1.
Counts and dukes of Guelders
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The first count of Guelders was Gerard IV, Lord of Wassenberg. He remained in power with support of the French king, Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Northern Part Map of Upper Guelders in 1789 – Southern Part
2.
Arnhem
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Arnhem /ˈɑːrnəm/ or /ˈɑːrnhɛm/ is a city and municipality, situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland and located on banks of the rivers Nederrijn and Sint-Jansbeek, which was the source of the citys development. Arnhem had a population of 151,356 in 2014 and is one of the cities of the Netherlands. The municipality is part of the city region Arnhem-Nijmegen, which has a combined 736,500 inhabitants, Arnhem is home to the Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, ArtEZ Institute of the Arts, Netherlands Open Air Museum, Royal Burgers Zoo and National Sports Centre Papendal. The oldest archeological findings of human activity around Arnhem are two firestones of about 70,000 years ago and these come from the stone age, when the Neanderthals lived in this part of Europe. In Schuytgraaf, remnants of a camp from around 5000 BC have been discovered. In Schaarsbergen,12 grave mounds were found from 2400 BC, the earliest settlement in Arnhem dates from 1500 BC, of which traces have been found on the Hoogkamp, where the Van Goyenstraat is currently located. Arnhem arose on the location where the road between Nijmegen and Utrecht/Zutphen split, Seven streams provided the city with water, and only when the flow of the Rhine was changed in 1530, was the city located on the river. Arnhem was first mentioned as such in 893 as Arneym or Arentheym, in 1233 Count Otto II of Guelders from Zutphen, conferred city rights on the town, which had belonged to the abbey of Prüm, settled in, and fortified it. Arnhem entered the Hanseatic League in 1443, in 1473, it was captured by Charles the Bold of Burgundy. In 1514, Charles of Egmond, duke of Guelders, took it from the dukes of Burgundy, in 1543, as capital of the so-called Kwartier van Veluwe it joined the Union of Utrecht during the Eighty years war in 1579. After its capture from the Spanish forces by Dutch and English troops in 1585 the city part of the Republic of the Seven United Provinces of the Netherlands. The French occupied the town 1672–74, from 1795 to 1813, it was reoccupied by the French, by both revolutionary and imperial forces. In the early 19th century, the fortifications were almost completely dismantled. The Sabelspoort is the remaining part of the medieval walls. In the 19th century, Arnhem was a resort town famous for its picturesque beauty. It was known as het Haagje van het oosten, mainly because a number of former sugar barons or planters from the Indies settled there. Even now the city is famous for its parks and greenery, the urbanization in the north on hilly terrain is also quite unusual for the Netherlands
3.
Netherlands
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The Netherlands, also informally known as Holland is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom. The three largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague, Amsterdam is the countrys capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of parliament and government. The port of Rotterdam is the worlds largest port outside East-Asia, the name Holland is used informally to refer to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. Netherlands literally means lower countries, influenced by its low land and flat geography, most of the areas below sea level are artificial. Since the late 16th century, large areas have been reclaimed from the sea and lakes, with a population density of 412 people per km2 –507 if water is excluded – the Netherlands is classified as a very densely populated country. Only Bangladesh, South Korea, and Taiwan have both a population and higher population density. Nevertheless, the Netherlands is the worlds second-largest exporter of food and agricultural products and this is partly due to the fertility of the soil and the mild climate. In 2001, it became the worlds first country to legalise same-sex marriage, the Netherlands is a founding member of the EU, Eurozone, G-10, NATO, OECD and WTO, as well as being a part of the Schengen Area and the trilateral Benelux Union. The first four are situated in The Hague, as is the EUs criminal intelligence agency Europol and this has led to the city being dubbed the worlds legal capital. The country also ranks second highest in the worlds 2016 Press Freedom Index, the Netherlands has a market-based mixed economy, ranking 17th of 177 countries according to the Index of Economic Freedom. It had the thirteenth-highest per capita income in the world in 2013 according to the International Monetary Fund, in 2013, the United Nations World Happiness Report ranked the Netherlands as the seventh-happiest country in the world, reflecting its high quality of life. The Netherlands also ranks joint second highest in the Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index, the region called Low Countries and the country of the Netherlands have the same toponymy. Place names with Neder, Nieder, Nether and Nedre and Bas or Inferior are in use in all over Europe. They are sometimes used in a relation to a higher ground that consecutively is indicated as Upper, Boven, Oben. In the case of the Low Countries / the Netherlands the geographical location of the region has been more or less downstream. The geographical location of the region, however, changed over time tremendously
4.
Roman Catholic
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
5.
Order of the Garter
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The Most Noble Order of the Garter, founded in 1348, is the highest order of chivalry and the third most prestigious honour in England and the United Kingdom. It is dedicated to the image and arms of Saint George and it is awarded at the Sovereigns pleasure as a personal gift on recipients from the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms. Membership of the Order is limited to the Sovereign, the Prince of Wales, the order also includes supernumerary knights and ladies. New appointments to the Order of the Garter are always announced on St Georges Day, the orders emblem is a garter with the motto Honi soit qui mal y pense in gold lettering. Members of the wear it on ceremonial occasions. King Edward III founded the Order of the Garter around the time of his claim to the French throne, the list includes Sir Sanchet DAbrichecourt, who died on 20 October 1345. Other dates from 1344 to 1351 have also been proposed, the Kings wardrobe account shows Garter habits first issued in the autumn of 1348. Also, its original statutes required that member of the Order already be a knight. The earliest written mention of the Order is found in Tirant lo Blanch and it was first published in 1490. This book devotes a chapter to the description of the origin of the Order of the Garter, at the time of its foundation, the Order consisted of King Edward III, together with 25 Founder Knights, listed in ascending order of stall number in St.1431. Various legends account for the origin of the Order, the most popular legend involves the Countess of Salisbury, whose garter is said to have slipped from her leg while she was dancing at a court ball at Calais. When the surrounding courtiers sniggered, the king picked it up and returned it to her, exclaiming, Honi soit qui mal y pense, King Edward supposedly recalled the event in the 14th century when he founded the Order. This story is recounted in a letter to the Annual Register in 1774, The motto in fact refers to Edwards claim to the French throne, the use of the garter as an emblem may have derived from straps used to fasten armour. Medieval scholars have pointed to a connection between the Order of the Garter and the Middle English poem, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, in Gawain, a girdle, very similar in its erotic undertones to the garter, plays a prominent role. A rough version of the Orders motto also appears in the text and it translates from Old French as Accursed be a cowardly and covetous heart. While the author of that poem remains disputed, there seems to be a connection between two of the top candidates and the Order of the Garter. Scholar J. P. Oakden has suggested that it is related to John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster, and, more importantly. Another competing theory is that the work was written for Enguerrand de Coucy, the Sire de Coucy was married to King Edward IIIs daughter, Isabella, and was given admittance to the Order of the Garter on their wedding day
6.
Prussian Crusade
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The Prussian Crusade was a series of 13th-century campaigns of Roman Catholic crusaders, primarily led by the Teutonic Knights, to Christianize the pagan Old Prussians. Invited after earlier unsuccessful expeditions against the Prussians by Polish princes, by the end of the century, having quelled several Prussian Uprisings, the Knights had established control over Prussia and administered the Prussians through their monastic state. Wulfstan of Hedeby, an agent of Alfred of Wessex, recorded the seafaring and cattle-herding Prussians as a strong, mieszko I of the Polans tried to extend his realm from land he had just conquered around the mouth of the Oder as far as Prussia. Boleslaw I of Poland sent Adalbert of Prague to preach among the Prussians in 997, after some initial success among the Prussians, Adalberts successor, Bruno of Querfurt, was also killed in 1009. The Poles waged war with the neighboring Prussians, Sudovians, while the Poles sought the conversion of the Prussians and control of their land, the Prussians engaged in lucrative raids for slaves in the bordering territories of Chełmno Land and Masovia. Many Prussians nominally accepted baptism only to revert to pagan beliefs after hostilities ended, Henry of Sandomierz was killed fighting the Prussians in 1166. Boleslaw IV and Casimir II each led large armies into Prussia, while Boleslaws forces were defeated in guerilla warfare, King Valdemar II of Denmark supported Danish expeditions against Samland until his capture by Henry, Count of Schwerin, in 1223. In 1206, the Cistercian bishop Christian of Oliva, with the support of the King of Denmark and Polish dukes, inspired, he travelled to Rome to prepare for a larger mission. When he returned to Chełmno in 1215, however, Christian found the Prussians hostile, the pagan Prussians invaded Chełmno Land, Masovia, and Pomerellia, besieged Chełmno and Lubawa, and forced converts to return to the old beliefs. Because of the intensity of attacks, Pope Honorius III sent a papal bull to Christian in March 1217 allowing him to begin preaching a crusade against the militant Prussians. The following year the pagans attacked Chełmno Land and Masovia again, plundering 300 cathedrals, Duke Conrad of Masovia succeeded in expelling the Prussians by paying a huge tribute, which only encouraged the Prussians, however. Honorius III called for a crusade under the leadership of Christian of Oliva and chose as papal legate the Archbishop of Gniezno, numerous Polish nobles began endowing Christians Bishopric of Prussia with estates and castles in Chełmno Land during the meantime. The lords agreed that the focus was to rebuild the defenses of Chełmno Land, especially Chełmno itself. By 1223, however, most of the crusaders had left the region, the Balts even reached Gdańsk in Pomerellia. In 1225 or 1228, fourteen north German knights were recruited by Conrad, First granted the estate of Cedlitz in Kuyavia until the completion of a castle at Dobrzyń, the group became known as the Order of Dobrzyń. The Knights of Dobrzyń initially had success driving the Prussians from Chełmno Land, the survivors were granted asylum in Pomerania by Duke Swantopelk II. The Order of Calatrava, granted a base near Gdańsk, was also ineffective, while in Rome, Christian of Oliva had made the acquaintance of Hermann von Salza, the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1209-39. With the permission of Duke Conrad of Masovia and the Masovian nobility, stability with the Prussians would then allow Conrad to pursue becoming High Duke of Poland
7.
France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
8.
Duchy of Brabant
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The Duchy of Brabant was a State of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1183. Today all the former territories, apart from exclaves are in Belgium except for the Dutch province of North Brabant. The Duchy of Brabant was historically divided into four parts, each with its own capital, the four capitals were Leuven, Brussels, Antwerp and s-Hertogenbosch. Before s-Hertogenbosch was founded, Tienen was the fourth capital and its most important cities were Brussels, Antwerp, Leuven, Breda, s-Hertogenbosch, Lier and Mechelen. The modern flag of Belgium takes its colors from Brabants coat of arms, probably first used by Count Lambert I of Louvain, the lion is documented in a 1306 towns seal of Kerpen, together with the red lion of Limburg. Up to the present, the Brabant lion features as the charge on the coats of arms of both Flemish and Walloon Brabant, and of the Dutch province of North Brabant. The regions name is first recorded as the Carolingian shire pagus Bracbatensis, upon the 843 Treaty of Verdun it was part of Lotharingia within short-lived Middle Francia, and was ceded to East Francia according to the 880 Treaty of Ribemont. In earlier Roman times, the Nervii, a Belgic tribe and they were incorporated into the Roman province of Belgica, and considered to have both Celtic and Germanic cultural links. At the end of the Roman period the region was conquered by the Germanic Franks, in 959 the East Frankish king Otto I of Germany elevated Count Godfrey of Jülich to the rank of duke of Lower Lorraine. In 962 the duchy became a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Here, the counts of Leuven rose to power, when about 1000 Count Lambert I the Bearded married Gerberga, the daughter of Duke Charles of Lower Lorraine, and acquired the County of Brussels. About 1024 southernmost Brabant fell to Count Reginar V of Mons, in 1190, after the death of Godfrey III, Henry I also became Duke of Lower Lotharingia. By that time the title had lost most of its territorial authority, according to protocol, all his successors were thereafter called Dukes of Brabant and Lower Lotharingia. After the Battle of Worringen in 1288, the dukes of Brabant also acquired the Duchy of Limburg, in 1354 Duke John III of Brabant granted a Joyous Entry to the citizens of Brabant. In 1430 the Duchies of Lower Lotharingia, Brabant and Limburg were inherited by Philip the Good of Burgundy, in 1477 the Duchy of Brabant became part of the House of Habsburg as part of the dowry of Mary of Burgundy. At that time the Duchy extended from Luttre, south of Nivelles to s Hertogenbosch, the subsequent history of Brabant is part of the history of the Habsburg Seventeen Provinces. The Eighty Years War brought the parts under military control of the northern insurgents. The southern part remained in Spanish Habsburg hands as a part of the Southern Netherlands and it was transferred to the Austrian branch of the Habsburg monarchy in 1714
9.
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
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Charles IV, born Wenceslaus, was a King of Bohemia and the first King of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor. He was a member of the House of Luxembourg from his fathers side and the House of Přemyslid from his mothers side and he was the eldest son and heir of King John of Bohemia, who died at the Battle of Crécy on 26 August 1346. Charles inherited the County of Luxembourg from his father and was elected king of the Kingdom of Bohemia, on 2 September 1347, Charles was crowned King of Bohemia. On 11 July 1346, the prince-electors chose him as King of the Romans in opposition to Emperor Louis IV, Charles was crowned on 26 November 1346 in Bonn. After his opponent died, he was re-elected in 1349 and crowned King of the Romans, in 1355 he was crowned King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor. With his coronation as King of Burgundy in 1365, he became the ruler of all the kingdoms of the Holy Roman Empire. Charles IV was born to King John of the Luxembourg dynasty and he was originally named Wenceslaus, the name of his maternal grandfather, King Wenceslaus II. He chose the name Charles at his confirmation in honor of his uncle, King Charles IV of France and he received French education and was literate and fluent in five languages, Latin, Czech, German, French, and Italian. In 1331 he gained experience of warfare in Italy with his father. At the beginning of 1333, Charles went to Lucca to consolidate his rule there, in an effort to defend the city, Charles founded the nearby fortress and the town of Montecarlo. From 1333 he administered the lands of the Bohemian Crown due to his fathers frequent absence, in 1334, Charles was named Margrave of Moravia, the traditional title for heirs to the throne. Two years later, he assumed the government of Tyrol on behalf of his brother, John Henry, as he had previously promised to be subservient to Clement, he made extensive concessions to the pope in 1347. Confirming the papacy in the possession of vast territories, he promised to annul the acts of Louis against Clement, to no part in Italian affairs. Charles IV was in a weak position in Germany. Owing to the terms of his election, he was referred to as a Priests King. Many bishops and nearly all of the Imperial cities remained loyal to Louis the Bavarian, civil war in Germany was prevented, however, when Louis IV died on 11 October 1347, after suffering a stroke during a bear hunt. Thereafter, Charles faced no direct threat to his claim to the Imperial throne, Charles initially worked to secure his power base. Bohemia had remained untouched by the plague, Prague became his capital, and he rebuilt the city on the model of Paris, establishing the New Town
10.
Wenceslaus IV of Bohemia
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Wenceslaus was, by inheritance, King of Bohemia from 1363 and by election, German King from 1376. He was the third Bohemian and fourth German monarch of the Luxembourg dynasty, Wenceslaus was deposed in 1400 as King of the Romans, but continued to rule as Bohemian king until his death. Wenceslaus was born in the Imperial city of Nuremberg, the son of Emperor Charles IV by his third wife Anna von Schweidnitz, a scion of the Silesian Piasts and he was raised by the Prague Archbishops Arnošt of Pardubice and Jan Očko z Vlašimi. His father had the two-year-old crowned King of Bohemia in 1363, in order to secure the election of his son, Charles IV revoked the privileges of many Imperial Cities that he had earlier granted, and mortgaged them to various nobles. The cities, however, were not powerless, and as executors of the public peace, moreover, as Charles IV had organised the cities into leagues, he had made it possible for them to cooperate in large-scale endeavors. The city league soon attracted other members and until 1389 acted as a state within the Empire. On Charless death in 1378, Wenceslaus inherited the Crown of Bohemia, in the cathedral of Monza there is preserved a series of reliefs depicting the coronations of the kings of Italy with the Iron Crown of Lombardy. The seventh of these depicts Wenceslaus being crowned in the presence of six electors, the depiction is probably not accurate and was likely made solely to reinforce the claims of the cathedral on the custody of the Iron Crown. The cities were taken severally and devastated, most of them quietly acquiesced when King Wenceslaus proclaimed an ambivalent arrangement at Cheb in 1389 that prohibited all leagues between cities, while confirming their political autonomy. This settlement provided a modicum of stability for the several decades. During his long reign, Wenceslaus held a grip on power at best. On two occasions he was imprisoned for lengthy spells by rebellious nobles. But the greatest liability for Wenceslaus proved to be his own family, Charles IV had divided his holdings among his sons and other relatives. Although Wenceslaus upon his fathers death retained Bohemia, his younger half-brother Sigismund inherited Brandenburg, the March of Moravia was divided between his cousins Jobst and Procopius, and his uncle Wenceslaus I was made Duke of Luxembourg. Hence the young king was left without the resources his father had enjoyed, in 1386, Sigismund became king of Hungary and became involved in affairs further east. Wenceslaus also faced opposition from the Bohemian nobles and even from his chancellor. In a conflict surrounding the investiture of the abbot of Kladruby, in 1394 Wenceslaus cousin Jobst of Moravia was named regent, while Wenceslaus was arrested at Králův Dvůr. King Sigismund of Hungary arranged a truce in 1396, and for his efforts he was recognized as heir to Wenceslaus, in the Papal Schism, Wenceslaus had supported Pope Urban VI
11.
Richard II of England
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Richard II, also known as Richard of Bordeaux, was King of England from 1377 until he was deposed on 30 September 1399. Richard, a son of Edward, the Black Prince, was born in Bordeaux during the reign of his grandfather, Edward III. Richard was the brother of Edward of Angoulême, upon whose death, Richard. Upon the death of Richards father prior to the death of Edward III, Richard, by primogeniture, with Edward IIIs death the following year, Richard succeeded to the throne at the age of ten. During Richards first years as king, government was in the hands of a series of councils, most of the aristocracy preferred this to a regency led by the kings uncle, John of Gaunt, yet Gaunt remained highly influential. The first major challenge of the reign was the Peasants Revolt in 1381, the young king played a major part in the successful suppression of this crisis. By 1389 Richard had regained control, and for the eight years governed in relative harmony with his former opponents. In 1397, Richard took his revenge on the appellants, many of whom were executed or exiled, the next two years have been described by historians as Richards tyranny. In 1399, after John of Gaunt died, the king disinherited Gaunts son, Henry of Bolingbroke, Henry invaded England in June 1399 with a small force that quickly grew in numbers. Claiming initially that his goal was only to reclaim his patrimony, meeting little resistance, Bolingbroke deposed Richard and had himself crowned as King Henry IV. Richard died in captivity in February 1400, he is thought to have starved to death. Richard was said to have tall, good-looking and intelligent. Less warlike than either his father or grandfather, he sought to bring an end to the Hundred Years War that Edward III had started, modern historians do not accept this interpretation, while not exonerating Richard from responsibility for his own deposition. While probably not insane, as historians of the 19th and 20th centuries believed, Richard of Bordeaux was the younger son of Edward, the Black Prince, and Joan of Kent. Edward, heir to the throne of England, had distinguished himself as a commander in the early phases of the Hundred Years War. After further military adventures, however, he contracted dysentery in Spain in 1370 and he never fully recovered and had to return to England the next year. Joan of Kent had been at the centre of a dispute between Thomas Holland, Earl of Kent, and William Montacute, Earl of Salisbury, from which Holland emerged victorious. Less than a year after Hollands death in 1360, Joan married Prince Edward, since she was a granddaughter of King Edward I and a first cousin of King Edward III, the marriage required papal approval
12.
Grand Master of the Teutonic Order
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The Grand Master is the holder of the supreme office of the Teutonic Order. It is equivalent to the master of other military orders. Hochmeister, literally high master, is used in reference to the Teutonic Order. An early version of the title in Latin was Magister Hospitalis Sanctae Mariae Alemannorum Hierosolymitani. Since 1216, the full title Magister Hospitalis Domus Sanctae Mariae Teutonicorum Hierosolymitani was used, the offices of Hochmeister and Deutschmeister were united in 1525. The coat of arms representing the grand master is shown with a cross fleury or cross potent superimposed on the black cross. The golden cross fleury overlaid on the cross becomes widely used in the 15th century. While this legendary account cannot be traced back further than the modern period there is some evidence that the design does indeed date to the mid 13th century. Compared to other governments, transfer of power within the Teutonic Knights was run efficiently. Upon the death of a master, the vice master called a capitulum of the leading officers of the order. The general chapter would select a twelve-person electoral college composed of seven knights, four sergeants, once a majority-candidate for grand master was chosen, the minority electors would concede to support unanimity. These elections usually provided a grand master within three months. Candidates for the position of master had experience as senior administrators for the order and were usually chosen on merit. When the Teutonic Knights were originally based in Acre in Outremer, after the orders capital moved from Venice to Marienburg in 1309, the grand masters power was at its height. He had ultimate control over Prussia, which gave him command over the Prussian commanders, when the general chapter would meet in Elbing, he was able to use this influence to ratify administrative measures he proposed. The grand master also served as the castellan of Marienburg and was aided by the orders treasurer and he was also a member of the Hanseatic League, allowing him to receive some of the leagues custom dues. Excavations in the church of Kwidzyn performed in 2007 yielded the remains of three Grand Masters of the late medieval period, Werner von Orseln, Ludolf König and Heinrich von Plauen. The church had been known as the place of the bishops of Pomesania
13.
Teutonic Order
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The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem, commonly the Teutonic Order, is a Catholic religious order founded as a military order in the 12th century in Acre. Purely religious since 1929, it still confers limited honorary knighthoods, the order was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to the Holy Land and to establish hospitals. Formed in the year 1190 in Acre, in the Levant, after Christian forces were defeated in the Middle East, the Order moved to Transylvania in 1211 to help defend the South-Eastern borders of the Kingdom of Hungary against the Kipchaks. Starting from there, the Order created the independent Monastic State of the Teutonic Knights, adding continuously the conquered Prussians territory, the Order theoretically lost its main purpose in Europe with the Christianization of Lithuania. However, it initiated numerous campaigns against its Christian neighbours, the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Novgorod Republic. The Teutonic Knights had an economic base, and so hired mercenaries from throughout Europe to augment their feudal levies. In 1410, a Polish-Lithuanian army decisively defeated the Order and broke its military power at the Battle of Grunwald, however, the capital of the Teutonic Knights was successfully defended in the following Siege of Marienburg and the Order was saved from collapse. In 1515, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I made an alliance with Sigismund I of Poland-Lithuania. Thereafter, the empire did not support the Order against Poland, in 1525, Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg resigned and converted to Lutheranism, becoming Duke of Prussia as a vassal of Poland. Soon after, the Order lost Livonia and its holdings in the Protestant areas of Germany, the Order did keep its considerable holdings in Catholic areas of Germany until 1809, when Napoleon Bonaparte ordered its dissolution and the Order lost its last secular holdings. However, the Order continued to exist as a charitable and ceremonial body and it was outlawed by Adolf Hitler in 1938, but re-established in 1945. Today it operates primarily with charitable aims in Central Europe, the Knights wore white surcoats with a black cross. A cross pattée was sometimes used as their coat of arms, the motto of the Order was, Helfen, Wehren, Heilen. The full name of the Order in German is Orden der Brüder vom Deutschen Haus St. Mariens in Jerusalem or in Latin Ordo domus Sanctæ Mariæ Theutonicorum Hierosolymitanorum, thus, the term Teutonic refers to the German origins of the order in Latin. It is commonly known in German as the Deutscher Orden, historically also as Deutscher Ritterorden, Deutschherrenorden, Deutschritterorden or Die Herren im weißen Mantel. However, based on the model of the Knights Templar, it was transformed into an order in 1198. It received papal orders for crusades to take and hold Jerusalem for Christianity, during the rule of Grand Master Hermann von Salza the Order changed from being a hospice brotherhood for pilgrims to primarily a military order. The Order was founded in Acre, and the Knights purchased Montfort, northeast of Acre, the Order also had a castle at Amouda in Armenia Minor
14.
Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg
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Wenceslaus I was the first Duke of Luxembourg from 1354. He was the son of John the Blind, King of Bohemia, Beatrice of Bourbon, gave birth to her only child, Duke Wenceslaus I, on Feb.25,1337. He was born by way of Caesarian section, according to Dr. Antonin Parizek of Charles University in Prague, Beatrice is perhaps the earliest known case of a woman surviving a Caesarian section birth. In 1353 Charles IV King of Bohemia, Count of Luxembourg and elected Holy Roman King, entrusted the county, their fathers inheritance, in 1352, Wenceslaus married Joanna, daughter of John III, Duke of Brabant and Limburg, and Marie dÉvreux. In 1354 Charles raised Luxembourg to the status of a duchy, in 1355, Joanna inherited Brabant and Limburg. In order to guarantee the indivisibility of Brabant, Wenceslaus signed the Joyous Entry, but had to fight against his brother-in-law Louis II of Flanders, who asserted his share of the duchy. He failed to prevent the seizure of Brussels by the Flemings, thereafter, Wenceslaus had to face primarily internal disorders. In 1371, he overestimated his capacities and waged war with William II, Duke of Jülich, resulting in humiliating defeat at the Baesweiler, losing a part of his army. He was captured and suffered 11 months of captivity, Wenceslaus died in Luxembourg, leaving Joanna as sole ruler of Brabant, and was succeeded by Wenceslaus II as duke of Luxembourg. There are speculations that he might have died of leprosy and his last wish was his heart to be displaced from his dead body and sent to his wife. He is buried in a crypt at the now-ruined Abbaye dOrval in Belgium, Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg wrote the lyric poetry interpolated in Jean Froissarts Méliador, which was identified as his by Auguste Longnon in the 1890s. His lyric output comprises 79 poems
15.
Joanna, Duchess of Brabant
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Joanna, Duchess of Brabant, also known as Jeanne, was the heiress of Duke John III, who died in Brussels,5 December 1355. Joannas first marriage, in 1334, was to William IV, Count of Holland and her second marriage was to Wenceslaus of Luxemburg. With the Duchy overrun by Louis forces, Joanna and Wencelaus signed the humiliating Treaty of Ath, by August 1356 Joanna and Wencelaus had called upon the Emperor, Charles IV to support them by force of arms. On Joannas death, by agreement the Duchy passed to her great-nephew Antoine and her tomb was not erected in the Carmelite church in Brussels until the late 1450s, it was paid for in 1459 by her sisters grandson, Philip the Good
16.
Albert I, Duke of Bavaria
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Duke Albert I KG, was a feudal ruler of the counties of Holland, Hainaut, and Zeeland in the Low Countries. Additionally, he held a portion of the Bavarian province of Straubing, his Bavarian ducal lines appanage, Albert was the third son of Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor from his second wife Empress Margaret, who was the daughter of William III, Count of Holland and Hainaut. Albert was originally a younger son, apportioned at best an appanage and he was only 10 years old when his father died, leaving most of his Bavarian inheritance to his eldest half-brother, Louis V, Duke of Bavaria, but also some appanages to the younger sons. His elder brother, William V, Count of Holland, had engaged in a struggle with their mother, obtaining Holland and Zeeland from her in 1354. William was supported by the party of burghers of the cities and they were opposed in this by the Hook faction, the party of disaffected nobles who were supporters of Empress Margaret. Margaret had been Countess of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault in succession to her brother William IV, who was killed in battle. She had resigned her sovereignty in favour of her son William V, however, Williams insanity resulted in the appointment of the then 22-year-old Albert as governor of his brothers territories from 1358 onwards. During Alberts regency, affairs ran smoothly and trade improved, troubles between the two political parties, the Hoeks and Kabeljauws, remained barely beneath the surface. William lived for thirty years. Albert did not formally succeed him until his death in 1388, by time he had already arranged the marriage of his daughters to a number of Imperial princes. The eldest daughter to have children was Margaret, her son Philip III, in Alberts own reign, troubles erupted between the Hoeks and the Kabeljauws because of a woman. Albert always had mistresses, but this time his attentions were drawn to Aleid van Poelgeest and she was considered very beautiful and was able to gain political influence which was resented. A plot was hatched among the Hoeks as well as members of Alberts household, on 22 September 1392 Aleid was murdered in The Hague. In his rage Albert persecuted the Hoeks, by sword and fire, even his own son and heir, William, did not feel safe and went to live in Hainault. During his last years, Albert fought the Frisians and they were beaten time and time again, but were never completely conquered. On Alberts death in 1404, he was succeeded by his eldest son, a younger son, John III, became Bishop of Liège. However, on Williams death in 1417, a war of succession broke out between John and Williams daughter Jacqueline of Hainaut and this would be the last episode of the Hook and Cod wars and would lead to the counties being placed into Burgundian hands. Johanna of Bavaria, married Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, Margaret of Bavaria, married in Cambrai in 1385 John the Fearless
17.
Reginald II, Duke of Guelders
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Reginald II of Guelders, called the Black, was Count of Guelders, and from 1339 onwards Duke of Guelders, and Zutphen, in the Low Countries, from 1326 to 1343. He was the son of Reginald I of Guelders and Marguerite of Flanders, from 1316, he acted as regent in the county, imprisoned his father in 1318, and governed as son of the Count. When in 1326 his father died, he styled himself Count of Guelders, in 1339 Guelders was raised to a duchy. He was a law giver, in 1321 on customary law and he allied himself against the French with Edward III of England, his brother-in-law, warning the English in 1338 of a French fleet gathering in the mouth of the Zwin. He remained Edwards closest ally among the German princes in the first phase of the Hundred Years War and his first marriage was to Sophia Berthout, Lady of Mechelen. Their children were, Reginald III of Guelders, Duke of Guelders Edward of Guelders, Duke of Guelders He excluded her from court in 1338 and she refuted him by returning and undressing, perhaps completely according to some chroniclers, in public view. Reginald died at Arnhem after a fall from his horse, genealogy of the Counts of Guelders
18.
Eleanor of Woodstock
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Eleanor of Woodstock was an English princess and countess consort of Guelders by marriage. She was regent of Guelders as the guardian of her son from 1343 until 1344. She was born at Woodstock Palace in Oxfordshire to King Edward II of England and she was a younger sister of Edward III of England and the second wife of Reginald II of Guelders, the Black. Eleanor’s maternal grandfather was famous King Philip the Fair, the princess was named after her paternal grandmother, Eleanor of Castile. £333 was given for her churching by father, in 1324 she was taken into care by her cousin Eleanor de Clare then sent to the care of Ralph de Mothermer and Isabella Hastings with her younger sister Joan of the Tower at Pleshey. In 1325, there were negotiations between England and Castile for Eleanor to be betrothed to Alphonso XI of Castile, but this fell through due to the dowry. In May 1332 Eleanor married the reigning Count of Guelders, Reinoud II the black, of the House of Wassenberg, the groom, quite dark of colour and character, was a widower with four daughters. He was known for having imprisoned his father for six years. As she sailed from Sandwich, her wedding trousseau included a wedding gown of Spanish cloth, caps, gloves, shoes and she was well received in Guelders. Due to her childhood, Eleanor grew nervous and over-eager to please her husband. Her husband then tried to annul the marriage, Eleanor turned up in Court in Nijmegen to contest the annulment, and proceeded to strip down, proving she was no leper, and thus forcing her husband to take her back. He died from a fall from his horse on 12 October 1343, after the death of her spouse, Eleanor became the regent of Guelders for her nine-year-old son Reginald. Her regency was official and formal, but she had trouble in getting it recognized and she and Reginald later quarreled over making peace with his younger brother, and he confiscated her lands. On 22 April 1355, twelve years after she became a widow and she had been too proud to ask her brother Edward III for help and was buried in Deventer Abbey. Her tombstone had the simple inscription ELEANOR on it, however, in England, Eleanor had two sons, Reinald III the fat Edward, Duke of Guelders
19.
Edward II of England
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Edward II, also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the following the death of his older brother Alphonso. Beginning in 1300, Edward accompanied his father on campaigns to pacify Scotland, Edward succeeded to the throne in 1307, following his fathers death. In 1308, he married Isabella of France, the daughter of the powerful King Philip IV, Edward had a close and controversial relationship with Piers Gaveston, who had joined his household in 1300. The precise nature of Edward and Gavestons relationship is uncertain, they may have been friends, Gavestons arrogance and power as Edwards favourite provoked discontent both among the barons and the French royal family, and Edward was forced to exile him. On Gavestons return, the barons pressured the King into agreeing to wide-ranging reforms called the Ordinances of 1311, the newly empowered barons banished Gaveston, to which Edward responded by revoking the reforms and recalling his favourite. Led by Edwards cousin, the Earl of Lancaster, a group of the barons seized and executed Gaveston in 1312, English forces were pushed back in Scotland, where Edward was decisively defeated by Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Widespread famine followed, and criticism of the Kings reign mounted, in response, Edward led a short military campaign, capturing and executing Lancaster. Edward and the Despensers strengthened their grip on power, revoking the 1311 reforms, executing their enemies, unable to make progress in Scotland, Edward finally signed a truce with Robert. Opposition to the regime grew, and when Isabella was sent to France to negotiate a treaty in 1325, she turned against Edward. Isabella allied herself with the exiled Roger Mortimer, and invaded England with an army in 1326. Edwards regime collapsed and he fled into Wales, where he was captured in November, Edwards relationship with Gaveston inspired Christopher Marlowes 1592 play Edward II, along with other plays, films, novels and media. Many of these have focused on the sexual relationship between the two men. Debate has continued into the 21st century as to whether Edward was a lazy and incompetent king, or simply a reluctant, Edward II was the fourth son of Edward I and his first wife, Eleanor of Castile. His father was the King of England, and had also inherited Gascony in south-western France, which he held as the vassal of the King of France. His mother was from the Castilian royal family, and held the County of Ponthieu in northern France, Edward I proved to be a successful military leader, leading the suppression of the baronial revolts in the 1260s, and joining the Ninth Crusade. During the 1280s he conquered North Wales, removing the native Welsh princes from power and he was considered an extremely successful ruler by his contemporaries, largely able to control the powerful earls that formed the senior ranks of the English nobility. The historian Michael Prestwich describes Edward I as a king to inspire fear and respect, despite his successes, when Edward I died in 1307 he left a range of challenges for his son to resolve
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Mechelen
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Mechelen is a city and municipality in the province of Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium. The municipality comprises the city of Mechelen proper, some quarters at its outskirts, the hamlets of Nekkerspoel and Battel, as well as the villages of Walem, Heffen, Leest, Hombeek, and Muizen. The Dyle flows through the city, hence it is referred to as the Dijlestad. Mechelen lies on the urban and industrial axis Brussels–Antwerp, about 25 km from each city. Mechelen is one of Flanders prominent cities of art, with Antwerp, Bruges, Brussels, Ghent. The area of Mechelen was settled on the banks of the river during the Gallo-Roman period as evidenced by several Roman ruins, around 1200 started the building of the cathedral that is dedicated to the saint. Antwerp lost profitable stapelrechten for wool, oats and salt to Mechelen in 1303 when John II, Duke of Brabant and this started a rivalry between these cities that would last well into the 20th century. In the 15th century, the city came under the rule of the Dukes of Burgundy, in 1473 Charles the Bold moved several political bodies to the city, and Mechelen served as the seat of the Superior Court until the French Revolution. In 1490, a postal service between Mechelen and Innsbruck was established. During the 16th century the political influence decreased dramatically, due to many governmental institutions being moved to Brussels. In 1961, Brussels was added to the title, resulting in the current Archdiocese of Mechelen-Brussels, Mechelen also retained further relevance as the Great Council of Mechelen remained the supreme court of the territory until the French Revolutionary Wars. In 1572, during the Eighty Years War, the city was burned and sacked by the Spanish, after this pillaging, the city was rebuilt. It was during this time that the tradition of making, still seen today. The city entered the age in the 19th century. In 1835, the first railway on the European continent linked Brussels with Mechelen and this led to a development of metalworking industries, among others the central railway workshops which are still located in the town today. During the Second World War, the extensive Mechlinian railway structure had caused the Nazi occupation forces to choose Mechelen for their infamous transit camp, over 25,000 Jews and Roma were sent by rail to the Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp from Mechelen. The site of the camp now houses the Jewish Museum of Deportation. Several famous meetings on the Christian religion are connected to the name of the city, one in 1909 is thought to have inaugurated the Liturgical Movement
21.
First War of the Guelderian Succession
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The First War of the Guelderian Succession was a battle for the throne of the Duchy of Guelders that raged between 1371 and 1379. The war originated when Duke Rainald III died without issue in 1371 and his brother, Edward, who had been killed in the Battle of Baesweiler earlier that same year also left no offspring. 14th-century Guelders was divided in two factions, The Heeckerens supported Machteld of Guelders, and were led by Frederik van Heeckeren van der Eze, the Bronckhorsters supported William of Guelders, and were led by Gijsbert V van Bronckhorst. The war lasted eight years, with Mary and her supporters emerging victorious,1372 The Bronckhorst faction carries out raids in the Sticht Utrecht, presumably because the bisschop of Utrecht Arnold II of Horne had joined their enemies. In the Battle near Heerewaarden, the Bronckhorst faction is defeated,1372, Gozewijn van Varik, cousin of Machteld of Guelders, conquers Tiell in the spring of this year. Throughout the year, struggles continue within the city, 1372/73, troops of Arnold II of Horne conquer Harderwijk on behalf of Machteld of Guelders. 1373, John II, Count of Blois begins his Siege of Venlo,1374, Reinoud I van Brederode conquer Tiel on behalf of Machteld of Guelders. 1376, the leades of the Bronckhorst factiën are ambushed and taken as prisoners near Oosterbeek,1377, Charles IV gives the Dukedom of Guelders to the son of Mary and William III. 1378, In the Battle near Gennep the Heeckeren and Bronckhorst factions confront each other,1379, The village of Zennuwijnen with its church and abbey are destroyed by the Bronckhorst faction. 1379, On March 24 the last battle was fought near Hönnepel, Machteld of Guelders was defeated by the troops of Julich and resigned from her rights to the dukedom of Guelders
22.
Minor (law)
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In law, a minor is a person under a certain age—usually the age of majority—which legally demarcates childhood from adulthood. The age of majority depends upon jurisdiction and application, but is generally 18, minor may also be used in contexts unconnected to the overall age of majority. For example, the age in the United States is usually 21. These age limits are different from the age of majority. The concept of minor is not sharply defined in most jurisdictions, in many countries, including Australia, India, Philippines, Brazil, Croatia, and Colombia, a minor is defined as a person under the age of 18. In Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, a minor is a person under 20 years of age, for all provincial laws, the provincial and territorial governments have the power to set the age of majority in their respective province or territory, and the age varies across Canada. In Saskatchewan, the legal gaming age and the drinking age are both 19. For Federal Law, the age of majority is 18, in Italy, law nr.39 of March 8,1975, states that a minor is a person under the age of 18. Citizens under the age of 18 may not vote, be elected, crimes committed in Italy by minors are tried in a juvenile court. In all 31 states, a minor is referred to as someone under the age of 18, minors aged 16 or 17 who are charged with crimes could sometimes be treated as an adult. A minor is restricted from doing juristic acts—for example, sign contracts, when a minor wishes to do a juristic act, he has to obtain the consent from his legal representative, usually the parents and otherwise the act is voidable. A minor can make a will at the age of fifteen, in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland a minor is a person under the age of 18, in Scotland, under the age of 16. The age of responsibility in England and Wales and in Northern Ireland is 10, and 12 in Scotland, formerly 8. In England and Wales, cases of breaking the law are often dealt with by the Youth Offending Team. If they are incarcerated, they are sent to a Young Offender Institution, driving certain large vehicles, acting as personal license holder for licensed premises, and adopting a child are only permitted after the age of 21. The minimum age to drive a HGV1 vehicle was reduced to 18, however, certain vehicles, e. g. steamrollers, require that someone be 21 years of age to obtain an operating license. In the United States as of 1995, minor is generally defined as a person under the age of 18. Although in the context of alcohol or gambling laws, people under the age of 21 may also sometimes be referred to as minors, however, not all minors are considered juveniles in terms of criminal responsibility
23.
Zutphen
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Zutphen is a town in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. It lies some 30 km north-east of Arnhem, on the Eastern bank of the river IJssel at the point where it is joined by the Berkel, the name Zutphen appears to mean zuid-veen, or in English, south-fen. In 2005, the municipality of Zutphen was merged with the municipality of Warnsveld, the municipality had a population of 47,052 in 2014. About 300 AD a Germanic settlement was the first permanent town on a complex of low river dunes, whereas many such settlements were abandoned in the early Middle Ages, Zutphen on its strategic confluence of IJssel and Berkel stayed. After the incorporation of the IJssel lands in Charlemagnes Francia, Zutphen became a centre of governance under a count. The Normans raided and ravaged it in 882, afterwards a circular fortress was built to protect the budding town against Viking attacks. In the eleventh century Zutphen was a residence for a number of years, a pfalz was built, together with a large chapter church. The counts of Zutphen acquired a lot of power, until the line of counts became extinct in the twelfth century. After the death of her father and her brother, Ermgard, the settlement received town rights between 1191 and 1196, making it one of the oldest towns in the country. This allowed it to govern and have a judicial court. Only Utrecht, and Deventer preceded it in receiving town rights, Zutphen, in turn, became the mother town of several other towns in Guelders, such as Arnhem, Doetinchem, Doesburg, Lochem, Harderwijk, Venlo and Emmerich. It also became part of the Hanseatic League, a group of towns with great wealth, during the 12th century coins were minted in Zutphen by the Counts of Guelders and Zutphen, Henry I and Otto I. Although the city had minting rights for a few centuries this was actively used during four periods, 1478-1480, 1582-1583, 1604–1605. The largest and oldest church of the city is the St. Walburgis church, the present Gothic building contains monuments of the former counts of Zutphen, a fourteenth-century candelabrum, an elaborate copper font, and a monument to the Van Heeckeren family. The chapter-house of library contains a library which includes some valuable manuscripts. It is considered one of only 5 remaining medieval libraries in Europe and its fortifications were dismantled in 1874. In World War II the town was bombed several times by the allied forces because the bridge over the IJssel was vital to support the German troops at Arnhem after the Operation Market Garden, after two weeks of battle the town was liberated on 14 April 1945. After the war a renovation program started, the city center includes many monumental buildings dating back to the 14th and 15th centuries, and some even date back to the 13th century such as a retirement home area
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Homage (feudal)
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Homage in the Middle Ages was the ceremony in which a feudal tenant or vassal pledged reverence and submission to his feudal lord, receiving in exchange the symbolic title to his new position. It was an acknowledgement to the lord that the vassal was, literally. The oath known as fealty implied lesser obligations than did homage, a similar concept is the bayah, a type of oath in Islam. There have been some conflicts about obligations of homage in history, for example, the Angevin monarchs of England were sovereign in England, i. e. they had no duty of homage regarding those holdings, but they were not sovereign regarding their French holdings. So Henry II was king of England, but he was merely Duke of the Normans and Angevins, the Capetian kings in Paris, though weak militarily, claimed a right of homage. The usual oath was therefore modified by Henry to add the qualification for the lands I hold overseas, the implication was that no knights service was owed for the conquered English lands. After King John was forced to surrender Normandy to France in 1204, John still expected to recover his ancestral lands, and those English lords who held lands in Normandy would have to choose sides. Many were forced to abandon their continental holdings, at first that seemed to satisfy John, but eventually, as a price for making peace with the French king to keep his lands, the Earl Marshall fell out of favour with John. The conflict between the French monarchs and the Angevin kings of England continued through the 13th century, when Edward I was asked to provide military service to Philip III in his war with Aragon in 1285, Edward made preparations to provide service from Gascony. A truce was arranged, however, before Edward had to decide what to do, but when Phillip III died, and his son Philip IV ascended the French throne in 1286, Edward dutifully but reluctantly performed homage for the sake of peace. In doing so, Edward added yet another qualification – that the duty owed was according to the terms of the peace made between our ancestors, allegiance Bayah Charge Duty Fealty Feudalism in the Holy Roman Empire Honor
25.
Chivalry
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Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is a code of conduct associated with the medieval institution of knighthood which developed between 1170 and 1220. The code of chivalry that developed in medieval Europe had its roots in earlier centuries, the term chivalry derives from the Old French term chevalerie, which can be translated to horse soldiery. Gautier states that emerged from the Moors as well as the Teutonic forests and was nurtured into civilization. Over time, its meaning in Europe has been refined to emphasise social and moral virtues more generally, in origin, the term chivalry means horsemanship, formed in Old French, in the 11th century, from chevalier, from Medieval Latin caballārius. In English, the term appears from 1292, thus, chivalry has hierarchical meanings from simply a heavily armed horseman to a code of conduct. Based on the three treatises, initially chivalry was defined as a way of life in which three essential aspects fused together, the military, the nobility, the religion. Gautiers Ten Commandments of chivalry are, Thou shalt believe all that the Church teaches, Thou shalt respect all weaknesses, and shalt constitute thyself the defender of them. Thou shalt love the country in which thou wast born, Thou shalt not recoil before thine enemy. Thou shalt make war against the infidel without cessation and without mercy, Thou shalt perform scrupulously thy feudal duties, if they be not contrary to the laws of God. Thou shalt never lie, and shalt remain faithful to thy pledged word, Thou shalt be generous, and give largesse to everyone. Thou shalt be everywhere and always the champion of the Right, though these ten commandments are often accepted to be what knights would use, these would not necessarily be what a knight actually followed in the medieval era. This code was created by Leon Gautier in 1883, long after the knight had ceased to exist in its traditional form. Chivalry in a sense was more of a subjective term. It is a version of the myth of the Golden Age, from Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi, We must not confound chivalry with the feudal system. The feudal system may be called the life of the period of which we are treating, possessing its advantages and inconveniences, its virtues. Chivalry, on the contrary, is the world, such as it existed in the imaginations of the Romance writers. Its essential character is devotion to woman and to honour, Sismondi alludes to the fictitious Arthurian romances about the imaginary Court of King Arthur, which were usually taken as factual presentations of a historical age of chivalry. He continues, The more closely we look into history, the more clearly shall we perceive that the system of chivalry is an invention almost entirely poetical and it is impossible to distinguish the countries in which it is said to have prevailed
26.
Tournament (medieval)
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A tournament, or tourney was a chivalrous competition or mock fight in Europe in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. It is one of various types of hastiludes, Old French tornement was in use in the 12th century, from a verb tornoier, ultimately Latin tornare to turn. The same verb also gave rise to tornei, the French terms were adopted in English by 1300. The Old French verb in origin meant to joust, tilt, by the end of the 12th century, tornement and Latinized torneamentum had become the generic term for all kinds of knightly hastiludes or martial displays. Roger of Hoveden writing in the late 12th century defined torneamentum as military exercises carried out, not in the spirit of hostility, but solely for practice. The application of the tournament to competition in games of skill or sports in general dates to the mid 18th century. Medieval equestrian warfare, and equestrian practice, did hark back to Roman antiquity and it is known that such cavalry games were central to military training in the Carolingian Empire, with records of Louis and Charles military games at Worms in 843. At this event, recorded by Nithard, the chasing and fleeing was followed by a general mêlée of all combatants. Documentation of equestrian practice during the 9th to 10th centuries is still sparse, the earliest known use of the word tournament comes from the peace legislation by Count Baldwin III of Hainaut for the town of Valenciennes, dated to 1114. It refers to the keepers of the peace in the town leaving it for the purpose of frequenting javelin sports, tournaments, a pattern of regular tournament meetings across northern France is evident in sources for the life of Charles, Count of Flanders. The sources of the 1160s and 1170s portray the event in the form it maintained into the fourteenth century. Tournaments centred on the melee, a fight where the knights were divided into two sides and came together in a charge. Jousting, a combat of two knights riding at each other, was a component of the tournament, but was never its main feature. The standard form of a tournament is evident in sources as early as the 1160s and 1170s, notably the Life of William Marshal, Tournaments might be held at all times of the year except the penitential season of Lent. The general custom was to them on Mondays and Tuesdays. The site of the tournament was announced a fortnight before it was to be held. The most famous tournament fields were in northeastern France which attracted hundreds of knights from all over Europe for the lonc sejor. Knights arrived individually or in companies to stay at one or other of the two settlements designated as their lodgings, the tournament began on a field outside the principal settlement, where stands were erected for spectators
27.
Lithuanians
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Lithuanians are a Baltic ethnic group, native to Lithuania, where they number around 2,561,300 people. Another million or more make up the Lithuanian diaspora, largely found in such as the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Russia, United Kingdom. Their native language is Lithuanian, one of two surviving members of the Baltic language family. Most Lithuanians belong to the Roman Catholic Church, while the Lietuvininkai who lived in the part of East Prussia prior to World War II, were mostly Evangelical Lutherans. The territory of the Balts, including modern Lithuania, was inhabited by several Baltic tribal entities, as attested by ancient sources. The last Pagan peoples in Europe, they were converted to Christianity in 1387. The subsequent imperial Russian occupation accelerated this process, it pursued a policy of Russification and it was believed by some at the time that the nation as such, along with its language, would become extinct within a few generations. At the end of the 19th century a Lithuanian cultural and linguistic revival occurred, Lithuania declared independence after World War I, which helped its national consolidation. A standardised Lithuanian language was approved, however, the eastern parts of Lithuania, including the Vilnius Region, were annexed by Poland, while the Klaipėda Region was taken over by Nazi Germany in 1939. In 1940, Lithuania was invaded and occupied by the Soviet Union, the Germans and their allies attacked the USSR in June 1941, and from 1941—1944, Lithuania was occupied by Germany. The Germans retreated in 1944, and Lithuania fell under Soviet rule once again, the long-standing communities of Lithuanians in the Kaliningrad Oblast were almost destroyed as a result. The Lithuanian nation as such remained primarily in Lithuania, few villages in northeastern Poland, southern Latvia, some indigenous Lithuanians still remain in Belarus and the Kaliningrad Oblast, but their number is small compared to what they used to be. Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, and was recognized by most countries in 1991 and it became a member of the European Union on May 1,2004. Among the Baltic states, Lithuania has the most homogeneous population, Poles are mostly concentrated in the Vilnius Region. Especially large Polish communities are located in the Vilnius District Municipality and this concentration allows Electoral Action of Poles in Lithuania, an ethnic minority-based political party, to exert political influence. Due to the excessive pro-Pole political agenda, the party is known to cause friction between Lithuanians and Poles, however, it has only held 1 or 2 seats in the parliament of Lithuania for the past decade. Thus, it is active in local politics by having a majority in a few minor municipality councils. Russians, even though they are almost as numerous as Poles, are more evenly scattered
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East Prussia
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East Prussia was a province of Prussia from 1773–1829 and from 1878–1945. East Prussia was the part of the region of Prussia along the southeastern Baltic Coast. East Prussia enclosed the bulk of the lands of the Baltic Old Prussians. During the 13th century, the native Prussians were conquered by the crusading Teutonic Knights, the indigenous Balts who survived the conquest were gradually converted to Christianity. Because of Germanization and colonisation over the centuries, Germans became the dominant ethnic group, while Poles. From the 13th century, East Prussia was part of the state of the Teutonic Knights. After the Second Peace of Thorn in 1466 it became a fief of the Kingdom of Poland, in 1525, with the Prussian Homage, the province became the Duchy of Prussia. The Old Prussian language had become extinct by the 17th or early 18th century, because the duchy was outside of the core Holy Roman Empire, the prince-electors of Brandenburg were able to proclaim themselves King of Prussia beginning in 1701. Between 1829 and 1878, the Province of East Prussia was joined with West Prussia to form the Province of Prussia, the Kingdom of Prussia became the leading state of the German Empire after its creation in 1871. Following Nazi Germanys defeat in World War II in 1945, war-torn East Prussia was divided at Joseph Stalins insistence between the Soviet Union and the Peoples Republic of Poland, the capital city Königsberg was renamed Kaliningrad in 1946. The German population of the province was evacuated during the war or expelled shortly thereafter in the expulsion of Germans after World War II. An estimated 300,000 died either in war time bombings raids or in the battles to defend the province. Upon the invitation of Duke Konrad I of Masovia, the Teutonic Knights took possession of Prussia in the 13th century, local Old-Prussian and Polish toponyms were gradually Germanised. Its defeat was formalised in the Second Treaty of Thorn in 1466 ending the Thirteen Years War, together with Warmia it formed the province of Royal Prussia. Eastern Prussia remained under the Knights, but as a fief of Poland,1466 and 1525 arrangements by kings of Poland were not verified by the Holy Roman Empire as well as the previous gains of the Teutonic Knights were not verified. The Teutonic Order lost eastern Prussia when Grand Master Albert of Brandenburg-Ansbach converted to Lutheranism, Albert established himself as the first duke of the Duchy of Prussia and a vassal of the Polish crown by the Prussian Homage. Walter von Cronberg, the next Grand Master, was enfeoffed with the title to Prussia after the Diet of Augsburg in 1530, in 1569 the Hohenzollern prince-electors of the Margraviate of Brandenburg became co-regents with Alberts son, the feeble-minded Albert Frederick. The Administrator of Prussia, the grandmaster of the Teutonic Order Maximilian III, when Maximilian died, Alberts line died out, and the Duchy of Prussia passed to the Electors of Brandenburg, forming Brandenburg-Prussia
29.
William I, Duke of Bavaria
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William I, Duke of Bavaria-Straubing, was the second son of the emperor Louis IV the Bavarian from his second wife Margaret of Holland and Hainaut. He was also known as William V, Count of Holland, as William III, Count of Hainaut and as William IV, in 1345 Williams father was conferring Hainaut, Holland, Zeeland and Friesland upon his wife Margaret, and shortly later also upon their son William. After his fathers death in 1347 William ruled Bavaria, Holland, with the first division of the Wittelsbach possessions in 1349 he received Hainaut, Holland and Lower Bavaria together with his brothers Stephen II and Albert I. After the next division of Bavaria in 1353 he ruled together with his younger brother Albert I in Bavaria-Straubing, Holland, William had engaged in a long struggle with his mother Margaret, obtaining Holland and Zeeland from her in 1354, and Hainaut on her death in 1356. In 1350, the nobles of Holland asked Margaret to return to Holland again and she then battled for the power in Holland and Hainaut for some years with her son William who refused to pay her alimony. The Cod league was formed on 23 May 1350 by a number of supporters of William, on 5 September the same year, the Hook league was formed. Soon afterward, these factions clashed, and a war began. Edward III shortly afterwards changed sides, and the empress saw herself compelled to come to an understanding with her son, he being recognized as count of Holland and Zeeland, Margaret died two years later, leaving William in possession of the entire Holland-Hainaut inheritance. William was married to Matilda of Lancaster, sister to Blanche of Lancaster, in 1357, William began to show signs of insanity, going so far as to attack and kill one of his knights for no apparent reason, before he could be restrained. His brother Albert assumed the regency in Holland and Hainaut in 1358, William was confined to Castle Le Quesnoy for the remainder of his life. He married Matilda of Lancaster, daughter of Henry of Grosmont, 1st Duke of Lancaster and they had only one daughter, who died in 1356. Also, he had children, Wilhelm, married 1398 Lisbeth Hughe. Elisabeth, married Brustijn van Herwijnen, lord of Stavenisse and he was succeeded by his brother Albert in 1389
30.
Hundred Years' War
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Each side drew many allies into the war. It was one of the most notable conflicts of the Middle Ages, the war marked both the height of chivalry and its subsequent decline, and the development of strong national identities in both countries. After the Norman Conquest, the kings of England were vassals of the kings of France for their possessions in France, the French kings had endeavored, over the centuries, to reduce these possessions, to the effect that only Gascony was left to the English. Through his mother, Isabella of France, Edward III of England was the grandson of Philip IV of France and nephew of Charles IV of France, in 1316, a principle was established denying women succession to the French throne. When Charles IV died in 1328, Isabella, unable to claim the French throne for herself, the French rejected the claim, maintaining that Isabella could not transmit a right that she did not possess. Several overwhelming English victories in the war—especially at Crecy, Poitiers, however, the greater resources of the French monarchy precluded a complete conquest. Historians commonly divide the war into three separated by truces, the Edwardian Era War, the Caroline War, and the Lancastrian War. Later historians adopted the term Hundred Years War as a historiography periodization to encompass all of these events, the war owes its historical significance to multiple factors. By its end, feudal armies had been replaced by professional troops. Although primarily a conflict, the war gave impetus to ideas of French. The wider introduction of weapons and tactics supplanted the feudal armies where heavy cavalry had dominated, the war precipitated the creation of the first standing armies in Western Europe since the time of the Western Roman Empire and thus helping to change their role in warfare. With respect to the belligerents, in France, civil wars, deadly epidemics, famines, English political forces over time came to oppose the costly venture. The dissatisfaction of English nobles, resulting from the loss of their continental landholdings, the root causes of the conflict can be found in the demographic, economic and political crises of 14th century Europe. The outbreak of war was motivated by a rise in tension between the Kings of France and England about Guyenne, Flanders and Scotland. The dynastic question, which due to an interruption of the direct male line of the Capetians, was the official pretext. The question of succession to the French throne was raised after the death of Louis X in 1316. Louis X left only a daughter, and his posthumous son John I lived only a few days, Philip, Count of Poitiers, brother of Louis X, asserted that women were ineligible to succeed to the French throne. Through his political sagacity he won over his adversaries and succeeded to the French throne as Philip V of France, by the same law that he procured, his daughters were denied the succession, which passed to his younger brother, Charles IV, in 1322
31.
Grave, Netherlands
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Grave is a municipality in the Dutch province North Brabant. The municipality had a population of 12,746 in 2014, Grave is a member of the Dutch Association of Fortified Cities. The municipality includes the towns, Grave, Velp, Escharen. The municipality Grave was formed in the Napoleonic era and coincided with the fortified Grave, the history of the town was thus linked to that of the place. Then there was a place where the municipality Grave was expanded with the previously independent municipalities Velp. Moreover, in 1994 the neighboring municipality of Beers was abolished and a part thereof, Grave received city rights in 1233. Near to Grave lies a bridge, now called John S. Thompsonbrug and it is the northern connection to Gelderland, spanning the river Maas. The bridge was one of the key points in Operation Market Garden, the city was liberated at 17 September 1944. The bridge was named in 2004 after Lieutenant John S. Thompson who commanded the platoon of the 82nd Airborne Division that captured the bridge, the Hampoort is the old entrance to the city, and it is still largely intact and can be visited. Mary of Guelders, born in Grave, the consort of Scotland as the wife of King James II of Scotland. Anna van Egmont, born in Grave, a wealthy Dutch heiress who became the first wife of William the Silent, Prince of Orange, apostolic Vicariate of Grave–Nijmegen, former Catholic pre-diocesan jurisdiction Media related to Grave, Netherlands at Wikimedia Commons Official website
32.
Charles VI of France
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Charles VI, called the Beloved and the Mad, was King of France from 1380 to his death. He was a member of the House of Valois, Charles VI was only 11 when he inherited the throne in the midst of the Hundred Years War. The government was entrusted to his four uncles, Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, John, Duke of Berry, Louis I, Duke of Anjou, and Louis II, Duke of Bourbon. Although the royal age of majority was fixed at 14, the dukes maintained their grip on Charles until he took power at the age of 21, as royal funds drained, new taxes had to be raised, which caused several revolts. In 1388 Charles VI dismissed his uncles and brought back to power his fathers former advisers, political and economic conditions in the kingdom improved significantly, and Charles earned the epithet the Beloved. But in August 1392 en route to Brittany with his army in the forest of Le Mans, Charles suddenly went mad and slew four knights and almost killed his brother, from then on, Charles bouts of insanity became more frequent and of longer duration. During these attacks, he had delusions, believing he was made of glass or denying he had a wife and he could also attack servants or run until exhaustion, wailing that he was threatened by his enemies. Between crises, there were intervals of months during which Charles was relatively sane, however, unable to concentrate or make decisions, political power was taken away from him by the princes of the blood, which would cause much chaos and conflict in France. A fierce struggle for power developed between Louis of Orléans, the brother, and John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy. When John instigated the murder of Louis in November 1407, the conflict degenerated into a war between the Armagnacs and the Burgundians. John offered large parts of France to King Henry V of England, when Charles VI died, he was succeeded by his son Charles VII, who found the Valois cause in a desperate situation. Charles was born in Paris, in the residence of the Hôtel Saint-Pol, on 3 December 1368, the son of the king of France Charles V, of the House of Valois. As heir to the French throne, his brothers having died before he was born. At his fathers death on 16 September 1380, he inherited the throne of France and his coronation took place on 4 November 1380, at Reims Cathedral. Although the royal age of majority was 14, Charles did not terminate the regency and he married Isabeau of Bavaria on 17 July 1385, when he was 17 and she was 14. Isabeau had 12 children, most of whom died young, isabeaus first child, named Charles, was born in 1386, and was Dauphin of Viennois, but survived only 3 months. Her second child, Joan, was born on 14 June 1388 and her third child, Isabella, was born in 1389. She was married to Richard II, King of England in 1396, at the age of 6, Richard died in 1400 and they had no children
33.
Pomerania
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Pomerania is a region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Germany and Poland. The name derives from the Slavic po more, meaning by the sea, Pomerania stretches roughly from the Recknitz river in the west to the Vistula river in the east. The largest Pomeranian islands are Rügen, Usedom/Uznam and Wolin, the largest Pomeranian city is Gdańsk, or, when using a narrower definition of the region, Szczecin. Outside its urban areas, Pomerania is characterized by farmland, dotted with lakes, forests. The region was affected by post–World War I and II border and population shifts. Pomerania is the area along the Bay of Pomerania of the Baltic Sea between the rivers Recknitz in the west and Vistula in the east and it formerly reached perhaps as far south as the Noteć river, but since the 13th century its southern boundary has been placed further north. Most of the region is coastal lowland, being part of the North European Plain, but its southern, hilly parts belong to the Baltic Ridge, within this ridge, a chain of moraine-dammed lakes constitutes the Pomeranian Lake District. The soil is rather poor, sometimes sandy or marshy. The western coastline is jagged, with many peninsulas and islands enclosing numerous bays, Łebsko and several other lakes were formerly bays, but have been cut off from the sea. The easternmost coastline along the Gdańsk Bay and Vistula Lagoon, has the Hel peninsula, the Pomeranian region has the following administrative divisions, Hither Pomerania in northeastern Germany, stretching from the Recknitz river to the Oder–Neisse line. This region is part of the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The southernmost part of historical Vorpommern is now in Brandenburg, while its eastern parts are now in Poland. Vorpommern comprises the regions inhabited by Slavic tribes Rugians and Volinians, otherwise the Principality of Rügen. The West Pomeranian Voivodeship in Poland, stretching from the Oder–Neisse line to the Wieprza river, the Pomeranian Voivodeship, with similar borders to Pomerelia, stretching from the Wieprza river to the Vistula delta in the vicinity of Gdańsk. The northern half of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, comprising most of Chełmno Land, the bulk of Farther Pomerania is included within the modern West Pomeranian Voivodeship, but its easternmost parts now constitute the northwest of Pomeranian Voivodeship. Parts of Pomerania and surrounding regions have constituted a euroregion since 1995, the Pomerania euroregion comprises Hither Pomerania and Uckermark in Germany, West Pomerania in Poland, and Scania in Sweden. Pomerania was first mentioned in a document of 1046, referring to a Zemuzil dux Bomeranorum. Pomerania is mentioned repeatedly in the chronicles of Adam of Bremen, the term West Pomerania is ambiguous, since it may refer to either Hither Pomerania or to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship
34.
Bohemia
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Bohemia is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech lands in the present-day Czech Republic. Bohemia was a duchy of Great Moravia, later an independent principality, a kingdom in the Holy Roman Empire, and subsequently a part of the Habsburg Monarchy, after World War I and the establishment of an independent Czechoslovak state, Bohemia became a part of Czechoslovakia. Between 1938 and 1945, border regions with sizeable German-speaking minorities of all three Czech lands were joined to Nazi Germany as the Sudetenland, in 1990, the name was changed to the Czech Republic, which become a separate state in 1993 with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Until 1948, Bohemia was a unit of Czechoslovakia as one of its lands. Bohemia was bordered in the south by Upper and Lower Austria, in the west by Bavaria and in the north by Saxony and Lusatia, in the northeast by Silesia, and in the east by Moravia. In the 2nd century BC, the Romans were competing for dominance in northern Italy, the Romans defeated the Boii at the Battle of Placentia and the Battle of Mutina. After this, many of the Boii retreated north across the Alps, much later Roman authors refer to the area they had once occupied as Boiohaemum. The earliest mention was by Tacitus Germania 28, and later mentions of the name are in Strabo. The name appears to include the tribal name Boi- plus the Germanic element *haimaz home and this Boiohaemum was apparently isolated to the area where King Marobods kingdom was centred, within the Hercynian forest. The Czech name Čechy is derived from the name of the Slavic ethnic group, the Czechs, Bohemia, like neighbouring Bavaria, is named after the Boii, who were a large Celtic nation known to the Romans for their migrations and settlement in northern Italy and other places. Another part of the nation moved west with the Helvetii into southern France, to the south, over the Danube, the Romans extended their empire, and to the southeast in Hungaria, were Sarmatian peoples. In the area of modern Bohemia the Marcomanni and other Suebic groups were led by their king Marobodus and he took advantage of the natural defenses provided by its mountains and forests. In late classical times and the early Middle Ages, two new Suebic groupings appeared to the west of Bohemia in southern Germany, the Alemanni, many Suebic tribes from the Bohemian region took part in such movements westwards, even settling as far away as Spain and Portugal. With them were also tribes who had pushed from the east, such as the Vandals, other groups pushed southwards towards Pannonia. These are precursors of todays Czechs, though the amount of Slavic immigration is a subject of debate. The Slavic influx was divided into two or three waves, the first wave came from the southeast and east, when the Germanic Lombards left Bohemia. Soon after, from the 630s to 660s, the territory was taken by Samos tribal confederation and his death marked the end of the old Slavonic confederation, the second attempt to establish such a Slavonic union after Carantania in Carinthia. Other sources divide the population of Bohemia at this time into the Merehani, Marharaii, Beheimare, Christianity first appeared in the early 9th century, but only became dominant much later, in the 10th or 11th century
35.
Holy Land
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The Holy Land is an area roughly located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that also includes the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River. Traditionally, it is synonymous with both the biblical Land of Israel and historical Palestine, the term usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern State of Israel, the Palestinian territories, western Jordan, and parts of southern Lebanon and southwestern Syria. It is considered holy by Jews, Christians, and Muslims, many sites in the Holy Land have long been pilgrimage destinations for adherents of the Abrahamic religions, including Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Baháís. Pilgrims visit the Holy Land to touch and see physical manifestations of their faith, confirm their beliefs in the context with collective excitation. Jews do not commonly refer to the Land of Israel as Holy Land, the Tanakh explicitly refers to it as holy land in only one passage, in Zechariah 2,16. The holiness of the Land of Israel is generally implied in the Tanakh by the Land being given to the Israelites by God, that is, it is the promised land, an integral part of Gods covenant. In the Torah many mitzvot commanded to the Israelites can only be performed in the Land of Israel, for example, in the Land of Israel, no land shall be sold permanently. Shmita is only observed with respect to the land of Israel, according to Eliezer Schweid, The uniqueness of the Land of Israel is. geo-theological and not merely climatic. This is the land which faces the entrance of the spiritual world, Jerusalem, as the site of the Temple, is considered especially significant. Sacred burials are still undertaken for diaspora Jews who wish to lie buried in the soil of Israel. According to Jewish tradition, Jerusalem is Mount Moriah, the location of the binding of Isaac, the Hebrew Bible mentions the name Jerusalem 669 times, often because many mitzvot can only be performed within its environs. The name Zion, which refers to Jerusalem, but sometimes the Land of Israel. The Talmud mentions the religious duty of colonising Israel, so significant in Judaism is the act of purchasing land in Israel, the Talmud allows for the lifting of certain religious restrictions of Sabbath observance to further its acquisition and settlement. Rabbi Johanan said that one who walks a distance of 4 cubits in Israel may be confident of a share in the future world, a story says that when R. Eleazar b. Due to the Jewish population being concentrated in Israel, emigration was generally prevented, many Jews wanted Israel to be the place where they died. R. Anan said, To be buried in Israel is like being buried under the altar, the saying His land will absolve His people implies that burial in Israel will cause one to be absolved of all ones sins. Christian books, including editions of the Bible, often had maps of the Holy Land, for instance, the Itinerarium Sacrae Scripturae of Heinrich Bünting, a German Protestant pastor, featured such a map. As a geographic term, the description Holy Land loosely encompasses modern-day Israel, in the Quran, the term الأرض المقدسة is mentioned at least seven times, once when Moses proclaims to the Children of Israel, O my people
36.
Barbary pirates
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This area was known in Europe as the Barbary Coast, a term derived from the name of its Berber inhabitants. The main purpose of their attacks was to capture Christian slaves for the Ottoman slave trade as well as the general Muslim slavery market in North Africa and the Middle East. In that period Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli came under the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire, similar raids were undertaken from Salé and other ports in Morocco. Corsairs captured thousands of ships and repeatedly raided coastal towns, as a result, residents abandoned their former villages of long stretches of coast in Spain and Italy. The raids were such a problem coastal settlements were seldom undertaken until the 19th century, from the 16th to 19th century, corsairs captured an estimated 800,000 to 1.25 million people as slaves. Some corsairs were European outcasts and converts such as John Ward, Hayreddin Barbarossa and Oruç Reis, Turkish Barbarossa Brothers, who took control of Algiers on behalf of the Ottomans in the early 16th century, were also notorious corsairs. The European pirates brought advanced sailing and shipbuilding techniques to the Barbary Coast around 1600, the effects of the Barbary raids peaked in the early to mid-17th century. However, the ships and coasts of Christian states without such effective protection continued to suffer until the early 19th century. Following the Napoleonic Wars and the Congress of Vienna in 1814–15, European powers agreed upon the need to suppress the Barbary corsairs entirely and the threat was largely subdued. Occasional incidents occurred, including two Barbary wars between the United States and the Barbary States, until terminated by the French conquest of Algiers in 1830. Piracy by Muslim populations had been known in the Mediterranean since at least the 9th century, in the 14th century Tunisian corsairs became enough of a threat to provoke a Franco-Genoese attack on Mahdia in 1390, also known as the Barbary Crusade. The Barbary pirates had long attacked English and other European shipping along the North Coast of Africa and they had been attacking English merchant and passengers ships since the 1600s. Regular fundraising for ransoms was undertaken generally by families and local church groups, the government did not ransom ordinary persons. The English became familiar with captivity narratives written by Barbary pirates prisoners and ransomed captives, during the American Revolution the pirates attacked American ships. The Moroccan-American Treaty of Friendship stands as the U. S. s oldest non-broken friendship treaty with a foreign power, in 1778 Morocco became the first nation to recognize the new United States. As late as 1798, an islet near Sardinia was attacked by the Tunisians, throughout history, geography was on the pirates side on the Northern coast of Africa. The coast was ideal for their wants and needs, with natural harbours often backed by lagoons, it provided a haven for guerrilla warfare, such as attacks on shipping vessels venturing through their territory. On the coast, mountainous areas provided ample reconnaissance for the corsairs as well, ships were spotted from afar, the pirates had time to prepare their attacks and surprise the ships
37.
Barbary Coast
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The Barbary Coast, or Berber Coast, was the term used by Europeans from the 16th until the 19th century to refer to much of the collective land of the Berber people. Today, the term Greater Maghreb or simply Maghreb corresponds roughly to Barbary, the term Barbary Coast emphasizes the Berber coastal regions and cities throughout the middle and western coastal regions of North Africa – what is now Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya. The name is derived from the Berber people of north Africa, the slaves and goods were being traded and sold throughout the Ottoman Empire or to the Europeans themselves. Barbary was not always a political entity. From the 16th century onwards, it was divided into the political entities of the Regency of Algiers, Tunis, major rulers during the times of the Barbary states plundering parties included the Pasha or Dey of Algiers, the Bey of Tunis and the Bey of Tripoli. Before then, the territory was divided between Ifriqiya, Morocco, and a west-central Algerian state centered on Tlemcen or Tiaret. Powerful Berber dynasties such as the Almohads and briefly thereafter the Hafsids, from a European perspective its capital or chief city was often considered to be Tripoli in modern-day Libya, although Marrakesh in Morocco was the largest and most important Berber city at the time. In addition, Algiers in Algeria and Tangiers in Morocco were also seen as the capital. The first United States military land action overseas, executed by the U. S, Marines and Navy, was the Battle of Derne, Tripoli, in 1805. The opening line of the Marines Hymn refers to this action and this was the first time the U. S. Marine Corps took part in offensive actions outside of the United States. The word razzia was borrowed via Italian and French from Algerian Arabic ghaziya, originally referring to slave raids conducted by Barbary pirates
38.
Prussia
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Prussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg, and centred on the region of Prussia. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organised, Prussia, with its capital in Königsberg and from 1701 in Berlin, shaped the history of Germany. In 1871, German states united to create the German Empire under Prussian leadership, in November 1918, the monarchies were abolished and the nobility lost its political power during the German Revolution of 1918–19. The Kingdom of Prussia was thus abolished in favour of a republic—the Free State of Prussia, from 1933, Prussia lost its independence as a result of the Prussian coup, when the Nazi regime was successfully establishing its Gleichschaltung laws in pursuit of a unitary state. Prussia existed de jure until its liquidation by the Allied Control Council Enactment No.46 of 25 February 1947. The name Prussia derives from the Old Prussians, in the 13th century, the Teutonic Knights—an organized Catholic medieval military order of German crusaders—conquered the lands inhabited by them. In 1308, the Teutonic Knights conquered the region of Pomerelia with Gdańsk and their monastic state was mostly Germanised through immigration from central and western Germany and in the south, it was Polonised by settlers from Masovia. The Second Peace of Thorn split Prussia into the western Royal Prussia, a province of Poland, and the part, from 1525 called the Duchy of Prussia. The union of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Prussia in 1618 led to the proclamation of the Kingdom of Prussia in 1701, Prussia entered the ranks of the great powers shortly after becoming a kingdom, and exercised most influence in the 18th and 19th centuries. During the 18th century it had a say in many international affairs under the reign of Frederick the Great. During the 19th century, Chancellor Otto von Bismarck united the German principalities into a Lesser Germany which excluded the Austrian Empire. At the Congress of Vienna, which redrew the map of Europe following Napoleons defeat, Prussia acquired a section of north western Germany. The country then grew rapidly in influence economically and politically, and became the core of the North German Confederation in 1867, and then of the German Empire in 1871. The Kingdom of Prussia was now so large and so dominant in the new Germany that Junkers and other Prussian élites identified more and more as Germans and less as Prussians. In the Weimar Republic, the state of Prussia lost nearly all of its legal and political importance following the 1932 coup led by Franz von Papen. East Prussia lost all of its German population after 1945, as Poland, the main coat of arms of Prussia, as well as the flag of Prussia, depicted a black eagle on a white background. The black and white colours were already used by the Teutonic Knights. The Teutonic Order wore a white coat embroidered with a cross with gold insert
39.
Frankfurt
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The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine-Main Metropolitan Region, which has a population of 5.8 million and is Germanys second-largest metropolitan region after Rhine-Ruhr. Since the enlargement of the European Union in 2013, the centre of the EU is about 40 km to the east of Frankfurts CBD. Frankfurt is culturally and ethnically diverse, with half of the population. A quarter of the population are foreign nationals, including many expatriates, Frankfurt is an alpha world city and a global hub for commerce, culture, education, tourism and traffic. Its the site of many global and European headquarters, Frankfurt Airport is among the worlds busiest. Automotive, technology and research, services, consulting, media, Frankfurts DE-CIX is the worlds largest internet exchange point. Messe Frankfurt is one of the worlds largest trade fairs, major fairs include the Frankfurt Motor Show, the worlds largest motor show, the Music Fair, and the Frankfurt Book Fair, the worlds largest book fair. Frankfurt is home to educational institutions, including the Goethe University, the UAS, the FUMPA. Its renowned cultural venues include the concert hall Alte Oper, Europes largest English Theatre and many museums, Frankfurts skyline is shaped by some of Europes tallest skyscrapers. In sports, the city is known as the home of the top football club Eintracht Frankfurt, the basketball club Frankfurt Skyliners, the Frankfurt Marathon. Its the seat of German sport unions for Olympics, football, Frankfurt is the largest financial centre in continental Europe. It is home to the European Central Bank, Deutsche Bundesbank, Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the worlds largest stock exchanges by market capitalization and accounts for more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. Frankfurt is considered a city as listed by the GaWC groups 2012 inventory. Among global cities it was ranked 10th by the Global Power City Index 2011, among financial centres it was ranked 8th by the International Financial Centers Development Index 2013 and 9th by the Global Financial Centres Index 2013. Its central location within Germany and Europe makes Frankfurt a major air, rail, Frankfurt Airport is one of the worlds busiest international airports by passenger traffic and the main hub for Germanys flag carrier Lufthansa. Frankfurter Kreuz, the Autobahn interchange close to the airport, is the most heavily used interchange in the EU, in 2011 human-resource-consulting firm Mercer ranked Frankfurt as seventh in its annual Quality of Living survey of cities around the world. According to The Economist cost-of-living survey, Frankfurt is Germanys most expensive city, Frankfurt has many high-rise buildings in the city centre, forming the Frankfurt skyline. It is one of the few cities in the European Union to have such a skyline and because of it Germans sometimes refer to Frankfurt as Mainhattan, the other well known and obvious nickname is Bankfurt
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