in the dirt, and this seems rather like an inverted form of football. If the opponents had the ball on their side of the line, the ancient accounts of the game are not precise enough to enable the reconstruction the rules in any detail. In the Croatian town of Sinj, a Roman tombstone found in the ruins of the military camp Tilurium, near the modern day Trilj, the ball that is shown on this monument has hexagonal and pentagonal patterns, similar to a modern-day football
9.
Norman conquest of England
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Williams claim to the English throne derived from his familial relationship with the childless Anglo-Saxon King Edward the Confessor, who may have encouraged Williams hopes for the throne. Edward died in January 1066 and was succeeded by his brother-in-law Harold Godwinson, within days, William landed in southern England. Harold marched south to confront him, leaving a significant portion of his army in the north, Harolds army confronted Williams invaders on 14 October at the Battle of Hastings, Williams force defeated Harold, who was killed in the engagement. Although Williams main rivals were gone, he faced rebellions over the following years and was not secure on his throne until after 1072. The lands of the resisting English elite were confiscated, some of the elite fled into exile, to control his new kingdom, William granted lands to his followers and built castles commanding military strongpoints throughout the land. More gradual changes affected the classes and village life, the main change appears to have been the formal elimination of slavery. There was little alteration in the structure of government, as the new Norman administrators took over many of the forms of Anglo-Saxon government. In 911 the Carolingian French ruler Charles the Simple allowed a group of Vikings under their leader Rollo to settle in Normandy as part of the Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte. In exchange for the land, the Norsemen under Rollo were expected to provide protection along the coast against further Viking invaders and their settlement proved successful, and the Vikings in the region became known as the Northmen from which Normandy and Normans are derived. The Normans quickly adopted the culture, renouncing paganism and converting to Christianity. They adopted the langue doïl of their new home and added features from their own Norse language, in 1002 King Æthelred the Unready married Emma of Normandy, the sister of Richard II, Duke of Normandy. Their son Edward the Confessor, who spent many years in exile in Normandy, childless and embroiled in conflict with the formidable Godwin, Earl of Wessex and his sons, Edward may also have encouraged Duke William of Normandys ambitions for the English throne. When King Edward died at the beginning of 1066, the lack of a clear heir led to a succession in which several contenders laid claim to the throne of England. Edwards immediate successor was the Earl of Wessex, Harold Godwinson, Harold was immediately challenged by two powerful neighbouring rulers. William and Harald at once set about assembling troops and ships to invade England, in early 1066, Harolds exiled brother, Tostig Godwinson, raided southeastern England with a fleet he had recruited in Flanders, later joined by other ships from Orkney. Threatened by Harolds fleet, Tostig moved north and raided in East Anglia and Lincolnshire, but he was back to his ships by the brothers Edwin, Earl of Mercia. Deserted by most of his followers, he withdrew to Scotland, King Harald Hardrada invaded northern England in early September, leading a fleet of more than 300 ships carrying perhaps 15,000 men. Haralds army was augmented by the forces of Tostig, who threw his support behind the Norwegian kings bid for the throne
10.
Southern England
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Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, refers roughly to the southern counties of England. The extent of area can take a number of different interpretations depending on the context, including geographical, cultural, political. Geographically, the extent of the south of England may vary from the southern one-third of the country, to the southern half, the South is often considered a principal cultural area of England, along with the Midlands and Northern England. Many consider the area to have a distinct identity from the rest of England, however without universal agreement on cultural, political. For statistical purposes, Southern England is divided into four regions, South West England, South East England, London, combined, these have a total area of 62,042 square kilometres, and a population of 28 million. People often apply the term loosely, without deeper consideration of the geographical identities of Southern England. This can cause confusion over the depth of affiliation between its areas, as in much of the rest of England, people tend to have a deeper affiliation to their county or city. Thus, residents of Essex are unlikely to feel much affinity with people in Oxfordshire, similarly, there is a strong distinction between natives of the south-west and south-east. The sport of rugby experienced a schism in 1895 with many based in Yorkshire, Lancashire and surrounding areas breaking from the Rugby Football Union. The disagreement that led to the split was over the issue of professional payments, there is a perception that league is the code of rugby played in the north, whilst union is the code played in the south. In most definitions, Southern England includes all the counties on/near the English Channel, the exact northern extent varies and as with most geographical regions, people sometimes debate the boundaries. Despite these definitions, the boundary is generally taken to correspond to an imaginary line from the Severn Estuary to the Wash
11.
Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
12.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
13.
La soule
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La soule, later choule, is a traditional team sport that originated in Normandy and Picardy. The ball, called a soule, could be solid or hollow, leather balls would be filled with hay, bran, horse hair or moss. Sometimes the balls had woolen pompons and it would appear that ball games such as la soule developed naturally as a pastime, if only tossing the ball around. Such a game would be played wherever crowds of people met, la soule was played chiefly on the Christian holidays of Easter, Christmas, or on occasion at weddings or the day of the patron saint of the parish. The play could be aggressive, sometimes violent and it involved getting a ball to the opponents’ goal, using hands, feet or sticks. It was not uncommon for participants to be injured, and broken limbs were often reported, the sport seems to have been a very important stress release for the common villagers. 1147 – A charter specifies the payment of an amount of money,1283 – The only reference to a game in Cornwall dates from this year. A man named Roger was accused of striking a fellow player in a game called soule with a stone, the details were recorded in the plea rolls no.111. 1393 – In Paris, a game place in front of Saint-Eustache. 1396 – The rules of the game were codified, the soules were getting large as people were trying to exceed their predecessors, but this zeal had to be restricted. A rule dated 1412 limited the size of the ball or soule and this habit disappeared within the 16th century. 1365 – Documents record the game of soule as an ordinance of Charles V that the solles cannot appear among the games serve the exercise of the body. However, it not appear that the Breton sovereigns continued the game. 1440 – Another prohibition by the bishop of Tréguier made it clear that this game had been practised for a long time and he threatened the players with excommunication, or very severe punishment, and 100 grounds of fine. La soule was very appreciated at that time, if it was necessary to inspire fear to put an end to play, 19th century – From this time on, the majority of the soules were taking place at Morbihan in spite of their prohibition. Only the war put an end to play because the young men all were mobilized. 1841 – At Bellou-en-Houlme contestants numbered up to 800 and there were said to be 6,000 spectators, the ball was three feet around and weighed 13 pounds. In this game, the side would often cut the ball in half with their knives
14.
Pig bladder
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Pig bladder is the urinary bladder of a domestic pig, similar to the human urinary bladder. Today, this organ has various applications in medicine, and in traditional cuisines. Historically, the pig bladder had several uses, all based on its properties as a lightweight. The pig bladder has several traditional uses in Europe. It is traditional during the festival Fasching in Bad Aussee to brandish inflated pig bladders on sticks, similarly, in Xinzo de Limia, Spain, inflated pig bladders are carried during Carnival. See also Clown society and Jester and Gigantes y cabezudos and Vejigante, in traditional Germanic communities a public Schlachtfest is announced by hanging the pigs inflated bladder in front of the host establishment. The bladder is used as a casing for several food items, including the sausages known as ventricina. Historically the pig bladder was used in sports, as the membrane inside a football. In the early 19th century the inventor William Gilbert used pig bladders in the manufacture of rugby balls, decades later, Richard Lindon did the same. For centuries before the invention of the paint tube, artists used to store their paints in pig bladders, when the artist was ready to use the paint, they would puncture a hole in the bladder and squeeze out the desired amount of paint. They would have to mend the hole when finished and the process was quite messy. The oil paint tube was invented in 1841, as the packaging of paints for transport. In the bian lian style of Chinese opera, painted pig bladders were used as face masks
15.
Danelaw
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The Danelaw, as recorded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, is a historical name given to the part of England in which the laws of the Danes held sway and dominated those of the Anglo-Saxons. Danelaw contrasts West Saxon law and Mercian law, the term is first recorded in the early eleventh century as Dena lage. Modern historians have extended the term to a geographical designation, the areas that constituted the Danelaw lie in northern and eastern England. The Danelaw originated from the Viking expansion of the 9th century AD, in 886, the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum was formalised, defining the boundaries of their kingdoms, with provisions for peaceful relations between the English and the Vikings. The language spoken in England was also affected by this clash of cultures with the emergence of Anglo-Norse dialects. The Danelaw roughly comprised 14 shires, York, Nottingham, Derby, Lincoln, Essex, Cambridge, Suffolk, Norfolk, Northampton, Huntingdon, Bedford, Hertford, Middlesex, from around 800, there had been waves of Danish raids on the coastlines of the British Isles. In 865, instead of raiding, the Danes landed an army in East Anglia. The combined army was described in the annals as the Great Heathen Army, after making peace with the local East Anglian king in return for horses, the Great Heathen Army moved north. In 867, they captured Northumbria and its capital, York, the Danes then placed an Englishman, Ecgberht I of Northumbria, on the throne of Northumbria as a puppet ruler. King Æthelred of Wessex and his brother, Alfred, led their army against the Danes at Nottingham, King Burgred of Mercia then negotiated peace with Ivar, with the Danes keeping Nottingham in exchange for leaving the rest of Mercia alone. Under Ivar the Boneless, the Danes continued their invasion in 869 by defeating King Edmund of East Anglia at Hoxne, once again, the brothers Æthelred and Alfred attempted to stop Ivar by attacking the Danes at Reading. They were repelled with heavy losses, the Danes pursued, and on 7 January 871, Æthelred and Alfred defeated the Danes at the Battle of Ashdown. The Danes retreated to Basing, where Æthelred attacked and was, in turn, Ivar was able to follow up this victory with another in March at Meretum. On 23 April 871, King Æthelred died and Alfred succeeded him as King of Wessex and his army was weak and he was forced to pay tribute to Ivar in order to make peace with the Danes. During this peace, the Danes turned to the north and attacked Mercia, both the Danish leader Ivar and the Mercian leader Burgred died during this campaign. Ivar was succeeded by Guthrum, who finished the campaign against Mercia, in ten years, the Danes had gained control over East Anglia, Northumbria and Mercia, leaving just Wessex resisting. Guthrum and the Danes brokered peace with Wessex in 876, when they captured the fortresses of Wareham, Alfred laid siege to the Danes, who were forced to surrender after reinforcements were lost in a storm. Two years later, Guthrum again attacked Alfred, surprising him by attacking his forces wintering in Chippenham, King Alfred was saved when the Danish army coming from his rear was destroyed by inferior forces at the Battle of Cynuit
16.
Ba game
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Ba game is a version of medieval football played in Scotland, primarily in Orkney and the Scottish Borders, around Christmas and New Year. Ba is basically mob football, or village football, where two parts of a town have to get a ball to goals on their respective sides. The two sides are called the uppies or the downies, depending on part of town they were born. The ball must be manhandled, and play often takes the form of a moving scrum, the game moves through the town, at times going up alleyways, into yards and through streets. Shops and houses board up their windows to prevent damage, unlike traditional mob football, people are generally not hurt from play. Ba games are played in, Duns The Ba games forms part of the Duns Summer Festival, goals are at opposite corners of the Market Square, by the White Swan hotel and the old Post Office. It is played between the men and bachelors of the town. Jedburgh Play starts at the Mercat Cross in the centre of the town, the uppies, who first entered the town or were born south of the Mercat Cross, hail the ba at the top of the Castlegate by throwing the ba over a fence at the Castle. The downies, who first entered the town or were born to the north, the laddies game starts at midday and the mens game at 2pm. Both games run until the last ba has been hailed, most years this means that both games are running at the same time. There is no boundary as to where the game is played and this can prove awkward for shoppers, trying to avoid getting caught up in the game, and shopkeepers, who put shutters on their doors and windows in case they are pushed in by the ruck. In this version the men of the parish would assemble at the cross, with married men on one side, Play went on from 2 oclock till sunset. Whoever got the ball in his hands would run with it till he was overtaken by one of the opposition, if he was not able to shake himself loose, he would throw the ball to another player unless it was wrestled away by one of the other side. No player was allowed to kick the ball, the party who achieved either of these objectives won the game, if neither won, the ball was cut into equal parts at sunset. Workington Kirkwall Ba game Ba game legal threat fears BBC news article from 9 May 2001) bagame. com, photographic website by Dr. Charles Tait
17.
Kirkwall
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Kirkwall is the largest town and capital of the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The town is first mentioned in Orkneyinga saga in the year 1046 when it is recorded as the residence of Rögnvald Brusason the Earl of Orkney, who was killed by his uncle Thorfinn the Mighty. In 1486, King James III of Scotland elevated Kirkwall to the status of a burgh, modern roadsigns still indicate The City. The name Kirkwall comes from the Norse name Kirkjuvagr, which changed to Kirkvoe, Kirkwaa. At the heart of the town stands St. Magnus Cathedral, next to the Cathedral are the ruins of the former Bishops Palace and Earls Palace. The town has two museums, the larger being Tankerness House Museum, which items of local historical interest within one of Scotlands best-preserved sixteenth-century town-houses. The prehistoric, Pictish and Viking collections are of international importance, the other museum is the Orkney Wireless Museum, dealing with the history of radio and recorded sound. Apart from the historical buildings mentioned above, Kirkwall has many 17th–18th-century houses. The Kirk of Kirkwall was not the Cathedral, but the 11th-century church of Saint Olaf of Norway, Kirkwall also once had a medieval castle, which was destroyed in the 17th century. This is the form of house or souterrain characteristic of the Northern Isles. It was originally connected to a dwelling, which has since disappeared. Further west towards Grimbister is the similar Rennibister Earth House, one of the major annual events in the town is the Ba Game, held each Christmas Day and New Years Day between the Uppies and the Doonies, each team representing one half of the town. Kirkwall also has the most northerly of the worlds Carnegie libraries, the building survives, although the library has since moved to a larger building on Junction Road. Cromarty was added to the list in 1832, the constituency was a district of burghs known also as the Tain Burghs until 1832, and then as the Wick Burghs. It was represented by one Member of Parliament until 1918, when the constituency was abolished, the Orkney Library and Archive is located in Kirkwall. The composer Peter Maxwell Davies was among a group founded the annual St Magnus International Festival which is centred on Kirkwall each midsummer. Kirkwall Harbour can be seen in The Highlands and Islands – A Royal Tour, scottish film-maker Margaret Tait was born in Kirkwall, and many of her films are set there. The Simpsons character Groundskeeper Willie is said to be from Kirkwall, orkneyjar – The Royal Burgh of Kirkwall Listen to recordings of a speaker of Kirkwall Scots
18.
Orkney
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Orkney /ˈɔːrkni/, also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of Great Britain. Orkney is 16 kilometres north of the coast of Caithness and comprises approximately 70 islands, the largest island Mainland is often referred to as the Mainland. It has an area of 523 square kilometres, making it the sixth-largest Scottish island, the largest settlement and administrative centre is Kirkwall. A form of the dates to the pre-Roman era and the islands have been inhabited for at least 8500 years, originally occupied by Mesolithic and Neolithic tribes. Orkney was invaded and forcibly annexed by Norway in 875 and settled by the Norse, the Scottish Parliament then re-annexed the earldom to the Scottish Crown in 1472, following the failed payment of a dowry for James IIIs bride Margaret of Denmark. Orkney contains some of the oldest and best-preserved Neolithic sites in Europe, Orkney is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, a constituency of the Scottish Parliament, a lieutenancy area, and a historic county. The local council is Orkney Islands Council, one of only three Councils in Scotland with a majority of elected members who are independents. In addition to the Mainland, most of the islands are in two groups, the North and South Isles, all of which have a geological base of Old Red Sandstone. The climate is mild and the soils are fertile, most of the land being farmed. Agriculture is the most important sector of the economy, the significant wind and marine energy resources are of growing importance, and the island generates more than its total yearly electricity demand using renewables. The local people are known as Orcadians and have a distinctive Orcadian dialect of Scots, there is an abundance of marine and avian wildlife. Pytheas of Massilia visited Britain – probably sometime between 322 and 285 BC – and described it as triangular in shape, with a northern tip called Orcas and this may have referred to Dunnet Head, from which Orkney is visible. Speakers of Old Irish referred to the islands as Insi Orc island of the pigs, the archipelago is known as Ynysoedd Erch in modern Welsh and Arcaibh in modern Scottish Gaelic, the -aibh representing a fossilized prepositional case ending. The Anglo-Saxon monk Bede refers to the islands as Orcades insulae in his seminal work Ecclesiastical History of the English People. Norwegian settlers arriving from the ninth century reinterpreted orc as the Old Norse orkn seal. The plural suffix -jar was later removed in English leaving the modern name Orkney, according to the Historia Norwegiæ, Orkney was named after an earl called Orkan. The Norse knew Mainland Orkney as Megenland Mainland or as Hrossey Horse Island, the island is sometimes referred to as Pomona, a name that stems from a sixteenth-century mistranslation by George Buchanan, which has rarely been used locally. A charred hazelnut shell, recovered in 2007 during excavations in Tankerness on the Mainland has been dated to 6820–6660 BC indicating the presence of Mesolithic nomadic tribes
19.
Uppies and Downies
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Uppies and Downies is a version of Medieval football, with roots in even earlier games, played in Workington, West Cumbria, England. The modern tradition began some time in the half of the 19th century. The object of the game is to hail the ball at the teams goal. The Downies goal is a capstan at the harbour, while the Uppies is the gates of Workington Hall Parklands, some players from outside Workington take part, especially fellow West Cumbrians from Whitehaven and Maryport, resulting in about a thousand players on each team. An Uppies and Downies ball is made from four pieces of cow leather and it is 21 inches in circumference and weighs about two and a half pounds. Only three hand-made balls are produced every year and each is dated, the owner of Curwen Hall awards a sovereign to the player who hails the ball. Uppies and Downies refer to the residents of the top and bottom of the town, due to its unpredictability, the game can spill over into the town centre. In the past, police have issued safety advice to visitors and local parents warning of getting caught up in the inevitable rough and physical encounter. A pair of coal-black iron-ore coloured figure statues created by Maryport sculptor Colin Telfer depict the Easter mass event, one stands outside Workington Hall, in 2009, proposed development plans to build a Tesco Extra store on the Cloffocks threatened the future of the event. Cloffocks Field Tesco development controversy Uppies & Downies by Tim Brunsden on Vimeo BBC Cumbria News coverage ITV Border News coverage
20.
Royal Shrovetide Football
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The Royal Shrovetide Football Match is a Medieval football game played annually on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday in the town of Ashbourne in Derbyshire, England. Shrovetide ball games have been played in England since at least the 12th century from the reign of Henry II, one of the most popular origin theories suggests the macabre notion that the ball was originally a severed head tossed into the waiting crowd following an execution. Shrovetide football played between Two towns in Derby is often credited with being the source of the local derby. A more widely accepted theory is the Epsom Derby horse race. Whatever the origins the local derby is now a term for a football game played between local rivals and a Derby is a horse race. He recognised this matched the emblem of Tricot where La soule is played on the first Sunday of Lent and he was welcomed to Ashbourne by the Royal Shrovetide Committee and was a guest at the Shrovetide luncheon. Research into Royal Shrovetide Footballs lost history is ongoing, the concept of the ball game was understood in the Early Middle Ages. This account was attributed to a 5th-century source that has not survived, ball games may have been played throughout the 1st millennium despite a lack of documented evidence. The wooden balls used in games are only found in regions where Celtic culture is still venerated. Records from antiquity have survived relating to various games played by the Romans. These influences were available to a Catholic Church Clergy familiar with native customs, the earliest recorded Shrovetide ball game comes during the High Middle Ages from the cleric William Fitzstephen in his description of London Descriptio Nobilissimi Civitatis Londoniae. The game he witnessed was played at Carnival, a name for Shrovetide, from the Latin Carnilevaria. Then as now games were played in the afternoon and his account suggests playing ball at Carnival had been an annual event for at least a generation. After dinner all the men of the town go out into the fields in the suburbs to play ball. The scholars of the schools have their own ball. The location given for the suburbs was to the north of London, …Everywhere outside the houses of those living in the suburbs, and adjacent to them, are the spacious and beautiful gardens of the citizens, and these are planted with trees. Also there are on the north side pastures and pleasant meadow lands through which flow streams wherein the turning of mill-wheels makes a cheerful sound…. …St. Paul, the church of the Holy Trinity, but through the favour of some magnate, or through the presence of teachers who are notable or famous in philosophy, there are also other schools…
21.
Shrove Tuesday
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Shrove Tuesday is the day in February or March immediately preceding Ash Wednesday, which is celebrated in some countries by consuming pancakes. In others, especially those where it is called Mardi Gras or some translation thereof, this is a carnival day and this moveable feast is determined by Easter. The expression Shrove Tuesday comes from the word shrive, meaning absolve, the term Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday, referring to the practice of the last night of eating richer, fatty foods before the ritual fasting of the Lenten season, which begins on Ash Wednesday. The tradition of marking the start of Lent has been documented for centuries, the association between pancakes and Shrove Tuesday may have arisen as it permits foods which are discouraged from being eaten during the Lenten season, such as butter, eggs, and fat to be used up. Christians use these ingredients during Shrovetide to make pancakes or other foods, such as fasnachts. Before the Reformation, the celebration of Shrovetide lasted a week or more before the start of Lent, the specific custom of Christians eating pancakes on Shrove Tuesday dates to the 16th century. Along with its emphasis on feasting, another theme of Shrove Tuesday involves Christians repenting of their sins in preparation to begin the season of Lent in the Christian kalendar. The word shrove is a form of the English word shrive, thus Shrove Tuesday gets its name from the custom for Christians to be shriven before the start of Lent. In the United Kingdom, Ireland and parts of the Commonwealth, elsewhere, the day has also been called Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras. In Germany, the day is known as Fastnachtsdienstag, Faschingsdienstag, Karnevalsdienstag or Veilchendienstag, similarly, in German American areas such as Pennsylvania Dutch Country, it is known as Fastnacht Day. In the Netherlands, it is known as vastenavond, or in Limburgish dialect vastelaovond, in some parts of Switzerland, the day is called Güdisdienstag, preceded by Güdismontag. According to the Duden dictionary, the term derives from Güdel, in Portuguese-, Spanish- and Italian-speaking countries, among others, it is known as Carnival. This derives from Medieval Latin carnelevamen and thus to another aspect of the Lenten fast and it is often celebrated with street processions or fancy dress. The most famous of these events is the Brazilian Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the use of the term carnival in other contexts derives from here. In Spain, the Carnival Tuesday is named día de la tortilla, on the Portuguese island of Madeira, they eat malasadas on Terça-feira Gorda which is also the last day of the Carnival of Madeira. Malasadas were cooked in order to use up all the lard and sugar in the house, in Denmark and Norway, the day is known as Fastelavn and is marked by eating fastelavnsboller. Fastelavn is the name for Carnival in Denmark which is either the Sunday or Monday before Ash Wednesday, Fastelavn developed from the Roman Catholic tradition of celebrating in the days before Lent, but after Denmark became a Protestant nation, the holiday became less specifically religious. This holiday occurs seven weeks before Easter Sunday, with dressing up in costumes
22.
Ash Wednesday
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Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting, is the first day of Lent in Western Christianity. It occurs 46 days before Easter and can fall as early as February 4 or as late as March 10, Ash Wednesday is observed by many Western Christians, including Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists, Presbyterians, and Roman Catholics. According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus Christ spent 40 days fasting in the desert. Lent originated as a mirroring of this, fasting 40 days as preparation for Easter, every Sunday was seen as a commemoration of the Sunday of Christs resurrection and so as a feast day on which fasting was inappropriate. Accordingly, Christians fasted from Monday to Saturday during six weeks and from Wednesday to Saturday in the preceding week, orthodox Christians do this 40 days in a row. The words used traditionally to accompany this gesture are, Remember that you are dust, in the 1969 revision of the Roman Rite, an alternative formula was introduced and given first place, Repent, and believe in the Gospel. The old formula, based on the spoken to Adam and Eve after their sin, reminds worshippers of their sinfulness and mortality and thus, implicitly. The newer formula makes explicit what was implicit in the old. Originally, the ashes were strewn over mens heads, but, in the Catholic Church the manner of imposing ashes depends largely on local custom, since no fixed rule has been laid down. The Ash Wednesday ritual of the Church of England, Mother Church of the Anglican Communion, contains The Imposition of Ashes in its Ash Wednesday liturgy. The corresponding Catholic ritual in the Roman Missal for celebration within Mass merely states, Then the Priest places ashes on the head of those present who come to him, and says to each one. The 1969 revision of the Roman Rite inserted into the Mass the solemn ceremony of blessing ashes and placing them on heads, the Book of Blessings contains a simple rite. While the solemn rite would normally be carried out within a church building, while only a priest or deacon may bless the ashes, laypeople may do the placing of the ashes on a persons head. Even in the rite, lay men or women may assist the priest in distributing the ashes. In addition, laypeople take blessed ashes left over after the collective ceremony, at home the ashes are then placed with little or no ceremony. Even those who have been excommunicated and are forbidden to celebrate sacramentals are not forbidden to receive them. After describing the blessing, the rite of Blessing and Distribution of Ashes states, the Catholic Church does not limit distribution of blessed ashes to within church buildings and has suggested the holding of celebrations in shopping centres, nursing homes, and factories. Such celebrations presume preparation of an area and include readings from Scripture and prayers
23.
Ashbourne, Derbyshire
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Ashbourne is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales, England. It has a population of 7,112 and it contains many historical buildings and many independent shops and is famous for its historic annual Shrovetide football match. Ashbourne is a town and was granted a market charter in 1257. In medieval times Ashbourne was a frequent rest stop for pilgrims walking St Nons Way to the shrine at Dunstable in Bedfordshire, the forces of Charles Edward Stuart passed through Ashbourne during the Jacobite rising of 1745. Ashbourne Town Council is made up of 4 wards, Belle Vue, Hilltop, Parkside and St Oswalds and it is based in the town hall on the Market Place. Ashbourne is located at 53°01′N 01°44′W, Ashbourne Green and Sturston are hamlets close by. Henmore Brook, a tributary of the River Dove, flows through the middle of the town, Ashbourne has a population of 8,377 according to a 2011 census. From 1910, Nestle had a creamery in the town, which for a period was contracted to produce Carnation condensed milk. The factory had its own private sidings connected to the station goods yard, which allowed milk trains to access the facility. After milk trains ceased in 1965, the track was lifted. Water from a borehole on the site was first marketed as Ashbourne Water in 1975, nestlé retained the borehole after the factory shut, taking water by tanker to Buxton for bottling. Declining sales meant that they could not justify further investment and the brand was discontinued in 2006, the towns proximity to Dovedale and the Peak District means that tourism has always been important to it, now more than ever. The cobbled market place hosts an outdoor market every Thursday and Saturday throughout the year. Although its market heritage is important, it came under threat of closure from Derbyshire County Council in November 2012, the people of Ashbourne have opposed any such moves by the council and started an online petition. Ashbourne became the 97th Fairtrade Town in March 2005 after many businesses, cafes, shops, according to the Ashbourne Show website, In 1881, four gentlemen founded a society, with the aim of improving the standard of Shire horses in the Ashbourne area. Originally known as the Ashbourne Cart Horse Society, later that year, they held their first a show on the Paddock, at Ashbourne. This was so successful, it was determined by meeting to put the show on a permanent basis and apart from a few years lost to war and foot-and-mouth. In 1888, the title Ashbourne Shire Horse Society was adopted and royal patronage was granted in 1899 by King Edward VII, Shrovetide Football although much older, did not become royal till 1928
24.
Derbyshire
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Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire, in 2003 the Ordnance Survey placed Church Flatts Farm at Coton in the Elms as the furthest point from the sea in Great Britain. The city of Derby is a unitary authority area, but remains part of the county of Derbyshire. The non-metropolitan county contains 30 towns with between 10,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, there is a large amount of sparsely populated agricultural upland, 75% of the population live in 25% of the area. Further occupation came with the Upper Paleolithic and Neolithic periods of the Stone Age when Mesolithic hunter gatherers roamed the hilly tundra, evidence of these nomadic tribes has been found in limestone caves located on the Nottinghamshire border. Deposits left in the date the occupancy at around 12,000 to 7,000 BCE. Burial mounds of Neolithic settlers are also situated throughout the county and these chambered tombs were designed for collective burial and are mostly located in the central Derbyshire region. There are tombs at Minninglow and Five Wells that date back to between 2000 and 2500 BCE, three miles west of Youlgreave lies the Neolithic henge monument of Arbor Low, which has been dated to 2500 BCE. It is not until the Bronze Age that real signs of agriculture, in the moors of the Peak District signs of clearance, arable fields and hut circles were discovered after archaeological investigation. However this area and another settlement at Swarkestone are all that have been found, during the Roman invasion the invaders were attracted to Derbyshire because of the lead ore in the limestone hills of the area. They settled throughout the county with forts built near Brough in the Hope Valley, later they settled around Buxton, famed for its warm springs, and set up a fort near modern-day Derby in an area now known as Little Chester. Several kings of Mercia are buried in the Repton area, following the Norman Conquest, much of the county was subject to the forest laws. To the northwest was the Forest of High Peak under the custodianship of William Peverel, the rest of the county was bestowed upon Henry de Ferrers, a part of it becoming Duffield Frith. In time the area was given to the Duchy of Lancaster. Meanwhile, the Forest of East Derbyshire covered the county to the east of the River Derwent from the reign of Henry II to that of Edward I. The main rivers in the county are the River Derwent and the River Dove which both join the River Trent in the south. The varied landscapes within Derbyshires have been formed mainly as a consequence of the underlying geology, the oldest rocks occur in the northern, more upland half of the county, and are mostly of Carboniferous age, comprising limestones, gritstones, sandstones and shales. In its north-east corner to the east of Bolsover there are also Magnesian Limestone rocks of Permian age, across both regions can be found drift deposits of Quaternary age – mainly terrace and river gravel deposits and boulder clays
25.
Gloucester Cathedral
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Gloucester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity, in Gloucester, England, stands in the north of the city near the River Severn. It originated in 678 or 679 with the foundation of a dedicated to Saint Peter. Wardle records that in 1058 Ealdred, Bishop of Worcester at the time, the foundations of the present church were laid by Abbot Serlo. Walter Frocester the abbeys historian, became its first mitred abbot in 1381, until 1541, Gloucester lay in the see of Worcester, but the separate see was then constituted, with John Wakeman, last abbot of Tewkesbury, as its first bishop. The diocese covers the part of Gloucestershire, with small parts of Herefordshire and Wiltshire. The cathedral has a glass window containing the earliest images of golf. This dates from 1350, over 300 years earlier than the earliest image of golf from Scotland, there is also a carved image of people playing a ball game, believed by some to be one of the earliest images of medieval football. The cathedral, built as the church, consists of a Norman nucleus. It is 420 feet long, and 144 feet wide, with a central tower of the 15th century rising to the height of 225 ft and topped by four delicate pinnacles. The nave is massive Norman with an Early English roof, the crypt, under the choir, aisles and chapels, is Norman, the crypt is one of the four apsidal cathedral crypts in England, the others being at Worcester, Winchester and Canterbury. The south porch is in the Perpendicular style, with a roof, as also is the north transept. The choir has Perpendicular tracery over Norman work, with a chapel on each side. The late Decorated east window is filled with surviving medieval stained glass. Between the apsidal chapels is a cross Lady chapel, and north of the nave are the cloisters, the cloisters at Gloucester are the earliest surviving fan vaults, having been designed between 1351 and 1377 by Thomas de Canterbury. The most notable monument is the shrine of King Edward II of England who was murdered at nearby Berkeley Castle. The building and sanctuary were enriched by the visits of pilgrims to this shrine, in a side-chapel is a monument in coloured bog oak of Robert Curthose, eldest son of William the Conqueror and a great benefactor of the abbey, who was interred there. Monuments of Bishop Warburton and Dr Edward Jenner are also worthy of note, between 1873 and 1890, and in 1897, the cathedral was extensively restored by George Gilbert Scott. The cathedral has forty-six 14th-century misericords and twelve 19th-century replacements by Gilbert Scott, both types have a wide range of subject matter, mythology, everyday occurrences, religious symbolism and folklore
26.
British Museum
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The British Museum is dedicated to human history, art and culture, and is located in the Bloomsbury area of London. The British Museum was established in 1753, largely based on the collections of the physician, the museum first opened to the public on 15 January 1759, in Montagu House, on the site of the current building. Although today principally a museum of art objects and antiquities. Its foundations lie in the will of the Irish-born British physician, on 7 June 1753, King George II gave his formal assent to the Act of Parliament which established the British Museum. They were joined in 1757 by the Old Royal Library, now the Royal manuscripts, together these four foundation collections included many of the most treasured books now in the British Library including the Lindisfarne Gospels and the sole surviving copy of Beowulf. The British Museum was the first of a new kind of museum – national, belonging to neither church nor king, freely open to the public, sloanes collection, while including a vast miscellany of objects, tended to reflect his scientific interests. The addition of the Cotton and Harley manuscripts introduced a literary, the body of trustees decided on a converted 17th-century mansion, Montagu House, as a location for the museum, which it bought from the Montagu family for £20,000. The Trustees rejected Buckingham House, on the now occupied by Buckingham Palace, on the grounds of cost. With the acquisition of Montagu House the first exhibition galleries and reading room for scholars opened on 15 January 1759. During the few years after its foundation the British Museum received several gifts, including the Thomason Collection of Civil War Tracts. A list of donations to the Museum, dated 31 January 1784, in the early 19th century the foundations for the extensive collection of sculpture began to be laid and Greek, Roman and Egyptian artefacts dominated the antiquities displays. Gifts and purchases from Henry Salt, British consul general in Egypt, beginning with the Colossal bust of Ramesses II in 1818, many Greek sculptures followed, notably the first purpose-built exhibition space, the Charles Towneley collection, much of it Roman Sculpture, in 1805. In 1816 these masterpieces of art, were acquired by The British Museum by Act of Parliament. The collections were supplemented by the Bassae frieze from Phigaleia, Greece in 1815, the Ancient Near Eastern collection also had its beginnings in 1825 with the purchase of Assyrian and Babylonian antiquities from the widow of Claudius James Rich. The neoclassical architect, Sir Robert Smirke, was asked to draw up plans for an extension to the Museum. For the reception of the Royal Library, and a Picture Gallery over it, and put forward plans for todays quadrangular building, much of which can be seen today. The dilapidated Old Montagu House was demolished and work on the Kings Library Gallery began in 1823, the extension, the East Wing, was completed by 1831. The Museum became a site as Sir Robert Smirkes grand neo-classical building gradually arose
27.
Little Saint Hugh of Lincoln
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Hugh of Lincoln was an English boy whose death was falsely attributed to Jews. Hugh is sometimes known as Little Saint Hugh to distinguish him from Saint Hugh of Lincoln. Hugh became one of the best known of the blood libel saints, Little Sir Hugh was never actually canonised. The nine-year-old Hugh disappeared on 31 July, and his body was discovered in a well on 29 August, a man called John of Lexington appears to have suggested that Jews were responsible. Hughs friends apparently claimed that Copin, a local Jew, had imprisoned Hugh, during which time he tortured and it was said that the body had been thrown into the well after attempts to bury it failed, when the earth had expelled it. Copin was arrested and, under torture, confessed to killing the child and he later appears to have implicated the Jewish community as a whole. He was executed, and the story would have ended there were it not for a series of events coincided with the child Hughs disappearance. Some six months earlier, King Henry III had sold his rights to tax the Jews to his brother, Richard, having lost this source of income, he declared that if a Jew was convicted of a crime, any money he had would then belong to the king. As a result, some ninety Jews were arrested in connection with Hughs disappearance and death and held in the Tower of London and this story clearly influenced the myth that developed around Hugh. Eighteen of the Jews were hanged for refusing to participate in the proceedings by throwing themselves on the mercy of a Christian jury and it was the first time ever the civil government handed out a death sentence for a conviction of ritual murder. King Henry promptly expropriated the property of those convicted, the others were pardoned and set free, most likely because Richard, who saw a potential threat to his own source of income, intervened on their behalf. And after tormenting him in ways they crucified him. When the boy was dead, they took the body down from the cross, shortly after news was spread of his death, miracles were attributed to Hugh, and he was rushed toward sainthood. Hugh became one of the youngest individual candidates for sainthood, with 27 July unofficially made his feast day, over time, however, the issue of the rush to sainthood was raised, and Hugh was never canonized. He never appeared in Butler’s Lives of the Saints, the Vatican never included the child Hugh in Catholic martyrology. His traditional English feast day is not celebrated, Lincoln Cathedral benefited from the episode, however, since, saint or not, Hugh was regarded as a Christian martyr, and sites associated with his life became objects of pilgrimage. The legend surrounding Hugh that emerged became part of popular culture, geoffrey Chaucer in his Canterbury Tales makes reference to Hugh of Lincoln in The Prioresss Tale. In 1955, the Anglican Church placed a plaque at the site of Little Hughs former shrine at Lincoln Cathedral, bearing these words, trumped up stories of ritual murders of Christian boys by Jewish communities were common throughout Europe during the Middle Ages and even much later
28.
Matthew Paris
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Matthew Paris, known as Matthew of Paris, was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, some were written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse. His Chronica Majora is a source, though modern historians recognise that Paris was not always reliable. He tended to glorify Emperor Frederick II and denigrate the Pope, however, in his Historia Anglorum, Paris displays a highly negative view of Frederick, going as far as to describe him as a tyrant who committed disgraceful crimes. In spite of his surname and knowledge of the French language, Paris was of English birth and he may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at St Albans School. The first we know of Matthew Paris is that he was admitted as a monk to St Albans in 1217. He was clearly at ease with the nobility and even royalty and his life was mainly spent in this religious house. Apart from these missions, his activities were devoted to the composition of history. After admission to the order in 1217, he inherited the mantle of Roger of Wendover, Paris revised Rogers work, adding new material to cover his own tenure. This Chronica Majora is an important historical document, especially for the period between 1235 and 1259. Equally interesting are the illustrations Paris created for his work, the Dublin MS contains interesting notes, which shed light on Paris involvement in other manuscripts, and on the way his own were used. The lending of his manuscripts to aristocratic households, apparently for periods of weeks or months at a time, Paris manuscripts mostly contain more than one text, and often begin with a rather random assortment of prefatory full-page miniatures. Some have survived incomplete, and the elements now bound together may not have been intended to be so by Paris. Unless stated otherwise, all were given by Paris to his monastery, the monastic libraries were broken up at the Dissolution. These MS seem to have appreciated, and were quickly collected by bibliophiles. Many of his manuscripts in the British Library are from the Cotton Library, corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Mss 26 and 16,362 x 244/248 mm. ff 141 +281, composed 1240–53. His major historical work, but less heavily illustrated per page than others and these two volumes contain annals from the creation of the world up to the year 1253. There are 100 marginal drawings, some maps and an itinerary, and full-page drawings of William I
29.
Worcestershire
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Worcestershire is a county in the West Midlands of England. Between 1974 and 1998, it was merged with the county of Herefordshire as Hereford. The cathedral city of Worcester is the largest settlement and county town, other towns in the county include Redditch, Bromsgrove, Stourport-on-Severn, Droitwich, Evesham, Kidderminster, and Malvern. The north-east of Worcestershire includes part of the industrial West Midlands, the county is divided into six administrive districts, Worcester, Redditch, Wychavon, Malvern Hills, Wyre Forest, and Bromsgrove. The county borders Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, West Midlands, Warwickshire, to the west, the county is bordered by the Malvern Hills and the spa town of Malvern. The south of the county is bordered by Gloucestershire and the edge of the Cotswolds. Two major rivers flow through the county, the Severn and the Avon, Worcestershire was the heartland of the early English kingdom of the Hwicce. It was absorbed by the Kingdom of Mercia during the 7th century and it was a separate ealdormanship briefly in the 10th century before forming part of the Earldom of Mercia in the 11th century. In the years leading up to the Norman conquest, the Church, supported by the cathedral, Evesham Abbey, Pershore Abbey, Malvern Priory, and other religious houses, increasingly dominated the county. The last known Anglo-Saxon sheriff of the county was Cyneweard of Laughern, on 4 August 1265, Simon de Montfort was killed in the Battle of Evesham in Worcestershire. In 1642, the Battle of Powick Bridge was the first major skirmish of the English Civil War, during the Middle Ages, much of the countys economy was based on the wool trade. Many areas of its forests, such as Feckenham Forest, Horewell Forest. Droitwich Spa, situated on large deposits of salt, was a centre of production from Roman times. These old industries have declined, to be replaced by other. The county is home to the worlds oldest continually published newspaper. Malvern was one of the centres of the 19th century rise in English spa towns due to Malvern water being believed to be very pure, containing nothing at all. The 2011 census found the population of Worcestershire to be 566,169, while this change is in line with the nationwide trend of White British peoples share of the population shrinking, Worcestershire is still much more ethnically homogeneous than the national average. In 2011 England as a whole was 79. 8% White British, the most notable were Dudley, Evenlode, and the area around Shipston-on-Stour
30.
Ashington
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Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England. With a population of around 27,000, measured at 27,764 at the 2011 Census, the town is located some 15 miles north of Newcastle upon Tyne and west of the A189. The south of the town is bordered by the River Wansbeck, the North Sea coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is about 3 miles from the town centre. Many inhabitants have an accent and dialect known as Pitmatic. This varies from the dialect known as Geordie. But it could also have come from Valley of Ash Trees - these would have lined the valley, in the 1700s all that existed of Ashington was a small farm with a few dwellings around it. The Anglo Saxon theory is the most likely, the suffix ington denotes a settlement belonging to an Anglo Saxon. There are numerous ingtons nearby that would seem to discount the Ash tree theory as well as Essendene, examples are, Bedlington, Choppington, Cramlington, Barrington, Whittington, Acklington, Stannington etc. The first evidence of mining is from bell-shaped pits and monastic mine workings discovered in the 20th Century during tunnelling. Ashington developed from a hamlet in the 1840s when the Duke of Portland built housing to encourage people escaping the Irish potato famine to come. As in many parts of Britain, deep pit coal mining in the area declined during the 1980s and 1990s leaving just one colliery. In 2006 plans for an opencast mine on the outskirts of the town were put forward, during the heyday of coal-mining, Ashington was considered to be the worlds largest coal-mining village. There is now a debate about whether Ashington should be referred to as a town or a village, as coal mining expanded, more people left the countryside and settled in Ashington. This led the Ashington Coal Company to build parallel rows of colliery houses, some newcomers came from as far as Cornwall to make use of their tin-mining skills. With the growing coal industry came the need for a railway link, Ashington was linked to the Blyth and Tyne Railway in the 1850s, and also to the East Coast Main Line near Ulgham. The railway was used by passenger trains until the Beeching Axe in 1964 closed the railway station, called Hirst railway station. The railway line south towards the steep-sided River Wansbeck valley, originally crossed by a wooden viaduct. In 1913 the original Ashington Hospital was built and it was about 1/4 mile from the town centre
31.
Northumberland
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Northumberland is a county in North East England. The northernmost county of England, it borders Cumbria to the west, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, to the east is the North Sea coastline with a 64-mile long distance path. The county town is Alnwick although the county council is in Morpeth, the northernmost point of Northumberland and England is at Marshall Meadows Bay. The county of Northumberland included Newcastle upon Tyne until 1400, when the city became a county of itself, Northumberland expanded greatly in the Tudor period, annexing Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1482, Tynedale in 1495, Tynemouth in 1536, Redesdale around 1542 and Hexhamshire in 1572. Islandshire, Bedlingtonshire and Norhamshire were incorporated into Northumberland in 1844, Tynemouth and other settlements in North Tyneside were transferred to Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. Lying on the Anglo-Scottish border, Northumberland has been the site of a number of battles, the county is noted for its undeveloped landscape of high moorland, now largely protected as the Northumberland National Park. Northumberland is the most sparsely populated county in England, with only 62 people per square kilometre, Northumberland originally meant the land of the people living north of the River Humber. The present county is the core of that land, and has long been a frontier zone between England and Scotland. During Roman occupation of Britain, most of the present county lay north of Hadrians Wall, the Roman road Dere Street crosses the county from Corbridge over high moorland west of the Cheviot Hills into present Scotland to Trimontium. Northumberland has a rich prehistory with many instances of art, hillforts such as Yeavering Bell and stone circles like the Goatstones. Most of the area was occupied by the Brythonic-Celtic Votadini people, with another large tribe, later, the region of present-day Northumberland formed the core of the Anglian kingdom of Bernicia, which united with Deira to form the kingdom of Northumbria in the 7th century. Lindisfarne saw the production of the Lindisfarne Gospels and it became the home of St Cuthbert, bamburgh is the historic capital of Northumberland, the royal castle from before the unification of the Kingdoms of England under the monarchs of the House of Wessex in the 10th century. The Earldom of Northumberland was briefly held by the Scottish royal family by marriage between 1139–1157 and 1215–1217, Scotland relinquished all claims to the region as part of the Treaty of York. The Earls of Northumberland once wielded significant power in English affairs because, as powerful and militaristic Marcher Lords, Northumberland has a history of revolt and rebellion against the government, as seen in the Rising of the North against Elizabeth I of England. These revolts were led by the Earls of Northumberland, the Percy family. Shakespeare makes one of the Percys, the dashing Harry Hotspur, after the Restoration of 1660, the county was a centre for Roman Catholicism in England, as well as a focus of Jacobite support. Northumberland was long a wild county, where outlaws and Border Reivers hid from the law, however, the frequent cross-border skirmishes and accompanying local lawlessness largely subsided after the Union of the Crowns of Scotland and England under King James I and VI in 1603. Northumberland played a key role in the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century on, many coal mines operated in Northumberland until the widespread closures in the 1970s and 1980s
32.
Salisbury
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Salisbury is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England, and the only city within the county. It is the third-largest settlement in the county, after Swindon and Chippenham, with a population of 40,302, the city is located in the southeast of Wiltshire, near the edge of Salisbury Plain. Its cathedral was located to the north at Old Sarum, following its relocation. The new town received its city charter in 1227 under the name New Sarum, which continued to be its name until 2009. It sits at the confluence of five rivers, the Nadder, Ebble, Wylye, and Bourne are tributary to the Hampshire Avon, which flows to the south coast and into the sea at Christchurch in Dorset. Salisbury railway station serves the city and is a regional interchange, Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is about 8 miles northwest of Salisbury and greatly aids the local economy. The city itself, Old Sarum, the present cathedral and the ruins of the one also attract visitors. The first part of the name is of obscure origin, the form Sarum is a Latinization of Sar, a medieval abbreviation for Sarisberie. Salisbury appeared in the Welsh Chronicle of the Britons as Caer-Caradog, Caer-Gradawc, cair-Caratauc, one of the 28 British cities listed in the History of the Britons, has also been identified with Salisbury. The hilltop at Old Sarum lies near the Neolithic sites of Stonehenge and Avebury and it commanded a salient between the River Bourne and the Hampshire Avon near a crossroads of several early trade routes. During the Iron Age, a hillfort was constructed around it sometime between 600 and 300 BC, the Romans may have occupied the site or left it in the hands of an allied tribe. Amid the Saxon invasions, Old Sarum fell to King Cynric of Wessex in 552, preferring settlements in bottomland like nearby Wilton, the Saxons largely ignored Old Sarum until the Viking invasions led King Alfred to restore its fortifications. Along with Wilton, however, it was abandoned by its residents to be sacked and burned by the Dano-Norwegian king Sweyn Forkbeard in 1003 and it subsequently became the site of Wiltons mint. Following the Norman invasion, a castle was constructed by 1070. The castle was directly by the Norman kings, its castellan was generally also the sheriff of Wiltshire. Hermann and his successor Saint Osmund began the construction of the first Salisbury cathedral, the cathedral was consecrated on 5 April 1092 but suffered extensive damage in a storm, traditionally said to have occurred only five days later. Bishop Roger was an ally of Henry I who served as his viceroy during the kings absence to Normandy and directed the royal administration. He refurbished and expanded Old Sarums cathedral in the 1110s and began work on a palace during the 1130s
33.
University of Oxford
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The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university located in Oxford, England. It grew rapidly from 1167 when Henry II banned English students from attending the University of Paris, after disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled north-east to Cambridge where they established what became the University of Cambridge. The two ancient universities are frequently referred to as Oxbridge. The university is made up of a variety of institutions, including 38 constituent colleges, All the colleges are self-governing institutions within the university, each controlling its own membership and with its own internal structure and activities. Being a city university, it not have a main campus, instead, its buildings. Oxford is the home of the Rhodes Scholarship, one of the worlds oldest and most prestigious scholarships, the university operates the worlds oldest university museum, as well as the largest university press in the world and the largest academic library system in Britain. Oxford has educated many notable alumni, including 28 Nobel laureates,27 Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, the University of Oxford has no known foundation date. Teaching at Oxford existed in form as early as 1096. It grew quickly in 1167 when English students returned from the University of Paris, the historian Gerald of Wales lectured to such scholars in 1188 and the first known foreign scholar, Emo of Friesland, arrived in 1190. The head of the university had the title of chancellor from at least 1201, the university was granted a royal charter in 1248 during the reign of King Henry III. After disputes between students and Oxford townsfolk in 1209, some academics fled from the violence to Cambridge, the students associated together on the basis of geographical origins, into two nations, representing the North and the South. In later centuries, geographical origins continued to many students affiliations when membership of a college or hall became customary in Oxford. At about the time, private benefactors established colleges as self-contained scholarly communities. Among the earliest such founders were William of Durham, who in 1249 endowed University College, thereafter, an increasing number of students lived in colleges rather than in halls and religious houses. In 1333–34, an attempt by some dissatisfied Oxford scholars to found a new university at Stamford, Lincolnshire was blocked by the universities of Oxford and Cambridge petitioning King Edward III. Thereafter, until the 1820s, no new universities were allowed to be founded in England, even in London, thus, Oxford and Cambridge had a duopoly, the new learning of the Renaissance greatly influenced Oxford from the late 15th century onwards. Among university scholars of the period were William Grocyn, who contributed to the revival of Greek language studies, and John Colet, the noted biblical scholar. With the English Reformation and the breaking of communion with the Roman Catholic Church, recusant scholars from Oxford fled to continental Europe, as a centre of learning and scholarship, Oxfords reputation declined in the Age of Enlightenment, enrolments fell and teaching was neglected
34.
Lord Mayor of London
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The Lord Mayor of London is the City of Londons mayor and leader of the City of London Corporation. This office differs from the Mayor of London, which is an elected position. However, the legal and commonly used title remains Lord Mayor of London, the Lord Mayor is elected at Common Hall each year on Michaelmas, and takes office on the Friday before the second Saturday in November, at The Silent Ceremony. One of the worlds oldest continuously elected civic offices, the Lord Mayors main role nowadays is to represent, support and promote the businesses and residents in the City of London. As leader of the Corporation of the City of London, the Lord Mayor serves as the key spokesman for the local authority, all Lord Mayors of London are apolitical. The Lord Mayor of London typically delivers dozens of speeches and addresses per year, many incumbents of the office make overseas visits while Lord Mayor of London. Currently serving is the 689th Lord Mayor Dr Andrew Parmley Of the 69 cities in the United Kingdom, the City of London is among the 30 that have Lord Mayors. The Lord Mayor is entitled to the style The Right Honourable, the same privilege extends only to the Lord Mayors of York, Cardiff and Belfast, the latter prefix applies only to Privy Counsellors. A woman who holds the office is known as a Lord Mayor. The wife of a male Lord Mayor is styled as Lady Mayoress, a female Lord Mayor or an unmarried male Lord Mayor may appoint a female consort, usually a fellow member of the corporation, to the role of Lady Mayoress. In speech, a Lord Mayor is referred to as My Lord Mayor, and it was once customary for Lord Mayors to be appointed knights upon taking office and baronets upon retirement, unless they already held such a title. This custom was followed with a few inconsistencies from the 16th until the 19th centuries, however, from 1964 onwards, the regular creation of hereditary titles such as baronetcies was phased out, so subsequent Lord Mayors were offered knighthoods. Furthermore, foreign Heads of State visiting the City of London on a UK State Visit, for example, in 2001, Sir David Howard was created a Grand Cordon of the Order of Independence of Jordan by King Abdullah II. Recently Lord Mayors have been appointed at the beginning of their term of office Knights or Dames of St John, as a mark of respect, by HM The Queen, Sovereign Head of the Order of St John. The office of Lord Mayor was instituted in 1189, the first holder of the office being Henry Fitz-Ailwin de Londonestone. The Mayor of the City of London has been elected by the City, rather than appointed by the Sovereign, the title Lord Mayor came to be used after 1354, when it was granted to Thomas Legge by King Edward III. Lord Mayors are elected for terms, by custom, they do not now serve more than one consecutive term. Almost 700 people have served as Lord Mayor, Dame Mary Donaldson, elected in 1983, and Dame Fiona Woolf, elected in 2013, are the only women to have held the office
35.
Edward II of England
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Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the following the death of his older brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns to pacify Scotland, Edward succeeded to the throne in 1307, following his fathers death. In 1308, he married Isabella of France, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV, Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. The precise nature of Edward and Gavestons relationship is uncertain, they may have been friends, Gavestons arrogance and power as Edwards favourite provoked discontent both among the barons and the French royal family, and Edward was forced to exile him. On Gavestons return, the barons pressured the King into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms called the Ordinances of 1311, the newly empowered barons banished Gaveston, to which Edward responded by revoking the reforms and recalling his favourite. Led by Edwards cousin, the Earl of Lancaster, a group of the barons seized and executed Gaveston in 1312, English forces were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Widespread famine followed, and criticism of the Kings reign mounted, in response, Edward led a short military campaign, capturing and executing Lancaster. Edward and the Despensers strengthened their grip on power, revoking the 1311 reforms, executing their enemies, unable to make progress in Scotland, Edward finally signed a truce with Robert. Opposition to the regime grew, and when Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward. Isabella allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer, and invaded England with an army in 1326. Edwards regime collapsed and he fled into Wales, where he was captured in November, Edwards relationship with Gaveston inspired Christopher Marlowes 1592 play Edward II, along with other plays, films, novels and media. Many of these have focused on the sexual relationship between the two men. Debate has continued into the 21st century as to whether Edward was a lazy and incompetent king, or simply a reluctant, Edward II was the fourth son of Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile. His father was the King of England, and had also inherited Gascony in south-western France, which he held as the vassal of the King of France. His mother was from the Castilian royal family, and held the County of Ponthieu in northern France, Edward I proved to be a successful military leader, leading the suppression of the baronial revolts in the 1260s, and joining the Ninth Crusade. During the 1280s he conquered North Wales, removing the native Welsh princes from power and he was considered an extremely successful ruler by his contemporaries, largely able to control the powerful earls that formed the senior ranks of the English nobility. The historian Michael Prestwich describes Edward I as a king to inspire fear and respect, despite his successes, when Edward I died in 1307 he left a range of challenges for his son to resolve
36.
French language
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French is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages, French has evolved from Gallo-Romance, the spoken Latin in Gaul, and more specifically in Northern Gaul. Its closest relatives are the other langues doïl—languages historically spoken in northern France and in southern Belgium, French was also influenced by native Celtic languages of Northern Roman Gaul like Gallia Belgica and by the Frankish language of the post-Roman Frankish invaders. Today, owing to Frances past overseas expansion, there are numerous French-based creole languages, a French-speaking person or nation may be referred to as Francophone in both English and French. French is a language in 29 countries, most of which are members of la francophonie. As of 2015, 40% of the population is in Europe, 35% in sub-Saharan Africa, 15% in North Africa and the Middle East, 8% in the Americas. French is the fourth-most widely spoken mother tongue in the European Union, 1/5 of Europeans who do not have French as a mother tongue speak French as a second language. As a result of French and Belgian colonialism from the 17th and 18th century onward, French was introduced to new territories in the Americas, Africa, most second-language speakers reside in Francophone Africa, in particular Gabon, Algeria, Mauritius, Senegal and Ivory Coast. In 2015, French was estimated to have 77 to 110 million native speakers, approximately 274 million people are able to speak the language. The Organisation internationale de la Francophonie estimates 700 million by 2050, in 2011, Bloomberg Businessweek ranked French the third most useful language for business, after English and Standard Mandarin Chinese. Under the Constitution of France, French has been the language of the Republic since 1992. France mandates the use of French in official government publications, public education except in specific cases, French is one of the four official languages of Switzerland and is spoken in the western part of Switzerland called Romandie, of which Geneva is the largest city. French is the language of about 23% of the Swiss population. French is also a language of Luxembourg, Monaco, and Aosta Valley, while French dialects remain spoken by minorities on the Channel Islands. A plurality of the worlds French-speaking population lives in Africa and this number does not include the people living in non-Francophone African countries who have learned French as a foreign language. Due to the rise of French in Africa, the total French-speaking population worldwide is expected to reach 700 million people in 2050, French is the fastest growing language on the continent. French is mostly a language in Africa, but it has become a first language in some urban areas, such as the region of Abidjan, Ivory Coast and in Libreville. There is not a single African French, but multiple forms that diverged through contact with various indigenous African languages, sub-Saharan Africa is the region where the French language is most likely to expand, because of the expansion of education and rapid population growth
37.
Pope John XXII
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Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze, was Pope from 7 August 1316 to his death in 1334. Like his predecessor, Clement V, Pope John centralized power and income in the Papacy, the son of a shoemaker in Cahors, Jacques Duèze studied medicine in Montpellier and law in Paris, yet could not read a regal letter written to him in French. Duèze taught both canon and civil law at Toulouse and Cahors, on the recommendation of Charles II of Naples he was made Bishop of Fréjus in 1300. In 1309 he was appointed chancellor of Charles II, and in 1310 he was transferred to Avignon and he delivered legal opinions favorable to the suppression of the Templars, but he also defended Boniface VIII and the Bull Unam Sanctam. On 23 December 1312, Clement V made him Cardinal-Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina, the death of Pope Clement V in 1314 was followed by an interregnum of two years due to disagreements between the cardinals, who were split into two factions. After two years, Philip, in 1316, finally managed to arrange a papal conclave of cardinals in Lyon. This conclave elected Duèze, who took the name John XXII and was crowned in Lyon and he set up his residence in Avignon rather than Rome, continuing the Avignon Papacy of his predecessor. John XXII involved himself in the politics and religious movements of many European countries in order to advance the interests of the Church and his close links with the French crown created widespread distrust of the papacy. Pope John XXII was an excellent administrator and efficient at reorganizing the Church and he had sent a letter of thanks to the Muslim ruler Uzbeg Khan, who was very tolerant of Christians and treated Christians kindly. John XXII has traditionally been credited with having composed the prayer Anima Christi, and the basis for the hymn Soul of Christ, Sanctify My Breast. On 27 March 1329 John XXII condemned many writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical in his papal bull In Agro Dominico, prior to John XXIIs election a contest had begun for the Holy Roman Empires crown between Louis IV of Bavaria and Frederick I of Austria. Louis IV was assisted in his dispute with the papacy by Marsilius of Padua. Louis IV invaded Italy, entered Rome and set up Pietro Rainalducci as Antipope Nicholas V in 1328, guelphic predominance at Rome was later restored, and Pope John excommunicated William of Ockham. However, Louis IV had silenced the claims and John XXII stayed the rest of his life in Avignon. In 1317, John XXII formally condemned the group of known as the Fraticelli. The experts disagreed among themselves, but the majority condemned the idea on the grounds that it would condemn the Churchs right to have possessions. On 12 November 1323, he issued the bull Quum inter nonnullos, influential members of the order protested, such as the minister general Michael of Cesena, the English provincial William of Ockham, and Bonagratia of Bergamo. In 1324, Louis the Bavarian sided with the Spirituals and accused the Pope of heresy, in 1328 Michael of Cesena was summoned to Avignon to explain the Orders intransigence in refusing the Popes orders and its complicity with Louis of Bavaria
38.
Shouldham
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Shouldham is a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. It covers an area of 16.04 km2 and had a population of 608 in 246 households at the 2001 census and it also contains a church and a primary school. Shouldham is a parish of the Kings Lynn and West Norfolk district council, Norfolk County Council is in charge of roads, some schools, and social services, and the county councillor is Richard Toby Coke. For Westminster elections the parish part of the North West Norfolk constituency. Media related to Shouldham at Wikimedia Commons
39.
Philip VI of France
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Philip VI, called the Fortunate and of Valois, was the first King of France from the House of Valois. He reigned from 1328 until his death, Philips reign was dominated by the consequences of a succession dispute. It was held in France, however, that Edward was ineligible to inherit the French throne through the line according to the ancient Salic Law. The result was the beginning of the Hundred Years War in 1337, after initial successes at sea, Philips navy was annihilated at the Battle of Sluys in 1340, ensuring that the war would occur on the continent. The English took another decisive advantage at the Battle of Crécy, while the Black Death struck France, in 1349, Philip VI bought the Dauphiné from its ruined ruler Humbert II and entrusted the government of this province to his grandson Charles. Philip VI died in 1350 and was succeeded by his son John II the Good, little is recorded about Philips childhood and youth, in large part because he was of minor royal birth. Philips father Charles, Count of Valois, the brother of King Philip IV of France, had striven throughout his life to gain a throne for himself but was never successful. He died in 1325, leaving his eldest son Philip as heir to the counties of Anjou, Maine, in 1328, Philips first cousin Charles IV died without a son and with his widow Jeanne dÉvreux pregnant. Philip was one of the two claimants to the throne. The other was King Edward III of England, who was the son of Charless sister Isabella, the question arose whether Isabella should have been able to transmit a claim that she herself did not possess. The assemblies of the French barons and prelates and the University of Paris decided that males who derive their right to inheritance through their mother should be excluded according to Salic Law. He formally held the regency from 9 February 1328 until 1 April, upon this birth, Philip was named king and crowned at the Cathedral in Reims on 29 May 1328. After his elevation to the throne, Philip sent the Abbot of Fécamp, Pierre Roger, after a subsequent second summons from Philip, Edward arrived at the Cathedral of Amiens on 6 June 1329 and worded his vows in such a way to cause more disputes in later years. The dynastic change had another consequence, Charles IV had also been King of Navarre, but, unlike the crown of France and these counties were closely entrenched in the economic and administrative entity of the Crown lands of France, being located adjacent to Île-de-France. Philip, however, was not entitled to that inheritance, the heiress was the surviving daughter of Louis X, the future Joan II of Navarre. His wife, the able Joan the Lame, gave the first of many demonstrations of her competence as regent in his absence, Philip initially enjoyed relatively amicable relations with Edward III, and they planned a crusade together in 1332, which was never executed. However, the status of the Duchy of Aquitaine remained a sore point, Philip provided refuge for David II of Scotland in 1334 and declared himself champion of his interests, which enraged Edward. By 1336, they were enemies, although not yet openly at war, Philip successfully prevented an arrangement between the Avignon papacy and Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV, although in July 1337 Louis concluded an alliance with Edward III
40.
Misericord
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Prayers in the early medieval church at the daily divine offices were said standing with uplifted hands. The old or infirm could use crutches or, as went on. For these times of required standing, seating was constructed so that the seats could be turned up, however, the undersides sometimes had a small shelf, a misericord, allowing the user to lean against it, slightly reducing their discomfort. Remnants 1969 catalogue dismisses everything after that date as modern, rarely even affording it a description, but there are many carvings from the Victorian era. The earliest set of misericords can be found in the stalls of Exeter Cathedral. Many stalls with misericords were once part of monastic or collegiate churches and those that survived were further depleted by 17th-century iconoclasts and Victorian reformers. One set at Chester was destroyed by Dean Howson because he deemed it improper, the woodcarvers came from Lincoln in the late 14th century and moved on to Westminster Hall when they had finished the choir, three years later. It is said that it was the apprentices who were allowed to carve the seats, a distinct use of the word is to denote a room in a medieval Benedictine monastery where some part of the community would eat on any given day. The Rule of Saint Benedict included strict rules on the allowed for monks in the refectory, for example. At Westminster Abbey, the misericord was constructed sometime between 1230 and 1270, Misericords are found to this day on kathismata, the choir stalls used by Eastern Orthodox monastics. These tend to be simpler than their Western counterparts, usually being a simple strip of rounded wood with little or no ornamentation. Their use is common in the Greek Orthodox Church, though Russian Orthodox monasteries tend not to have individual choir stalls. Orthodox Christians stand throughout the long services, rather than sit or kneel, though some seating is provided for the elderly. Whereas Greek monks will tend to lean in their stalls during the services, as the hidden position and vernacular iconography of misericords have prompted them to be seen as a subversive art-form, they have re-appeared as motifs in modern art and literature. Remnant, G. L. Misericords in Great Britain, with an essay on their iconography by Mary D. Anderson, block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords in France, XIII – XVI century. Block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords Iberia, Portugal – Spain XIII-XVI, block, Corpus of Medieval Misericords, Belgium – Netherlands. ISBN 1-872501-98-2 Paul Hardwick, English Medieval Misericords, the margins of meaning, ISBN 1-84383-659-9 Dorothy and Henry Kraus, The Gothic Choirstalls of Spain. ISBN 0-7102-0294-6 Dorothy and Henry Kraus, The Hidden World of Misericords
