1.
Perpignan (grape)
–
Graciano is a Spanish red wine grape that is grown primarily in Rioja. The vine produces a low yield that are harvested in late October. The wine produced is characterized by its red color, strong aroma. Graciano thrives in warm, arid climates, in Australia, Graciano is used either in blends with Tempranillo or as varietal wines. In the Rioja DO,395 ha are planted with this variety, while primarily used as a blending partner, some Rioja bodegas produce varietal Graciano wines. In California, Graciano is sometimes known as Xeres, the grape is also grown in Argentina and Oregon. The French wine grape variety Morrastel Bouschet is a crossing of Graciano and the red-fleshed teinturier grape Bouschet Petit
Perpignan (grape)
–
Graciano in Viala & Vermorel
Perpignan (grape)
–
A varietal Graciano from Rioja.
2.
USA Perpignan
–
Union Sportive des Arlequins Perpignanais, generally referred to as USA Perpignan, is a French rugby union club that plays in the city of Perpignan in Pyrénées-Orientales. The club currently competes in the Rugby Pro D2, the level of the French league system. The club was founded in 1902 as AS Perpignan, renamed US Perpignan in 1919, Perpignan plays at Stade Aimé Giral. The club wears red and gold colours derived from the Catalan Senyera, the club was established in 1902 as AS Perpignan. It would be in 1914 that the club would go on to make its first ever final appearance, on 3 May, Perpignan defeated Stadoceste Tarbais 8–7 at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse in front of 15,000 people. Several of these champions were killed some months later in World War I and, to honour their sacrifice, four years after the championship in 1914, the club was renamed as US Perpignan. Under the new name, US Perpignan made it to the final of the French championship three seasons after the change. On 17 April 1921, Perpignan defeated Stade Toulousain 5–0 at Parc des Sports de Sauclières in Béziers, three seasons later, the finalists of 1921 would meet again in the final of 1924, though this time Toulouse won the game 3–0 in Bordeaux. The success continued throughout the 1920s, and following the defeat of the 1924 season. They faced US Carcassonne in Narbonne, and defeated them 5–0 to win the 1925 Championship, for the third season in a row, US Perpignan made it to the final. The opponents were Stade Toulousain once again, the two sides had defeated each other once in a final in recent years. After their prominence in the mid-1920s, Perpignans final appearance in 1926 was their last for nearly a decade, Perpignans next final appearance came in 1935 against Biarritz at Stade des Ponts Jumeaux in Toulouse on the 12th of May, with Biarritz winning 3–0. That season they won the Challenge Yves du Manoir. Three seasons later Perpignan were again involved in the Championship final against Biarritz, the final was played on 8 May, and this time, Perpignan defeated Biarritz, winning 11–6 to claim their first Championship since 1921. They were also runners-up of the Challenge Yves-du-Manoir that same season as well, the success continued throughout the late 1930s, with Perpignan again being runners-up of the Challenge Yves du Manoir in 1936. It was also the 1936 season that Biarritz and Perpignan would face off in the Championship, both of Perpignans last two final appearances were against Biarritz, and both Perpignan and Biarritz had won one each against each other. The final took place on 30 April, and Biarritz turned out to be victorious, two years later, Perpignan were in the final of the Challenge Yves du Manoir, but became runners-up. Their next final appearance would not be until the season of 1944, Perpignan played Aviron Bayonnais at Parc des Princes in Paris on 26 March to decide who would be the champions of France
USA Perpignan
–
Perpignan fans at a home game
USA Perpignan
–
Perpignan
USA Perpignan
–
USA Perpignan during a
Heineken Cup match
3.
French language
–
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
French language
–
The
"arrêt" signs (French for "stop") are used in
Canada while the international stop, which is also a valid French word, is used in France as well as other French-speaking countries and regions.
French language
–
Regions where French is the main language
French language
–
Town sign in
Standard Arabic and French at the entrance of
Rechmaya in
Lebanon.
French language
–
An obsolete 100
Lebanese pound note with the French language inscriptions "Banque du Liban" and "Cent livres".
4.
Catalan language
–
Catalan is a Romance language derived from Vulgar Latin and named after the medieval Principality of Catalonia, in northeastern modern Spain and adjoining parts of France. It is the national and only language of Andorra, and a co-official language of the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands. It also has status in the commune of Alghero, situated on the northwestern coast of the island of Sardinia. All these territories are often called Catalan Countries. 4% with Catalan and 47. 5% only Spanish, in order to integrate newcomers, the Generalitat de Catalunya spends part of its annual budget on the promotion of the use of Catalan in Catalonia and in other territories. Catalan evolved from Vulgar Latin in the Middle Ages around the eastern Pyrenees, during the Low Middle Ages it saw a golden age as the literary and dominant language of the Crown of Aragon, and was widely used all over the Mediterranean. The union of Aragon with the territories of Spain in 1479 marked the start of the decline of the language. In 1659 Spain ceded Northern Catalonia to France, and Catalan was banned in both states in the early 18th century, 19th-century Spain saw a Catalan literary revival, which culminated in the 1913 orthographic standardization, and the official status of the language during the Second Spanish Republic. However, the Francoist dictatorship banned the use of Catalan in schools and in the public administration, there is no parallel in Europe for such a large, bilingual, non-state speech community. Catalan dialects are relatively uniform, and are mutually intelligible and they are divided into two blocks, Eastern and Western, differing mostly in pronunciation. The terms Catalan and Valencian are two varieties of the same language, there are two institutions regulating the two standard varieties, the Institute of Catalan Studies in Catalonia and the Valencian Academy of the Language in the Valencian Community. Catalan shares many traits with its neighboring Romance languages, thus, the similarities are naturally most notable with eastern Occitan. Nouns have two genders, and two numbers, pronouns additionally can have a neuter gender, and some are also inflected for case and politeness, and can be combined in very complex ways. Verbs are split in several paradigms and are inflected for person, number, tense, aspect, mood, in terms of pronunciation, Catalan has many words ending in a wide variety of consonants and some consonant clusters, in contrast with many other Romance languages. The word Catalan derives from the territory of Catalonia, itself of disputed etymology, in English, the term referring to a person first appears in the mid 14th century as Catelaner, followed in the 15th century as Catellain. It is attested a language name since at least 1652, Catalan can be pronounced as /ˈkætəlæn/, /kætəˈlæn/ or /ˈkætələn/. The endonym is pronounced /kə. təˈɫa/ in the Eastern Catalan dialects, in the Valencian Community, the term valencià is frequently used instead. The names Catalan and Valencian are two names for the same language, see also status of Valencian below. By the 9th century, Catalan had evolved from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the end of the Pyrenees, as well as the territories of the Roman province of Hispania Tarraconensis to the south
Catalan language
–
Homilies d'Organyà (12th century)
Catalan language
–
Catalan
Catalan language
–
Fragment of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn (ca. 1080–1095), one of the earliest texts written almost completely in Catalan, predating the famous
Homilies d'Organyà by a century
Catalan language
–
Official Decree Prohibiting the Catalan Language in France
5.
Prefectures of France
–
There are 101 prefectures in France, one for each department. The official in charge is the prefect, the prefect represents the national government at the local level and as such exercises the powers that are constitutionally attributed to the national government. The prefect issues ordinances written for the application of law, to close a building that does not conform to safety codes. In the past, the prefect was head of the department, but since 1982, there is an exception in Paris and its three surrounding departments. These departments are administered by a prefecture for law enforcement and security purposes, called the Prefecture of Police. The power of law enforcement is usually invested in the mayor in other French communes, the departments are divided into arrondissements, themselves divided into cantons. The chef-lieu darrondissement is the subprefecture, the official in charge is the subprefect (French, sous-préfet. Cantons have relatively few competences, the most important one being the local organisation of elections, administrative divisions of France French National Police
Prefectures of France
–
Petite Couronne
6.
Communes of France
–
The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
Communes of France
–
Road sign marking the end of the village of
Y in the
Somme department of
Picardy
Communes of France
–
Map of the 36,569 communes of metropolitan France
Communes of France
–
Mittelhausbergen in
Alsace
Communes of France
–
Vacqueyras in
Provence, showing double French/
Provençal name
7.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
8.
France
–
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
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
9.
Regions of France
–
France is divided into 18 administrative regions, including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, the term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation, which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through amalgamation, in 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 with effect from 1 January 2016. However, the region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called Normandy. Permanent names were to be proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016, the legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to Centre-Val de Loire with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names, between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four regions, in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth. Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law and they levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a council made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A regions primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools, in March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the costs. In addition, regions have considerable power over infrastructural spending, e. g. education, public transit, universities and research. This has meant that the heads of regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986, Overseas region is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. Radio France Internationale in English Overseas regions Ministère de lOutre-Mer some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs
Regions of France
10.
Occitanie
–
Occitanie is an administrative region of France that was created on 1 January 2016 from former French regions Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. Frances Conseil dÉtat approved Occitanie as the new name of the region on 28 September 2016, the new Région Occitanie should not be confused with the wider cultural entity of Occitania, of which the new administrative region is part. The new region covers an area of more than 72,724 km2 with a population of 5,626,858. As the provisional name of the new region, the text of the law specified the hyphenated names of the predecessors, Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées. As for most of the regions, a permanent name was proposed by the new regional council. Enacted in 2014, the reform of the regions has been subject to debate for many years. The provisional name of the region was withdrawn on 30 September 2016, toulouse Montpellier Nîmes Perpignan Béziers Montauban Languedoc-Roussillon Midi-Pyrénées Regions of France Occitania Merger of the regions - France 3
Occitanie
–
Main Occitan cities, in Occitan
Occitanie
–
Linguistic map of Occitania
Occitanie
–
Gordes, a typical
Provençal village, named by
CNN the most beautiful village of the world.
Occitanie
–
View from a part of the old town of
Toulouse, former capital of
Languedoc.
11.
Departments of France
–
In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
Departments of France
–
Geometrical proposition rejected
Departments of France
–
The 101 departments of France
Departments of France
–
The three Algerian departments in 1848
12.
Union for a Popular Movement
–
The Union for a Popular Movement was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Socialist Party. The UMP was formed in 2002 as a merger of several parties under the leadership of President Jacques Chirac. In May 2015, the party was renamed and succeeded by the Republicans, Nicolas Sarkozy, then the president of the UMP, was elected President of France in the 2007 presidential election, but was defeated by PS candidate François Hollande in a run-off five years later. After the November 2012 party congress, the UMP experienced internal fractioning and was plagued by scandals which forced its president, Jean-François Copé. After his re-election as UMP president in November 2014, Sarkozy put forward an amendment to change the name of the party into The Republicans, since the 1980s, the political groups of the parliamentary right have joined forces around the values of economic liberalism and the building of Europe. Their rivalries had contributed to their defeat in the 1981 and 1988 legislative elections, before the 1993 legislative election, the Gaullist Rally for the Republic and the centrist Union for French Democracy formed an electoral alliance, the Union for France. However, in the 1995 presidential campaign they were divided between followers of Jacques Chirac, who was eventually elected, and supporters of Prime Minister Edouard Balladur. After their defeat in the 1997 legislative election, the RPR, before the 2002 presidential campaign, the supporters of President Jacques Chirac, divided in three centre-right parliamentary parties, founded an association named Union on the Move. After Chiracs re-election, in order to contest the election jointly. It was renamed Union for a Popular Movement and as established as a permanent organisation. In the UMP four major French political families were represented, Gaullism, republicanism, Christian democracy. Chiracs close ally Alain Juppé became the partys first president at the founding congress at the Bourget in November 2002. Juppé won 79. 42% of the vote, defeating Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the leader of the partys Eurosceptic Arise the Republic faction, and three other candidates. During the partys earlier years, it was marked by tensions, in the 2004 European Parliament election on 13 June 2004, the UMP also suffered another heavy blow, winning 16. 6% of the vote, far behind the Socialist Party, and only 16 seats. Juppé resigned the presidency on 15 July 2004 after being found guilty in a corruption scandal in January of the same year. Nicolas Sarkozy rapidly announced that he would take over the presidency of the UMP and resign his position as finance minister, ending months of speculation. On 28 November 2004, Sarkozy was elected to the presidency with 85. 09% of the votes against 9. 1% for Dupont-Aignan and 5. 82% for Christine Boutin. Having gained control of what had been Chiracs party, Sarkozy focused the party machinery, however, during this time, the UMP under Sarkozy gained a record number of new members and rejuvenated itself in preparation of the 2007 election
Union for a Popular Movement
–
Nicolas Sarkozy speaking at a UMP party congress in 2004
Union for a Popular Movement
–
Union for a Popular Movement Union pour un mouvement populaire
Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
13.
Radical Party (France)
–
The Radical Party is a liberal and social-liberal political party in France. Following the legislative elections of 2012, the Radicals have six seats in the National Assembly, founded in 1901 as Republican, Radical and Radical-Socialist Party, it is the oldest active political party in France. Coming from the Radical Republican tradition, the Radical Party upholds the principles of private property, the Radicals were originally a left-wing group, but with the emergence of the French Section of the Workers International in 1905, the Radicals shifted towards the political centre. In 1972 the left wing of the party split off to form the centre-left Radical Party of the Left, since then, the Radical Party has affiliated with the centre-right, becoming one of the founder parties of the Union for French Democracy in 1978. In 2002 the party split from the UDF and affiliated with the UMP, during the 7th term of the European Parliament, along with the UMP, three Radical MEPs sat with the European Peoples Party Group. During the 8th European Parliament, the single Radical MEP Dominique Riquet sits with the Alliance of Liberals, after the collapse of Napoleon Is empire in 1815, a reactionary Bourbon Restoration took place. The Republicans constituted the left-wing opposition, but they were also named Radicals and it was systematically used during the July Monarchy because the law forbade parties to define themselves as Republican. The conservative turn of the July Monarchy reinforced the audience of the radical opposition, some politicians such as Alexandre Ledru-Rollin and Louis Blanc formulated a Radical doctrine. They advocated democratic reforms as a vehicle of social progress and they defended the small private property against the socialist projects and the great landowners. The Radicals took a part in the 1848 Revolution and the foundation of the Second Republic. For a few months, Alexandre Ledru-Rollin was Interior Minister in the provisional government, however, the conservatives won the 1848 legislative election, the first election by universal suffrage. The repression of the June 1848 workers demonstrations disappointed the left-wing supporters of the new regime, Alexandre Ledru-Rollin obtained only 5% of votes at the December 1848 presidential election, which was won by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, who established the Second Empire after the 1851 coup. From opposition, Radicals criticized personal power and the attacks on freedoms, after the collapse of the Second Empire following the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, the Third Republic was proclaimed in September 1870. The Orléanist and Legitimist monarchists together won the first elections in February 1871, eventually the Republicans won the 1876 elections, leading to the firm establishment of the Republic. The Radicals defined the uncompromising part of the Republican Left, in this, Radicals formed the far-left opposition to the moderate Republican governments. In the 1890s, Léon Bourgeois renewed the Radical doctrine, including social reforms such as the income tax. After the Dreyfus Affair, Radicals joined forces with other Republicans, the first congress of the Radical Party was held in June 1901. Delegates represented 476 election committees,215 editorial boards of Radical newspapers,155 Masonic lodges, the existence of a national party immediately changed the political scene
Radical Party (France)
–
Radical Party Parti radical
14.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
15.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
16.
Provinces of France
–
The Kingdom of France was organized into provinces until March 4,1790, when the establishment of the department system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the counties of England. In some cases, several regions or departments share names with the historic provinces. The list below shows the provinces of France at the time of their dissolution during the French Revolution. Capital cities are shown in parentheses, bold indicates a city that was also the seat of a judicial and quasi-legislative body called either a parlement or a conseil souverain. In some cases, this body met in a different city than the capital, comtat Venaissin, a Papal fief 36. Imperial Free City of Mulhouse 37, montbéliard, a fief of Württemberg Partial display of historical provincial arms, Ancien Régime in France Gallery of French coats of arms Coat of arms Heraldry
Provinces of France
–
Map showing former provinces (in colours), with modern department boundaries in black
17.
County of Roussillon
–
The County of Roussillon was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The rulers of the county were the Counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both north and south of the Pyrenees, there was a Visigothic county around the city of Ruscino in the 6th and 7th centuries with a jurisdiction corresponding to the Diocese of Elna. This primitive county comprising the historic comarques of Plana del Roselló, Conflent, the Visigothic legacy in Roussillon survived in its courts, where Visigothic law was applied exclusively as late as the 11th century. Roussillon was occupied by the Moors in 721, pepin reestablished the old Gothic county with its seat at Ruscino. The new count—a Goth—built a castle at their capital, the castrum or castellum Rossilio, beginning in 780, Charlemagne started granting aprisiones of unpopulated land in Roussillon and around Narbonne to incoming spani. The history of the Frankish county in the 8th and 9th centuries is not well known, in the Carolingian age, it may have formed the westernmost extent of non-Basque settlement in the Pyrenees. In 859–860, a fleet of Vikings under Hasting and Bjorn plundered the abbeys of Roussillon before wintering in the Camargue, the first count known by name, Gaucelm, received the County of Empúries in 817 and those counties remained united until 989. They probably had separate viscounts, however, the office of viscount appeared in Roussillon early when a Richelm is mentioned as filling it in 859, the original viscounts acted as missi dominici of the Margraves of Septimania. Throughout this period, Roussillon gradually gained de facto independence from its nominal suzerain, the King of France. As late as 878, Louis the Stammerer could enforce his will in the selection of Roussillons count, the counties of Roussillon and Empúries became relatively stable, hereditary possessions of the Bellonid family, Gausfred I even took the title dux in 975. Late in the 10th century, Alt Rosselló, Conflent, and inland Vallespir passed to the Counts of Cerdanya and Roussillon was reduced to the regions of Roussillon. Throughout the century, Empúries was the centre of comital power and it was only when Viking and Moorish pirates forced him to move from the coast to the more easily defensible inland that Gausfred I made his capital at Castelló dEmpúries. After his death, the counties were separated, with Roussillon going to his younger son, the division, however, was made under certain stipulations of the deceased count. First, both counts had a right to attend the synods and tribunals held in either county, second, rights of justice were shared between the two counts. Third, the count of Roussillon had the right to make his residence in Empúries, and finally, that either count could possess lands in either county. In 1014, Hugh I of Empúries invaded Roussillon, but in 1019 a pact was signed making the two counties permanently separate entities, Roussillon was the site of the first promulgation of the Truce of God. In 1027, a council of Elna was held in the meadow of Toulouges, because the throng of attendees was so great, clergymen, aristocrats, the Elna council, however, went a step further than previous local councils. The truce spread rapidly through Languedoc and was extended so that it was generally understood that fighting was prohibited between Wednesday evening and dawn Monday
County of Roussillon
–
Flag
18.
Kingdom of Majorca
–
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his firstborn son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262, the Kingdom of Majorca passed to James, who reigned under the name of James II of Majorca. After 1279, Peter III of Aragon established that the king of Majorca was a vassal to the king of Aragon, the title continued to be employed by the Aragonese and Spanish monarchs until its dissolution by the 1715 Nueva Planta decrees. The kingdom included the Balearic Islands, Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, conscious of the fragility of the Kingdom of Majorca, James I undertook the conquest of Cerdanya to unify the new kingdom. He also entered negotiations to arrange the marriage of his son James to Beatrice of Savoy. On the death of James I, the new king of Majorca, James II, preoccupied with diverse problems within the realm, it was not until 1279 when the Majorcan monarch reconciled to have his states recognized as subordinate to the king of Aragon. As a consequence the Kingdom of Majorca could not hold court, by means of the Treaty of Perpignan in 1279, an imbalance of power between the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Majorca was created. This treaty would condition relations between the Kingdom of Majorca and the Crown of Aragon throughout the formers existence, the lack of courts later aggravated the destabilization of a kingdom already on the brink of fracture, which, besides this, lacked any common institution beyond the monarchy. During the Aragonese Crusade, James II of Majorca allied himself with the Pope, as a result, Peters successor Alfonso conquered the kingdom in 1286. However, by the Treaty of Anagni in 1295, James II of Aragon was required to restore the Balearics to James of Majorca. On the death of James II of Majorcas son Sancho in 1324, James III took the throne at the age of nine, the situation was difficult since James II of Aragon did not renounce his claim to the Majorcan throne. While the act solved the problem of succession, it plunged the kingdom into a serious financial crisis. James was forced to develop policies similar to that of Aragons, to that end, he was forced to participate in the war against Genoa, which resulted in the loss of various economic markets for the kingdom. Again, it was necessary to impose new taxes and fines on the Jewish community though this was insufficient to resolve the financial crisis. The problems of the kingdom did not appear to have an end since in 1341, in May 1343, Peter IV invaded the Balearic Islands and followed that in 1344 with the invasions of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya. James III was able to only his French possessions. After the sale of these possessions to the king of France in 1349 and he was defeated and killed at the Battle of Llucmajor on 25 October 1349. Then, the Kingdom of Majorca was definitively incorporated into the Crown of Aragon, the kingdom of Majorca, which had bonds of vassalage with the crowns of France and Aragon, could not remain neutral during the conflicts
Kingdom of Majorca
–
The Kingdom of Majorca.
Kingdom of Majorca
–
Conquest of Majorca by
James I of Aragon (1229)
19.
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France, also known as European France, is the part of France in Europe. It comprises mainland France and nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, Overseas France is the collective name for the part of France outside Europe, French overseas regions, territories, collectivities, and the sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia. Metropolitan France and Overseas France together form the French Republic, Metropolitan France accounts for 82. 2% of the land territory,3. 3% of the exclusive economic zone, and 95. 9% of the population of the French Republic. The five overseas regions—Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, French Guiana, in overseas France, a person from metropolitan France is often called a métro, short for métropolitain. Similar terms existed to describe other European colonial powers and this usage of the words metropolis and metropolitan itself came from Ancient Greek metropolis, which was the name for a city-state from which originated colonies across the Mediterranean. By extension metropolis and metropolitan came to mean motherland, a nation or country as opposed to its colonies overseas, today there are some people in overseas France who object to the use of the term la France métropolitaine due to its colonial origins. They prefer to call it the European territory of France, as the Treaties of the European Union do, likewise, they oppose treating overseas France and metropolitan France as separate entities. As a result, since the end of the 1990s INSEE has included the five departments in its figures for France. Other branches of the French administration may have different definitions of what la France entière is, the World Bank refers to this as France only, and not the whole of France as INSEE does. According to the French government,64,860,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2017, Metropolitan France covers a land area of 551,695 km². At sea, the economic zone of metropolitan France covers 334,604 km², while the EEZ of overseas France covers 9,821,231 km². In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election,37,342,004 French people cast a ballot. 35,907,015 of these cast their ballots in metropolitan France,1,088,679 cast their ballots in overseas France, and 346,310 cast their ballots in foreign countries. The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies,539 of whom are elected in metropolitan France,27 in overseas France, and 11 by French citizens living in foreign countries. Mainland France, or just the mainland, does not include the French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel or Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, people from the mainland part of Metropolitan France are referred to as les continentaux. A casual synonym for the part of Metropolitan France is lHexagone, for its approximate shape. French colonial empire Mainland Wildlife of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France
20.
Peyrestortes
–
Peyrestortes is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Peyrestortes is located in the canton of Rivesaltes and in the arrondissement of Perpignan, on 17 September 1793, French forces of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees defeated two divisions of the Spanish Army of Catalonia at the Battle of Peyrestortes. General of Division Eustache Charles dAoust led his division to attack Lieutenant General Juan de Courtens Spanish troops at Le Vernet north of Perpignan. At the same time General of Brigade Antoine Goguets French division assaulted the camp of LG Jerónimo Girón-Moctezuma, the beaten Spanish troops, which were under the overall command of Captain General Antonio Ricardos withdrew south to Trouillas. A monument about one km southeast of the village and adjacent to the Perpignan-Rivesaltes International Airport commemorates the victory, a la mémoire de larmée des Pyrénées-Orientales qui combattirent à Peyrestortes sous la conduite des conventionnels Cassanyes, Fabre, des généraux Daoust et Goguet. An English translation is as follows, to the memory of the Army of the Eastern Pyrenees who fought at Peyrestortes under the command of deputies Cassanyes, Fabre, of generals Daoust and Goguet. Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department INSEE Detruire Tout, Pour Oublier by Bernard Prats
Peyrestortes
–
The town hall in Peyrestortes
21.
Rivesaltes
–
Rivesaltes is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Rivesaltes is in the canton of Rivesaltes and in the arrondissement of Perpignan, the Camp de Rivesaltes is situated on the outskirts of the city. The Rivesaltes memorial museum is under construction to commemorate the history of this major French concentration camp from 1939 to 2007, joseph Joffre, general, born in Rivesaltes, who became prominent in the battles of World War I. Michel Parès, politician born in Rivesaltes, Camp de Rivesaltes Perpignan - Rivesaltes Airport Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department INSEE commune file
Rivesaltes
–
The former town hall in Rivesaltes
22.
Canet-en-Roussillon
–
Canet-en-Roussillon is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Canet-en-Roussillon is located in the canton of Canet-en-Roussillon and in the arrondissement of Perpignan,9.4 km to the east of Perpignan, the city walls are destroyed in the 19th century. With the development of sea bathing, the first beach settlement for bathers of the coast of Pyrénées-Orientales is created by Louise Lombard in 1849, as soon as 1854 are established municipal laws to rule types of bathing suits and separated zones of sea bathing for men and women. Canet-en-Roussillon is twinned with, Maynooth, Ireland The medieval castle, The Saint-James church, The Château de lEsparrou, arlette Franco, mayor of Canet-en-Roussillon, deputy to the National Assembly of France and vice-president of the French Swimming Federation. Marc Fontan, motorcycle racer born in Canet-en-Roussillon. Communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department INSEE commune file Media related to Canet-en-Roussillon at Wikimedia Commons
Canet-en-Roussillon
–
The promenade at Canet-en-Roussillon
23.
Toulouges
–
Toulouges is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Toulouges is located between Thuir and Perpignan, in the canton of Toulouges and in the arrondissement de Perpignan, the town covers an area of 8.04 km2, with 669 inhabitants per km². Toulouges borders the municipalities, Perpignan, Canohès, Thuir, El Soler. Toulouges probably grew upon a Roman villa and it was first mentioned in 904 at the same time mentioning the church called Tulogias. Other names that are presumably Toulouges are Tologis, Tulujes, Tuluges, Toluges, during the 14th and 15th centuries Toulouges grew rapidly. A wall and hospital were in existence, in 1628, however, part of the population was killed by a plague. Today, though, Toulouges is again growing rapidly, communes of the Pyrénées-Orientales department INSEE commune file
Toulouges
–
The town hall in Toulouges
24.
Quadripoint
–
A quadripoint is a point on the Earth that touches the border of four distinct territories. The term has never been in common use—it may not have used before 1964 when it was possibly invented by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State. An early instance of four political divisions meeting at a point is in England, it combined until 1931 the English shires/counties of Gloucester, Oxford, Warwick and Worcester. During that period, the part of West Florida between the Pearl and Perdido rivers was subdivided and allocated partly to the State of Mississippi and partly to the Territory of Alabama. Between 1839 and 1920 there was a quadripoint at the convergence of Belgium, Prussia/Germany, the Netherlands, Moresnet was never truly a country but rather only a neutral territory or condominium of the Netherlands and Prussia, and of Belgium and Germany. Subsequent political changes have restored its quadripartition along municipal lines since 1976, in August 2007 the governments of Zambia and Botswana announced a deal to construct a bridge at the site to replace a ferry. There have been a few international incidents revolving round this particular quadripoint, in 1970, South Africa informed Botswana that there was no common border between Botswana and Zambia, claiming that a quadripoint existed. As a result, South Africa claimed, the Kazungula Ferry, there was actually a confrontation and shots were fired at the ferry, some years later, the Rhodesian Army attacked and sank the ferry, maintaining that it was serving military purposes. Ian Brownlie, who studied the case, wrote in 1979 that the possibility of a quadripoint could not be ruled out at that time. This particular geographical multipoint, though notional since 1908, if not 1891, quadripoints can exist at the meeting of political subdivisions of any type or level. The borders of U. S. counties and towns are defined by survey townships. But of all the quadripoints that exist, the most noted are a few dozen that are situated on international borders, among the international quadripoints, a few general types can be distinguished. In the absence of four-country points, three-country quadripoints are perhaps most significant and these combine two divisions of one country with two other countries. But there also exist merely binational quadripoints—of several varieties, also below, by country, are some quadripoints composed only of primary subdivisions. The Argentine provinces of La Pampa, Río Negro, Mendoza, Río Negro has disputed this since a 1966 resurvey cast the exact boundary convergence into some doubt. Almost all of the India–Bangladesh enclaves were extinguished by the Land Boundary Agreement between the two states, effective after 31 July 2015, which exchanged all first-order exclaves, the following quadripoint was thus also extinguished. The international boundary touched itself at one locations shared by India, additional political subdivision did not appear to result in either case. Its international stature had been intermittent since Mughal times and was a result of the Radcliffe Award of 1947, the international boundary touches itself, without imparting political subdivision, within the commingled municipalities of Baarle-Nassau and Baarle-Hertog
Quadripoint
–
Zambezi River at the junction of Namibia (top left), Zambia (top), Zimbabwe (bottom right), and Botswana (bottom left)
Quadripoint
–
The borders of the historic
condominium of
Moresnet. Moresnet is colored blue, the
Netherlands orange,
Belgium yellow, and
Prussia green.
Quadripoint
–
The
boundary marker inscribed at the center of the
Four Corners Monument, the only state quadripoint in the
United States; where
Arizona,
Utah,
Colorado, and
New Mexico meet.
Quadripoint
–
Kuhankuono border marker.
25.
Mediterranean climate
–
A Mediterranean climate /ˌmɛdɪtəˈreɪniən/ or dry summer climate, is the climate typical of the lands in the Mediterranean Basin. The Mediterranean climate is characterised by dry summers and mild, moist winters, the Azores High is associated with the Mediterranean climate found in southern Europe and north Africa and the Sahara Desert with France and England both bordering this climate, France especially. The South Atlantic High is similarly associated with the Namib Desert, under the Köppen climate classification, hot dry-summer climates and cool dry-summer climates are often referred to as mediterranean. Under the Köppen climate system, the first letter indicates the climate group, temperate climates or C zones have an average temperature above 0 °C, but below 18 °C, in their coolest months. The second letter indicates the precipitation pattern, Köppen has defined a dry summer month as a month with less than 30 mm of precipitation and with less than one-third that of the wettest winter month. Some, however, use a 40 mm level, the third letter indicates the degree of summer heat, a represents an average temperature in the warmest month above 22 °C, while b indicates the average temperature in the warmest month below 22 °C. Under the Köppen classification, dry-summer climates usually occur on the sides of continents. Under Trewarthas system, at least eight months must have average temperatures of 10 °C or higher, during summer, regions of mediterranean climate are dominated by subtropical high pressure cells, with dry sinking air capping a surface marine layer of varying humidity and making rainfall unlikely. In many Mediterranean climates there is a strong character to daily temperatures in the warm months. The majority of the regions with mediterranean climates have relatively mild winters, however winter and summer temperatures can vary greatly between different regions with a mediterranean climate. Or to consider summer, Athens experiences rather high temperatures in that season, in contrast, San Francisco has cool summers with daily highs around. In North America, areas with Csc climate can be found in the Olympic, Cascade, Klamath and these locations are found at high altitude nearby lower altitude regions characterized by a warm-summer mediterranean climate or hot-summer mediterranean climate. A rare instance of this occurs in the tropics, on Haleakalā Summit in Hawaii. In South America, Csc regions can be found along the Andes in Chile, the town of Balmaceda is one of the few towns confirmed to have this climate. Small areas with a Csc climate can also be found at elevations in Corsica. Mediterranean climate Explanation of Mediterranean Climate
Mediterranean climate
–
Mediterranean climate distribution in the Americas
Mediterranean climate
–
Hot-summer Mediterranean climate (Csa)
26.
Precipitation
–
In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, graupel, Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor, so that the water condenses and precipitates. Thus, fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions, because the vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate. Two processes, possibly acting together, can lead to air becoming saturated, Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud. Short, intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called showers, moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain. This process is active when freezing rain is occurring. A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain, provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content, the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds, namely stratus and cumulonimbus. Eventually, the droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops. Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy, thundersnow is possible within a cyclones comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation, on the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating. The movement of the trough, or intertropical convergence zone. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 cubic kilometres of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 cubic kilometres of it over the oceans and 107,000 cubic kilometres over land. Given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres, Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Precipitation may occur on celestial bodies, e. g. when it gets cold, Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost. Precipitation is a component of the water cycle, and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the planet. Approximately 505,000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year,398,000 km3 of it over the oceans, given the Earths surface area, that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 millimetres. Mechanisms of producing precipitation include convective, stratiform, and orographic rainfall, Precipitation can be divided into three categories, based on whether it falls as liquid water, liquid water that freezes on contact with the surface, or ice
Precipitation
–
A thunderstorm with heavy precipitation
Precipitation
–
Long-term mean precipitation by month
Precipitation
–
Late-summer
rainstorm in
Denmark
Precipitation
–
Lenticular cloud forming due to mountains over Wyoming
27.
Relative humidity
–
Relative humidity is the ratio of the partial pressure of water vapor to the equilibrium vapor pressure of water at a given temperature. Relative humidity depends on temperature and the pressure of the system of interest and it requires less water vapor to attain high relative humidity at low temperatures, more water vapour is required to attain high relative humidity in warm or hot air. Humans are sensitive to high humidity because the body uses evaporative cooling, enabled by perspiration. Perspiration evaporates from the more slowly under humid conditions than under arid. For example, if the air temperature is 24 °C and the humidity is zero percent. If the relative humidity is 100 percent at the air temperature. In other words, if the air is 24 °C and contains saturated water vapor, then the human body cools itself at the rate as it would if it were 27 °C. The heat index and the humidex are indices that reflect the effect of temperature. In cold climates, the temperature causes lower capacity for water vapour to flow about. Dry cracked skin can result from dry air, low humidity causes tissue lining nasal passages to dry, crack and become more susceptible to penetration of Rhinovirus cold viruses. Low humidity is a cause of nosebleeds. The use of a humidifier in homes, especially bedrooms, can help with these symptoms, indoor relative humidities should be kept above 30% to reduce the likelihood of the occupants nasal passages drying out. Humans can be comfortable within a range of humidities depending on the temperature—from thirty to seventy percent—but ideally between 50% and 60%. Very low humidity can create discomfort, respiratory problems, and aggravate allergies in some individuals, in the winter, it is advisable to maintain relative humidity at 30 percent or above. Extremely low relative humidities may also cause eye irritation, wooden furniture can shrink, causing the paint that covers these surfaces to fracture. When the temperature is low and the humidity is high. When relative humidity approaches 100 percent, condensation can occur on surfaces, leading to problems with mold, corrosion, decay, condensation can pose a safety risk as it can promote the growth of mold and wood rot as well as possibly freezing emergency exits shut. The basic principles for buildings, above, also apply to vehicles, in addition, there may be safety considerations
Relative humidity
–
Humidity and hygrometry
28.
Sunshine duration
–
It is a general indicator of cloudiness of a location, and thus differs from insolation, which measures the total energy delivered by sunlight over a given period. Sunshine duration is usually expressed in hours per year, or in hours per day, the first measure indicates the general sunniness of a location compared with other places, while the latter allows for comparison of sunshine in various seasons in the same location. Another often-used measure is percentage ratio of recorded bright sunshine duration, an important use of sunshine duration data is to characterize the climate of sites, especially of health resorts. This also takes account the psychological effect of strong solar light on human well-being. It is often used to promote tourist destinations, if the Sun were to be above the horizon 50% of the time for a standard year consisting of 8,760 hours, apparent maximal daytime duration would be 4,380 hours for any point on Earth. However, there are physical and astronomical effects that change that picture, namely, atmospheric refraction allows the Sun to be still visible even when it physically sets below the horizon. For that reason, average daytime is longest in polar areas, places on the Arctic Circle have the longest total annual daytime,4,647 hours, while the North Pole receives 4,575. Because of elliptic nature of the Earths orbit, the Southern Hemisphere is not symmetrical, the Equator has a total daytime of 4,422 hours per year. Given the theoretical maximum of daytime duration for a given location, bright sunshine hours represent the total hours when the sunlight is stronger than a specified threshold, as opposed to just visible hours. Visible sunshine, for example, occurs around sunrise and sunset, measurement is performed by instruments called sunshine recorders. For the specific purpose of sunshine duration recording, Campbell–Stokes recorders are used, when the intensity exceeds a pre-determined threshold, the tape burns. The total length of the trace is proportional to the number of bright hours. Another type of recorder is the Jordan sunshine recorder, newer, electronic recorders have more stable sensitivity than that of the paper tape. In 2003, the duration was finally defined as the period during which direct solar irradiance exceeds a threshold value of 120 W/m². The sky is clear in these regions, and fair weather is virtually perpetual, the descending branch of the Hadley cell and the long-term lack of atmospheric disturbances helps to explain the seemingly endless supply of sunny, cloud-free days in the deserts. Low clouding conditions are associated with rainfall shortage, as seen in these dry regions. In the belt encompassing northern Chad and the Tibesti Mountains, northern Sudan, southern Libya, some places in the interior of the Arabian Peninsula receive 3, 600–3,800 hours of bright sunshine annually. The largest sun-baked region in the world is North Africa, the sunniest month in the world is December in Eastern Antarctica, with almost 23 hours of bright sun daily
Sunshine duration
–
Campbell–Stokes recorder measures sunshine
29.
A9 autoroute
–
The A9 autoroute is a motorway in southern France. The road forms part of the European route E15, as does the A9 road, the road runs between Orange and Perthus, in the Pyrénées-Orientales at the frontier with Spain where it becomes the Autopista AP-7. The route passes the major towns and cities Perpignan, Narbonne, Béziers and Montpellier, Nîmes. The route is 2x3 as far south as exit 41, widening between exit 41 and the Spanish frontier is currently in progress, the A9 autoroute was operated by the Autoroutes du Sud de la France, taken over in 2006 by Vinci Autoroutes. The cost of travelling the whole road through the Languedoc-Roussillon region in a car is 23.70 euros, for 19 km around Montpellier the road is toll free as the road is the city’s by-pass. The toll at either end of the Montpellier by-pass includes a charge for the 17 kilometers to the toll booth even if the vehicle leaves before reaching it. If a vehicle enters and exits the motorway away from the toll booth, the toll booths on either side of the town cause considerable congestion in the summer. As a result, ASF have proposed to build a new road which is expected to open in 2017
A9 autoroute
–
The A9 at
Bessan
A9 autoroute
–
This article needs additional citations for
verification. Please help improve this article by
adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2012)
30.
Gare de Perpignan
–
Perpignan is the railway station serving the city of Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales department, southern France. Perpignan is the station serving the city of Perpignan, Languedoc-Roussillon. The station opened in 1858 and is located on the Narbonne–Portbou railway, LGV Perpignan–Figueres, the station is served by TGV, Intercités and TER services operated by SNCF
Gare de Perpignan
–
Gare de Perpignan
31.
Cosmogony
–
Cosmogony is any model concerning the origin of either the cosmos or universe. Developing a complete theoretical model has implications in both the philosophy of science and epistemology, the word comes from the Koine Greek κοσμογονία and the root of γίνομαι / γέγονα. The Big Bang theory is the cosmological model of the early development of the universe. The most commonly held view is that the universe was once a gravitational singularity, however, while this expansion is well-modeled by the Big Bang theory, the origins of the singularity remain as one of the unsolved problems in physics. Cosmologist and science communicator Sean M, one cosmogonical view sees time as fundamental and even eternal, The universe could have contained the singularity because the universe evolved or changed from a prior state. The other view, held by proponents like Stephen Hawking, says there was no change through time because time itself emerged along with this universe. Thus, it unclear what combination of stuff, space, or time emerged with the singularity. One problem in cosmogony is that there is no theoretical model that explains the earliest moments of the universes existence because of a lack of a testable theory of quantum gravity. Researchers in string theory and its extensions, and of quantum cosmology, have nevertheless proposed solutions of the type just discussed. Another issue facing the field of physics is a need for more expensive. Cosmogony can be distinguished from cosmology, which studies the universe at large and throughout its existence, there is some ambiguity between the two terms. For example, the argument from theology regarding the existence of God is technically an appeal to cosmogonical rather than cosmological ideas. In practice, there is a distinction between cosmological and cosmogonical ideas. Physical cosmology is the science that attempts to explain all observations relevant to the development, cosmogonists have only tentative theories for the early stages of the universe and its beginning. Therefore, significant technological and conceptual advances would be needed to propose a scientific test for cosmogonical theories, proposed theoretical scenarios differ radically, and include string theory and M-theory, the Hartle–Hawking initial state, string landscape, brane inflation, the Big Bang, and the ekpyrotic universe. Some of these models are compatible, whereas others are not
Cosmogony
–
There is vast consensus among physicists that our universe started with a
Big Bang from a state of
gravitational singularity.
32.
Ecstasy (emotion)
–
Ecstasy is a subjective experience of total involvement of the subject, with an object of his or her awareness. In classical Greek literature it refers to removal of the mind or body from its place of function. The word is used to refer to any heightened state of consciousness or intensely pleasant experience. It is also used specifically to denote states of awareness of non-ordinary mental spaces. For the duration of the ecstasy the ecstatic is out of touch with life and is capable neither of communication with other people nor of undertaking normal actions. The experience can be brief in time, or it can go on for hours. Subjective perception of time, space or self may strongly change or disappear during ecstasy, for instance, if one is concentrating on a physical task, then any intellectual thoughts may cease. On the other hand, making a journey in an ecstatic trance involves the cessation of voluntary bodily movement. The particular technique that an individual uses to induce ecstasy is usually associated with that individuals particular religious. Sometimes an ecstatic experience takes place due to contact with something or somebody perceived as extremely beautiful or holy. In some cases, a person might obtain an ecstatic experience by mistake, maybe the person unintentionally triggers one of the, probably many, physiological mechanisms through which such an experience can be reached. In such cases, it is not rare to find that the later, by reading, looks for an interpretation. People interpret the experience afterward according to their culture and beliefs, when a person is using an ecstasy technique, he usually does so within a tradition. When he reaches an experience, an interpretation of it already exists. The experience together with its subsequent interpretation may strongly and permanently change the value system, in 1925, James Leuba wrote, Among most uncivilized populations, as among civilized peoples, certain ecstatic conditions are regarded as divine possession or as union with the Divine. These states are induced by means of drugs, by physical excitement, but, however produced and at whatever level of culture they may be found, they possess certain common features which suggest even to the superficial observer some profound connection. Always described as delightful beyond expression, these awesome ecstatic experiences end commonly in mental quiescence or even in total unconsciousness. To recognize a continuity of impulse, of purpose, of form, in everyday language, the word ecstasy denotes an intense, euphoric experience
Ecstasy (emotion)
–
The Ecstasy of
St. Theresa by
Gianlorenzo Bernini (1652). Left transept of Santa Maria della Vittoria (17th century) in Rome.
Ecstasy (emotion)
–
St Filippo Neri in Ecstasy
Ecstasy (emotion)
–
Ecstasy, by
Jean Benner (
Strasbourg Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art)
33.
Roman Empire
–
Civil wars and executions continued, culminating in the victory of Octavian, Caesars adopted son, over Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the annexation of Egypt. Octavians power was then unassailable and in 27 BC the Roman Senate formally granted him overarching power, the imperial period of Rome lasted approximately 1,500 years compared to the 500 years of the Republican era. The first two centuries of the empires existence were a period of unprecedented political stability and prosperity known as the Pax Romana, following Octavians victory, the size of the empire was dramatically increased. After the assassination of Caligula in 41, the senate briefly considered restoring the republic, under Claudius, the empire invaded Britannia, its first major expansion since Augustus. Vespasian emerged triumphant in 69, establishing the Flavian dynasty, before being succeeded by his son Titus and his short reign was followed by the long reign of his brother Domitian, who was eventually assassinated. The senate then appointed the first of the Five Good Emperors, the empire reached its greatest extent under Trajan, the second in this line. A period of increasing trouble and decline began with the reign of Commodus, Commodus assassination in 192 triggered the Year of the Five Emperors, of which Septimius Severus emerged victorious. The assassination of Alexander Severus in 235 led to the Crisis of the Third Century in which 26 men were declared emperor by the Roman Senate over a time span. It was not until the reign of Diocletian that the empire was fully stabilized with the introduction of the Tetrarchy, which saw four emperors rule the empire at once. This arrangement was unsuccessful, leading to a civil war that was finally ended by Constantine I. Constantine subsequently shifted the capital to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople in his honour and it remained the capital of the east until its demise. Constantine also adopted Christianity which later became the state religion of the empire. However, Augustulus was never recognized by his Eastern colleague, and separate rule in the Western part of the empire ceased to exist upon the death of Julius Nepos. The Eastern Roman Empire endured for another millennium, eventually falling to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Roman Empire was among the most powerful economic, cultural, political and military forces in the world of its time. It was one of the largest empires in world history, at its height under Trajan, it covered 5 million square kilometres. It held sway over an estimated 70 million people, at that time 21% of the entire population. Throughout the European medieval period, attempts were made to establish successors to the Roman Empire, including the Empire of Romania, a Crusader state. Rome had begun expanding shortly after the founding of the republic in the 6th century BC, then, it was an empire long before it had an emperor
Roman Empire
–
The
Augustus of Prima Porta (early 1st century AD)
Roman Empire
–
Aureus of
Augustus, the first
Roman Emperor.
Roman Empire
–
A segment of the ruins of Hadrian's Wall in northern England
Roman Empire
–
A 5th-century
papyrus showing a parallel Latin-Greek text of a speech by
Cicero
34.
Septimania
–
Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. Under the Visigoths it was known as simply Gallia or Narbonensis and it corresponded roughly with the modern French region of Languedoc-Roussillon. It passed briefly to the Emirate of Córdoba in the century before its conquest by the Franks. The region was under the influence of the people from Toulouse, Provence, from the end of the thirteenth century it was known as Languedoc and its history is tied up with that of France. Another possible derivation of the name is in reference to the seven cities of the territory, Béziers, Elne, Agde, Narbonne, Lodève, Maguelonne, under Theodoric II, the Visigoths settled in Aquitaine as foederati of the Western Roman Empire. Sidonius Apollinaris refers to Septimania as theirs during the reign of Avitus, the Visigoths were then holding the Toulousain against the legal claims of the Empire, though they had more than once offered to exchange it for the Auvergne. In 462 the Empire, controlled by Ricimer in the name of Libius Severus, the Visigoths occupied Provence as well and only in 475 did the Visigothic king, Euric, cede it to the Empire by a treaty whereby the emperor Julius Nepos recognised the Visigoths full independence. The Visigoths, perhaps because they were Arians, met with the opposition of the Catholic Franks in Gaul, clovis defeated the Goths in the Battle of Vouillé and the child-king Amalaric was carried for safety into Iberia while Gesalec was elected to replace him and rule from Narbonne. Clovis, his son Theuderic I, and his Burgundian allies proceeded to conquer most of Visigothic Gaul, including the Rouergue, border warfare between Gallo-Roman magnates, including bishops, had existed with the Visigoths during the last phase of the Empire and it continued under the Franks. The Ostrogothic king Theodoric the Great reconquered Narbonne from the Burgundians, Theudis was appointed regent at Narbonne by Theodoric while Amalaric was still a minor in Iberia. When Theodoric died in 526, Amalaric was elected king in his own right and he ceded Provence, which had at some point passed back into Visigothic control, to the Ostrogothic king Athalaric. The Franks did not try to hold the province, however, under Amalarics successor, however, the centre of gravity of the kingdom crossed the Pyrenees and Theudis made his capital in Barcelona. Originally, the Goths may have maintained their hold on the Albigeois, there is archaeological evidence that some enclaves of Visigothic population remained in Frankish Gaul, near the Septimanian border, after 507. The kings after Alaric II favoured Narbonne as a capital, under Theodoric Septimania had been safe from Frankish assault, but was raided by Childebert I twice. When Liuva I succeeded the throne in 568, Septimania was a frontier province. Liuva granted Iberia to his son Leovigild and took Septimania to himself, the Frankish attack of 585 was repulsed by Hermenegilds brother Reccared, who was ruling Narbonensis as a sub-king. Hermenegild died at Tarragona that year and it is possible that he had escaped confinement in Valencia and was seeking to join up with his Frankish allies, alternatively, the invasion may have occurred in response to Hermenegilds death. Reccared meanwhile took Beaucaire on the Rhône near Tarascon and Cabaret, guntram ignored two pleas for a peace in 586 and Reccared undertook the only Visigothic invasion of Francia in response
Septimania
–
Military campaigns around the Pyrenees and Septimania
Septimania
–
Septimania in 537
Septimania
–
Septimania during Pepin´s expedition (752-759)
35.
List of Counts of Barcelona
–
The Count of Barcelona was the ruler of Catalonia for much of Catalan history, from the 9th until the 15th century. The County of Barcelona was created by Charlemagne after he had conquered lands north of the river Ebro, as the county became hereditary in one family, the bond of the counts to their Frankish overlords loosened, especially after the Capetian dynasty supplanted the Carolingians. In the 12th century the Counts formed a union with the Kingdom of Aragon. In 1258, the king of France relinquished his authority over the County in the Treaty of Corbeil. Catalonia maintained its own laws, institutions, taxes and privileges until they were removed after the War of the Spanish Succession in the 18th century, Count of Barcelona remained one of the many hereditary titles of the Spanish monarchy. In the 20th century, the title regained some prominence when Juan de Borbón, in 1977, after Juan Carlos had become King upon Francos death in 1975, he officially awarded the title of Count of Barcelona to his father, who had renounced his rights to the throne. Juan held that title until his death in 1993, when it reverted to the King who has held it ever since, Juan de Borbóns widow used the title Countess of Barcelona until her death in 2000. The succession of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla led to the creation of the Crown of Aragon, martin was the last direct descendant of Wilfred the Hairy to rule, died without legitimate heirs. By the Compromise of Caspe of 1412 the County of Barcelona, in Barcelona this was promulgated in 1716, and the title of Count of Barcelona became one of the many unused hereditary titles of the modern Spanish monarchy. List of Aragonese monarchs List of Spanish monarchs List of Viscounts of Barcelona
List of Counts of Barcelona
–
Counties in the Spanish March.
List of Counts of Barcelona
–
Wilfred I (Guifré I) el Pelós (the Hairy)
List of Counts of Barcelona
–
Wilfred II Borrell I (Guifré II Borrell)
List of Counts of Barcelona
–
Sunyer
36.
Medieval commune
–
Medieval communes in the European Middle Ages had sworn allegiances of mutual defense among the citizens of a town or city. They took many forms, and varied widely in organization and makeup, communes are first recorded in the late 11th and early 12th centuries, thereafter becoming a widespread phenomenon. They had the development in central-northern Italy, where they were real city-states based on partial democracy, while in Germany they became free cities. The English and French word commune appears in Latin records in various forms and they come from Medieval Latin communia, plural form of commune, substantive noun from communis. Ultimately, the Proto-Indo-European root is *mey-, when independence of rule was won through violent uprising and overthrow, the commune was often called conspiratio. In the Low Countries, some new towns were founded upon long-distance trade, the sites for these ab ovo towns, more often than not, were the fortified burghs of counts, bishops or territorial abbots. Such towns were founded in the Rhineland. Other towns were simply market villages, local centers of exchange, the burghers of the tenth and eleventh centuries were ruthlessly harassed, blackmailed, subjected to oppressive taxes and humiliated. This drove the back upon their own resources, and it accounts for the intensely corporate. Because much of medieval Europe lacked central authority to provide protection, thus towns formed communes, a legal basis for turning the cities into self-governing corporations. Every town had its own commune and no two communes were alike, but at their heart, communes were sworn allegiances of mutual defense and it then spread in the early 12th century to France, Germany and Spain and elsewhere. The English state was already very centralized, so the communal movement mainly manifested itself in parishes, craftsmens and merchants guilds and monasteries. According to an English cleric of the late 10th century, society was composed of the three orders, those who fight, those who pray and those who work. In theory this was a balance between spiritual and secular peers, with the third order providing labour for the other two, the urban communes were a break in this order. The Church and King both had mixed reactions to communes, on the one hand, they agreed safety and protection from lawless nobles was in everyones best interest. The communes intention was to keep the peace through the threat of revenge, however, the Church had their own ways to enforce peace, such as the Peace and Truce of God movement, for example. On the other hand, communes disrupted the order of medieval society, furthermore, there was a sense that communes threatened the medieval social order. Only the noble lords were allowed by custom to fight, and ostensibly the merchant townspeople were workers, as such, the nobility and the clergy sometimes accepted communes, but other times did not
Medieval commune
–
Defensive towers at
San Gimignano, Tuscany, bear witness to the factional strife within communes.
37.
Feudalism
–
Feudalism was a combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour, there is no commonly accepted modern definition of feudalism, at least among scholars. Since the publication of Elizabeth A. R, outside a European context, the concept of feudalism is often used only by analogy, most often in discussions of feudal Japan under the shoguns, and sometimes medieval and Gondarine Ethiopia. The term feudalism has also been applied—often inappropriately or pejoratively—to non-Western societies where institutions, the term féodal was used in 17th-century French legal treatises and translated into English legal treatises as an adjective, such as feodal government. In the 18th century, Adam Smith, seeking to describe systems, effectively coined the forms feudal government. In the 19th century the adjective feudal evolved into a noun, the term feudalism is recent, first appearing in French in 1823, Italian in 1827, English in 1839, and in German in the second half of the 19th century. The term feudal or feodal is derived from the medieval Latin word feodum, the etymology of feodum is complex with multiple theories, some suggesting a Germanic origin and others suggesting an Arabic origin. Initially in medieval Latin European documents, a grant in exchange for service was called a beneficium. Later, the term feudum, or feodum, began to replace beneficium in the documents, the first attested instance of this is from 984, although more primitive forms were seen up to one-hundred years earlier. The origin of the feudum and why it replaced beneficium has not been well established, the most widely held theory is put forth by Marc Bloch. Bloch said it is related to the Frankish term *fehu-ôd, in which means cattle and -ôd means goods. This was known as feos, a term that took on the meaning of paying for something in lieu of money. This meaning was then applied to itself, in which land was used to pay for fealty. Thus the old word feos meaning movable property changed little by little to feus meaning the exact opposite and this Germanic origin theory was also shared by William Stubbs in the 19th century. Another theory was put forward by Archibald R. Lewis, Lewis said the origin of fief is not feudum, but rather foderum, the earliest attested use being in Astronomuss Vita Hludovici. In that text is a passage about Louis the Pious that says annona militaris quas vulgo foderum vocant, another theory by Alauddin Samarrai suggests an Arabic origin, from fuyū. Samarrais theory is that early forms of fief include feo, feu, feuz, feuum and others, indeed, the first use of these terms is in Languedoc, one of the least Germanic areas of Europe and bordering Muslim Spain. Further, the earliest use of feuum can be dated to 899, mounted soldiers began to secure a system of hereditary rule over their allocated land and their power over the territory came to encompass the social, political, judicial, and economic spheres
Feudalism
–
Roland pledges his
fealty to
Charlemagne; from a manuscript of a
chanson de geste, c. 14th century(?)
Feudalism
–
Castle – a traditional symbol of a feudal society (
Orava Castle in
Slovakia).
Feudalism
–
Herr
Reinmar von Zweter, a 13th-century
Minnesinger, was depicted with his noble arms in
Codex Manesse.
Feudalism
–
Harold Sacramentum Fecit Willelmo Duci (
Bayeux Tapestry)
38.
Louis IX of France
–
Louis IX, commonly known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. Louis was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the death of his father Louis VIII the Lion, although his mother, Blanche of Castile, ruled the kingdom until he reached maturity. During Louiss childhood, Blanche dealt with the opposition of rebellious vassals, as an adult, Louis IX faced recurring conflicts with some of the most powerful nobles, such as Hugh X of Lusignan and Peter of Dreux. Simultaneously, Henry III of England tried to restore his continental possessions and his reign saw the annexation of several provinces, notably Normandy, Maine and Provence. Louis IX was a reformer and developed French royal justice, in which the king is the judge to whom anyone is able to appeal to seek the amendment of a judgment. He banned trials by ordeal, tried to prevent the private wars that were plaguing the country, to enforce the correct application of this new legal system, Louis IX created provosts and bailiffs. According to his vow made after an illness, and confirmed after a miraculous cure. He was succeeded by his son Philip III, Louiss actions were inspired by Christian values and Catholic devotion. He decided to punish blasphemy, gambling, interest-bearing loans and prostitution and he also expanded the scope of the Inquisition and ordered the burning of Talmuds. He is the only canonized king of France, and there are many places named after him. Much of what is known of Louiss life comes from Jean de Joinvilles famous Life of Saint Louis, two other important biographies were written by the kings confessor, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and his chaplain, William of Chartres. The fourth important source of information is William of Saint-Parthus biography, while several individuals wrote biographies in the decades following the kings death, only Jean of Joinville, Geoffrey of Beaulieu, and William of Chartres wrote from personal knowledge of the king. Louis was born on 25 April 1214 at Poissy, near Paris, the son of Prince Louis the Lion and Princess Blanche, and baptised in La Collégiale Notre-Dame church. His grandfather on his fathers side was Philip II, king of France, while his grandfather on his mothers side was Alfonso VIII, tutors of Blanches choosing taught him most of what a king must know—Latin, public speaking, writing, military arts, and government. He was 9 years old when his grandfather Philip II died, a member of the House of Capet, Louis was twelve years old when his father died on 8 November 1226. He was crowned king within the month at Reims cathedral, because of Louiss youth, his mother ruled France as regent during his minority. Louis mother trained him to be a leader and a good Christian. She used to say, I love you, my son, as much as a mother can love her child
Louis IX of France
–
Representation of Saint Louis considered to be true to life, early 14th century. Statue from the church of
Mainneville, Eure, France.
Louis IX of France
–
Coin of Saint Louis,
Cabinet des Médailles. – The Latin inscription reads LVDOVICVS (i.e. "Louis") DEI GRACIA (i.e. "
by the Grace of God ", where Latin gratia was spelt gracia) FRANCOR REX (i.e. "
King of the Franks ", where Francor. is the abbreviation of Francorum).
Louis IX of France
–
Equestrian statue of King Saint Louis at the
Sacré-Cœur
Louis IX of France
–
Death of Saint Louis: On 25 August 1270, Saint Louis dies under his fleurdelisé tent before the city of Tunis. Illuminated by
Jean Fouquet,
Grandes Chroniques de France (1455–1460)
39.
James I of Aragon
–
James I the Conqueror was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276, King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276, and Valencia from 1238 to 1276. By a treaty with Louis IX of France, he wrested the county of Barcelona from nominal French suzerainty and his part in the Reconquista was similar in Mediterranean Spain to that of his contemporary Ferdinand III of Castile in Andalusia. As a legislator and organiser, he occupies a place among the Spanish kings. James compiled the Llibre del Consolat de Mar, which governed maritime trade and he was an important figure in the development of the Catalan language, sponsoring Catalan literature and writing a quasi-autobiographical chronicle of his reign, the Llibre dels fets. James was born at Montpellier as the son of Peter II of Aragon. Peter endeavoured to placate the northern crusaders by arranging a marriage between his son James and Simons daughter, when the former was only two years old. He entrusted the boy to be educated in Montforts care in 1211, Montfort would willingly have used James as a means of extending his own power had not the Aragonese appealed to Pope Innocent III, who insisted that Montfort surrender him. James was handed over to the papal legate Peter of Benevento at Carcassonne in May or June 1214, the kingdom was given over to confusion until, in 1217, the Templars and some of the more loyal nobles brought the young king to Zaragoza. In 1221, he was married to Eleanor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile, the next six years of his reign were full of rebellions on the part of the nobles. By the Peace of Alcalá of 31 March 1227, the nobles, in 1228, James faced the sternest opposition yet from a vassal. Guerau IV de Cabrera occupied the County of Urgell in opposition to Aurembiax, the heiress of Ermengol VIII, who had died without sons in 1208. Although Aurembiaxs mother, Elvira, had made herself a protegée of Jamess father, upon her death in 1220 Guerau occupied the county and displaced Aurembiax, James intervened on behalf of Aurembiax, to whom he owed protection. He bought Guerau off and allowed Aurembiax to reclaim her territory and she surrendered Lleida to James and agreed to hold Urgell in fief for him. On her death in 1231, James exchanged the Balearic Islands for Urgell with her widower, Peter of Portugal, from 1230 to 1232, James negotiated with Sancho VII of Navarre, who desired his help against his nephew and closest living male relative, Theobald IV of Champagne. Pope Gregory IX was required to intervene, in the end, James accepted Theobalds succession. James endeavoured to form a state straddling the Pyrenees in order to counterbalance the power of France north of the Loire, as with the much earlier Visigothic attempt, this policy was victim to physical, cultural, and political obstacles. As in the case of Navarre, he declined to launch into perilous adventures, by the Treaty of Corbeil, signed in May 1258, he ended his conflict with Louis IX of France, securing the renunciation of French claims to sovereignty over Catalonia. After his false start at uniting Aragon with the Kingdom of Navarre through a scheme of mutual adoption, James turned to the south, James conquered Majorca on 31 December 1229, and Minorca and Ibiza were later acquired during the reconquest
James I of Aragon
–
James I
James I of Aragon
–
Mummified head of James, exhumed in 1856
James I of Aragon
–
Statue of James I at the
Sabatini Gardens in
Madrid (J. León, 1753).
40.
County of Barcelona
–
The County of Barcelona was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. By the end of the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona were de facto independent, hereditary rulers in constant warfare with the Islamic caliphate of Córdoba, the counts, through marriage alliances and treaties, acquired the other Catalan counties and extended their influence along Occitania. Barcelona formed the nucleus of the emergent Principality of Catalonia, in 1164, the count of Barcelona, Alfons I, inherited the Kingdom of Aragon. Thenceforward, the history of the county of Barcelona is subsumed within that of the Crown of Aragon and its origins date back to the early 8th century, when Muslims took control of the northern territories of the Visigothic Kingdom of Hispania and modern-day northeastern Spain and southern France. After turning back deep Muslim incursions, the Frankish Empire under the Carolingian monarchs and these eastern Iberian territories were repopulated with people from the March of Gothia. This resulted in the formation of a buffer zone between the Muslim Iberian peninsula and, the Duchy of Aquitaine and Provence. The county of Barcelona was established there, reporting to the Frankish king, the first Count of Barcelona was Bera. Initially, authority for the county rested on the local aristocracy, however, the policies Bera adopted in an effort to maintain peace with Muslim ruled Al-Andalus, resulted in him being accused of treason before the King. After losing a duel, according to the Visigothic legislation, Bera was deposed and exiled, however, the Visigothic nobility regained the kings confidence with the appointment of Sunifred I of Urgel-Cerdanya as Count of Barcelona in 844. Nevertheless, the ties of the Catalan counties to the Frankish monarchy had weakened, Autonomy was strengthened when the county families began to affirm their inheritance rights. This move was accompanied by a unification process among counties to form larger political entities, Count Wilfred el Velloso, son of Sunifred and the last count appointed by the Frankish king, oversaw this movement. He united a number of counties under his command and passed them on as an inheritance to his children, Wilfred later died at the hands of Muslims. Although he divided his counties among his children, the core formed by the counties of Barcelona, Girona and Osona remained undivided, during the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona strengthened their political authority and further distanced themselves from Frankish influence. In 985 Barcelona, then ruled by Borrell II, was attacked and burned by Muslims, the count took refuge in the Montserrat mountains, awaiting help from the Frankish king, which never arrived, resulting in resentment. In 988, the reign of the Carolingian dynasty ended and was replaced by the Capetian dynasty. Borrell II was required to swear allegiance to the new Frankish king and this has been interpreted as the starting point of de facto independence of the county. Full independence was obtained by James I, King of Aragon, subsequently, the county of Barcelona grew in importance and expanded its territory with successive counts. It took over other Hispanic counties and expanded slowly towards the south as a result of battles against al-Andalus and the repopulation of areas such as Tarragona, Borrell IIs reign was followed by that of his son Ramon Berenguer I
County of Barcelona
–
The county of Barcelona (red) in the context of peninsular expansion of the
Crown of Aragon.
41.
Philip III of France
–
It can also refer to Philippe III de Croÿ and Philippe III, Duke of Orléans. Philip III, called the Bold, was King of France from 1270 to 1285, Philip proved indecisive, soft in nature, and timid. The strong personalities of his parents apparently crushed him, and policies of his father dominated him, people called him the Bold on the basis of his abilities in combat and on horseback and not on the basis of his political or personal character. He was pious but not cultivated and he followed the suggestions of others, first of Pierre de La Broce and then of his uncle King Charles I of Naples, Sicily, and Albania. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade, Philip, who was accompanying him, came back to France to claim his throne and was anointed at Reims in 1271. Philip made numerous territorial acquisitions during his reign, the most notable being the County of Toulouse which was annexed to the Crown lands of France in 1271. Following the Sicilian Vespers, a rebellion triggered by Peter III of Aragon against Philips uncle Charles I of Naples, Philip was forced to retreat and died from dysentry in Perpignan in 1285. He was succeeded by his son Philip the Fair, Philip was born in Poissy to King Saint Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence, queen consort of France. As a younger son, Philip was not expected to rule a kingdom, at the death of his elder brother Louis in 1260, he became the heir to the throne. He was then 15 years old and has less skill than his brother, being of a character, submissive, timid and versatile. Pope Urban IV released Philip from his oath on June 6,1263, from 1268 Pierre de La Brosse became mentor. Saint Louis also provided him his own advice, writing in particular Enseignements and he also received a very faith-oriented education. Guillaume dErcuis was also his chaplain before being the tutor of his son, as Count of Orléans, he accompanied his father to the Eighth Crusade in Tunis,1270. After taking Carthage, the army was struck by an epidemic of dysentery and his brother John Tristan, Count of Valois died first, on August 3, and on August 25 the king died. To prevent putrefaction of the remains of the sovereign, they recoursed to Mos Teutonicus, Philip, then 25 years old, was proclaimed king in Tunis. With neither great personality or will, very pious, but a good rider and he was unable to command the troops at the death of his father. He left his uncle Charles I of Naples to negotiate with Muhammad I al-Mustansir, Hafsid Sultan of Tunis and he got the payment of tribute from the caliph of Tunis in exchange for the departure of the crusaders. A treaty was concluded October 28,1270 between the kings of France, Sicily and Navarre and the barons on one hand and the caliph of Tunis on the other
Philip III of France
–
Coronation of King Philip III
Philip III of France
–
Marriage of Philip and
Marie of Brabant, Queen of France
42.
Kingdom of France
–
The Kingdom of France was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Western Europe. It was one of the most powerful states in Europe and a great power since the Late Middle Ages and it was also an early colonial power, with possessions around the world. France originated as West Francia, the half of the Carolingian Empire. A branch of the Carolingian dynasty continued to rule until 987, the territory remained known as Francia and its ruler as rex Francorum well into the High Middle Ages. The first king calling himself Roi de France was Philip II, France continued to be ruled by the Capetians and their cadet lines—the Valois and Bourbon—until the monarchy was overthrown in 1792 during the French Revolution. France in the Middle Ages was a de-centralised, feudal monarchy, in Brittany and Catalonia the authority of the French king was barely felt. Lorraine and Provence were states of the Holy Roman Empire and not yet a part of France, during the Late Middle Ages, the Kings of England laid claim to the French throne, resulting in a series of conflicts known as the Hundred Years War. Subsequently, France sought to extend its influence into Italy, but was defeated by Spain in the ensuing Italian Wars, religiously France became divided between the Catholic majority and a Protestant minority, the Huguenots, which led to a series of civil wars, the Wars of Religion. France laid claim to large stretches of North America, known collectively as New France, Wars with Great Britain led to the loss of much of this territory by 1763. French intervention in the American Revolutionary War helped secure the independence of the new United States of America, the Kingdom of France adopted a written constitution in 1791, but the Kingdom was abolished a year later and replaced with the First French Republic. The monarchy was restored by the great powers in 1814. During the later years of the elderly Charlemagnes rule, the Vikings made advances along the northern and western perimeters of the Kingdom of the Franks, after Charlemagnes death in 814 his heirs were incapable of maintaining political unity and the empire began to crumble. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts, with Charles the Bald ruling over West Francia, the nucleus of what would develop into the kingdom of France. Viking advances were allowed to increase, and their dreaded longboats were sailing up the Loire and Seine rivers and other waterways, wreaking havoc. During the reign of Charles the Simple, Normans under Rollo from Norway, were settled in an area on either side of the River Seine, downstream from Paris, that was to become Normandy. With its offshoots, the houses of Valois and Bourbon, it was to rule France for more than 800 years. Henry II inherited the Duchy of Normandy and the County of Anjou, and married Frances newly divorced ex-queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, after the French victory at the Battle of Bouvines in 1214, the English monarchs maintained power only in southwestern Duchy of Guyenne. The death of Charles IV of France in 1328 without male heirs ended the main Capetian line, under Salic law the crown could not pass through a woman, so the throne passed to Philip VI, son of Charles of Valois
Kingdom of France
–
The Kingdom of France in 1789.
Ancien Régime provinces in
1789.
Kingdom of France
–
Royal Standarda
Kingdom of France
–
Henry IV, by
Frans Pourbus the younger, 1610.
Kingdom of France
–
Louis XIII, by
Philippe de Champaigne, 1647.
43.
Crusade
–
The First Crusade arose after a call to arms in a 1095 sermon by Pope Urban II. Urban urged military support for the Byzantine Empire and its Emperor, Alexios I, the response to Urbans preaching by people of many different classes across Western Europe established the precedent for later Crusades. Volunteers became Crusaders by taking a vow and receiving plenary indulgences from the church. Some were hoping for apotheosis at Jerusalem, or forgiveness from God for all their sins, others participated to satisfy feudal obligations, gain glory and honour, or find opportunities for economic and political gain. Many modern Historians have polarised opinions of the Crusaders behaviour under Papal sanction, to some it was incongruous with the stated aims and implied moral authority of the papacy and the Crusades, to the extent that on occasions that the Pope excommunicated Crusaders. Crusaders often pillaged as they travelled, while their leaders retained control of captured territory rather than returning it to the Byzantines. During the Peoples Crusade thousands of Jews were murdered in what is now called the Rhineland massacres, Constantinople was sacked during the Fourth Crusade rendering the reunification of Christendom impossible. These tales consequently galvanised medieval romance, philosophy and literature, but the Crusades also reinforced the connection between Western Christendom, feudalism, and militarism. Crusade is not a term, instead the terms iter for journey or peregrinatio for pilgrimage were used. Not until the word crucesignatus for one who was signed with the cross was adopted at the close of the century was specific terminology developed. The Middle English equivalents were derived from old French, croiserie in the 13th–15th centuries, croisade appeared in English c1575, and continued to be the leading form till c1760. By convention historians adopt the term for the Christian holy wars from 1095, the Crusades in the Holy Land are traditionally counted as nine distinct campaigns, numbered from the First Crusade of 1095–99 to the Ninth Crusade of 1271/2. Usage of the term Crusade may differ depending on the author, pluralists use the term Crusade of any campaign explicitly sanctioned by the reigning Pope. This reflects the view of the Roman Catholic Church that every military campaign given Papal sanction is equally valid as a Crusade, regardless of its cause, justification, generalists see Crusades as any and all holy wars connected with the Latin Church and fought in defence of their faith. Popularists limit the Crusades to only those that were characterised by popular groundswells of religious fervour – that is, only the First Crusade, Medieval Muslim historiographers such as Ali ibn al-Athir refer to the Crusades as the Frankish Wars. The term used in modern Arabic, ḥamalāt ṣalībiyya حملات صليبية, campaigns of the cross, is a loan translation of the term Crusade as used in Western historiography. The Islamic prophet Muhammad founded Islam in the Arabian Peninsula, the resulting unified polity in the seventh and eighth centuries led to a rapid expansion of Arab power. This influence stretched from the northwest Indian subcontinent, across Central Asia, the Middle East, North Africa, southern Italy, tolerance, trade, and political relationships between the Arabs and the Christian states of Europe waxed and waned
Crusade
–
Madrid Skylitzes illuminated manuscript depicting Byzantine Greeks punishing ninth-century
Cretan Saracens
Crusade
–
Map of the
Eastern Mediterranean in 1135, showing crusader-held and neighbouring territories
Crusade
–
Fifteenth-century illustrated French translation of
Boccaccio 's
De Casibus Virorum Illustrium, showing
Seljuk emperor
Alp Arslan ritually humiliating
Romanos IV in 1071 after Manzikert; Alp Arslan allowed Romanos to return to
Constantinople, where he was killed by the Byzantines.
Crusade
–
Illumination from the Livre des Passages d'Outre-mer (c. 1490) of Urban II at the Council of Clermont (from the
Bibliothèque Nationale)
Perpignan
.jpg)
