Cultural depictions of George I of Great Britain

On screen, George I of Great Britain has been portrayed by Peter Bull in the 1948 film "Saraband for Dead Lovers", Eric Pohlmann in the 1953 film "Rob Roy, the Highland Rogue", Otto Waldis in the 1954 film "The Iron Glove", and Steve Plytas in an episode of the Granada Television series "Rogues' Gallery" entitled "A Bed-Full of Miracles" (1969).
George was also featured in the book "Isle of Fire" by Wayne Thomas Batson.


John Henry IV of Gorizia

John Henry IV of Gorizia (1322–1338) was a medieval Count of Gorizia and a member of the Meinhardiner dynasty. He was the only surviving son of Henry III and his wife Beatrix of Lower Bavaria, the daughter of Duke Stephen I. He succeeded his father as Count of Gorizia in 1323. Because he was still a minor, his mother and his uncles Albert II of Gorizia and later Henry of Carinthia acted as regents. After 1329, the custody was taken over by his cousin Albert III. Since he died young, he never actually reigned himself. Nevertheless, in 1332, aged nine, he was elected as podesta of Trieste, in the city's attempt to forge an alliance with Gorizia against Venetian expansion.
In 1335, he was betrothed to Beatrice of Sicily, daughter of Elizabeth of Carinthia, Queen of Sicily.
Elizabeth renounced her rights to Tyrol and Carinthia on Beatrice's behalf, but the betrothal was cancelled by John Henry's mother who decided to settle with the new Habsburg rulers of Carinthia. In 1335, with a treaty signed in Ljubljana, John Henry thus betrothed to Anna of Habsburg, the daughter of the anti-king Frederick the Fair, who was a second cousin in his mother. The two married soon thereafter but the marriage remained childless.
Since he died childless, he was succeeded by the sons of his uncle Albert II. They were Meinhard VI (until 1385), Albert III (until 1374) and Henry V (until 1362).
He was buried in the abbey in Rosazzo in Friuli.


Blackwater railway station (Isle of Wight)

Blackwater railway station was a station at Blackwater, Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England. Located in the centre of the island on the A3020 road, it was an intermediate station on the line from Newport to Sandown, which was originally operated by the Isle of Wight (Newport Junction) Railway (incorporated 1868). The station opened in 1875 and closed, along with the line itself, in 1956. A rural station whose "heyday was before the advent of the motor car", during the inter-war years it was known for its large collection of enamel advertising boards. The station survives as an enlarged private house known as Brambles. The old railway track is now a cycle track, though this diverges slightly from the course of the old railway around the station building itself.


Zouch Tate

Zouch Tate (1606–1650) was an English Member of Parliament.
Life.
He was the son of Sir William Tate and Elizabeth, daughter of Edward la Zouche, 11th Baron Zouche, and nephew of Francis Tate. He matriculated on 26 October 1621 at Trinity College, Oxford, and entered the Middle Temple in 1625.
Tate represented Northampton in the Long Parliament, and swore the Solemn League and Covenant. In November 1644, he was appointed chairman of a committee to investigate Cromwell's accusations against the army, and on 9 December 1644 he moved the Self-denying Ordinance in the House of Commons, proposing that no member of the Lords or Commons should hold any military or naval command.
A speech delivered on 30 July 1645 was printed in "Observations on the King and Queen's Cabinet of Letters", 1645. Although not one of those members excluded by Pride's Purge in December 1648, he is not recorded as having sat afterwards. He died in 1650.


Eschershausen

Eschershausen is a municipality in the district of Holzminden, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated approximately 20 km northeast of Holzminden, and 50 km south of Hanover.
Eschershausen was the seat of the former "Samtgemeinde" ("collective municipality") Eschershausen.


Greyfriars, Bedford

Greyfriars was a monastic house in Bedford, England. The house of the Grey Friars (or Franciscan friars) was founded either by Mabilea de Plateshull (Lady Mabel de Pattishall) (according to Leland) or John St. John (according to "Valor Ecclesiasticus") during the reign of King Edward II, and their church was dedicated on 3 November 1295. The date of the arrival of the Franciscans in the town is not known.
The revenue of the friary was valued at £3 13s. 2d (according to "Valor Ecclesiasticus", or £5 per year according to William Cobbett) at the time of the Dissolution of the Monasteries. The friars formally acknowledged the supremacy of the King on 14 May 1534, and the deed of surrender was dated 3 October 1535, and subsequently, in 1539 the property was granted to John Gostwyke.


Lordship of Frisia

The Lordship of Frisia or Lordship of Friesland (, ) was a feudal dominion in the Netherlands. It was formed in 1524 when Emperor Charles V finally conquered Frisia.
History.
The former Frisian kingdom ("Magna Frisia") had been incorporated into Francia after the Frisian–Frankish wars, that ended with the victory of the Frankish troops led by "majordomo" Charles Martel at the Battle of the Boarn in 734. The remaining territory east of the Lauwers River was conquered by Charlemagne in the course of the Saxon Wars until 785.
During the decline of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th century, the Frisian coast with the important trading place of Dorestad was strongly affected by Viking raids. In turn the Frankish emperor Louis the Pious and his successor Lothair I, ruler of Middle Francia since 843, tried to pacify the Viking leaders such as Harald Klak or Rorik of Dorestad by vesting them with large estates in the Frisian lands. By the 870 Treaty of Meerssen, the Frisian lands passed to the Kingdom of East Francia under Louis the German, while the robberies continued. In 873 the Viking leader Rodulf Haraldsson was killed by the inhabitants of Eastergoa and from 879 Harald Klak's son Godfrid plundered the coast down to Flanders until he finally came to terms with Emperor Charles the Fat upon the 882 Siege of Asselt and was appointed a "Duke of Frisia".
Frisian freedom.
However, the raids still did not stop and moreover Godfrid entangled in a rebellion with his brother-in-law, the Lotharingian duke Hugh of Alsace. He was killed in 885 by the emperor's vassal Henry of Franconia, aided by the local count Gerolf, who in turn was vested with large estates on the southern Frisian coast, that later emerged as the County of Holland. The Viking rule in Frisia was terminated, nevertheless in view of the continuous threat, the local peasants were granted the Frisian freedom (West Frisian: "Fryske frijheid"), which excluded them from the feudal customs in the Frankish Empire, with no suzerain above them than the Emperor himself. The Frisian representatives met in the "Upstalsboom" thing near present-day Aurich in East Frisia under the motto "Eala Frya Fresena" ("Stand up, free Frisians") to pass resolutions and to dispense justice.
In 925 the Frisian lands together with Lotharingia were finally incorporated into East Francia by King Henry the Fowler and became a part of the Holy Roman Empire from 962 onwards. The Viking raids continued until the early 11th century. By 1068, the Brunonen margrave Egbert I of Meissen had acquired several Frisian counties, his son an successor Margrave Egbert II, however, was involved in the Great Saxon Revolt against Emperor Henry IV and killed in 1090. The Emperor granted his estates to the loyal Bishop Conrad of Utrecht. The bishop was killed by a Frisian merchant in 1099, and the Brunonen heir, the Saxon count Henry of Northeim installed himself as a "margrave" of Frisia, before he himself was ambushed and killed two years later. The Utrecht Bishops asserted themselves in the city of Groningen, apart from that the Frisians had maintained their privileges against all attempts to subdue them.
About 1300 the "Seven Frisian Seelands" stretched along the coast from Westergo on the Zuiderzee to the border with Land Hadeln on the right shore of the Weser mouth, then a possession of the Ascanian dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg. In 1282 Count Floris V of Holland invaded West Frisia, several attempts by his successors to gain control over the Frisian lands were rejected in the Friso-Hollandic Wars, culminating in the 1345 Battle of Warns, whereby Count William IV of Holland was killed. His county together with Hainaut was inherited by the Bavarian House of Wittelsbach, and the Bavaria-Straubing duke Albert I again made several incursions into Frisia, nevertheless, the Hollandic threat faded as the Wittelsbach counts were more and more stuck in the internal Hook and Cod wars from 1350 onwards.
However, at the same time Frisia itself was war-torn by the long-lasting conflict between Vetkopers and Schieringers. Moreover, especially in East Frisia the actual power shifted gradually from the original cooperative towards several chieftain dynasties. In 1464 the Habsburg emperor Frederick III elevated the mighty chief Ulrich and his descendants of the Cirksena dynasty to heritable Counts of East Frisia, an Imperial State they held until 1744.
Feudal lordship.
Finally in 1498, Frederick's son King Maximilian I ended the freedom in the remaining Frisian lands, when he appointed the Wettin duke Albert III of Saxony his stadtholder in Frisia for a loan of 300,000 guilders. Duke Albert had been a loyal follower of the Habsburgs in their struggle around the Burgundian heritage and had freed the King from custody at Brügge ten years before. However, the Saxon duke had to face strong resistance by the inhabitants, who in 1505 even laid siege to his son Henry at Franeker, while he himself attended the Saxon "Landtag" assembly in Leipzig.
Frisia was a possession of Albert's son Duke George of Saxony, but he also failed to subdue Frisia during the Guelders Wars. Frisia was largely controlled by local rebels, supported by troops of Duke Charles II of Guelders, who had been at war with Burgundy and Saxony for several years. In 1515, George sold his title to Frisia to Charles (then Duke of Burgundy), and heir of the House of Habsburg). However, by the purchase Charles gained control of only a few cities: Leeuwarden, Harlingen, and Franeker.
In 1519, Charles succeeded to his full inheritance. In 1522, he sent a Habsburg army under Georg Schenck van Toutenburg to subdue the rebellious parts of the Netherlands. In 1523, Van Toutenburg drove the Guelders forces out of Frisia. Van Toutenburg also defeated the Frisians rebels under Wijerd Jelckama, who was publicly beheaded in Leeuwarden. Frisia was now firmly in the hands of Charles and incorporated into the Seventeen Provinces of the Habsburg Netherlands. Van Toutenburg became Stadtholder and ruled the province for him.
When Charles abdicated in 1556, Frisia was inherited by Philip II of Spain with the rest of the Netherlands. In 1566, Frisia joined the rebellion against Spanish rule.
In 1577, George van Lalaing (Count Rennenburg) was appointed Stadtholder of Frisia and other provinces. A moderate, trusted by both sides, he tried to reconcile the rebels with the Crown. But in 1580, Rennenburg declared for Spain. The States of Friesland raised troops and took his strongholds of Leeuwarden, Harlingen and Stavoren.
Rennenburg was deposed and Frisia became the fifth Lordship to join the rebels' Union of Utrecht. From 1580 onwards, all stadtholders were members of the House of Nassau-Dietz, not of the House of Orange, like the stadtholders of Holland.
When the Batavian Republic was created in 1795, the Lordship of Frisia was abolished as a relic of the Ancien Régime.
Cities.
The ancient cities of Friesland are shown below:
Stadtholders of Friesland.
For Spain:
For the States of Friesland:


Sagudates

The Sagudates (, "Sagoudatai") were a South Slavic tribe that lived in Macedonia, in the area between Thessaloniki and Veria.
History.
The Sagudates were first attested in a Byzantine document of 686 as allies of the Avars and besiegers of Thessalonica in alliance with other South Slavic tribes, the Rynchines and Drugubites. In the 7th century, along with other tribes they were using armed logboats to plunder the coasts of Thessaly. In the 9th century the Sagudates lived in mixed villages with the Drugubites and paid taxes to the Byzantine authorities of Thessalonica.


Feudal earldom

A feudal earldom is a Scottish feudal title that is held "en baroneum", which means that its holder, who is called a feudal earl, is also always a feudal baron. A feudal earldom is an ancient title of nobility in Scotland. The holder may or may not be a Lord of Regality, which meant that the holder was appointed by the Crown and had the power of "pit and gallows", meaning the power to authorise the death sentence. A feudal earl ranks above a feudal lord and a feudal baron (being a feudal baron of a higher degree), but below an earldom which is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. Feudal earldoms are very rare. As well, due to rights granted from ancient Scots law, in a very few instances, the holder of a feudal earldom may be different than the holder of a peerage title of the same name. A peer is invariably addressed as 'Lord Placename' or 'Lord Such-and-so', whilst those holding a feudal earldom are addressed 'Earl of Placename'. Scottish titles, in order of precedence, are as follows: Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Lord, Baronet, Knight, feudal Baron, Clan Chief, Esquire/Gentleman. Wallace states that "Lordships, Earldoms, Marquisates and Dukedoms differ only in name from Baronies" but continues "one whose property was erected into a Lordship ranked before a simple Baron" and "A person to whom an Earldom belonged, would be superior to a person who had no more than a lordship ... One, whose lands were incorporated into a Marquisate, was superior to both ... A man, who owned a fief elevated into a Dukedom, was exulted above all three." However, Lord Stair states that Lordships or Earldoms are "but more noble titles of a Barony".
Modern status.
In 2014 the Lord Lyon King of Arms issued the "Note on the Petition of George Menking", under which he determined to accept petitions for the grant arms for feudal dignities including Earldoms since such dignities have historically always been of the genus of a barony and as such represent a higher form of barony and fall within the jurisdiction of the King of Arms.
The Menking Note is considered an important change (and return to similar status of an earlier Lord Lyon) from an interim ruling on the petition in 2010 by a Swiss national Willi Ernst Sturzenegger, who had purchased the feudal Earldom of Arran, and wished to be titled as " 'Sturzenegger of Arran, holder of the territorial Earldom of Arran", or 'Sturzenegger of Arran, holder of the feudal Earldom of Arran'. In 2006, an earlier Lord Lyon had recognised three petitioners as "Feudal Countess of Crawfurd-Lindsay", "Feudal Earl of Breadalbane" and "Feudal Earl of Rothes". In the ruling in 2010, the Lord Lyon stated that as a general rule previous decisions should be followed, but he could not agree with them as the arguments in the previous cases did not appear to have been tested and no reasoning had been given by the prior Lord Lyon for his decisions. The title "feudal Earl", "territorial Earl", or simply "Earl", being used or recognised in respect of an assemblage of lands into an earldom had never existed until recently. He stated that while the "Abolition of Feudal Tenure Act of 2000" divorced feudal baronies from land title, it preserved the title of baron. This was not the case he found with "territorial" or "feudal earldoms": "On the contrary there is a clear break between the type of territorial earldoms which existed before the evolution of a personal peerage, and the later erection of lands into what has been termed a “territorial earldom”. I therefore do not accept that it follows from the recognition of a feudal baron, or one possessed of the dignity of a former feudal barony, as “Baron of X”, that the person in possession of a “territorial earldom” stemming from the erection by the Crown of lands into a free earldom, should be recognised as an “Earl” or “Countess”, “feudal” or otherwise."
Under the 2014 Menking Note, the Lord Lyon effectively revoked the 2010 restrictions on recognition of such dignities and customary title as long provided to those properly holding them.
See also.
See also Peerage of Scotland and List of feudal baronies.
List of Feudal Earldoms (created before 1707).
Below is an incomplete list of Scottish feudal earldoms created in Scotland before 1707.
a: The creation date is the earliest known date for the Earldom and subject to revision


Sir John Simeon, 4th Baronet

Sir John Stephen Barrington Simeon, 4th Baronet DL (31 August 1850 – 1909) was one of the two Members of Parliament for Southampton at the end of the 19th century and the start of the 20th century.
He was born at Swainston Manor in West Wight on 31 August 1850 and succeeded his father, the 3rd baronet, in 1870. He served as Ensign in the Rifle Brigade until he married Isabella Mary, daughter of the Hon Ralph Heanage Dutton, in 1872. The marriage was childless. In 1880 he became private secretary to the Rt Hon John Bright, MP, and entered parliament himself in 1895 as a Liberal Unionist. Shortly after his election he commissioned a private railway station at Watchingwell, some four miles (6 km) west of Newport. On 5 December 1903 he was appointed Honorary Colonel of the Southampton-based 1st Hampshire Royal Garrison Artillery (Volunteers).
Re-elected in 1900, Simeon left the House of Commons in 1906 and died three years later. He was succeeded as 5th baronet by his brother, Edmund Charles (1855–1915).


Ouled Birri

The Ouled Birri (spelled variously) is a Moorish tribe in the Trarza region of northern Mauritania. It is a Zawāyā tribe (religious) tribe. The Oulad Birri have produced a number of important Marabouts of the Qadiriyya Sufi tariqa: most famous among them was Shaykh Sidya Baba, who aided the Frenchman Xavier Coppolani in bringing the Mauritanian emirates under colonial rule in the first years of the 20th century. This secured French protection for Zawia tribes from extortion by warrior Hassane groupings, and a prominent position for Sidya Baba and his family in the colonial and postcolonial state.
Other members of the tribe Mauritania's first President, Moktar Ould Daddah; and his half-brother, Ahmed Ould Daddah, who was one of the main contenders in the 2007 Presidential elections in Mauritania.
The tribe generally adheres to the Maliki rite of Sunni Islam, but is associated with Qadiriyya Sufism. It has traditionally, like all Moorish tribes, upheld a nomadic or seminomadic way of life.


Baron of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion

Baron of Cymmer-yn-Edeirnion (or Kymmer-yn-Edeirnion), in the county of Merioneth, is a dormant title used by the senior male-line descendants of Owain Brogyntyn, youngest son of Madog ap Maredudd king of Powys. Owain Brogyntyn divided his lands equally between his three sons on his death, and his eldest son, Iorwerth, inherited lands centred on Cymmer (or Kymmer), in the parish of Llangar and commote of Edeirnion (part of Merionethshire). His son, Gruffydd ab Iorwerth, fought against Edward I during his invasion of Wales. After the Conquest of Wales, Gruffydd came "into the King's peace", and on 22 July 1284, had his lands confirmed by Edward I , 'just as his ancestors had held them', thereby creating him a baron in the English feudal baronage. The first surviving use of the title was by Gruffydd's grandson, Owain, who in 1334 was summoned to the sessions at Harlech as "Owenus ap Davidus," "Dominus de Kimmer." Some authorities, therefore, date the barons from Owain, whereas others begin with Gruffydd. In the fifteenth century their principal residence was known as Plas o Cymmer, and was later renamed Plas Uchaf. Later the 10th Baron moved to the nearby mansion of Gwerclas.
Titular Barons.
None of these titular barons have claimed the title Baron of Kymmer-yn-Edeirnion, they are simply the heirs to that title on the basis of primogeniture.


Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo

The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Palermo () was founded as the Diocese of Palermo in the first century and raised to the status of archdiocese in the 11th century. The Archbishop of Palermo is Corrado Lorefice.
The archdiocese has the following suffragans in the ecclesiastical Province of Palermo:
History.
Palermo is just south of a major active seismic zone, and is subject to frequent earthquakes and occasional inundations (tsunamis). The events of 1693, 1726 and 1823 were particularly destructive.
Pope Gregory I personally founded six monasteries in Sicily, including the monstery of S. Hermes at Palermo, according to Ugo Benigni in his article on Sicily in the Catholic Encyclopedia. He also founded the monastery of S. Hadrian and the Praetoritanum. Ugo Benigni attributes this interest to the numbers of bishops and monks who emigrated from Africa as a result of the policy of the Arian Vandals to the Orthodox Christians.
In 718 the Emperor Leo III the Isaurian (718–741) suppressed a revolt in Sicily, and then detached southern Italy and Sicily from the metropolitan jurisdiction of the Pope in Rome. In the ninth century, the Patriarch of Constantinople raised the See of Palermo to the rank of Metropolitan of all of Sicily. A protest against these actions was entered by Pope Nicholas I (858–867), in a letter of 25 September 860 to the Emperor Michael III.
Arab control over Palermo and its church.
Benigni states, "Concerning the state of the Sicilian Church during the Saracen domination we have no information: not the name of a single bishop is known." This is misleading. There were bishops, but they were part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople, not that of Rome, and Constantinople was in communion with Rome until the Great Schism of 1054. In 883, Pope Marinus I paid a ransom to the Emir of Palermo for the Archbishop of Syracuse and the bishop of Malta, who were being held in prison in Palermo. In 897, the Archbishop of Palermo was Sofronios (or Sonfronius). In 930, there was a seminary in operation under the direction of the Archbishop of Palermo; when Eustatius was about to pay the 12,000 'krus' per annum which was owed, the collector, who noticed the extreme poverty of the students, gave part of the funds to the Archbishop for the benefit of the seminary. In 957 an Archbishop named Arimattea was already occupying the See; in 964, Archbishop Arimattea was abused and imprisoned by the Grand Mufti of Palermo, from which he died. In 965, the Archbishop of Palermo was Andreas, who had been vicar of Archbishop Arimattea. In 976, according to Arabic sources, the Archbishop of Palermo died, and the priests and monks elected a new archbishop named Ananiah, who had been vicar of his predecessor. The Patriarch of Constantinople (Anthony the Studite) was requested by an embassy from Palermo to approve the election, which he did, expressing the wish that the archbishop-elect should come to Constantinople and be consecrated by him. The emperor did not approve of these patriarchal pretensions, and the Patriarch renounced them. The priests and monks told the Emir of Sicily that the custom had been for the bishops of Sicily to consecrate the archbishop. They asked permission to write to the pope, which was refused.
Arab invasions of Sicily had begun at the beginning of the eighth century with the capture of the island of Cossura (modern Pantelleria). Raids were launched in 730–731, 734–735, 740 and 752–753. Palermo was temporarily captured in 820, but the Arabs were driven out by pirates. The serious conquest of the island began in 827, from the Tunisian port of Susa, led by Asad Ibn Al-Furàt. Palermo fell in 831, Messina in 843, Leontini in 847, and Syracuse in 878. Taormina was captured in 902, completing the conquest of the entire island. From then until 1061, when the Norman conquests, began Sicily was an Arab land.
After the famine of 940, the Arabs deliberately drove Christians out of the western part of the island.
Norman control over the church of Palermo.
On Christmas Day, 1130, Count Roger II was crowned King of Sicily in the Cathedral in Palermo. It is uncertain who crowned the king. One source names Count Roger of Capua, another Archbishop Peter of Palermo. The Cathedral was rebuilt by Archbishop Walter between 1170 and 1190.
The Archdiocese of Palermo was united with the Archdiocese of Monreale on 7 July 1775. The union was dissolved on 12 March 1802. Monreale lost its metropolitan status in 2000, however, and it is now a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Palermo.
The Cathedral of Palermo is dedicated to the Bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary into Heaven. The Chapter of the Cathedral had three dignities in 1677, and two dignities in 1775. In 1211 there were eighteen canons, but the number grew to twenty-four in 1431, when Pope Eugenius IV ordered their reduction to eighteen again. In 1523 the Emperor Charles V added six more canons, bringing the number back up to twenty-four. There were again twenty-four canons in 1677 and twenty-six canons in 1775. The chapter had the right to elect the archbishop.


James Howell

James Howell (c. 1594 – 1666) was a 17th-century Anglo-Welsh historian and writer who is in many ways a representative figure of his age. The son of a Welsh clergyman, he was for much of his life in the shadow of his elder brother Thomas Howell, who became Lord Bishop of Bristol.
Education.
In 1613 he gained his B.A. from Jesus College, Oxford – he was to be elected to a fellowship at Jesus College in 1623, but he was never formally admitted and his place was taken by another in 1626. Until he was 13, he was schooled in Hereford. He went to Oxford at the age of 19.
Career.
After graduation, he had a variety of employments, as an administrator for a glass manufacturer, and in the often combined roles of secretary and instructor to several noble families. As factory agent and negotiator he traveled widely in Europe and learned to speak several languages, apparently with great facility. He also met and befriended numerous literary figures, among them Ben Jonson and Kenelm Digby. Paramount amongst his priorities was however royal, or at least aristocratic patronage.
On the eve of the English Civil War, he finally gained a secretaryship of the Privy Council, which according to one eminent critic, was "very close to the type of appointment that he had sought for 20 years". The conflict meant that he never took up the position, and at about the same time, he wrote his first book, or "maiden Fancy", "Dodona's Grove", which represented the history of England and Europe through the allegorical framework of a typology of trees. It is worth noting that he started to publish at this time of ferment although he was already well established as a writer of what we would know today as 'newsletters' but were then known as 'tracts' or 'pamphlets'.
He was a prolific writer, and he is among the first writers to earn his living solely from writing in the English language. He was also the first writer of an epistolary novel, a novel of letters, in English ("Familiar Letters").
To lexicography Howell contributed his quadrilingual "Lexicon Tetraglotton" in 1660. This lexicon also contains a thematic dictionary in 52 sections, ranging from anatomy to cosmology. Howell's "Proverbs", although separately printed, was bound and sold with his "Lexicon Tetraglotton". John Worthington, writing in his "Diary" in August 1661, recommended the separate republication of the "Proverbs" with its collection of British (i.e. Welsh) proverbs because the "Lexicon" itself "is not so desirable".
Howell was imprisoned in Fleet Prison in 1643, ostensibly as an insolvent debtor, although his political criticisms in "Dodona's Grove" may have also played a part. Howell continued to write and publish from prison. He was released in 1651.
In 1650, Howell revised and expanded Cotgrave and Sherwood's French and English dictionary of 1632, under the title "A French-English Dictionary". He added a 21-page French grammar to the work in 1650, but the title page did not advertise this grammar until the 1660 edition; this grammar has often been mistakenly cited as a separate publication.
He wrote "A New English Grammar" with notes on travel in Spain and Portugal "for the service of Her Majesty".
Some modern historians of formal English consider Howell's "New English Grammar" a work of foreign language teaching and the first work of its kind in the English language.
Howell's "Proverbs" contains the famous saying: "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy".
Principal literary works.
Legacy.
The memorial to James Howell in the Temple Church for which he paid himself, as mentioned in his will of 1666, was destroyed in World War II.


Harzburg

The Harzburg, also called Große Harzburg ("Great Harz Castle"), is a former imperial castle, situated on the northwestern edge of the Harz mountain range overlooking the spa resort of Bad Harzburg in Goslar District in the state of Lower Saxony, Germany. It was erected from 1065 to 1068 at the behest of King Henry IV of Germany, slighted during the Saxon Rebellion in 1073-75, and a century later rebuilt under Emperor Frederick Barbarossa and his Welf successor Otto IV, who died here in 1218.
Later used as a robber baron's lair, the hill castle crumbled into ruins over the centuries. Today it has almost completely disappeared; only fragments of the foundation walls and the towers together with the castle well are preserved.
Etymology.
Mentioned as "Hartesburg" in a 1071 deed, the name of the castle () is derived from the Harz mountain range, called "Hart" in Middle Low German, and is probably affiliated with "hardt" meaning "mountain forest". Therefore, "Harzburg" can be translated as "Harz Castle".
Location.
The ruins of the "Große Harzburg" are located above the spa town and the Radau valley, on the top of the Großer Burgberg hill at a height of . The summit can be reached by the Burgberg Cable Car and has an outstanding view past the neighbouring summit of "Kleiner Burgberg" () in the northwest over the northern Harz Foreland with the Harly hill range and far into the North German Plain. Southwards, the view goes over the densely forested mountains of the Harz National Park up to the Brocken massif.
The remains of the walls on the Großer Burgberg summit are open to the public. The layout of the castle and its remnants are explained on information boards at the site. It had two different "bergfrieds"; the square one has been partially rebuilt in modern times (see photo). One interesting feature is the wide moat driven through the rock that separates the castle complex into an east and a west wing, linked by a modern stone bridge. The castle well drew drinking water from the nearby Sachsenbrunnen, an enclosed spring in the woods. In medieval times, the water was transferred over several hundred metres in wooden pipes.
The viewpoint on the northern edge of the castle plateau is marked by the high Canossa Column, erected in 1877 during the German "Kulturkampf" conflict in honour of Chancellor Otto von Bismarck on the 800th anniversary of King Henry's Walk to Canossa. In addition, the former castle grounds comprise the more than two-hundred-year-old Bismarck Elm, a Harz folktales memorial hall erected from 1928 to 1932, a modern statue of the alleged pagan god Krodo, as well as a restaurant.
To the north, on the nearby hill of "Kleiner Burgberg", are the remains of the so-called "Kleine Harzburg" ("Little Harz Castle") outlook, and to the east on the nearby "Sachsenberg" are the traces of a rampart, possibly constructed by the rebellious Saxons to besiege the "Große Harzburg" (see below).
History.
Already in 924/926 King Henry the Fowler had reached an armistice with the Hungarian invaders at nearby Werla Castle. In the 11th century, the Salian emperor Henry III had made the Imperial Palace of Goslar one of his favourite residences. He did, however, arouse the disfavour of the local Saxon nobility and the Billung dukes, not only by his Franconian descendance, but also due to the expensive maintaining of his Imperial court. Henry III died in 1056 at Bodfeld Castle and when his son King Henry IV, came of age in 1065, he soon renewed the Saxon conflict laying claim to several domains around the Harz mountains.
Henry IV.
During Henry's minority and the regency of his mother Agnes of Poitou, the Saxon nobles had strengthened their position. The local count Otto of Nordheim, Duke of Bavaria since 1061, had even been involved in Henry's abduction during the 1062 Coup of Kaiserswerth. In turn, the "Große Harzburg" ("Hartesburg") was erected during a large-scale castle building programme in the Duchy of Saxony from 1065 to 1068. Intended as a demonstration of power in the Saxon mainland, the extended complex was strategically sited by King Henry's architect Bishop Benno II of Osnabrück providing protection for the nearby Goslar imperial palace and the mines of Rammelsberg. Its walls extend right up to the steep face of the conical hilltop. At the time it was built the castle was impregnable.
Despite its defensive strength, the castle was also especially palatial. For example, it contained, amongst other things, unusually large, three-roomed great hall and collegiate church, to which Henry had many relics transferred. He even had a sort of family vault built, in which he laid the mortal remains of his brother, Duke Conrad II of Bavaria and his son, Henry, both of whom died young.
According to the chronicler Lambert of Hersfeld, the Saxon Rebellion broke out when on 29 June 1073 several nobles marched against the king residing in the Imperial Palace of Goslar. Henry had to flee along with the Imperial Regalia into the walls of the Harzburg. The besieging forces led by Otto of Nordheim and Bishop Burchard II of Halberstadt allegedly numbered 60,000 whilst his garrison only had 300 men. The king finally fled to Franconia in the night to 10 August, according to legend, through the well of the besieged castle and a secret passage.
The king initially did not gain much support by the German princes and in the 1074 Treaty of Gerstungen he was forced to agree to slight his castles, including the Harzburg. He hesitated, however, and only had the walls and towers demolished, whilst the buildings themselves remained. But in the spring of 1074 the Harzburg was plundered by annoyed peasants and completely destroyed. The collegiate church was not spared and the royal family tomb was desecrated. This incident prompted widespread indignation and gave Henry cause to advance with all his might against the rebellious Saxons again and so, on 9 June 1075, the rebels were defeated at the Battle of Langensalza.
Henry IV never returned to the Harzburg. Pope Gregory VII, who would become a bitter enemy during the Investiture Controversy, imposed a ban on the devastated site. In January 1077, the king had to make the Walk to Canossa to obtain the revocation of his excommunication.
Hohenstaufens and Welfs.
During the conflict of the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick I with the Welf duke Henry the Lion, the rebuilding work on the castle continued until 1180. In January 1076 Henry had claimed the enfeoffment with Goslar and the Rammelsberg mines in turn for his support against the rebellious Italian cities of the Lombard League. The duke was deposed in 1180, yet Frederick felt it was necessary to protect Goslar against Henry's forces.
The complex was completed by Henry's son Emperor Otto IV, sole King of the Romans upon his rival Philip of Swabia in 1208. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Innocent III the next year, however, the two fell out soon after. Banned by the pope, he had to witness the election of the Hohenstaufen scion Frederick II in September 1211. Defeated by King Philip II of France in the 1214 Battle of Bouvines, he retired to his Saxon homelands and died at the Harzburg on 19 May 1218. The fortress lost its immediate function as an imperial castle as Otto's brother Henry of Brunswick had to surrender the Imperial Regalia to the Hohenstaufen dynasty.
In 1222 the Harzburg was awarded the title of "castrum imperiale" again. Relying on the existing imperial enfeoffment of the Harzburg seat, the character of the castle as an imperial fortress remained largely intact up to the time the Hohenstaufen dynasty became extinct and the castle was pledged to the Counts of Wernigerode in 1269.
Later history.
The following centuries were characterized by frequent changes of ownership. About 1370 it was occupied by the Welf duke Otto of Brunswick-Göttingen during the War of the Lüneburg Succession and entrusted to his "ministerialis" Hans von Schwicheldt, against fierce protest raised by the Wernigerode counts. In the early 15th century the Harzburg was pledged as a fief to the three sons of Hans von Schwicheldt, who turned it into a robber baron castle and ravaged the surrounding Brunswick, Hildesheim and Halberstadt lands.
The importance of the fortress decreased steadily, resulting in its slow decline. A rebuilding of the castle in the 16th century was never carried out due to the high cost. During the Thirty Years' War, the castle changed hands several times, although its garrison remained intact. Since this type of fortification had become insignificant due to the changed nature of warfare, demolition of the remaining elements of the ruin began in 1650. Since then the castle has amounted to little more than its foundation ruins and well. The urban settlement of "Neustadt" at the foot of the "Großer Burgberg" adopted the castle's name in 1892.


Ottilie von Bistram

Ottilie Bistram (1859–1931) was a Baltic German writer and teacher. She was also a pioneer in the struggle for female access to education.


Lindlar

Lindlar ( ) is a municipality in the Oberbergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located about 30 km east of Cologne.
Geography.
Lindlar is located between latitudes 50°58' and 51°5' N. and longitudes 7°15' and 7°28' E. The highest point at 361.8 ms is found near Oberlichtinghagen, the lowest at 110 ms near Oberbilstein.
Neighbouring places.
Neighbouring towns are Gummersbach, Wipperfürth, Overath and Bergisch Gladbach, and the neighbouring municipalities are Engelskirchen, Marienheide and Kürten.
Division of the municipality.
The municipality of Lindlar is made up of these main villages: Lindlar (local centre), Frielingsdorf, Linde, Hohkeppel, Schmitzhöhe, Hartegasse/Kapellensüng.
The coat of arms of Lindlar.
The arms were granted on 6 August 1935. The arms show in the upper part the lion of the Counts of Berg and in the lower the balance as a symbol of justice. Lindlar had its own court in the County Berg. The arms are based on the old seal of the court and village of Lindlar.
Twin town.
Lindlar is twinned with Shaftesbury Dorset England, and Kaštela in Croatia.
History.
Settlement and first naming.
It is likely that the area around Lindlar was settled in the stone age. While there is no ultimate proof for that, neolithic artifacts were found near Kemmerich and Fenke. Until the Middle Ages the area was covered with virgin forests; it can therefore be assumed that only few people, such as hunters, settled there.
The eldest available records mentioning Lindlar -then known as Lintlo- date back to the year 1109. But as an older document from the year 958 cites the transferral of the Kaldenkapellen -now Hohkeppel- church to the Severinsstift in Cologne and as the former was then provably subordinated to the parish church in Lindlar, this church must have already existed in that year or even up to a few decades earlier.
Till 1815.
The tower of the parish church of Lindlar was built in the 12th century and remains till today, although the tower's roof was built in the 18th century. A nave was lustrated in the year of 1500, and the present nave was built in 1826. The village of Lindlar was centred around the church.
In the course of time more and more woods were stubed, both by the farmers and on order of the landlords. Centers of the expansion were the so-called "Fronhöfe" and the "Herrenhöfe". Here the farmers had to pay their tenth and the work of courts and administration were done.
The "Bergische Land" was divided in departments and circuits. The area around Lindlar, including Wipperfeld, Bechen, Kürten, Olpe, Lindlar, Overath, Engelskirchen, Hohkeppel and Wipperfürth formed the department of Steinbach. Steinbach is a small village next to Lindlar and was named after the castle of Steinbach.
In this time a county court was set up in Lindlar. In 1440 Hohkeppel and in 1554 Engelskirchen had their own parish churches.
In 1806 Napoleon bestowed upon the county of Berg the honour of being a grand duchy. The county court in Lindlar remained, but was renamed in "Friedensgericht". Furthermore, the "canton Lindlar" was formed.
1815 - 1870.
After 1815 the whole Rhineland became part of Preußen and the "district Wipperfürth" was set up. In 1828 the population of Lindlar was 5430, 5396 were Catholic and only 34 Protestants.
1871–1918.
In 1882 an auxiliary fire brigade in Lindlar was arranged. A new building for the county court in Lindlar had to be built in 1895. In 1897 the municipal council first reflected upon the idea of a railway connection to Lindlar. The idea was to build a connection to Immekeppel where a train to Cologne departed and arrived. In 1906 this was allowed by the government and the railway Cologne – Bergisch Gladbach – Immekeppel – Lindlar was opened in 1912. There were several elementary schools in Lindlar: in the town of Lindlar, Linde, Waldbruch, Süng, Frielingsdorf, Hohkeppel, Schmitzhöhe and Kalkofen. Since the priest Johannes Fischer and the carpenter Christian MIebach gave their legacy for a new hospital, a hospital was built in Lindlar and opened in 1891.
In 1904 a new townhall was built.
Culture.
Church municipalities.
Up to the Second World War Lindlar was predominantly a Catholic, Protestant inhabitant had to be established on account of the increased number in 1956 a Protestant church. In addition, at the beginning 1990s a Protestant free church and a neuapastolische church settled.
Now thus there is in Lindlar:
Cultural facilities.
Lindlar disposes of a great cultural centre (more than 800 places) in the regularly theatrical arrangement and music arrangements take place. Smaller arrangements help themselves of the council hall " old school " in Eichenhofstrasse.
The municipality library Lindlar houses a great choice of books and is helped financially by a conveyor association, so that the lending is free so far.
Markets.
Regularly flea markets, art craftsman markets, farm markets take place in the Bergischen open-air museum as well as a Christmas fair. As a specific feature an old-timer market takes place in Lindlar - Schmitzhöhe.
Museums.
From the place lies there not far the Bergische open-air museum Lindlar, it is accessible about the RB25 and the bus line 331 or the SB40 from Cologne or Lindlar. Besides, in Lindlar-Altenrath there is a curiosity museum.
Places of interest.
The municipality marks itself "tourism municipality" (resort and leisure place). The historical local cores of Lindlar, Hohkeppel and Linde are worth seeing. In addition, one sees with the walking on the extensive footpath net often one of the road crosses and also many smaller chapels.
Castles.
In the local area lie the castle ruins "Ruine Eibach", "Neuenberg" and "Unterheiligenhoven", as well as this "castle Heiligenhoven " and the "castle Georghausen ".
Churches.
The Catholic parish church "Sankt Severin" was built in the 12th century. There are old Catholic churches in Hohkeppel and Linde. The Protestant church in Lindlar was built from 1954–56.
Museums.
The "Bergische Freilichtmuseum Lindlar" (an open-air museum about agriculture in the "Bergisches Land") and a "Kuriositätenmuseum" (a museum about odditys) are located in Lindlar.
Buildings and monuments.
Lindlar, Marketplace
Lindlar, Ort
monuments in Lindlar
Churches in Lindlar
Schools and educational facilities.
In Lindlar are six elementary schools in different villages: Frielingsdorf, Kapellensüng, Linde, Schmitzhöhe, Lindlar west and the Lindlar east. As grammar schools a secondary modern school, a secondary modern school, a high school as well as a special school exist for LB- and E-pupil. Secondary modern school are accommodated in a school center and not far of it the high school founded in 1997. The next work pedagogic equipment is in Wipperfürth. In Lindlar there is also a branch of VHS.
Public facilities.
Health service.
Heart Jesus's hospital Lindlar (151 beds with anesthesia, geriatrics, internal medicine, ENT, urology with connected doctor's house. Since 1999 cooperation with the Saint Josef hospital in Engelskirchen form of the Catholic Kliniken Oberberg GmbH.
Spare time and sport.
Lindlar has, as one of few municipalities, its own leisure park. It was established between 1980 and 1982. There are a swimming pool (Parkbad Lindlar), a crazy golf layout, a concert space, an adventure game space, boot rental company as well as several investments is found for sport. The leisure park directly borders on the castle park of the Castle Heiligenhoven and on the Lindlarer cultural centre.
The municipality has more than seven sports fields, a stadium with field as well as one with Aschenplatz, seven gymnasiums, under it two big triple run halls and a gymnastics hall and two tennis courts. Also, there is an indoor swimming pool, including sauna, fitness and sunbathing area and sports field, a sail airfield, riding spaces, a golf layout, a shooting gallery and skittle-alleys.
In Lindlar there are a lot of footpaths and the streets have separate cycle lanes. Cyclists use, mainly, the forestry and countryside tracks.
Lindlar and its villages have a large number of associations which are well established. Most important are the protection associations, sports associations and native country associations.
Economy, industry and infrastructure.
From the 16th to the 19th century the iron industry was in the environment of Lindlar, and stood economically in high blossom. Numerous iron hammer and furnaces were run there whose remaining stocks are to be found today partially still. by the way, the agriculture and the down-to-earth craft, for instance, the stone industry (reduction and processing of the greywacke), paper processing, home industry and file cutting was maintained. In addition, in the beginning of the 1980s a settlement of company took place in the new industrial zone of Klause.
Lindlarer greywacke.
For more than 400 years it is diminished in Lindlar greywacke. If this industry fork still hundred years ago was a main employer of the Lindlarer population, today only three producing companies exist. In many places former stone quarries which are today an important living space for all sorts of animal species are found. The Lindlarer greywacke was used on site to the construction, examples for this are the steeple of the Catholic parish church Saint Severin. Also it was sold in the other environment, for instance, to Cologne. In this connection the Lindlarer railroad which transported the rock till the 1960s by railway is worth mentioning. For this target led from the main reduction area - a brake road.
Road network and public transport.
Highway.
Lindlar about the federal motorway A4 (Cologne Olpe) is linked up to the highway net. At the best to use the motorway at exit Engelskirchen (in 7 kilometers of distance) or Overath-Untereschbach (15 kilometers).
Railroad.
The next railway station is in Engelskirchen, Lindlar itself has no more road binding. On the railroad line Lindlar - Linde - Hoffnungsthal - Cologne a personal train went in October 1960 for the last time. Then the setting of the commercial transport followed on 23 May 1966. In 2005 the rails were dismantled as much as possible.
Bus connections and railroad connections.
Lindlar lies very traffic-favorable with the A4 (exit Untereschbach or Engelskirchen). Also public transport is developed according to line very well.


Womb tomb

The term Womb Tomb (also, "womb-tomb") is a form of Neolithic burial site. It is also a generic term for more recent burial sites that are frequented by Christian and Muslim pilgrims. The term has resonance in Christianity where in the creation story of mankind, God tells Adam:" In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return." (); also ()
. Jewish and other pre-Christian sources have similar references. Europe's prehistory stretches for some 9500 years, from the earliest settlers after the last ice age to around AD 1000. Very little is known of the earliest human burials. The first grave structure of any type dates from circa 4000 BCE. Neolithic farmers had a strong tradition of building burial chambers covered by mounds. Unique burial sites suggest a reverence for birth and the female form. These are called Womb Tombs and are a subset of passage graves or passage tombs. Recent studies show that many of the Neolithic passage graves in Scotland and Ireland were built using the symbolism of the female human womb.
Evidence.
Popular culture.
With the possible exception of Ireland, Scotland has the largest number of well-preserved chambered burial tombs in Europe. Archaeological and semiotic studies show that the internal and external architecture of tombs conform to a standard pattern: a chamber, a passage (or a passage shaped chamber), and an entrance representing a simplified view of the female reproductive organs. Reference has been made in literature to the idea that the Neolithic burial rites involved a return to the mother - the female. William Shakespeare makes an oblique reference to the idea. D. H. Lawrence, when discussing fertility, used this idea where he described his visits to first millennium BC Tombs north of Rome.
"The stone house --- suggests the Noah's Ark without the boat part: the Noah's Ark box we had as children, full of animals. And that is what it is, the Ark, the arc, the womb. The womb of all the world, that brought forth all creatures. The womb, the arc, where life retreats in the last refuge. The womb, the ark of the covenant, in which lies the mystery of eternal life, the manna and the mysteries. There it is standing displaced outside the doorway of Etruscan tombs at Cerveteri"
Further, when he visited the painted tombs of Tarquinia, he experienced some of the Etruscans' wonder at the mystery of the journey out of life and into death. He wrote:"In the tombs we see it; (shows) throes of wonder and vivid feelings throbbing over death. Man moves naked and glowing through the universe. Then comes death: he dives into the sea; he departs into the underworld...the sea is that vast primordial creature that has a soul also, whose inwardness is womb of all things, out of which all things emerged, and into which they are devoured back…"The poet Dylan Thomas also makes such a reference in his "18 Poems".
Anthropology.
The name "womb tomb" has been given to tombs when considering the anthropology of much more recent burial sites. Stadler and Luz combine studies of the Christian tomb of St. Mary in Jerusalem and Muslim worship at Maqam Abu al-Hijja in Galilee. They concluded that the tombs' structure mimicked the human form. "(See, below)"
Their focus leads them to conclude that the politicisation of fertility by Christians and Muslims is demonstrated in both communities when examining the sites’ architecture and forms of veneration.
Scottish archaeological evidence.
In Britain, passage graves of the West and North differ from the non-Megalithic long or round barrows of the East. The passage graves, usually with round mounds, have an essentially Atlantic coast distribution from Iberia to the Orkneys. The long grave is found across the north European plain, frequently beneath long mounds, and often of non-Megalithic construction. In a study of tombs across Scotland, Audrey Henshall identified features, such as portals, facades and horns supporting this idea. She suggests that burial rituals had been carried out both inside and outside the tombs, and that their focus was in many cases concerned with fertility and continuity rites.
Ken Baynes studied burials in Wales and England. About the chambered tomb at Belas Knap, Gloucestershire, he reported that the portal probably represented the vagina of the Earth Mother Goddess.
Examining Scottish neolithic burial sites Cochran concluded: In Scotland, the term "womb tomb" almost always refers to chambered burial mounds. In this context it describes the general layout of the tomb, rather than describing a type of burial. It has also been used for specific pilgrimage sites for Christian as well as Muslim pilgrims.
Womb Tombs and the Saints.
In a recent research paper, Stadler & Nurit (2014) report of a "modern application" of the term “womb-tomb”. Religious architecture has long been known to symbolise parts of the human anatomy/social body and shaping a unique religious experience. Caves, the epitome of womb-like receptacles, served as venues for religious rituals before assuming residential functions. Stadler & Nurit (2014) also report that:
 "…. caves, the epitome of womb-like receptacles, served as venues for religious rituals before assuming residential functions ….. dark recesses were reserved for ceremonies that pertain to life, death and the after world. Regarded as the Earth’s wombs, caves were highly venerated places. Those containing a spring, which is reminiscent of the maternal fluids nourishing the unborn child, were considered to be especially sacrosanct…. these practices cover the entire life cycle, from birth to demise, reinforcing social order" "….."
Their arguments conclude as follows:
"….we argue that the womb tomb shrine constitutes a place for seeking preternatural intervention for infertility, fertility, illness and pain, and as such giving an opportunity to voice local identities, buttressing claims of nativeness, lands and resisting…"
This work has similar roots across different faiths and resonates with that of Marija Gimbutas (above). In Mesoamerican cosmology, the planet was generally deemed to be a female (Milbrath 1988:159-60, 1997), so that caves were closely associated with the Mother Earth/fertility goddess complex.


The Long Hair of Death

The Long Hair of Death () is a 1964 Italian horror film directed by Antonio Margheriti. It stars British actress Barbara Steele in the roles of Helen Rochefort and Mary, Italian actor George Ardisson as Kurt Humboldt, and Polish actress Halina Zalewska in a dual role as Adele Karnstein and her daughter Lisabeth. It is set in a 15th-century feudal castle, and the nearby village.
Plot.
In a 15th-century feudal village, Adele Karnstein is accused of witchcraft and burned at the stake. Her beautiful older daughter Helen knows the real reason for the execution is Count Franz Humboldt‘s sexual desire for her mother. After confronting the count, he kills Helen. Adele’s younger daughter, Lisabeth, is taken to live in the Humboldt castle. When she grows up Lisabeth is forced to marry the now deceased count’s worthless nephew, Kurt. A horrible and deadly plague sweeps the land. During a thunderstorm, a mysterious woman appears named Mary, strongly resembling Helen. In an atmosphere of cruelty, superstition, sexuality and the scourge of the plague, Mary begins to avenge Adele’s death.
Production.
"The Long Hair of Death" was written by Ernesto Gastaldi and Tonino Valerii. Gastaldi told Tim Lucas that Valerii had attempted to start his career as a director with the film, but that the producer had Antonio Margheriti chosen. Gastaldi also stated that the producer did not have Valerii direct as he had no experience at that time.
Most of the production was shot at Massimo Castle in Arsoli.
Release.
Produced by Felice Testa Gay's company Cinegai S.p.A., "I lunghi capelli della morte" was released in Italy on December 30, 1964 through the distributor U.N.I.D.I.S. It grossed a total of 321 million Italian lira on its theatrical release.
The film was released on DVD in the United States by East West Entertainment, as a double feature with "Terror-Creatures from the Grave", and through the Midnight Choir label as a double feature with "An Angel for Satan".
Reception.
In a contemporary review, the "Monthly Film Bulletin" found the film was "erratically scripted, unusually clumsily dubbed, and sagging badly in the middle"
it still had "enough good sequences to lift it well out of the rut" and was "a pleasingly atmospheric Gothic tale". The review compared Margheriti to Mario Bava, stating that he "hasn't quite the same gift as Bava for this sort of thing" but still "acquits himself creditably". The review also praised the acting of Halin Zalewska and Barbara Steele finding the latter to be "her usual extraordinary self".
In retrospective reviews, the film was called a "superior monochrome gothic". Roberto Curti, author of "Italian Gothic Horror Films" felt the film was not as strong as Margheriti's "Danza macabara" ("Castle of Blood"). Margheriti himself stated that he did not like the film, because he felt the script and story were of poor quality.
"Video Librarian" referred to the film as a "minor classic of Gothic horror" noting that it was "short on traditional horror set pieces (and plot)" but "boasts plenty of lovely imagery and ominous atmosphere."


Princess Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach

Princess and Margravine Albertina Frederica of Baden-Durlach (3 July 1682 – 22 December 1755) was a German princess. She was the daughter of Frederick VII, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and his wife Duchess Augusta Marie of Holstein-Gottorp. She married Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin.
Biography.
On 2 September 1704, she married Christian August of Holstein-Gottorp, Prince of Eutin.
In 1726, her husband died, and her eldest son became monarch. One year later, he died childless and her youngest son, Adolf Frederick, ascended the throne. Adolf Frederick was a minor, but was allowed to govern "with his mother's support" and guidance. She also gave him her estates Stendorf, Mönch-Neversdorf and Lenzahn to provide him with an income.
Through her paternal grandmother, Countess Palatine Christina Magdalena of Zweibrücken, a sister of King Charles X of Sweden, Albertina Frederica descended from the Swedish royal house, which is why her son in 1743 could be elected as the heir to the Swedish throne.


Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon

Richard de Redvers, 4th Earl of Devon (died 1193) was Earl of Devon from 1188 until his death and was feudal baron of Plympton in Devon.
He inherited the title on the death of his elder brother Baldwin de Redvers, 3rd Earl of Devon, who died childless. On his own death without issue the title passed to his uncle, William de Redvers, 5th Earl of Devon, third but only surviving son of the 1st Earl.


Muszyna

Muszyna is a town in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, southern Poland. Population: 4,989 (2006). It is a railroad junction, located near border with Slovakia, with trains going into three directions - towards Nowy Sącz, Krynica-Zdrój and southwards, to Slovakia. The distance to the border is .
Muszyna lies in the valley of the Poprad, above sea level. The town has the status of a spa, with Poprad Landscape Park and picturesque Poprad River Gorge located nearby.
History.
Muszyna's development is tied with proximity of the southern borders of the Polish state. The settlement was located along the so-called “Hungarian Trail”, as for centuries Slovakia belonged to the Kingdom of Hungary. Muszyna was first mentioned in 1209, in a document in which King Andrew II of Hungary allowed local parish priest to collect tolls at the Poprad river near Muszyna. At that time, the settlement belonged to the Niegowicki family (Półkozic coat of arms). In 1288 Muszyna passed into the hands of Bishops of Kraków, and in the early 14th century, King Władysław Łokietek, after a conflict with Bishop Jan Muskata, and the Rebellion of wójt Albert, decided to make the village a royal property. Muszyna remained in the hands of Polish kings for almost 100 years, and in 1356, it was granted Magdeburg rights town charter by King Kazimierz Wielki.
On July 30, 1391, King Władysław Jagiełło granted the so-called Muszyna State (with two towns and 35 villages) to the Bishops of Kraków. As a result, the Muszyna State ("Państwo Muszyńskie") was treated as a separate territorial unit, with its own administration, army and courts. On behalf of Kraków Bishops, the property was governed by starostas, and remained in the hands of the bishops until 1781. In the 15th century, influx of settlers from Wallachia and Transcarpathia resulted in construction of several Orthodox churches. Muszyna was an important center of the Bar Confederation, and after Partitions of Poland, it became part of Austrian Galicia, where it remained from 1772 to 1918.
Mineral springs.
In the 1920s, thanks to the efforts of mayor Antoni Jurczak and doctor Seweryn Msciwujewski, Muszyna received the status of a spa town. In 1930 it became a member of the Association of Polish Spa Towns, and in 1932, first mineral springs (Antoni and Wanda) were opened. Muszyna's mineral waters contain several bioelements and make it a popular tourist destination across Poland.


History of Switzerland

Since 1848 the Swiss Confederation has been a federal republic of relatively autonomous cantons, some of which have a history of confederacy that goes back more than 700 years, putting them among the world's oldest surviving republics.
The early history of the region is tied to that of Alpine culture. Switzerland was inhabited by the Helvetii, and it came under Roman rule in the 1st century BC. Gallo-Roman culture was amalgamated with Germanic influence during Late Antiquity, with the eastern part of Switzerland becoming Alemannic territory. The area of Switzerland was incorporated in the Frankish Empire in the 6th century. In the high medieval period, the eastern part became part of the Duchy of Swabia within the Holy Roman Empire while the western part was part of Burgundy.
The Old Swiss Confederacy in the late medieval period (the "Eight Cantons")
established its independence from the House of Habsburg and the Duchy of Burgundy, and in the Italian Wars gained territory south of the Alps from the Duchy of Milan.
The Swiss Reformation divided the Confederacy and resulted in a drawn-out history of internal strife between the "Thirteen Cantons" in the Early Modern period.
In the wake of the French Revolution, Switzerland fell to a French invasion in 1798 and was reformed into the Helvetic Republic, a French client state. Napoleon's "Act of Mediation" in 1803 restored the status of Switzerland as a Confederation, and after the end of the Napoleonic period, the Swiss Confederation underwent a period of turmoil culminating in a brief civil war in 1847 and the creation of a federal constitution in 1848.
The history of Switzerland since 1848 has been largely one of success and prosperity. Industrialisation transformed the traditionally agricultural economy, and Swiss neutrality during the World Wars and the success of the banking industry furthered the ascent of Switzerland to its status as one of the world's most stable economies.
Switzerland signed a free-trade agreement with the European Economic Community in 1972, and has participated in the process of European integration by way of bilateral treaties, but it has notably resisted full accession to the European Union (EU) even though its territory almost completely (except for the microstate Liechtenstein) has been surrounded by EU member states since 1995.
Early history.
Prehistory.
Archeological evidence suggests that hunter-gatherers were already settled in the lowlands north of the Alps in the Middle Paleolithic period 150,000 years ago. By the Neolithic period, the area was relatively densely populated. Remains of Bronze Age pile dwellings from as early as 3800 BC have been found in the shallow areas of many lakes. Around 1500 BC, Celtic tribes settled in the area. The Raetians lived in the eastern regions, while the west was occupied by the Helvetii.
A female who died in about 200 B.C was found buried in a carved tree trunk during a construction project at the Kern school complex in March 2017 in Aussersihl. Archaeologists revealed that she was approximately 40 years old when she died and likely carried out little physical labor when she was alive. A sheepskin coat, a belt chain, a fancy wool dress, a scarf and a pendant made of glass and amber beads were also discovered with the woman.
Antiquity.
In 58 BC, the Helvetii tried to evade migratory pressure from Germanic tribes by moving into Gaul, but were defeated by Julius Caesar's armies and then sent back. The alpine region became integrated into the Roman Empire and was extensively romanized in the course of the following centuries. The center of Roman administration was at "Aventicum" (Avenches). In 259, Alamanni tribes overran the Limes, putting the settlements on Swiss territory on the frontier of the Roman Empire.
The first Christian bishoprics were founded in the fourth century.
With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Germanic tribes entered the area. Burgundians settled in the west; while in the north, Alamanni settlers slowly forced the earlier Celto-Roman population to retreat into the mountains. Burgundy became a part of the kingdom of the Franks in 534; two years later, the dukedom of the Alamans followed suit. In the Alaman-controlled region, only isolated Christian communities continued to exist and Irish monks re-introduced the Christian faith in the early 7th century.
Medieval period.
Under the Carolingian kings, the feudal system proliferated, and monasteries and bishoprics were important bases for maintaining the rule. The Treaty of Verdun of 843 assigned Upper Burgundy (the western part of what is today Switzerland) to Lotharingia, and Alemannia (the eastern part) to the eastern kingdom of Louis the German which would become part of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 10th century, as the rule of the Carolingians waned, Magyars destroyed Basel in 917 and St. Gallen in 926. Only after the victory of King Otto I over the Magyars in 955 in the Battle of Lechfeld, were the Swiss territories reintegrated into the empire.
In the 12th century, the dukes of Zähringen were given authority over part of the Burgundy territories which covered the western part of modern Switzerland. They founded many cities, including Fribourg in 1157, and Bern in 1191. The Zähringer dynasty ended with the death of Berchtold V in 1218, and their cities subsequently became "reichsfrei" (essentially a city-state within the Holy Roman Empire), while the dukes of Kyburg competed with the house of Habsburg over control of the rural regions of the former Zähringer territory.
Under the Hohenstaufen rule, the alpine passes in Raetia and the St Gotthard Pass gained importance. The latter especially became an important direct route through the mountains. Uri (in 1231) and Schwyz (in 1240) were accorded the "Reichsfreiheit" to grant the empire direct control over the mountain pass. Most of the territory of Unterwalden at this time belonged to monasteries which had previously become reichsfrei.
The extinction of the Kyburg dynasty paved the way for the Habsburg dynasty to bring much of the territory south of the Rhine under their control, aiding their rise to power. Rudolph of Habsburg, who became King of Germany in 1273, effectively revoked the status of "Reichsfreiheit" granted to the "Forest Cantons" of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden. The Forest Cantons thus lost their independent status and were governed by reeves.
Old Confederacy (1300–1798).
Late Medieval period.
On 1 August 1291, the cantons of Uri, Schwyz, and Unterwalden united to defend the peace upon the death of Emperor Rudolf I of Habsburg, forming the nucleus of the Old Swiss Confederacy.
By 1353, the three original cantons had been joined by the cantons of Glarus and Zug and the city states of Lucerne, Zürich, and Bern, forming the "Old Federation" of eight states that persisted during much of the 15th century.
At the battle of Sempach 1386, the Swiss defeated the Habsburgs, gaining increased autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire.
Zürich was expelled from the Confederation from 1440 to 1450 due to a conflict over the territory of Toggenburg (the Old Zürich War). The Confederation's power and wealth increased significantly, with victories over Charles the Bold of Burgundy during the 1470s and the success of Swiss mercenaries.
The traditional listing order of the cantons of Switzerland reflects this state, listing the eight "Old Cantons" first, with the city states preceding the founding cantons, followed by cantons that joined the Confederation after 1481, in historical order.
The Swiss defeated the Swabian League in 1499 and gained greater collective autonomy within the Holy Roman Empire, including exemption from the Imperial reforms of 1495 and immunity from most Imperial courts. In 1506, Pope Julius II engaged the Swiss Guard, which continues to serve the papacy to the present day. The expansion of the Confederation and the reputation of invincibility acquired during the earlier wars suffered a first setback in 1515 with the Swiss defeat in the Battle of Marignano.
Reformation.
The Reformation in Switzerland began in 1523, led by Huldrych Zwingli, priest of the Great Minster church in Zürich since 1518. Zürich adopted the Protestant religion, joined by Berne, Basel, and Schaffhausen, while Lucerne, Uri, Schwyz, Nidwalden, Zug, Fribourg and Solothurn remained Catholic. Glarus and Appenzell were split. This led to multiple inter-cantonal religious wars ("Kappeler Kriege") in 1529 and 1531, because each canton usually made the opposing religion illegal, and to the formation of two diets, the Protestant one meeting in Aarau and the Catholic one in Lucerne (as well as the formal full diet still meeting usually in Baden) but the Confederation survived.
Early Modern Switzerland.
During the Thirty Years' War, Switzerland was a relative "oasis of peace and prosperity" ("Grimmelshausen") in war-torn Europe, mostly because all major powers in Europe depended on Swiss mercenaries, and would not let Switzerland fall into the hands of one of their rivals. Politically, they all tried to take influence, by way of mercenary commanders such as Jörg Jenatsch or Johann Rudolf Wettstein. The "Drei Bünde" of Grisons, at that point not yet a member of the Confederacy, were involved in the war from 1620, which led to their loss of the Valtellina in 1623.
At the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, Switzerland attained legal independence from the Holy Roman Empire. The Valtellina became a dependency of the "Drei Bünde" again after the Treaty and remained so until the founding of the Cisalpine Republic by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1797.
In 1653, peasants of territories subject to Lucerne, Bern, Solothurn, and Basel revolted because of currency devaluation. Although the authorities prevailed in this Swiss peasant war, they did pass some tax reforms and the incident in the long term prevented an absolutist development as would occur at some other courts of Europe. The confessional tensions remained, however, and erupted again in the First War of Villmergen, in 1656, and the Toggenburg War (or Second War of Villmergen), in 1712.
Napoleonic period and aftermath (1798–1848).
French invasion and Helvetic Republic.
During the French Revolutionary Wars, the French army invaded Switzerland and turned it into an ally known as the "Helvetic Republic" (1798–1803). It had a central government with little role for cantons. The interference with localism and traditional liberties was deeply resented, although some modernizing reforms took place.
Resistance was strongest in the more traditional Catholic bastions, with armed uprisings breaking out in spring 1798 in the central part of Switzerland. The French Army suppressed the uprisings but support for revolutionary ideas steadily declined. The reform element was weak, and most Swiss resented their loss of local democracy, the centralization, the new taxes, the warfare, and the hostility to religion.
Major steps taken to emancipate the Jews included the repeal of special taxes and oaths in 1798. However, reaction took place in 1815, and not until 1879 were the Jews granted equal rights with the Christians.
In 1803, Napoleon's Act of Mediation partially restored the sovereignty of the cantons, and the former tributary and allied territories of Aargau, Thurgau, Grisons, St. Gallen, Vaud and Ticino became cantons with equal rights. Napoleon and his enemies fought numerous campaigns in Switzerland that ruined many localities.
Restoration and Regeneration.
The Congress of Vienna of 1814–15 fully reestablished Swiss independence and the European powers agreed to recognize permanent Swiss neutrality. At this time, Valais, Neuchâtel and Geneva also joined Switzerland as new cantons, thereby extending Swiss territory to its current boundaries.
The long-term impact of the French Revolution has been assessed as (by William Martin):
On 6 April 1814, the so-called "Long Diet" (delegates from all the nineteen cantons) met at Zurich to replace the constitution.
Cantonal constitutions were worked out independently from 1814, in general restoring the late feudal conditions of the 17th and 18th century. The Tagsatzung was re-organized by the Federal Treaty ("Bundesvertrag") of 7 August 1815.
The liberal Free Democratic Party of Switzerland was strong in the largely Protestant cantons obtained the majority in the Federal Diet in the early 1840s. It proposed a new Constitution for the Swiss Confederation which would draw the several cantons into a closer relationship. In addition to the centralization of the Swiss government, the new Constitution also included protections for trade and other progressive reform measures. The Federal Diet, with the approval of a majority of cantons, had taken measures against the Catholic Church such as the closure of monasteries and convents in Aargau in 1841, and the seizure of their properties. Catholic Lucerne, in retaliation, in 1844 recalled the Jesuits to head its education. That succeeded and seven Catholic cantons formed the "Sonderbund." This caused a liberal-radical move in the Protestant cantons to take control of the national Diet in 1847. The Diet ordered the Sonderbund dissolved, igniting a small-scale civil war against rural cantons were strongholds of pro-Catholic ultramontanism.
Sonderbund War of 1847.
The Radical-liberal-Protestant element charged that the "Sonderbund" was in violation of the Federal Treaty of 1815, §6 of which expressly forbade such separate alliances. Forming a majority in the Tagsatzung they decided to dissolve the Sonderbund on October 21, 1847. The odds were against the Catholics, who were heavily outnumbered in population; they were outnumbered in soldiers by 79,000 to 99,000, and lacked enough well-trained soldiers, officers and generals. When the Sonderbund refused to disband, the national army attacked in a brief civil war between the Catholic and the Protestant cantons, known as the "Sonderbundskrieg" ("Sonderbund War".) The national army was composed of soldiers of all the other cantons except Neuchâtel and Appenzell Innerrhoden (which remained neutral). The Sonderbund was easily defeated in less than a month; there were about 130 killed. Apart from small riots, this was the last armed conflict on Swiss territory. Many Sonderband leaders fled to Italy, but the victors were generous. They invited the defeated cantons to join them in a program of federal reform, and a new constitution was drafted along American lines. National issues were to be under the control of the national parliament, and the Jesuits were expelled. The Swiss voted heavily in favor of the new constitution by 2 million against 300,000. Switzerland became calm. However conservatives around Europe became frightened, and prepared their own forces to meet possible challenges, which indeed soon exploded the Revolutions of 1848. In those violent revolutions, outside Switzerland, the conservatives were always successful.
Modern Switzerland (1848–present).
Industrialisation.
As a consequence of the civil war, Switzerland adopted a federal constitution in 1848, amending it extensively in 1874 and establishing federal responsibility for defense, trade, and legal matters, leaving all other matters to the cantonal governments. From then, and over much of the 20th century, continuous political, economic, and social improvement has characterized Swiss history.
While Switzerland was primarily rural, the cities experienced an industrial revolution in the late 19th century, focused especially on textiles. In Basel, for example, textiles, including silk, were the leading industry. In 1888 women made up 44% of the wage earners. Nearly half the women worked in the textile mills, with household servants the second largest job category. The share of women in the workforce was higher between 1890 and 1910 than it was in the late 1960s and 1970s.
Swiss Universities in the late 19th century are notable for the number of female students receiving medical education.
World Wars (1914–1945).
The major powers respected Switzerland's neutrality during World War I. In the Grimm–Hoffmann Affair, the Allies denounced a proposal by one politician to negotiate peace on the Eastern Front; they wanted the war there to continue so as to tie Germany down.
While the industrial sector began to grow in the mid-19th century, Switzerland's emergence as one of the most prosperous nations in Europe—the "Swiss miracle"—was a development of the short 20th century, among other things tied to the role of Switzerland during the World Wars.
Germany considered invading Switzerland during World War II, but never attacked. Under General Henri Guisan, the Swiss army prepared for mass mobilization of militia forces against invasion, and prepared strong, well-stockpiled positions high in the Alps known as the "Réduit". Switzerland remained independent and neutral through a combination of military deterrence, economic concessions to Germany, and good fortune as larger events during the war delayed an invasion.
Attempts by Switzerland's small Nazi party to cause an "Anschluss" with Germany failed miserably, largely due to Switzerland's multicultural heritage, strong sense of national identity, and long tradition of direct democracy and civil liberties. The Swiss press vigorously criticized the Third Reich, often infuriating German leaders. Switzerland was an important base for espionage by both sides in the conflict and often mediated communications between the Axis and Allied powers.
Switzerland's trade was blockaded by both the Allies and by the Axis. Both sides openly exerted pressure on Switzerland not to trade with the other. Economic cooperation and extension of credit to the Third Reich varied according to the perceived likelihood of invasion, and the availability of other trading partners. Concessions reached their zenith after a crucial rail link through Vichy France was severed in 1942, leaving Switzerland completely surrounded by the Axis. Switzerland relied on trade for half of its food and essentially all of its fuel, but controlled vital trans-alpine rail tunnels between Germany and Italy.
Switzerland's most important exports during the war were precision machine tools, watches, jewel bearings (used in bombsights), electricity, and dairy products. During World War Two, the Swiss franc was the only remaining major freely convertible currency in the world, and both the Allies and the Germans sold large amounts of gold to the Swiss National Bank. Between 1940 and 1945, the German Reichsbank sold 1.3 billion francs worth of gold to Swiss Banks in exchange for Swiss francs and other foreign currency.
Hundreds of millions of francs worth of this gold was monetary gold plundered from the central banks of occupied countries. 581,000 francs of "Melmer" gold taken from Holocaust victims in eastern Europe was sold to Swiss banks. In total, trade between Germany and Switzerland contributed about 0.5% to the German war effort but did not significantly lengthen the war.
Over the course of the war, Switzerland interned 300,000 refugees. 104,000 of these were foreign troops interned according to the Rights and Duties of Neutral Powers outlined in the Hague Conventions. The rest were foreign civilians and were either interned or granted tolerance or residence permits by the cantonal authorities. Refugees were not allowed to hold jobs. 60,000 of the refugees were civilians escaping persecution by the Nazis. Of these, 26,000 to 27,000 were Jews. Between 10,000 and 25,000 civilian refugees were refused entry. At the beginning of the war, Switzerland had a Jewish population of between 18,000 and 28,000 and a total population of about 4 million.
Within Switzerland at the time of the conflict there was moderate polarization. Some were pacifists. Some took sides according to international capitalism or international communism. Others leaned more towards their language group, with some in French-speaking areas more pro-Allied, and some in Swiss-German areas more pro-Axis. The government attempted to thwart the activities of any individual, party, or faction in Switzerland that acted with extremism or attempted to break the unity of the nation. The Swiss-German speaking areas moved linguistically further away from the standard (high) German spoken in Germany, with more emphasis on local Swiss dialects.
In the 1960s, significant controversy arose among historians regarding the nation's relations with Nazi Germany.
By the 1990s the controversies included a class-action lawsuit brought in New York over Jewish assets in Holocaust-era bank accounts. The government commissioned an authoritative study of Switzerland's interaction with the Nazi regime. The final report by this independent panel of international scholars, known as the Bergier Commission, was issued in 2002.
History after 1945.
During the Cold War, Swiss authorities considered the construction of a Swiss nuclear bomb. Leading nuclear physicists at the Federal Institute of Technology Zurich such as Paul Scherrer made this a realistic possibility. However, financial problems with the defense budget prevented the substantial funds from being allocated, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968 was seen as a valid alternative. All remaining plans for building nuclear weapons were dropped by 1988.
From 1959, the Federal Council, elected by the parliament, is composed of members of the four major parties, the Protestant Free Democrats, the Catholic Christian Democrats, the left-wing Social Democrats and the right-wing People's Party, essentially creating a system without a sizeable parliamentary opposition (see concordance system), reflecting the powerful position of an opposition in a direct democracy.
In 1963, Switzerland joined the Council of Europe. In 1979, parts of the canton of Bern attained independence, forming the new canton of Jura.
Switzerland's role in many United Nations and international organizations helped to mitigate the country's concern for neutrality. In 2002, Switzerland voters gave 55% of their vote in favour of the UN and joined the United Nations. This followed decades of debate and its previous rejection of membership in 1986 by a 3-1 popular vote.
Women's suffrage in Switzerland was introduced by popular vote in 1971. An equal rights amendment was ratified in 1981.
Switzerland is not a member state of the EU, but has been (together with Liechtenstein) surrounded by EU territory since the joining of Austria in 1995. In 2005, Switzerland agreed to join the Schengen treaty and Dublin Convention by popular vote. In February 2014, Swiss voters approved a referendum to reinstitute quotas on immigration to Switzerland, setting off a period of finding an implementation that would not violate the EU's freedom of movement accords that Switzerland adopted.
Order of accession of the cantons.
The order of precedence of the Swiss cantons given in the federal constitution follows the historical order of accession except for the three city cantons of Zürich, Bern and Lucerne placed at the top.
See also.
General:


John Seyre

John Seyre (or Feyre) was a pre-Reformation cleric who served as the Bishop of Sodor and Man in the 15th-century.
He was appointed bishop of the Diocese of Sodor and Man by papal provision on 10 October 1435 and consecrated on 11 November 1435. It is not known when his episcopate ended, but his successor Thomas Burton was appointed on 25 September 1455.
References.


Vest Recklinghausen

Vest Recklinghausen was an ecclesiastical territory in the Holy Roman Empire, located in the center of today's North Rhine-Westphalia. The rivers Emscher and Lippe formed the border with the County of Mark and Essen Abbey in the south, and to the Bishopric of Münster in the north. In the east, a fortification secured the border with Dortmund and in the west it was bordered by the Duchy of Cleves.
Today Vest Recklinghausen is part of the district of Recklinghausen, with parts of Gelsenkirchen, Oberhausen and Bottrop now added to the administration of Vest Recklinghausen. The term "Vest", which denotes a type of judicial district, is still used locally, for instance by both a local radio station and museum.
History.
Lordship of Vest Recklinghausen.
Vest Recklinghausen was first mentioned in 1228 as a fiefdom of the Archbishopric of Cologne and thus it belonged to the Electoral Rhenish Circle. The administrator lived in castle Westerholt, located in Herten. From 1446 to 1576 it was used as collateral, first pawned to the lords of Gemen (now part of the city Borken) and after 1492 to the Lords of Schauenburg and Holstein-Pinneberg, who pawned the territory back to the Archbishops of Cologne in 1576.
During the Cologne War (1583–1589), Vest Recklinghausen was occupied and sacked several times by troops from both sides of the conflict. In 1583, although much of the territory was already Protestant, the Calvinist Elector of Cologne, Gebhard, Truchsess von Waldburg and his wife, Agnes, ordered the destruction of the icons and decorative elements of the churches. In 1584, the territory was sacked again, this time by the competing archbishop, Ernst of Bavaria. In 1586, the territory was invaded by Martin Schenck and Hermann Cloedt, who caused great damage to the farms and small villages, and were besieged by Claude de Berlaymont, also known as Haultpenne, in the city of Werl.
After the turmoil of the Cologne Wars, the administration of Vest Recklinghausen was divided in (circa 1600) in two districts: Recklinghausen continued to administer the eastern section, but Dorsten assumed responsibility for the western section. The town of Recklinghausen including the parish of Recklinghausen and the filial parishes Ahsen, Datteln, Flaesheim, Hamm-Bossendorf, Henrichenburg, Herten, Horneburg, Oer, Suderwich, Waltrop and Westerholt appertained to the eastern part of the Vest Recklinghausen. The western parishes included Dorsten and the parishes Dorsten, Bottrop, Buer, Gladbeck, Horst, Kirchhellen, Marl, Osterfeld and Polsum.
On 4 September 1614 Ferdinand of Bavaria, the successor to his uncle, Ernst of Bavaria, as the Elector of Cologne, forbade non-Catholics from staying in Vest Recklinghausen.
During the secularization of the ecclesiastical states in 1802–03, also known as the German Mediatisation, the electorate was abolished and Vest Recklinghausen was annexed by the Lords of Arenberg. In 1811 it was added to the Grand Duchy of Berg and in 1815 became part of the Prussian province of Westphalia.


Battle of Dragoslavele

The Battle of Dragoslavele was a military engagement fought between Romanian forces on one side and Central Powers forces (Germany and Austria-Hungary) on the other. It was part of the Romanian Campaign of World War I. The battle resulted in a Romanian victory and the effective end of Central Powers advances in the area.
Background.
The Central Powers forces in the area were represented by Curt von Morgen's I Reserve Corps, a mixed combat group with German and Austro-Hungarian units. The Romanian forces consisted in elements of the Romanian 1st Army, namely the 12th and 22nd Divisions. The 12th Division had been part of the 1st Army since the beginning of the campaign, while the 22nd Division had only recently been assigned to the 1st Army. The 1st Army was at that time commanded by General , who had replaced General Ioan Dragalina on 25 October, after the latter was wounded in action. Von Morgen had succeeded in clearing the Bran/Törzburg Pass by 12 October. However, there was a second ridge to the south of Câmpulung, meaning that the road into Wallachia would be open only when the town and the heights beyond it had been captured.
Battle.
On 14 October, the Austro-Hungarian 8th Mountain Brigade of von Morgen's I Reserve Corps seized Rucăr, south of the Bran/Törzburg Pass. Marching through roadless, rugged terrain, the Austro-Hungarians caught the inexperienced Romanian 12th and 22nd Divisions by surprise, and turned their flank. On 26 October, Morgen's forces attacked violently near Dragoslavele, but were repulsed by the Romanians. On 27 October, the Romanians counter-attacked at Dragoslavele, taking 300 prisoners.
Aftermath.
Von Morgen's efforts to press on faltered at Dragoslavele. Although his Corps was a tantalizing 8 miles from Câmpulung, Morgen's forces would make little further progress throughout the following month. Having retaken the initiative in this sector of the front, the Romanians pressed on their attack and - on the following day (28 October) - recaptured the village of Lerești. The village had been taken by the Central Powers a short while prior.
Câmpulung was finally taken on 29 November, but not because the Romanian defenses faltered. Despite repeated attacks, the Germans had failed to break through the Romanian lines. However, not allowing its western flank to be enveloped, the Romanian 1st Army retreated towards the east, and the unbroken Romanian defenses had to be abandoned one by one. Ultimately, it was the advance from the west of other German troops that finally allowed Morgen's forces to occupy Câmpulung.
Von Morgen argued that much more of the Romanian Army could have been captured if a breakthrough would have been achieved at Câmpulung. He insisted that this would have achieved "a real victory, a Cannae, a Tannenberg".


George Rainy

George Rainy (6 June 1790—9 June 1863) was a Scottish merchant, slave owner and land owner. In the early 1800s, Rainy became involved in sugar plantations in the Caribbean which were worked by African slaves in Demerara in Guiana. Due to extensive family connections he eventually became a full partner in the Sandbach, Tinne & Company, a Scottish-ran company which dealt in trade in the same field and was prominent in British Guiana, to the extent that the men who were ran it were called the "Rothschilds of Demerara" on account of their wealth and influence. After the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in the British Empire in the 1830s, Rainy became involved in the Highland Clearances. Using monies from the payout to former slave-owners following the Slavery Abolition Act 1833, he purchased the islands of Raasay, Rona and Fladda from Clan MacLeod in 1846: he removed from the land twelve townships of ninety-four Gaelic Highlander families to make way for sheep farming, causing mass depopulation and displacement on the islands.
Biography.
Background.
George Rainy was born to Rev. George Rainy (1734—1810), a Presbyterian Church of Scotland minister in Creich, Sutherland, Scotland and his wife Ann Robertson. His grandfather had been John Rennie, a farmer in Turriff, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Among George's siblings were Margaret Rainy (1774—1844), who married to Charles Parker (1771–1828), from a Scottish family in the Colony of Virginia and a major player in Sandbach, Tinne & Company, which ran sugarcane plantations in Demerara, Guiana. In addition to this, there was a brother Gilbert Rainy (1782—1808) who had gone to Berbice, Guiana to engage in the same trade. Harry Rainy, the noted pathologist and Professor of Forensic Medicine at the University of Glasgow was another brother, making George Rainy the uncle of Robert Rainy a Scottish Presbyterian divine for whom Rainy Hall in New College, Edinburgh is named.
Plantations in Guiana.
George Rainy followed his brother, Gilbert Rainy, into the sugar trade in Guiana. He became associated with the Scottish-dominated, Liverpool-based company Sandbach, Tinne & Company. This company had been founded in 1790 when his uncle George Robertson, who had been trading in Grenada and his future brother-in-law Charles Parker joined with Samuel Sandbach and the Demerara merchant James McInroy (1759–1825) to create what was originally known as McInroy, Sandbach & Company. This business had been described as the "Rothschilds of Demerara" in the 1820s. It would become one of the most successful trading companies in the Caribbean, dealing with sugar plantations in the Caribbean which were worked by African slaves. These families created strong connections to each other through marriage. By the time that George Rainy joined the company as a partner in Liverpool it had become Sandbach, Tinne & Company.
According to the journal of J.C. Cheveley, who visited in 1821, the estates in Demerara containing the slave-worked sugar plantations, were heavily mortgaged to Sandbach, Tinne & Company. He stated that many estates which were mortgaged out had to rely on the company for shipping out sugar on ships own by them, through their agents in Guiana and Britain. According to the "Legacies of British Slave-Ownership" at the University College London, Rainy was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £ in ) with interest from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Rainy had a large number of primary and secondary claims, thirty in total. Rainy owned 2793 slaves in Guiana and received a £146,295 payment at the time (worth £ in ). Some Scottish newspapers such as "The Sunday Post" have claimed that Rainy received the largest payout of all the slave owners. The largest plantations which Rainy owned in Guiana were Leonora, Zeelandia, La Jalousie & Fellowship, among others.
Highland Clearances.
As the Atlantic slave trade and the triangular trade associated with it was brought to an end, Rainy returned to Britain. In 1846, George Rainy bought the islands of Raasay, Rona and Fladda, a group of islands in the "Gàidhealtachd", between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. The island had been ruled by Clan Macleod of Raasay for several centuries but had declined in the aftermath of their clan rallying to the standard of Charles Edward Stuart in the Jacobite rising of 1745. The last laird, John Macleod, was deep in debt and chose to emigrate to Tasmania having sold Raasay for 35,000 guineas to Rainy. During this period, with the decline of traditional culture in the Scottish Highlands, many land speculators and landlords moved in to "improve" the estate; the main purpose of this was to clear the native Highland Gaels from the lands, either to urban centres in Great Britain or abroad to North America and Australasia, to make way for sheep farming. This was known as the Highland Clearances. When Rainy came to control Raasay, he set about implementing this process on the island and has been described as "a cruel landlord who epitomised the horror of the Clearances." There had been a steady drip of emigration from the island in the previous two decades, but when Rainy came to control the islands, this went into overdrive.
Donald MacLeod (born 1805), a crofter from Torran, Raasay provided testimony to the Napier Commission on 22 May 1883 in regards to abuses under Rainy's tenure at Raasay. He stated that when Rainy came to control the island he enacted a rule that nobody should marry on the island, so that the local natives could not reproduce their population. This has been described as "a measure of control reminiscent of the slave plantations". MacLeod described an incident where a man by the name of John MacLeod decided to marry, contrary to Rainy's ruling and to make an example of him, he was removed from his father's house, then fled to stay in a sheep cot, but that was set on fire as well and none of his friends or anybody else would dare to give him shelter for the night. Rainy cleared twelve townships of their inhabitants in total to set up sheep farming, with ninety-four Highland Scots families forced from the island, causing mass depopulation and displacement. The Scottish poet and Raasay-native Sorley MacLean authored the Scottish Gaelic poem "Hallaig" about the Rainy years on Raasay.
Personal life.
George Rainy was married three times; firstly to Margaret Jessie Louisa Darroch, the daughter of Lieutenant General Duncan Darroch, 2nd Baron of Gourock from the Glengarry Fencibles. She died without issue in 1840. After this, Rainy took Elizabeth Haygarth as his second wife, she was the daughter of Rev. George Haygarth, she died in 1856. The couple did have a child together, Rainy's one and only son; George Haygarth Rainy (1845—1872), he died in his 20s without issue. Thirdly, Rainy married Isabella Rudlin, the widow of the Rev. George Hingston. No issue came from this marriage. After the death of George Haygarth Rainy the trustees of his estate disposed the Rainy controlled lands in the Inner Hebrides in favour of George Grant MacKay of Rosehall and Oban. George Rainy had two daughters who were born in Demerara. They returned with him to England in 1837 and later the sisters emigrated to Australia.