Biography.

After a thorough early training in music, Glarean enrolled in the University of Cologne, where he studied theology, philosophy, and mathematics as well as music. It was there that he wrote a famous poem as a tribute to Emperor Maximilian I. Shortly afterwards, in Basle, he met Erasmus and the two humanists became lifelong friends.  Glarean's first publication on music, a modest volume entitled "Isagoge in musicen", was in 1516. In it he discusses the basic elements of music; probably it was used for teaching. But his most famous book, and one of the most famous and influential works on music theory written during the Renaissance, was the "Dodecachordon", which he published in Basle in 1547. This massive work includes writings on philosophy and biography in addition to music theory, and includes no less than 120 complete compositions by composers of the preceding generation (including Josquin, Ockeghem, Obrecht, Isaac and many others). In three parts, it begins with a study of Boethius, who wrote extensively on music in the sixth century; it traces the use of the musical modes in plainsong (e.g. Gregorian chant) and monophony; and it closes with an extended study of the use of modes in polyphony.  The most significant feature of the "Dodecachordon" (literally, "12-stringed instrument") is Glarean's proposal that there are actually twelve modes, not eight, as had long been assumed, for instance in the works of the contemporary theorist Pietro Aron. The additional four modes included authentic and plagal forms of Aeolian (modes 9 and 10) and Ionian (modes 11 and 12) — the modes equivalent to minor and major scales, respectively. Glarean went so far as to say that the Ionian mode was the one most frequently used by composers in his day.  The influence of his work was immense. Many later theorists, including Zarlino, accepted the twelve modes, and though the distinction between plagal and authentic forms of the modes is no longer of contemporary interest (reducing the number from twelve to six), Glarean's explanation of the musical modes remains current today.

Heinrich Glarean (also Glareanus) (28 February or 3 June 1488 – 28 March 1563) was a Swiss music theorist, poet and humanist. He was born in Mollis (in the canton of Glarus, hence his name) and died in Freiburg.


Family.

As the sixth child and third daughter of Frederick William I, Friederike Luise was a sister of Frederick II of Prussia, Queen Louisa Ulrika of Sweden, and Philippine Charlotte, Duchess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel.  Through her mother, she was a granddaughter of George I of Great Britain, who became King of Britain the year she was born and died when she was 13. This thus made her a niece of George II of Great Britain, who was the king from 1727 to 1760 and died at age 77 when she was 46,and a cousin of Frederick, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess of Orange, and Queen Louise of Denmark and Norway.

Marriage and children.

On 30 May 1729 in Berlin, Friederike Luise married her Hohenzollern kinsman Karl Wilhelm Friedrich, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (12 May 1712 – 3 August 1757). They had two children :

Biography.

After the death of her older sister Charlotte Albertine (1713–1714), she was given special consideration and was allowed to grow up as she pleased. Her sister Wilhelmine of Bayreuth describes her in her memoirs as possessing a "capricious and petty nature". However, she also praised her talent and beauty.  Her marriage was arranged by her mother-in-law, the regent of Ansbach, and her father, who wished to gain influence in Ansbach. Her brother, King Frederick II, extended her appanage and received in return a regiment of soldiers from Ansbach.  The marriage was not happy; her spouse Karl Wilhelm Friedrich was known as "The wild margrave". He even remarked to King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia that he had cheated by the marriage. Even on the trip to Ansbach in June 1729 for her wedding, Luise Friederike was suffering from symptoms of the metabolic disease porphyria. She suffered from nausea, vomiting and faintings during which she was "dead as it seemed". Her spouse claimed she was lame and had bad teeth. Initially, he would not sleep with her. Crown Prince Frederick of Prussia commented on the marriage in February 1732 in these terms: "My sister and her husband the Ansbacher hate each other like fire." (»... ma soeur d'Anspac et son mari qui se Mr. haïssent comme le feu. ") At a window in the family room of the Ansbacher Residenz, she scratched this plea with a diamond in the glass:" Je souffre sans oser le dire. " (I suffer without daring to say it.)  At the birth of her son, Friederike Louise was given Hofmark Unterschwaningen as a residence. However, the Hereditary Prince Carl Friedrich August died on 9 May 1737. The Margrave and the whole court blamed Friederike Louise for his death. She separated from her spouse and lived more and more in the seclusion of Unterschwaningen, which she expanded artistically. Friederike Louise did not return to Ansbach until she became a widow in 1757. Her unhappiness was further compounded by the refusal of her surviving son to see or acknowledge her.

Princess Friederike Luise of Prussia () (29 August 1714 – 4 February 1784) was a daughter of Frederick William I of Prussia and Sophia Dorothea of Hanover and Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach.


Early life and diplomatic career.

He was the eldest of the three sons of Herbert von Bismarck, as well as the grandson of the German chancellor Otto von Bismarck and elder brother of Gottfried Graf von Bismarck-Schönhausen. A lawyer, he became the owner of the family estate in Schönhausen and joined the diplomatic service in 1927, serving in Stockholm (1927–28), London (1928–37), with the Foreign Ministry in Berlin (1937–40), as Envoy to Rome (Kingdom of Italy) (1940–43), and finally as head of the Italian section of the Foreign Ministry (1943–44).  In August 1942, Bismarck was directed to request that Italy turn over Jewish refugees in Italian-occupied Croatia for deportation to the East. He disclosed to the Italian Foreign Minister Count Ciano that the goal was the "dispersion and elimination" of these Jews.

Politics.

He was a member of the DNVP (the conservative party) in the Weimar Republic, and served as a Member of Parliament from 1924 to 1928. In 1933 he joined the Nazi Party, which he represented in the Reichstag (an almost purely ceremonial roll in the Third Reich) until the end of the Second World War in 1945. In 1935 he became a member of the Anglo-German Fellowship. In the 1950s he considered becoming a member of the FDP (the liberal party), which offered him a nomination for Parliament, but eventually joined the conservative CDU instead. He served as a Member of Parliament for the constituency of "Herzogtum Lauenburg" (Duchy of Lauenburg, his grandfather held the title Duke of Lauenburg) from 1953 to 1965, and as a member of the foreign affairs committee. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, and served as its Vice President from 1959 to 1960 and from 1961 to 1966. He was also chairman of the Deutsche Parlamentarische Gesellschaft from 1957 to 1961. He received the Great Cross of Merit in 1965.

Personal life.

Bismarck married Ann-Mari Tengbom (1907–1999), a native of Sweden, daughter of Ivar Tengbom, on 18 April 1928, and they had six children:  His grandson Carl-Eduard von Bismarck served as a Member of Parliament, representing the CDU for the constituency "Herzogtum Lauenburg", from 2005 to 2007.

Otto Christian Archibald, Prince of Bismarck (25 September 1897 in Schönhausen, Brandenburg – 24 December 1975), was a German politician and diplomat, and the Prince of Bismarck from 1904 to his death.


Definitions.

Logicians have many different views on the nature of material implication and approaches to explain its sense.

As a truth function.

The compound is "false" if and only if "p" is true and "q" is false. By the same stroke, is "true" if and only if either "p" is false or "q" is true (or both). The → symbol is a function that uses pairs of truth values of the components "p," "q" (e.g., "p" is True, q is True... p is False, q is False) and maps it to the truth values of the compound. The truth value of is a function of the truth values of its components ("p, q"). Hence, this interpretation is called "truth-functional".  The compound is logically equivalent also to (either not "p", or "q" (or both)), and to (if not "q" then not "p"). It is, however, not equivalent to, which is instead equivalent to.

Truth table.

The truth table associated with the material conditional is identical to that of. It is as follows: In Boolean algebra, true and false can be denoted as 1 and 0 respectively with an equivalent table.

As a formal connective.

The material conditional can be considered as a symbol of a formal theory, taken as a set of sentences, satisfying all the classical inferences involving →, in particular the following characteristic rules:  Unlike the truth-functional one, this approach to logical connectives permits the examination of structurally identical propositional forms in various logical systems, where somewhat different properties may be demonstrated. For example, in intuitionistic logic which rejects proofs by contraposition as valid rules of inference, is not a propositional theorem, but the material conditional is used to define negation.

Natural language.

"It is not the case that given formula_1 true, formula_2 won't be true."  "Impossible formula_1 without formula_2." The word "without" doesn't mean "because of the lack of", but "in absence of the consequent".

Formal properties.

When studying logic formally, the material conditional is distinguished from the semantic consequence relation formula_5. We say formula_6 if every interpretation that makes "A" true also makes "B" true. However, there is a close relationship between the two in most logics, including classical logic. For example, the following principles hold:  These principles do not hold in all logics, however. Obviously they do not hold in non-monotonic logics, nor do they hold in relevance logics.  Other properties of implication (the following expressions are always true, for any logical values of variables):  Note that formula_21 is logically equivalent to formula_22; this property is sometimes called un/currying. Because of these properties, it is convenient to adopt a right-associative notation for → where formula_23 denotes formula_21.  Comparison of Boolean truth tables shows that formula_25 is equivalent to formula_26, and one is an equivalent replacement for the other in classical logic. See material implication (rule of inference).

Philosophical problems with material conditional.

Outside of mathematics, it is a matter of some controversy as to whether the truth function for material implication provides an adequate treatment of conditional statements in a natural language such as English, i.e., indicative conditionals and counterfactual conditionals. An indicative conditional is a sentence in the indicative mood with a conditional clause attached. A counterfactual conditional is a false-to-fact sentence in the subjunctive mood. That is to say, critics argue that in some non-mathematical cases, the truth value of a compound statement, "if "p" then "q"", is not adequately determined by the truth values of "p" and "q". Examples of non-truth-functional statements include: ""q" because "p"", ""p" before "q"" and "it is possible that "p"".  "[Of] the sixteen possible truth-functions of "A" and "B", material implication is the only serious candidate. First, it is uncontroversial that when "A" is true and "B" is false, "If "A", "B"" is false. A basic rule of inference is modus ponens: from "If "A", "B"" and "A", we can infer "B". If it were possible to have "A" true, "B" false and "If "A", "B"" true, this inference would be invalid. Second, it is uncontroversial that "If "A", "B"" is sometimes true when "A" and "B" are respectively (true, true), or (false, true), or (false, false)... Non-truth-functional accounts agree that "If "A", "B"" is false when "A" is true and "B" is false; and they agree that the conditional is sometimes true for the other three combinations of truth-values for the components; but they deny that the conditional is always true in each of these three cases. Some agree with the truth-functionalist that when "A" and "B" are both true, "If "A", "B"" must be true. Some do not, demanding a further relation between the facts that "A" and that "B"."  The meaning of the material conditional can sometimes be used in the English "if "condition" then "consequence"" construction (a kind of conditional sentence), where "condition" and "consequence" are to be filled with English sentences. However, this construction also implies a "reasonable" connection between the condition (protasis) and consequence (apodosis) (see Connexive logic).  The material conditional can yield some unexpected truths when expressed in natural language. For example, any material conditional statement with a false antecedent is true (see vacuous truth). So the statement "if 2 is odd then 2 is even" is true. Similarly, any material conditional with a true consequent is true. So the statement "if I have a penny in my pocket then Paris is in France" is always true, regardless of whether or not there is a penny in my pocket. These problems are known as the paradoxes of material implication, though they are not really paradoxes in the strict sense; that is, they do not elicit logical contradictions. These unexpected truths arise because speakers of English (and other natural languages) are tempted to equivocate between the material conditional and the indicative conditional, or other conditional statements, like the counterfactual conditional and the material biconditional.  It is not surprising that a rigorously defined truth-functional operator does not correspond exactly to all notions of implication or otherwise expressed by "if... then..." sentences in natural languages. For an overview of some of the various analyses, formal and informal, of conditionals, see the "References" section below. Relevance logic attempts to capture these alternate concepts of implication that material implication glosses over.

The material conditional (also known as material implication, material consequence, or simply implication, implies, or conditional) is a logical connective (or a binary operator) that is often symbolized by a forward arrow "→". The material conditional is used to form statements of the form (termed a "conditional statement") which is read as "if "p" then "q"". Unlike the English construction "if... then...", the material conditional statement does not conventionally specify a causal relationship between "p" and "q"; ""p" is the cause and "q" is the consequence from it" is not a generally valid interpretation of. It merely means "if "p" is true then "q" is also true" such that the statement is false only when "p" is true and "q" is false. In a bivalent truth table of, if "p" is false then is true regardless of whether "q" is true or false (Latin phrase: "ex falso quod libet") since (1) "p" → "q" is always true as long "q" is true and (2) is true when both "p" and "q" are false. This truth table is useful to prove some mathematical theorems (e.g., defining a subset).


Biography.

Early life and studies.

Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou was born on 14 May 1905 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He was the son of Charles Daniélou and Madeleine Clamorgan. His father was an anticlerical politician who served in the French government several times as a minister, while his mother was an educator and the founder of institutions for women's education. His brother Alain (1907–1994) was a noted Indologist and a renowned historian.  Daniélou studied at La Sorbonne and passed his agrégation in grammar in 1927. He joined the Society of Jesus in 1929 and during his regency taught at a boys' school in Poitiers, from 1934 to 1936. He then studied theology at Fourvière in Lyon under Henri de Lubac, who introduced him to patristics and the Fathers of the Church. He was ordained a priest on 20 August 1938.

Priesthood, episcopate and cardinalate.

During World War II, Daniélou served with the Air Force in 1939–1940. With the fall of France to Nazi Germany he was returned to civilian life and entered doctoral studies, completing in 1942 his thesis on the spiritual doctrine of St. Gregory of Nyssa. He was then appointed chaplain to the female section of the École Normale Supérieure, at Sèvres. He spent most of his time on research in patristics, and became one of the founders of the Sources Chrétiennes collection. In 1944 he was named Professor of Early Christian History at the Institut Catholique de Paris, later becoming dean there. Beginning in the 1950s he produced several historical studies which included "The Bible and the Liturgy", "The Lord of History", and "From Shadows to Reality" that furnished background for the development of Covenantal Theology.  Thoroughly grounded in the Fathers of the church, who worked from Scripture, Daniélou generally avoided the neo-Thomistic terminology and approach and used a more relational vocabulary, emphasizing our self-gift in response to God's gift in Jesus Christ, with the gradual unveiling of the Trinitarian life in history.  Pope John XXIII appointed Daniélou a "peritus" for the Second Vatican Council. In 1969 Pope Paul VI made him a cardinal, with the episcopal titular see of Taormina, and Cardinal-Deacon of San Saba. Similar to his theology professor Henri de Lubac he twice refused the cardinalate but accepted on the insistence of Paul VI. He was elected to the Académie française on 9 November 1972, to succeed Cardinal Eugène Tisserant.

Death and legacy.

He died unexpectedly in 1974 in the home of a woman who was alleged to be a prostitute. The Society of Jesus, after an investigation, determined that Daniélou was bringing money to pay for the bail of the woman's husband. His brother defended him strongly, pointing out that he had always gone out of his way to serve those in most need.

Bibliography.

A number of his works on the early Church abridged for a popular audience remain in print.  French works, with English translations  Other works Other English translations

Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French member of the Jesuit order and a Roman Catholic cardinal. He was also a theologian and historian and a member of the Académie française.


Ski racing career.

Záhrobská won the gold medal in slalom at the 2007 World Championships and narrowly missed a bronze in the super combined, finishing in 4th place by 0.20 seconds. Two years earlier, she won her first medal at the 2005 World Championships, taking the bronze in slalom while placing fifth in the combined. It was the first World Championships medal for a Czech alpine skier. In the 2006 Winter Olympics, Strachová finished 13th in slalom, 19th in the combined, and 27th in super-G; she did not finish the second run of the giant slalom.  On the World Cup circuit, Záhrobská made her debut in December 2002 at age 17 and finished 5th in her first race, a parallel slalom (an experimental format using a series of elimination races) in Sestriere, Italy. She ended the 2004 and 2006 seasons ranked in the top 10 in slalom, and broke into the top 30 in the overall ranking in 2006. She reached her first World Cup podium in January 2007, with a third place in the slalom on at Zagreb, Croatia, and followed it up with a 2nd place in the slalom three days later at Kranjska Gora, Slovenia. This ended a 21-year-long drought for Czech alpine skiers on the World Cup podium, since Olga Charvátová took 2nd place in Bromont, Quebec, on 22 March 1986. She won her first World Cup race in November 2008 in Aspen, Colorado, and reached the podium two additional times in the 2009 season to finish as the runner-up in the season slalom standings. She won again at Aspen in November 2009.  At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Strachová took the bronze medal in the slalom at Whistler. This made her the first Czech to ever medal in alpine skiing for the Czech Republic and just the second Czech ever, once again joining Olga Charvátová, who won a bronze in the 1984 Winter Olympics while competing for Czechoslovakia.  Strachová has also won numerous medals at the National Alpine Skiing Championships of the Czech Republic and other nations. She has been the National Champion (i.e. gold medalist) at the Czech (2002: slalom; 2003: slalom, giant slalom and super-G; 2004: slalom, giant slalom; 2005: slalom, giant slalom; 2006: super-G), Slovenian (2006: giant slalom), and Croatian (2006: giant slalom) national championships. Her giant slalom victory at the 2006 Croatian championships was by a narrow 0.15 second margin over Janica Kostelić, who had just beaten Strachová for the super-G title the previous day and was coming off one of the most dominant seasons in World Cup skiing history.  Šárka Strachová and her brother Petr Záhrobský are the only skiers of the Ski Team Krkonoš. Their personal coach is their father Petr Záhrobský. The team has not had good relationships with the Czech Ski Association. The coach protested, especially after the association officials approved the rule that Czech skiers have to prefer their home competitions to the foreign ones, and refused to follow it, stating that Strachová needs better rivals to remain a premier international skier. Šárka Strachová also does not prepare with the rest of the Czech national team because her father believes it would disadvantage her career.  Both Šárka Strachová and her brother Petr race on Fischer skis.  On 28 March 2017 Strachová announced her retirement from professional skiing aged 32.

Personal life.

In 2013, she married her long-time boyfriend, Antonín Strach and became Šárka Strachová. On 14 November 2017 Strachová announced her pregnancy.

Šárka Strachová (; born Záhrobská on 11 February 1985) is a retired Czech World Cup alpine ski racer. Born in Benecko, she specializes in the slalom event. Strachová is the first alpine racer representing the Czech Republic to medal at the Winter Olympics and at the World Championships and just the second Czech alpine skier ever to medal in the Olympics.


Life.

Jane Elizabeth Digby was born in Holkham Hall, Norfolk, on 3 April 1807, daughter of Admiral Henry Digby and Lady Jane Elizabeth Coke. Jane's father seized the Spanish treasure ship "Santa Brígida" in the action of 16 October 1799 and his share of the prize money established the family fortune. Holkham Hall was the family seat of her maternal grandfather Thomas Coke and in 1815 her father inherited and settled in Minterne House and estate, Dorset.

Marriages, scandal, and affairs.

Considered promiscuous for her times, Digby was first married to Edward Law, 2nd Baron Ellenborough (later Earl of Ellenborough), who became Governor General of India, on 15 October 1824. They had one son, Arthur Dudley Law (15 February 1828 – 1 February 1830), who died in infancy.  After successive affairs with her maternal cousin Colonel George Anson and Prince Felix of Schwarzenberg, she was divorced from Lord Ellenborough in 1830 by an act of Parliament. This caused considerable scandal at the time. Digby had two children with Felix; Mathilde "Didi" (born 12 November 1829 Basel, Switzerland and raised by Felix's sister) and Felix (born December 1830 Paris, France) who died just a few weeks after his birth. The affair with Felix ended shortly after the death of their son.  She then moved on to Germany and became the lover of Ludwig I of Bavaria. In Munich, she met Baron Karl von Venningen (6 January 1806 – 10 June 1874). They married in November 1833 and had a son, Heribert (27 January 1833 Palermo, Italy – 1885 Munich, Germany), and a daughter, Bertha (4 September 1834 Mannheim, Germany – 22 September 1907).  In 1838, Digby found a new lover in the Greek Count Spyridon Theotokis (born 1805). Venningen found out and challenged Theotokis to a duel, in which the latter was wounded. Venningen released Digby from their marriage and took care of their children. They remained friends for the rest of their lives.  Though she was not legally divorced from Venningen until 1842, Digby converted to the Greek Orthodox faith and married Theotokis in Marseille, France in 1841. The couple moved to Greece with their son Leonidas (21 March 1840 Paris, France – 1846 Bagni di Lucca, Italy). In 1846, after their son's fatal fall off a balcony, Theotokis and Digby divorced. Greece's King Otto became her next lover.  Subsequently came an affair with a hero of the Greek War of Independence, the Thessalian general Christodoulos Chatzipetros, acting as 'queen' of his army, living in caves, riding horses and hunting in the mountains. She walked out on him when he was unfaithful.

Life in Syria.

At age 46, Digby travelled to the Middle East and fell in love with Sheik Medjuel el Mezrab. The sheik's name has also been spelled as "Mijwal al Mezrab" and as "Mijwal al-Musrab". Twentieth-century sources sometimes incorrectly report it as "Abdul Medjuel el Mezrab". Medjuel was a sheik of the Mezrab section of the Sba'a, a sub-tribe of "the great Anizzah tribe of Syria". He was 20 years her junior. The two were married under Muslim law and she took the name Jane Elizabeth Digby el Mezrab. Their marriage was a happy one and lasted until her death 28 years later. It has been written that Jane Digby was referred to as Shaikhah Umm al-Laban (literally "sheikha mother of milk") due to the colour of her skin.  Digby adopted Arab dress and learned Arabic in addition to the other eight languages in which she was fluent. Half of each year was spent in the nomadic style, living in goat-hair tents in the desert, while the rest was enjoyed in a palatial villa that she had built in Damascus. She spent the rest of her life in the city, where she befriended Sir Richard Burton and Lady Isabel Burton while the former was serving as the British consul, and Abd al-Kader al-Jazairi, a prominent exiled leader of the Algerian revolution.

Death.

Digby died of fever and dysentery in Damascus on 11 August 1881, and was buried in the Protestant Cemetery. She was buried with her horse in attendance at the funeral. Upon her footstone—a block of pink limestone from Palmyra—is her name, written in Arabic by Medjuel in charcoal and carved into the stone by a local mason. After her death her house was rented and the family of the young H. R. P. Dickson were among its tenants. A small part of the house survives, and is in the ownership of the same family who purchased it from Medjuel's son in the 1930s.

Jane Elizabeth Digby, Lady Ellenborough (3 April 1807 – 11 August 1881) was an English aristocrat, famed for her remarkable love life and lifestyle. She had four husbands and many lovers, including King Ludwig I of Bavaria and his son King Otto of Greece, Bohemian nobleman and Austrian statesman Prince Felix zu Schwarzenberg, and the Greek general Christodoulos Hatzipetros. She died in Damascus, Syria, as the wife of Arab Sheikh Medjuel el Mezrab, who was 20 years her junior.


Origin of the name.

According to Venetian documents, the name of the island originated in the Greek expression στην Ελούντα "stin Elounda" (meaning "to Elounda"). The Venetians could not understand the expression so they familiarized it using their own language, and called it "spina" "thorn" "longa" "long", an expression that was also maintained by the locals. The Venetians were inspired for this expression by the name of an island near Venice called by the same name and which is known today as the island of Giudecca.

History.

Because of its position the island was fortified from its earliest years in order to protect the entranceway of the port of Ancient Olous.

Arab raids.

Olous, and accordingly the wider region, were depopulated at the middle of the 7th century because of the raids of the Arab pirates in the Mediterranean. Olous remained deserted until the mid-15th century when the Venetians began to construct salt-pans in the shallow and salty waters of the gulf. Subsequently, the region acquired commercial value and became inhabited. This, in combination with the emergent Turkish threat, particularly after the Fall of Constantinople in 1453, and the continuous pirate raids, forced the Venetians to fortify the island.

Venetian rule.

In 1578 the Venetians charged the engineer Genese Bressani to plan the island's fortifications. He created blockhouses at the highest points of the northern and southern side of the island, as well as a fortification ring along the coast that closed out any hostile disembarkation. In 1579, the "Provveditore generale di Candia", Luca Michiel, put the foundation stone of the fortifications, built over the ruins of an acropolis. There are two inscriptions that cite this event, one on the transom of the main gate of the castle and the other on the base of the rampart at the north side of the castle. In 1584, the Venetians, realising that the coastal fortifications were easy to conquer by the enemies attacking from the nearby hills, decided to strengthen their defense by constructing new fortifications at the top of the hill. The Venetian fire would thus have bigger range, rendering Spinalonga an impregnable sea fortress, one of the most important in the Mediterranean basin.  Spinalonga, along with Gramvousa and Souda, remained in Venetian hands even after the rest of Crete fell to the Ottomans in the Cretan War (1645–1669) and until 1715, when they fell to the Ottomans during the last Ottoman–Venetian War. These three forts defended Venetian trade routes and were also useful bases in the event of a new Venetian-Turkish war for Crete. Many Christians found refuge in these fortresses to escape persecution from the Ottoman Turks.

Ottoman rule.

In 1715, the Ottoman Turks captured Spinalonga taking over the last remaining Venetian fortress and removing the last trace of Venetian military presence from the island of Crete.

Cretan revolt.

At the end of the Ottoman occupation the island, together with the fort at Ierapetra, was the refuge of many Ottoman families that feared Christian reprisals. After the revolution of 1866 other Ottoman families came to the island from all the region of Mirabello. During the Cretan revolt of 1878, only Spinalonga and the fortress at Ierapetra were not taken by the Christian Cretan insurgents. In 1881 the 1112 Ottomans formed their own community and later, in 1903, the last Turks left the island.

20th-century leper colony.

The island was subsequently used as a leper colony from 1903 to 1957. The last inhabitant, a priest, did not leave the island till 1962, in order to maintain the Greek Orthodox tradition of commemorating a buried person 40 days, 6 months, 1 year, 3 years, and 5 years after their death. Spinalonga was one of the last active leper colonies in Europe; others that have survived Spinalonga include Tichileşti in eastern Romania, Fontilles in Spain and Talsi in Latvia. As of 2002, few lazarettos remain in Europe.  There were two entrances to Spinalonga, one being the lepers entrance, a tunnel known as "Dante's Gate". This was so named because the patients did not know what was going to happen to them once they arrived. However, once on the island they received food, water, medical attention and social security payments. Previously, such amenities had been unavailable to Crete's leprosy patients, as they mostly lived in the area's caves, away from civilization.

Spinalonga today.

Today, the uninhabited island is a popular tourist attraction in Crete. In addition to the abandoned leper colony and the fortress, Spinalonga is known for its small pebble beaches and shallow waters. The island can easily be accessed from Plaka, Elounda and Agios Nikolaos. Tourist boats depart from all three towns on a daily basis (every 30 minutes from Elounda). Since there is no accommodation on Spinalonga, the tours last only a few hours.  Spinalonga is under consideration to become a World Heritage Site.

In popular culture.

Spinalonga featured in the 1977 British television series "Who Pays the Ferryman?" and Werner Herzog's experimental short film "Last Words". It is the (unnamed) setting of Ali Smith's short story "The Touching of Wood" (in "Free Love and Other Stories", 1995). It is also the setting for the 2005 novel "The Island" by Victoria Hislop, the story of a family's ties to the leper colony; the book was adapted for television in the television series "To Nisi" by Mega Channel Greece.  The short story "Spinalonga" by John Ware, about a tourist group that visits the island, was included in the 13th Pan Book of Horror.

Spinalonga () is an island located in the Gulf of Elounda in north-eastern Crete, in Lasithi, next to the town of Plaka. The island is further assigned to the area of Kalydon. It is near the Spinalonga peninsula ("large Spinalonga") – which often causes confusion as the same name is used for both. The official Greek name of the island today is Kalydon.


Name.

The town now called Mieszkowice was known from the late 13th century until 1945 under the German name of "Berenwalde" and later of "Bärwalde". To distinguish it from the town of Bärwalde in Pomerania (present-day Barwice), it carried the abbreviation "Nm." for Neumark (New March). In 1945 it was renamed Mieszkowice, after the first historical Polish duke Mieszko I, a scion of the Piast dynasty.  Mieszko I included the area within the early Polish state in the 10th century and fought the victorious Battle of Cedynia against the Saxon margrave Odo I nearby in 972.

History.

Middle Ages.

In the High Middle Ages, a Slavic settlement existed there, located on a trade route connecting Lubusz Land with Pomerania.  The first record of Bärwalde is a 1295 deed under the name of "Berenwalde". Most likely, the settlement was owned by a knight of the "von Behr" family. The settlement was developed following a grid of rectangular streets with a central market place. In 1297, St. Mary's Church was first mentioned, and another document gives 1298 as the year when Bärwalde was granted German town law. In the late 13th and early 14th century the city walls were constructed, much of which still exist, while the city gates were pulled down in 1867.  In 1319, the last Ascanian margrave Waldemar died in the town, After his death a war broke out over control of the region, and the town came again under control of the Duchy of Pomerania, but it fell back to Brandenburg after 1328. Therefater, throughout the 14th century, Bärwalde was subordinated directly to the Holy Roman Emperor and the regional center to 29 surrounding villages. During this period, it was strongly affected by the Waldensians (Waldenser) movement. Since 1353 coins for Brandenburg's New March were struck at the Bärwalde mint.  In 1373, the region became part of the Czech Crown Lands, ruled by the Luxembourg dynasty. In 1402, the Luxembourgs reached an agreement with Poland in Kraków, according to which Poland was to purchase and re-incorporate the region, but eventually the Luxembourgs sold it to the Teutonic Order. Under Teutonic rule, the region was neglected, resulting in the town's economic decline, and robberies became widespread. In addition, in the course of the Polish–Teutonic War the town was burnt down in 1433 by Hussite forces marching through. When another Polish-Teutonic war broke out in 1454, the Teutonic Knights sold the region to Brandenburg in order to raise funds for war.

Modern era.

The town suffered fires in 1540 and 1568. During the Thirty Years' War, the Swedish field marshal Gustav Horn on 23 January 1631 signed the Treaty of Bärwalde with France against Emperor Ferdinand II of Habsburg, whereafter the town was devastated by Swedish and Imperial troops several times. The devastations of the war resulted in a severe population drop: only 30 inhabitants remained. From 1650-73 Elias Loccelius, also known as Elias Lockelius or Löckel, (1621–1704) was pastor in Bärwalde and from there he moved to Drossen (today Ośno Lubuskie). He is known as a chronicler of the New March and was an electoral church inspector for Torzym Land (at that time Sternberg Land) as well. Löckel documented the wartime devastation of the area, including Bärwalde, in his "Marchia Illustrata".  Over the next centuries, the town slowly recovered: in 1750, it had about 1,500 inhabitants, and more than 3,500 in 1850, occupied primarily with agriculture. From that period, several 18th-century timber framed buildings and the early 19th-century town hall are preserved. During the Napoleonic Wars and Polish national liberation fights, in 1807, French and Polish troops marched through the town. When the Kingdom of Prussia reformed her administrative organization after the Napoleonic Wars, the town became part of the Province of Brandenburg created from the territory of the former margraviate. In 1853 a railroad connected it with Kostschin (Kostrzyn). Twenty-three years later the town was connected with Stettin (Szczecin). Gottfried Benn (1886–1956) spent his childhood in the nearby village Sellin (Zielin). During World War II, forced laborers, mostly Poles, worked in the town.  Bärwalde was captured on 4 February 1945 by the Red Army during the Vistula–Oder Offensive in the final period of World War II, and as it was east of the Oder-Neisse line, became part of Poland. Only 30% of the town was destroyed. The remaining inhabitants were expelled and the town was resettled by Poles, including settlers from Central Poland and expellees from former Eastern Poland (Kresy). Bärwalde was first renamed Barwice, later Mieszkowice after Mieszko I of Poland. The final name was chosen for political purposes: the Communist regime sought to legitimize its presence at the Oder by referring to the medieval Piast dynasty, whose territory had also extended to the Oder, and propagated the "return" to ancient Polish lands. To that effect, a legend was popularized in Mieszkowice, linking the town's foundation to a hunting expedition of Mieszko I: Allegedly, the town was founded at a spot where Mieszko once slew two bears. In 1957, a statue of Mieszko I created by Sławomir Lewiński was unveiled on the town square.  Development of Mieszkowice continued in the following years, especially in the period between 1970-1992 when many new buildings were constructed. In 1997 the whole town was connected to the gas pipeline. In 1998 a new sport centre was opened. Since 2007, a ferry service connects Mieszkowice with on the opposite bank of the Oder.

Sights.

Among the landmarks and sights of Mieszkowice are:

International relations.

Mieszkowice is twinned with:

Mieszkowice (; Kashubian: "Berwôłd") is a town in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland, about east of the Oder river and the border with Germany. It is the administrative seat of the urban-rural gmina (municipality) of Mieszkowice.


Design and development.

On 20 August 1929, off the coast of New Jersey, a biplane hooked itself to the bottom of a dirigible and was carried along by the larger craft. This was the second such incident. The “snapon, snapoff” experiment was accomplished by the Navy airship, under Lt. Com. Herbert Wiley, and a Navy biplane. The biplane, regulating its speed to that of the dirigible, flew close under the Los Angeles. A large hook had been attached to the middle of the top wing of the biplane, and from the bottom of the Los Angeles hung a U-shaped yoke. Maneuvering the ship under the dirigible, the plane pilot slipped the hook into the Los Angeles’ yoke and for 3 or 4 minutes the dirigible carried the biplane. The plane pilot, by a cord arrangement in his cabin, withdrew the hook from the yoke and flew clear of the dirigible.  Although designed as a pursuit plane or fighter, the Sparrowhawk's primary duty in service was reconnaissance, enabling the airships it served to search a much wider area of ocean. The Sparrowhawk was primarily chosen for service aboard the large rigid-framed airships "Akron" and "Macon" because of its small size ( long and with only a wingspan), though its weight, handling and range characteristics, and also downward visibility from the cockpit, were not ideal for its reconnaissance role. The theoretical maximum capacity of the airships' hangar was five aircraft, one in each hangar bay and one stored on the trapeze but, in the "Akron", two structural girders obstructed the aft two hangar bays, limiting her to a maximum complement of three Sparrowhawks. A modification to remove this limitation was pending at the time of the airship's loss. "Macon" had no such limitation and she routinely carried four airplanes.  To achieve launching and recovery from the airship in flight, a'skyhook' system was developed. The Sparrowhawk had a hook mounted above its top wing that attached to the cross-bar of a trapeze mounted on the carrier airship. For launching, the biplane's hook was engaged on the trapeze inside the airship's (internal) hangar, the trapeze was lowered clear of the hull into the (moving) airship's slipstream and, engine running, the Sparrowhawk would then disengage its hook and fall away from the airship. For recovery, the biplane would fly underneath its mother ship, until beneath the trapeze, climb up from below, and hook onto the cross-bar. The width of the trapeze cross-bar allowed a certain lateral lee-way in approach, the biplane's hook mounting had a guide rail to provide protection for the turning propeller (see photo), and engagement of the hook was automatic on positive contact between hook and trapeze. More than one attempt might have to be made before a successful engagement was achieved, for example in gusty conditions. Once the Sparrowhawk was securely caught, it could then be hoisted by the trapeze back within the airship's hull, the engine being cut as it passed the hangar door. Although seemingly a tricky maneuver, pilots soon learned the technique and it was described as being much easier than landing on a moving, pitching and rolling aircraft carrier. Almost inevitably, the pilots soon acquired the epithet "The men on the Flying Trapeze" and their aircraft were decorated with appropriate unit emblems.  Once the system was fully developed, in order to increase their scouting endurance while the airship was on over-water operations, the Sparrowhawks would have their landing gear removed and replaced by a fuel tank. When the airship was returning to base, the biplanes' landing gear would be replaced so that they could land independently again.  For much of their service with the airships, the Sparrowhawks' effectiveness was greatly hampered by their poor radio equipment, and they were effectively limited to remaining within sight of the airship. However, in 1934 new direction-finding sets and new voice radios were fitted which allowed operations beyond visual range, exploiting the extended range offered by the belly fuel tanks and allowing the more vulnerable mother ship to stay clear of trouble.  One interesting use of the Sparrowhawks was to act as 'flying ballast'. The airship could take off with additional ballast or fuel aboard instead of its airplanes. Once the airship was cruising, the aircraft would be flown aboard, the additional weight being supported by dynamic lift until the airship lightened.

Surviving aircraft.

Only one intact Sparrowhawk survives today. BuAer number 9056 was pending write-off at NAS Hampton Roads in 1939 when it was transferred to the Smithsonian Institution. In later years it had been rebuilt, using parts from the surviving F9C-2 (BuAer number 9057) and the XF9C-2 (9264). It was previously at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, at NAS Pensacola, and is currently displayed at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum collection, wearing the markings of F9C-2 A9056 of USS "Macon". The remains of a further four aircraft lie at the underwater wreck-site of the "Macon"; the aircraft were found in their hangar when the wreck was discovered and documented in 1990 and 1991. These are known to have been BuAer number 9058 - 9060.

The Curtiss F9C Sparrowhawk is a light 1930s biplane fighter aircraft that was carried by the United States Navy airships and. It is an example of a parasite fighter, a small airplane designed to be deployed from a larger aircraft such as an airship or bomber.


Description.

Lemon verbena is a perennial shrub or subshrub growing to high. The -long, glossy, pointed leaves are slightly rough to the touch and emit a strong lemon scent when bruised (hence the Latin specific epithet "citrodora"—lemon-scented).  Sprays of tiny purple or white flowers appear in late spring or early summer, although potted lemon verbenas may not flower. It is evergreen in tropical locations, but is sensitive to cold, losing leaves at temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F), although the wood is hardy to −10 °C (14 °F). Pruning is recommended in spring to encourage a bushy form. Due to its many culinary uses, it is widely listed and marketed as a plant for the herb garden.

Uses.

Lemon verbena leaves are used to add a lemon flavor to fish and poultry dishes, vegetable marinades, salad dressings, jams, puddings, Greek yogurt, and beverages. The leaves are also used in potpourri. Lemon verbena is used to make herbal teas and as a liqueur flavoring. It is used in traditional medicine in Latin-American countries. The oil was historically steam-distilled from the leaves for use in the perfume industry, but it has skin-sensitising and phototoxic properties. In the European Union, verbena essential oils ("Lippia citriodora" Kunth.) and derivatives other than absolute are prohibited when used as a fragrance ingredient (Regulation No 1223/2009, Annex II).

Chemistry.

The major isolates in lemon verbena oil are citral (30–35%), nerol, and geraniol. Extracts of lemon verbena also contain verbascoside. As the plant has several phytochemicals which may act as substrates for drug-metabolizing enzymes, lemon verbena may cause herb-drug interactions. However, lemon verbena oil is generally recognized as safe (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug Administration when used as a flavoring.

Synonyms.

Synonyms for lemon verbena are "Verbena triphylla" L'Hér., "Verbena citriodora" Cav., "Lippia triphylla", and "Lippia citriodora".

Garden history.

The first European botanist who publicly noticed this plant was the French Philibert Commerson, who collected in Buenos Aires on his botanical circumnavigation with Bougainville, about 1767. The plant had already been imported directly into the Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid, where in 1797 professors Casimiro Gómez Ortega and named it, though they did not yet effectively publish it, "Aloysia citriodora" in Latin and "Hierba de la Princesa" in Spanish, to compliment Maria Louisa of Parma, Princess of Asturias the wife of the Garden's patron Infante Carlos de Borbon, Prince of Asturias and son of king Carlos III. The name was later effectively published in the first volume of Palau's "Parte Práctica de Botánica" in 1784.  Unofficial importations from Spanish America seldom fared well: when another French botanist Joseph Dombey landed his collections at Cadiz in 1785, the plants were impounded and left to rot in warehouses, while Dombey was refused permission even to have seeds planted. Among the bare handful of plants Dombey had assembled during eight years at Lima, lemon verbena survived. Gómez Ortega sent seeds and specimens of the plant to Charles Louis L'Héritier de Brutelle in Paris; L'Héritier published it as "Verbena triphylla" in his "Stirpes Novae", published in December 1785 or January 1786. From Paris John Sibthorp, professor of Botany at Oxford, obtained the specimen that he introduced to British horticulture: by 1797 lemon verbena was common in greenhouses around London, and its popularity as essential in a fragrant bouquet increased through the following century.  This plant has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Aloysia citrodora, lemon verbena, is a species of flowering plant in the verbena family Verbenaceae, native to South America. Other common names include lemon beebrush. It was brought to Europe by the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 17th century and cultivated for its oil.


Biography.

Early life and ordination.

He was born in what is now the city of Lviv (now in Ukraine), in the family of Yaroslav Husar and Rostyslava Demchuk. Luka Demchuk, the Priest of the Parish of village Kal'ne from 1909 to 1929, was the maternal grandfather of Cardinal Lubomyr Husar. Husar emigrated with his parents in 1944 during World War II due to the advancing Soviet Army. At first the Husar family briefly lived in Salzburg, Austria, then emigrated to the United States in 1949.  From 1950 to 1954 he studied at St. Basil College Seminary in Stamford, Connecticut. He studied at The Catholic University of America and Fordham University in the United States, and was ordained a priest on 30 March 1958 for the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Stamford.

Pastoral work.

From 1958 to 1969, he taught at St. Basil College Seminary and was pastor at Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Kerhonkson, New York between 1966 and 1969. In 1969, Husar went to Rome, where he spent three years earning a doctorate in theology at the Pontifical Urbaniana University. He then entered the Monastery of the Studites in Castel Gandolfo in Italy, and was named its Superior in 1974.

Bishop.

He was consecrated a bishop in 1977 in the Castel Gandolfo chapel by Major Archbishop Josyf Slipyj with help of titular bishop of Zigris Ivan Prasko and bishop of Toronto Isidore Borecky without papal approval (apostolic mandate) in an act which caused many irritations in the Roman Curia, as Roman canon law required papal permission for the consecration of a bishop, but at that time Eastern canon law did not. He was named Archimandrite (Archabbot) of the Studite Monks in Europe and America in 1978. He organized a new Studite monastery in Ternopil, Ukraine, in 1994, and was elected by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Church as exarch of the archiepiscopal exarchy of Kiev and Vyshhorod in 1995, confirmed by the Pope the following year (February of 1996) by nominating to the titular see of. On 14 October 1996 the UGCC Synod of Bishops named Husar auxiliary of the Archbishop Major of Lviv as coadjutor with special delegations. In October of 1999 he attended the 2nd Special Assembly for Europe. Although once a citizen of the United States, Husar gave up his U.S. citizenship after transferring to Ukraine, and adopted the citizenship of Ukraine.

Major Archbishop and Cardinal.

In December 2000, Pope John Paul II named Husar apostolic administrator of the Ukrainian Greek Major-Archeparchy of Lviv, and in January 2001 the Ukrainian Greek synod elected him Major Archbishop which was approved by the Pope the next day. On 21 February of that year Pope John Paul II made Husar Cardinal-Priest of Santa Sofia a Via Boccea. Cardinal Husar was one of the three Eastern Catholics to participate in the papal conclave, 2005, the others being Ignace Daoud of the Syriac Catholic Church and Varkey Vithayathil of the Syro-Malabar Church. (Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir and Stéphanos II Ghattas of the Maronite Church and Coptic Catholic Church respectively were both over 80 and therefore could not take part.) At that papal conclave, he was one of the cardinals considered "papabile", something unusual for an Eastern Catholic. Also at that conclave, Cardinal Husar was the first Major-Archbishop from the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church ever to participate in a papal conclave as cardinal-elector.  Husar was one of about a dozen like-minded European prelates who met annually from 1995 to 2006 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, to discuss reforms with respect to the appointment of bishops, collegiality, bishops' conferences, the primacy of the papacy and sexual morality; they differed among themselves, but shared the view that Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was not the sort of candidate they hoped to see elected at the next conclave.  The major archiepiscopal see of Lviv was moved on 21 August 2005, to the city of Kiev, the capital of Ukraine. He was acclaimed by his followers as Patriarch of Kiev-Galicia, a title not recognized by the Holy See.  In October 2007, Husar received an honorary doctorate from the Catholic University of America in conjunction with the 100th anniversary of the first assigning of a bishop of the UGCC to the United States.  In February 2008, a celebratory liturgy was held in the Basilica of Santa Sophia in Rome on the occasion of the 75th birthday and 50th anniversary of priesthood of Cardinal Husar. The Head of the UGCC was greeted by Pope Benedict XVI, whose address was read by the secretary of Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, Monsignor Maurizio Malvestiti.  In 2008 Viktor Yushchenko signed a decree to decorate Cardinal Husar with the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise (the 3rd class). He was honoured with the highest state award "for his outstanding personal contribution in spiritual revival of the Ukrainian nation, longstanding church work, and to mark his 75th birthday".  With failing eyesight due to poorly treated eye disease forcing him to perform the church's intricate liturgical rites from memory, his early resignation was accepted on 10 February 2011 although normally the major archbishop serves for life. Cardinal Husar's resignation triggered a meeting of the Synod of the Ukrainian church, comprising its global body of bishops, to elect a new major archbishop, which must begin within a month. In the interim, Ihor Vozniak, C.SS.R., Archeparch of Lviv, served as administrator. The last time a Ukrainian Major Archbishop left office while living was in 1882. The new Major Archbishop, Sviatoslav Shevchuk, was elected by the Ukrainian Synod on 23 March and confirmed by Pope Benedict XVI on 25 March 2011.  On 26 February 2013, 2 days before the announced resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, Cardinal Husar turned 80 and lost his right to participate in a conclave.  He died on 31 May 2017 at the age of 84.

Lubomyr Husar MSU (, Liubomyr Huzar; 26 February 1933 – 31 May 2017) was the major archbishop (first elected in independent Ukraine) of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, a minority church in Ukraine but the largest "sui juris" Eastern church in full communion with the Holy See. He was also a Cardinal of the Catholic Church. After the transfer of the see of Lviv to Kiev in 2005, he was the Ukrainian Catholic Major Archbishop of Kiev-Galicia. In February 2011 he became Major Archeparch Emeritus after he resigned due to ill health.


Early life.

Henry was the elder son of Count Henry I of Champagne and Marie, daughter of King Louis VII of France and Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine. His aunt Adela of Champagne was Louis VII's third wife. In 1171, Henry was betrothed to Isabella of Hainault. When she married Philip II of France instead, his father, aunt and other members of his family were angered. It made Queen Adela's faction hostile to Isabella's family and so caused tension at the French court. Henry's father died in 1181, and his mother ruled, as regent, until 1187.

Crusade.

In 1190 Henry left for the East, after having his barons swear to recognize his younger brother Theobald as his successor should he fail to return. He joined the Third Crusade, arriving ahead of his uncles, Kings Philip II of France and Richard I of England. Initially, he was one of the leaders of the French contingent at the siege of Acre before Philip's arrival. He is said to have been a member of the group involved in the abduction of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem, to get her to consent to a divorce from Humphrey IV of Toron so that she could be married to Conrad of Montferrat. Henry was related to Conrad through both his maternal grandparents. According to Baha ad-Din ibn Shaddad, he was wounded at Acre on 15 November.  Later on in the campaign, Henry shifted his allegiance to Richard who, in April 1192, sent Henry as his representative from Acre to Tyre, to inform Conrad of Montferrat of his election as king of Jerusalem. Henry then returned to Acre. A few days later, Conrad was murdered by two Assassins. Henry came back to Tyre two days later, ostensibly to help organise Conrad's coronation, but found that a funeral was being prepared instead. He was immediately betrothed to the newly widowed—and pregnant—queen of Jerusalem. They were married just eight days after Conrad's death.  The marriage was glossed romantically by some of the chroniclers: that Isabella was so taken with Henry's physical attractions (he was 20 years younger than Conrad) that she asked him to marry her. Since she was already known to be pregnant with Conrad's child, Maria of Montferrat, the marriage was considered scandalous by some, but it was politically vital for her to acquire another husband to defend the kingdom. However, some consultation with the "Haute Cour" might have been expected. The couple went on to have two daughters, Alice and Philippa.  Henry asked for permission from his uncle Richard, who gave it promptly: however, since Richard was suspected of Conrad's murder, this raises further questions about the whole episode. Indeed, Henry, who was known to the Arabs as ""al-kond Herri"", later sought an alliance with the Hashshashin, and was invited to visit their fortress stronghold, al-Kahf. To demonstrate his authority, the grand master of the Hashshashin beckoned to two adherents, who immediately flung themselves from the ramparts to their deaths. The Hashshashin then offered to commit a murder for Henry, as an honour to their guest. Henry demurred, concluded the treaty, and departed. Patrick A. Williams has suggested Henry himself as a suspect in Conrad's murder, although it would have been a risky undertaking without his uncle's support.  Henry died in 1197, falling from a first-floor window at his palace in Acre. There are varying accounts in different manuscripts of the "Old French Continuation of William of Tyre", also known as "The Chronicle of Ernoul". The majority suggest that a window-lattice or balcony gave way as he leaned against it. A servant, possibly a dwarf named Scarlet, also fell, after trying to save him by catching hold of his hanging sleeve, but he weighed too little to pull the king (who was tall and strongly built) back. Another version suggests that Henry had been watching a parade from the window, when a party of Pisan envoys entered the room. Turning to greet them, he stepped backwards and overbalanced. Whatever the exact circumstances, Henry was killed outright; the servant, who suffered a fractured femur, raised the alarm, but later died of his injury. Some accounts suggest that Henry might have survived if his servant had not landed on top of him.

Legacy.

His widow Queen Isabella remarried soon after his death. Her fourth (and last) husband was Amalric of Lusignan, king of Cyprus. Henry's heir-general was his elder daughter Alice who was soon married to her stepbrother King Hugh I of Cyprus and whose heirs represent the senior line of Counts of Champagne.  Henry left behind several difficulties for Champagne. He had borrowed a great deal of money to finance his expedition to Jerusalem, and for his marriage; and the succession to the county of Champagne would later be contested by his daughters. In 1213, supporters of his nephew Theobald IV of Champagne alleged to a papal legate that the annulment of Isabella's marriage to Humphrey of Toron (who was still alive during her marriage to Henry) was invalid, and therefore the girls were illegitimate. However, this was questionable: the legitimacy of Isabella's daughter by Conrad, Maria, and the right of her descendants to the throne of Jerusalem was never challenged, and if Maria was legitimate, so too were Isabella's daughters by Henry. Theobald eventually had to buy off both Alice and Philippa at considerable cost.

Henry II of Champagne (or Henry I of Jerusalem) (29 July 1166 – 10 September 1197) was count of Champagne from 1181 to 1197, and king of Jerusalem from 1192 to 1197 by virtue of his marriage to Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem.


Infant Queen.

Isabella II was born in Andria, in the southern Italian Kingdom of Sicily. She was the only child of Maria of Montferrat, Queen of Jerusalem, and John of Brienne. Maria was the daughter of Queen Isabella I of Jerusalem by her second husband Conrad I, and heiress, on her mother's death, of the Kingdom of Jerusalem.  Maria died shortly after giving birth to Isabella II in 1212, possibly by puerperal fever. Because of this, Isabella II was proclaimed Queen of Jerusalem when she was only a few days old. Because her father John did not have a direct claim on the throne, he ruled as regent.

Marriage with Frederick II.

During a meeting between John of Brienne, the Pope Honorius III and Frederick II in the city of Ferentino in 1223, Isabella's fate was decided: Frederick accepted to finally go to the Crusade, but only as the legitimate King of Jerusalem, and this was only possible if he agreed to take the young Queen Isabella II as his wife (by this time, Frederick was a widower). This was planned by the Pope, who hoped by this bond to attach the Emperor firmly to the Sixth Crusade. The betrothal was confirmed, but the Emperor still delayed his departure until August 1225, when he and Isabella were married by proxy in the City of Acre. Days later, Isabella II was crowned as Queen of Jerusalem.  Isabella arrived in Italy with twenty galleys sent by Frederick II to bring her to her father and married in person to Frederick II in the cathedral of Brindisi, on 9 November 1225. During the ceremony, Frederick declared himself King of Jerusalem and immediately saw to it that his new father-in-law John of Brienne, the current regent of Jerusalem, was dispossessed and his rights transferred to him. The contemporary chronicles described the exotic wedding celebrations, which took place in the Castle of Oria, and the indignant reaction of her father John of Brienne, now without royal authority.

Death.

After the wedding, Isabella was kept in seclusion by her husband, in Palermo. Aged 14, in November 1226, she gave birth to her first child, a daughter (referred to by some sources as Margaret); the baby died in August 1227. Isabella died 4 May after giving birth to her second child, a son, Conrad, in Andria, Bari, on 25 April 1228. She was buried in the Andria Cathedral.

Isabella II (121225 April 1228) also known as Yolande of Brienne, was a princess of French origin who became monarch of Jerusalem.


Mechanism.

Someone with two X chromosomes (such as most human females) has only one Barr body per somatic cell, while someone with one X chromosome (such as most human males) has none.  Mammalian X-chromosome inactivation is initiated from the X inactivation centre or "Xic", usually found near the centromere. The center contains twelve genes, seven of which code for proteins, five for untranslated RNAs, of which only two are known to play an active role in the X inactivation process, "Xist" and "Tsix". The centre also appears to be important in chromosome counting: ensuring that random inactivation only takes place when two or more X-chromosomes are present. The provision of an extra artificial "Xic" in early embryogenesis can induce inactivation of the single X found in male cells.  The roles of "Xist" and "Tsix" appear to be antagonistic. The loss of "Tsix" expression on the future inactive X chromosome results in an increase in levels of "Xist" around the "Xic". Meanwhile, on the future active X "Tsix" levels are maintained; thus the levels of "Xist" remain low. This shift allows "Xist" to begin coating the future inactive chromosome, spreading out from the "Xic". In non-random inactivation this choice appears to be fixed and current evidence suggests that the maternally inherited gene may be imprinted. Variations in Xi frequency have been reported with age, pregnancy, the use of oral contraceptives, fluctuations in menstrual cycle and neoplasia.  It is thought that this constitutes the mechanism of choice, and allows downstream processes to establish the compact state of the Barr body. These changes include histone modifications, such as histone H3 methylation (i.e. H3K27me3 by PRC2 which is recruited by Xist) and histone H2A ubiquitination, as well as direct modification of the DNA itself, via the methylation of CpG sites. These changes help inactivate gene expression on the inactive X-chromosome and to bring about its compaction to form the Barr body.  Reactivation of a Barr body is also possible, and has been seen in breast cancer patients. One study showed that the frequency of Barr bodies in breast carcinoma were significantly lower than in healthy controls, indicating reactivation of these once inactivated X chromosomes.

References.

Links to full text articles are provided where access is free, in other cases only the abstract has been linked.

Hampton Court Palace is a royal palace in the borough of Richmond upon Thames, south west and upstream of central London on the River Thames. Building of the palace began in 1515 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, a favourite of King Henry VIII. In 1529, as Wolsey fell from favour, the cardinal gave the palace to the king to check his disgrace. The palace went on to become one of Henry's most favoured residences; soon after acquiring the property, he arranged for it to be enlarged so that it might more easily accommodate his sizeable retinue of courtiers. Along with St James' Palace, it is one of only two surviving palaces out of the many the king owned. The palace is currently in the possession of Queen Elizabeth II and the Crown.


Tenets.

The historical school held that history was the key source of knowledge about human actions and economic matters, since economics was culture-specific, and hence not generalizable over space and time. The school rejected the universal validity of economic theorems. They saw economics as resulting from careful empirical and historical analysis instead of from logic and mathematics. The school also preferred reality, historical, political, and social, as well as economic, to mathematical modelling.  Most members of the school were also "Sozialpolitiker" (social policy advocates), i.e. concerned with social reform and improved conditions for the common man during a period of heavy industrialization. They were more disparagingly referred to as "Kathedersozialisten," rendered in English as "socialists of the chair" (compare armchair revolutionary), due to their positions as professors.  The historical school can be divided into three tendencies:  Predecessors included Friedrich List.  The historical school largely controlled appointments to chairs of economics in German universities, as many of the advisors of Friedrich Althoff, head of the university department in the Prussian Ministry of Education 1882–1907, had studied under members of the school. Moreover, Prussia was the intellectual powerhouse of Germany, so dominated academia, not only in central Europe, but also in the United States until about 1900, because the American economics profession was led by holders of German PhDs. The historical school was involved in the "Methodenstreit" ("strife over method") with the Austrian school, whose orientation was more theoretical and aprioristic.

Influence in Britain and the United States.

The historical school had a significant impact on Britain, 1860s–1930s. Thorold Rogers (1823–1890) was the Tooke Professor of Statistics and Economic Science at King's College London, from 1859 until his death. He is best known for compiling the monumental "A History of Agriculture and Prices in England from 1259 to 1793" (7 vol. 1866–1902), which is still useful to scholars. William Ashley (1860–1927) introduced British scholars to the historical school as developed in Germany. In the United States the school influenced the institutional economists, such as Thorstein Veblen (1857–1929) and especially the Wisconsin school of labor history led by John R. Commons (1862–1945). More importantly, numerous aspiring economists undertook graduate studies at German universities, including John Bates Clark, Richard T. Ely, Jeremiah Jenks, Simon Patten, and Frank William Taussig.  Canadian scholars influenced by the school were led by Harold Innis (1894–1952) at Toronto. His staples thesis holds that Canada's culture, political history and economy have been decisively influenced by the exploitation and export of a series of "staples" such as fur, fishing, lumber, wheat, mined metals and coal. The staple thesis dominated economic history in Canada 1930s–1960s, and is still used by some.  After 1930 the historical school declined or disappeared in most economics departments. It lingered in history departments and business schools. The major influence in the 1930s and 1940s was Joseph Schumpeter with his dynamic, change-oriented, and innovation-based economics. Although his writings could be critical of the school, Schumpeter's work on the role of innovation and entrepreneurship can be seen as a continuation of ideas originated by the historical school, especially the work of von Schmoller and Sombart. Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. (1918–2007), had a major impact on approaching business issues through historical studies.

English school.

Although not nearly as famous as its German counterpart, there was also an English historical school, whose figures included Francis Bacon and Herbert Spencer. This school heavily critiqued the deductive approach of the classical economists, especially the writings of David Ricardo. This school revered the inductive process and called for the merging of historical fact with those of the present period. Included in this school are: William Whewell, Richard Jones, Walter Bagehot, Thorold Rogers, Arnold Toynbee, and William Cunningham, to name a few.

The historical school of economics was an approach to academic economics and to public administration that emerged in the 19th century in Germany, and held sway there until well into the 20th century. The professors involved compiled massive economic histories of Germany and Europe. Numerous Americans were their students. The school was opposed by theoretical economists. Prominent leaders included Gustav von Schmoller (1838–1917), and Max Weber (1864–1920) in Germany, and Joseph Schumpeter (1883–1950) in Austria and the United States.


Early life.

He was the son of Joscelin II and his wife Beatrice of Saone. He inherited the title of Count of Edessa from his father, Joscelin II, although Edessa had been captured in 1144 and its remnants (including the Lordship of Turbessel) conquered or sold years before he took the title.  Joscelin lived in the Kingdom of Jerusalem and managed to gather enough land around Acre to set up the "Seigneurie of Joscelin."

Royal Guardian.

His sister, Agnes of Courtenay, had been the first wife of King Amalric I before he succeeded to the throne, and was the mother of Baldwin IV and Sibylla. In 1164 Joscelin was taken captive by Nur ad-Din Zengi at the Battle of Harim. He remained a prisoner until 1176 when Agnes paid his ransom of 50,000 dinars, probably with support from the royal treasury. His nephew Baldwin then made him seneschal of Jerusalem. He faced some rivalry from the king's paternal kindred, led by Raymond III, Count of Tripoli.  In 1180 Joscelin went as an ambassador to the Byzantine Empire. After the betrothal of Baldwin's half-sister Isabella to Humphrey IV of Toron that year, the Toron estates passed to the crown in exchange for a money fief. Baldwin IV granted part of them, Chastel Neuf, to Joscelin, and awarded Agnes an income from the usufruct, or produce, of Toron. Agnes died in late 1184, a few months before her son.  In 1185, Joscelin became guardian of his young great-nephew, Baldwin V, while Raymond III was regent. Raymond feared that, if he were the child's personal guardian, he would be blamed if he died in his care, because he had a claim to the throne himself. Joscelin, as the king's maternal grandmother's brother, had no claim, but rather had strong family interests in keeping him alive. Additional support came with the arrival of Baldwin's paternal grandfather, William V of Montferrat, from Italy. However, Baldwin seems to have been sickly, and died at Acre in 1186. Joscelin and William escorted his coffin to Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Raymond went to Nablus to attempt a coup with Balian of Ibelin to install Isabella as queen. This failed, and Sibylla was crowned, also crowning her second husband, Guy of Lusignan.  In 1186, Guy and Sibylla granted Chastel Neuf and Toron, with other territory, to Joscelin. He, in turn, gave them as the dowry of his elder daughter, Beatrice, whom he betrothed to Guy’s younger brother, William of Valence. Her younger sister, Agnes, was to marry one of Guy’s nephews, but if Beatrice died while still a minor, William was to marry Agnes instead.  At the Battle of Hattin in 1187, Joscelin commanded the rearguard with Balian of Ibelin. Both escaped the disastrous defeat and fled to Tyre. All his estates were captured by Saladin. Joscelin joined in the siege of Acre in the Third Crusade. He last witnessed a charter on 25 October 1190, after Sibylla's death. There is a strong likelihood that he died during the siege. A month later, Isabella, who was now claiming the crown from Guy, restored Humphrey of Toron's claim to Chastel Neuf and Toron (should they be reconquered) when she accepted the annulment of their marriage. If Joscelin was still alive, he made no recorded objection. However, this seems to have ended the prospect of his daughters' Lusignan marriages. He was definitely dead by October 1200.  Joscelin's "seigneurie" was acquired by the Teutonic Knights, in 1220.

Marriage and children.

After his release from captivity in 1176, Joscelin married Agnes of Milly, () third daughter of Henry "the Buffalo" of Milly, () Lord of Petra, (and a sister of Stephanie of Milly and ); by whom he had two daughters:

Joscelin III of Edessa (1139 – after 1190) was the titular Count of Edessa, who during his lifetime managed to amass enough land to establish the "Seigneurie of Joscelin."


Background.

The Netherlands surrendered to Nazi Germany in May 1940, and the first anti-Jewish measures (the barring of Jews from the air-raid defence services) began in June 1940. These culminated in November 1940 in the removal of all Jews from public positions, including universities, which led directly to student protests in Leiden and elsewhere. At the same time, there was an increasing feeling of unrest amongst workers in Amsterdam, especially the workers at the shipyards in Amsterdam-Noord, who were threatened with forced labour in Germany.

Cause.

As tensions rose, the Dutch pro-Nazi movement NSB and its streetfighting arm, the WA (""Weerbaarheidsafdeling"" - defence section), were involved in a series of provocations in Jewish neighbourhoods in Amsterdam. This eventually led to a series of street battles between the WA and Jewish self-defence groups and their supporters, culminating in a pitched battle on 11 February 1941 on the Waterlooplein in which WA member Hendrik Koot was badly wounded. He died of his injuries on 14 February 1941.  On 12 February 1941, German soldiers, assisted by Dutch police, encircled the old Jewish neighbourhood and cordoned it off from the rest of the city by putting up barbed wire, opening bridges and putting in police checkpoints. This neighbourhood was now forbidden for non-Jews.  On 19 February, the German Grüne Polizei stormed into the Koco ice-cream salon in the Van Woustraat. In the fight that ensued, several police officers were wounded. Revenge for this and other fights came in the weekend of 22–23 February, when a large scale pogrom was undertaken by the Germans. 425 Jewish men, age 20-35 were taken hostage and imprisoned in Kamp Schoorl and eventually sent to the Buchenwald and Mauthausen concentration camps, where most of them died within the year. Out of 425, only two survived.

The strike.

Following this pogrom, on 24 February, an open-air meeting was held on the Noordermarkt to organise a strike to protest against the pogrom as well as the forced labour in Germany. The Communist Party of the Netherlands, made illegal by the Germans, printed and spread a call to strike throughout the city the next morning. The first to strike were the city's tram drivers, followed by other city services as well as companies like De Bijenkorf and schools. Eventually 300,000 people joined in the strike, bringing much of the city to a halt and catching the Germans by surprise. Though the Germans immediately took measures to suppress the strike, which had grown spontaneously as other workers followed the example of the tram drivers, it still spread to other areas, including Zaanstad, Kennemerland in the west, Bussum, Hilversum and Utrecht in the east and the south. The strike did not last long. By 27 February, much of it had been suppressed by the German police. Although ultimately unsuccessful, it was significant in that it was the first and only direct action against the Nazis' treatment of Jews in Europe.  The next strike would be student strikes in November 1941, and after that the large April–May strikes in 1943 that ushered in a period of armed covert resistance on a national scale.  In the rest of Nazi-occupied Europe the Greeks in April 1942, the Danes starting in the summer of 1943, the Luxemburgers in August 1942, the Belgians in May 1941, the Norwegians in September 1941 and the North French miners in May–June 1941 also went on strike, but not as early as the Dutch strike of February 1941 and it has to be noted that the February strike in Amsterdam was the only strike against the way Jews were treated by the Germans in Nazi-occupied Europe.

Historiography.

The book "De februaristaking" ("The February strike") by historian was published in 1954.

Remembrance.

The strike is remembered each year on 25 February, with a march past the "", the memorial made for the strike in 1951 and first unveiled in December 1952. This statue was made by Dutch sculptor Mari Andriessen. All political parties, as well as the city public transport authorities and organisations of Holocaust survivors, participate in the remembrance. Although three communist organizers were shot to death after the strike and 12 communist organizers were sent to jails in Germany, during the Cold War the communists were forced to remember the strike separately from other political groups. For many years after the war, Dutch officials publicly denied contributions by the communists to the strike.

The February Strike () was a general strike in the German-occupied Netherlands in 1941, during World War II, organized by the then-outlawed Communist Party of the Netherlands in defence of persecuted Dutch Jews and against the anti-Jewish measures and activities of the Nazis in general.


Description.

It is an annual or perennial plant growing up to 400–800 mm tall. The leaves are 50–100 mm long and broad, triangular to diamond-shaped, with a pair of broad pointed lobes near the base, with a slightly waxy, succulent texture. The flowers are produced in a tall, nearly leafless spike 100–300 mm long; each flower is very small (3–5 mm diameter), green, with five sepals. The seeds are reddish-green, 2–3 mm diameter.

Taxonomy.

The species was described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus as "Chenopodium bonus-henricus" in "Species Plantarum". Until 2012, the species was usually included in genus "Chenopodium", but molecular genetical research revealed that it does not really belong to this genus. It seems to be more closely related to the genus "Spinacia", and is now placed in the genus "Blitum" in the tribe Anserineae. The scientific name "Blitum bonus-henricus" was first used by Ludwig Reichenbach in 1832.  Synonyms basing on the same type specimen are: "Agathophytum bonus-henricus", "Anserina bonus-henricus", "Atriplex bonus-henricus", "Chenopodium bonus-henricus", "Orthospermum bonus-henricus", and "Orthosporum bonus-henricus" Heterotypic synonyms are: "Blitum perenne", "Chenopodium hastatum", "Chenopodium ruderale", "Chenopodium ruderale", "Chenopodium sagittatum", "Chenopodium spinacifolium", "Chenopodium triangulare", "Chenopodium triangularifolia", and "Orthosporum unctuosum".

Cultivation and uses.

It should be planted in a fertile, sunny location which is free from perennial weeds. Seeds must be cold-stratified in order to germinate. The plants should be regularly weeded and well watered. Typically, very little is produced in the first season. Good King Henry does not respond well to transplantation.  The foliage can be cut in autumn, and a mulch, such as leaf mould or well-rotted compost applied to the plot.

Culinary uses.

Cropping can begin in spring. Some of the new shoots can be thinned out as they appear (usually from mid spring to early summer) and cooked like asparagus. All cutting should then cease so that shoots are allowed to develop. The succulent triangular leaves may be harvested a few at a time until the end of August and cooked like spinach.

Blitum bonus-henricus (syn. "Chenopodium bonus-henricus"), also called Good-King-Henry, poor-man's asparagus, perennial goosefoot, Lincolnshire spinach, Markery, English mercury, or mercury goosefoot, is a species of goosefoot which is native to much of central and southern Europe.


Biography.

Early life and ordination.

Ivan Dias was born in Bandra, a suburb of Bombay, to Carlos Nazaro Dias (d. 1953) and Maria Martins e Dias (d. 1991), both natives of Goa. Dias' ancestral village is Velsao, Salcete, Goa. His father was undersecretary of the Home Department of the government of Maharashtra. The second oldest of four children, he has three brothers: Francis (a retired lieutenant general in the Indian military), Ralph and Olaf (a doctor). After graduating from the Jesuit St. Stanislaus High School, he entered the seminary of the Archdiocese of Bombay and was later ordained to the priesthood by Valerian Gracias on 8 December 1958. He then did pastoral work in Bombay as curate at St. Stephen's Church until 1961, when he was sent to Rome to further his studies. He there attended the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy and the Pontifical Lateran University, from where he obtained a doctorate in canon law in 1964.

Secretariat of State.

Dias worked in the Vatican Secretariat of State preparing the 1964 visit of Pope Paul VI to India, during which he was raised to the rank of Privy Chamberlain of His Holiness on 4 December. From 1965 to 1973, he served as secretary of the nunciatures in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Finland, Indonesia, Madagascar, Réunion, the Comoro Islands and Mauritius. Returning to the Secretariat of State in Vatican City, he was head of the section for the Soviet Union, the Baltic states, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Bulgaria, China, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and Tanzania until 1982.

Nuncio and bishop.

On 8 May 1982, Dias was appointed Titular Archbishop of "Rusibisir" and Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to Ghana, Togo and Benin by Pope John Paul II. He received his episcopal consecration on the following 19 June from Cardinal Agostino Casaroli, with Archbishops Achille Silvestrini and Duraisamy Simon Lourdusamy serving as co-consecrators, at St. Peter's Basilica. He selected as his episcopal motto: ""Servus"" (Latin: "Servant"). Dias was later named Apostolic Nuncio to Korea on 20 June 1987, and Apostolic Nuncio to Albania on 28 October 1991. In Albania, he was charged with rebuilding the local church after nearly five decades of communist rule, inviting foreign missionaries to the country and working with the Albanian government to recover Catholic churches and schools.

Archbishop.

Recalled from the Vatican's diplomatic service, Dias was appointed the ninth Archbishop of Bombay on 8 November 1996. He was an outspoken supporter of the controversial 2000 document of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith "Dominus Iesus", which declared that non-Catholics "are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of the means of salvation." Dias said the document was "a reaffirmation...[that] Jesus is the only savior of the world. We have a right to say who we are, and others can accept it or not."

Cardinal.

John Paul II appointed him Cardinal-Priest of Spirito Santo alla Ferratella in the consistory of 21 February 2001. He was shortly afterwards named to the Council of Cardinals for the Study of the Organizational and Economic Problems of the Holy See on 10 March 2001, and served as one of the three presidents at the 10th Ordinary Assembly of the World Synod of Bishops from September to October 2001.  In 2003, he delivered the homily at the beatification Mass of Mother Teresa, whom Dias had befriended during his tenure as a nuncio in Albania; he once said, "Reaching out to our fellow human beings, embracing the poor as Mother Teresa did, must become a common service for every Christian." Lamenting the domination of the world "by information technology, by New Age teaching and by the decline of ethical values," Dias once stated that entire countries are being "crushed down by godless ideologies and enticing proposals that exalt the anti-God cultures, including the culture of death." He was one of the Cardinals considered "papabile" at the 2005 Papal conclave that selected Pope Benedict XVI. "TIME" Magazine noted his "[s]trong diplomatic experience" and said his election "would represent a bold choice from the developing world."  On 20 May 2006, he was appointed Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, the top post overseeing the Catholic missions. He was also "ex officio" the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Urbaniana University. He presented his resignation as required on reaching the age of 75. It was accepted on 10 May 2011 when he was succeeded as Prefect by Fernando Filoni.  Cardinal Dias was a member of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, the Congregation for Catholic Education, the Pontifical Council for Culture, the Pontifical Council for the Laity, the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the Pontifical Council for Social Communications, the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church and the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts.  Dias was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2013 papal conclave that selected Pope Francis.  Dias died in Rome on 19 June 2017.

Views.

Anti-Christian violence.

During his tenure as Archbishop, Dias frequently condemned anti-Christian discrimination in Indian society by Hindu fundamentalists. In December 2001, he invited leaders of all Bombay's religious communities to his home for "a meeting for peace in a world torn apart by war and hatred." In 2002, he denounced pressures put by Indian authorities on Catholic schools, which have "had to put up with uncooperative and abusive public officials as well intimidation."

Abortion and homosexuality.

Dias also established himself as theologically conservative, strongly maintaining the Church's stances against abortion and homosexuality. He believed that gays and lesbians could be "cured" of their "unnatural tendencies" through the Sacrament of Penance.

Anglican communion.

During a speech he gave at the Lambeth Conference, he expressed unrestrained disapproval of the changes the Anglican communion was experiencing. He said: "When we live myopically in the fleeting present, oblivious of our past heritage and apostolic traditions, we could well be suffering from spiritual Alzheimer's. [...] or ecclesial Parkinson's".

Ivan Cornelius Dias (14 April 1936 – 19 June 2017) was an Indian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from 2006 to 2011, Archbishop of Bombay from 1996 to 2006, and before that a papal diplomat in the Balkans, East Asia, and West Africa. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001.


Early life and career.

Born in the Abkhazian capital Sukhumi, Ankvab graduated with a degree in law from the Rostov State University in southern Russia and worked in the Komsomol, the Justice Ministry of the Abkhaz ASSR, and the Interior Ministry of the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic until his resignation in 1990.  He was elected to the Abkhazian Supreme Soviet in 1991. He was appointed interior minister of Abkhazia's separatist government during the 1992–1993 conflict with the Georgian central government. Following the Abkhaz victory, he moved to Moscow in 1994 and became a successful businessman.

2004 Presidential election.

Ankvab returned to Abkhazian politics in 2000, setting up the movement Aitaira ("Revival") in opposition to the government of President Vladislav Ardzinba. In 2004 he announced that he would run for president, but was disqualified as ineligible on the grounds that he could not speak Abkhaz (a requirement for public office in the republic) and had lived in Abkhazia for too short a time. Ankvab decided to support Bagapsh instead and was crucial to the latter's electoral success. His appointment as prime minister was widely predicted.

2009 Presidential election.

Ankvab was Sergei Bagapsh's Vice Presidential candidate in the 12 December 2009 presidential election. As required by law, Ankvab was therefore officially suspended from his post on 11 November, his duties to be carried out by First Vice Premier Leonid Lakerbaia. Bagapsh and Ankvab won the election, and they were sworn in on 12 February 2010. The following day, Ankvab was succeeded as Prime Minister by Foreign Minister Sergei Shamba.

2011 Presidential election.

After Bagapsh's unexpected death after lung surgery, Ankvab became an acting president. He was nominated for presidency by an initiative group for a snap presidential elections held in the region on 26 August 2011. During the election campaign, on 15 August, supporters of Ankvab's opponent Sergei Shamba organised an outdoor screening of a video interview of Moscow-based retired Georgian general Tengiz Kitovani, a Georgian commander during the 1990s war in Abkhazia, in which he claimed that Ankvab had cooperated with the Georgian intelligence service during the conflict. Ankvab accused Shamba of resorting to black PR, while Shamba's campaign team issued a statement calling on the prosecutor's office to investigate Ankvab's war-time activities. According to the preliminary results Ankvab garnered up to 55% of votes, defeating Shamba and ex-vice president and opposition candidate Raul Khajimba.

Assassination attempts.

Alexander Ankvab has survived six assassination attempts since becoming Prime Minister in February 2005: in February and April 2005, in June and July 2007, in September 2010 and most recently in February 2012. The last assassination attempt killed two of Ankvab's security guards, he himself was injured in the two previous attacks. Only after the February 2012 assassination attempt arrests were made. Former Interior Minister Almasbei Kchach was one of two suspects who subsequently committed suicide. One man was subsequently indicted and arrested for the July 2007 attack.

Downfall.

On 27 May 2014, thousands of protesters, led by Raul Khadjimba, rallied against Ankvab in Sukhumi, accusing him of "authoritarian" rule, inappropriate spending of Russian aid funds, and of failure to tackle corruption and economic problems, and demanded his resignation. One of the other issues that sparked the rebellion was Ankvab's relatively liberal citizenship policy (he allowed ethnic Georgians to register as voters and receive Abkhazian passports). Within hours, the protesters stormed the presidential headquarters and forced Ankvab to flee Sukhumi to a Russian military base in Gudauta. Ankvab denounced the events in Sukhumi as an "armed coup attempt" and refused to resign. The Russian government dispatched Vladimir Putin's aide Vladislav Surkov to mediate between the opposition and Ankvab's government. On 31 May, the Parliament of Abkhazia declared Ankvab "unable" to perform his presidential duties, appointed the parliamentary chairman Valery Bganba as an interim president and called snap presidential election for 24 August. On 1 June 2014, Ankvab stepped down as president.

Aleksandr Ankvab ( ;,, ; born 26 December 1952) is an Abkhaz politician and businessman who was President of Abkhazia from 29 May 2011, until his resignation on 1 June 2014. Under President Sergei Bagapsh, he previously served as Prime Minister from 2005 to 2010 and Vice-President from 2010 to 2011. He was appointed Prime Minister again on 23 April 2020.


Etymology.

"Peshitta" is derived from the Syriac "mappaqtâ pšîṭtâ" (ܡܦܩܬܐ ܦܫܝܛܬܐ), literally meaning "simple version". However, it is also possible to translate "pšîṭtâ" as "common" (that is, for all people), or "straight", as well as the usual translation as "simple". Syriac is a dialect, or group of dialects, of Eastern Aramaic, originating around Edessa. It is written in the Syriac alphabet and is transliterated into the Latin script in a number of ways, generating different spellings of the name: "Peshitta", "Peshittâ", "Pshitta", "Pšittâ", "Pshitto", "Fshitto". All of these are acceptable, but "Peshitta" is the most conventional spelling in English.

Brief history.

The Peshitta had from the 5th century onward a wide circulation in the East, and was accepted and honored by the whole diversity of sects of Syriac Christianity. It had a great missionary influence: the Armenian and Georgian versions, as well as the Arabic and the Persian, owe not a little to the Syriac. The famous Nestorian tablet of Chang'an witnesses to the presence of the Syriac scriptures in the heart of China in the 8th century. The Peshitta was first brought to the West by Moses of Mindin, a noted Syrian ecclesiastic who unsuccessfully sought a patron for the work of printing it in Rome and Venice. However, he was successful in finding such a patron in the Imperial Chancellor of the Holy Roman Empire at Vienna in 1555—Albert Widmanstadt. He undertook the printing of the New Testament, and the emperor bore the cost of the special types which had to be cast for its issue in Syriac. Immanuel Tremellius, the converted Jew whose scholarship was so valuable to the English reformers and divines, made use of it, and in 1569 issued a Syriac New Testament in Hebrew letters. In 1645, the "editio princeps" of the Old Testament was prepared by Gabriel Sionita for the Paris Polyglot, and in 1657 the whole Peshitta found a place in Walton's "London Polyglot". For long the best edition of the Peshitta was that of John Leusden and Karl Schaaf, and it is still quoted under the symbol "Syrschaaf", or "SyrSch".

New Testament.

In a detailed examination of Matthew 1–14, Gwilliam found that the Peshitta agrees with the "Textus Receptus" only 108 times and with the "Codex Vaticanus" 65 times. Meanwhile, in 137 instances it differs from both, usually with the support of the Old Syriac and the Old Latin, and in 31 instances it stands alone.  To this end, and in reference to the originality of the Peshitta, the words of Patriarch Shimun XXI Eshai are summarized as follows:  In the first century CE, Josephus, the Jewish historian, testified that Aramaic was widely spoken and understood accurately by Parthians, Babylonians, the remotest Arabians, and those of his nation beyond Euphrates with Adiabeni. He says: "I have proposed to myself, for the sake of such as live under the government of the Romans, 'to translate those books into the Greek tongue, which I formerly composed in the language of our country, and sent to the Upper Barbarians'. Joseph, the son of Matthias, by birth a Hebrew, a priest also, and one who at first fought against the Romans myself, and was forced to be present at what was done afterwards, [am the author of this work]", Jewish Wars (Book 1, Preface, Paragraph 1)(1:3)  and continuing,  "I thought it therefore an absurd thing to see the truth falsified in affairs of such great consequence, and to take no notice of it; but to suffer those Greeks and Romans that were not in the wars to be ignorant of these things, and to read either flatteries or fictions, 'while the Parthians, and the Babylonians, and the remotest Arabians, and those of our nation beyond Euphrates, with the Adiabeni, by my means, knew accurately both whence the war begun, what miseries it brought upon us, and after what manner it ended'." Jewish Wars (Book 1 Preface, Paragraph 2) (1:6) Yigael Yadin, an archeologist working on the Qumran find, also agrees with Josephus' testimony, pointing out that Aramaic was the "lingua franca" of this time period. Josephus' testimony on Aramaic is also supported by the gospel accounts of the New Testament (specifically in Matthew 4:24-25, Mark 3:7-8, and Luke 6:17), in which people from Galilee, Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Tyre, Sidon, Syria, Decapolis, and "from beyond Jordan" came to see Jesus for healing and to hear his discourse.  A statement by Eusebius that Hegesippus "made some quotations from the Gospel according to the Hebrews and from the Syriac Gospel," means we should have a reference to a Syriac New Testament as early as 160–180 AD, the time of that Hebrew Christian writer. The translation of the New Testament is careful, faithful and literal, and the simplicity, directness and transparency of the style are admired by all Syriac scholars and have earned it the title of "Queen of the versions."

Critical edition of the New Testament.

The standard United Bible Societies 1905 edition of the New Testament of the Peshitta was based on editions prepared by Syriacists Philip E. Pusey (d. 1880), George Gwilliam (d. 1914) and John Gwyn. These editions comprised Gwilliam & Pusey's 1901 critical edition of the gospels, Gwilliam's critical edition of Acts, Gwilliam & Pinkerton's critical edition of Paul's Epistles and John Gwynn's critical edition of the General Epistles and later Revelation. This critical Peshitta text is based on a collation of more than seventy Peshitta and a few other Aramaic manuscripts. All 27 books of the common Western Canon of the New Testament are included in this British & Foreign Bible Society's 1905 Peshitta edition, as is the adultery pericope (John 7:53–8:11). The 1979 Syriac Bible, United Bible Society, uses the same text for its New Testament. The Online Bible reproduces the 1905 Syriac Peshitta NT in Hebrew characters.

Manuscripts.

Although physical evidence has yet to be found, J.S. Assemane in his Bibliotheca stated that a Syriac Gospel dated 78 A.D. was found in Mesopotamia.  The following manuscripts are in the British Archives:

The Peshitta ( "or" "") is the standard version of the Bible for churches in the Syriac tradition, including the Maronite Church, the Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Syro Malankara Catholic Church, Assyrian Church of the East and the Syro Malabar Catholic Church.