1.
St Albans Abbey railway station
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St Albans Abbey railway station in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England is about 0.6 miles south of the city centre in the St Stephens area. It is the terminus of the Abbey Line from Watford Junction and it is one of two stations in St Albans, the other being the much larger and busier St Albans City. The unstaffed station consists of a single platform and a car park. Improvement works were carried out in 2008 and it was the second UK railway station to receive a Harrington Hump to improve accessibility. St Albans Abbey was the first railway station in St Albans, built by the London and it was, as it is now, a terminus, the companys plans to extend northwards to Luton and Dunstable never materialised. Until November 2007 responsibility for the line was with Silverlink. This line closed to passengers in 1951, goods services were withdrawn from the end of 1968 and the track was lifted. In the mid-1980s, the route was opened as a cycle path, trains operate to Watford Junction every 45 minutes Monday to Saturday daytime, every 60 minutes weekday evenings and on Sundays. The Directory of Railway Stations, details every public and private station, halt, platform and stopping place, past. Jowetts Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland, From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day, abbeyline. org. uk The Alban Way Train times and station information for St Albans Abbey railway station from National Rail
2.
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
3.
Christian denomination
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A Christian denomination is a distinct religious body within Christianity, identified by traits such as a name, organisation, leadership and doctrine. Individual bodies, however, may use alternative terms to describe themselves, groups of denominations—often sharing broadly similar beliefs, practices, and historical ties—are sometimes known as branches of Christianity or denominational families. Individual Christian groups vary widely in the degree to which they recognize one another, several groups claim to be the direct and sole authentic successor of the church founded by Jesus Christ in the 1st century AD. Others, however, believe in denominationalism, where some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs. Because of this concept, some Christian bodies reject the term denomination to describe themselves, however, the Catholic Church does not view itself as a denomination, but as the original pre-denominational church. This view is rejected by other Christian denominations, Protestant denominations account for approximately 37 percent of Christians worldwide. Together, Catholicism and Protestantism comprise Western Christianity, Western Christian denominations prevail in Western, Northern, Central and Southern Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The Eastern Orthodox Church, with an estimated 225–300 million adherents, is the second-largest Christian organization in the world, unlike the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church is itself a communion of fully independent autocephalous churches that mutually recognize each other to the exclusion of others. The Eastern Orthodox Church, together with Oriental Orthodoxy and the Assyrian Church of the East, Eastern Christian denominations are represented mostly in Eastern Europe, North Asia, the Middle East and Northeast Africa. Christians have various doctrines about the Church and about how the church corresponds to Christian denominations. Both Catholics and Eastern Orthodox hold that their own organizations faithfully represent the One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church to the exclusion of the other, sixteenth-century Protestants separated from the Catholic Church because of theologies and practices that they considered to be in violation of their own interpretation. But some non-denominational Christians do not follow any particular branch, though regarded as Protestants. Each group uses different terminology to discuss their beliefs and this section will discuss the definitions of several terms used throughout the article, before discussing the beliefs themselves in detail in following sections. A denomination within Christianity can be defined as an autonomous branch of the Christian Church, major synonyms include religious group, sect, Church. Some traditional and evangelical Protestants draw a distinction between membership in the church and fellowship within the local church. Becoming a believer in Christ makes one a member of the universal church, a related concept is denominationalism, the belief that some or all Christian groups are legitimate churches of the same religion regardless of their distinguishing labels, beliefs, and practices. Protestant leaders differ greatly from the views of the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, each church makes mutually exclusive claims for itself to be the direct continuation of the Church founded by Jesus Christ, from whom other denominations later broke away. These churches, and a few others, reject denominationalism, Christianity can be taxonomically divided into five main groups, the Church of the East, Oriental Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodoxy, Roman Catholicism, and Protestantism
4.
Church of England
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The Church of England is the state church of England. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the most senior cleric, although the monarch is the supreme governor, the Church of England is also the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It dates its establishment as a church to the 6th-century Gregorian mission to Kent led by Augustine of Canterbury. The English church renounced papal authority when Henry VIII sought to secure an annulment from Catherine of Aragon in the 1530s, the English Reformation accelerated under Edward VIs regents before a brief restoration of papal authority under Queen Mary I and King Philip. This is expressed in its emphasis on the teachings of the early Church Fathers, as formalised in the Apostles, Nicene, in the earlier phase of the English Reformation there were both Catholic martyrs and radical Protestant martyrs. The later phases saw the Penal Laws punish Roman Catholic and nonconforming Protestants, in the 17th century, political and religious disputes raised the Puritan and Presbyterian faction to control of the church, but this ended with the Restoration. Papal recognition of George III in 1766 led to religious tolerance. Since the English Reformation, the Church of England has used a liturgy in English, the church contains several doctrinal strands, the main three known as Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical and Broad Church. Tensions between theological conservatives and progressives find expression in debates over the ordination of women and homosexuality, the church includes both liberal and conservative clergy and members. The governing structure of the church is based on dioceses, each presided over by a bishop, within each diocese are local parishes. The General Synod of the Church of England is the body for the church and comprises bishops, other clergy. Its measures must be approved by both Houses of Parliament, according to tradition, Christianity arrived in Britain in the 1st or 2nd century, during which time southern Britain became part of the Roman Empire. The earliest historical evidence of Christianity among the native Britons is found in the writings of such early Christian Fathers as Tertullian, three Romano-British bishops, including Restitutus, are known to have been present at the Council of Arles in 314. Others attended the Council of Sardica in 347 and that of Ariminum in 360, Britain was the home of Pelagius, who opposed Augustine of Hippos doctrine of original sin. Consequently, in 597, Pope Gregory I sent the prior of the Abbey of St Andrews from Rome to evangelise the Angles and this event is known as the Gregorian mission and is the date the Church of England generally marks as the beginning of its formal history. A later archbishop, the Greek Theodore of Tarsus, also contributed to the organisation of Christianity in England, the Church of England has been in continuous existence since the days of St Augustine, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as its episcopal head. Despite the various disruptions of the Reformation and the English Civil War, while some Celtic Christian practices were changed at the Synod of Whitby, the Christian Church in the British Isles was under papal authority from earliest times. The Synod of Whitby established the Roman date for Easter and the Roman style of monastic tonsure in Britain and this meeting of the ecclesiastics with Roman customs with local bishops was summoned in 664 at Saint Hildas double monastery of Streonshalh, later called Whitby Abbey
5.
Sacred architecture
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Many cultures devoted considerable resources to their sacred architecture and places of worship. Religious and sacred spaces are amongst the most impressive and permanent monolithic buildings created by humanity, conversely, sacred architecture as a locale for meta-intimacy may also be non-monolithic, ephemeral and intensely private, personal and non-public. Sacred, religious and holy structures often evolved over centuries and were the largest buildings in the world, while the various styles employed in sacred architecture sometimes reflected trends in other structures, these styles also remained unique from the contemporary architecture used in other structures. With the rise of Abrahamic monotheisms, religious buildings increasingly became centres of worship, prayer, the Western scholarly discipline of the history of architecture itself closely follows the history of religious architecture from ancient times until the Baroque period, at least. Sacred geometry, iconography, and the use of sophisticated semiotics such as signs, symbols, Sacred and/or religious architecture is sometimes called sacred space. Architect Norman L. Koonce has suggested that the goal of sacred architecture is to make transparent the boundary between matter and mind, flesh and the spirit, meanwhile, Richard Kieckhefer suggests that entering into a religious building is a metaphor for entering into spiritual relationship. Sacred architecture spans a number of ancient architectural styles including Neolithic architecture, ancient Egyptian architecture, ancient religious buildings, particularly temples, were often viewed as the dwelling place, the temenos, of the gods and were used as the site of various kinds of sacrifice. Ancient tombs and burial structures are examples of architectural structures reflecting religious beliefs of their various societies. The Temple of Karnak at Thebes, Egypt was constructed across a period of 1300 years, ancient Egyptian religious architecture has fascinated archaeologists and captured the public imagination for millennia. Around 600 BCE the wooden columns of the Temple of Hera at Olympia were replaced by stone columns, with the spread of this process to other sanctuary structures a few stone buildings have survived through the ages. Greek architecture preceded Hellenistic and Roman periods, since temples are the only buildings which survive in numbers, most of our concept of classical architecture is based on religious structures. The Parthenon which served as a building as well as a place for veneration of deity, is widely regarded as the greatest example of classical architecture. Indian architecture is related to the history and religions of the time periods as well as to the geography, the diversity of Indian culture is represented in its architecture. Indian architecture comprises a blend of ancient and varied native traditions, with building types, forms and technologies from West, Central Asia, buddhist architecture developed in South Asia beginning in the third century BCE. Two types of structures are associated with early Buddhism, viharas and stupas, an existing example is at Nalanda. The initial function of the stupa was the veneration and safe-guarding of the relics of the Buddha, the earliest existing example of a stupa is in Sanchi. In accordance with changes in practice, stupas were gradually incorporated into chaitya-grihas. These reached their highpoint in the first century BCE, exemplified by the cave complexes of Ajanta, the pagoda is an evolution of the Indian stupa that is marked by a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in China, Japan, Korea, Nepal and other parts of Asia
6.
Norman architecture
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The term Norman architecture is used to categorise styles of Romanesque architecture developed by the Normans in the various lands under their dominion or influence in the 11th and 12th centuries. In particular the term is used for English Romanesque architecture. Ancient Romes invention of the arch is the basis of all Norman architecture, the more inclusive term romanesque was used of the Romance languages in English by 1715, and was applied to architecture of the eleventh and twelfth centuries from 1819. The Norman arch is a point of Norman architecture. Grand archways are designed to evoke feelings of awe and are commonly seen as the entrance to large religious buildings such as cathedrals. Viking invaders arrived at the mouth of the river Seine in 911, at a time when Franks were fighting on horseback and Frankish lords were building castles. Over the next century the population of the territory ceded to the Vikings, now called Normans, adopted these customs as well as Christianity and the langue doïl. Norman Barons built timber castles on earthen mounds, beginning the development of motte-and-bailey castles, by 950 they were building stone keeps. The Normans were among the most travelled peoples of Europe, exposed to a variety of cultural influences including the Near East, some of which became incorporated in their art. In England, Norman nobles and bishops had influence before the Norman Conquest of 1066, edward the Confessor was brought up in Normandy, and in 1042 brought masons to work on Westminster Abbey, the first Romanesque building in England. In 1051 he brought in Norman knights who built castles as a defence against the Welsh. The Norman arch is the round arch, Norman mouldings are carved or incised with geometric ornament, such as chevron patterns, frequently termed zig-zag mouldings, around arches. The cruciform churches often had deep chancels and a crossing tower which has remained a feature of English ecclesiastical architecture. Hundreds of parish churches were built and the great English cathedrals were founded from 1083, after a fire damaged Canterbury Cathedral in 1174 Norman masons introduced the new Gothic architecture. Around 1191 Wells Cathedral and Lincoln Cathedral brought in the English Gothic style, nicholas Church, Pyrford, Surrey Southwell Minster St. Mary the Virgin, Iffley, Oxfordshire St. Swithuns in Nately Scures, Hampshire, an example of a Norman single-cell apsidal church. His successor Máel Coluim III overthrew him with English and Norman assistance, the Benedictine order founded a monastery at Dunfermline. Her sixth and youngest son who became King David built St. Margarets Chapel at the start of the 12th century, Dunfermline Abbey, Dunfermline grid reference NT089872 St Andrew Cathedral grid reference NO516166 St. With rare examples of late 12th century Norman Transitional architecture[3 The Normans first landed in Ireland in 1169, within five years earthwork castles were springing up, and in a further five, work was beginning on some of the earliest of the great stone castles
7.
Romanesque architecture
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Romanesque Architecture is an architectural style of medieval Europe characterized by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the date of the Romanesque style, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the late 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style, marked by pointed arches, examples of Romanesque architecture can be found across the continent, making it the first pan-European architectural style since Imperial Roman Architecture. The Romanesque style in England is traditionally referred to as Norman architecture, each building has clearly defined forms, frequently of very regular, symmetrical plan, the overall appearance is one of simplicity when compared with the Gothic buildings that were to follow. The style can be identified right across Europe, despite regional characteristics, Many castles were built during this period, but they are greatly outnumbered by churches. The most significant are the great churches, many of which are still standing, more or less complete. The largest groups of Romanesque survivors are in areas that were less prosperous in subsequent periods, including parts of southern France, northern Spain and rural Italy. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word Romanesque means descended from Roman and was first used in English to designate what are now called Romance languages, Romance language is not degenerated Latin language. Latin language is degenerated Romance language, Romanesque architecture is not debased Roman architecture. Roman architecture is debased Romanesque architecture, the first use in a published work is in William Gunns An Inquiry into the Origin and Influence of Gothic Architecture. The term is now used for the more restricted period from the late 10th to 12th centuries, Many castles exist, the foundations of which date from the Romanesque period. Most have been altered, and many are in ruins. By far the greatest number of surviving Romanesque buildings are churches, the scope of Romanesque architecture Romanesque architecture was the first distinctive style to spread across Europe since the Roman Empire. In the more northern countries Roman building styles and techniques had never been adopted except for official buildings, although the round arch continued in use, the engineering skills required to vault large spaces and build large domes were lost. There was a loss of continuity, particularly apparent in the decline of the formal vocabulary of the Classical Orders. In Rome several great Constantinian basilicas continued in use as an inspiration to later builders, the largest building is the church, the plan of which is distinctly Germanic, having an apse at both ends, an arrangement not generally seen elsewhere. Another feature of the church is its regular proportion, the plan of the crossing tower providing a module for the rest of the plan. These features can both be seen at the Proto-Romanesque St. Michaels Church, Hildesheim, 1001–1030, the style, sometimes called First Romanesque or Lombard Romanesque, is characterised by thick walls, lack of sculpture and the presence of rhythmic ornamental arches known as a Lombard band
8.
English Gothic architecture
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English Gothic is an architectural style that flourished in England from about 1180 until about 1520. As with the Gothic architecture of other parts of Europe, English Gothic is defined by its arches, vaulted roofs, buttresses, large windows. The earliest large-scale applications of Gothic architecture in England are at Canterbury Cathedral, many features of Gothic architecture had evolved naturally from Romanesque architecture. This evolution can be seen most particularly at the Norman Durham Cathedral, English Gothic was to develop along lines that sometimes paralleled and sometimes diverged from those of continental Europe. Historians traditionally divide English Gothic into a number of different periods, Gothic architecture continued to flourish in England for a hundred years after the precepts of Renaissance architecture were formalised in Florence in the early 15th century. Many of the largest and finest works of English architecture, notably the medieval cathedrals of England are largely built in the Gothic style, so also are castles, palaces, great houses, universities, and many smaller unpretentious secular buildings, including almshouses and trade halls. Another important group of Gothic buildings in England are the parish churches, historians sometimes refer to the styles as periods, e. g. Perpendicular period in much the same way as an historical era may be referred to as the Tudor period. The various styles are seen at their most fully developed in the cathedrals, abbey churches, according to the originator of the term in 1817, Thomas Rickman, the period ran from 1189 to 1307, Rickman based his defining dates on the reigns of certain English monarchs. In the late 12th century, the Early English Gothic style superseded the Romanesque or Norman style, during the late 13th century, it developed into the Decorated Gothic style, which lasted until the mid-14th century. With all of early architectural styles, there is a gradual overlap between the periods. As fashions changed, new elements were used alongside older ones, especially in large buildings such as churches and cathedrals. It is customary, therefore, to recognise a transitional phase between the Romanesque and Early English periods from the middle of the 12th century, although usually known as Early English, this new Gothic style had originated in the area around Paris before spreading to England. There it was first known as the French style and it was first used in the choir or quire of the abbey church of St Denis, dedicated in June 1144. Even before that, some features had been included in Durham Cathedral, showing a combination of Romanesque, by 1175, with the completion of the Choir at Canterbury Cathedral by William of Sens, the style was firmly established in England. The most significant and characteristic development of the Early English period was the pointed arch known as the lancet, pointed arches were used almost universally, not only in arches of wide span such as those of the nave arcade, but also for doorways and lancet windows. It also allows for greater variation in proportions, whereas the strength of round arches depends on semicircular form. The barrel vaults and groin vaults characteristic of Romanesque building were replaced by rib vaults, the arched windows are usually narrow by comparison to their height and are without tracery. For this reason Early English Gothic is sometimes known as the Lancet style, although arches of equilateral proportion are most often employed, lancet arches of very acute proportions are frequently found and are highly characteristic of the style
9.
Nave
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The nave /ˈneɪv/ is the central aisle of a basilica church, or the main body of a church between its western wall and its chancel. It is the zone of a church accessible by the laity, the nave extends from the entry — which may have a separate vestibule — to the chancel and may be flanked by lower side-aisles separated from the nave by an arcade. If the aisles are high and of a width comparable to the central nave and it provides the central approach to the high altar. The term nave is from medieval Latin navis, a ship was an early Christian symbol. The term may also have suggested by the keel shape of the vaulting of a church. The earliest churches were built when builders were familiar with the form of the Roman basilica and it had a wide central area, with aisles separated by columns, and with windows near the ceiling. Old St. Peters Basilica in Rome is a church which had this form. It was built in the 4th century on the orders of Roman emperor Constantine I, the nave, the main body of the building, is the section set apart for the laity, while the chancel is reserved for the clergy. In medieval churches the nave was separated from the chancel by the rood screen, medieval naves were divided into bays, the repetition of form giving an effect of great length, and the vertical element of the nave was emphasized. During the Renaissance, in place of dramatic effects there were more balanced proportions, longest nave in Denmark, Aarhus Cathedral,93 metres. Longest nave in England, St Albans Cathedral, St Albans,84 metres, longest nave in Ireland, St Patricks Cathedral, Dublin,91 metres. Longest nave in France, Bourges Cathedral,91 metres, including choir where a crossing would be if there were transepts, longest nave in Germany, Cologne cathedral,58 metres, including two bays between the towers. Longest nave in Italy, St Peters Basilica in Rome,91 metres, longest nave in Spain, Seville,60 metres, in five bays. Longest nave in the United States, Cathedral of Saint John the Divine, New York City, highest vaulted nave, Beauvais Cathedral, France,48 metres high but only one bay of the nave was actually built but choir and transepts were completed to the same height. Highest completed nave, Rome, St. Peters, Italy,46 metres high, abbey, with architectural discussion and groundplans Cathedral architecture Cathedral diagram List of highest church naves
10.
Tower
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A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant margin. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, Towers are specifically distinguished from buildings in that they are not built to be habitable but to serve other functions. Towers can be stand alone structures or be supported by adjacent buildings or can be a feature on top of a structure or building. Old English torr is from Latin turris via Old French tor, the Latin term together with Greek τύρσις was loaned from a pre-Indo-European Mediterranean language, connected with the Illyrian toponym Βου-δοργίς. The oldest known may be the stone tower in walls of Neolithic Jericho. Some of the earliest towers were ziggurats, which existed in Sumerian architecture since the 4th millennium BC, the most famous ziggurats include the Sumerian Ziggurat of Ur, built the 3rd millennium BC, and the Etemenanki, one of the most famous examples of Babylonian architecture. The latter was built in Babylon during the 2nd millennium BC and was considered the tallest tower of the ancient world, some of the earliest surviving examples are the broch structures in northern Scotland, which are conical towerhouses. These and other examples from Phoenician and Roman cultures emphasised the use of a tower in fortification, for example, the name of the Moroccan city of Mogador, founded in the first millennium BC, is derived from the Phoenician word for watchtower. The Romans utilised octagonal towers as elements of Diocletians Palace in Croatia, which monument dates to approximately 300 AD, while the Servian Walls, the Chinese used towers as integrated elements of the Great Wall of China in 210 BC during the Qin Dynasty. Towers were also an important element of castles, other well known towers include the Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy built from 1173 until 1372 and the Two Towers in Bologna, Italy built from 1109 until 1119. The Himalayan Towers are stone towers located chiefly in Tibet built approximately 14th to 15th century, up to a certain height, a tower can be made with the supporting structure with parallel sides. However, above a height, the compressive load of the material is exceeded. This can be avoided if the support structure tapers up the building. A second limit is that of buckling—the structure requires sufficient stiffness to avoid breaking under the loads it faces, many very tall towers have their support structures at the periphery of the building, which greatly increases the overall stiffness. A third limit is dynamic, a tower is subject to varying winds, vortex shedding and these are often dealt with through a combination of simple strength and stiffness, as well as in some cases tuned mass dampers to damp out movements. Varying or tapering the outer aspect of the tower with height avoids vibrations due to vortex shedding occurring along the building simultaneously. Although not correctly called towers many modern skyscraper are often called towers, in the United Kingdom, tall domestic buildings are referred to as tower blocks. In the United States, the original World Trade Center had the nickname the Twin Towers, the tower throughout history has provided its users with an advantage in surveying defensive positions and obtaining a better view of the surrounding areas, including battlefields
11.
Diocese
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The word diocese is derived from the Greek term διοίκησις meaning administration. When now used in a sense, it refers to a territorial unit of administration. This structure of governance is known as episcopal polity. The word diocesan means relating or pertaining to a diocese and it can also be used as a noun meaning the bishop who has the principal supervision of a diocese. An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese, an archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or have had importance due to size or historical significance. The archbishop may have authority over any other suffragan bishops. In the Latter Day Saint movement, the bishopric is used to describe the bishop himself. Especially in the Middle Ages, some bishops held political as well as religious authority within their dioceses, in the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated in a larger unit, the diocese. With the adoption of Christianity as the Empires official religion in the 4th century, a formal church hierarchy was set up, parallel to the civil administration, whose areas of responsibility often coincided. With the collapse of the Western Empire in the 5th century, a similar, though less pronounced, development occurred in the East, where the Roman administrative apparatus was largely retained by the Byzantine Empire. In modern times, many dioceses, though later subdivided, have preserved the boundaries of a long-vanished Roman administrative division, modern usage of diocese tends to refer to the sphere of a bishops jurisdiction. As of January 2015, in the Catholic Church there are 2,851 regular dioceses,1 papal see,641 archdioceses and 2,209 dioceses in the world, in the Eastern rites in communion with the Pope, the equivalent unit is called an eparchy. Eastern Orthodoxy calls dioceses metropoleis in the Greek tradition or eparchies in the Slavic tradition, after the Reformation, the Church of England retained the existing diocesan structure which remains throughout the Anglican Communion. The one change is that the areas administered under the Archbishop of Canterbury and Archbishop of York are properly referred to as provinces and this usage is relatively common in the Anglican Communion. Certain Lutheran denominations such as the Church of Sweden do have individual dioceses similar to Roman Catholics and these dioceses and archdioceses are under the government of a bishop. Other Lutheran bodies and synods that have dioceses and bishops include the Church of Denmark, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Evangelical Church in Germany, rather, it is divided into a middle judicatory. The Lutheran Church-International, based in Springfield, Illinois, presently uses a traditional diocesan structure and its current president is Archbishop Robert W. Hotes. The Church of God in Christ has dioceses throughout the United States, in the COGIC, each state is divided up into at least three dioceses that are all led by a bishop, but some states as many as seven dioceses
12.
Province of Canterbury
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The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York and it consists of 30 dioceses, covering roughly two-thirds of England, parts of Wales, and the Channel Islands, with the remainder comprising continental Europe. Between the years 787 and 803, a province, Lichfield. In 1871, the Church of Ireland became autonomous, and the Church in Wales was disestablished in 1920, the Provinces metropolitan bishop is the Archbishop of Canterbury who also oversees the Falkland Islands, an extraprovincial parish. Bishops of the southern province meet in chapter, in which the roles are analogous to those within a Cathedral chapter. In the 19th Century, Edward Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, discussed with the Bishop of Winchester, Benson ruled that the Bishop of Winchester would be Chancellor of the Province and additionally Sub-Dean only during a vacancy in the see of London. Twenty-one other Anglican Bishops form the other Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords
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Bishop
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A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
14.
Dean (Christianity)
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A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, a deans assistant is called a subdean. In the church, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting as primus inter pares. In the academic community, the Dean is the leader of the Faculty who presides over the Faculty Board. He is deputized by a Vice-Dean and equally assisted by a Sub-Dean who can be delegated some of the task of the Dean. The most senior Professor or a Vice-Dean is the person who can act for a Dean in his or her absence from office. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church, if the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish. However, in the Church of Ireland the roles are often separated, in the Church in Wales, however, most cathedrals are parish churches, and their deans are now also vicars of their parishes. In some parts of the Communion, the senior resident cleric in a cathedral is a provost. Each diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church has a dean of the diocese, in this way, a Scottish Episcopal dean is similar to an archdeacon in the other member churches of the Communion. In the Anglican Church of Canada, the roles of senior cleric of the cathedral are combined in one person who is referred to as Rector of Cathedral, thus, Peter Elliott is Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster. The style The Very Reverend distinguishes a cleric as a dean, for example, the Very Reverend June Osborne is Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. In consideration of the status of a Dean, the Very Reverend title is normally a permanent title preferment. Some important deans include the deans of St Pauls, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar, not the seat of any bishop or a cathedral, but is led by a dean. The deans of Washington National Cathedral and St. Patricks Cathedral, in many parts of the Anglican Communion, parishes are grouped together to form deaneries, each being a constituent administrative district of the diocese. Usually, a deanery is led by one of the incumbents of the parishes, who is called a rural dean. Such a dean chairs the meeting of the clergy. Rural Deans rank as primi inter pares of their chapters, the head of an Anglican theological college or seminary may also be called a dean
15.
Precentor
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A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question, the Latin derivation is præcentor, from cantor, meaning the one who sings before. The chief precentor was the highest position in many ancient Mesopotamian cities, Jewish precentors are song or prayer leaders, leading Synagogue music. A Jewish precentor is typically called a hazzan or cantor, in the Middle Ages, women precentors leading prayers in the weibershul were known as firzogerin, vorsangerin, foreleiner, zugerin, or zugerke. A precentor is a member of a church who helps facilitate worship, the role of precentor was carried over from the synagogues into the early church. The term precentor described sometimes an ecclesiastical dignitary, sometimes an administrative or ceremonial officer, anciently, the precentor had various duties, he was the first or leading chanter, who on Sundays and greater feasts intoned certain antiphons, psalms, hymns, responsories etc. He was variously styled capiscol, prior scholæ, magister scholæ, victor of St. Hugo tells us that in the care of the primicerius were placed the acolytes, exorcists, lectors, and psalmists. In the Middle Ages the principal dignitaries of cathedral, collegiate chapters, the schola was always in attendance when the bishop officiated in his cathedral, and to the precentor was assigned a place near the bishop and high in dignity. His office was obviously one demanding much learning and executive ability, in the cathedrals of England, France, Spain, and Germany, he ranked sometimes next to the dean, sometimes next to the archdeacon. In some instances his sphere of activity was much broader, including the duty of installing deans, canons, and other dignitaries, and in some monasteries and this baton cantoral is a silver or white staff. In the dioceses of Aix, Carcassonne, Coutances, Dijon, Metz, Orléans, brings the antiphon to the bishop when officiating pontifically. Sacristans, chanters, choir-boys, and employés of the Cathedral are placed under his surveillance and he will also preserve order and silence in the sacristy). A precentor is a person, usually a member, who is in charge of preparing worship services. This position is held in a large church, and is typically used in the churches of the Anglican Communion. Most cathedrals have a precentor in charge of the organisation of liturgy, the precentor of a cathedral is usually a residentiary canon or prebendary, and may be assisted by a succentor. In some cathedrals, the Precentor is a minor Canon, and therefore part of the Foundation, traditionally the precentors stall in the cathedral is on the opposite side of the Quire than that of the Dean, leading to the traditional division of the singers into Decani and Cantoris. Churches that use a manner of singing called lining out are usually led by the precentor. The word precentor is also used at two English public schools, Radley College and Eton College, to refer to the Head of Music and these school precentors have no specific religious duties although, as part of their musical function, they may conduct the college chapel choir
16.
Canon (priest)
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A canon is a member of certain bodies subject to an ecclesiastical rule. This way of life grew common in the eighth century, in the eleventh century, some churches required clergy thus living together to adopt the rule first proposed by Saint Augustine that they renounce private wealth. Those who embraced this change were known as Augustinians or Canons Regular, in the Roman Catholic Church, the members of the chapter of a cathedral or of a collegiate church are canons. Depending on the title of the church, several languages use specific titles, e. g. in German Domherr or Domkapitular in a Dom, Stiftsherr in a prelature that has the status of a Stift. One of the functions of the chapter in the Roman Catholic Church was to elect a Vicar Capitular to serve during a sede vacante period of the diocese. All canons of the Church of England have been secular since the Reformation, mostly, however, they are ordained, that is, priests or members of the clergy. Today, the system of canons is retained almost exclusively in connection with cathedral churches, a canon is a member of the chapter of priests, headed by a dean, which is responsible for administering a cathedral or certain other churches that are styled collegiate churches. The dean and chapter are the body which has legal responsibility for the cathedral. The title of Canon is not a permanent title and when no longer in a position entitling preferment, however, it is still given in many dioceses to senior parish priests as a largely honorary title. It is usually awarded in recognition of long and dedicated service to the diocese, honorary canons are members of the chapter in name but are non-residential and receive no emoluments. They are entitled to call themselves canon and may have a role in the administration of the cathedral, in some Church of England dioceses, the title Prebendary is used instead of canon when the cleric is involved administratively with a cathedral. Honorary canons within the Roman Catholic Church may still be nominated after the Second Vatican Council, on the demise of the Kingdom of France this honour became transferred to the Presidents of the Republic, and hence is currently held by François Hollande. This applies even when the French President is not Catholic, as is the case with the atheist Hollande, the proto-canon of the papal basilica of Saint Mary Major is the King of Spain, currently Felipe VI. The rank of lay canon is especially conferred upon diocesan chancellors and it has traditionally been said that the King of England is a canon or prebendary of St David’s Cathedral, Wales. However, this is based on a misconception, the canonry of St Mary’s College, St David’s became the property of the Crown on the dissolution of the monasteries. The Sovereign was never a canon of St David’s, even as a layman, though he or she may occupy the first prebendal stall, a canon professor is a canon at an Anglican cathedral who also holds a university professorship. Section 2 of the Church of England Measure 1995 was passed for the purpose of enabling Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. Historically, the chair in Greek at the university was also a canon professorship and this canonry was transferred to the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in 1940
17.
Chaplain
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The concepts of multifaith, secular, generic and/or humanist chaplaincy are also gaining increasing support, particularly within healthcare and educational settings. School chaplains are a fixture in religious and, more recently, in religious schools the role of the chaplain tends to be educational and liturgical. In secular schools the role of the chaplain tends to be that of a mentor, Chaplains provide care for students by supporting them during times of crisis or need. Many chaplains run programs to promote the welfare of students, staff and parents including programs to help deal with grief. Chaplains also build relationships with students by participating in extra activities such as breakfast programs, lunchtime groups. School chaplains can also liaise with external organisations providing support services for the school, with stagnant incomes and rising prices putting pressure on independent school budgets, cutting the post of school chaplain can seem an easy saving. In Australia chaplains in schools have, controversially, been funded by the federal government. Australian chaplains assist school communities to support the spiritual, social, Chaplaincy services are provided by non denominational companies. As of August 2013 there are 2339 chaplains working in Australian secular schools, similarly, in Scotland the focus of school chaplaincy is on welfare and building positive relationships joining students on excursions and sharing meals. Chaplains are also non-denominational and act as a link between the community and society. Like Australian chaplains it is expected that they will not proselytise, in Ireland chaplaincy takes a very different approach in which chaplains are expected to teach up to four hours of class instruction per week and are usually Catholic. Chaplaincy duties include visiting homes, religious services, retreats and celebrations, Chaplains often also oversee programs on campus that foster spiritual, ethical, religious, and political and cultural exchange, and the promotion of service. Each day communities respond to disasters or emergencies. Most often, these incidents are managed effectively at the local level, however, there are some incidents that may require a collaborative approach that includes personnel from,1. A combination of specialties or disciplines,3, Chaplain Fellowship Disaster Response certifies first responder chaplain for crisis and disaster response. At the scene of the September 11 attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, for example, New York City Fire Department Chaplain Fr. Judge was killed by flying debris from the South Tower when he re-entered the lobby of the North Tower of the World Trade Center, environmental chaplaincy is an emerging field within chaplaincy. Environmental chaplains provide spiritual care in a way that honors humanitys deep connection to the earth, environmental chaplains may also bear witness to the Earth itself and represent the merging of science and spirituality
18.
Organist
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An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, in addition, an organist may accompany congregational hymn-singing and play liturgical music. The majority of organists, amateur and professional, are involved in church music, playing in churches. The pipe organ still plays a part in the leading of traditional western Christian worship, with roles including the accompaniment of hymns, choral anthems. The degree to which the organ is involved depending on the church. It also may depend on the standard of the organist, as most churches can afford to employ only one musician, the organist is usually also responsible for directing and rehearsing the choir. In the twentieth-century, many pipe organs were replaced by electronic and digital organs. Sometimes the organist will be assisted by an organ scholar, the post of organist at most of the great cathedrals includes recital work and choral training. Another function of an organist is often as teacher to future players, few organists hold historically special positions such as Carol Williams who is the Civic Organist of San Diego, the last true Civic Organist position still active in this the USA. Since the strengths and weaknesses of the organ are difficult to understand without a deal of playing experience. Since the majority of pre-twentieth-century organs were installed in churches, classical literature was almost exclusively written for liturgical use. A few carry on the tradition today, there are many organists employed in the production of popular and jazz music. In the United States most of them play the Hammond organ, the Royal College of Organists in the United Kingdom is the oldest institution of organ studies. From that sprang the American Guild of Organists, the Gesellschaft der Orgelfreunde in Germany, all these institutions are oriented toward the organist involved in classical music rather than popular music. There is also the American Theatre Organ Society
19.
St Albans
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St Albans /sənt ˈɔːlbənz/, /seɪn. / is a city in Hertfordshire, England, and the major urban area in the City and District of St Albans. It lies east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, about 19 miles north-northwest of London,8 miles southwest of Welwyn Garden City and 11 miles south-southeast of Luton. St Albans was the first major town on the old Roman road of Watling Street for travellers heading north and it is a historic market town and is now a dormitory town within the London commuter belt and the Greater London Built-up Area. St Albans takes its name from the first British saint, Alban, Alban met a Christian priest fleeing from his persecutors and sheltered him in his house, where he became so impressed with the priests piety that he converted to Christianity. When the authorities searched Albans house, he put on the priests cloak, consequently, he was sentenced to endure the punishments that were to be inflicted upon the priest, unless he renounced Christianity. Alban refused and was taken for execution, in later legends, his head rolled downhill after execution and a well sprang up where it stopped. The name Verulamium is Celtic, meaning settlement over or by the marsh, the town was on Prae Hill,2 km to the west of modern St Albans, now covered by the village of St. Michaels, Verulamium Park and the Gorhambury Estate. It is believed that the capital was moved to the site by Tasciovanus. Cunobelinus may have constructed Beech Bottom Dyke, an earthwork near the settlement whose significance is uncertain. It grew steadily, by the early 3rd century, it covered an area of about 125 acres, behind a deep ditch and wall. Verulamium contained a forum, basilica and a theatre, much of which were damaged during two fires, one in 155 and the other in around 250, one of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum. The town was rebuilt in stone rather than timber at least twice over the next 150 years, occupation by the Romans ended between 400 and 450. St Alban was probably buried outside the city walls in a Roman cemetery near the present Cathedral and his hillside grave became a place of pilgrimage. Recent investigation has uncovered a basilica there, indicating the oldest continuous site of Christian worship in Great Britain, in 429 Germanus of Auxerre visited the church and subsequently promoted the cult of St Alban. More remains under the agricultural land which have never been excavated were for a while seriously threatened by deep ploughing. After the Roman withdrawal the town, became the centre of the territory or regio of the Anglo-Saxon Waeclingas tribe, St Albans Abbey and the associated Anglo-Saxon settlement were founded on the hill outside the Roman city where it was believed St Alban was buried. An archaeological excavation in 1978, directed by Martin Biddle, failed to find Roman remains on the site of the chapter house. The medieval town grew on the hill to the east of Wæclingacaester where the Benedictine Abbey of St Albans was founded by Ulsinus in 793, there is some evidence that the original site was higher up the hill than the present building, which was begun in 1077
20.
England
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England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
21.
Normans
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The Normans were the people who, in the 10th and 11th centuries, gave their name to Normandy, a region in France. They were descended from Norse raiders and pirates from Denmark, Iceland and Norway who, under their leader Rollo, through generations of assimilation and mixing with the native Frankish and Gallo-Roman populations, their descendants gradually adopted the Carolingian-based cultures of West Francia. The distinct cultural and ethnic identity of the Normans emerged initially in the first half of the 10th century, the Norman dynasty had a major political, cultural and military impact on medieval Europe and even the Near East. The Normans were famed for their spirit and eventually for their Christian piety. They adopted the Gallo-Romance language of the Frankish land they settled, their becoming known as Norman, Normaund or Norman French. The Normans are noted both for their culture, such as their unique Romanesque architecture and musical traditions, and for their significant military accomplishments and their chief men were specially lavish through their desire of good report. They were, moreover, a race skillful in flattery, given to the study of eloquence, so that the boys were orators. They were enduring of toil, hunger, and cold whenever fortune laid it on them, given to hunting and hawking, delighting in the pleasure of horses, and of all the weapons and garb of war. The treaty offered Rollo and his men the French lands between the river Epte and the Atlantic coast in exchange for their protection against further Viking incursions. The area corresponded to the part of present-day Upper Normandy down to the river Seine. The territory was equivalent to the old province of Rouen. Before Rollos arrival, its populations did not differ from Picardy or the Île-de-France, the Norman language was forged by the adoption of the indigenous langue doïl branch of Romance by a Norse-speaking ruling class, and it developed into the regional language that survives today. The Normans thereafter adopted the growing feudal doctrines of the rest of France, the new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to Franks of the Carolingian dynasty. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by 1066 Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation, many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart. Opportunistic bands of Normans successfully established a foothold in Southern Italy, probably as the result of returning pilgrims stories, the Normans entered Southern Italy as warriors in 1017 at the latest. In 999, according to Amatus of Montecassino, Norman pilgrims returning from Jerusalem called in at the port of Salerno when a Saracen attack occurred. The Normans fought so valiantly that Prince Guaimar III begged them to stay, the Hauteville family achieved princely rank by proclaiming prince Guaimar IV of Salerno Duke of Apulia and Calabria. He promptly awarded their elected leader, William Iron Arm, with the title of count in his capital of Melfi
22.
Abbey
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An abbey is a complex of buildings used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. It provides a place for activities, work and housing of Christian monks. The concept of the abbey has developed over centuries from the early monastic ways of religious men and women where they would live isolated from the lay community about them. Religious life in an abbey may be monastic, an abbey may be the home of an enclosed religious order or may be open to visitors. The layout of the church and associated buildings of an abbey often follows a set plan determined by the religious order. Abbeys are often self-sufficient while using any abundance of produce or skill to provide care to the poor and needy, some abbeys offer accommodation to people who are seeking spiritual retreat. There are many famous abbeys across Europe, the earliest known Christian monasteries were groups of huts built near the residence of a famous ascetic or other holy person. Disciples wished to be close to their man or woman in order to study their doctrine or imitate their way of life. In the earliest times of Christian monasticism, ascetics would live in social isolation and they would subsist whilst donating any excess produce to the poor. However, increasing religious fervor about the ways and or persecution of them would drive them further away from their community. For instance, the cells and huts of anchorites have been found in the deserts of Egypt, in 312 AD, Anthony the Great retired to the Thebaid region of Egypt to escape the persecution of the Emperor Maximian. Anthony was the best known of the anchorites of his due to his degree of austerity, sanctity. The deeper he withdrew into the wilderness, the more numerous his disciples became and they refused to be separated from him and built their cells close to him. This became a first true monastic community, Anthony, according to Johann August Wilhelm Neander, inadvertently became the founder of a new mode of living in common, Coenobitism. At Tabennae on the Nile, in Upper Egypt, Saint Pachomius laid the foundations for the life by arranging everything in an organized manner. He built several monasteries, each with about 1,600 separate cells laid out in lines and these cells formed an encampment where the monks slept and performed some of their manual tasks. There were nearby large halls such as the church, refectory, kitchen, infirmary, an enclosure protecting all these buildings gave the settlement the appearance of a walled village. This layout, known as the laurae, became popular throughout Palestine, as well as the laurae, communities known as caenobia developed
23.
Dean (religion)
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A dean, in a church context, is a cleric holding certain positions of authority within a religious hierarchy. The title is used mainly in the Anglican Communion, the Roman Catholic Church, a deans assistant is called a subdean. In the church, the Dean of the College of Cardinals, except for presiding and delegating administrative tasks, they have no authority over the cardinals, acting as primus inter pares. In the academic community, the Dean is the leader of the Faculty who presides over the Faculty Board. He is deputized by a Vice-Dean and equally assisted by a Sub-Dean who can be delegated some of the task of the Dean. The most senior Professor or a Vice-Dean is the person who can act for a Dean in his or her absence from office. In the Church of England and elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the dean is the chief resident cleric of a cathedral or other collegiate church, if the cathedral or collegiate church has its own parish, the dean is usually also rector of the parish. However, in the Church of Ireland the roles are often separated, in the Church in Wales, however, most cathedrals are parish churches, and their deans are now also vicars of their parishes. In some parts of the Communion, the senior resident cleric in a cathedral is a provost. Each diocese of the Scottish Episcopal Church has a dean of the diocese, in this way, a Scottish Episcopal dean is similar to an archdeacon in the other member churches of the Communion. In the Anglican Church of Canada, the roles of senior cleric of the cathedral are combined in one person who is referred to as Rector of Cathedral, thus, Peter Elliott is Rector of Christ Church Cathedral and Dean of New Westminster. The style The Very Reverend distinguishes a cleric as a dean, for example, the Very Reverend June Osborne is Dean of Salisbury Cathedral. In consideration of the status of a Dean, the Very Reverend title is normally a permanent title preferment. Some important deans include the deans of St Pauls, Canterbury Cathedral, Westminster Abbey is a royal peculiar, not the seat of any bishop or a cathedral, but is led by a dean. The deans of Washington National Cathedral and St. Patricks Cathedral, in many parts of the Anglican Communion, parishes are grouped together to form deaneries, each being a constituent administrative district of the diocese. Usually, a deanery is led by one of the incumbents of the parishes, who is called a rural dean. Such a dean chairs the meeting of the clergy. Rural Deans rank as primi inter pares of their chapters, the head of an Anglican theological college or seminary may also be called a dean
24.
Parish
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A parish is a church territorial unit constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the care and clerical jurisdiction of a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or more curates. Historically, a parish often covered the same area as a manor. By extension the term refers not only to the territorial unit. In England this church property was technically in ownership of the parish priest ex-officio, the eighth Archbishop of Canterbury Theodore of Tarsus appended the parish structure to the Anglo-Saxon township unit, where it existed, and where minsters catered to the surrounding district. In the wider picture of ecclesiastical polity, a parish comprises a division of a diocese or see, parishes within a diocese may be grouped into a deanery or vicariate forane, overseen by a dean or vicar forane, or in some cases by an archpriest. Some churches of the Anglican Communion have deaneries as units of an archdeaconry, in the Roman Catholic Church, each parish normally has its own parish priest, who has responsibility and canonical authority over the parish. These are called assistant priests, parochial vicars, curates, or, in the United States, associate pastors, each diocese is divided into parishes, each with their own central church called the parish church, where religious services take place. An example is that of personal parishes established in accordance with the 7 July 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum for those attached to the form of the Roman Rite. Most Catholic parishes are part of Latin Rite dioceses, which cover the whole territory of a country. There can also be overlapping parishes of eparchies of Eastern Catholic Churches, the Church of England geographical structure uses the local parish church as its basic unit. The parish system survived the Reformation with the Anglican Churchs secession from Rome remaining largely untouched, Church of England parishes nowadays all lie within one of 44 dioceses divided between the provinces of Canterbury,30 and York,14. A chapelry was a subdivision of a parish in England. It had a status to a township but was so named as it had a chapel which acted as a subsidiary place of worship to the main parish church. In England civil parishes and their parish councils evolved in the 19th century as ecclesiastical parishes began to be relieved of what became considered to be civic responsibilities. Thus their boundaries began to diverge, the word parish acquired a secular usage. Since 1895, a council elected by public vote or a parish meeting administers a civil parish and is formally recognised as the level of local government below a district council. The parish is also the level of church administration in the Church of Scotland
25.
Saint Alban
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Saint Alban is venerated as the first recorded British Christian martyr, and is considered to be the British protomartyr. Along with his fellow saints Julius, and Aaron, Alban is one of three named martyrs recorded at a date from Roman Britain. He is traditionally believed to have been beheaded in the Roman city of Verulamium sometime during the 3rd or 4th century, little can actually be known about the real St Alban, as there are no contemporaneous accounts of his martyrdom. The major sources on his life were written hundreds of years after his death, in the view of Robin Lane Fox, the date and historicity of the first British martyr, St Alban, are highly disputable. Saint Alban was long regarded as a martyr saint, the Proto-martyr of Britain. For much of the 20th century controversy centred around the date of his martyrdom, more recently some researchers have taken a more skeptical view about the historicity of Saint Alban. Assorted later figures, of mainly hagiographical legend, were identified as, at least in part and this theory received little support, or even notice, but in 2008 the historian Ian Wood proposed that the martyr-saint was an invention of Saint Germanus of Auxerre. Germanus visited Britain in 429, as we know from the very near-contemporary mention by Prosper of Aquitaine. His chronicle, in the entry for the year 429, states, Agricola, a Pelagian, the son of the Pelagian bishop Severianus, corrupted the British churches by the insinuation of his doctrine. But at the persuasion of the deacon Palladius, Pope Celestine sent Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, as his representative, and having rejected the heretics, directed the British to the catholic faith. The Vita Germani was long regarded as the earliest source for the martyr Alban although recent research by Richard Sharpe has suggested the earliest version of the Passio Albani may be even earlier. It is, in any case, a part of what suggested to Professor Wood that “it is Germanus who gives Alban a name”, on this basis he states, “This would make good sense in terms of his mission, claiming Britain’s most famous cult for Catholicism”. Key to the argument here is a passage in the T version of the Passio that Professor Richard Sharpe has convincingly argued represents an interpolation into the more original E text, all extant versions of the Passio mention Germanuss visit to the tomb of Saint Alban. The E version, followed essentially by the T version, states, When Germanus came to Albans basilica, carrying with him relics of all the apostles and of several martyrs. But interpolated at this point in only the T version is. Alban had revealed himself to Germanus on his journey, and now, so Germanus himself relates, St Alban met him on the stormy seas. But while he had been keeping vigil at night in his basilica, when all these things were revealed and made known a huge crowd of people was brought to god with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ to whom is honour and glory for ever and ever. It is also possible to deduce that it was simply the acta, or story of the martyrdom and these acta were then written down in tituli, that is possibly engraved in the walls of a church with illustrations. This might have been either in a church in Auxerre as argued by Professors Sharpe and Wood, the location of the tomb of Saint Alban that Germanus visited is most often thought to have been Verulamium, the modern St Albans
26.
Bede
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He is well known as an author and scholar, and his most famous work, Ecclesiastical History of the English People gained him the title The Father of English History. Bedes monastery had access to a library which included works by Eusebius, Orosius. Almost everything that is known of Bedes life is contained in the last chapter of his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, a history of the church in England. It was completed in about 731, and Bede implies that he was then in his fifty-ninth year, a minor source of information is the letter by his disciple Cuthbert which relates Bedes death. Bede, in the Historia, gives his birthplace as on the lands of this monastery, Bede says nothing of his origins, but his connections with men of noble ancestry suggest that his own family was well-to-do. Bedes first abbot was Benedict Biscop, and the names Biscop, Bedes name reflects West Saxon Bīeda. It is an Anglo-Saxon short name formed on the root of bēodan to bid, the name also occurs in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, s. a. 501, as Bieda, one of the sons of the Saxon founder of Portsmouth, the Liber Vitae of Durham Cathedral names two priests with this name, one of whom is presumably Bede himself. Some manuscripts of the Life of Cuthbert, one of Bedes works, mention that Cuthberts own priest was named Bede, at the age of seven, Bede was sent to the monastery of Monkwearmouth by his family to be educated by Benedict Biscop and later by Ceolfrith. Bede does not say whether it was intended at that point that he would be a monk. Monkwearmouths sister monastery at Jarrow was founded by Ceolfrith in 682, in 686, plague broke out at Jarrow. The two managed to do the service of the liturgy until others could be trained. The young boy was almost certainly Bede, who would have been about 14, when Bede was about 17 years old, Adomnán, the abbot of Iona Abbey, visited Monkwearmouth and Jarrow. Bede would probably have met the abbot during this visit, in about 692, in Bedes nineteenth year, Bede was ordained a deacon by his diocesan bishop, John, who was bishop of Hexham. There might have been minor orders ranking below a deacon, in Bedes thirtieth year, he became a priest, with the ordination again performed by Bishop John. In about 701 Bede wrote his first works, the De Arte Metrica and De Schematibus et Tropis and he continued to write for the rest of his life, eventually completing over 60 books, most of which have survived. Not all his output can be dated, and Bede may have worked on some texts over a period of many years. His last-surviving work is a letter to Ecgbert of York, a former student, Bede may also have worked on one of the Latin bibles that were copied at Jarrow, one of which is now held by the Laurentian Library in Florence
27.
Verulamium
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Verulamium was a town in Roman Britain. It was sited in the southwest of the city of St Albans in Hertfordshire. A large portion of the Roman city remains unexcavated, being now park and agricultural land, the ancient Watling Street passed through the city. Much of the site and its environs is now classed as an ancient monument. Before the Romans established their settlement, there was already a centre in the area which belonged to the Catuvellauni. This settlement is usually called Verlamion, the etymology is uncertain but the name has been reconstructed as *Uerulāmion, which would have a meaning like of the broad hand in Brittonic. In this pre-Roman form, it was among the first places in Britain recorded by name, the settlement was established by Tasciovanus, who minted coins there. The Roman settlement was granted the rank of municipium around AD50, meaning its citizens had what were known as Latin Rights and it grew steadily, by the early 3rd century, it covered an area of about 125 acres, behind a deep ditch and wall. It is the location of the martyrdom of the first British martyr saint, Saint Alban, Verulamium contained a forum, basilica and a theatre, much of which were damaged during two fires, one in 155 and the other in around 250. One of the few extant Roman inscriptions in Britain is found on the remnants of the forum, the town was rebuilt in stone rather than timber at least twice over the next 150 years. Occupation by the Romans ended between 400 and 450, more remains under the nearby agricultural land which have never been excavated were for a while seriously threatened by deep ploughing. St Albans Abbey and the associated Anglo-Saxon settlement were founded on a hill outside the Roman city, the site of the abbey may have been a location where there was reason to believe that St Alban was executed or buried. More certainly, the abbey is near the site of a Roman cemetery and it is unknown whether there are Roman remains under the medieval abbey. An archaeological excavation in 1978, directed by Martin Biddle, failed to find Roman remains on the site of the chapter house. David Nash Ford identifies the community as the Cair Mincip listed by Nennius among the 28 cities of Britain in his History of the Britains. The modern city takes its name from Alban, either a citizen of Verulamium or a Roman soldier, who was condemned to death in the 3rd century for sheltering Amphibalus, a Christian. Alban was converted by him to Christianity, and by virtue of his death, since much of the modern city and its environs is built over Roman remains, it is still common to unearth Roman artefacts several miles away. A complete tile kiln was found in Park Street some six miles from Verulamium in the 1970s, no trace of it is left, but Aubrey noted, At Verulam is to be seen, in some few places, some remains of the wall of this Citie
28.
River Ver
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The Ver is a river in Hertfordshire, England. The Romans built the city of Verulamium alongside it at a time when it was navigable, the Ver is a chalk stream, which is partly a seasonal winterbourne north of Redbourn. However, many of its features have been compromised as a result of being canalised during the construction of the artificial lakes at Verulamium Park in St Albans in the 1930s. During the 1960s and 1970s it suffered serious problems as a result of water extraction upstream, in 2004 a proposal for remedial work was being developed for the St Albans lakes. Eleven mills are known to have existed, of which a number can still be today, either as mills. Particularly worthy of note are, Dolittle Mill, closed in 1927 and since demolished. It is reputed to have been the site of a miracle, the early 15th century chronicler Thomas Walsingham, a monk at St Albans Abbey, records that a child fell into the mill race and was thrown out by the wheel, apparently dead. The childs mother prayed to Saint Alban, offering money if the life were restored. Redbournbury Mill, between Redbourn and St Albans, a recently restored flour mill, still producing flour. A 16th century mill in St Albans which was previously a mill belonging to St Albans Abbey. Its origins are known to go back to at least 1194, indeed, today it is restored and open as a museum, with gift shop and waffle house. Moor Mill, in Smug Oak Lane, Bricket Wood, now a public house and conference centre. The water wheel and other workings can still be seen inside during normal opening hours, the bridge in St Michaels Street, adjacent to Kingsbury Mill, dates from 1765 and is believed to be the oldest extant bridge in Hertfordshire. According to an account of the Second Battle of St Albans in 1461. It is thought that the Romans had built a bridge here by the 3rd century AD, disused watercress beds can be seen at various points along the rivers length, the entire Ver valley was a national centre for the watercress growing industry. Ver Valley Society Friends of Verulamium Park Discover the River Ver on Countryside Management Services website
29.
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
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The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle is a collection of annals in Old English chronicling the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The original manuscript of the Chronicle was created late in the 9th century, probably in Wessex, multiple copies were made of that one original and then distributed to monasteries across England, where they were independently updated. In one case, the Chronicle was still being updated in 1154. Nine manuscripts survive in whole or in part, though not all are of historical value. The oldest seems to have been started towards the end of Alfreds reign and these manuscripts collectively are known as the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Taken as a whole, however, the Chronicle is the single most important historical source for the period in England between the departure of the Romans and the following the Norman conquest. Much of the information given in the Chronicle is not recorded elsewhere, in addition, the manuscripts are important sources for the history of the English language, in particular, the later Peterborough text is one of the earliest examples of Middle English in existence. Seven of the nine surviving manuscripts and fragments now reside in the British Library, the remaining two are in the Bodleian Library at Oxford and the Parker Library of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. All of the manuscripts are copies, so it is not known for certain where or when the first version of the Chronicle was composed. It is generally agreed that the version was written in the late 9th century by a scribe in Wessex. After the original Chronicle was compiled, copies were made and distributed to various monasteries, additional copies were made, for further distribution or to replace lost manuscripts, and some copies were updated independently of each other. Some of these copies are those that have survived. The earliest extant manuscript, the Winchester Chronicle, was written by a single scribe up to the year 891, the scribe wrote the year number, DCCCXCII, in the margin of the next line, subsequent material was written by other scribes. It is known that the Winchester manuscript is at least two removes from the original Chronicle, as a result, there is no proof that the Chronicle was compiled at Winchester. The Chronicle, as well as the distribution of copies to other centres of learning, of the nine surviving manuscripts, seven are written entirely in Old English. One, known as the Bilingual Canterbury Epitome, is in Old English with a translation of each annal into Latin, another, the Peterborough Chronicle, is in Old English except for the last entry, which is in early Middle English. The oldest is known as the Winchester Chronicle or the Parker Chronicle, six of the manuscripts were printed in an 1861 edition for the Rolls Series by Benjamin Thorpe with the text laid out in columns labelled A to F. He also included the few remnants of a burned seventh manuscript
30.
Gildas
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He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during the sub-Roman period, and was renowned for his Biblical knowledge and literary style. In his later life, he emigrated to Brittany where he founded a monastery known as St. Gildas de Rhuys. Differing versions of the Life of Saint Gildas exist, but both agree that he was born in what is now Scotland on the banks of the River Clyde, and these works were written in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and are regarded by scholars as unhistorical. He is now thought to have his origins further south, in his own work, he claims to have been born the same year as the Battle of Mount Badon. He was educated at a center, possibly Cor Tewdws under St. Illtud. He became a teacher, converting many to Christianity and founding numerous churches and monasteries throughout Britain. He is thought to have made a pilgrimage to Rome before emigrating to Brittany, however, his life of solitude was short-lived, and pupils soon sought him out and begged him to teach them. He is thought to have died at Rhuys, and was buried there, the 9th century Rhuys Life is generally accepted as being more accurate. The First Life of St. Gildas was written by a monk at the monastery which Gildas founded in Rhuys. According to this tradition, Gildas is the son of Caunus, king of Alt Clut in the Hen Ogledd and he had four brothers, his brother Cuillum ascended to the throne on the death of his father, but the rest became monks in their own right. Gildas was sent as a child to the College of Theodosius in Glamorgan, under the care of St. Illtud and his master St. Illtud loved him tenderly and taught him with special zeal. He was supposed to be educated in arts and divine scripture, but elected to study only holy doctrine. After completing his studies under St. Illtud, Gildas went to Ireland where he was ordained as a priest and he returned to his native lands in northern Britain where he acted as a missionary, preaching to the pagan people and converting many of them to Christianity. He was then asked by Ainmericus, high king of Ireland, to order to the church in Ireland. Gildas obeyed the summons and travelled all over the island, converting the inhabitants, building churches. He then travelled to Rome and Ravenna where he performed many miracles, intending to return to Britain, he instead settled on the Isle of Houat off Brittany where he led a solitary, austere life. At around this time, he preached to Nonnita, the mother of Saint David. He was eventually sought out by those who wished to study under him and he built an oratory on the bank of the River Blavetum, today known as St. Gildas de Rhuys
31.
Germanus of Auxerre
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Germanus of Auxerre was a bishop of Auxerre in Late Antique Gaul. In Britain he is best remembered for his journey to combat Pelagianism in or around 429 AD, and he also played an important part in the establishment and promotion of the Cult of Saint Alban. The saint was said to have revealed the story of his martyrdom to Germanus in a dream or holy vision, Germanus is venerated as a saint in both the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches, which commemorate him on July 31. Constantius was a friend of Bishop Lupus of Troyes, who accompanied Germanus to Britain, Germanus was the son of Rusticus and Germanilla, and his family was one of the noblest in Gaul in the latter portion of the fourth century. He received the very best education provided by the schools of Arles and Lyons, and then went to Rome. He practiced there before the tribunal of the prefect for some years with great success and his high birth and brilliant talents brought him into contact with the court, and he married Eustachia, a lady highly esteemed in imperial circles. The emperor sent him back to Gaul, appointing him one of the six dukes, at length he incurred the displeasure of the bishop, Saint Amator by hanging hunting trophies on a certain tree, which in earlier times had been the scene of pagan worship. Amator remonstrated with him in vain, one day when the duke was absent, the bishop had the tree cut down and the trophies burnt. Fearing the anger of the duke, who wished to kill him and this being granted, Amator, who felt that his own life was drawing to a close, returned. When in a short time Amator died, Germain was unanimously chosen to fill the vacant see and his education now served him in good stead in the government of the diocese, which he administered with great sagacity. Around 429, shortly after the Romans had withdrawn from Britain and it was alleged that Pelagianism was rife among the British clergy, led by a British bishops son named Agricola. Germanus went to combat the threat and satisfy the Pope that the British church would not break away from the Augustinian teachings of divine grace, Germanus and Lupus confronted the British clergy at a public meeting before a huge crowd in Britain. The Pelagians were described as being conspicuous for riches, brilliant in dress, the bishops debated and, despite having no popular support, Germanus was able to defeat the Pelagians using his superior rhetorical skills. Constantius also recounts the miraculous healing of the daughter of a man with tribunician power. This use of the word tribune may imply the existence of some form of post-Roman government system. However, in Constantius lifetime tribune had acquired a looser definition, Germanus led the native Britons to a victory against Pictish and Saxon raiders, at a mountainous site near a river, of which Mold in North Wales is the traditional location. The enemy approaching, the general put himself at the head of the Christians. He led them into a vale between two mountains, and ordered his troops shout when he gave them a sign
32.
Matthew Paris
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Matthew Paris, known as Matthew of Paris, was a Benedictine monk, English chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts and cartographer, based at St Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire. He wrote a number of works, mostly historical, which he scribed and illuminated himself, some were written in Latin, some in Anglo-Norman or French verse. His Chronica Majora is a source, though modern historians recognise that Paris was not always reliable. He tended to glorify Emperor Frederick II and denigrate the Pope, however, in his Historia Anglorum, Paris displays a highly negative view of Frederick, going as far as to describe him as a tyrant who committed disgraceful crimes. In spite of his surname and knowledge of the French language, Paris was of English birth and he may have studied at Paris in his youth after early education at St Albans School. The first we know of Matthew Paris is that he was admitted as a monk to St Albans in 1217. He was clearly at ease with the nobility and even royalty and his life was mainly spent in this religious house. Apart from these missions, his activities were devoted to the composition of history. After admission to the order in 1217, he inherited the mantle of Roger of Wendover, Paris revised Rogers work, adding new material to cover his own tenure. This Chronica Majora is an important historical document, especially for the period between 1235 and 1259. Equally interesting are the illustrations Paris created for his work, the Dublin MS contains interesting notes, which shed light on Paris involvement in other manuscripts, and on the way his own were used. The lending of his manuscripts to aristocratic households, apparently for periods of weeks or months at a time, Paris manuscripts mostly contain more than one text, and often begin with a rather random assortment of prefatory full-page miniatures. Some have survived incomplete, and the elements now bound together may not have been intended to be so by Paris. Unless stated otherwise, all were given by Paris to his monastery, the monastic libraries were broken up at the Dissolution. These MS seem to have appreciated, and were quickly collected by bibliophiles. Many of his manuscripts in the British Library are from the Cotton Library, corpus Christi College, Cambridge, Mss 26 and 16,362 x 244/248 mm. ff 141 +281, composed 1240–53. His major historical work, but less heavily illustrated per page than others and these two volumes contain annals from the creation of the world up to the year 1253. There are 100 marginal drawings, some maps and an itinerary, and full-page drawings of William I
33.
Offa of Mercia
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Offa was King of Mercia, a kingdom of Anglo-Saxon England, from 757 until his death in July 796. The son of Thingfrith and a descendant of Eowa, Offa came to the throne after a period of war following the assassination of Æthelbald. Offa defeated the other claimant, Beornred, in the early years of Offas reign, it is likely that he consolidated his control of Midland peoples such as the Hwicce and the Magonsæte. Taking advantage of instability in the kingdom of Kent to establish himself as overlord, Offa also controlled Sussex by 771, though his authority did not remain unchallenged in either territory. In the 780s he extended Mercian supremacy over most of southern England, allying with Beorhtric of Wessex, who married Offas daughter Eadburh and he also became the overlord of East Anglia and had King Æthelberht II of East Anglia beheaded in 794, perhaps for rebelling against him. Offa was a Christian king who came into conflict with the Church, particularly with Jaenberht, Offa persuaded Pope Adrian I to divide the archdiocese of Canterbury in two, creating a new archdiocese of Lichfield. Offa had a dispute with the Bishop of Worcester, which was settled at the Council of Brentford in 781, many surviving coins from Offas reign carry elegant depictions of him, and the artistic quality of these images exceeds that of the contemporary Frankish coinage. Some of his coins carry images of his wife, Cynethryth – the only Anglo-Saxon queen ever depicted on a coin. Only three gold coins of Offas have survived, one is a copy of an Abbasid dinar of 774 and carries Arabic text on one side, the gold coins are of uncertain use but may have been struck to be used as alms or for gifts to Rome. Many historians regard Offa as the most powerful Anglo-Saxon king before Alfred the Great and his dominance never extended to Northumbria, though he gave his daughter Ælfflæd in marriage to the Northumbrian king Æthelred I in 792. Historians once saw his reign as part of a process leading to a unified England, in the words of a recent historian, Offa was driven by a lust for power, not a vision of English unity, and what he left was a reputation, not a legacy. Offa died in 796, his son, Ecgfrith, succeeded him, in the first half of the 8th century, the dominant Anglo-Saxon ruler was King Æthelbald of Mercia, who by 731 had become the overlord of all the provinces south of the River Humber. The power and prestige that Offa attained made him one of the most significant rulers in Early Medieval Britain, a key source for the period is the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a collection of annals in Old English narrating the history of the Anglo-Saxons. The Chronicle was a West Saxon production, however, and is thought to be biased in favour of Wessex, hence it may not accurately convey the extent of power achieved by Offa. That power can be seen at work in dating from Offas reign. Charters were documents which granted land to followers or to churchmen and were witnessed by the kings who had the authority to grant the land, a charter might record the names of both a subject king and his overlord on the witness list appended to the grant. Such a witness list can be seen on the Ismere Diploma, for example, Offas Dyke, most of which was probably built in his reign, is a testimony to the extensive resources Offa had at his command and his ability to organise them. Other surviving sources include a document known as the Tribal Hidage
34.
Mercia
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Mercia was one of the kingdoms of the Anglo-Saxon Heptarchy. The name is a Latinisation of the Old English Mierce or Myrce, the kingdom was centred on the valley of the River Trent and its tributaries, in the region now known as the English Midlands. The kingdoms capital was the town of Tamworth, which was the seat of the Mercian Kings from at least around AD584, when King Creoda built a fortress at the town. The reign of King Offa, who is best remembered for his Dyke that designated the boundary between Mercia and the Welsh kingdoms, is known as the Golden Age of Mercia. Mercia was originally a pagan kingdom, but King Peada converted to Christianity around 656, the Diocese of Mercia was founded in 656, with the first bishop, Diuma, based at Repton. After only 13 years at Repton, in 669 the fifth bishop, Saint Chad, moved the bishopric to Lichfield, in 691, the Diocese of Mercia became the Diocese of Lichfield. For a brief period between 787 and 799 the diocese was an archbishopric, although it was dissolved in 803. The current bishop, Michael Ipgrave, is the 99th since the diocese was established, at the end of the 9th century, following the invasions of the Vikings and their Great Heathen Army, much of the former Mercian territory was absorbed into the Danelaw. At its height, the Danelaw included London, all of East Anglia, the final Mercian king, Ceolwulf II, died in 879, the kingdom appears to have thereby lost its political independence. Initially, it was ruled by a lord or ealdorman under the overlordship of Alfred the Great, Mercia is still used as a geographic designation, and the name is used by wide range of organisations, including military units, public, commercial and voluntary bodies. Mercias exact evolution at the start of the Anglo-Saxon era remains more obscure than that of Northumbria, Kent, Mercia developed an effective political structure and adopted Christianity later than the other kingdoms. Archaeological surveys show that Angles settled the north of the River Thames by the 6th century. The name Mercia is Old English for boundary folk, and the interpretation is that the kingdom originated along the frontier between the native Welsh and the Anglo-Saxon invaders. Hunter Blair argued an alternative interpretation, that emerged along the frontier between Northumbria and the inhabitants of the Trent river valley. The earliest person named in any records as a king of Mercia is Creoda, coming to power around 584, he built a fortress at Tamworth which became the seat of Mercias kings. His son Pybba succeeded him in 593, Cearl, a kinsman of Creoda, followed Pybba in 606, in 615, Cearl gave his daughter Cwenburga in marriage to Edwin, king of Deira, whom he had sheltered while he was an exiled prince. The next Mercian king, Penda, ruled from about 626 or 633 until 655, some of what is known about Penda comes from the hostile account of Bede, who disliked him – both as an enemy to Bedes own Northumbria and as a pagan. However, Bede admits that Penda freely allowed Christian missionaries from Lindisfarne into Mercia, and did not restrain them from preaching
35.
Order of Saint Benedict
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Each community within the order maintains its own autonomy, while the order itself represents their mutual interests. Internationally, the order is governed by the Benedictine Confederation, a body, established in 1883 by Pope Leo XIIIs Brief Summum semper, individuals whose communities are members of the order generally add the initials OSB after their names. The monastery at Subiaco in Italy, established by Saint Benedict of Nursia circa 529, was the first of the monasteries he founded. He later founded the Abbey of Monte Cassino, there is no evidence, however, that he intended to found an order and the Rule of Saint Benedict presupposes the autonomy of each community. It was from the monastery of St. Andrew in Rome that Augustine, the prior, at various stopping places during the journey, the monks left behind them traditions concerning their rule and form of life, and probably also some copies of the Rule. Lérins Abbey, for instance, founded by Honoratus in 375, probably received its first knowledge of the Benedictine Rule from the visit of St. Augustine, in Gaul and Switzerland, it supplemented the much stricter Irish or Celtic Rule introduced by Columbanus and others. In many monasteries it eventually displaced the earlier codes. Largely through the work of Benedict of Aniane, it became the rule of choice for monasteries throughout the Carolingian empire, Monastic scriptoria flourished from the ninth through the twelfth centuries. Sacred Scripture was always at the heart of every monastic scriptorium, as a general rule those of the monks who possessed skill as writers made this their chief, if not their sole active work. In the Middle Ages monasteries were founded by the nobility. Cluny Abbey was founded by William I, Duke of Aquitaine in 910, the abbey was noted for its strict adherence to the Rule of St. Benedict. The abbot of Cluny was the superior of all the daughter houses, one of the earliest reforms of Benedictine practice was that initiated in 980 by Romuald, who founded the Camaldolese community. The English Benedictine Congregation is the oldest of the nineteen Benedictine congregations, Augustine of Canterbury and his monks established the first English Benedictine monastery at Canterbury soon after their arrival in 597. Many of the sees of England were founded and governed by the Benedictines. Monasteries served as hospitals and places of refuge for the weak, the monks studied the healing properties of plants and minerals to alleviate the sufferings of the sick. Germany was evangelized by English Benedictines, willibrord and Boniface preached there in the seventh and eighth centuries and founded several abbeys. In the English Reformation, all monasteries were dissolved and their lands confiscated by the Crown, during the 19th century they were able to return to England, including to Selby Abbey in Yorkshire, one of the few great monastic churches to survive the Dissolution. St. Mildreds Priory, on the Isle of Thanet, Kent, was built in 1027 on the site of an abbey founded in 670 by the daughter of the first Christian King of Kent, currently the priory is home to a community of Benedictine nuns
36.
Dunstan
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Dunstan was an Abbot of Glastonbury Abbey, a Bishop of Worcester, a Bishop of London, and an Archbishop of Canterbury, later canonised as a saint. His work restored monastic life in England and reformed the English Church and his 11th-century biographer, Osbern, himself an artist and scribe, states that Dunstan was skilled in making a picture and forming letters, as were other clergy of his age who reached senior rank. Dunstan served as an important minister of state to several English kings, Dunstan was born in Baltonsborough, Somerset. He was the son of Heorstan, a noble of Wessex, Heorstan was the brother of Athelm the bishop of Wells and of the Bishop of Winchester. It is recorded that his mother, Cynethryth, was a pious woman, the anonymous author of the earliest Life places Dunstans birth during the reign of Athelstan, while Osbern fixed it at the first year of the reign of King Æthelstan,924 or 925. This date, however, cannot be reconciled with other dates of Dunstans life. Historians therefore assume that Dunstan was born around 910 or earlier, as a young boy, Dunstan studied under the Irish monks who then occupied the ruins of Glastonbury Abbey. Accounts tell of his optimism and of his vision of the abbey being restored. While still a boy, Dunstan was stricken with a near-fatal illness, even as a child, he was noted for his devotion to learning and for his mastery of many kinds of artistic craftsmanship. With his parents consent he was tonsured, received minor orders and he became so well known for his devotion to learning that he is said to have been summoned by his uncle Athelm, the Archbishop of Canterbury, to enter his service. He was later appointed to the court of King Athelstan, Dunstan soon became a favourite of the king and was the envy of other members of the court. A plot was hatched to disgrace him and Dunstan was accused of being involved with witchcraft, the king ordered him to leave the court and as Dunstan was leaving the palace his enemies physically attacked him, beat him severely, bound him, and threw him into a cesspool. He managed to out and make his way to the house of a friend. From there, he journeyed to Winchester and entered the service of his uncle, Ælfheah, the bishop tried to persuade him to become a monk, but Dunstan was doubtful whether he had a vocation to a celibate life. The answer came in the form of an attack of swelling tumours all over Dunstans body and this ailment was so severe that it was thought to be leprosy. It was more probably some form of poisoning caused by being beaten. Whatever the cause, it changed Dunstans mind and he took Holy Orders in 943, in the presence of Ælfheah, and returned to live the life of a hermit at Glastonbury. Against the old church of St Mary he built a small cell five feet long and it was there that Dunstan studied, worked at his handicrafts, and played on his harp
37.
Flint
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Flint is a hard, sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as a variety of chert. It occurs chiefly as nodules and masses in sedimentary rocks, such as chalks, inside the nodule, flint is usually dark grey, black, green, white or brown in colour, and often has a glassy or waxy appearance. A thin layer on the outside of the nodules is usually different in colour, typically white, from a petrological point of view, flint refers specifically to the form of chert which occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Similarly, common chert occurs in limestone, the exact mode of formation of flint is not yet clear but it is thought that it occurs as a result of chemical changes in compressed sedimentary rock formations, during the process of diagenesis. One hypothesis is that a gelatinous material fills cavities in the sediment, such as bored by crustaceans or molluscs. This hypothesis certainly explains the shapes of flint nodules that are found. The source of dissolved silica in the media could be the spicules of silicious sponges. Certain types of flint, such as that from the south coast of England, pieces of coral and vegetation have been found preserved like amber inside the flint. Thin slices of the stone often reveal this effect, puzzling giant flint formations known as paramoudra and flint circles are found around Europe but especially in Norfolk, England on the beaches at Beeston Bump and West Runton. Flint sometimes occurs in large flint fields in Jurassic or Cretaceous beds, flint was used in the manufacture of tools during the Stone Age as it splits into thin, sharp splinters called flakes or blades when struck by another hard object. This process is referred to as knapping, flint mining is attested since the Palaeolithic, but became more common since the Neolithic. When struck against steel, a flint edge will produce sparks, the hard flint edge shaves off a particle of the steel that exposes iron which reacts with oxygen from the atmosphere and can ignite the proper tinder. Prior to the availability of steel, rocks of pyrite would be used along with the flint. These methods are popular in woodcraft, bushcraft, and among those who wish to use traditional skills, a later, major use of flint and steel was in the flintlock mechanism, used primarily in flintlock firearms, but also used on dedicated fire-starting tools. The sparks ignite the powder and that flame, in turn, ignites the main charge, propelling the ball, bullet. While the military use of the flintlock declined after the adoption of the cap from the 1840s onward, flintlock rifles. Flint and steel used to strike sparks were superseded by ferrocerium and this man-made material, when scraped with any hard, sharp edge, produces sparks that are much hotter than obtained with natural flint and steel, allowing use of a wider range of tinders. Because it can produce sparks when wet and can start fires when used correctly, ferrocerium is used in many cigarette lighters, where it is referred to as flint
38.
Mortar (masonry)
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In its broadest sense mortar includes pitch, asphalt, and soft mud or clay, such as used between mud bricks. Mortar comes from Latin mortarium meaning crushed, mortars are typically made from a mixture of sand, a binder, and water. The most common binder since the early 20th century is Portland cement, there are several types of cement mortars and additives. The first mortars were made of mud and clay, because of a lack of stone and an abundance of clay, Babylonian constructions were of baked brick, using lime or pitch for mortar. According to Roman Ghirshman, the first evidence of using a form of mortar was at the Mehrgarh of Baluchistan in Pakistan. The ancient sites of Harappan civilization of third millennium BCE are built with kiln-fired bricks, gypsum mortar, also called plaster of Paris, was used in the construction of the Egyptian pyramids and many other ancient structures. It is made from gypsum, which requires a firing temperature. It is therefore easier to make lime mortar and sets up much faster which may be a reason it was used as the typical mortar in ancient, brick arch. Gypsum mortar is not as durable as other mortars in damp conditions, in early Egyptian pyramids, which were constructed during the Old Kingdom, the limestone blocks were bound by mortar of mud and clay, or clay and sand. In later Egyptian pyramids, the mortar was made of gypsum or lime. Gypsum mortar was essentially a mixture of plaster and sand and was quite soft, in the Indian subcontinent, multiple cement types have been observed in the sites of the Indus Valley Civilization, such as the Mohenjo-daro city-settlement that dates to earlier than 2600 BCE. Bitumen mortar was used at a lower-frequency, including in the Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro. Historically, building with concrete and mortar next appeared in Greece, the excavation of the underground aqueduct of Megara revealed that a reservoir was coated with a pozzolanic mortar 12 mm thick. This aqueduct dates back to c.500 BCE, pozzolanic mortar is a lime based mortar, but is made with an additive of volcanic ash that allows it to be hardened underwater, thus it is known as hydraulic cement. The Greeks obtained the volcanic ash from the Greek islands Thira and Nisiros, or from the then Greek colony of Dicaearchia near Naples, the Romans later improved the use and methods of making what became known as pozzolanic mortar and cement. Even later, the Romans used a mortar without pozzolana using crushed terra cotta, introducing aluminum oxide and this mortar was not as strong as pozzolanic mortar, but, because it was denser, it better resisted penetration by water. Hydraulic mortar was not available in ancient China, possibly due to a lack of volcanic ash, around 500 CE, sticky rice soup was mixed with slaked lime to make an inorganic−organic composite mortar that had more strength and water resistance than lime mortar. It is not understood how the art of making hydraulic mortar and cement, during the Middle Ages when the Gothic cathedrals were being built, the only active ingredient in the mortar was lime
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Plaster
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Plaster is a building material used for the protective and/or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English plaster usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, another imprecise term used for the material is stucco, which is also often used for plasterwork that is worked in some way to produce relief decoration, rather than flat surfaces. The most common types of plaster mainly contain either gypsum, lime, or cement, the plaster is manufactured as a dry powder and is mixed with water to form a stiff but workable paste immediately before it is applied to the surface. The reaction with water liberates heat through crystallization and the hydrated plaster then hardens, plaster can be relatively easily worked with metal tools or even sandpaper, and can be moulded, either on site or to make pre-formed sections in advance, which are put in place with adhesive. Plaster is not a material, it is suitable for finishing, rather than load-bearing. Forms of plaster have several other uses, in medicine plaster orthopedic casts are still often used for supporting set broken bones. In dentistry plaster is used to make dental models, various types of models and moulds are made with plaster. In art, lime plaster is the matrix for fresco painting. Gypsum plaster, or plaster of Paris, is produced by heating gypsum to about 300 °F, when the dry plaster powder is mixed with water, it re-forms into gypsum. The setting of unmodified plaster starts about 10 minutes after mixing and is complete in about 45 minutes, if plaster or gypsum is heated above 266 °F, hemihydrate is formed, which will also re-form as gypsum if mixed with water. On heating to 180 °C, the nearly water-free form, called γ-anhydrite is produced, γ-Anhydrite reacts slowly with water to return to the dihydrate state, a property exploited in some commercial desiccants. On heating above 250 °C, the anhydrous form called β-anhydrite or dead burned plaster is formed. A large gypsum deposit at Montmartre in Paris led calcined gypsum to be known as plaster of Paris. Plasterers often use gypsum to simulate the appearance of surfaces of wood, stone, or metal, on movie, nowadays, theatrical plasterers often use expanded polystyrene, although the job title remains unchanged. Plaster of Paris can be used to impregnate gauze bandages to make a material called plaster bandages. It is used similarly to clay, as it is shaped when wet, yet sets into a resilient. This is the material that was used to make classic plaster orthopedic casts to protect limbs with broken bones, set Modroc is an early example of a composite material. The hydration of plaster of Paris relies on the reaction of water with the dehydrated or partially hydrated calcium sulfate present in the plaster, lime plaster is a mixture of calcium hydroxide and sand
