1.
Cahir Castle
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Cahir Castle, one of the largest castles in Ireland, is sited on an island in the river Suir. It was built from 1142 by Conor OBrien, Prince of Thomond, now situated in Cahir town centre, County Tipperary, the castle is well preserved and has guided tour and audiovisual shows in multiple languages. The castle was sited on and near an earlier fortification known as a cathair. The core structure of the dates to construction in the 13th century by the OBrien family. The castle was built in two parts, with the side now by the street being built 200 years before the side now housing the audio-visual show, granted to the powerful Butler family in late 14th century, the castle was enlarged and remodelled between the 15th and 17th centuries. It fell into ruin in the late 18th century and was restored in the 1840s. The Great Hall was partly rebuilt in 1840, in 1375, the castle was granted to James Butler, newly created Earl of Ormond, for his loyalty to Edward III. His son James, the second Earl passed the lands around the barony of Iffa and Offa West to his children and this changed by 1542 when the first of the Barons Cahir was created. Unlike their Anglican kinsmen, this branch of the Butler dynasty sided with the Roman Catholic Irish in the Elizabethan wars. In 1599 the castle was captured after a siege by the army of the Earl of Essex and was for a year put under the charge of Sir Charles Blount. Lord Cahir joined with the Earl of Tyrone in 1601 and was attainted for treason, during the Irish Confederate Wars the castle was besieged twice. In 1647 George Mathew, the guardian of the young Lord Cahir, surrendered to Murrough OBrien, in 1650 he surrendered again to Oliver Cromwell, during his conquest of Ireland without a shot even being fired. In 1961 the last Lord Cahir died and the reverted to the Irish state. In the late 20th century the castle was named a National Monument, and is now managed by the Office of Public Works, who maintain the castle and operate tours. In 1998 the site was used for Sabans Mystic Knights Of Tir Na Nog on Fox Kids In 1981 it was used as a location for a scene in the film Excalibur. The castle was used as a location for television series The Tudors
2.
Torre dell'Elefante
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The Torre dellElefante is a medieval tower in Cagliari, southern Sardinia, Italy. It is located in the Castello historical quarter of the city, the tower was part of the citys fortifications built against the Moorish and Genoese attacks. With a height of 31 metres, the tower was built on three sides in white limestone from the nearby Colle di Bonaria, another side was open and featured four floors of wooden galleries. It has also a gate, that, together with that of the Torre di San Pancrazio, is still the main entrance to Castello, during the Aragonese rule, the edifice was modified and used as a jail. Its walls were used to hang the heads of the executed. It was restored in 1906, with the reopening of sections which had been covered by other buildings
3.
Cagliari
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Cagliari is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliaris Sardinian name Casteddu literally means castle and it has about 150,000 inhabitants, while its metropolitan city has more than 431,000 inhabitants. According to Eurostat, the population of the Functional urban area, Cagliari is the 26th largest city in Italy and the largest city on the island of Sardinia. An ancient city with a history, Cagliari has seen the rule of several civilisations. Under the buildings of the city there is a continuous stratification attesting to human settlement over the course of some five thousand years. Cagliari was the capital of the Kingdom of Sardinia from 1324 to 1848, today the city is a regional cultural, educational, political and artistic centre, known for its diverse Art Nouveau architecture and several monuments. It is also the seat of the University of Cagliari, founded in 1607, the Cagliari area has been inhabited since the Neolithic. It occupies a position between the sea and a fertile plain and is surrounded by two swamps. There are high mountains nearby, to people could evacuate if the settlement had to be given up. Relics of prehistoric inhabitants were found in the hill of Monte Claro, krly was established around the 8th/7th century BC as one of a string of Phoenician colonies in Sardinia, including Tharros. Its founding is linked to its position along communication routes with Africa as well as to its excellent port, the Phoenician settlement was located in the Stagno di Santa Gilla, west of the present centre of Cagliari. This was also the site of the Roman Portus Scipio, other Phoenician settlements have been found at Cape SantElia. In the late 6th century BC Carthage took control of Sardinia, Cagliari was a fortified settlement in what is now the modern Marina quarter, with an annexed holy area in the modern Stampace. Sardinia and Cagliari came under Roman rule in 238 BC, shortly after the First Punic War, at other times it was also the Romans chief naval station on the island, and the residence of the praetor. The Romans built a new settlement east of the old Punic city, the two urban agglomerations merged gradually during the second century B. C. to this process is perhaps attributable the plural form Carales. A few years later, when Sardinia fell into the hands of Menas, the lieutenant of Sextus Pompeius, Caralis was the city which offered any resistance. Cagliari continued to be regarded as the capital of the island under the Roman Empire, remains of Roman public buildings were found to the west of Marina in Piazza del Carmine. There was an area of housing near the modern Via Roma
4.
Gate
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A gate or gateway is a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. Gates may prevent or control the entry or exit of individuals, other terms for gate include yett and port. The word derives from the old Norse gata, meaning road or path, and originally referred to the gap in the wall or fence, rather than the barrier which closed it. The moving part or parts of a gateway may be called doors, a gate may have a latch to keep it from swinging and a lock for security. Larger gates can be used for a building, such as a castle or fortified town. Today, many doors are opened by an automated gate operator
5.
Middle Ages
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In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or Medieval Period lasted from the 5th to the 15th century. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and merged into the Renaissance, the Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history, classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is subdivided into the Early, High. Population decline, counterurbanisation, invasion, and movement of peoples, the large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the seventh century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire—came under the rule of the Umayyad Caliphate, although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break with classical antiquity was not complete. The still-sizeable Byzantine Empire survived in the east and remained a major power, the empires law code, the Corpus Juris Civilis or Code of Justinian, was rediscovered in Northern Italy in 1070 and became widely admired later in the Middle Ages. In the West, most kingdoms incorporated the few extant Roman institutions, monasteries were founded as campaigns to Christianise pagan Europe continued. The Franks, under the Carolingian dynasty, briefly established the Carolingian Empire during the later 8th, the Crusades, first preached in 1095, were military attempts by Western European Christians to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims. Kings became the heads of centralised nation states, reducing crime and violence, intellectual life was marked by scholasticism, a philosophy that emphasised joining faith to reason, and by the founding of universities. Controversy, heresy, and the Western Schism within the Catholic Church paralleled the conflict, civil strife. Cultural and technological developments transformed European society, concluding the Late Middle Ages, the Middle Ages is one of the three major periods in the most enduring scheme for analysing European history, classical civilisation, or Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Modern Period. Medieval writers divided history into periods such as the Six Ages or the Four Empires, when referring to their own times, they spoke of them as being modern. In the 1330s, the humanist and poet Petrarch referred to pre-Christian times as antiqua, leonardo Bruni was the first historian to use tripartite periodisation in his History of the Florentine People. Bruni and later argued that Italy had recovered since Petrarchs time. The Middle Ages first appears in Latin in 1469 as media tempestas or middle season, in early usage, there were many variants, including medium aevum, or middle age, first recorded in 1604, and media saecula, or middle ages, first recorded in 1625. The alternative term medieval derives from medium aevum, tripartite periodisation became standard after the German 17th-century historian Christoph Cellarius divided history into three periods, Ancient, Medieval, and Modern. The most commonly given starting point for the Middle Ages is 476, for Europe as a whole,1500 is often considered to be the end of the Middle Ages, but there is no universally agreed upon end date. English historians often use the Battle of Bosworth Field in 1485 to mark the end of the period
6.
Castle
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A castle is a type of fortified structure built in Europe and the Middle East during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars debate the scope of the castle, but usually consider it to be the private fortified residence of a lord or noble. Usage of the term has varied over time and has applied to structures as diverse as hill forts. Over the approximately 900 years that castles were built, they took on a great many forms with different features, although some, such as curtain walls. A European innovation, castles originated in the 9th and 10th centuries, after the fall of the Carolingian Empire resulted in its territory being divided among individual lords and princes. Although their military origins are often emphasised in castle studies, the structures served as centres of administration. Many castles were built from earth and timber, but had their defences replaced later by stone. Early castles often exploited natural defences, lacking features such as towers and arrowslits, in the late 12th and early 13th centuries, a scientific approach to castle defence emerged. This led to the proliferation of towers, with an emphasis on flanking fire, many new castles were polygonal or relied on concentric defence – several stages of defence within each other that could all function at the same time to maximise the castles firepower. These changes in defence have been attributed to a mixture of castle technology from the Crusades, such as concentric fortification, not all the elements of castle architecture were military in nature, so that devices such as moats evolved from their original purpose of defence into symbols of power. Some grand castles had long winding approaches intended to impress and dominate their landscape, while castles continued to be built well into the 16th century, new techniques to deal with improved cannon fire made them uncomfortable and undesirable places to live. As a result, true castles went into decline and were replaced by artillery forts with no role in civil administration, and country houses that were indefensible. From the 18th century onwards, there was a renewed interest in castles with the construction of castles, part of a romantic revival of Gothic architecture. The word castle is derived from the Latin word castellum, which is a diminutive of the word castrum, meaning fortified place. The Old English castel, Old French castel or chastel, French château, Spanish castillo, Italian castello, the word castle was introduced into English shortly before the Norman Conquest to denote this type of building, which was then new to England. In its simplest terms, the definition of a castle accepted amongst academics is a fortified residence. Feudalism was the link between a lord and his vassal where, in return for service and the expectation of loyalty. Castles served a range of purposes, the most important of which were military, administrative, as well as defensive structures, castles were also offensive tools which could be used as a base of operations in enemy territory
7.
Siege
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A siege is a military blockade of a city or fortress with the intent of conquering by attrition or assault. This derives from sedere, Latin for to sit, Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterized by one party holding a strong, static defensive position. Consequently, an opportunity for negotiation between combatants is not uncommon, as proximity and fluctuating advantage can encourage diplomacy, a siege occurs when an attacker encounters a city or fortress that cannot be easily taken by direct assault and refuses to surrender. Failing a military outcome, sieges can often be decided by starvation, thirst, or disease and this form of siege, though, can take many months or even years, depending upon the size of the stores of food the fortified position holds. During the process of circumvallation, the force can be set upon by another force of enemies due to the lengthy amount of time required to starve a position. During the Warring States era of ancient China, there is textual and archaeological evidence of prolonged sieges and siege machinery used against the defenders of city walls. Siege machinery was also a tradition of the ancient Greco-Roman world, during the Renaissance and the early modern period, siege warfare dominated the conduct of war in Europe. Leonardo da Vinci gained as much of his renown from the design of fortifications as from his artwork, Medieval campaigns were generally designed around a succession of sieges. In the Napoleonic era, increasing use of more powerful cannon reduced the value of fortifications. In the 20th century, the significance of the classical siege declined, with the advent of mobile warfare, a single fortified stronghold is no longer as decisive as it once was. Modern sieges are more commonly the result of smaller hostage, militant, the Assyrians deployed large labour forces to build new palaces, temples, and defensive walls. Some settlements in the Indus Valley Civilization were also fortified, by about 3500 BC, hundreds of small farming villages dotted the Indus River floodplain. Many of these settlements had fortifications and planned streets, mundigak in present-day south-east Afghanistan has defensive walls and square bastions of sun-dried bricks. City walls and fortifications were essential for the defence of the first cities in the ancient Near East, the walls were built of mudbricks, stone, wood, or a combination of these materials, depending on local availability. They may also have served the purpose of showing presumptive enemies the might of the kingdom. The great walls surrounding the Sumerian city of Uruk gained a widespread reputation, the walls were 9.5 km in length, and up to 12 m in height. Later, the walls of Babylon, reinforced by towers, moats, in Anatolia, the Hittites built massive stone walls around their cities atop hillsides, taking advantage of the terrain. In Shang Dynasty China, at the site of Ao, large walls were erected in the 15th century BC that had dimensions of 20 m in width at the base and enclosed an area of some 2,100 yards squared
8.
Chain
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A chain is typically made of metal. A chain may consist of two or more links and they are known as roller chains, though there are also non-roller chains such as block chain. Although cisterns no longer work like that, the pull the chain is still encountered to mean flush the toilet. The prevalent modern symbolism is oppression, due to the use for a restriction of the liberty of a human or animal. Chains can also symbolize interconnectivity or interdependence, unicode, in versions 6. x, contains the U+1F517
9.
Rope
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A rope is a group of yarns, plies, or strands that are twisted or braided together into a larger and stronger form. Ropes have tensile strength and so can be used for dragging and lifting, as a result, they cannot be used for pushing or similar compressive applications. Rope is thicker and stronger than similarly constructed cord, line, string, fiber rope is made from fiber, whereas wire rope is made from wire. Rope may be constructed of any long, stringy, fibrous material, synthetic fibre ropes are significantly stronger than their natural fibre counterparts, but also possess certain disadvantages, including slipperiness. Common natural fibres for rope are manila hemp, hemp, feathers, linen, cotton, coir, jute, straw, synthetic fibres in use for rope-making include polypropylene, nylon, polyesters, polyethylene, Aramids and acrylics. Some ropes are constructed of mixtures of several fibres or use co-polymer fibres, wire rope is made of steel or other metal alloys. Ropes have been constructed of fibrous materials such as silk, wool, and hair. Rayon is a fibre used to make decorative rope. The twist of the strands in a twisted or braided rope serves not only to keep a rope together, without any twist in the rope, the shortest strand would always be supporting a much higher proportion of the total load. Rope is of paramount importance in fields as diverse as construction, seafaring, exploration, sports, theatre, and communications, to fasten rope, many types of knots have been invented for countless uses. Pulleys redirect the force to another direction, and can create mechanical advantage so that multiple strands of rope share a load. Winches and capstans are machines designed to pull ropes, such ropes normally use a kernmantle construction, as described below. Static ropes, used for example in caving, rappelling, and rescue applications, are designed for minimal stretch, the UIAA, in concert with the CEN, sets climbing-rope standards and oversees testing. Any rope bearing a GUIANA or CE certification tag is suitable for climbing, climbing ropes, however, do cut easily when under load. Keeping them away from sharp rock edges is imperative, rock climbing ropes come with either a designation for single, double or twin use. A single rope is the most common and it is intended to be used by itself, single ropes range in thickness from roughly 9mm to 11mm. Smaller ropes are lighter, but wear out faster, double ropes are thinner ropes, usually 9mm and under, and are intended for use as a pair. These ropes offer a margin or security against cutting, since it is unlikely that both ropes will be cut, but they complicate belaying and leading
10.
Winch
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A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in or let out or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope. In its simplest form it consists of a spool and attached hand crank, in larger forms, winches stand at the heart of machines as diverse as tow trucks, steam shovels and elevators. The spool can also be called the winch drum, more elaborate designs have gear assemblies and can be powered by electric, hydraulic, pneumatic or internal combustion drives. Some may include a solenoid brake and/or a mechanical brake or ratchet, the rope is usually stored on the winch. When trimming a line on a sailboat, the member turns the winch handle with one hand. Some winches have a stripper or cleat to maintain tension and these are known as self-tailing winches. Winches are frequently used as elements of mechanics to move scenery in large theatrical productions. They are often embedded in the floor and used to move large set pieces on. Winches have recently been fabricated specifically for water and snow sports and this new generation of winches is designed to pull riders swiftly across a body of water or snow, simulating a riding experience that is normally supplied by a boat, wave runner, or snow mobile. Lever winches are winches that use self-gripping jaws instead of spools to move rope or wire through the winch, powered by moving a handle back and forth, they allow one person to move objects several tons in weight. Brand names include Tirfor™ and Griphoist™ and this is a vertical spool with a ratchet mechanism similar to a conventional winch, but with no crank handle or other form of drive. The line is wrapped around the spool and can be tightened and reeled in by pulling the tail line and they also allow controlled release of the tension by the operator using the friction of the line around the ratcheted spool. They are used on small sailing boats and dinghies to control sheets and other lines, wakeskate winching is a growing hobby for many watersports enthusiasts. The winch consists of an engine, spool, rope, handle, frame, the person being towed walks away from the winch and pulls out all of the rope. When the winch is engaged, it pulls the boarder usually between 15 to 25 miles per hour, the winch may be mounted on the trailer hitch of a vehicle, set into the ground by stakes, or tied to a tree. These winches have been modified for use by skiers and snowboarders in cities, gliders are often launched using a winch mounted on a trailer or heavy vehicle. This method is used at European gliding clubs, as a cheaper alternative to aerotowing. The engine is usually a large Petrol, LPG or diesel, though hydraulic fluid engines, the winch pulls in a 1,000 to 1, 600-metre cable, made of high-tensile steel wire or a synthetic fibre, attached to the glider
11.
Wood
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Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees, and other woody plants. It is a material, a natural composite of cellulose fibers which are strong in tension embedded in a matrix of lignin which resists compression. Wood is sometimes defined as only the secondary xylem in the stems of trees, in a living tree it performs a support function, enabling woody plants to grow large or to stand up by themselves. It also conveys water and nutrients between the leaves, other growing tissues, and the roots, Wood may also refer to other plant materials with comparable properties, and to material engineered from wood, or wood chips or fiber. In 2005, the stock of forests worldwide was about 434 billion cubic meters. As an abundant, carbon-neutral renewable resource, woody materials have been of intense interest as a source of renewable energy, in 1991 approximately 3.5 billion cubic meters of wood were harvested. Dominant uses were for furniture and building construction, a 2011 discovery in the Canadian province of New Brunswick discovered the earliest known plants to have grown wood, approximately 395 to 400 million years ago. Wood can be dated by carbon dating and in species by dendrochronology to make inferences about when a wooden object was created. People have used wood for millennia for many purposes, primarily as a fuel or as a material for making houses, tools, weapons, furniture, packaging, artworks. Constructions using wood date back ten thousand years, buildings like the European Neolithic long house were made primarily of wood. Recent use of wood has changed by the addition of steel. The year-to-year variation in tree-ring widths and isotopic abundances gives clues to the climate at that time. This process is known as growth, it is the result of cell division in the vascular cambium, a lateral meristem. These cells then go on to form thickened secondary cell walls, composed mainly of cellulose, hemicellulose, if the distinctiveness between seasons is annual, these growth rings are referred to as annual rings. Where there is little seasonal difference growth rings are likely to be indistinct or absent, if the bark of the tree has been removed in a particular area, the rings will likely be deformed as the plant overgrows the scar. It is usually lighter in color than that near the portion of the ring. The outer portion formed later in the season is known as the latewood or summerwood. However, there are differences, depending on the kind of wood
12.
Early thermal weapons
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Incendiary devices were frequently used as projectiles during warfare, particularly during sieges and naval battles, some substances were boiled or heated to inflict damage by scalding or burning. Other substances relied on their properties to inflict burns or damage. These weapons or devices could be used by individuals, manipulated by war machines, the simplest and most common thermal projectiles were boiling water and hot sand, which could be poured over attacking personnel. Other anti-personnel weapons included the use of hot pitch, oil, resin, animal fat, smoke was used to confuse or drive off attackers. Substances such as quicklime and sulfur could be toxic and blinding, fire and incendiary weapons were used against enemy structures and territory, as well as personnel, sometimes on a massive scale. Large tracts of land, towns and villages were frequently ignited as part of a scorched earth strategy, incendiary mixtures, such as the petroleum-based Greek fire, could be launched by throwing machines or administered through a siphon. Sulfur- and oil-soaked materials were sometimes ignited and thrown at the enemy, or attached to spears, arrow and bolts, some siege techniques—such as mining and boring&mash, relied on combustibles and fire to complete the collapse of walls and structures. Towards the latter part of the period, gunpowder was invented, which increased the sophistication of the weapons, and led to the eventual development of the cannon and other firearms. Development of the weapons has continued ever since, with modern war weapons such as napalm, flame throwers. Fire-raising and other destructive strategies can still be seen in modern strategic bombing, the destruction of enemy possessions and territory was a fundamental strategy of war, serving the dual purpose of punishment and deprivation of resources. Until the 5th century BC, the Greeks had little expertise in warfare and relied on a strategy of devastation to draw the enemy out, they destroyed crops. Centuries later, the Byzantines recommended this strategy, even though they had developed siege technology, fire was the easiest way of harrying and destroying territories, and could be done easily and quickly by small forces. King Edward II of England pursued one raiding party in 1327 by following the lights of burning villages, one estimate records the destruction of over 2000 villages and castles during one raid in 1339. As well as causing the destruction of lands, foods and belongings, 13th century Mongol armies regularly sent out small detachments from their main forces to start grass fires and fire settlements as diversions. Devastation by fire was not only used as a tactic, some countries and armies employed scorched earth policies on their own land to deprive invading armies of all food. The English ran out of food and had to abandon the campaign, kitchener employed scorched earth tactics to subdue Boer forces in South Africa when three years of warfare had resulted in a stalemate. Such acts of aggression were not limited to wars against territorial enemies, Alexander the Great suppressed a revolt in Thebes, Greece in 335 BC, after which he ordered the city to be torched and laid waste. Alexander ordered a similar arson at Persepolis in 330 BC and it was a policy which was repeated throughout the period
13.
Arrowslit
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An arrowslit is a thin vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows. The interior walls behind an arrow loop are often cut away at an angle so that the archer has a wide field of view. Arrow slits come in a remarkable variety, a common and recognizable form is the cross. Balistraria can often be found in the walls of medieval battlements beneath the crenellations. The invention of the arrowslit is attributed to Archimedes during the siege of Syracuse in 214–212 BC, slits of the height of a man and about a palms width on the outside allowed defenders to shoot bows and scorpions from within the city walls. Although used in late Greece and Roman defences, arrowslits were not present in early Norman castles and they are only reintroduced to military architecture towards the end of the 12th century, with the castles of Dover and Framlingham in England, and Richard the Lionhearts Château Gaillard in France. In these early examples, arrowslits were positioned to protect sections of the castle wall, in the 13th century, it became common for arrowslits to be placed all around a castles defences. In its simplest form, an arrowslit was a vertical opening, however. It was common for arrowslits to widen to a triangle at the bottom, called a fishtail, immediately behind the slit there was a recess called an embrasure, this allowed a defender to get close to the slit without being too cramped. The width of the slit dictated the field of fire, but the field of vision could be enhanced by the addition of horizontal openings, they allowed defenders to view the target before it entered range. Usually, the slits were level, which created a cross shape. When an embrasure linked to more than one arrowslit it is called a multiple arrowslit, embrasure Loophole, legal term Notes Bibliography Media related to Arrowslits at Wikimedia Commons
14.
Archery
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Archery is the sport, practice or skill of using a bow to propel arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity, a person who participates in archery is typically called an archer or a bowman, and a person who is fond of or an expert at archery is sometimes called a toxophilite. The bow and arrow seems to have invented in the later Paleolithic or early Mesolithic periods. The oldest signs of its use in Europe come from the Stellmoor in the Ahrensburg valley north of Hamburg, Germany and dates from the late Paleolithic, about 10, 000–9000 BC. The arrows were made of pine and consisted of a mainshaft, there are no definite earlier bows, previous pointed shafts are known, but may have been launched by spear-throwers rather than bows. The oldest bows known so far come from the Holmegård swamp in Denmark, bows and arrows have been present in Egyptian culture since its predynastic origins. In the Levant, artifacts that could be arrow-shaft straighteners are known from the Natufian culture, the Khiamian and PPN A shouldered Khiam-points may well be arrowheads. Classical civilizations, notably the Assyrians, Greeks, Armenians, Persians, Parthians, Indians, Koreans, Chinese, akkadians were the first to use composite bows in war according to the victory stele of Naram-Sin of Akkad. The Welsh longbow proved its worth for the first time in Continental warfare at the Battle of Crécy, in the Americas archery was widespread at European contact. Archery was highly developed in Asia, the Sanskrit term for archery, dhanurveda, came to refer to martial arts in general. In East Asia, Goguryeo, one of the Three Kingdoms of Korea was well known for its regiments of skilled archers. Central Asian tribesmen and American Plains Indians became extremely adept at archery on horseback, lightly armoured, but highly mobile archers were excellently suited to warfare in the Central Asian steppes, and they formed a large part of armies that repeatedly conquered large areas of Eurasia. Shorter bows are more suited to use on horseback, and the bow enabled mounted archers to use powerful weapons. It is possible that barbarian peoples were responsible for introducing archery or certain types of bows to their civilized counterparts—the Xiong-nu, similarly, short bows seem to have been introduced to Japan by northeast Asian groups. The development of firearms rendered bows obsolete in warfare, albeit efforts were made to preserve archery practice. In Wales and England, for example, the government tried to practice with the Longbow until the end of the 16th century. This was because it was recognised that the bow had been instrumental to military success during the Hundred Years War, early firearms were inferior in rate-of-fire, and were very susceptible to wet weather
15.
Crossbow
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A crossbow, also known as horizontal bow, is a type of weapon based on the bow and consisting of a horizontal bow-like assembly mounted on a stock. It shoots projectiles called bolts or quarrels, the medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which were derived from the word ballista, a torsion siege engine resembling a crossbow. Historically, crossbows played a significant role in the warfare of East Asia, Europe, the introduction of the crossbow in ancient China caused a major shift in the role of projectile weaponry. The traditional bow and arrow had long been a weapon that required a considerable training, physical strength. A crossbow is a bow mounted on a stick with a mechanism in it that holds the bow string. The earliest designs featured a slot in the stock, down into which the string was placed, to shoot this design, a vertical rod is thrust up through a hole in the bottom of the notch, forcing the string out. This rod is attached perpendicular to a rear-facing lever called a trigger or tickler. A later design implemented a rolling cylindrical pawl called a nut to retain the string and this nut has a perpendicular center slot for the bolt, and an intersecting axial slot for the string, along with a lower face or slot against which the internal trigger sits. They often also have some form of strengthening internal sear or trigger face and these roller nuts were either free-floating in their close-fitting hole across the stock, tied in with a binding of sinew or other strong cording, or mounted on a metal axle or pins. Removable or integral plates of wood, ivory, or metal on the sides of the stock kept the nut in place laterally, nuts were made of antler, bone, or metal. Bows could be kept taut and ready to shoot for some time with little effort, the bow of early crossbows was made of a single piece of wood, usually ash or yew. Composite bows are made from layers of different material, often wood, horn and these composite bows made of several layers are much stronger and more efficient in releasing energy than simple wooden bows. As steel became more available in Europe around the 14th century. The crossbow prod is very short compared to ordinary bows, resulting in a draw length. This leads to a draw weight in order to store the same amount of energy. Furthermore, the thick prods are a bit less efficient at releasing energy, traditionally, the prod was often lashed to the stock with rope, whipcord, or other strong cording. This cording is called the bridle, the strings for a crossbow are typically made of strong fibers that would not tend to fray. Whipcord was very common, however linen, hemp, and sinew were used as well, in wet conditions, twisted mulberry root was occasionally used
16.
Tower of London
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The Tower of London, officially Her Majestys Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle located on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the edge of the square mile of the City of London by the open space known as Tower Hill. It was founded towards the end of 1066 as part of the Norman Conquest of England. The White Tower, which gives the castle its name, was built by William the Conqueror in 1078 and was a resented symbol of oppression. The castle was used as a prison from 1100 until 1952, a grand palace early in its history, it served as a royal residence. As a whole, the Tower is a complex of buildings set within two concentric rings of defensive walls and a moat. There were several phases of expansion, mainly under Kings Richard the Lionheart, Henry III, the general layout established by the late 13th century remains despite later activity on the site. The Tower of London has played a prominent role in English history and it was besieged several times, and controlling it has been important to controlling the country. The Tower has served variously as an armoury, a treasury, a menagerie, the home of the Royal Mint, a record office. From the early 14th century until the reign of Charles II, in the absence of the monarch, the Constable of the Tower is in charge of the castle. This was a powerful and trusted position in the medieval period, in the late 15th century, the castle was the prison of the Princes in the Tower. Under the Tudors, the Tower became used less as a royal residence and this use has led to the phrase sent to the Tower. Executions were more commonly held on the notorious Tower Hill to the north of the castle, in the latter half of the 19th century, institutions such as the Royal Mint moved out of the castle to other locations, leaving many buildings empty. Anthony Salvin and John Taylor took the opportunity to restore the Tower to what was felt to be its medieval appearance, in the First and Second World Wars, the Tower was again used as a prison and witnessed the executions of 12 men for espionage. After the Second World War, damage caused during the Blitz was repaired, today, the Tower of London is one of the countrys most popular tourist attractions. Under the ceremonial charge of the Constable of the Tower, it is cared for by the charity Historic Royal Palaces and is protected as a World Heritage Site. The Tower was orientated with its strongest and most impressive defences overlooking Saxon London and it would have visually dominated the surrounding area and stood out to traffic on the River Thames. The castle is made up of three wards, or enclosures, the innermost ward contains the White Tower and is the earliest phase of the castle
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York city walls
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York has, since Roman times, been defended by walls of one form or another. To this day, substantial portions of the walls remain, and they are known variously as York City Walls, the Bar Walls and the Roman walls. The original walls were built around 71 AD, when the Romans erected a fort occupying about 50 acres or 21.5 hectares near the banks of the River Ouse, the rectangle of walls was built as part of the forts defences. The line of the rest of the Roman wall went south-west from the east corner, the south corner was in what is now Feasegate, and from here the wall continued northwest to the west corner. The point where the wall crossed the via praetoria is marked by a plaque in St Helens Square near the Mansion House, the Multangular Tower in the Museum Gardens is the most noticeable and intact structure remaining from the Roman walls. It was constructed as part of a series of eight defensive towers. The walls are almost certainly the creation of Septimius Severus, however and it has ten sides, based on a regular fourteen-sided figure designed so that a circle through the internal angles of the internal face is tangential to the curve. The rear four sides are missing to provide access to the interior of the tower, a low plinth or skirt extends out from the lowest course. It stands almost 30 feet tall, has an diameter of 48.5 feet at the base and 46 feet above the skirt. Length of each varies from 7.5 feet to 11 feet on the inner face. The tower projects beyond the wall to a distance of 36.75 feet. The foundations are concrete, atop which the tower extends having a rubble, the Danes occupied the city in 867. By this time the Roman defences were in repair. The majority of the walls, which encircle the whole of the medieval city, date from the 12th – 14th century, with some reconstruction carried out in the 19th century. From the east corner of the Roman walls, the wall extends to Layerthorpe Bridge. After the bridge, the Kings Fishpool, a swamp created by the Normans damming of the River Foss, provided security for the city. The walls resume beyond the now canalised Foss at the Red Tower and they continue south and west around the Walmgate area, terminating in another tower, near York Castle, which was formerly surrounded by its own walls and a moat. A small stretch of wall on the west side of Tower Gardens terminates at Davy Tower, another brick tower located next to the River Ouse and this originally ran up to the castle walls, with a postern on Tower Street
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Hever Castle
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Hever Castle is located in the village of Hever, Kent, near Edenbridge,30 miles south-east of London, England. It began as a house, built in the 13th century. From 1462 to 1539, it was the seat of the Boleyn family, Anne Boleyn, the second queen consort of King Henry VIII of England, spent her early youth there after her father, Thomas Boleyn, inherited it in 1505. He had been there in 1477, and the castle passed to him upon the death of his father. It later came into the possession of King Henry VIIIs fourth wife, the castle is now open to the public as a tourist attraction. There have been three periods in the construction of this historic castle. The oldest part of the dates to 1270 and consisted of the gatehouse. The second period was when the castle, then in need of repair, was converted into a manor in 1462 by Geoffrey Boleyn, younger brother of Thomas Boleyn, Master of Gonville Hall and he added a Tudor dwelling within the walls. The third period of repair and renovation was in the 20th century, Geoffrey Boleyns grandson, Thomas Boleyn, inherited the castle in 1505. He lived there with his wife Lady Elizabeth Howard and their children George, Mary and it is not known if Anne was born at Hever, but she lived there until she was sent to the Netherlands in 1513 to receive an education at the court of the Archduchess Margaret. Henry VIII often used the nearby Bolebroke Castle to conduct his courtship with Anne, the property came into the possession of Henry VIII after the death of Annes father, Thomas Boleyn, in 1539. He bestowed it upon Anne of Cleves in 1540 as part of the settlement following the annulment of their marriage, Hever Castle still has one of Henry VIIIs private locks, taken with him on his various visits to noblemens houses and fitted to every door for his security. The property subsequently passed through various owners, including the Waldegrave family from 1557 to 1715, during this latter period of ownership, the castle fell into a poor state of repair, during which time it was leased to various private tenants. In 1903, it was acquired and restored by the American millionaire William Waldorf Astor and he added the Italian Garden to display his collection of statury and ornaments. In 1983, the Astor family sold the castle to Broadland Properties Limited, the estate is now used as a conference centre, but the castle and grounds are open to the public. Hever Castle is now a tourist attraction, drawing on its links to Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII, its mazes, gardens and lake. There is an events programme with assorted events, including jousting tournaments and archery displays in the summer months. The castle has become the venue for a triathlon
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Amberley Castle
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Amberley Castle stands in the village of Amberley, West Sussex. It was used as a fortress by the bishops of Chichester, the walls, gateway and two of the towers remain as a Grade I listed building and are now in use as a privately owned hotel. The site on which the castle belonged to the Bishops of Chichester. The first recorded structure was a lodge built by Bishop Ralph de Luffa in 1103. This was knocked down in 1140 by Bishop Seffrid I and replaced by an elaborate stone hall. A larger Great Hall was added by Bishop John Langton between 1305 and 1337, when the became known as the Bishop of Chichester’s Summer Palace. Bishop William Reade had the Great Hall knocked down and replaced by a one and in 1377 applied for. Walls up to 40 feet high were built round the whole site, Bishop Robert Sherborne, who died in 1536, was the last Bishop of Chichester to occupy the castle, after which it was leased by a number of tenants. The castle was sold to a Mr Butler but restored to the Bishop of Chichester after the Restoration of the Monarchy in 1660, the Butlers remained as tenants, followed by the Briscoes. In 1872, the Castle was sold to Lord Zouche, who used it as a lodge before selling it to Henry Fitzalan-Howard. Known as ‘The Builder Duke’, the 15th Duke renovated the castle, as well as modernising Arundel Castle and building Arundel Cathedral. In 1926, the passed to the Emmett family, in 1982 to Hollis Baker, in 1987 to an American family and in 1988 to Joy and Martin Cummings. From 2004 to 2011 it was owned by Relais & Châteaux, much modified, the castle is now owned by Andrew and Christina Brownsword and operated as an hotel in the Brownsword Hotel group. Castles in Great Britain and Ireland List of castles in England Amberley Castle, official web site
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House of Beaufort
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The House of Beaufort is an English noble family, which originated in the fourteenth century and played an important role in the Wars of the Roses in the fifteenth century. The name Beaufort refers to Montmorency-Beaufort, once the possession of John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, the family is descended from John Beaufort, John of Gaunts son by his then-mistress Katherine Swynford. Gaunt married Swynford in 1396, and their children were legitimized by Richard II and they had three other children, also Beaufort, Henry, Thomas, and Joan. The Beauforts were a powerful and wealthy family from the start, however, in 1406, Henry IV decided that although the Beauforts were legitimate, their genetic line could not be used to make any claim to the throne. John Beaufort had already been created Earl of Somerset in 1397 and his second son John became the first Duke of Somerset in 1443. The third son, Henry, became a bishop, Lord Chancellor, and a Cardinal, the son, Thomas, became Duke of Exeter. When the dynastic struggle known as the Wars of the Roses broke out in the fifteenth century, the Beauforts were the chief supporters of Henry VI. Henry VII traced his claim to the English crown through his mother, Margaret Beaufort, granddaughter of John Beaufort, the Beauforts suffered heavily in the Wars of the Roses. Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset and his three sons were killed in the war, leaving no legitimate male heir. The male line was continued through Charles Somerset, 1st Earl of Worcester, illegitimate son of Henry Beaufort, Henry Somerset, 3rd Marquess of Worcester was the great-great-great-great-grandson of Charles Somerset. He assisted in the Restoration to the throne of Charles II, in 1682, Charles created Henry Somerset the first Duke of Beaufort. The Beaufort family in the line is today represented by its cadet branch the House of Somerset, whose senior representative is David Somerset. These included, John Beaufort, 1st Earl of Somerset, Henry Beaufort, 2nd Earl of Somerset. John Beaufort, 1st Duke of Somerset, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby, mother of King Henry VII of England Joan Beaufort, Queen of Scotland Thomas Beaufort, Count of Perche Edmund Beaufort, 2nd Duke of Somerset. Henry Beaufort, 3rd Duke of Somerset, Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Stafford Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset. Bibliography Ailes, Adrian, The Origins of The Royal Arms of England, Reading, Graduate Center for Medieval Studies, University of Reading, ISBN0704907763 Brooke-Little, J. P. Potter, Inc. ISBN0517545586 Pinches, John Harvey, Pinches, Rosemary, The Royal Heraldry of England, Heraldry Today, Slough, Buckinghamshire, Hollen Street Press, ISBN 0-900455-25-X
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Henry VII of England
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Henry VII was King of England from seizing the crown on 22 August 1485 until his death on 21 April 1509, and the first monarch of the House of Tudor. He ruled the Principality of Wales until 29 November 1489 and was Lord of Ireland, Henry won the throne when his forces defeated King Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth Field, the culmination of the Wars of the Roses. Henry was the last king of England to win his throne on the field of battle and he cemented his claim by marrying Elizabeth of York, daughter of Edward IV and niece of Richard III. Henry was successful in restoring the power and stability of the English monarchy after the civil war and his supportive stance of the islands wool industry and stand off with the Low Countries had long lasting benefits to all the British Isles economy. However, the capriciousness and lack of due process that many would tarnish his legacy and were soon ended upon Henry VIIs death. According to the contemporary historian Polydore Vergil, simple greed underscored the means by which royal control was over-asserted in Henrys final years, Henry VII was born at Pembroke Castle on 28 January 1457 to Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond. His father, Edmund Tudor, 1st Earl of Richmond, died three months before his birth, Henrys paternal grandfather, Owen Tudor, originally from the Tudors of Penmynydd, Isle of Anglesey in Wales, had been a page in the court of Henry V. He rose to one of the Squires to the Body to the King after military service at the Battle of Agincourt. Owen is said to have married the widow of Henry V. One of their sons was Edmund Tudor, father of Henry VII, Edmund was created Earl of Richmond in 1452, and formally declared legitimate by Parliament. Henrys main claim to the English throne derived from his mother through the House of Beaufort, Henrys mother, Lady Margaret Beaufort, was a great-granddaughter of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, fourth son of Edward III, and his third wife Katherine Swynford. Katherine was Gaunts mistress for about 25 years, when married in 1396, they already had four children. Thus Henrys claim was somewhat tenuous, it was from a woman, in theory, the Portuguese and Castilian royal families had a better claim as descendants of Catherine of Lancaster, the daughter of John of Gaunt and his second wife Constance of Castile. Gaunts nephew Richard II legitimised Gaunts children by Katherine Swynford by Letters Patent in 1397, in 1407, Henry IV, who was Gaunts son by his first wife, issued new Letters Patent confirming the legitimacy of his half-siblings, but also declaring them ineligible for the throne. Henry IVs action was of doubtful legality, as the Beauforts were previously legitimised by an Act of Parliament, but it further weakened Henrys claim. Henry also made political capital out of his Welsh ancestry, for example in attracting military support. He came from an old, established Anglesey family that claimed descent from Cadwaladr and he took it, as well as the standard of St George, on his procession through London after the victory at Bosworth. A contemporary writer and Henrys biographer, Bernard André, also much of Henrys Welsh descent
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Tudor rose
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The Tudor rose is the traditional floral heraldic emblem of England and takes its name and origins from the Tudor dynasty. When Henry VII took the crown of England from Richard III in battle, the white rose versus red rose juxtaposition was Henrys invention. The historian Thomas Penn writes, The Lancastrian red rose was an emblem that barely existed before Henry VII, contemporaries certainly did not refer to the traumatic civil conflict of the 15th century as the Wars of the Roses. For the best part of a quarter-century, from 1461 to 1485, there was one royal rose, and it was white. The roses were actually created after the war by Henry VII, on his marriage, Henry VII adopted the Tudor rose badge conjoining the White Rose of York and the Red Rose of Lancaster. The Tudor rose is occasionally seen divided in quarters and vertically red, more often, the Tudor rose is depicted as a double rose, white on red and is always described, heraldically, as proper. During his reign, Henry VIII had the legendary Round Table at Winchester Castle – then believed to be genuine – repainted, the new paint scheme included a Tudor rose in the centre. The Tudor rose may also appear dimidiated to form a compound badge, james I of England and VI of Scotland used a badge consisting of a Tudor rose dimidiated with a thistle and surmounted by a royal crown. The crowned and slipped Tudor Rose is used as the plant badge of England, as Scotland uses the thistle, Ireland uses the shamrock, and Wales uses the leek. As such, it is seen on the uniforms of the Yeomen Warders at the Tower of London. It features in the design of the British Twenty Pence coin minted between 1982 and 2008, and in the coat of arms of the United Kingdom. It also features on the coat of arms of Canada, the Tudor rose makes up part of the cap badge of the Intelligence Corps of the British Army. It is also used as the symbol of the English Tourist Board. And as part of the badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, the Tudor Rose is used as the emblem of the Nautical Training Corps, a uniformed youth organisation founded in Brighton in 1944 with 20 units in South East England. The Corps badge has the Tudor Rose on the shank of an anchor with the motto For God, Queen and it is also used as part of the Corps cap badge. The borough of Queens in New York City uses a Tudor Rose on its flag, the Tudor rose is also used in the badges of some Portuguese Army units, after William, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe, namely Lisbon Classification and Selection Cabinet and Graça Fort. The city of York, South Carolina is nicknamed The White Rose City, flag of England Red Rose of Lancaster Tudor dynasty Wars of the Roses White Rose of York Royal Badges of England Boutell, Charles, A. C. Fox-Davies, R B Utting. London and Edinburgh, T C and E C Jack https, London and Edinburgh, T C and E C Jack
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Royal badges of England
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In heraldry, the royal badges of England comprise the heraldic badges that were used by the monarchs of the Kingdom of England. Heraldic badges are distinctive to a person or family, similar to the arms, but unlike them, the badge is not an integral component of a coat of arms, although they can be displayed alongside them. Badges are in complete and independent and can be displayed alone. Badges are displayed on standards and personal objects, as well as on private, Royal badges have been in use since the earliest stages of English heraldry. They are invariably simple devices, and numerous examples were adopted and inherited by various sovereigns and these are found in the glass and fabric of royal palaces and memorial chapels, and sometimes in the houses of those who enjoyed or anticipated royal patronage. The earliest royal heraldic badge is a sprig of common broom, the broom plant or Plantegenest, thus became Geoffreys nickname, Plantagenet. The heraldic device also became the name of the dynasty that was borne from him, the Plantagenet kings would use this badge, sometimes combining it with other more personal devices. King Henry II used the planta genista as well as an escarbuncle, King Richard I used a star and crescent device, which was also adopted by his brother King John. King Henry III adopted the broom sprig and the star and crescent and his son Edward I in addition to these, added the golden rose device that he inherited from his mother Eleanor of Provence. King Edward II further added the castle of Castile, inherited from his mother Eleanor of Castile. It was actually Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York who adopted the Plantagenet name for him and it is obscure why Richard choose the name but it emphasised Richards hierarchal status as Geoffreys, and six English kings, patrilineal descendant during the Wars of the Roses. Badges came into use by the reign of King Edward III. The king himself deployed many badges alluding to his lineage, as well as new personal devices, citations Bibliography Bedingfeld, Henry, Gwynn-Jones, Peter. Heraldic Badges in England and Wales, willement, Thomas, Regal Heraldry, London, W. Wilson Heraldic badge Royal Standards of England Royal Supporters of England Queens Beasts Royal Arms of England Prince of Waless feathers
