1.
October
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October is the tenth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the sixth month to have the length of 31 days. The eighth month in the old Roman calendar, October retained its name after January and February were inserted into the calendar that had originally created by the Romans. In Ancient Rome, one of three Mundus patet would take place on October 5, Meditrinalia October 11, Augustalia on October 12, October Horse on October 15 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. Among the Anglo-Saxons, it was known as Winterfylleth, because at full moon winter was supposed to begin. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, October 19, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, October is the Month of the Holy Rosary. Neil Gaiman wrote a story personifying the month, titled October in the Chair, ray Bradbury published a collection of short stories titled The October Country in 1955. Octobers birthstones are the tourmaline and opal and its birth flower is the calendula. The zodiac signs for this month are Libra and Scorpio
2.
November
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November is the eleventh and penultimate month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars and the fourth and last month to have the length of 30 days. November was the month of the ancient Roman calendar. November retained its name when January and February were added to the Roman calendar, November is a month of late-spring in the Southern Hemisphere and late-autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. Therefore, November in the Southern Hemisphere is the equivalent of May in the Northern Hemisphere. In Ancient Rome, Ludi Plebeii was held from November 4–17, Epulum Jovis was held on November 13 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. November was referred to as Blōtmōnaþ by the Anglo-Saxons, brumaire and Frimaire were the months on which November fell in the French Republican Calendar. The Orionids, which occur in late October, sometimes last into November, the Western zodiac signs for the month of November are Scorpio and Sagittarius. Novembers birthstones are the topaz which symbolizes friendship and the citrine and its birth flower is the chrysanthemum. This list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance, November 18, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, November is the Month of the Holy Souls in Purgatory
3.
December
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December is the twelfth and final month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is the seventh and last month to have the length of 31 days, December got its name from the Latin word decem because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar, which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month, later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name. In Ancient Rome, one of the four Agonalia, this day in honor of Sol Indiges was held on December 11 and these dates do not correspond to the modern Gregorian calendar. The Anglo-Saxons referred to December/January as Ġēolamonaþ, the French Republican Calendar contained December within the months of Frimaire and Nivôse. December contains the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere, the day with the fewest daylight hours, and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, December in the Northern Hemisphere is the seasonal equivalent to June in the Southern Hemisphere and vice versa. In the Northern hemisphere, the beginning of the winter is traditionally 21 December or the date of the solstice. The zodiac signs for the month of December are Sagittarius and Capricorn, decembers birth flower is the narcissus. Decembers birthstones are the turquoise, zircon, and tanzanite and this list does not necessarily imply either official status or general observance. December 18, Amavasya In Catholic tradition, December is the Month of the Advent of Christ
4.
November 9
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November 9 is the 313th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 52 days remaining until the end of the year and this date is slightly more likely to fall on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday than on Saturday or Sunday, and slightly less likely to occur on a Tuesday or Thursday. 694 – At the Seventeenth Council of Toledo, Egica, a king of the Visigoths of Hispania, accuses Jews of aiding Muslims,1313 – Louis the Bavarian defeats his cousin Frederick I of Austria at the Battle of Gammelsdorf. 1330 – At the Battle of Posada, Basarab I of Wallachia defeats the Hungarian army of Charles I Robert,1456 – Ulrich II, Count of Celje, last ruler of the County of Cilli, is assassinated in Belgrade. 1520 – More than 50 people are sentenced and executed in the Stockholm Bloodbath 1620 – Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower sight land at Cape Cod,1688 – Glorious Revolution, William of Orange captures Exeter. 1697 – Pope Innocent XII founds the city of Cervia,1720 – The synagogue of Judah HeHasid is burned down by Arab creditors, leading to the expulsion of the Ashkenazim from Jerusalem. 1729 – Spain, France and Great Britain sign the Treaty of Seville,1791 – Foundation of the Dublin Society of United Irishmen. 1799 – Napoleon Bonaparte leads the Coup of 18 Brumaire ending the Directory government,1851 – Kentucky marshals abduct abolitionist minister Calvin Fairbank from Jeffersonville, Indiana, and take him to Kentucky to stand trial for helping a slave escape. 1857 – The Atlantic is founded in Boston, Massachusetts,1861 – The first documented football match in Canada is played at University College, Toronto. 1862 – American Civil War, Union General Ambrose Burnside assumes command of the Army of the Potomac,1867 – Tokugawa shogunate hands power back to the Emperor of Japan, starting the Meiji Restoration. 1872 – The Great Boston Fire of 1872,1883 – The Royal Winnipeg Rifles of the Canadian Armed Forces is founded. 1887 – The United States receives rights to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii,1906 – Theodore Roosevelt is the first sitting President of the United States to make an official trip outside the country. He did so to progress on the Panama Canal. 1907 – The Cullinan Diamond is presented to King Edward VII on his birthday,1913 – The Great Lakes Storm of 1913, the most destructive natural disaster ever to hit the lakes, destroys 19 ships and kills more than 250 people. 1914 – SMS Emden is sunk by HMAS Sydney in the Battle of Cocos,1918 – Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany abdicates after the German Revolution, and Germany is proclaimed a Republic. 1921 – The Italian National Fascist Party comes into existence,1923 – In Munich, Germany, police and government troops crush the Beer Hall Putsch in Bavaria. The failed coup is the work of the Nazis,1935 – The Congress of Industrial Organizations is founded in Atlantic City, New Jersey, by eight trade unions belonging to the American Federation of Labor. 1937 – The Chinese Army withdraws from the Battle of Shanghai,1940 – Warsaw is awarded the Virtuti Militari
5.
Leap year
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A leap year is a calendar year containing one additional day added to keep the calendar year synchronized with the astronomical or seasonal year. By inserting an additional day or month into the year, the drift can be corrected, a year that is not a leap year is called a common year. For example, in the Gregorian calendar, each year has 366 days instead of the usual 365. In the Bahai Calendar, a day is added when needed to ensure that the following year begins on the vernal equinox. For example, Christmas Day fell on a Tuesday in 2001, Wednesday in 2002, the length of a day is also occasionally changed by the insertion of leap seconds into Coordinated Universal Time, owing to the variability of Earths rotational period. Unlike leap days, leap seconds are not introduced on a regular schedule, in the Gregorian calendar, the standard calendar in most of the world, most years that are multiples of 4 are leap years. In each leap year, the month of February has 29 days instead of 28, adding an extra day to the calendar every four years compensates for the fact that a period of 365 days is shorter than a tropical year by almost 6 hours. Some exceptions to this rule are required since the duration of a tropical year is slightly less than 365.25 days. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 were not leap years, over a period of four centuries, the accumulated error of adding a leap day every four years amounts to about three extra days. The Gregorian calendar therefore removes three leap days every 400 years, which is the length of its leap cycle and this is done by removing February 29 in the three century years that cannot be exactly divided by 400. The years 1600,2000 and 2400 are leap years, while 1700,1800,1900,2100,2200 and 2300 are common years, by this rule, the average number of days per year is 365 + 1⁄4 − 1⁄100 + 1⁄400 =365.2425. The rule can be applied to years before the Gregorian reform, the Gregorian calendar was designed to keep the vernal equinox on or close to March 21, so that the date of Easter remains close to the vernal equinox. The Accuracy section of the Gregorian calendar article discusses how well the Gregorian calendar achieves this design goal, the following pseudocode determines whether a year is a leap year or a common year in the Gregorian calendar. The year variable being tested is the representing the number of the year in the Gregorian calendar. Care should be taken in translating mathematical integer divisibility into specific programming languages, if then else if then else if then else February 29 is a date that usually occurs every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, the Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a calendar and named many of its days after the syzygies of the moon, the new moon. The Nonae or nones was not the first quarter moon but was exactly one nundina or Roman market week of nine days before the ides and this is what we would call a period of eight days
6.
Gregorian calendar
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The Gregorian calendar is internationally the most widely used civil calendar. It is named after Pope Gregory XIII, who introduced it in October 1582, the calendar was a refinement to the Julian calendar involving a 0. 002% correction in the length of the year. The motivation for the reform was to stop the drift of the calendar with respect to the equinoxes and solstices—particularly the northern vernal equinox, transition to the Gregorian calendar would restore the holiday to the time of the year in which it was celebrated when introduced by the early Church. The reform was adopted initially by the Catholic countries of Europe, the last European country to adopt the reform was Greece, in 1923. Many countries that have used the Islamic and other religious calendars have come to adopt this calendar for civil purposes. The reform was a modification of a made by Aloysius Lilius. His proposal included reducing the number of years in four centuries from 100 to 97. Lilius also produced an original and practical scheme for adjusting the epacts of the moon when calculating the date of Easter. For example, the years 1700,1800, and 1900 are not leap years, but the years 1600 and 2000 are. The canonical Easter tables were devised at the end of the third century, when the vernal equinox fell either on 20 March or 21 March depending on the years position in the leap year cycle. As the rule was that the full moon preceding Easter was not to precede the equinox, the date was fixed at 21 March for computational purposes, the Gregorian calendar reproduced these conditions by removing ten days. To unambiguously specify a date, dual dating or Old Style, dual dating gives two consecutive years for a given date, because of differences in the starting date of the year, and/or to give both the Julian and the Gregorian dates. The Gregorian calendar continued to use the calendar era, which counts years from the traditional date of the nativity. This year-numbering system, also known as Dionysian era or Common Era, is the predominant international standard today, the Gregorian calendar is a solar calendar. A regular Gregorian year consists of 365 days, but as in the Julian calendar, in a leap year, in the Julian calendar a leap year occurs every 4 years, but the Gregorian calendar omits 3 leap days every 400 years. In the Julian calendar, this day was inserted by doubling 24 February. In the modern period, it has become customary to number the days from the beginning of the month, some churches, notably the Roman Catholic Church, delay February festivals after the 23rd by one day in leap years. Gregorian years are identified by consecutive year numbers, the cycles repeat completely every 146,097 days, which equals 400 years
7.
Astronomy
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Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and phenomena. It applies mathematics, physics, and chemistry, in an effort to explain the origin of those objects and phenomena and their evolution. Objects of interest include planets, moons, stars, galaxies, and comets, while the phenomena include supernovae explosions, gamma ray bursts, more generally, all astronomical phenomena that originate outside Earths atmosphere are within the purview of astronomy. A related but distinct subject, physical cosmology, is concerned with the study of the Universe as a whole, Astronomy is the oldest of the natural sciences. The early civilizations in recorded history, such as the Babylonians, Greeks, Indians, Egyptians, Nubians, Iranians, Chinese, during the 20th century, the field of professional astronomy split into observational and theoretical branches. Observational astronomy is focused on acquiring data from observations of astronomical objects, theoretical astronomy is oriented toward the development of computer or analytical models to describe astronomical objects and phenomena. The two fields complement each other, with theoretical astronomy seeking to explain the results and observations being used to confirm theoretical results. Astronomy is one of the few sciences where amateurs can play an active role, especially in the discovery. Amateur astronomers have made and contributed to many important astronomical discoveries, Astronomy means law of the stars. Astronomy should not be confused with astrology, the system which claims that human affairs are correlated with the positions of celestial objects. Although the two share a common origin, they are now entirely distinct. Generally, either the term astronomy or astrophysics may be used to refer to this subject, however, since most modern astronomical research deals with subjects related to physics, modern astronomy could actually be called astrophysics. Few fields, such as astrometry, are purely astronomy rather than also astrophysics, some titles of the leading scientific journals in this field includeThe Astronomical Journal, The Astrophysical Journal and Astronomy and Astrophysics. In early times, astronomy only comprised the observation and predictions of the motions of objects visible to the naked eye, in some locations, early cultures assembled massive artifacts that possibly had some astronomical purpose. Before tools such as the telescope were invented, early study of the stars was conducted using the naked eye, most of early astronomy actually consisted of mapping the positions of the stars and planets, a science now referred to as astrometry. From these observations, early ideas about the motions of the planets were formed, and the nature of the Sun, Moon, the Earth was believed to be the center of the Universe with the Sun, the Moon and the stars rotating around it. This is known as the model of the Universe, or the Ptolemaic system. The Babylonians discovered that lunar eclipses recurred in a cycle known as a saros
8.
Cusp (astrology)
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In astrology, a cusp is the imaginary line that separates a pair of consecutive signs in the zodiac or houses in the horoscope. Because the solar disc has a diameter of half a degree. When this occurs at the moment of such a person is said to be born on the cusp. For example, if an individual was born when the Sun was located at 29 degrees,50 minutes Gemini, then one might say that he was born on the cusp of Gemini, much of the Solar disc was actually in Cancer even though the centre was in Gemini. Although the term cusp is universally used for the boundaries of signs, many consider relevant only the location of the Suns centre, which must be entirely in one sign, and would describe the natal Sun in the example as simply being in Gemini. If late degrees of Gemini have a Cancer-like character, they would describe that as simply the nature of that part of Gemini rather than some influence spilling over from the next sign. That point of view may consider the Sun to be on the cusp even when its centre is as much as two away from the sign boundary. They may also call other objects on the cusp despite no part of the object being in the adjacent sign and their claim is that the influence of the cusp gets weaker but does not suddenly disappear as the object gets further from the cusp. A similar debate applies to cusps between houses, the majority of astrologers treat the Sun as always being in exactly one sign, and consider the Sun between signs, or in two at once interpretation of cusps to be a misinterpretation
9.
Scorpio (astrology)
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Scorpio is the eighth astrological sign in the Zodiac. It spans the 210–240th degree of the zodiac, between 207.25 and 234.75 degree of celestial longitude, depending on which zodiac system one uses, an individual born under the influence of Scorpio may be called a Scorpio or a Scorpion. The symbol of the scorpion is based on Scorpius, a giant scorpion sent by Gaia to kill Orion, Scorpio is one of the three zodiac water signs, the others being Cancer and Pisces. Scorpios are analytical and meditative, and ponder data to create a realistic plan, the Scorpio is secretive and intense, though their careful approach to planning and action can appear as a lack of intensity. The Scorpio is good at hiding their feelings, which can cause problems in their relationships and they do not try to please others, and do not care what the world thinks of them. Longitude of Sun, apparent geocentric ecliptic of date, interpolated to find time of crossing 0°, 30°, atsma, Aaron J. Skorpios, Greek goddess of justice. Astrology, Tropical Zodiac and Sidereal Zodiac, archived from the original on 18 November 2015. The dictionary definition of Scorpio at Wiktionary Media related to Scorpio at Wikimedia Commons Warburg Institute Iconographic Database
10.
Sagittarius (astrology)
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Sagittarius is the ninth astrological sign, which is associated with the constellation Sagittarius and spans 240–270th degrees of the zodiac. Under the tropical zodiac, the sun transits this sign between approximately November 23 and December 21, the symbol of the archer is based on the centaur Chiron, who mentored Achilles, a Greek hero of the Trojan War, in archery. Sagittarius, half human and half horse, is the centaur of mythology, also known as the Archer, Sagittarius is represented by the symbol of a bow and arrow. Along with Aries and Leo, Sagittarius is a part of the Fire Trigon, the symbol of the zodiac sign is a Centaur armed with arrows following an old tradition coming from the Ancient Greece and from other cultures of the past. The image of the sign says a lot about his features, hes able to be violent or wise. Longitude of Sun, apparent geocentric ecliptic of date, interpolated to find time of crossing 0°, 30°, atsma, Aaron J. Kheiron, Greek goddess of justice. Parragon, flo Street house,4 Queen Street, Bath BA1 1HU, usa, isaiah
11.
Pope Anastasius II
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Pope Anastasius II was Pope from 24 November 496 to his death in 498. He was an important figure trying to end Acacian schism, but his efforts resulted in the Laurentian schism, Anastasius was born in Rome, the son of a priest, and is buried in St. Peters Basilica. While all the 49 popes that preceded him were canonized, he is the first pope in history who has not been canonized, the church had been in a serious doctrinal dispute since 484, between the Eastern and Western churches of Christianity, known as the Acacian schism. Efforts at reducing the problem by Zeno were not recognized by Felix III or Gelasius I, upon the death of Gelasius I, Anastasius II was named pope largely with support from a faction that wanted to improve relations between the West and the Eastern churches and end the schism. As a signal of attempting to reduce the tension, Anastasius II was rumored to have given communion to Photinus of Thessalonica, because of the communion with Photinus, many in Rome refused to receive communion from Anastasius II and the situation grew to a crisis point. At the peak of the created by these attempts to improve relations between the East and the West, Anastasius II unexpectedly died. For those who opposed his attempts at remedying the schism his death in 498 was seen as divine retribution, the factions that had formed during his rule as pope split decisively from one another and each appointed a rival pope. The faction against conciliation was able to name Symmachus as the pope to follow Anastasius II, the Roman church then had its own schism between different factions which made efforts at reducing the schism between the church in Rome and the church in Constantinople impossible. During the medieval period, Anastasius II was often considered a traitor to the Catholic Church, the writer of the Liber Pontificalis, supporting the opponents to Anastasius efforts, argued that Anastasius IIs death was divine retribution and that he had broken with the church. Similarly, the Decretum Gratiani writes of the pope that Anastasius and this medieval view is described by modern commentators as a legend, a misinterpretation, a confused tradition, and manifestly unjust. Dante placed Anastasius II in the circle of hell, Anastasio papa guardo. However, modern Dante scholars consider this to be a mistake, Anastasius II is, with Pope Liberius, one of only two of the first 50 popes not to be canonized
12.
Pope Symmachus
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Pope Symmachus was Pope from 22 November 498 to his death in 514. His tenure was marked by a serious schism over who was elected pope by the citizens of Rome. Symmachus was baptized in Rome, where he became Archdeacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anastasius II, Symmachus was elected pope on 22 November 498 in the Constantinian basilica. Both factions agreed to allow the Gothic King Theodoric the Great to arbitrate and he ruled that the one who was elected first and whose supporters were the most numerous should be recognized as pope. This was a political decision. An investigation favored Symmachus and his election was recognized as proper, Symmachus proceeded to call a synod, to be held at Rome on 1 March 499, which was attended by 72 bishops and all of the Roman clergy. Afterwards he was assigned the diocesis of Nuceria in Campania, in 501, the Senator Rufius Postumius Festus, a supporter of Laurentius, accused Symmachus of various crimes. The initial charge was that Symmachus celebrated Easter on the wrong date, the king Theodoric summoned him to Ariminum to respond to the charge. The pope arrived only to discover a number of charges, including unchastity. Symmachus panicked, fleeing from Ariminum in the middle of the night only one companion. His flight proved to be a miscalculation, as it was regarded as an admission of guilt, Laurentius was brought back to Rome by his supporters, but a sizeable group of the clergy, including most of the most senior clerics, withdrew from communion with him. A visiting bishop, Peter of Altinum, was appointed by Theodoric to celebrate Easter 502 and assume the administration of the See, pending the decision of a synod to be convened following Easter. Presided over by the other Italian metropolitans, Peter II of Ravenna, Laurentius of Milan, and Marcellianus of Aquileia, although the majority of the assembled bishops agreed with this, the Apostolic Visitor could not be made to withdaw without Theodorics permission, this was not forthcoming. In response to this deadlock, rioting by the citizens of Rome increased, causing a number of bishops to flee Rome, King Theodoric refused their request to move the Synod, ordering them instead to reconvene on 1 September. On 27 August the King wrote to the Bishops that he was sending two of the Majores Domus nostrae, Gudila and Bedeulphus, to see to it that the Synod assembled in safety, upon reconvening, matters were no less acrimonious. Symmachus retreated to St. Peters and refused to come out, the Life of Symmachus, however, presents these killings as part of the street-fighting between the supporters of Senators Festus and Probinus on the one side, and Senator Faustus on the other. The attacks were directed particularly against clerics, including Dignissimus a priest of S. Pietro in Vinculis, giovanni e Paolo, though the rhetoric of the passage extends the violence to anyone who was a supporter of Symmachus, man or woman, cleric or layperson. It was unsafe for a cleric to walk about in Rome at night, at this point, the synod petitioned king Theodoric once again, asking permission to dissolve the meeting and return home
13.
Lateran Palace
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The Lateran Palace, formally the Apostolic Palace of the Lateran, is an ancient palace of the Roman Empire and later the main papal residence in southeast Rome. Located on St. Johns Square in Lateran on the Caelian Hill, the edifice is adjacent to the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the cathedral church of Rome. From the fourth century, the palace was the residence of the popes. The palace is now used by the Vatican Historical Museum, which illustrates the history of the Papal States. The palace also houses the offices of the Vicariate of Rome, as well as the apartments of the Cardinal vicar. Until 1970, the palace was home to the important collections of the Lateran Museum. Following the Lateran Treaty of 1929, the palace and adjoining basilica are extraterritorial properties of the Holy See, the site on which the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano sits was occupied during the early Roman Empire by the domus of the Plautii Laterani family. The Laterani served as administrators for several emperors, their ancestor Lucius Sextius Lateranus is said to have been the first plebeian to attain the rank of consul, one of the Laterani, Consul-designate Plautius Lateranus, became famous for being accused by Nero of conspiracy against the emperor. The accusation resulted in the confiscation and redistribution of his properties, the Domus Laterani fell into the hands of the emperor when Constantine I married his second wife Fausta, sister of Maxentius. Known by that time as the Domus Faustae or House of Fausta, the equites singulares had allegedly supported Maxentius against Constantine. He commissioned the construction of the Basilica di San Giovanni in Laterano the site, the domus was eventually given to the Bishop of Rome by Constantine. As Byzantium grew less able to help prevent Lombard incursions, the became more independent of the Empire. Author Erik Thunø notes that the incentive to refurbish the Lateran Palace was to create a residence from which the pope could exercise not only spiritual. The pope’s palace at the Lateran in Rome was extensively added to in the eighth century by Pope Hadrian I. Leo III, built an enormous Triclinium and it was one of the most famous halls of the ancient palace and was the state banqueting hall, lined with mosaics. Nothing remains of this, but in 1743 copies of the mosaics were made from drawings, the Triclinium and the sala del concilio, an oblong hall with apse mosaic and five ornate niches on each side, were built around 800 to serve as the heart of papal ceremonial. Architecturally they were reminiscent of Byzantine imperial buildings in Constantinople, in the tenth Century Sergius III restored it after a disastrous fire, and later it was greatly embellished by Innocent III. This was the period of its greatest magnificence, when Dante speaks of it as all human achievements
14.
Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore
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The Basilica is located at 34 Piazza dellEsquilino, some five blocks southwest of Stazione Termini. Pursuant to the Lateran Treaty of 1929 between the Holy See and Italy, the Basilica is within Italian territory and not the territory of the Vatican City State and they prayed that she might make known to them how they were to dispose of their property in her honour. On 5 August, at the height of the Roman summer, in obedience to a vision of the Virgin Mary which they had the same night, the couple built a basilica in honour of Mary on the very spot which was covered with snow. From the fact that no mention whatever is made of this alleged miracle until a few hundred years later and it would seem that the legend has no historical basis. The legend is first reported only after AD1000 and it may be implied in what the Liber Pontificalis, of the early 13th century, says of Pope Liberius, He built the basilica of his own name near the Macellum of Livia. Its prevalence in the 15th century is shown in the painting of the Miracle of the Snow by Masolino da Panicale. The feast was originally called Dedicatio Sanctae Mariae, and was celebrated only in Rome until inserted for the first time into the General Roman Calendar, with ad Nives added to its name, in 1568. A congregation appointed by Pope Benedict XIV in 1741 proposed that the reading of the legend be struck from the Office, no action was taken on the proposal until 1969, when the reading of the legend was removed and the feast was called In dedicatione Basilicae S. Mariae. The legend is commemorated by dropping white rose petals from the dome during the celebration of the Mass. The earliest building on the site was the Liberian Basilica or Santa Maria Liberiana, Liberiana is still included in some versions of the basilicas formal name, and Liberian Basilica may be used as a contemporary as well as historical name. This building was replaced under Pope Sixtus III by the present structure dedicated to Mary. No Catholic church can be honoured with the title of basilica unless by apostolic grant or from immemorial custom, St. Mary Major is one of the only four that hold the title of major basilica. The other three are the Basilicas of St. John in the Lateran, St. Peters, along with all of the other four Major Basilicas, St. Mary Major is also styled a Papal basilica. St. Mary Major was associated with the Patriarchate of Antioch, Philip Neri on 25 February 1552. It is agreed that the present church was built under Pope Sixtus III, the dedicatory inscription on the triumphal arch, Sixtus Episcopus plebi Dei, is an indication of that Popes role in the construction. The church retains the core of its structure, despite several additional construction projects. Santa Maria Maggiore, one of the first churches built in honour of the Virgin Mary, was erected in the aftermath of the Council of Ephesus of 431. Pope Sixtus III built it to commemorate this decision and these fines enabled the papacy to carry out through the 5th century an ambitious building program, including Santa Maria Maggiore
15.
Brittany
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Brittany is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Brittany has also referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and its land area is 34,023 km². Since reorganisation in 1956, the administrative region of Brittany comprises only four of the five Breton departments. The remaining area of old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department around Nantes, at the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. Of these, 71% lived in the region of Brittany, while 29% lived in the Loire-Atlantique department, in 2012, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes, Rennes, and Brest. Brittany is the homeland of the Breton people and is recognised by the Celtic League as one of the six Celtic nations. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, the word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means Britons land. This word had been used by the Romans since the 1st century to refer to Great Britain and this word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη or Βρεττανίαι, used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Islands around 320 BC. This term probably comes from a Gallic word, aremorica, which close to the sea. Another name, Letauia, was used until the 12th century and it possibly means wide and flat or to expand and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw. Later, authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth used the terms Britannia minor, breton-speaking people may pronounce the word Breizh in two different ways, according to their region of origin. Breton can be divided into two dialects, the KLT and the dialect of Vannes. KLT speakers pronounce it and would write it Breiz, while the Vannetais speakers pronounce it, the official spelling is a compromise between both variants, with a z and an h together. In 1941, efforts to unify the dialects led to the creation of the so-called Breton zh, on its side, Gallo language has never had a widely accepted writing system and several ones coexist. For instance, the name of the region in that language can be written Bertaèyn in ELG script, or Bertègn in MOGA, Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe and their only original feature was a distinct culture, called Colombanian. One of the oldest hearths in the world has found in Plouhinec
16.
Nominoe
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Nominoe or Nomenoe was the first Duke of Brittany from 846 to his death. He is the Breton pater patriae and to Breton nationalists he is known as Tad ar Vro and he was the second son of Count Erispoë I of Poher, King of the Browaroch, and younger brother of Count Riwallon or Rivallon III of Poher. After a general rebellion which had enveloped the entire Carolingian Empire was put down and it was probably there that the emperor Louis the Pious appointed Nominoe, a Breton, to rule the Bretons. Nominoe was an ally of Louis the Pious until the emperors death in 840. He supported Louis in the civil wars of the 830s and he supported the monastery of Redon Abbey. Nominoes power base was in the Vannetais and two charters refer to him as Count of Vannes, though it is unknown when that title was held, be it as early as 819 or as late as 834. Nominoe may not have possessed any land outside Vannes and his ability to gather revenue in Breton-speaking territories was no greater than any other aristocrat of those regions. His chief source of income after he broke with his overlord was plunder from raids into Frankish territory and he did have the political authority to exact payment in the form of land from a man who had murdered his follower Catworet. The title Duke of Brittany is primarily an invention of the tenth century. In the midst of a revolt of his men in Neustria, Charles sent from Le Mans to see if Nominoe would submit to him in the spring of 841 and Nominoe agreed to do so. Nominoe remained loyal to Charles throughout the year, even making a donation in alms for the king to the abbey of Redon on 25 January 842. Breton soldiers, as well as Gascons, certainly took part in the show of the Oaths of Strasbourg. In the summer of 843, Lothair or perhaps his supporter Lambert II of Nantes succeeded in persuading Nominoe to abandon Charles, Nominoe was thereafter a constant enemy of Charles and his authority in Neustria, often acting in concert with Lothair, Lambert, and Pepin II of Aquitaine. Breton troops fought under Lambert in Neustria and when, in June 844, Charles was besieging Toulouse, Nominoe raided into Maine, in November 843, Charles had marched as far as Rennes to compel Breton submission, but to no effect. Lambert and Pepin complied, but Nominoe ignored the Frankish bishops and it is probable that in the Vannetais Nominoes authority had been weakened after his split with Charles in 843 and Lupus of Ferrières reports unrest in Brittany during this period. In 844 and 847 according to the Annales Bertiniani, Nominoe made war on the Vikings, in Summer 846, Charles marched on Brittany and again took no military action, instead coming to peace with Nominoe and exchanging oaths. As another part of the agreement, Nominoe had Charles remove Lambert from Nantes, by Christmas time, Nominoes Bretons were raiding Neustria, this time near Bayeux, again. Nominoe, probably being paid by Lothair, did not in fact desist, in two campaigns in the spring and then fall of 849, Charles was in Aquitaine and Nominoe took the opportunity to raid Neustria
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Charles the Bald
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Charles the Bald was the King of West Francia, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. After a series of wars during the reign of his father, Louis the Pious. He was a grandson of Charlemagne and the youngest son of Louis the Pious by his second wife and he was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder brothers were already adults and had been assigned their own regna, or subkingdoms, by their father. The attempts made by Louis the Pious to assign Charles a subkingdom, first Alemannia, at a diet in Aachen in 837, Louis the Pious bade the nobles do homage to Charles as his heir. Pepin of Aquitaine died in 838, whereupon Charles at last received that kingdom, which angered Pepins heirs, the death of the emperor in 840 led to the outbreak of war between his sons. In the following year, the two confirmed their alliance by the celebrated Oaths of Strasbourg. The war was brought to an end by the Treaty of Verdun in August 843, Louis received the eastern part of the Carolingian Empire, known then as East Francia and later as Germany. Lothair retained the title and the Kingdom of Italy. He also received the regions from Flanders through the Rhineland. The first years of Charless reign, up to the death of Lothair I in 855, were comparatively peaceful, during these years the three brothers continued the system of confraternal government, meeting repeatedly with one another, at Koblenz, at Meerssen, and at Attigny. In 858, Louis the German, invited by disaffected nobles eager to oust Charles, Charles was so unpopular that he was unable to summon an army, and he fled to Burgundy. He was saved only by the support of the bishops, who refused to crown Louis the German king, and by the fidelity of the Welfs, in 860, he in his turn tried to seize the kingdom of his nephew, Charles of Provence, but was repulsed. On the death of his nephew Lothair II in 869, Charles tried to seize Lothairs dominions, besides these family disputes, Charles had to struggle against repeated rebellions in Aquitaine and against the Bretons. Led by their chiefs Nomenoë and Erispoë, who defeated the king at the Battle of Ballon and the Battle of Jengland, the Bretons were successful in obtaining a de facto independence. Charles also fought against the Vikings, who devastated the country of the north, the valleys of the Seine and Loire, at the Vikings successful siege and sack of Paris in 845 and several times thereafter Charles was forced to purchase their retreat at a heavy price. By the same edict, he ordered fortified bridges to be put up at all rivers to block the Viking incursions, two of these bridges at Paris saved the city during its siege of 885–886. In 875, after the death of the Emperor Louis II, Charles the Bald, supported by Pope John VIII, traveled to Italy, receiving the crown at Pavia. Louis the German, also a candidate for the succession of Louis II, revenged himself by invading and devastating Charles dominions, and Charles had to return hastily to West Francia
18.
Battle of Ballon
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The Battle of Ballon took place on 22 November 845 between the forces of Charles the Bald, king of West Francia, and Nominoë Duke of Brittany. Nominoë was appropriating border territory and opposing Charles attempt to impose Frankish authority, Nominoë defeated Charles, initiating a period of Breton expansion and consolidation of power. Following the death of Louis the Pious, Nominoë initially supported Charles the Bald in the dispute between him and his brothers control of Frankish territory. However, when Count Ricuin of Nantes was killed at the Battle of Fontenoy, Charles refused to accept Lambert II as his successor, since Lamberts father, Charles replaced him with his supporter Renaud, Count of Herbauge. While Nominoë was ill, Renaud attacked Breton territory, but was killed in battle by the Bretons led by Erispoe, Nominoës son and this allowed Lambert to occupy Nantes with the support of Nominoë. Recovered from his illness, Nominoë hoped to take advantage of the disorder to expand into Frankish territory, on campaign in Aquitaine, Charles was initially unable to respond to the incursions. Learning of Charless difficult military position in Toulouse, Nominoë continued his offensive, in 845, Charles concluded a peace with Pepin II of Aquitaine and was reconciled with Lambert II of Nantes, freeing him to deal with the threat from Nominoë. Charles quickly assembled an army of around 3,000 men, Nominoës men were probably much fewer in number, comprising mostly a highly mobile light cavalry. Nominoë lured the king into marshland at the confluence of the Oust, the Bretons were then able to exploit their knowledge of this treacherous wetland territory. Details of the events of the battle are sketchy. Reports simply state that Charles was defeated, according to the Annals of Saint-Bertin, Charles had recklessly attacked Gallic Britain with limited forces, slipping up by a reversal of fortune. According to First Annales de Fontenelle, The Franks entered Brittany and engaged in battle with the Bretons, helped by the difficulty of the wetland location, the Bretons proved the better. Following his defeat, rumors circulated that Charles had been killed, while there he rebuilt his army, and headed back towards Brittany late in 846. There he concluded a treaty with Nominoë, though the content of the agreement is unknown. Despite this a cold war persisted, and Breton raids continued into Frankish territory at Christmas of that year, nevertheless, the agreement remained unbroken until 849. This relatively minor battle is often confused with the more decisive Battle of Jengland won by Nominoës son Erispoe against Charles in 851. This confusion dates to Arthur de la Borderies 1894 History of Brittany and has been repeated many times since, however, it is to the battle of Ballon that some date the birth of a unified and independent Brittany, behind a single sovereign, Nominoë. The expansionist policy of Nominoë, by the conquest of the former Marches of Brittany, a Frankish buffer zone, was continued by Erispoe, in the twentieth century the battle was given emblematic status by Breton nationalists
