1.
Irish mythology
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The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity. However, much of it was preserved in medieval Irish literature and this literature represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branches of Celtic mythology. There are also a number of extant mythological texts that do not fit any of the cycles. Additionally, there are a number of recorded folk tales that, while not strictly mythological. Despite the dates of these sources, most of the material they contain predates their composition, the earliest of the prose can be dated on linguistic grounds to the 8th century, and some of the verse may be as old as the 6th century. The first of these part of the earliest known version of the Táin Bó Cúailnge and is housed in Trinity College. The other three are in the Royal Academy, when using these sources, it is, as always, important to question the impact of the circumstances in which they were produced. There was also a tendency to rework Irish genealogies to fit into the known schema of Greek or Biblical genealogy and it was once unquestioned that medieval Irish literature preserved truly ancient traditions in a form virtually unchanged through centuries of oral tradition back to the ancient Celts of Europe. A consensus has emerged which encourages the critical reading of the material, the Mythological Cycle, comprising stories of the former gods and origins of the Irish, is the least well preserved of the four cycles. The most important sources are the Metrical Dindshenchas or Lore of Places, Other manuscripts preserve such mythological tales as The Dream of Aengus, The Wooing Of Étain and Cath Maige Tuireadh, The Battle of Magh Tuireadh. One of the best known of all Irish stories, Oidheadh Clainne Lir, Lebor Gabála Érenn is a pseudo-history of Ireland, tracing the ancestry of the Irish back to before Noah. They faced opposition from their enemies, the Fomorians, led by Balor of the Evil Eye, Balor was eventually slain by Lug Lámfada at the second battle of Magh Tuireadh. With the arrival of the Gaels, the Tuatha Dé Danann retired underground to become the people of later myth. The Metrical Dindshenchas is the great work of early Ireland. It includes a lot of important information on Mythological Cycle figures and stories, including the Battle of Tailtiu, in which the Tuatha Dé Danann were defeated by the Milesians. It is important to note that by the Middle Ages the Tuatha Dé Danann were not viewed so much as gods as the shape-shifting magician population of an earlier Golden Age Ireland. Texts such as Lebor Gabála Érenn and Cath Maige Tuireadh present them as kings and heroes of the distant past, however, there is considerable evidence, both in the texts and from the wider Celtic world, that they were once considered deities. Even after they are displaced as the rulers of Ireland, characters such as Lug, a poem in the Book of Leinster lists many of the Tuatha Dé, but ends Although enumerates them, he does not worship them
2.
Immram
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An immram is a class of Old Irish tales concerning a heros sea journey to the Otherworld. Written in the Christian era and essentially Christian in aspect, they preserve elements of Irish mythology, the immrama are identifiable by their focus on the exploits of the heroes during their search for the Otherworld, located in these cases in the islands far to the west of Ireland. The hero sets out on his voyage for the sake of adventure or to fulfill his destiny and he may or may not be able to return home again. The immrama are generally confused with a similar Irish genre, the echtrae or adventure, both types of story involve a heros journey to an otherworld, whether a Christian paradise, a fairyland, the land of the gods or a utopia. They are distinguished by date, echtrai are older, dating from the 7th century, originally there were seven officially recognised Immram listed in a list of ancient texts. Of those seven only three survive, the The Voyage of Mael Dúin, The Voyage of the Uí Chorra, the Voyage of Bran is classified in these same lists as an echtrae, though it also contains the essential elements of the immrama. The later Latin Voyage of St. Brendan also contains a voyage across the sea to various otherworldly islands, Immram were first recorded as early as the 7th century by monks and scholars who fled Continental Europe before the barbarian invaders of the fifth century. These monks carried the learning of Western Europe and became the vanguard of the Christianizing of Europe, on this account it is expected that Immram have their origins in pre-existing Christian voyage literature, pre-existing Celtic legends, or classical stories the monks would have known. The origins of stories are attributed to three sources of preexisting stories, Irish myths, Christian genres, and Classic Stories. This difference is highlighted in the difference between sinless and sexless in the native and Christian mindset, in the existing translation where an author may have turned the Isle of Woman into a chaste society, with some difficulty. Such an example was with a passage that described a man and woman playing under a bush without sin or blame and this passage in light of several others emphasises a Christian effort to create a sinless and sexless Otherworld. Immrama may have borrowed heavily from preexisting Christian genres, such as the sanctae vitae, the peregrinatio, and the vision tales. As early as the 5th century Irish monks would go on a pilgrimage, the source of inspiration behind the Immram may also be the Christian punishment of sending people adrift for their crimes to be judged by God. Perhaps the largest piece of evidence that immram are Christian works is that the characters in the story are generally wandering priests, monks, one of the first Celticists, Heinrich Zimmerman, attempted to link the immram with the Aeneid and the Odyssey. Some of the parallels they make are between the women in the tales who bestow immortality on their lovers for the time they remain with them. These parallels have since been debunked by William Flint Thrall, on top of their literary and mythological precedents, some scholars have argued that the immrama may be exaggerated retelling of historical voyages. The early Irish, particularly monks, were certainly far travelled, reaching the Orkney, Shetland, Faroe Islands at an early date, Irish author C. S. Lewiss The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is sometimes described as a modern immram. The popularity of The Voyage of St. Brendan inspired Tim Severin to undertake a voyage using 5th century technology to demonstrate that the early Irish could have made it as far as North America
3.
Mag Mell
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In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory. Unlike the underworld in some mythologies, Mag Mell was a pleasurable paradise, however, Mag Mell was similar to the fields of Elysium in Greek mythology, and like the fields of Elysium, was accessible only to a select few. Furthermore, Mag Mell, like the other mystical islands said to be off the coast of Ireland, was never explicitly stated in any surviving mythological account to be an afterlife. Rather, it is portrayed as a paradisal location populated by deities. In its island guise it was visited by various Irish heroes and this otherworld is a place where sickness and death do not exist. It is a place of eternal youth and beauty, here, music, strength, life and all pleasurable pursuits come together in a single place. Here happiness lasts forever, no one wants for food or drink and it is the Irish equivalent of the Greek Elysium or the Valhalla of the Norse. Legends say its ruler is the Fomorian King Tethra, or more frequently Manannan mac Lir, Mag Mells allure extended from the pagan era to Christian times. They typically explore many other islands before reaching their destination. Among these voyagers are St. Brendan, Bran mac Febal, Irish monks, being celebrated sailors, doubtless inspired such stories and were inspired by them. They reached and colonized any number of islands, and St. Brendan is even speculated to have reached the New World a thousand years before Columbus. Mag Mell is a location in Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, which is home to Carbuncles, Mag Mell is the title of an album by Japanese artist Mili. The German Metal band SuidAkrAs album Book of Dowth includes a song titled Mag Mell, Mag Mell is a location in Kersten Hamiltons urban fantasy series Goblin Wars. Mag Mell is the setting for the fantasy series The Harmatia Cycle by M. E. Vaughan. Mag Mell is the name of a village in Dark Age of Camelot, tír na nÓg Fortunate Isles Valhalla Avalon Aaru Heaven Aericura Aillen Sídhe Hy-Brasil James MacKillop, Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, Oxford,1998
4.
Stephen Reid (artist)
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Stephen Reid was a Scottish illustrator and painter who specialised in Georgian settings and costume pieces. Born in Aberdeen, he was educated Grays School of Art and he was elected to the Royal Society of British Artists at the age of 33. His early work was influenced by Edwin Austin Abbey, books he illustrated include Alfred Noyes The Magic Casement, Eric Woods Famous Voyages of the Great Discoverers and Eleanor Hulls The Boys Cuchulain. He also contributed to magazines, including The Strand Magazine and The Connoisseur, Works by Stephen Reid at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Stephen Reid at Internet Archive
5.
Arnold Bax
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Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax KCVO was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, in addition to a series of symphonic poems he wrote seven symphonies and was for a time widely regarded as the leading British symphonist. Bax was born in the London suburb of Streatham to a prosperous family and he was encouraged by his parents to pursue a career in music, and his private income enabled him to follow his own path as a composer without regard for fashion or orthodoxy. Consequently, he came to be regarded in musical circles as an important, while still a student at the Royal Academy of Music Bax became fascinated with Ireland and Celtic culture, which became a strong influence on his early development. In the years before the First World War he lived in Ireland and became a member of Dublin literary circles, writing fiction, later, he developed an affinity with Nordic culture, which for a time superseded his Celtic influences in the years after the First World War. Between 1910 and 1920 Bax wrote a large amount of music, including the symphonic poem Tintagel, during this period he formed a lifelong association with the pianist Harriet Cohen – at first an affair, then a friendship, and always a close professional relationship. In the 1920s he began the series of seven symphonies which form the heart of his orchestral output, in 1942 Bax was appointed Master of the Kings Music, but composed little in that capacity. In his last years he found his music regarded as old-fashioned, from the 1960s onwards, mainly through a growing number of commercial recordings, his music was gradually rediscovered, although little of it is regularly heard in the concert hall. Bax was born in the London suburb of Streatham, Surrey and he was the eldest son of Alfred Ridley Bax and his wife, Charlotte Ellen, née Lea. The couples youngest son, Clifford Lea Bax, became a playwright, Alfred Bax was a barrister of the Middle Temple, but having a private income he did not practise. In 1896 the family moved to a mansion in Hampstead, Bax later wrote that although it would have been good to be raised in the country, the large gardens of the family house were the next best thing. He was a child, I cannot remember the long-lost day when I was unable to play the piano – inaccurately. After a preparatory school in Balham, Bax attended the Hampstead Conservatoire during the 1890s, the establishment was run – with considerable personal pomp, according to Bax – by Cecil Sharp, whose passion for English folk-song and folk-dance excited no response in his pupil. In 1900 Bax moved on to the Royal Academy of Music, Corder was a devotee of the works of Wagner, whose music was Baxs principal inspiration in his early years. He later observed, For a dozen years of my youth I wallowed in Wagners music to the almost total exclusion – until I became aware of Richard Strauss – of any other. Bax also discovered and privately studied the works of Debussy, whose music and his keyboard technique was formidable, but he had no desire for a career as a soloist. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he had private means that made him free to pursue his career as he chose. Among the influences on the young Bax was the Irish poet W. B, yeats, Baxs brother Clifford introduced him to Yeatss poetry and to Ireland
6.
Van Morrison
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Sir George Ivan Morrison, OBE, known as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter, instrumentalist and producer. In 2016, Morrison was knighted for his achievements and his services to tourism. He rose to prominence in the mid-1960s as the singer of the Northern Irish R&B band Them. His solo career began under the pop-hit oriented guidance of Bert Berns with the release of the hit single Brown Eyed Girl in 1967, after Berns death, Warner Bros. Records bought out his contract and allowed him three sessions to record Astral Weeks. Much of Morrisons music is structured around the conventions of music and R&B, such as the popular singles Brown Eyed Girl, Jackie Wilson Said, Domino. The two strains together are referred to as Celtic soul. He has received six Grammy Awards, the 1994 Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, Morrisons family roots descend from the Ulster Scots population that settled in Belfast. From 1950 to 1956, Morrison, who began to be known as Van during this time and those guys were the inspiration that got me going. If it wasnt for that kind of music, I couldnt do what Im doing now, Morrisons father bought him his first acoustic guitar when he was eleven, and he learned to play rudimentary chords from the song book The Carter Family Style, edited by Alan Lomax. A year later, when he was years old, Morrison formed his first band. In 1958, the played at some of the local cinemas. Other short-lived groups followed – at fourteen, he formed Midnight Special, another modified skiffle band and played at a school concert. Then, when he heard Jimmy Giuffre playing saxophone on The Train and The River, he talked his father buying him a saxophone. Now playing the saxophone, Morrison joined with local bands, including one called Deanie Sands. The line-up of the band was lead vocalist Deanie Sands, guitarist George Jones and drummer, later the four main musicians of the Javelins, with the addition of Wesley Black as pianist, became known as the Monarchs. Morrison attended Orangefield Boys Secondary School, leaving in July 1960 with no qualifications, however, he had been developing his musical interests from an early age and continued playing with the Monarchs part-time. Young Morrison also played with the Harry Mack Showband, the Great Eight, with his older friend, Geordie Sproule. At age 17, Morrison toured Europe for the first time with the Monarchs, while in Germany, the band recorded a single, Boozoo Hully Gully/Twingy Baby, under the name Georgie and the Monarchs
7.
Titanic (1997 film)
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Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance-disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. Camerons inspiration for the film came from his fascination with shipwrecks, production began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the actual Titanic wreck. The modern scenes on the vessel were shot on board the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh. Scale models, computer-generated imagery, and a reconstruction of the Titanic built at Playas de Rosarito in Baja California were used to re-create the sinking, the film was partially funded by Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. It was the most expensive film made at time, with an estimated budget of $200 million. Upon its release on December 19,1997, Titanic achieved critical and commercial success, with an initial worldwide gross of over $1.84 billion, Titanic was the first film to reach the billion-dollar mark. It remained the highest-grossing film of all time until Camerons 2009 film Avatar surpassed it in 2010. A 3D version of Titanic, released on April 4,2012 to commemorate the centennial of the sinking, earned it an additional $343.6 million worldwide and it became the second film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide. In 2015, Titanic Live, an orchestra version of the film. In 1996, treasure hunter Brock Lovett and his team aboard the research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh search the wreck of RMS Titanic for a necklace with a rare diamond, the Heart of the Ocean. They recover a safe containing a drawing of a woman wearing only the necklace dated April 14,1912. Rose Dawson Calvert, the woman in the drawing, is brought aboard Keldysh, in 1912 Southampton, 17-year-old first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater, her fiancé Cal Hockley, and her mother Ruth board the luxurious Titanic. Ruth emphasizes that Roses marriage will resolve their familys financial problems, distraught over the engagement, Rose considers suicide by jumping from the stern, Jack Dawson, a penniless artist, intervenes and discourages her. Discovered with Jack, Rose tells a concerned Cal that she was peering over the edge, when Cal becomes indifferent, she suggests to him that Jack deserves a reward. He invites Jack to dine with them in first class the following night, Jack and Rose develop a tentative friendship, despite Cal and Ruth being wary of him. Following dinner, Rose secretly joins Jack at a party in third class, aware of Cal and Ruths disapproval, Rose rebuffs Jacks advances, but realizes she prefers him over Cal. After rendezvousing on the bow at sunset, Rose takes Jack to her room, at her request, Jack sketches Rose posing nude wearing Cals engagement present. They evade Cals bodyguard and have sex in an automobile inside the cargo hold, on the forward deck, they witness a collision with an iceberg and overhear the officers and designer discussing its seriousness
8.
First Nations
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The First Nations are the predominant Aboriginal peoples of Canada south of the Arctic. Those in the Arctic area are distinct and known as Inuit, the Métis, another distinct ethnicity, developed after European contact and relations primarily between First Nations people and Europeans. There are currently 634 recognized First Nations governments or bands spread across Canada, roughly half of which are in the provinces of Ontario and British Columbia. Under the Employment Equity Act, First Nations are a group, along with women, visible minorities. First Nations are not defined as a minority under the Act or by the criteria of Statistics Canada. Within Canada, First Nations has come into general use—replacing the deprecated term Indians—for the indigenous peoples of the Americas, individuals using the term outside Canada include supporters of the Cascadian independence movement, as well as U. S. tribes within the Pacific Northwest. The singular, commonly used on culturally politicized reserves, is the term First Nations person, North American indigenous peoples have cultures spanning thousands of years. Some of their oral traditions accurately describe historical events, such as the Cascadia earthquake of 1700, written records began with the arrival of European explorers and colonists during the Age of Discovery, beginning in the late 15th century. European accounts by trappers, traders, explorers, and missionaries give important evidence of early contact culture, in addition, archeological and anthropological research, as well as linguistics, have helped scholars piece together understanding of ancient cultures and historic peoples. Combined with later development, this relatively non-combative history has allowed First Nations peoples to have an influence on the national culture. Collectively, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples constitute Aboriginal peoples in Canada, Indigenous peoples of the Americas, First Nations came into common usage in the 1980s to replace the term Indian band in referring to groups of Indians with common government and language. Elder Sol Sanderson says that he coined the term in the early 1980s, others say that the term came into common usage in the 1970s to avoid using the word Indian, which some Canadians considered offensive. No legal definition of the term exists, some Aboriginal peoples in Canada have also adopted the term First Nation to replace the word band in the formal name of their community. While the word Indian is still a term, its use is erratic. Some First Nations people consider the term offensive, while others prefer it to Aboriginal person/persons/people, the term is a misnomer given to indigenous peoples of North America by European explorers who erroneously thought they had landed on the Indian subcontinent. The use of the term Native Americans, which the United States government and it refers more specifically to the Aboriginal peoples residing within the boundaries of the United States. The parallel term Native Canadian is not commonly used, but Natives and autochthones are, under the Royal Proclamation of 1763, also known as the Indian Magna Carta, the Crown referred to indigenous peoples in British territory as tribes or nations. The term First Nations is capitalized, unlike alternative terms, bands and nations may have slightly different meanings
9.
Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog
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Mystic Knights of Tir Na Nog is an Irish/American fantasy-adventure television series set in a fantasy version of ancient Ireland, created by Saban Entertainment. It was loosely based on actual Irish mythology, the name derives from Tír na nÓg, one of the Otherworlds of Irish mythology. It was Sabans first fantasy series to involve knights, dragons and it aired on the Fox Kids block on Fox from September 1,1998 and ending on May 7,1999. A second season entitled Mystic Knights, Battle Thunder was planned, but was later cancelled, the resulting series was an attempt in doing an original non-Japanese special-effects series rather than adapting from actual Japanese tokusatsu. When King Conchobar of Kells seeks a way to protect his kingdom, protagonist Rohan, the heroes having passed these tests, King Fin Varra gives them certain weapons granting control of the Classical Elements Fire, Air, Earth, and Water. Thereafter the four overcome Miders Evil Sentinels to capture corresponding suits of armor, subsequently, Rohan gains a new partner in Pyre the dragon, who later identifies Rohan as Draganta. Later in the series, another Mystic Knight emerges in Prince Garrett of Rheged, with her powers nearly exhausted, Queen Maeve summons the monster Lugad, who is more powerful than any previous creation, but he and Rohan are both identified as Maeves abandoned sons. In the series finale, they co-operate with the other Mystic Knights to defeat Maeve, Rohan – An orphan raised by the druid Cathbad. Rohan is noble, courageous, and steadfast and his weapon is the Sword of Kells, which can emit fire. He also has possession of the Dragons Breath Dagger, which he uses to summon Pyre, to win his red and gold Mystic Armor, he had to defeat the Ice Lord of Temra. To don his armor, he shouts Fire within me and he is also identified as the mighty warrior Draganta who is destined to bring peace to Kells for 100 lifetimes. Later in the series, Rohan obtains the ability to more powerful by shouting Battle Fury. When he has his armor made powerful in the forge within the Mountains of Gloom and his Battle Fury armor is crimson and gold. Eventually it is revealed that he is the son of Queen Maeve. Deirdre – The princess of Kells and her weapon is the Whirlwind Crossbow, which shoots a burst of air. To win her white and gold Mystic Armor, she had to defeat the Lightning Bat of Temra, to don her armor, she shouts Air above me. Deirdre is the most logical-minded of the Mystic Knights, and is sometimes frustrated by her companions foibles. Ivar – A prince from a distant land, Ivar came to Kells in search of his countrys sacred chalice and it was later revealed the chalice was stolen by Torc, Maeves general
10.
Saban Entertainment
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Saban is also notable for their various toku adapts of several shows from Toei Company, which include Power Rangers, Big Bad Beetleborgs, VR Troopers, and Masked Rider. Saban was involved in the co-production of French/American animated shows created by Jean Chalopin for DIC Entertainment, some of these early 1980s co-productions were Camp Candy, Ulysses 31, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and The Mysterious Cities of Gold. Saban has also distributed and provided music for TV programs produced by other companies, inspector Gadget and the first two dub seasons of Dragon Ball Z. Saban Entertainment was formed in 1983 as Saban Productions. The first Saban logo depicted a Saturn-like planet with the word Saban, in a Pac-Man style font, the planet had five lines under the word Productions. Several years later, the company created Saban International), for distribution of its shows. In 1988, the company renamed itself Saban Entertainment, New World Animation, Saban, and Marvel Films Animation each produced a Marvel series for television. Also in July, Saban formed a new division, Saban Enterprises International, to international licensing, merchandising. Oliver Spiner, senior president of Saban International, takes over operational duties previously handled by Welter. Eric Rollman was promoted from vice president production to executive vice president of Saban Animation. Saban and ARD TV Network of Germany agreed in August 1996 to a three-year, $50 million co-production, six co-produced childrens series totaling 182 from German author Michael Ende with two new shows, Jim Button and Night of the Wishes. Also, a part of the agreement 390 half-hour episodes of existing childrens TV programs and 30 telefilms were acquired by ARD, in 1996, Fox Childrens Productions merged with Saban Entertainment to form Fox Kids Worldwide bring the Marvel Productions and Marvel Films Animations library. Marvel was developing a Captain America animated series with Saban Entertainment for Fox Kids to premiere in fall 1998, however, due to Marvels bankruptcy the series was canceled before the premiere. Ironically, both Marvel and Saban would become parts of the The Walt Disney Company, Saban in 2002, the last official program and fully produced and distributed by Saban Entertainment was Power Rangers Time Force. However, Power Rangers Wild Force was the last series created by Saban, as of 2009, it appears that BVS Entertainment has become inactive, putting its future in question. Saban International Paris, later SIP Animation, was a production company based in France that operated from 1977 to 2008. Saban International Paris was found in France by Haim Saban and Jacqueline Tordjman in 1977 as a production company. In 1983, Saban International Paris moved into the animation field, the studio would go on to produce many animated series for Fox Kids Europe in the 1990s and 2000s. SIP continued to co-produce animated series with Jetix Europe during the 2000s, SIP Animation was closed in 2008
11.
Welsh language
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Welsh is a member of the Brittonic branch of the Celtic languages. It is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, historically it has also been known in English as the British tongue, Cambrian, Cambric and Cymric. The United Kingdom Census 2011 counted 3.1 million residents of Wales, 27% of whom had been born outside Wales, and 73% of whom reported having no Welsh language skills. Of residents of Wales aged three and over, 19% reported being able to speak Welsh, and 77% of these were able to speak, read and this can be compared with the 2001 Census, in which 20. 8% of the population reported being able to speak Welsh. 787,854 of residents in Wales aged three and over had one or more skills in Welsh, in surveys carried out between 2004 and 2006, 57% of Welsh speakers described themselves as fluent in the written language. An estimated 110,000 to 150,000 people speak Welsh in England, Welsh emerged in the 6th century from Common Brittonic, the common ancestor of Welsh, Breton, Cornish and the extinct language known as Cumbric. The Middle Welsh period is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, the name Welsh originated as an exonym given to its speakers by the Anglo-Saxons, meaning foreign speech. The native term for the language is Cymraeg, and for the name of the country of Wales it is Cymru, Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic, the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons. Classified as Insular Celtic, the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and was spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth. During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, evolving into Welsh and it is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Kenneth H. Jackson suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern was complete by around 550, Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to the Cynfeirdd or Early Poets – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was composed in the Hen Ogledd, raising further questions about the dating of the material. An 8th century inscription in Tywyn shows the language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns, the next main period, somewhat better attested, is Old Welsh, poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of the language. Both the works of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin were in this era, Middle Welsh is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts, Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible, albeit with some work, to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The famous cleric Gerald of Wales tells, in his Descriptio Cambriae, during one of the Kings many raids in the 12th century, Henry asked an old man of Pencader, Carmarthenshire whether the Welsh people could resist his army
12.
Eisteddfod
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In Welsh culture, an eisteddfod is a Welsh festival of literature, music and performance. The current format owes much to an 18th-century revival arising out of a number of informal eisteddfodau, the closest English equivalent to eisteddfod is session, the word is formed from two Welsh morphemes, eistedd, meaning sit, and bod, meaning be. In some countries, the term eisteddfod is used for types of performing arts competitions that have nothing to do with Welsh culture. The date of the first eisteddfod is a matter of debate among scholars. These judging boards had probably derived from ancient Celtic bardic traditions, the first recorded eisteddfod was held under the auspices of The Lord Rhys at Cardigan Castle in 1176. There he held a gathering to which were invited poets and musicians from all parts of Wales, a chair at the Lords table was awarded to the best poet and musician, a tradition that prevails in the modern day National Eisteddfod. The earliest large-scale eisteddfod that is known is the Carmarthen Eisteddfod in 1451 under Thomas ap Gruffydd of Llandeilo. The next recorded large-scale eisteddfod was held in Caerwys in 1568, the prizes awarded were a miniature silver chair to the successful poet, a little silver crwth to the winning fiddler, a silver tongue to the best singer, and a tiny silver harp to the best harpist. Originally, the contests were limited to professional Welsh bards who were paid by the nobility, in the 16th century, Elizabeth I of England commanded that the bards be examined and licensed to ensure performance standards. But interest in the Welsh arts declined during the 17th and 18th centuries, gatherings also became more informal, poets would often meet in taverns and open spaces and have assemblies of rhymers. These meetings kept traditions alive, the winners even still received a chair, a chair was a prized award because of its perceived social status. Throughout the medieval period, high-backed chairs with arm rests were reserved for royalty and high-status leaders in military, religious, as most ordinary people sat on stools until the 1700s, an armchair conveyed status to a winning bard. In 1789, Thomas Jones organised an eisteddfod in Corwen, where for the first time the public were admitted, the success of this event led to a revival of interest in Welsh literature and music. The earliest known surviving Bardic chair made specifically for an Eisteddfod was built in Carmarthen in 1819, iolo Morganwg founded Gorsedd Beirdd Ynys Prydain in 1792 to restore and replace the ancient eisteddfod. The first eisteddfod of the revival was held on Primrose Hill, the Gentlemans Magazine of October 1792 reported on the revival of the eisteddfod tradition. This being the day on which the autumnal equinox occurred, some Welsh bards resident in London assembled in congress on Primrose Hill, according to ancient usage. The Blue Books notorious attack on the character of the Welsh as a nation in 1846 led to public anger, by the 1850s people began to talk of a national eisteddfod to showcase Waless culture. In 1858 John Williams ab Ithel held a National Eisteddfod complete with Gorsedd in Llangollen, the great Llangollen Eisteddfod of 1858 was a significant event
13.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
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Goldilocks and the Three Bears and the older still The Story of the Three Bears are two variations of an old fairy tale. The original tale tells of an ugly, old woman who enters the forest home of three bachelor bears whilst they are away and she sits in their chairs, eats some of their porridge, and falls asleep in one of their beds. When the bears return and discover her, she starts up, jumps from the window, the other major version brings Goldilocks to the tale, and an even later version retained Goldilocks, but has the three bachelor bears transformed into Papa, Mama, and Baby Bear. What was originally an oral tale became a cosy family story with only a hint of menace. The story has elicited various interpretations and has adapted to film, opera. The Story of the Three Bears is one of the most popular tales in the English language. In Southeys tale, three anthropomorphic bears – a Little, Small, Wee Bear, a Middle-sized Bear, Southey describes them as very good-natured, trusting, harmless, tidy, and hospitable. Each of these bachelor bears has his own bowl, chair. One day they make porridge for breakfast, but its too hot to eat, an old woman named silver hair approaches the bears house. As she has sent out by her family, she is a disgrace to them. She is impudent, bad, foul-mouthed, ugly, dirty, and she looks through a window, peeps through the keyhole, and lifts the latch. Assured that no one is home, she walks in, the silver haired old lady eats the Wee Bears porridge, then settles into his chair and breaks it. Prowling about, she finds the bears beds and falls asleep in Wee Bears bed, the dark end of the tale is reached when the bears return. Wee Bear finds his empty bowl, his chair, and silver hair in his bed and cries, Somebody has been lying in my bed. Silver hair starts, runs away, breaks her neck and goes to the hospital, the same year Southeys tale was published, the story was versified by George Nicol who acknowledged the anonymous author of The Doctor as the great, original concocter of the tale. Southey was delighted with Nicols effort to bring exposure to the tale. Nicols version was illustrated with engravings by B, hart, and was reissued in 1848 with Southey identified as the storys author. The story of the three bears was in circulation before the publication of Southeys tale
14.
The Hounds of the Morrigan
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The Hounds of the Morrigan is a novel by Irish writer Pat OShea. It was published in 1985, having taken OShea ten years to complete, the novel centers on the adventures of 10-year-old Pidge and his younger sister, Brigit. Many characters in the book are culled straight from Celtic mythology, the book is intended for younger readers. Pidge buys a book entitled A Book of Patricks Writing and discovers that the book he bought is actually a prison for the evil serpent Olc-Glas, the Morrigan wants the book so that she can absorb the evil of Olc-Glas and take over the world. There is a sequel, which never was finished, OShea, Pat, The Hounds of the Morrigan, Holiday House, Inc, First American Edition 1986
15.
Shoegazing
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Shoegazing is a subgenre of indie rock, alternative rock, and neo-psychedelia that emerged in the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. The style is typified by the blurring of component musical parts—typically significant guitar distortion, feedback, the term was often used contemporaneously with dream pop. A loose label given to the scene and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was The Scene That Celebrates Itself. In the 2000s, there was renewed interest in the genre among nu gaze bands, Shoegaze combines ethereal, swirling vocals with layers of distorted, bent, flanged guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from another. Most bands drew from the music of My Bloody Valentine as a template for the genre, although co-founder Kevin Shields stated that the band had never used any chorus, Shoegazing was coined to describe dream pop bands. It originated in a review in Sounds for the newly formed band Moose in which singer Russell Yates read lyrics taped to the floor throughout the gig. The term was picked up by NME, who used it as a reference to the tendency of the guitarists to stare at their feet—or their effects pedals—while playing. According to AllMusic, The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegazing by the British press because the bandmembers stared at the stage while they performed. The term was considered pejorative, especially by the English weekly music press who considered the movement as ineffectual, miki Berenyi explained, Shoegazing was originally a slag-off term. My partner, who was the guitarist in Moose, claims that it was levelled at his band. Apparently the journo was referring to the bank of pedals he had strewn across the stage that he had to keep staring at in order to operate. And then it just became a term for all those bands that had a big, sweeping, effects-laden sound. The most commonly cited precursors to shoegazing are the Cocteau Twins, the Jesus and Mary Chain, each bands music bridged the styles of garage rock, 1960s psychedelia and American indie bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. Other artists that have identified as direct influences on shoegazing include the Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Hüsker Dü. Siouxsie and the Banshees was also an influence, initially on Cocteau Twins. Slowdive named themselves after a Siouxsie and the Banshees song of the same name, lush, a shoegaze contemporary, were originally called The Baby Machines, a line from a Siouxsie lyric. My Bloody Valentine emerged in the wake of that bands 1988 breakthrough, the Trouser Press Guide to 90s Rock mentions that A. R. Kane, the London duo. exerted a profound influence on the legion of trippy shoegazer guitar bands that would emerge a few years later in the UK
16.
Alcest
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Alcest is a French band from Bagnols-sur-Cèze, founded and led by Neige. In 2009 drummer Winterhalter from Les Discrets joined Alcests studio line-up, since its creation, Alcest has released five studio albums and a number of EPs and split releases. Their fourth album, 2014s Shelter, marked a shift towards a distinctly shoegaze sound. The band are credited with pioneering the Blackgaze/Post-Black Metal genre. Alcest was formed as a project by Neige in 2000. Soon after, the became a three-piece black metal outfit, consisting of Neige on vocals, rhythm/acoustic guitar, and drums, Argoth on bass. In 2001, the released a 4-track demo tape entitled Tristesse Hivernale on Drakkar Productions in which Famine wrote the main riff of the song La Forêt de Cristal. Not long after the demo was released, the once again became a one-man entity. Neige, having originally formed Alcest as an outlet to create cold and raw black metal, moved away from the minimalist approach with the follow-up to Tristesse Hivernale and this EP, released in May 2005, is an introduction of sorts to the new concept behind the reformed Alcest. According to Pitchforks Brandon Stosuy, the album isnt black metal at all, in August 2007, Tristesse Hivernale was released by Northern Silence Productions as a split with French black metal band Angmar. The band also released a split EP with the French band Les Discrets on November 30,2009, Alcests second album, Écailles de Lune, was released March 29,2010. The bands third album, Les Voyages de lÂme, was released on January 6,2012, the album also received positive reviews from music critics, with the New York Times describing it as the best example yet of what it can do. Alcests fourth effort entitled Shelter was released on January 17,2014 via Prophecy Productions and it features Birgir Jón Birgisson as producer, Amiina for the string sections and a guest appearance by Neil Halstead. Stylistically the album is a departure for the band, dropping all traces of metal from their sound. Neige later said in an interview that We are proud of it, I really was obsessed with Slowdive at that time. Shelter still sounds very ‘Alcest’, but maybe not as much as the other records. ”On January 15,2016 and he also commented the album would be definitively darker. On May 16, he stated that the album was in the mastering process, on July 26, the title was revealed to be Kodama, and the release date to be September 30th. Neige has said the album is inspired by Japanese art and culture
17.
Souvenirs d'un autre monde
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Souvenirs dun autre monde is the first full-length album by French band Alcest, released in August 2007. The title refers to the meaning behind the music of Alcest, as its leader and songwriter, Neige and it is the only album with Neige as the sole member of Alcest. It is the last release in which Neige plays all instruments, the album received generally positive reviews. Brian Way of Allmusic lauded the emotional aspect of the album, stating it expressed yearning, nostalgia, triumph and blissful peace, many reviewers noted the unique stylistic influences on the album, with Brad Angle of Revolver describing the album as unexpectedly profound and affecting. But by the early 2000s, their convergence seemed inevitable, the songwriting reaches for the cosmos, even as the record’s propulsive intensity is a constant reminder of Alcest’s metal ancestry. At the same time, it reinvented shoegaze for a new century, Alcest Neige – lead and backing vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, drums Additional personnel Audrey Sylvain – vocals on Sur lautre rive je tattendrai
18.
Homeobox protein NANOG
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NANOG is a transcription factor critically involved with self-renewal of undifferentiated embryonic stem cells. In humans, this protein is encoded by the NANOG gene, human NANOG protein is a 305 amino acid protein with a conserved homeodomain motif that is localized to the nuclear component of cells. The homeodomain region facilitates DNA binding, there are N-terminal, homeodomain, and C-terminal regions in human NANOG protein. Like murine NANOG, the N-terminal region of human NANOG is rich in Ser, Thr and Pro residues, the homeodomain in hNANOG ranges from residues 95 to 155. The conserved sequence of homeodomain are a. a, 99-100,102, 106-107,110,114,119,121, 127-128,132,134, 138-140, 142-145,147,149, and 151-152. NANOG is a factor in embryonic stem cells and is thought to be a key factor in maintaining pluripotency. NANOG is thought to function in concert with other such as POU5F1. These cells offer an important area of study because of their ability to maintain pluripotency, in other words, these cells have the ability to become virtually any cell of any of the three germ layers. Analysis of arrested embryos demonstrated that embryos express pluripotency marker genes such as POU5F1, NANOG, POU5F1, TDGF1, SALL4, LECT1, and BUB1 are also related genes all responsible for self-renewal and pluripotent differentiation. The NANOG protein has found to be a transcriptional activator for the Rex1 promoter. Knockdown of NANOG in embryonic stem cells results in a reduction of Rex1 expression, overexpression of Nanog in mouse embryonic stem cells causes them to self-renew in the absence of Leukemia inhibitory factor. In the absence of Nanog, mouse embryonic stem cells differentiate into visceral/parietal endoderm, loss of Nanog function causes differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into other cell types. NANOG overexpression in human stem cells enables their propagation for multiple passages during which the cells remain pluripotent. Gene knockdown of Nanog promotes differentiation, thereby demonstrating a role for these factors in human stem cell self-renewal. It has been shown that the tumour suppressor p53 binds to the promoter of NANOG, p53 can thus induce differentiation of embryonic stem cells into other cell types which undergo efficient p53-dependent cell-cycle arrest and apoptosis. By using DNA microarray to find the targets of Nanog, Nanog regulated genes have been identified. Some of these target genes explain the transformation of NIH3T3 cells, GATA6 and Nanog have been linked due to the similar cellular differentiation of ES cells in their absence, which leads to the hypothesis that Nanog may prevent ectodermal growth via repressing GATA6. Yamanaka et al. demonstrate induction of pluripotent stem cells from mouse embryonic or adult fibroblasts by introducing four factors, Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc, of these four factors it has been shown that Nanog was dispensable for such induction in this cell system
19.
Cell potency
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Cell potency is a cells ability to differentiate into other cell types. The more cell types a cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency, potency is taken from the Latin term potens which means having power. Totipotency is the ability of a cell to divide and produce all of the differentiated cells in an organism. Spores and zygotes are examples of totipotent cells, in the spectrum of cell potency, totipotency represents the cell with the greatest differentiation potential. Toti comes from the Latin totus which means entirely and it is possible for a fully differentiated cell to return to a state of totipotency. This conversion to totipotency is complex, not fully understood and the subject of recent research, research in 2011 has shown that cells may differentiate not into a fully totipotent cell, but instead into a complex cellular variation of totipotency. The human development model is one which can be used to describe how totipotent cells arise, human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg and the resulting fertilized egg creates a single totipotent cell, a zygote. After reaching a 16-cell stage, the totipotent cells of the morula differentiate into cells that eventually become either the blastocysts Inner cell mass or the outer trophoblasts. Approximately four days after fertilization and after cycles of cell division. The inner cell mass, the source of stem cells. Research on Caenorhabditis elegans suggests that multiple mechanisms including RNA regulation may play a role in maintaining totipotency at different stages of development in some species, work with zebrafish and mammals suggest a further interplay between miRNA and RNA binding proteins in determining development differences. In cell biology, pluripotency refers to a cell that has the potential to differentiate into any of the three germ layers, endoderm, mesoderm, or ectoderm. However, cell pluripotency is a continuum, ranging from the completely pluripotent cell that can form every cell of the embryo proper, e. g. This was then followed in 2007 by the induction of human iPSCs derived from human dermal fibroblasts using methods similar to those used for the induction of mouse cells. These induced cells exhibit similar traits to those of stem cells. Some of the similarities between ESCs and iPSCs include pluripotency, morphology, self-renewal ability, a trait that implies that they can divide and replicate indefinitely, epigenetic factors are also thought to be involved in the actual reprogramming of somatic cells in order to induce pluripotency. Chromatin is also reorganized in iPSCs and becomes like that found in ESCs in that it is less condensed, euchromatin modifications are also common which is also consistent with the state of euchromatin found in ESCs. Due to their similarity to ESCs, iPSCs have been of great interest to the medical
20.
Embryonic stem cell
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Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage preimplantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at time they consist of 50–150 cells. Human ES cells measure approximately 14 μm while mouse ES cells are closer to 8 μm, embryonic stem cells, derived from the blastocyst stage early mammalian embryos, are distinguished by their ability to differentiate into any cell type and by their ability to propagate. Embryonic stem cells properties include having a normal karyotype, maintaining high telomerase activity and these include each of the more than 220 cell types in the adult body. If the pluripotent differentiation potential of stem cells could be harnessed in vitro. This would provide a new treatment approach to a wide variety of conditions where age, disease. Besides the ethical concerns of stem cell therapy, there is a problem of graft-versus-host disease associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, these associated with histocompatibility may be solved using autologous donor adult stem cells. Stem cell banks or more recently by reprogramming of cells with defined factors. Embryonic stem cells provide hope that it will be possible to overcome the problems of donor tissue shortage and also, other potential uses of embryonic stem cells include investigation of early human development, study of genetic disease and as in vitro systems for toxicology testing. Current research focuses on differentiating ES into a variety of types for eventual use as cell replacement therapies. Some of the types that have or are currently being developed include cardiomyocytes, neurons, hepatocytes, bone marrow cells, islet cells. However, the derivation of such cell types from ESs is not without obstacles, for example, studies are underway to differentiate ES in to tissue specific CMs and to eradicate their immature properties that distinguish them from adult CMs. Studies have shown that cardiomyocytes derived from ES are validated in vitro models to test drug responses, ES derived cardiomyocytes have been shown to respond to pharmacological stimuli and hence can be used to assess cardiotoxicity like Torsades de Pointes. ES-derived hepatocytes are also models that could be used in the preclinical stages of drug discovery. However, the development of hepatocytes from ES has proven to be challenging, therefore, current research is focusing on establishing fully functional ES-derived hepatocytes with stable phase I and II enzyme activity. Researchers have also differentiated ES into dopamine-producing cells with the hope that these neurons could be used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, recently, the development of ESC after Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer of Olfactory ensheathing cells to a healthy Oocyte has been recommended for Neuro-degenerative diseases. ESs have also been differentiated to natural killer cells and bone tissue, studies involving ES are also underway to provide an alternative treatment for diabetes
21.
Seven Sleepers
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The earliest version of this story comes from the Syrian bishop Jacob of Sarug, which is itself derived from an earlier Greek source, now lost. An outline of this appears in Gregory of Tours. The best-known Western version of the story appears in Jacobus de Voragines Golden Legend, the Roman Martyrology mentions the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus under the date of 27 July. The Byzantine Calendar commemorates them with feasts on 4 August and 22 October, the story appears in the Quran as thus is important to Islam. The Quranic story does not state the number of sleepers Surah 18 and it also gives the number of years that they slept as 300 solar years. The Islamic version includes mention of a dog who accompanied the youths into the cave, in Islam, these youths are referred to as The People of the Cave. The story says that during the persecutions by the Roman emperor Decius, around 250 AD and they were given some time to recant their faith, but chose instead to give their worldly goods to the poor and retire to a mountain cave to pray, where they fell asleep. The emperor, seeing that their attitude towards paganism had not improved, ordered the mouth of the cave to be sealed, Decius died in 251, and many years passed during which Christianity went from being persecuted to being the state religion of the Roman Empire. At some later time—usually given as during the reign of Theodosius II —the landowner decided to open up the mouth of the cave. He opened it and found the sleepers inside and they awoke, imagining that they had slept but one day, and sent one of their number to Ephesus to buy food, with instructions to be careful lest the pagans recognize and seize him. The bishop was summoned to interview the sleepers, they told him their miracle story, the various lives of the Seven Sleepers in Greek are listed at BHG 1593-1599, and in other non-Latin languages at BHO 1013-1022. As the earliest versions of the spread from Ephesus, an early Christian catacomb came to be associated with it. On the slopes of Mount Pion near Ephesus, the grotto of the Seven Sleepers with ruins of the church built over it was excavated in 1927–28, the excavation brought to light several hundred graves dated to the 5th and 6th centuries. Inscriptions dedicated to the Seven Sleepers were found on the walls of the church and this grotto is still shown to tourists. The story appeared in several Syriac sources before Gregorys lifetime and it was retold by Symeon Metaphrastes. The Seven Sleepers form the subject of a homily in verse by the Edessan poet Jacob of Saruq, another 6th-century version, in a Syrian manuscript in the British Museum, gives eight sleepers. There are considerable variations as to their names, the story rapidly attained a wide diffusion throughout Christendom, popularized in the West by Gregory of Tours, in his late 6th-century collection of miracles, De gloria martyrum. Gregory says that he had the legend from a certain Syrian and their dress identified them as Romans, according to Paul, and none of the local barbarians dared to touch them
22.
Ephesus
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Ephesus was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, three kilometres southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of the former Arzawan capital by Attic, during the Classical Greek era it was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city flourished after it came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC, the city was famed for the nearby Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Among many other buildings are the Library of Celsus. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation, the Gospel of John may have been written here. The city was the site of several 5th century Christian Councils, the city was destroyed by the Goths in 263, and although rebuilt, the citys importance as a commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. It was partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614 AD, the area surrounding Ephesus was already inhabited during the Neolithic Age, as was revealed by excavations at the nearby höyük of Arvalya and Cukurici. Excavations in recent years have unearthed settlements from the early Bronze Age at Ayasuluk Hill, according to Hittite sources, the capital of the Kingdom of Arzawa was Apasa. Some scholars suggest that this is the later Greek Ephesus, in 1954, a burial ground from the Mycenaean era with ceramic pots was discovered close to the ruins of the basilica of St. John. This was the period of the Mycenaean Expansion when the Achaioi settled in Asia Minor during the 14th and 13th centuries BC, Ephesus was founded as an Attic-Ionian colony in the 10th century BC on the Ayasuluk Hill, three kilometers from the centre of ancient Ephesus. The mythical founder of the city was a prince of Athens named Androklos, according to the legend, he founded Ephesus on the place where the oracle of Delphi became reality. Androklos drove away most of the native Carian and Lelegian inhabitants of the city and he was a successful warrior, and as a king he was able to join the twelve cities of Ionia together into the Ionian League. During his reign the city began to prosper and he died in a battle against the Carians when he came to the aid of Priene, another city of the Ionian League. Androklos and his dog are depicted on the Hadrian temple frieze, later, Greek historians such as Pausanias, Strabo and Herodotos and the poet Kallinos reassigned the citys mythological foundation to Ephos, queen of the Amazons. The Greek goddess Artemis and the great Anatolian goddess Kybele were identified together as Artemis of Ephesus, Pausanias mentions that the temple was built by Ephesus, son of the river god Caystrus, before the arrival of the Ionians. Of this structure, scarcely a trace remains, about 650 BC, Ephesus was attacked by the Cimmerians who razed the city, including the temple of Artemis. After the Cimmerians had been away, the city was ruled by a series of tyrants. Following a revolt by the people, Ephesus was ruled by a council and his signature has been found on the base of one of the columns of the temple
23.
Theodosius II
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There were also a Theodosius II of Abkhazia, a Patriarch Theodosius II of Alexandria and a Theodosius II of Constantinople. Additionally, Pope Theodoros I of Alexandria is also known as Theodosius II in Coptic history, Theodosius II, commonly surnamed Theodosius the Younger, or Theodosius the Calligrapher, was Eastern Roman Emperor from 408 to 450. He is mostly known for promulgating the Theodosian law code, and he also presided over the outbreak of two great christological controversies, Nestorianism and Eutychianism. Theodosius was born in 401 as the son of Emperor Arcadius. Already in January AD402 he was proclaimed co-Augustus by his father, in 408, his father died and the seven-year-old boy became Emperor of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire. Government was at first by the Praetorian Prefect Anthemius, under supervision the Theodosian land walls of Constantinople were constructed. In 414, Theodosius older sister Pulcheria was proclaimed Augusta and assumed the regency, by 416 Theodosius was declared Augustus in his own right and the regency ended, but his sister remained a strong influence on him. In June 421, Theodosius married Aelia Eudocia, a woman of Greek origin, the two had a daughter named Licinia Eudoxia. In 423, the Western Emperor Honorius, Theodosius uncle, died, Honorius sister Galla Placidia and her young son Valentinian fled to Constantinople to seek Eastern assistance and after some deliberation in 424 Theodosius opened the war against Joannes. On 23 October 425, Valentinian III was installed as Emperor of the West with the assistance of the magister officiorum Helion, to strengthen the ties between the two parts of the Empire, Theodosius daughter Licinia Eudoxia was betrothed to Valentinian. In 425, Theodosius founded the University of Constantinople with 31 chairs, among subjects were law, philosophy, medicine, arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, music and rhetoric. In 429, Theodosius appointed a commission to collect all of the laws since the reign of Constantine I, and create a fully formalized system of law. The law code of Theodosius II, summarizing edicts promulgated since Constantine, formed a basis for the law code of Emperor Justinian I, the war with Persia proved indecisive, and a peace was arranged in 422 without changes to the status quo. The later wars of Theodosius were generally less successful, the Eastern Empire was plagued by raids by the Huns. Early in Theodosius IIs reign Romans used internal Hun discord to overcome Uldins invasion of the Balkans, the Romans strengthened their fortifications and in 424 agreed to pay 350 pounds of gold to encourage the Huns to remain at peace with the Romans. In 433 with the rise of Attila and Bleda to unify the Huns, when Roman Africa fell to the Vandals in 439, both Eastern and Western Emperors sent forces to Sicily, intending to launch an attack on the Vandals at Carthage, but this project failed. Seeing the Imperial borders without significant forces, the Huns and Sassanid Persia both attacked and the force had to be recalled. During 443 two Roman armies were defeated and destroyed by the Huns, anatolius negotiated a peace agreement, the Huns withdrew in exchange for humiliating concessions, including an annual tribute of 2,100 Roman pounds of gold
24.
Heaven
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According to the beliefs of some religions, heavenly beings can descend to earth or incarnate, and earthly beings can ascend to Heaven in the afterlife, or in exceptional cases enter Heaven alive. Some believe in the possibility of a Heaven on Earth in a World to Come, another belief is in an axis mundi or world tree which connects the heavens, the terrestrial world, and the underworld. In Indian religions, Heaven is considered as Svarga loka, and this cycle can be broken after a soul achieves Moksha or Nirvana. Any place of existence, either of humans, souls or deities, the modern English word heaven is derived from the earlier heven, this in turn was developed from the previous Old English form heofon. By about 1000, heofon was being used in reference to the Christianized place where God dwells, all of these have been derived from a reconstructed Proto-Germanic form *Hemina-. In Ancient Egyptian religion, belief in an afterlife is much more stressed than in ancient Judaism, Heaven was a physical place far above the Earth in a dark area of space where there were no stars, basically beyond the Universe. Their heart would finally be weighed with the feather of truth, almost nothing is known of Bronze Age Canaanite views of Heaven, and the archeological findings at Ugarit have not provided information. The 1st century Greek author Philo of Byblos may preserve elements of Iron Age Phoenician religion in his Sanchuniathon, in the Middle Hittite myths, Heaven is the abode of the gods. In the Song of Kumarbi, Alalu was king in Heaven for nine years before giving birth to his son, Anu was himself overthrown by his son, Kumarbi. The Baháí Faith regards the description of Heaven as a specific place as symbolic. The Baháí writings describe Heaven as a condition where closeness to God is defined as Heaven. For Baháís, entry into the life has the potential to bring great joy. Baháulláh likened death to the process of birth and he explains, The world beyond is as different from this world as this world is different from that of the child while still in the womb of its mother. Accordingly, Baháís view life as a stage, where one can develop. The key to progress is to follow the path outlined by the current Manifestation of God. Baháulláh wrote, Know thou, of a truth, that if the soul of man hath walked in the ways of God, it will, assuredly return, in Buddhism there are several Heavens, all of which are still part of samsara. Those who accumulate good karma may be reborn in one of them, however, their stay in Heaven is not eternal—eventually they will use up their good karma and will undergo rebirth into another realm, as a human, animal or other being. Because Heaven is temporary and part of samsara, Buddhists focus more on escaping the cycle of rebirth, Nirvana is not a heaven but a mental state
25.
Valhalla
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In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those who die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyjas field Fólkvangr. In Valhalla, the join the masses of those who have died in combat known as Einherjar and various legendary Germanic heroes and kings. Before the hall stands the golden tree Glasir, and the ceiling is thatched with golden shields. Various creatures live around Valhalla, such as the stag Eikþyrnir, the Modern English noun Valhalla derives from Old Norse Valhöll, a compound noun composed of two elements, the masculine noun valr the slain and the feminine noun höll hall. Valr has cognates in other Germanic languages such as Old English wæl the slain, slaughter, carnage, Old Saxon wal-dād murder, Old High German battlefield, all of these forms descend from the Proto-Germanic masculine noun *walaz. Among related Old Norse concepts, valr also appears as the first element of the nouns valkyrja chooser of the slain, valkyrie and Valfreyja, the second element, höll, is a common Old Norse noun. It is cognate to Modern English hall and has the same meaning, both developed from Proto-Germanic *xallō or *hallō, meaning covered place, hall, itself from the Proto-Indo-European root *kol-. In stanzas 8 to 10 of Grímnismál, the god Odin states that Valhalla is located in the realm of Glaðsheimr, Odin describes Valhalla as shining and golden, and that it rises peacefully when seen from afar. From Valhalla, every day Odin chooses from those who have died in combat. Valhalla has spear-shafts for rafters, a roof thatched with shields, coats of mail are strewn over its benches, a wolf hangs in front of its west doors, and an eagle hovers above it. Within Valhalla exists Thors hall Bilskirnir, and within it exist five hundred and forty rooms, in stanzas 25 through 26, Odin states that the goat Heiðrún and the hart Eikþyrnir stand on top of Valhalla and graze on the branches of the tree Læraðr. Heiðrún produces vats of mead that liquor cannot be compared to, in stanza 38 of the poem Helgakviða Hundingsbana II, the hero Helgi Hundingsbane dies and goes to Valhalla. Prose follows after this stanza, stating that a burial-mound was made for Helgi, in stanzas 40 to 42, Helgi has returned to Midgard from Valhalla with a host of men. An unnamed maid of Sigrún, Helgis valkyrie wife, sees Helgi, the maid asks if she is experiencing a delusion, if Ragnarök has begun, or if Helgi and his men have been allowed to return. In the stanzas that follow, Helgi responds that none of things have occurred. The maid tells Sigrún that the mound has opened up, and that Sigrún should go to Helgi there, as Helgi has asked her to come and tend his wounds. Sigrún goes into the mound, and finds that Helgi is drenched in gore, filled with joy at the reunion, Sigrún kisses him before he can remove his coat of mail, and asks how she can heal him
26.
Nirvana
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Nirvāṇa literally means blown out, as in an oil lamp. The term nirvana is most commonly associated with Buddhism, and represents its ultimate state of soteriological release, in Indian religions, nirvana is synonymous with moksha and mukti. All Indian religions assert it to be a state of perfect quietude, freedom, highest happiness along with it being the liberation from samsara, however, Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions describe these terms for liberation differently. In the Buddhist context, nirvana refers to realization of non-self and emptiness, in Hindu philosophy, it is the union of or the realization of the identity of Atman with Brahman, depending on the Hindu tradition. In Jainism, it is also the goal, it represents the release of a soul from karmic bondage. The word nirvāṇa, states Steven Collins, is from the verbal root √vā blow in the form of past participle vāna blown, hence the original meaning of the word is blown out, extinguished. Sandhi changes the spelling, the v of vāna causes nis to become nir, the term nirvana in the soteriological sense of blown out, extinguished state of liberation does not appear in the Vedas nor in the pre-Buddhist Upanishads. According to Collins, the Buddhists seem to have been the first to call it nirvana, nirvāṇa is a term found in the texts of all major Indian religions – Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism and Sikhism. It refers to the peace of mind that is acquired with moksha, liberation from samsara, or release from a state of suffering. The hope for life after death started with notions of going to the worlds of the Fathers or Ancestors and/or the world of the Gods or Heaven. The earliest layers of Vedic text incorporate the concept of life, followed by an afterlife in heaven, however, the ancient Vedic Rishis challenged this idea of afterlife as simplistic, because people do not live an equally moral or immoral life. Between generally virtuous lives, some are more virtuous, while evil too has degrees, the Vedic thinkers introduced the idea of an afterlife in heaven or hell in proportion to ones merit, and when this runs out, one returns and is reborn. The idea of rebirth following running out of merit appears in Buddhist texts as well, the Samsara, the life after death, and what impacts rebirth came to be seen as dependent on karma. The liberation from Saṃsāra developed as a goal and soteriological value in the Indian culture. This basic scheme underlies Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism, where the aim is the timeless state of moksa, or, as the Buddhists first seem to have called it. Although the term occurs in the literatures of a number of ancient Indian traditions and it was later adopted by other Indian religions, but with different meanings and description, such as in the Hindu text Bhagavad Gita of the Mahabharata. Nirvana literally means blowing out or quenching and it is the most used as well as the earliest term to describe the soteriological goal in Buddhism, release from the cycle of rebirth. Nirvana is part of the Third Truth on cessation of dukkha in the Four Noble Truths doctrine of Buddhism and it is the goal of the Noble Eightfold Path
27.
Annwn
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Annwn, Annwfn, or Annwfyn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease was absent and it became identified with the Christian afterlife in paradise. Middle Welsh sources suggest that the term was recognised as meaning very deep in medieval times, the pronunciation of Modern Welsh Annwn is. In both Welsh and Irish mythologies, the Otherworld was believed to be located either on an island or underneath the earth. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, it is implied that Annwn is a land within Dyfed, two other otherworldly feasts that occur in the Second Branch of the Mabinogi are located in Harlech in northwest Wales and on the island of Grassholm in southwest Pembrokeshire. Annwn plays a prominent role in the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. In the First Branch of the Mabinogi, entitled Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, in recompense he exchanges places with Arawn for a year and defeats Arawns enemy Hafgan, while Arawn rules in his stead in Dyfed. During this year, Pwyll abstains from sleeping with Arawns wife, earning himself gratitude, on his return, Pwyll becomes known by the title Penn Annwn, Head of Annwn. The similarly mythological epic poem Cad Goddeu describes a battle between Gwynedd and the forces of Annwn, led again by Arawn. It is revealed that Amaethon, nephew to Math, king of Gwynedd, stole a bitch, a lapwing, the narrator of the poem is possibly intended to be Taliesin himself. The speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is apparently referred to by names, including Mound Fortress, Four-Peaked Fortress. Within the Mound Forts walls Gweir, one of the Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain known from the Welsh Triads, is imprisoned in chains, the narrator then describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn, it is finished with pearl and will not boil a cowards food. Whatever tragedy ultimately killed all but seven of them is not clearly explained, the poem continues with an excoriation of little men and monks, who lack various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet. Over time, the role of king of Annwn was transferred to Gwyn ap Nudd, a hunter and psychopomp, the Christian Vita Collen tells of Saint Collen vanquishing Gwyn and his otherworldly court from Glastonbury Tor with the use of holy water. In Culhwch and Olwen, an early Welsh Arthurian tale, it is said that God gave Gwyn ap Nudd control over the demons lest this world be destroyed, tradition revolves around Gwyn leading his spectral hunts, the Cŵn Annwn, on his hunt for mortal souls. The Dark, a 2005 film directed by John Fawcett and based on the novel Sheep by Simon Maginn, involves the legend, Annwn is the name of a German medieval and pagan folk duo from North Rhine-Westphalia. The name was previously used by an unrelated Celtic Rock trio in Berkeley, California
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Avalon
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Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. Avalon was associated from a date with mystical practices and people such as Morgan le Fay. Geoffrey of Monmouth referred to it in Latin as Insula Avallonis in the Historia, in the later Vita Merlini he called it Insula Pomorum the isle of fruit trees. The name is considered to be of Welsh origin, derived from Old Welsh, Old Cornish, or Old Breton aball or avallen, apple tree. Welsh, Cornish and Breton tradition claimed that Arthur had never really died, the Historia also states that Avalon is where his sword Excalibur was forged. Geoffrey dealt with Avalon in more detail in Vita Merlini, in which he describes for the first time in Arthurian legend the enchantress Morgan le Fay as the chief of nine sisters who live on Avalon. Geoffreys description of the island indicates a sea voyage was needed to get there, of its own accord it produces grain and grapes, and apple trees grow in its woods from the close-clipped grass. The ground of its own accord produces everything instead of merely grass, there nine sisters rule by a pleasing set of laws those who come to them from our country. Hence the mistake of pagans and the poems by worldly poets and they are situated in the Ocean, against the left side of Mauretania, closest to where the sun sets, and they are separated from each other by the intervening sea. In medieval geographies, Isidores Fortunate Islands were identified with the Canaries, around 1190, Avalon became associated with Glastonbury, when monks at Glastonbury Abbey claimed to have discovered the bones of Arthur and his queen. The works of Gerald of Wales make the first known connection, What is now known as Glastonbury was, in ancient times and it is virtually an island, for it is completely surrounded by marshlands. In Welsh it is called Ynys Afallach, which means the Island of Apples, years ago the district had also been called Ynys Gutrin in Welsh, that is the Island of Glass, and from these words the invading Saxons later coined the place-name Glastingebury. Though no longer an island in the century, the high conical bulk of Glastonbury Tor had been surrounded by marsh before the surrounding fenland in the Somerset Levels was drained. In ancient times, Ponters Ball Dyke would have guarded the entrance to the island. The Romans eventually built another road to the island, Gerald wrote that Glastonburys earliest name in Welsh was Ineswitrin, the Isle of glass, a name noted by earlier historians which suggests that the location was at one point seen as an island. At a depth of 5 m the monks were said to have discovered a massive treetrunk coffin, accounts of the exact inscription vary, with five different versions existing. The earliest is by Gerald in Liber de Principis instructione c,1193, who wrote that he viewed the cross in person and traced the lettering. His transcript reads, Here lies buried the famous King Arthur with Guinevere his second wife in the isle of Avalon, inside the coffin were two bodies, who Giraldus refers to as Arthur and his queen, the bones of the male body were described as being gigantic
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Fairyland
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Fairyland, in folklore, is the fabulous land or abode of fairies or fays. Fairyland may be referred to simply as Fairy or Faerie, though usage is an archaism. The Scots word elfame or elphyne fairyland has other variant forms, attested in Scottish witch trials, records of the Scottish witch trials reveal that many initiates claimed to have had congress with the Queen of Elfame and her retinue. On 8 November 1576 midwife Bessie Dunlop, a resident of Dalry, Scotland, was accused of sorcery and it resulted in a conviction and she was burned at the stake in 1576. Allison Peirson was burned as a witch in 1588 for conversing with the Queen of Elfame and this same woman is also featured in Robert Sempills ballad where she is said to have been in a fairy-ride. Sempills piece mentions Elphyne glossed as Elfland or Fairyland, in the medieval verse romance and the Scottish ballad of Thomas the Rhymer the title character is spirited away by a female supernatural being. The mysteriousness of the land, and its powers are a source of scepticism. Additional journeys to the include the fairy tale Childe Rowland. Álfheimr Tír na nÓg Citations Bibliography
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Brasil (mythical island)
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Brasil, also known as Hy-Brasil or several other variants, is a phantom island said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. Irish myths described it as cloaked in mist except for one day seven years. The etymology of the names Brasil and Hy-Brasil is unknown, but in Irish tradition it is thought to come from the Irish Uí Breasail, cf. Old Irish, Í, island, bres, beauty, worth, great, mighty. Despite the similarity, the name of the country Brazil has no connection to the mythical islands, the South American country was at first named Ilha de Vera Cruz and later Terra de Santa Cruz by the Portuguese navigators who discovered the land. After some decades, it started to be called Brazil due to the exploitation of native Brazilwood, in Portuguese, brazilwood is called pau-brasil, with the word brasil commonly given the etymology red like an ember, formed from Latin brasa and the suffix -il. Nautical charts identified an island called Bracile west of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean as far back as 1325, later it appeared as Insula de Brasil in the Venetian map of Andrea Bianco, attached to one of the larger islands of a group of islands in the Atlantic. This was identified for a time with the island of Terceira in the Azores. A Catalan chart of about 1480 labels two islands Illa de brasil, one to the south west of Ireland and one south of Illa verde or Greenland, on maps the island was shown as being circular, often with a central strait or river running east-west across its diameter. Despite the failure of attempts to find it, this appeared regularly on maps lying south west of Galway Bay until 1865, Hy-Brasil has also been identified with Porcupine Bank, a shoal in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 kilometres west of Ireland and discovered in 1862. As early as 1870 a paper was read to the Geological Society of Ireland suggesting this identification, frederick Delius wrote a song titled I-Brasil, with words attributed to Fiona McLeod, pseudonym of the Celtic revival writer William Sharp. Hy-Brasil was featured in the 1989 British comedy-fantasy film Erik the Viking starring Tim Robbins, peter Bishop mysteriously travels to Hy-Brasil in the Beyond the Fringe comic book, a tie-in for the Fringe television series. Hy-Brasil is featured on signs affixed on the façade of the Embassy of Brazil to Bridgetown, Barbados, something which may reference when Barbados was claimed, a land called Hy Brasil featured in Alan Moores comic Promethea. Margaret Elphinstones 2002 novel has Hy-Brazil as its title and setting, mary Burkes short story Hy-Brasil in The Faber Book of Best New Irish Short Stories, 2004-5. Irish mythology in popular culture Inisheer Tech Duinn a mythological island to the west of Ireland were souls go after death, great Ireland a similarly west-of-Ireland place, Irish myths of which, are believed to have influenced the Vikings. Hy Brasil, the metamorphosis of an island, from cartographic error to Celtic Elysium, preliminary Sketches for the Reappearance of HyBrazil
