1.
Howard Pyle
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Howard Pyle was an American illustrator and author, primarily of books for young people. He was a native of Wilmington, Delaware, but he spent the last year of his life in Florence, in 1894, he began teaching illustration at the Drexel Institute of Art, Science, and Industry. After 1900, he founded his own school of art and illustration named the Howard Pyle School of Illustration Art, pitz later used the term Brandywine School for the illustration artists and Wyeth family artists of the Brandywine region, several of whom had studied with Pyle. Some of his notable students were N. C. Pyle taught his students at home and studio in Wilmington, which is standing and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. His 1883 classic publication The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood remains in print and he is also well known for his illustrations of pirates, and is credited with creating what has become the modern stereotype of pirate dress. He published his first novel Otto of the Silver Hand in 1888 and he also illustrated historical and adventure stories for periodicals such as Harpers Magazine and St. Nicholas Magazine. His novel Men of Iron was adapted as the movie The Black Shield of Falworth, Pyle travelled to Florence, Italy in 1910 to study mural painting. He died there in 1911 of a kidney infection. Pyle was the son of William Pyle and Margaret Churchman Painter, as a child, he attended private schools and was interested in drawing and writing from a very young age. He was an indifferent student, but his parents encouraged him to study art, in 1876, he visited the island of Chincoteague off Virginia and was inspired by what he saw. He wrote and illustrated an article about the island and submitted it to Scribners Monthly, one of the magazines owners was Roswell Smith, who encouraged him to move to New York and pursue illustration professionally. Pyle initially struggled in New York, his lack of experience made it difficult for him to translate his ideas into forms for publication. He was encouraged by several working artists, however, including Edwin Austin Abbey and he finally published a double-paged spread in the Harpers Weekly issue of March 9,1878 and was paid $75—five times what he had expected. He became increasingly successful and was an established artist by the time that he returned to Wilmington in 1880 and he also collaborated on several books, particularly in American history. He wrote and illustrated his own stories, beginning with The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood in 1883 and this book won international attention from critics such as William Morris. Over the following decades, he published many illustrated works for children. Pyle married singer Anne Poole on April 12,1881, in 1889, he and his wife sailed to Jamaica, leaving their children in the care of relatives
2.
King Arthur
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King Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. The details of Arthurs story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, the sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthurs name also occurs in early sources such as Y Gododdin. Arthur is a figure in the legends making up the so-called Matter of Britain. The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouths fanciful, how much of Geoffreys Historia was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. The 12th-century French writer Chrétien de Troyes, who added Lancelot, in these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics. The historical basis for the King Arthur legend has long debated by scholars. These culminate in the Battle of Badon, where he is said to have single-handedly killed 960 men, recent studies, however, question the reliability of the Historia Brittonum. The other text that seems to support the case for Arthurs historical existence is the 10th-century Annales Cambriae, the Annales date this battle to 516–518, and also mention the Battle of Camlann, in which Arthur and Medraut were both killed, dated to 537–539. These details have often used to bolster confidence in the Historias account. Problems have been identified, however, with using this source to support the Historia Brittonums account, the latest research shows that the Annales Cambriae was based on a chronicle begun in the late 8th century in Wales. Additionally, the textual history of the Annales Cambriae precludes any certainty that the Arthurian annals were added to it even that early. They were more likely added at point in the 10th century. The Badon entry probably derived from the Historia Brittonum and this lack of convincing early evidence is the reason many recent historians exclude Arthur from their accounts of sub-Roman Britain. These modern admissions of ignorance are a recent trend, earlier generations of historians were less sceptical
3.
Merlin
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Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in Arthurian legend and medieval Welsh poetry. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae,1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures. He is allegedly buried in the Broceliande forest, near Paimpont in Brittany, Geoffreys rendering of the character was immediately popular, especially in Wales. Later writers expanded the account to produce an image of the wizard. Merlins traditional biography casts him as a cambion, born of a woman, sired by an incubus. The name of Merlins mother is not usually stated, but is given as Adhan in the oldest version of the Prose Brut, Merlin matures to an ascendant sagehood and engineers the birth of Arthur through magic and intrigue. Later authors have Merlin serve as the kings advisor until he is bewitched and imprisoned by the Lady of the Lake, the name Merlin is derived from the Welsh Myrddin, the name of the bard Myrddin Wyllt, one of the chief sources for the later legendary figure. Geoffrey of Monmouth Latinised the name to Merlinus in his works, medievalist Gaston Paris suggests that Geoffrey chose the form Merlinus rather than the regular Merdinus to avoid a resemblance to the Anglo-Norman word merde for feces. Clas Myrddin or Merlins Enclosure is a name for Great Britain stated in the Third Series of Welsh Triads. Celticist A. O. H. Jarman suggests that the Welsh name Myrddin was derived from the toponym Caerfyrddin and this contrasts with the popular folk etymology that the town was named for the bard. The name Carmarthen is derived from the towns previous Roman name Moridunum, itself derived from Celtic Brittonic *moridunon, sea fortress. The former had nothing to do with Arthur, in British poetry he was a bard driven mad after witnessing the horrors of war, who fled civilization to become a wild man of the wood in the 6th century. Geoffrey had this individual in mind when he wrote his earliest surviving work, the Prophetiae Merlini, Geoffreys Prophetiae do not reveal much about Merlins background. He included the prophet in his next work Historia Regum Britanniae, supplementing the characterisation by attributing to him stories about Aurelius Ambrosius, according to Nennius, Ambrosius was discovered when the British king Vortigern was trying to erect a tower. The tower always collapsed before completion, and his men told him that the only solution was to sprinkle the foundation with the blood of a child born without a father. Geoffrey retells this story in Historia Regum Britanniæ with some embellishments and he goes on to add new episodes that tie Merlin into the story of King Arthur and his predecessors, such as bringing the stones for Stonehenge from Preseli Hills in south-west Wales and Ireland. Geoffrey dealt with Merlin again in his third work Vita Merlini and he based the Vita on stories of the original 6th-century Myrddin, set long after his time frame for the life of Merlin Ambrosius. He tries to assert that the characters are the same references to King Arthur and his death
4.
Legitimacy (family law)
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Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, illegitimacy is the status of a child born outside marriage, depending on the cultural context, legitimacy can affect a childs rights of inheritance to the putative fathers estate and the childs right to bear the fathers surname or title. Illegitimacy has also had consequences for the mothers and childs right to support from the putative father, in medieval Wales, a bastard was defined simply as a child not acknowledged by its father. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, that were acknowledged by the father enjoyed the legal rights. Englands Statute of Merton stated, regarding illegitimacy, He is a bastard that is born before the marriage of his parents and this definition also applied to situations when a childs parents could not marry, as when one or both were already married or when the relationship was incestuous. The Poor Law of 1576 formed the basis of English bastardy law and its purpose was to punish a bastard childs mother and putative father, and to relieve the parish from the cost of supporting mother and child. By an act of 1576, it was ordered that bastards should be supported by their putative fathers, if the genitor could be found, then he was put under very great pressure to accept responsibility and to maintain the child. Under English law, a bastard was unable to be an heir to real property, in contrast to the situation under civil law, a younger non-bastard brother would have no claim to the land. The Legitimacy Act 1926 of England and Wales legitimized the birth of a if the parents subsequently married each other. The Legitimacy Act 1959 extended the legitimization even if the parents had married others in the meantime, neither the 1926 nor 1959 Acts changed the laws of succession to the British throne and succession to peerage titles. The Family Law Reform Act 1969 allowed a bastard to inherit on the intestacy of his parents, in canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have also been considered legitimate. Since 2003 in England and Wales,2002 in Northern Ireland and 2006 in Scotland, still, children born out of wedlock may not be eligible for certain federal benefits unless the child has been legitimized in the appropriate jurisdiction. Many other countries have abolished by any legal disabilities of a child born out of wedlock. In France, legal reforms regarding illegitimacy began in the 1970s, the European Convention on the Legal Status of Children Born out of Wedlock came into force in 1978. Countries which ratify it must ensure that children born outside marriage are provided with legal rights as stipulated in the text of this Convention, the Convention was ratified by the UK in 1981 and by Ireland in 1988. Use of the illegitimate child is now rare, even in legal contexts. It has been stricken from passports and legal documents as needlessly insulting and stigmatizing to the child, terms such as extra-marital child, love child and child born out of wedlock are more commonly used. Also used in Britain and other English-speaking countries is bastard, though such as natural child are preferred in polite society
5.
Dragon
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A dragon is a legendary creature, typically scaled or fire-spewing and with serpentine, reptilian or avian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures around world. The two most well-known cultural traditions of dragon are The European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately related to Balkans, most are depicted as reptilian creatures with animal-level intelligence, and are uniquely six-limbed. The Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian, most are depicted as serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence, and are quadrupeds. The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, the English word dragon and Latin word draco derives from Greek δράκων, dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake. The Greek and Latin term referred to any great serpent, not necessarily mythological, a dragon is a mythological representation of a reptile. In antiquity, dragons were mostly envisaged as serpents, but since the Middle Ages, it has become common to them with legs. Dragons are usually shown in modern times with a body like a huge lizard, the European dragon has bat-like wings growing from its back. A dragon-like creature with wings but only a pair of legs is known as a wyvern. The association of the serpent with a monstrous opponent overcome by a deity has its roots in the mythology of the Ancient Near East, including Canaanite, Hittite. Humbaba, the fire-breathing dragon-fanged beast first described in the Epic of Gilgamesh, is described as a dragon with Gilgamesh playing the part of dragon-slayer. The folk-lore motif of the dragon guarding gold may have come from earlier Bronze Age customs of introducing serpents to village granaries to deter rats or mice. Although dragons occur in many legends around the world, different cultures have varying stories about monsters that have been grouped together under the dragon label, some dragons are said to breathe fire or to be poisonous, such as in the Old English poem Beowulf. They are commonly portrayed as serpentine or reptilian, hatching from eggs and they are sometimes portrayed as hoarding treasure. Some myths portray them with a row of dorsal spines, European dragons are more often winged, while Chinese dragons resemble large snakes. Dragons can have a number of legs, none, two, four, or more when it comes to early European literature. Dragons are often held to have spiritual significance in various religions. In many Asian cultures, dragons were, and in some still are, revered as representative of the primal forces of nature, religion. They are associated with wisdom—often said to be wiser than humans—and longevity and they are commonly said to possess some form of magic or other supernatural power, and are often associated with wells, rain, and rivers
6.
Flag
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A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
7.
Brittany
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Brittany is a cultural region in the north-west of France. Brittany has also referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain. It is bordered by the English Channel to the north, the Celtic Sea and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and its land area is 34,023 km². Since reorganisation in 1956, the administrative region of Brittany comprises only four of the five Breton departments. The remaining area of old Brittany, the Loire-Atlantique department around Nantes, at the 2010 census, the population of historic Brittany was estimated to be 4,475,295. Of these, 71% lived in the region of Brittany, while 29% lived in the Loire-Atlantique department, in 2012, the largest metropolitan areas were Nantes, Rennes, and Brest. Brittany is the homeland of the Breton people and is recognised by the Celtic League as one of the six Celtic nations. A nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the French Republic, the word Brittany, along with its French, Breton and Gallo equivalents Bretagne, Breizh and Bertaèyn, derive from the Latin Britannia, which means Britons land. This word had been used by the Romans since the 1st century to refer to Great Britain and this word derives from a Greek word, Πρεττανικη or Βρεττανίαι, used by Pytheas, an explorer from Massalia who visited the British Islands around 320 BC. This term probably comes from a Gallic word, aremorica, which close to the sea. Another name, Letauia, was used until the 12th century and it possibly means wide and flat or to expand and it gave the Welsh name for Brittany, Llydaw. Later, authors like Geoffrey of Monmouth used the terms Britannia minor, breton-speaking people may pronounce the word Breizh in two different ways, according to their region of origin. Breton can be divided into two dialects, the KLT and the dialect of Vannes. KLT speakers pronounce it and would write it Breiz, while the Vannetais speakers pronounce it, the official spelling is a compromise between both variants, with a z and an h together. In 1941, efforts to unify the dialects led to the creation of the so-called Breton zh, on its side, Gallo language has never had a widely accepted writing system and several ones coexist. For instance, the name of the region in that language can be written Bertaèyn in ELG script, or Bertègn in MOGA, Brittany has been inhabited by humans since the Lower Paleolithic. This population was scarce and very similar to the other Neanderthals found in the whole of Western Europe and their only original feature was a distinct culture, called Colombanian. One of the oldest hearths in the world has found in Plouhinec
8.
Anglo-Saxons
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The Anglo-Saxons are a people who have inhabited Great Britain from the 5th century. Historically, the Anglo-Saxon period denotes the period in Britain between about 450 and 1066, after their settlement and up until the Norman conquest. The early Anglo-Saxon period includes the creation of an English nation, with many of the aspects that survive today, including government of shires. During this period, Christianity was re-established and there was a flowering of literature, charters and law were also established. The term Anglo-Saxon is popularly used for the language that was spoken and written by the Anglo-Saxons in England, in scholarly use, it is more commonly called Old English. The history of the Anglo-Saxons is the history of a cultural identity and it developed from divergent groups in association with the peoples adoption of Christianity, and was integral to the establishment of various kingdoms. Threatened by extended Danish invasions and occupation of eastern England, this identity was re-established, the visible Anglo-Saxon culture can be seen in the material culture of buildings, dress styles, illuminated texts and grave goods. Behind the symbolic nature of these emblems, there are strong elements of tribal. The elite declared themselves as kings who developed burhs, and identified their roles and peoples in Biblical terms, above all, as Helena Hamerow has observed, local and extended kin groups remained. the essential unit of production throughout the Anglo-Saxon period. Use of the term Anglo-Saxon assumes that the words Angles, Saxons or Anglo-Saxon have the meaning in all the sources. Assigning ethnic labels such as Anglo-Saxon is fraught with difficulties and this term began to be used only in the 8th century to distinguish the Germanic groups in Britain from those on the continent. The Old English ethnonym Angul-Seaxan comes from the Latin Angli-Saxones and became the name of the peoples Bede calls Anglorum, Anglo-Saxon is a term that was rarely used by Anglo-Saxons themselves, it is not an autonym. It is likely they identified as ængli, Seaxe or, more probably, also, the use of Anglo-Saxon disguises the extent to which people identified as Anglo-Scandinavian after the Viking age or the conquest of 1016, or as Anglo-Norman after the Norman conquest. The earliest historical references using this term are from outside Britain, referring to piratical Germanic raiders, Saxones who attacked the shores of Britain, procopius states that Britain was settled by three races, the Angiloi, Frisones, and Britons. The term Angli Saxones seems to have first been used in writing of the 8th century. The name therefore seemed to mean English Saxons, the Christian church seems to have used the word Angli, for example in the story of Pope Gregory I and his remark, Non Angli sed angeli. The terms ænglisc and Angelcynn were also used by West Saxon King Alfred to refer to the people, at other times he uses the term rex Anglorum, which presumably meant both Anglo-Saxons and Danes. Alfred the Great used Anglosaxonum Rex, the term Engla cyningc is used by Æthelred
9.
Hengist and Horsa
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Hengist and Horsa are legendary brothers said to have led the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes in their invasion of Britain in the 5th century. Tradition lists Hengist as the first of the Jutish kings of Kent, according to early sources Hengist and Horsa arrived in Britain at Ebbsfleet on the Isle of Thanet. For a time served as mercenaries for Vortigern, King of the Britons. Horsa was killed fighting the Britons, but Hengist successfully conquered Kent, a figure named Hengest, who may be identifiable with the leader of British legend, appears in the Finnsburg Fragment and in Beowulf. Legends of horse-associated founding brothers are attested among other Germanic peoples, as a result, scholars have theorized a pan-Germanic mythological origin for Hengist and Horsa, stemming originally from divine twins found in Proto-Indo-European religion. Other scholars, including J. R. R. Tolkien, have argued for a basis for Hengist. The Old English names Hengest and Horsa mean stallion and horse respectively, the original Old English word for a horse was eoh. Eoh derives from the Proto-Indo-European base *ekwo, hence Latin equus which gave rise to the modern English words equine, Hors is derived from the Proto-Indo-European base *kurs, to run, which also gave rise to hurry, carry, harry, hurrah, and current. Hors eventually replaced eoh, fitting a pattern elsewhere in Germanic languages where the names of sacred animals are abandoned in favour of adjectives, for example. While the Ecclesiastical History and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refer to the brother as Horsa and it has been suggested that Horsa may be a pet form of a compound name with the first element horse. In his 8th century Ecclesiastical History, Bede records that the first chieftains among the Angles, Saxons and he relates that Horsa was killed in battle against the Britons and was thereafter buried in East Kent, where at the time of writing a monument still stood to him. According to Bede, Hengist and Horsa were the sons of Wictgils, son of Witta, son of Wecta, the 9th century Anglo-Saxon Chronicle records that in the year 449 Hengist and Horsa were invited to Britain by Vortigern to assist his forces in fighting the Picts. They landed at Eopwinesfleot, and went on to defeat the Picts wherever they fought them, Hengist and Horsa sent word home to Germany describing the worthlessness of the Britons, and the richness of the land and asked for assistance. Their request was granted and support arrived, afterward, more people arrived in Britain from the three powers of Germany, the Old Saxons, the Angles, and the Jutes. The Saxons populated Essex, Sussex, and Wessex, the Jutes Kent, the Isle of Wight, and part of Hampshire, and the Angles East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria. These forces were led by the brothers Hengist and Horsa, sons of Wihtgils, son of Witta, son of Wecta, in the entry for the year 455 the Chronicle details that Hengist and Horsa fought with Vortigern at Aylesford and that Horsa died there. Hengist took control of the kingdom with his son Esc, in 457, Hengist and Esc fought against British forces in Crayford and there slew four thousand men. The Britons left the land of Kent and fled to London, in 465, Hengest and Esc fought again at the Battle of Wippedesfleot, probably near Ebbsfleet, and slew twelve British leaders
10.
Gaelic Ireland
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Gaelic Ireland was the Gaelic political and social order, and associated culture, that existed in Ireland from the prehistoric era until the early 17th century. Before the Norman invasion of 1169, Gaelic Ireland comprised the whole island, thereafter, it comprised that part of the country not under foreign dominion at a given time. For most of its history, Gaelic Ireland was a hierarchy of territories ruled by a hierarchy of kings or chiefs. Warfare between these territories was common, occasionally, a powerful ruler was acknowledged as High King of Ireland. Society was made up of clans and, like the rest of Europe, was structured according to class. Throughout this period, the economy was mainly pastoral and money not used. A Gaelic Irish style of dress, music, dance, sport, architecture, Gaelic Ireland was initially pagan and had an oral culture. Inscription in the alphabet began in the protohistoric period, perhaps as early as the 1st century. The conversion to Christianity accompanied the introduction of literature, and much of Irelands rich pre-Christian mythology and sophisticated law code were preserved, in the Early Middle Ages, Ireland was an important centre of learning. Irish missionaries and scholars were influential in western Europe, and helped to spread Christianity to much of Britain, in the 9th century, Vikings began raiding and founding settlements along Irelands coasts and waterways, which became its first large towns. Over time, these settlers were assimilated and became the Norse-Gaels, after the Norman invasion of 1169–71, large swathes of Ireland came under the control of Norman lords, leading to centuries of conflict with the native Irish. The King of England claimed sovereignty over this territory – the Lordship of Ireland –, however, the Gaelic system continued in areas outside Anglo-Norman control. The territory under English control gradually shrank to a known as the Pale and, outside this. In 1542, Henry VIII of England declared the Lordship a Kingdom, the English then began to conquer the island. By 1607, Ireland was fully under English control, bringing the old Gaelic political and social order to an end, Gaelic Ireland had a rich oral culture and appreciation of deeper and intellectual pursuits. Filí and draoithe were held in high regard during Pagan times and orally passed down the history, later, many of their spiritual and intellectual tasks were passed on to Christian monks, after said religion prevailed from the 5th century onwards. However, the continued to hold a high position. Poetry, music, storytelling, literature and other art forms were highly prized and cultivated in both pagan and Christian Gaelic Ireland, hospitality, bonds of kinship and the fulfilment of social and ritual responsibilities were highly important
11.
Stonehenge
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Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument in Wiltshire, England,2 miles west of Amesbury and 8 miles north of Salisbury. Stonehenge consists of ring of standing stones, with each standing stone around 4.1 metres high,2.1 metres wide and weighing around 25 tons. The stones are set within earthworks in the middle of the most dense complex of Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments in England, archaeologists believe it was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC. Radiocarbon dating suggests that the first bluestones were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC, although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC, one of the most famous landmarks in the UK, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon. It has been a legally protected Scheduled Ancient Monument since 1882 when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain, the site and its surroundings were added to UNESCOs list of World Heritage Sites in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by the Crown and managed by English Heritage, Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings. Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, William Stukeley in 1740 notes, Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire. I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones. Like Stonehenges trilithons, medieval gallows consisted of two uprights with a lintel joining them, rather than the inverted L-shape more familiar today, the henge portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as henges. Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a banked enclosure with an internal ditch. As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from antiquarian use, Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscapes time frame to 6500 years. The modern phasing most generally agreed to by archaeologists is detailed below, features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right. Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large Mesolithic postholes and these held pine posts around 0.75 metres in diameter, which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts were in an east-west alignment which may have had significance, no parallels are known from Britain at the time. A settlement that may have been contemporaneous with the posts has been found at Blick Mead, a reliable year round spring 1 mile from Stonehenge. Salisbury Plain was then still wooded but 4,000 years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built an enclosure at Robin Hoods Ball. In approximately 3500 BC, a Stonehenge Cursus was built 700 metres north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees, a number of other adjacent stone and wooden structures and burial mounds, previously overlooked, may date as far back as 4000 BC
12.
Tintagel
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Tintagel /tɪnˈtædʒəl/ or Trevena is a civil parish and village situated on the Atlantic coast of Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The population of the parish was 1,820 people, the parish population decreased to 1,727 at the 2011 census. An electoral ward also exists extending inland to Otterham, the population of this ward at the same census was 3,990. The village and nearby Tintagel Castle are associated with the legends surrounding King Arthur, the village has, in recent times, become attractive to day-trippers and tourists, and is one of the most-visited places in Britain. Toponymists have had difficulty explaining the origin of Tintagel, the probability is that it is Norman French as the Cornish of the 13th century would have lacked the soft g, if it is Cornish then Dun would mean Fort. Oliver Padel proposes Dun -tagell meaning narrow place in his book on place names, There is a possible cognate in the Channel Islands named Tente dAgel, but that still leaves the question subject to doubt. The name first occurs in Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae as Tintagol, but in Layamons Brut, in early Middle English, the name is rendered as Tintaieol. The letter i in this spelling implies a soft consonant like modern English j, the modern-day village of Tintagel was always known as Trevena until the Post Office started using Tintagel as the name in the mid-19th century. The village also features the Old Post Office, which dates from the 14th century and it became a post office during the 19th century, and is now listed Grade I and owned by the National Trust. In Geoffrey of Monmouths Historia Regum Britanniae, Gorlois, Duke of Cornwall, merlin disguised Uther Pendragon as Gorlois so that Uther could enter Tintagel and impregnate Igraine while pretending to be Gorlois. Uther and Igraines child was King Arthur, Tintagel is also used as a locus for the Arthurian mythos by the poet Alfred, Lord Tennyson in the poem Idylls of the King. Algernon Charles Swinburnes Tristram of Lyonesse is a version of the Tristan. Thomas Hardys The Famous Tragedy of the Queen of Cornwall at Tintagel in Lyonnesse, in Norman times a small castle was established at Bossiney, probably before the Domesday Survey of 1086, Bossiney and Trevena were established as a borough in 1253 by Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall. In Domesday Book there are two manors in this parish. Bossiney was held from the monks of Bodmin by the Earl of Cornwall, the monks of Bodmin held Treknow themselves, there was land for 8 ploughs and 100 acres of pasture. Tintagel was one of the 17 Antiqua maneria of the Duchy of Cornwall, the parish feast traditionally celebrated at Tintagel was 19 October, the feast day of St Denys, patron of the chapel at Trevena. The market hall and the site of the fair were near the chapel, the borough of Bossiney was given the right to send two MPs to Parliament c.1552 and continued to do so until 1832 when its status as a borough was abolished. The villages of Trevena and Bossiney were until the early 20th century separated by fields along Bossiney Road
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