1.
Subprefectures in France
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In France, a subprefecture is the administrative center of a departmental arrondissement that does not contain the prefecture for its department. The term also applies to the building houses the administrative headquarters for an arrondissement. The civil servant in charge of a subprefecture is the subprefect, between May 1982 and February 1988, subprefects were known instead by the title commissaire adjoint de la République. Where the administration of an arrondissement is carried out from a prefecture, the municipal arrondissements of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille) are divisions of the city rather than the prefecture, and so are not arrondissements in the same sense
2.
Communes of France
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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
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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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
4.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
5.
Regions of France
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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
6.
Brittany (administrative region)
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Brittany is one of the 18 regions of France. It is named after the historic and geographic region of Brittany, the region of Brittany was created in 1941 on 80% of the territory of traditional Brittany. The remaining 20% is now called the Loire-Atlantique department which is included in the Pays de la Loire region, whose capital, part of the reason why Brittany was split between two present-day regions was to avoid the rivalry between Rennes and Nantes. Although Nantes was the capital of the Duchy of Brittany until the sixteenth century. Despite that, the Chambre des comptes had remained in Nantes until 1789, although there were previous plans to create Régions out of the Départements, like the Clémentel plan or the Vichy regionalisation programme, these plans had no effect or else were abolished in 1945. The current French Regions date from 1956 and were created by gathering Departements together, in Brittany, this led to the creation of the new Region of Brittany, which included only four out of the five historical Breton départements. The term region was created by the Law of Decentralisation. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. See History of Brittany Brittany, lying in the northwest corner of France, is one of the historic provinces of France. The most Atlantic of Frances regions, Brittany is proud of its Celtic heritage and it enjoys a mild climate somewhat warmer though not necessarily drier than the climate of the southwest of England. Quimper, the capital of the Finistère, and St. Brieuc and it is also the venue for Brittanys annual Interceltiques music and culture festival. Despite its limited size, Brittany is quite a diverse region, the south coast, facing onto the Bay of Biscay, is flatter, much milder, and graced by a number of large sandy beaches. The sea here is warmer in summer, the backbone of Brittany is a granite ridge stretching from east to west, peaking in the Monts dArrée. But most of inland Brittany is gentle farming country, a famous for its milk and butter. In cultural terms, Brittany is very distinctive, with its own language and Celtic cultural tradition that set it apart from the rest of France. The Breton language, though not much used in life, and not understood by most of the modern population, has made a comeback in recent years. Celtic traditions are alive or recalled today in Breton folk music, its Celtic festivals, the name of Brittany derives from settlers from Great Britain, who fled that island in the wake of the Anglo-Saxon conquest of England between the fifth and seventh centuries. Unlike the rest of France and Brittany, Lower Brittany has maintained a distinctly Celtic language, Breton and it was the dominant language in Lower, or western, Brittany until the mid-20th century
7.
Departments of France
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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
8.
Ille-et-Vilaine
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Ille-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4,1790 and it was created from part of the province of Brittany. Also the English Channel borders the department to the north, the department is named after its two main rivers, the Ille and the Vilaine, whose confluence is in Rennes, the capital of the department and of the region. The elevated hills bordering this basin are covered by several old forests now exploited by men for the production of wood, the basin itself is a rich agriculture area, as well as the north-west of the department near the Rance. The population has grown rapidly over the last few decades and was estimated at 1,019,923 in January 2013, gallo is a historic minority language spoken in eastern Brittany. Gallo and Breton are both studied at the University of Rennes, a recent study shows that Breton speakers in this region represent 3. 3% of the total number of Breton speakers. The Breton speakers aged 18–30 in this region represent 12. 7% of the number of Breton speakers of that age group. This is because there are relatively few elder speakers but many people are learning the language, the study says that about 1,800 people are learning it. The President of the General Council is the Socialist Jean-Louis Tourenne since the French cantonal elections,2004, the city of Rennes and its suburbs are the original base of the rapid Socialist growth in the department. The city has been governed by Socialist Mayors since 1977, notably by Edmond Hervé between 1977 and 2008, since then, the growth of middle-class suburbs have helped the Socialists, who have been rapidly gaining strength in those formerly right-leaning areas. The right remains strong in a strongly Catholic area from outside Redon to Vitré or Fougères, in addition, the right is strong in the wealthy coastal area of Saint-Malo and Dinard
9.
Daylight saving time
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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
10.
Central European Summer Time
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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
11.
Gallo language
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Gallo is a regional language of France. It is not as commonly spoken as it once was, as the form of French now predominates. Gallo is classified as one of the Oïl languages, Gallo was originally spoken in the Marches of Neustria, which now corresponds to the border lands of Brittany and Normandy and its former heart in Le Mans, Maine. Gallo was the spoken language of the leaders of the Norman conquest of England, most of whom originated in Upper Brittany. Thus Gallo was a vehicle for the subsequent transformation of English, as an Oïl language, Gallo forms part of a dialect continuum which includes Norman, Picard and the Poitevin dialect, among others. One of the features that distinguishes it from Norman is the absence of Old Norse influence, there is some limited mutual intelligibility with adjacent varieties of the Norman language along the linguistic frontier and with Guernésiais and Jèrriais. However, as the dialect continuum shades towards Mayennais, there is a clear isogloss. The clearest isogloss is that distinguishing Gallo from Breton, a Brittonic Celtic language traditionally spoken in the territory of Brittany. In the west, the vocabulary of Gallo has been influenced by contact with Breton, the influence of Breton decreases eastwards across Gallo-speaking territory. The term gallo is sometimes spelled galo or gallot and it is also referred to as langue gallèse or britto-roman in Brittany. In south Lower Normandy and in the west of Pays de la Loire it is referred to as patois. Gallo comes from the Breton word gall, meaning “foreigner”, “French” or “non-Breton”, the Celts settled in Armorica toward the 8th century BC. Some of early groups mentioned in the records of the Greeks were the Redones. They spoke dialects of the Gaulish language and maintained important economic ties with the British Isles, julius Caesar’s invasion of Armorica in 56 BC led to a sort of Romanization of the population. Gaulish continued to be spoken in this region until the 6th century, especially in less populated, when the Bretons emigrated to Armorica around this time, they found a people who had retained their Celtic language and culture. The Bretons were therefore able to integrate easily, in contrast to Armorica’s western countryside, Nantes and Rennes were Roman cultural centres. Following the Migration Period, these two cities, as well as regions to the east of the Vilaine, including the town Vannes, fell under Frankish rule. Thus, during the Merovingian dynasty, the population of Armorica was diverse, consisting of Gaulish tribes with assimilated Bretons, as well as Romanized cities and Germanic tribes
12.
Breton language
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Breton /ˈbrɛtən/ is a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Brittany. Breton is most closely related to Cornish, both being Southwestern Brittonic languages, Welsh and the extinct Cumbric are the more distantly related Brittonic languages. The other regional language of Brittany, Gallo, is a langue doïl, Gallo is consequently close to French, although not mutually intelligible, and a Romance language descended from Latin. However, the number of children attending bilingual classes has risen 33% between 2006 and 2012 to 14,709, Breton is spoken in West Brittany, roughly to the west of a line linking Plouha and La Roche-Bernard. It comes from a Brittonic language community that extended from Great Britain to Armorica and had even established a toehold in Galicia. Old Breton is attested from the 9th century and it was the language of the upper classes until the 12th century, after which it became the language of commoners in Lower Brittany. The nobility, followed by the bourgeoisie, adopted French, the written language of the Duchy of Brittany was Latin, switching to French in the 15th century. There exists a tradition of Breton literature. Some Old Breton vocabulary remains in the present day as philosophical, during the French Revolution, the government introduced policies favouring French over the regional languages, which it pejoratively referred to as patois. The revolutionaries assumed that reactionary and monarchist forces preferred regional languages to try to keep the peasant masses underinformed, in 1794, Bertrand Barère submitted his report on the patois to the Committee of Public Safety in which he said that federalism and superstition speak Breton. Teachers humiliated students for using their regional languages, and such practices prevailed until the late 1960s, the majority of todays speakers are more than 60 years old, and Breton is now classified as an endangered language. At the beginning of the 20th century, half of the population of Lower Brittany knew only Breton, by 1950, there were only 100,000 monolingual Bretons, and this rapid decline has continued, with likely no monolingual speakers left today. A statistical survey in 1997 found around 300,000 speakers in Lower Brittany, few 15- to 19-year-olds spoke Breton. In 1925, Professor Roparz Hemon founded the Breton-language review Gwalarn, during its 19-year run, Gwalarn tried to raise the language to the level of a great international language. Its publication encouraged the creation of literature in all genres. In 1946, Al Liamm replaced Gwalarn, other Breton-language periodicals have been published, which established a fairly large body of literature for a minority language. In 1977, Diwan schools were founded to teach Breton by immersion and they taught a few thousand young people from elementary school to high school. See the education section for more information, the Asterix comic series has been translated into Breton
13.
Brittany
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Brittany is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Brittany has also referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and its land area is 34,023 km². Since reorganisation in 1956, the administrative region of Brittany comprises only four of the five Breton departments. The remaining area of old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department around Nantes, at the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. Of these, 71% lived in the region of Brittany, while 29% lived in the Loire-Atlantique department, in 2012, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes, Rennes, and Brest. Brittany is the homeland of the Breton people and is recognised by the Celtic League as one of the six Celtic nations. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, the word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means Britons land. This word had been used by the Romans since the 1st century to refer to Great Britain and this word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη or Βρεττανίαι, used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Islands around 320 BC. This term probably comes from a Gallic word, aremorica, which close to the sea. Another name, Letauia, was used until the 12th century and it possibly means wide and flat or to expand and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw. Later, authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth used the terms Britannia minor, breton-speaking people may pronounce the word Breizh in two different ways, according to their region of origin. Breton can be divided into two dialects, the KLT and the dialect of Vannes. KLT speakers pronounce it and would write it Breiz, while the Vannetais speakers pronounce it, the official spelling is a compromise between both variants, with a z and an h together. In 1941, efforts to unify the dialects led to the creation of the so-called Breton zh, on its side, Gallo language has never had a widely accepted writing system and several ones coexist. For instance, the name of the region in that language can be written Bertaèyn in ELG script, or Bertègn in MOGA, Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe and their only original feature was a distinct culture, called Colombanian. One of the oldest hearths in the world has found in Plouhinec
14.
English Channel
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The English Channel, also called simply the Channel, is the body of water that separates southern England from northern France, and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. It is about 560 km long and varies in width from 240 km at its widest to 33.3 km in the Strait of Dover and it is the smallest of the shallow seas around the continental shelf of Europe, covering an area of some 75,000 km2. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the English Channel as follows, a line joining Isle Vierge to Lands End. The southwestern limit of the North Sea, the IHO defines the southwestern limit of the North Sea as a line joining the Walde Lighthouse and Leathercoat Point. The Walde Lighthouse is 6 km east of Calais, and Leathercoat Point is at the end of St Margarets Bay. The Strait of Dover, at the Channels eastern end, is its narrowest point and it is relatively shallow, with an average depth of about 120 m at its widest part, reducing to a depth of about 45 m between Dover and Calais. Eastwards from there the adjoining North Sea reduces to about 26 m in the Broad Fourteens where it lies over the watershed of the land bridge between East Anglia and the Low Countries. It reaches a depth of 180 m in the submerged valley of Hurds Deep,48 km west-northwest of Guernsey. The eastern region along the French coast between Cherbourg and the mouth of the Seine river at Le Havre is frequently referred to as the Bay of the Seine. There are several islands in the Channel, the most notable being the Isle of Wight off the English coast. The coastline, particularly on the French shore, is indented, several small islands close to the coastline, including Chausey. The Cotentin Peninsula in France juts out into the Channel, whilst on the English side there is a parallel channel known as the Solent between the Isle of Wight and the mainland. The Celtic Sea is to the west of the Channel, the time difference of about six hours between high water at the eastern and western limits of the Channel is indicative of the tidal range being amplified further by resonance. It was never defined as a border and the names were more or less descriptive. It was not considered as the property of a nation, strangely, before the development of the modern nations, British scholars very often referred to it as Gaulish and the French one as British or English. The name English Channel has been used since the early 18th century. In modern Dutch, however, it is known as Het Kanaal, later, it has also been known as the British Channel or the British Sea having been called the Oceanus Britannicus by the 2nd-century geographer Ptolemy. The same name is used on an Italian map of about 1450, the Anglo-Saxon texts often call it Sūð-sǣ as opposed to Norð-sǣ
15.
Portsmouth
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Portsmouth is a port city in Hampshire, England, mainly on Portsea Island,70 miles south-west of London and 19 miles south-east of Southampton. It is the United Kingdoms only island city and has a population of 205,400, the city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Southampton and the towns of Havant, Waterlooville, Eastleigh, Fareham, and Gosport. The citys history can be traced to Roman times, a significant naval port for centuries, Portsmouth has the worlds oldest dry dock and was Englands first line of defence during the French invasion in 1545. Special Palmerston Forts were built in 1859 in anticipation of invasion from continental Europe. The worlds first mass production line was set up in the city, during the Second World War, the city was a pivotal embarkation point for the D-Day landings and was bombed extensively in the Portsmouth Blitz, which resulted in the deaths of 930 people. In 1982, the city housed the entirety of the forces in the Falklands War. Her Majestys Yacht Britannia left the city to oversee the transfer of Hong Kong in 1997, Portsmouth is one of the worlds best known ports. HMNB Portsmouth is the largest dockyard for the Royal Navy and is home to two-thirds of the UKs surface fleet, the city is home to some famous ships, including HMS Warrior, the Tudor carrack Mary Rose and Horatio Nelsons flagship, HMS Victory. The former HMS Vernon naval shore establishment has been redeveloped as a park known as Gunwharf Quays. Portsmouth is among the few British cities with two cathedrals, the Anglican Cathedral of St Thomas and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, the waterfront and Portsmouth Harbour are dominated by the Spinnaker Tower, one of the United Kingdoms tallest structures at 560 feet. Nearby Southsea is a resort with a pier amusement park. Portsmouth F. C. the citys football club, play their home games at Fratton Park. The city has several railway stations that connect to London Waterloo amongst other lines in southern England. Portsmouth International Port is a cruise ship and ferry port for international destinations. The port is the second busiest in the United Kingdom after Dover, the city formerly had its own airport, Portsmouth Airport, until its closure in 1973. The University of Portsmouth enrols 23,000 students and is ranked among the worlds best modern universities, Portsmouth is also the birthplace of author Charles Dickens and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The Romans built Portus Adurni, a fort, at nearby Portchester in the third century. The citys Old English name Portesmuða is derived from port, meaning a haven, and muða and it was mentioned in an Anglo-Saxon Chronicle entry for the year 501, Her cwom Port on Bretene 7 his. ii
16.
Weymouth, Dorset
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Weymouth /ˈweɪməθ/ is a seaside town in Dorset, England, situated on a sheltered bay at the mouth of the River Wey on the English Channel coast. The town is 11 kilometres south of Dorchester and 8 kilometres north of the Isle of Portland, the town is the third largest settlement in Dorset after the unitary authorities of Bournemouth and Poole. The A354 road bridge connects Weymouth to Portland, which form the borough of Weymouth. Weymouth originated as a settlement on a site to the south and west of Weymouth Harbour. The town developed from the mid 12th century onwards, but was not noted until the 13th century, by 1252 it was established as a seaport and became a chartered borough. Melcombe Regis developed separately on the peninsula to the north of the harbour, French raiders found the port so accessible that in 1433 the staple was transferred to Poole. Melcombe Regis is thought to be the first port at which the Black Death came into England in June 1348, possibly either aboard a spice ship or an army ship. In their early history Weymouth and Melcombe Regis were rivals for trade and industry, both towns have become known as Weymouth, despite Melcombe Regis being the main centre. The villages of Upwey, Broadwey, Preston, Wyke Regis, Chickerell, Southill, Radipole, King Henry VIII had two Device Forts built to protect the south Dorset coast from invasion in the 1530s, Sandsfoot Castle in Wyke Regis and Portland Castle in Castletown. Parts of Sandsfoot have fallen into the sea due to coastal erosion, during the English Civil War, around 250 people were killed in the local Crabchurch Conspiracy in February 1645. In 1635, on board the ship Charity, around 100 emigrants from the crossed the Atlantic Ocean and settled in Weymouth. More townspeople emigrated to the Americas to bolster the population of Weymouth, Nova Scotia and Salem, Massachusetts, there are memorials to this on the side of Weymouth Harbour and near to Weymouth Pavilion and Weymouth Sea Life Tower. The architect Sir Christopher Wren was the Member of Parliament for Weymouth in 1702, when he designed St Pauls Cathedral, Wren had it built out of Portland Stone, the famous stone of Portlands quarries. Sir James Thornhill was born in the White Hart public house in Melcombe Regis, Thornhill became an artist, and coincidentally decorated the interior of St Pauls Cathedral. A mounted white horse representing the King is carved into the hills of Osmington. Weymouths esplanade is composed of Georgian terraces, which have been converted into apartments, shops, hotels, statues of Victoria, George III and Sir Henry Edwards, Member of Parliament for the borough from 1867 to 1885, and two war memorials stand along the Esplanade. In the centre of the town lies Weymouth Harbour, although it was the reason for the towns foundation, since the 18th century they have been linked by successive bridges over the narrowest part of the harbour. The present Town Bridge, built in 1930, is a bascule bridge allowing boats to access the inner harbour
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Poole
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Poole /puːl/ is a large coastal town and seaport in the county of Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is 33 kilometres east of Dorchester, and adjoins Bournemouth to the east, the local council is Borough of Poole and was made a unitary authority in 1997, gaining administrative independence from Dorset County Council. The borough had a population of 147,645 at the 2011 census, together with Bournemouth and Christchurch, the town forms the South East Dorset conurbation with a total population of over 465,000. Human settlement in the dates back to before the Iron Age. The earliest recorded use of the name was in the 12th century when the town began to emerge as an important port. Later, the town had important trade links with North America and, at its peak during the 18th century, in the Second World War, Poole was one of the main departing points for the Normandy landings. Poole is a tourist resort, attracting visitors with its natural harbour, history. The town has a port with cross-Channel freight and passenger ferry services. The headquarters of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution are in Poole, despite their names, Poole is the home of The Arts University Bournemouth, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra and a significant part of Bournemouth University. The towns name derives from a corruption of the Celtic word bol, variants include Pool, Pole, Poles, Poll, Polle, Polman, and Poolman. The area around modern Poole has been inhabited for the past 2,500 years, during the 3rd century BC, Celts known as the Durotriges moved from hilltop settlements at Maiden Castle and Badbury Rings to heathland around the River Frome and Poole Harbour. The Romans landed at Poole during their conquest of Britain in the 1st century and took over an Iron Age settlement at Hamworthy, in Anglo-Saxon times, Poole was included in the Kingdom of Wessex. The settlement was used as a base for fishing and the harbour a place for ships to anchor on their way to the River Frome, following the Norman conquest of England, Poole rapidly grew into a busy port as the importance of Wareham declined. The town was part of the manor of Canford, but does not exist as an entry in the Domesday Book. The earliest written mention of Poole occurred on a document from 1196 describing the newly built St Jamess Chapel in La Pole. The Lord of the Manor, Sir William Longspée, sold a charter of liberties to the burgesses of Poole in 1248 to raise funds for his participation in the Seventh Crusade. Consequently, Poole gained a measure of freedom from feudal rule and acquired the right to appoint a mayor. In 1568, Poole gained further autonomy when it was granted independence from Dorset
18.
Saint-Servan
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Saint-Servan is a town of western France, in Brittany, situated 2 miles from the ferry port of St Malo. It is renowned for its shops and restaurants, in June 1758, during the Seven Years War, British troops captured Saint-Servan as part of the Raid on St Malo. The British burnt 30 privateers and a hundred other ships before they withdrew and its population in 1906 was 1,965. The commune of Saint-Servan was merged, together with Paramé, into the commune of Saint-Malo in 1967, originally, the area was known as Aleth, whose first bishop was the 5th century Saint Malo. Today, Catholic pilgrims can visit the House of the Cross at Saint-Servan where Saint Jeanne Jugan performed her works for the Little Sisters of the Poor. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
19.
Falkland Islands
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The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 miles east of South Americas southern Patagonian coast, the archipelago, with an area of 4,700 square miles, comprises East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory, the Falklands have internal self-governance, the islands capital is Stanley on East Falkland. Controversy exists over the Falklands discovery and subsequent colonisation by Europeans, at various times, the islands have had French, British, Spanish, and Argentine settlements. Britain reasserted its rule in 1833, although Argentina maintains its claim to the islands, in April 1982, Argentine forces temporarily occupied the islands. British administration was restored two months later at the end of the Falklands War, most Falklanders favour the archipelago remaining a UK overseas territory, but its sovereignty status is part of an ongoing dispute between Argentina and the United Kingdom. The population primarily consists of native-born Falkland Islanders, the majority of British descent, other ethnicities include French, Gibraltarian and Scandinavian. Immigration from the United Kingdom, the South Atlantic island of Saint Helena, under the British Nationality Act 1983, Falkland Islanders are British citizens. The islands lie on the boundary of the oceanic and tundra climate zones. They are home to bird populations, although many no longer breed on the main islands because of competition from introduced species. Major economic activities include fishing, tourism and sheep farming, with an emphasis on high-quality wool exports, oil exploration, licensed by the Falkland Islands Government, remains controversial as a result of maritime disputes with Argentina. The Falkland Islands take their name from the Falkland Sound, a strait separating the two main islands. The name Falkland was applied to the channel by John Strong, Strong named the strait in honour of Anthony Cary, 5th Viscount of Falkland, the Treasurer of the Navy who sponsored their journey. The name Falklands was not applied to the islands until 1765, the term Falklands is a standard abbreviation used to refer to the islands. The Spanish name for the archipelago, Islas Malvinas, derives from the French Îles Malouines — the name given to the islands by French explorer Louis-Antoine de Bougainville in 1764, Bougainville, who founded the islands first settlement, named the area after the port of Saint-Malo. The port, located in the Brittany region of western France, was in turn named after St. Malo, in Spanish, the territory was designated as Islas Malvinas. The nomenclature used by the United Nations for statistical processing purposes is Falkland Islands, although Fuegians from Patagonia may have visited the Falkland Islands in prehistoric times, the islands were uninhabited at the time of their discovery by Europeans. Claims of discovery date back to the 16th century, but no consensus exists on whether these early explorers discovered the Falklands or other islands in the South Atlantic, whether or not the settlements were aware of each others existence is debated by historians
20.
Archipelago
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An archipelago, sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi-, in Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the Archipelago was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands. It is now used to refer to any group or, sometimes. Archipelagos may be isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland which form an archipelago, archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by subduction zones or hotspots, but may also be the result of erosion, deposition, and land elevation. Depending on their origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands, continental fragments. Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic displacement. Indonesia, Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines, New Zealand, Maldives, the Bahamas, Greece, Hawaii, the largest archipelagic state in the world by area and population is Indonesia. Island arc List of landforms List of archipelagos by number of islands List of archipelagos List of islands Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Archipelago
21.
Kingdom of France
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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
22.
Louis Antoine de Bougainville
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Louis-Antoine, Comte de Bougainville was a French admiral and explorer. A contemporary of the British explorer James Cook, he took part in the Seven Years War in North America, Bougainville Island of Papua New Guinea was named for him. Bougainville was born in Paris, the son of a notary, in early life, he studied law, but soon abandoned the profession. In 1753 he entered the army in the corps of musketeers, at the age of twenty-five he published a treatise on integral calculus, as a supplement to De lHôpitals treatise, Des infiniment petits. In 1755 he was sent to London as secretary to the French embassy, in 1756 Bougainville was stationed in Canada as captain of dragoons and aide-de-camp to the Marquis de Montcalm. He took a part in the capture of Fort Oswego in 1756. He was wounded in 1758 at the defence of Fort Carillon. He sailed back to France the following winter, under orders from the marquis to obtain additional military resources for the colony, during this crossing, he continued to learn about the ways of the sea, skills that would later serve him well. Having distinguished himself in the war against Britain, Bougainville was rewarded with the Cross of St Louis, when he returned to Canada the following year, he had gained few supplies. The metropolitan officials had decided that, When the house is on fire, during the pivotal year of 1759, Bougainville participated in the defence of fortified Quebec City, the capital of New France. He did not have sufficient time, however, to rally his troops and attack the British rear when they ascended the Plains of Abraham. He attempted to stop the British advance from his entrenchments at Île-aux-Noix and he was among the officers who accompanied Lévis to Saint Helens Island off Montreal for the last French stand in North America before the general capitulation of 1761. Of the war, Bougainville wrote in his journal, It is a kind of war. The very air we breathe is contagious of insensibility and hardness and he spent the remaining years of the Seven Years War as a diplomat, helping to negotiate the Treaty of Paris. Under this France ceded most of New France east of the Mississippi River to the British Empire, after the peace, the French decided to colonise the Isles Malouines. These islands were at that time almost unknown, at his own expense, Bougainville undertook the task of resettling Acadians who had been deported to France by the British because of their refusal to sign loyalty oaths. On 15 September 1763, Bougainville set out from France with the frigate LAigle and this expedition included the naturalist and writer Antoine-Joseph Pernety, the priest and chronicler accompanying the expedition, together with the engineer and geographer Lhuillier de la Serre. The expedition arrived in late January 1764 in French Bay and they landed at Port Louis named after King Louis XV
23.
Ancient Rome
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In its many centuries of existence, the Roman state evolved from a monarchy to a classical republic and then to an increasingly autocratic empire. Through conquest and assimilation, it came to dominate the Mediterranean region and then Western Europe, Asia Minor, North Africa and it is often grouped into classical antiquity together with ancient Greece, and their similar cultures and societies are known as the Greco-Roman world. Ancient Roman civilisation has contributed to modern government, law, politics, engineering, art, literature, architecture, technology, warfare, religion, language and society. Rome professionalised and expanded its military and created a system of government called res publica, the inspiration for modern republics such as the United States and France. By the end of the Republic, Rome had conquered the lands around the Mediterranean and beyond, its domain extended from the Atlantic to Arabia, the Roman Empire emerged with the end of the Republic and the dictatorship of Augustus Caesar. 721 years of Roman-Persian Wars started in 92 BC with their first war against Parthia and it would become the longest conflict in human history, and have major lasting effects and consequences for both empires. Under Trajan, the Empire reached its territorial peak, Republican mores and traditions started to decline during the imperial period, with civil wars becoming a prelude common to the rise of a new emperor. Splinter states, such as the Palmyrene Empire, would divide the Empire during the crisis of the 3rd century. Plagued by internal instability and attacked by various migrating peoples, the part of the empire broke up into independent kingdoms in the 5th century. This splintering is a landmark historians use to divide the ancient period of history from the pre-medieval Dark Ages of Europe. King Numitor was deposed from his throne by his brother, Amulius, while Numitors daughter, Rhea Silvia, because Rhea Silvia was raped and impregnated by Mars, the Roman god of war, the twins were considered half-divine. The new king, Amulius, feared Romulus and Remus would take back the throne, a she-wolf saved and raised them, and when they were old enough, they returned the throne of Alba Longa to Numitor. Romulus became the source of the citys name, in order to attract people to the city, Rome became a sanctuary for the indigent, exiled, and unwanted. This caused a problem for Rome, which had a large workforce but was bereft of women, Romulus traveled to the neighboring towns and tribes and attempted to secure marriage rights, but as Rome was so full of undesirables they all refused. Legend says that the Latins invited the Sabines to a festival and stole their unmarried maidens, leading to the integration of the Latins, after a long time in rough seas, they landed at the banks of the Tiber River. Not long after they landed, the men wanted to take to the sea again, one woman, named Roma, suggested that the women burn the ships out at sea to prevent them from leaving. At first, the men were angry with Roma, but they realized that they were in the ideal place to settle. They named the settlement after the woman who torched their ships, the Roman poet Virgil recounted this legend in his classical epic poem the Aeneid
24.
Saxon Shore
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The Saxon Shore was a military command of the late Roman Empire, consisting of a series of fortifications on both sides of the English Channel. It was established in the late 3rd century and was led by the Count of the Saxon Shore, in the late 4th century, his functions were limited to Britain, while the fortifications in Gaul were established as separate commands. Several Saxon Shore forts survive in east and south-east England, during the latter half of the 3rd century, the Roman Empire faced a grave crisis. Internally, it was weakened by wars, the violent succession of brief emperors. Most of Britain had been part of the empire since the mid-1st century and it was protected from raids in the north by the Hadrianic and Antonine Walls, while a fleet of some size was also available. However, as the frontiers came under increasing pressure, fortifications were built throughout the Empire in order to protect cities. It is in context that the forts of the Saxon Shore were constructed. Dover was already fortified in the early 2nd century, and the forts in this group were constructed in the period between the 270s and 290s. However, due to the absence of evidence, theories have varied between scholars as to the exact meaning of the name, and also the nature and purpose of the chain of forts it refers to. Two interpretations were put forward as to the meaning of the adjective Saxon, either a shore attacked by Saxons, or a shore settled by Saxons. This view is reinforced by the chain of fortifications across the Channel on the northern coasts of Gaul. Other scholars like John Cotterill however consider the threat posed by Germanic raiders, at least in the 3rd and early 4th centuries and this view, although widely disputed, has found recent support from archaeological evidence at Pevensey, which dates the forts construction to the early 290s. Whatever their original purpose, it is certain that in the late 4th century the forts and their garrisons were employed in operations against Frankish. Britain was abandoned by Rome in 407, with Armorica following soon after, the forts on both sides continued to be inhabited in the following centuries, and in Britain in particular several continued in use well into the Anglo-Saxon period. The nine forts mentioned in the Notitia Dignitatum for Britain are listed here, one of the earliest forts, dated to the 230s. It was built to guard the Wash approaches and is of a typical rectangular castrum layout and it was garrisoned by the Equites Dalmatae Brandodunenses, although evidence exists suggesting that its original garrison was the cohors I Aquitanorum. Established between 260 and the mid-270s to guard the River Yare, it was garrisoned by the Equites Stablesiani Gariannoneses, although there is some discussion as to whether this is actually the fort at Caister-on-Sea, and being on the opposite bank of the same estuary as Burgh Castle. Together with Brancaster one of the earliest forts, built in the 210s to guard the Thames estuary and it was garrisoned by the cohors I Baetasiorum since the 3rd century
25.
Promontory fort
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A promontory fort is a defensive structure located above a steep cliff, often only connected to the mainland by a small neck of land, thus utilizing the topography to reduce the ramparts needed. Although their dating is problematic, most seem to date to the Iron Age and they are mainly found in Brittany, Ireland, the Orkney Islands, the Isle of Man, Devon and Cornwall. Only a few Irish promontory forts have been excavated and most date to the Iron Age, though some, others, like Dalkey Island contain imported Eastern Mediterranean pottery and have been reoccupied and changed in the early medieval period. Dunbeg contains an early medieval corbelled stone hut, on the Isle of Man promontory forts are found particularly on the rocky slate headlands of the south. Four out of more than 20 have been excavated and several, especially in Santon, all have a rampart on their vulnerable landward side, and excavations at Cronk ny Merriu have shown that access to the fort was via a strongly built gate. Promontory forts can be all along the coast of Penwith. Maen Castle, near to Lands End is one of the oldest and they are also found in other districts, e. g. The Rumps near Padstow and Dodman Point In Devon, The Aran Islands, Burgh Island and Bolt Tail are located on the south coast and Embury Beacon and Hillsborough on the north coast. The famous site at Tintagel may be an example of promontory fort whose occupation continued into the post Roman. Caesars de Bello Gallico describes the Veneti in southern Armorica – a powerful sea-faring people allied with the southern British during the war of 56 BC – as living in clifftop oppida and their capital was Darioritum on the Morbihan bay, now modern Vannes/Gwened. The Veneti were linguistically British, they spoke Breton, which was derived from Cornish, when they were attacked by the Romans in Brittany, Julius Caesar reports that Cornwall sent them military aid. Hill fort Nancy Edwards, The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland, manx National Heritage - Promontory Forts Cronk ny Merriu MNH Maen Castle Retrieved 14 May 2007. Pretanic World - Chart of Neolithic, Bronze Age and Celtic Stone Structures
26.
Estuary
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An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a zone between river environments and maritime environments. They are subject both to marine influences—such as tides, waves, and the influx of saline water—and to riverine influences—such as flows of fresh water and sediment. The inflows of sea water and fresh water provide high levels of nutrients both in the water column and in sediment, making estuaries among the most productive natural habitats in the world. Most existing estuaries formed during the Holocene epoch with the flooding of river-eroded or glacially scoured valleys when the sea began to rise about 10. Estuaries are typically classified according to their geomorphological features or to water-circulation patterns, the banks of many estuaries are amongst the most heavily populated areas of the world, with about 60% of the worlds population living along estuaries and the coast. The word estuary is derived from the Latin word aestuarium meaning tidal inlet of the sea, there have been many definitions proposed to describe an estuary. However, this definition excludes a number of water bodies such as coastal lagoons. This broad definition also includes fjords, lagoons, river mouths, an estuary is a dynamic ecosystem having a connection to the open sea through which the sea water enters with the rhythm of the tides. The sea water entering the estuary is diluted by the water flowing from rivers. The pattern of dilution varies between different estuaries and depends on the volume of water, the tidal range. Drowned river valleys are known as coastal plain estuaries. In places where the sea level is rising relative to the land, sea water progressively penetrates into river valleys and this is the most common type of estuary in temperate climates. Well-studied estuaries include the Severn Estuary in the United Kingdom and the Ems Dollard along the Dutch-German border, the width-to-depth ratio of these estuaries is typically large, appearing wedge-shaped in the inner part and broadening and deepening seaward. Water depths rarely exceed 30 m, examples of this type of estuary in the U. S. are the Hudson River, Chesapeake Bay, and Delaware Bay along the Mid-Atlantic coast, and Galveston Bay and Tampa Bay along the Gulf Coast. They are relatively common in tropical and subtropical locations and these estuaries are semi-isolated from ocean waters by barrier beaches. Formation of barrier beaches partially encloses the estuary, with only narrow inlets allowing contact with the ocean waters, bar-built estuaries typically develop on gently sloping plains located along tectonically stable edges of continents and marginal sea coasts. They are extensive along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the U. S. in areas with active coastal deposition of sediments, barrier beaches form in shallow water and are generally parallel to the shoreline, resulting in long, narrow estuaries
27.
Notitia Dignitatum
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The Notitia Dignitatum is a document of the late Roman Empire that details the administrative organization of the Eastern and Western Empires. It is unique as one of few surviving documents of Roman government and describes several thousand offices from the imperial court to provincial governments, diplomatic missions. It is usually considered to be accurate for the Western Roman Empire in the AD 420s, however, the text does not date its own authorship or accuracy, and omissions complicate ascertaining its date from its content. There are several extant 15th- and 16th-century copies of the document, the heraldry in illuminated manuscript copies of the Notitia is thought to copy or imitate only that illustrated in the lost Codex Spirensis. The iteration of 1542 made for Otto Henry, Elector Palatine, was revised with illustrations more faithful to the originals added at a later date, the most important copy of the Codex is that made for Pietro Donato in 1436 and illuminated by Peronet Lamy. The Notitia presents four primary problems as regards the study of the Empires military, therefore, its development from the structure of the Principate is largely conjectural because of the lack of other evidence. It was compiled at two different times, the section for the Eastern Empire apparently dates from circa AD395 and that for the Western Empire from circa AD420. Further, each section is not a contemporaneous snapshot. The Eastern section may contain data from as early as AD379, the Western section contains data from as early as circa AD400, for example, it shows units deployed in Britannia, which must date from before 410, when the Empire lost government of the island. In consequence, there is substantial duplication, with the unit often listed under different commands. It is impossible to ascertain whether these were detachments of the unit in different places simultaneously. Also, it is likely that some units were merely nominal or minimally staffed, the Notitia has many sections missing and lacunae within sections. This is doubtless due to accumulated textual losses and copying errors, because it was copied over the centuries. The Notitia cannot therefore provide a comprehensive list of all units that existed, the Notitia does not record the number of personnel. Given that and the paucity of evidence of unit sizes at that time, the size of individual units. In turn, this makes it impossible to assess accurately the total size of the army, for example, the forces deployed in Britain circa AD400 may have been merely 18,000 against circa 55,000 in the AD 2nd century. The Notitia contains symbols similar to the diagram which later came to be known as yin, the emblem of the Thebaei, another Western Roman infantry regiment, featured a pattern of concentric circles comparable to its static version. The Roman patterns predate the earliest Taoist versions by almost seven hundred years, laeti Tabula Peutingeriana List of Late Roman provinces Notitia Dignitatum, edited by Robert Ireland, in British Archaeological Reports, International Series 63.2
28.
Celtic Britons
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They spoke the Common Brittonic language, the ancestor to the modern Brittonic languages. The earliest evidence for the Britons and their language in historical sources dates to the Iron Age, after the Roman conquest of Britain in the 1st century, a Romano-British culture emerged, and Latin and British Vulgar Latin coexisted with Brittonic. During and after the Roman era, the Britons lived throughout Britain south of the Firth of Forth, with the beginning of Anglo-Saxon settlement in the 5th century, the culture and language of the Britons fragmented and much of their territory was taken over by the Anglo-Saxons. The extent to which cultural and linguistic change was accompanied by wholesale changes in the population is still a matter of discussion. During this period some Britons migrated to mainland Europe and established significant settlements in Brittany as well as Britonia in modern Galicia, Common Brittonic developed into the distinct Brittonic languages, Welsh, Cumbric, Cornish and Breton. Although none of his own writings remain, writers during the time of the Roman Empire made much reference to them, the group included Ireland, which was referred to as Ierne inhabited by the race of Hiberni, and Britain as insula Albionum, island of the Albions. The term Pritani may have reached Pytheas from the Gauls, who used it as their term for the inhabitants of the islands. The first inhabitants were the Britons, who came from Armenia, the Latin name in the early Roman Empire period was Britanni or Brittanni, following the Roman conquest in AD43. Brittonic languages is a recent coinage intended to refer to the ancient Britons specifically. In English, the term Briton originally denoted the ancient Britons and their descendants, most particularly the Welsh, who were seen as heirs to the ancient British people. After the Acts of Union 1707, the terms British and Briton came to be applied not just to the remaining Brittonic peoples themselves, the Britons spoke an Insular Celtic language known as Common Brittonic. Brittonic was spoken throughout the island of Britain, as well as islands such as the Isle of Man, Scilly Isles, Orkneys, Hebrides. Thus the area today is called Brittany, Common Brittonic developed from the Insular branch of the Proto-Celtic language that developed in the British Isles after arriving from the continent in the 7th century BC. The language eventually began to diverge, some linguists have grouped subsequent developments as Western and Southwestern Brittonic languages, Pictish is now generally accepted to descend from Common Brittonic, rather than being a separate Celtic language. Welsh and Breton survive today, Cumbric became extinct in the 12th century, Cornish had become extinct by the 19th century but has been the subject of language revitalization since the 20th century. Ideas about the development of British Iron Age culture changed greatly in the 20th century, by this time Celtic styles seem to have been in decline in continental Europe, even before Roman invasions. Throughout their existence, the inhabited by the Britons was composed of numerous ever-changing areas controlled by Brittonic tribes. Part of the Pictish territory was absorbed into the Gaelic kingdoms of Dál Riata and Alba
29.
Monasticism
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Monasticism or monkhood is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially in the Catholic, similar forms of religious life also exist in other faiths, most notably in Buddhism, but also in Hinduism and Jainism, although the expressions differ considerably. By contrast, in other religions monasticism is criticized and not practiced, as in Islam and Zoroastrianism, or plays a marginal role, males pursuing a monastic life are generally called monks while female monastics are called nuns. Many monks and nuns live in monasteries to stay away from the secular world, the way of addressing monastics differs between the Christian traditions. As a general rule, in Roman Catholicism, monks and nuns are called brother or sister, while in Eastern Orthodoxy, the Sangha or community of ordained Buddhist bhikkhus and original bhikkhunis was founded by Gautama Buddha during his lifetime over 2500 years ago. This communal monastic lifestyle grew out of the lifestyle of earlier sects of wandering ascetics and it was initially fairly eremitic or reclusive in nature. Bhikkhus and bhikkunis were expected to live with a minimum of possessions, lay followers also provided the daily food that bhikkhus required, and provided shelter for bhikkhus when they needed it. After the Parinibbana of the Buddha, the Buddhist monastic order developed into a primarily cenobitic or communal movement. The practice of living communally during the rainy season, prescribed by the Buddha. The number of rules observed varies with the order, Theravada bhikkhus follow around 227 rules, there are a larger number of rules specified for bhikkhunis. The Buddhist monastic order consists of the male bhikkhu assembly and the female bhikkhuni assembly, initially consisting only of males, it grew to include females after the Buddhas stepmother, Mahaprajapati, asked for and received permission to live as an ordained practitioner. Bhikkhus and bhikkhunis are expected to fulfill a variety of roles in the Buddhist community, first and foremost, they are expected to preserve the doctrine and discipline now known as Buddhism. A bhikkhu or Bhikshu, first ordains as a Samanera, novices often ordain at a young age, but generally no younger than eight. Samaneras live according to the Ten Precepts, but are not responsible for living by the set of monastic rules. Higher ordination, conferring the status of a full Bhikkhu, is only to men who are aged 20 or older. Bhikkhunis follow a progression, but are required to live as Samaneras for longer periods of time- typically five years. The disciplinary regulations for bhikkhus and bhikkhunis are intended to create a life that is simple and focused, however, celibacy is a fundamental part of this form of monastic discipline. Monasticism in Christianity, which provides the origins of the monk and monastery
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Aaron of Aleth
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Some sources say that he was born of British stock in Armorican Domnonia. Aaron was a Welshman who lived in solitude near Lamballe and Pleumeur-Gautier and he attracted numerous visitors while there, including Saint Malo, it is said, in 544, and became their abbot. Saint Malo then succeeded to the rule of the district subsequently known as Saint-Malo. Aarons feast day is 21 June or 22 June and he is mentioned in Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne. Aaron is believed to have died in the town of Saint-Aaron in Lamballe, list of Catholic saints Julian Maunoir, Apostle of Brittany This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Flood, William Henry Grattan. A Biographical Dictionary of the Saints
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Brendan
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Saint Brendan of Clonfert, also referred to as Brendan moccu Altae, called the Navigator, the Voyager, the Anchorite, or the Bold, is one of the early Irish monastic saints. He is chiefly renowned for his legendary quest to the Isle of the Blessed, the Voyage of Saint Brendan could be called an immram. He was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, Saint Brendans feast day is celebrated on 16 May by the Roman Catholics, Anglicans, and Orthodox Christians. The first mention of Brendan occurs in Adamnans Vita Sancti Columbae, the first notice of him as a seafarer appears in the ninth century Martyrology of Tallaght. The principal works devoted to the saint and his legend are a Life of Brendan in several Latin and Irish versions and the better known Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot. Unfortunately, the Lives and the Voyage provide little information about his life and travels, they do, however. An additional problem is that the relationship between the Vita and the Navigatio traditions is uncertain. Just when the Vita tradition began is uncertain, the surviving copies date no earlier than the end of the twelfth century, but scholars suggest that a version of the Life was composed before the year 1000. The Navigatio was probably earlier than the Vita, perhaps in the second half of the eighth century. St Aengus the Culdee, in his Litany composed at the close of the eighth century, in 484 AD Brendan was born in Tralee, in County Kerry, in the province of Munster, in the south-west of Ireland. He was born among the Altraige, a tribe originally centred around Tralee Bay, to parents called Finnlug, tradition has it that he was born in the Kilfenora/Fenit area on the North side of the bay. He was baptised at Tubrid, near Ardfert by Saint Erc, for five years he was educated under Saint Ita, the Brigid of Munster. When he was six he was sent to Saint Jarlaths monastery school at Tuam to further his education, Brendan is one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, one of those said to have been tutored by the great teacher, Finnian of Clonard. At the age of twenty-six, Brendan was ordained a priest by Saint Erc, afterwards, he founded a number of monasteries. Brendan’s first voyage took him to the Arran Islands, where he founded a monastery and he also visited Hinba, an island off Scotland where he is said to have met Columcille. On the same voyage he traveled to Wales, and finally to Brittany, between the years 512 and 530 Brendan built monastic cells at Ardfert, and, at the foot of Mount Brandon, Shanakeel— Seana Cill, usually translated as the old church. From here he is supposed to have set out on his famous seven-year voyage for Paradise, the old Irish Calendars assigned a special feast for the Egressio familiae S. Brendani. St. Brendan is chiefly renowned for his journey to the Isle of the Blessed as described in the ninth century Voyage of St Brendan the Navigator
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Malo (saint)
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Saint Malo was a mid-sixth century founder of Saint-Malo, a commune in Brittany, France. He was one of the seven founding saints of Brittany, Saint Malo of Aleth was baptized as an adult by Saint Brendan the Navigator. He became a student of Saint Brendan, as a monk at Llancarfan Abbey in Wales, Saint Malo was known for his participation in the famous Voyage of Saint Brendan. Saint Malo of Aleth was later driven from the area to Saintes, details of Malos career have been preserved in three medieval Lives that seem to include incidents associated with multiple people bearing a similar name. It appears that Saint Malo of Aleth was probably born in Wales in approximately 520, Malos name may derive from the Old Breton machlou, a compound of mach warrant, hostage and lou brilliant, bright, beautiful. After his baptism, he became Brendans favorite disciple and he may have accompanied Saint Brendan on his famous voyage. Saint Brendan and Malo left Llancarfan Abbey with several companions and discovered the Island of the Blest and he then went to sea on a second voyage and visited the Island of Cézembre, remaining there for some time. During their travels, they encountered Maclovius, a dead giant whom Brendan temporarily revived with his holiness, Brendan baptized him before the giant returned to his grave. It is thought that Brendan, on the occasion of his voyage, evangelized the Orkney Islands. At Aleth, Malo served under a venerable hermit named Aaron, upon Aarons death in 544, Malo continued the spiritual rule of the district subsequently known as St. Malo and was consecrated as the first Bishop of Aleth. In old age, the disorder on the island compelled Saint Malo to leave and he obliged his people and returned to restore order. Feeling at the end of his life, the saint was determined to spend his last days in solitary penance, accordingly, he went to Archambiac, a village in the diocese of Saintes, where he passed the remainder of his life in prayer and mortification. His death, reported in Archingeay, came on November 15,621, the city of Saint-Malo is one of the seven stages in the Tro Breizh, a pilgrimage celebrating the seven founding saints of Brittany. Pontoise Cathedral is dedicated to Saint Malo, lesmahagow Priory in South Lanarkshire is also dedicated to him in the Latin form of his name, Machutus. The place-name Saint-Maclou also refers to him, blessed Julian Maunoir, Apostle of Brittany This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Herbermann, Charles, ed. article name needed
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Wales
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Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and it had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2. Wales has over 1,680 miles of coastline and is mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon. The country lies within the temperate zone and has a changeable. Welsh national identity emerged among the Celtic Britons after the Roman withdrawal from Britain in the 5th century, Llywelyn ap Gruffudds death in 1282 marked the completion of Edward I of Englands conquest of Wales, though Owain Glyndŵr briefly restored independence to Wales in the early 15th century. The whole of Wales was annexed by England and incorporated within the English legal system under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535–1542, distinctive Welsh politics developed in the 19th century. Welsh Liberalism, exemplified in the early 20th century by Lloyd George, was displaced by the growth of socialism, Welsh national feeling grew over the century, Plaid Cymru was formed in 1925 and the Welsh Language Society in 1962. Established under the Government of Wales Act 1998, the National Assembly for Wales holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, two-thirds of the population live in south Wales, mainly in and around Cardiff, Swansea and Newport, and in the nearby valleys. Now that the countrys traditional extractive and heavy industries have gone or are in decline, Wales economy depends on the sector, light and service industries. Wales 2010 gross value added was £45.5 billion, over 560,000 Welsh language speakers live in Wales, and the language is spoken by a majority of the population in parts of the north and west. From the late 19th century onwards, Wales acquired its popular image as the land of song, Rugby union is seen as a symbol of Welsh identity and an expression of national consciousness. The Old English-speaking Anglo-Saxons came to use the term Wælisc when referring to the Celtic Britons in particular, the modern names for some Continental European lands and peoples have a similar etymology. The modern Welsh name for themselves is Cymry, and Cymru is the Welsh name for Wales and these words are descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning fellow-countrymen. The use of the word Cymry as a self-designation derives from the location in the post-Roman Era of the Welsh people in modern Wales as well as in northern England and southern Scotland. It emphasised that the Welsh in modern Wales and in the Hen Ogledd were one people, in particular, the term was not applied to the Cornish or the Breton peoples, who are of similar heritage, culture, and language to the Welsh. The word came into use as a self-description probably before the 7th century and it is attested in a praise poem to Cadwallon ap Cadfan c. 633. Thereafter Cymry prevailed as a reference to the Welsh, until c.1560 the word was spelt Kymry or Cymry, regardless of whether it referred to the people or their homeland. The Latinised forms of names, Cambrian, Cambric and Cambria, survive as lesser-used alternative names for Wales, Welsh
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Marie de France
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Marie de France was a medieval poet who was probably born in France and lived in England during the late 12th century. She lived and wrote at a court, but she. Virtually nothing is known of her life, both her name and its geographical specification come from her manuscripts. However, one description of her work and popularity from her own era still exists. Marie de France wrote in Francien with some Anglo-Norman influence and she was evidently proficient in Latin, as were most authors and scholars, as well as English, and possibly Breton. She is the author of the Lais of Marie de France and she translated Aesops Fables from Middle English into Anglo-Norman French and wrote Espurgatoire seint Partiz, Legend of the Purgatory of St. Patrick, based upon a Latin text. Recently, she has identified as the author of a saints life. Her Lais, in particular, were and still are widely read, four works, or collections of works, have been attributed to Marie de France. She is principally known for her authorship of The Lais of Marie de France, scholars have dated Maries works to between about 1160 and 1215, the earliest and latest possible dates respectively. It is probable that the Lais were written in the twelfth century, they are dedicated to a noble king, usually assumed to be Henry II of England or possibly his eldest son. Another of her works, the Fables, is dedicated to a Count William, however, it has also been suggested that Count William may refer to William Longsword. Longsword was a illegitimate son of Henry II. If Marie was actually Henry IIs half-sister, a dedication to his son and it is likely that Marie de France was known at the court of King Henry II and his wife, Eleanor of Aquitaine. A contemporary of Marie, the English poet Denis Piramus, mentions in his Life of Saint Edmund the King, written in around 1180, the lais of a Marie, which were popular in aristocratic circles. She was first given the name Marie de France by the French scholar Claude Fauchet in 1551, in his Recueil de lorigine de la langue et poesie françoise, and this name has been used ever since. She wrote in Francien, a dialect localized around Paris and Île-de-France, hence scholars generally deduce she lived in the parts of Île-de-France close to Normandy, or alternatively in an area in-between such as Brittany or Vexin. But Anglo-Norman influence may be due to her living in England during her adult life, the signification of the phrase si sui de France, however, is ambiguous and equivocal. Her lays, are a collection of 12 short narrative written in eight-syllable verse that were based on Breton or Celtic legends
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Port-Louis, Mauritius (1999)
Gaspé, Quebec, Canada (2009)
Cowes, Isle of Wight, Great Britain
Gniezno, Poland[20]
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