Normans

The Normans (Norman: "Normaunds"; ; ) were inhabitants of the early medieval Duchy of Normandy, descended from Norse Vikings (after whom Normandy was named), indigenous Franks and Gallo-Romans. The term is also used to denote emigrants from the duchy who conquered other territories such as England and Sicily. The settlements in France followed a series of raids on the French coast mainly from Denmark – although some also came from Norway and Sweden – and gained political legitimacy when the Viking leader Rollo agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the siege of Chartres in 911 AD. The intermingling of Norse settlers and native Franks and Gallo-Romans in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries.
The Norman dynasty had a major political, cultural and military impact on medieval Europe and the Near East. The Normans were famed for their martial spirit and eventually for their Catholic piety, becoming exponents of the Catholic orthodoxy of the Romance community. The original Norse settlers adopted the Gallo-Romance language of the Frankish land they settled, their Old Norman dialect becoming known as Norman, Normaund or Norman French, an important literary language which is still spoken today in parts of Normandy (Cotentinais and Cauchois dialects) and the nearby Channel Islands (Jèrriais and Guernésiais). The Duchy of Normandy, which they formed by treaty with the French crown, was a great fief of medieval France, and under Richard I of Normandy was forged into a cohesive and formidable principality in feudal tenure. By the end of the reign of Richard I of Normandy in 996 (byname "Richard sans Peur" meaning Richard the Fearless), the descendants of the Norse settlers of the province were, according to Cambridge Medieval History (Volume 5, Chapter XV), "not only Christians but in all essentials Frenchmen".
The Normans are noted both for their culture, such as their unique Romanesque architecture and musical traditions, and for their significant military accomplishments and innovations. Norman adventurers played a role in founding the Kingdom of Sicily under Roger II after briefly conquering southern Italy and Malta from the Saracens and Byzantines, and an expedition on behalf of their duke, William the Conqueror, led to the Norman conquest of England at the historic Battle of Hastings in 1066. Norman and Anglo-Norman forces contributed to the Iberian Reconquista from the early eleventh to the mid-thirteenth centuries.
Norman cultural and military influence spread from these new European centres to the Crusader states of the Near East, where their prince Bohemond I founded the Principality of Antioch in the Levant, to Scotland and Wales in Great Britain, to Ireland, and to the coasts of north Africa and the Canary Islands. The legacy of the Normans persists today through the regional languages and dialects of France, England, Spain, Quebec and Sicily, and also through the various cultural, judicial, and political arrangements they introduced in their conquered territories.
Etymology.
The English name "Normans" comes from the French words "Normans"/"Normanz", plural of "Normant", modern French "normand", which is itself borrowed from Old Low Franconian "Nortmann" "Northman" or directly from Old Norse "Norðmaðr", Latinized variously as "Nortmannus", "Normannus", or "Nordmannus" (recorded in Medieval Latin, 9th century) to mean "Norseman, Viking".
The 11th century Benedictine monk and historian, Goffredo Malaterra, characterised the Normans thus:
Settling of Normandy.
In the course of the 10th century, the initially destructive incursions of Norse war bands going upstream into the rivers of France penetrated further into interior Europe, and evolved into more permanent encampments that included local French women and personal property. From 885 to 886, Odo of Paris (Eudes de Paris) succeeded in defending Paris against Viking raiders (one of the leaders was Sigfred) with his fighting skills, fortification of Paris and tactical shrewdness. In 911, Robert I of France, brother of Odo, again defeated another band of Viking warriors in Chartres with his well-trained horsemen. This victory paved the way for Rollo's baptism and settlement in Normandy The Duchy of Normandy, which began in 911 as a fiefdom, was established by the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III (Charles the Simple) (879–929, ruled 893–929) of West Francia and the famed Viking ruler Rollo also known as Gaange Rolf (c. 846-c. 929), from Scandinavia, and was situated in the former Frankish kingdom of Neustria. The treaty offered Rollo and his men the French coastal lands along the English Channel between the river Epte and the Atlantic Ocean coast in exchange for their protection against further Viking incursions. As well as promising to protect the area of Rouen from Viking invasion, Rollo swore not to invade further Frankish lands himself, accepted baptism and conversion to Christianity and swore fealty to King Charles III. Robert I of France stood as godfather during Rollo's baptism. He became the first Duke of Normandy and Count of Rouen. The area corresponded to the northern part of present-day Upper Normandy down to the river Seine, but the Duchy would eventually extend west beyond the Seine. The territory was roughly equivalent to the old province of Rouen, and reproduced the old Roman Empire's administrative structure of "Gallia Lugdunensis II" (part of the former "Gallia Lugdunensis" in Gaul).
Before Rollo's arrival, Normandy's populations did not differ from Picardy or the Île-de-France, which were considered "Frankish". Earlier Viking settlers had begun arriving in the 880s, but were divided between colonies in the east (Roumois and Pays de Caux) around the low Seine valley and in the west in the Cotentin Peninsula, and were separated by traditional "pagii", where the population remained about the same with almost no foreign settlers. Rollo's contingents from Scandinavia who raided and ultimately settled Normandy and parts of the European Atlantic coast included Danes, Norwegians, Norse–Gaels, Orkney Vikings, possibly Swedes, and Anglo-Danes from the English Danelaw territory which earlier came under Norse control in the early 11th century.
The descendants of Vikings replaced the Norse religion and Old Norse language with Catholicism (Christianity) and the Langue d'oil of the local people, descending from the Latin of the Romans. The Norman language (Norman French) was forged by the adoption of the indigenous "langue d'oïl" branch of Romance by a Norse-speaking ruling class, and it developed into the French regional languages that survive today.
The Normans thereafter adopted the growing feudal doctrines of the rest of France, and worked them into a functional hierarchical system in both Normandy and in Norman dominated England. The new Norman rulers were culturally and ethnically distinct from the old French aristocracy, most of whom traced their lineage to the Franks of the Carolingian dynasty from the days of Charlemagne in the 9th century. Most Norman knights remained poor and land-hungry, and by the time of the expedition and invasion of England in 1066, Normandy had been exporting fighting horsemen for more than a generation. Many Normans of Italy, France and England eventually served as avid Crusaders soldiers under the Italo-Norman prince Bohemund I of Antioch and the Anglo-Norman king Richard the Lion-Heart, one of the more famous and illustrious Kings of England.
Conquests and military offensives.
Italy.
Opportunistic bands of Normans successfully established a foothold in southern Italy. Probably as the result of returning pilgrims' stories, the Normans entered southern Italy as warriors in 1017 at the latest. In 999, according to Amatus of Montecassino, Norman pilgrims returning from Jerusalem called in at the port of Salerno when a Saracen attack occurred. The Normans fought so valiantly that Prince Guaimar III begged them to stay, but they refused and instead offered to tell others back home of the Prince's request. William of Apulia tells that, in 1016, Norman pilgrims to the shrine of the Archangel Michael at Monte Gargano were met by Melus of Bari, a Lombard nobleman and rebel, who persuaded them to return with more warriors to help throw off the Byzantine rule, which they did.
The two most prominent Norman families to arrive in the Mediterranean were descendants of Tancred of Hauteville and the Drengot family.
A group of Normans with at least five brothers from the Drengot family fought the Byzantines in Apulia under the command of Melo di Bari. Between 1016 and 1024, in a fragmented political context, the County of Ariano was founded by another group of Norman knights headed by Gilbert Buatère and hired by Melo di Bari. Defeated at Cannae, Melo di Bari escaped to Bamberg, Germany, where he died in 1022. The County, which replaced the pre-existing chamberlainship, is considered to be the first political body established by the Normans in the South of Italy.
Then Rainulf Drengot, from the same family, received the county of Aversa from Duke Sergius IV of Naples in 1030.
The Hauteville family achieved princely rank by proclaiming Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno "Duke of Apulia and Calabria". He promptly awarded their elected leader, William Iron Arm, with the title of count in his capital of Melfi. The Drengot family thereafter attained the principality of Capua, and Emperor Henry III legally ennobled the Hauteville leader, Drogo, as ""dux et magister Italiae comesque Normannorum totius Apuliae et Calabriae" ("Duke and Master of Italy and Count of the Normans of all Apulia and Calabria"") in 1047.
From these bases, the Normans eventually captured Sicily and Malta from the Saracens, under the leadership of the famous Robert Guiscard, a Hauteville, and his younger brother Roger the Great Count. Roger's son, Roger II of Sicily, was crowned king in 1130 (exactly one century after Rainulf was "crowned" count) by Antipope Anacletus II. The Kingdom of Sicily lasted until 1194, when it was transferred to the House of Hohenstaufen through marriage. The Normans left their legacy in many castles, such as William Iron Arm's citadel at Squillace, and cathedrals, such as Roger II's Cappella Palatina at Palermo, which dot the landscape and give a distinct architectural flavor to accompany its unique history.
Institutionally, the Normans combined the administrative machinery of the Byzantines, Arabs, and Lombards with their own conceptions of feudal law and order to forge a unique government. Under this state, there was great religious freedom, and alongside the Norman nobles existed a meritocratic bureaucracy of Jews, Muslims and Christians, both Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. The Kingdom of Sicily thus became characterized by Norman, Byzantine, Greek, Arab, Lombard and "native" Sicilian populations living in harmony, and its Norman rulers fostered plans of establishing an empire that would have encompassed Fatimid Egypt as well as the crusader states in the Levant. One of the great geographical treatises of the Middle Ages, the ""Tabula Rogeriana", was written by the Andalusian al-Idrisi for King Roger II of Sicily, and entitled "Kitab Rudjdjar" ("The Book of Roger"").
The Iberian Peninsula.
The Normans began appearing in the military confrontations between Christians and Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula since the early eleventh century. The first Norman who appears in the narrative sources was Roger I of Tosny who according to Ademar of Chabannes and the later Chronicle of St Pierre le Vif went to aid the Barcelonese in a series of raids against the Andalusi Muslims circa 1018. Later in the eleventh century, other Norman adventurers such as Robert Crispin and Walter Giffard participated in the probably papal organised siege of Barbastro of 1064. Even after the Norman conquest of England in 1066, the Normans continued to participate in ventures in the peninsula. After the Frankish conquest of the Holy Land during the First Crusade, the Normans began to be encouraged to participate in ventures of conquest in the North East of the peninsula. The most significant example of this was the incursion of Rotrou II of Perche and Robert Burdet in the 1120s in the Ebro frontier. By 1129 Robert Burdet had been granted a semi-independent principality in the city of Tarragona by the then Archbishop of this see, Oleguer Bonestruga. Several other of Rotrou's Norman followers were rewarded with lands in the Ebro valley by King Alfonso I of Aragon for their services.
With the rising popularity of the sea route to the Holy Land, Norman and Anglo-Norman crusaders also started to be encouraged locally by Iberian prelates to participate in the Portuguese incursions into the western areas of the Peninsula. The first of these incursions occurred when a fleet of these Crusaders was invited by the Portuguese king Afonso I Henriques to conquer the city of Lisbon in 1142. Although this Siege of Lisbon (1142) was a failure it created a precedent for their involvement in Portugal. So in 1147 when another group of Norman and other groups of crusaders from Northern Europe arrived in Porto on their way to join the crusading forces of the so the Second Crusade, the Bishop of Porto and later the Afonso Henriques according to "De expugnatione Lyxbonensi" convinced them to help with the siege of Lisbon. This time the city was captured and according to the arrangement agreed with the Portuguese monarch many of them settled in the newly sacked city. The following year the remainder of the crusading fleet that included a substantial number of Anglo-Normans was invited by the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV to participate in the siege of Tortosa (1148). Then again the Normans were rewarded with lands in the newly conquered frontier city.
North Africa.
Between 1135 and 1160, the Norman kingdom of Sicily conquered and kept as vassals several cities on the Ifriqiya coast, corresponding to Tunisia and parts of Algeria and Libya today.
They were lost to the Almohads.
Byzantium.
Soon after the Normans began to enter Italy, they entered the Byzantine Empire and then Armenia, fighting against the Pechenegs, the Bulgarians, and especially the Seljuk Turks. Norman mercenaries were first encouraged to come to the south by the Lombards to act against the Byzantines, but they soon fought in Byzantine service in Sicily. They were prominent alongside Varangian and Lombard contingents in the Sicilian campaign of George Maniaces in 1038–40. There is debate whether the Normans in Greek service actually were from Norman Italy, and it now seems likely only a few came from there. It is also unknown how many of the "Franks", as the Byzantines called them, were Normans and not other Frenchmen.
One of the first Norman mercenaries to serve as a Byzantine general was Hervé in the 1050s. By then, however, there were already Norman mercenaries serving as far away as Trebizond and Georgia. They were based at Malatya and Edessa, under the Byzantine duke of Antioch, Isaac Komnenos. In the 1060s, Robert Crispin led the Normans of Edessa against the Turks. Roussel de Bailleul even tried to carve out an independent state in Asia Minor with support from the local population, but he was stopped by the Byzantine general Alexius Komnenos.
Some Normans joined Turkish forces to aid in the destruction of the Armenian vassal-states of Sassoun and Taron in far eastern Anatolia. Later, many took up service with the Armenian state further south in Cilicia and the Taurus Mountains. A Norman named Oursel led a force of "Franks" into the upper Euphrates valley in northern Syria. From 1073 to 1074, 8,000 of the 20,000 troops of the Armenian general Philaretus Brachamius were Normans—formerly of Oursel—led by Raimbaud. They even lent their ethnicity to the name of their castle: Afranji, meaning "Franks". The known trade between Amalfi and Antioch and between Bari and Tarsus may be related to the presence of Italo-Normans in those cities while Amalfi and Bari were under Norman rule in Italy.
Several families of Byzantine Greece were of Norman mercenary origin during the period of the Comnenian Restoration, when Byzantine emperors were seeking out western European warriors. The Raoulii were descended from an Italo-Norman named Raoul, the Petraliphae were descended from a Pierre d'Aulps, and that group of Albanian clans known as the Maniakates were descended from Normans who served under George Maniaces in the Sicilian expedition of 1038.
Robert Guiscard, another Norman adventurer previously elevated to the dignity of count of Apulia as the result of his military successes, ultimately drove the Byzantines out of southern Italy. Having obtained the consent of Pope Gregory VII and acting as his vassal, Robert continued his campaign conquering the Balkan peninsula as a foothold for western feudal lords and the Catholic Church. After allying himself with Croatia and the Catholic cities of Dalmatia, in 1081 he led an army of 30,000 men in 300 ships landing on the southern shores of Albania, capturing Valona, Kanina, Jericho (Orikumi), and reaching Butrint after numerous pillages. They joined the fleet that had previously conquered Corfu and attacked Dyrrachium from land and sea, devastating everything along the way. Under these harsh circumstances, the locals accepted the call of Emperor Alexius I Comnenus to join forces with the Byzantines against the Normans. The Albanian forces could not take part in the ensuing battle because it had started before their arrival. Immediately before the battle, the Venetian fleet had secured a victory in the coast surrounding the city. Forced to retreat, Alexius ceded the city of Dyrrachium to the Count of the Tent (or Byzantine provincial administrators) mobilizing from Arbanon (i.e., ἐξ Ἀρβάνων ὁρμωμένω Κομισκόρτη; the term "Κομισκόρτη" is short for κόμης της κόρτης meaning "Count of the Tent"). The city's garrison resisted until February 1082, when Dyrrachium was betrayed to the Normans by the Venetian and Amalfitan merchants who had settled there. The Normans were now free to penetrate into the hinterland; they took Ioannina and some minor cities in southwestern Macedonia and Thessaly before appearing at the gates of Thessalonica. Dissension among the high ranks coerced the Normans to retreat to Italy. They lost Dyrrachium, Valona, and Butrint in 1085, after the death of Robert.
A few years after the First Crusade, in 1107, the Normans under the command of Bohemond, Robert's son, landed in Valona and besieged Dyrrachium using the most sophisticated military equipment of the time, but to no avail. Meanwhile, they occupied Petrela, the citadel of Mili at the banks of the river Deabolis, Gllavenica (Ballsh), Kanina and Jericho. This time, the Albanians sided with the Normans, dissatisfied by the heavy taxes the Byzantines had imposed upon them. With their help, the Normans secured the Arbanon passes and opened their way to Dibra. The lack of supplies, disease and Byzantine resistance forced Bohemond to retreat from his campaign and sign a peace treaty with the Byzantines in the city of Deabolis.
The further decline of Byzantine state-of-affairs paved the road to a third attack in 1185, when a large Norman army invaded Dyrrachium, owing to the betrayal of high Byzantine officials. Some time later, Dyrrachium—one of the most important naval bases of the Adriatic—fell again to Byzantine hands.
England.
The Normans were in contact with England from an early date. Not only were their original Viking brethren still ravaging the English coasts, they occupied most of the important ports opposite England across the English Channel. This relationship eventually produced closer ties of blood through the marriage of Emma, sister of Duke Richard II of Normandy, and King Ethelred II of England. Because of this, Ethelred fled to Normandy in 1013, when he was forced from his kingdom by Sweyn Forkbeard. His stay in Normandy (until 1016) influenced him and his sons by Emma, who stayed in Normandy after Cnut the Great's conquest of the isle.
When Edward the Confessor finally returned from his father's refuge in 1041, at the invitation of his half-brother Harthacnut, he brought with him a Norman-educated mind. He also brought many Norman counsellors and fighters, some of whom established an English cavalry force. This concept never really took root, but it is a typical example of Edward's attitude. He appointed Robert of Jumièges Archbishop of Canterbury and made Ralph the Timid Earl of Hereford. He invited his brother-in-law Eustace II, Count of Boulogne to his court in 1051, an event that resulted in the greatest of early conflicts between Saxon and Norman and ultimately resulted in the exile of Earl Godwin of Wessex.
On 14 October 1066, William the Conqueror gained a decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings, which led to the conquest of England three years later; this can be seen on the Bayeux tapestry. The invading Normans and their descendants largely replaced the Anglo-Saxons as the ruling class of England. The nobility of England were part of a single Norman culture and many had lands on both sides of the channel. Early Norman kings of England, as Dukes of Normandy, owed homage to the King of France for their land on the continent. They considered England to be their most important holding (it brought with it the title of King—an important status symbol).
Eventually, the Normans merged with the natives, combining languages and traditions, so much so that Marjorie Chibnall says "writers still referred to Normans and English; but the terms no longer meant the same as in the immediate aftermath of 1066." In the course of the Hundred Years' War, the Norman aristocracy often identified themselves as English. The Anglo-Norman language became distinct from the Latin language, something that was the subject of some humour by Geoffrey Chaucer. The Anglo-Norman language was eventually absorbed into the Anglo-Saxon language of their subjects (see Old English) and influenced it, helping (along with the Norse language of the earlier Anglo-Norse settlers and the Latin used by the church) in the development of Middle English, which, in turn, evolved into Modern English.
Ireland.
The Normans had a profound effect on Irish culture and history after their invasion at Bannow Bay in 1169. Initially, the Normans maintained a distinct culture and ethnicity. Yet, with time, they came to be subsumed into Irish culture to the point that it has been said that they became "more Irish than the Irish themselves". The Normans settled mostly in an area in the east of Ireland, later known as the Pale, and also built many fine castles and settlements, including Trim Castle and Dublin Castle. The cultures intermixed, borrowing from each other's language, culture and outlook. Norman surnames still exist today. Names such as "French", "(De) Roche", "Devereux", "D'Arcy", "Treacy" and "Lacy" are particularly common in the southeast of Ireland, especially in the southern part of Wexford County, where the first Norman settlements were established. Other Norman names, such as "Furlong", predominate there. Another common Norman-Irish name was Morell (Murrell), derived from the French Norman name "Morel". Names beginning with "Fitz-" (from the Norman for "son") usually indicate Norman ancestry. Hiberno-Norman surnames with the prefix "Fitz-" include "Fitzgerald", "FitzGibbons" (Gibbons) as well as "Fitzmaurice". Families bearing such surnames as "Barry" ("de Barra") and "De Búrca" ("Burke") are also of Norman extraction.
Scotland.
One of the claimants of the English throne opposing William the Conqueror, Edgar Atheling, eventually fled to Scotland. King Malcolm III of Scotland married Edgar's sister Margaret, and came into opposition to William who had already disputed Scotland's southern borders. William invaded Scotland in 1072, riding as far as Abernethy where he met up with his fleet of ships. Malcolm submitted, paid homage to William and surrendered his son Duncan as a hostage, beginning a series of arguments as to whether the Scottish Crown owed allegiance to the King of England.
Normans went into Scotland, building castles and founding noble families that would provide some future kings, such as Robert the Bruce, as well as founding a considerable number of the Scottish clans. King David I of Scotland, whose elder brother Alexander I had married Sybilla of Normandy, was instrumental in introducing Normans and Norman culture to Scotland, part of the process some scholars call the "Davidian Revolution". Having spent time at the court of Henry I of England (married to David's sister Maud of Scotland), and needing them to wrestle the kingdom from his half-brother Máel Coluim mac Alaxandair, David had to reward many with lands. The process was continued under David's successors, most intensely of all under William the Lion. The Norman-derived feudal system was applied in varying degrees to most of Scotland. Scottish families of the names Bruce, Gray, Ramsay, Fraser, Rose, Ogilvie, Montgomery, Sinclair, Pollock, Burnard, Douglas and Gordon to name but a few, and including the later royal House of Stewart, can all be traced back to Norman ancestry.
Wales.
Even before the Norman Conquest of England, the Normans had come into contact with Wales. Edward the Confessor had set up the aforementioned Ralph as Earl of Hereford and charged him with defending the Marches and warring with the Welsh. In these original ventures, the Normans failed to make any headway into Wales.
After the Conquest, however, the Marches came completely under the dominance of William's most trusted Norman barons, including Bernard de Neufmarché, Roger of Montgomery in Shropshire and Hugh Lupus in Cheshire. These Normans began a long period of slow conquest during which almost all of Wales was at some point subject to Norman interference. Norman words, such as "baron" ("barwn"), first entered Welsh at that time.
On crusade.
The legendary religious zeal of the Normans was exercised in religious wars long before the First Crusade carved out a Norman principality in Antioch. They were major foreign combatants in the Reconquista in Iberia. In 1018, Roger de Tosny travelled to the Iberian Peninsula to carve out a state for himself from Moorish lands, but failed. In 1064, during the War of Barbastro, William of Montreuil led the papal army and took a huge booty.
In 1096, Crusaders passing by the siege of Amalfi were joined by Bohemond of Taranto and his nephew Tancred with an army of Italo-Normans. Bohemond was the "de facto" leader of the Crusade during its passage through Asia Minor. After the successful Siege of Antioch in 1097, Bohemond began carving out an independent principality around that city. Tancred was instrumental in the conquest of Jerusalem and he worked for the expansion of the Crusader kingdom in Transjordan and the region of Galilee.
Anglo-Norman conquest of Cyprus.
The conquest of Cyprus by the Anglo-Norman forces of the Third Crusade opened a new chapter in the history of the island, which would be under Western European domination for the following 380 years. Although not part of a planned operation, the conquest had much more permanent results than initially expected.
In April 1191, Richard the Lion-hearted left Messina with a large fleet in order to reach Acre. But a storm dispersed the fleet. After some searching, it was discovered that the boat carrying his sister and his fiancée Berengaria was anchored on the south coast of Cyprus, together with the wrecks of several other ships, including the treasure ship. Survivors of the wrecks had been taken prisoner by the island's despot Isaac Komnenos. On 1 May 1191, Richard's fleet arrived in the port of Limassol on Cyprus. He ordered Isaac to release the prisoners and the treasure. Isaac refused, so Richard landed his troops and took Limassol.
Various princes of the Holy Land arrived in Limassol at the same time, in particular Guy de Lusignan. All declared their support for Richard provided that he support Guy against his rival Conrad of Montferrat. The local barons abandoned Isaac, who considered making peace with Richard, joining him on the crusade, and offering his daughter in marriage to the person named by Richard. But Isaac changed his mind and tried to escape. Richard then proceeded to conquer the whole island, his troops being led by Guy de Lusignan. Isaac surrendered and was confined with silver chains, because Richard had promised that he would not place him in irons. By 1 June, Richard had conquered the whole island. His exploit was well publicized and contributed to his reputation; he also derived significant financial gains from the conquest of the island. Richard left for Acre on 5 June, with his allies. Before his departure, he named two of his Norman generals, Richard de Camville and Robert de Thornham, as governors of Cyprus.
While in Limassol, Richard the Lion-Heart married Berengaria of Navarre, first-born daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre. The wedding was held on 12 May 1191 at the Chapel of St. George and it was attended by Richard's sister Joan, whom he had brought from Sicily. The marriage was celebrated with great pomp and splendor. Among other grand ceremonies was a double coronation: Richard caused himself to be crowned King of Cyprus, and Berengaria Queen of England and Queen of Cyprus as well.
The rapid Anglo-Norman conquest proved more important than it seemed. The island occupied a key strategic position on the maritime lanes to the Holy Land, whose occupation by the Christians could not continue without support from the sea. Shortly after the conquest, Cyprus was sold to the Knights Templar and it was subsequently acquired, in 1192, by Guy de Lusignan and became a stable feudal kingdom. It was only in 1489 that the Venetians acquired full control of the island, which remained a Christian stronghold until the fall of Famagusta in 1571.
Canary Islands.
Between 1402 and 1405, the expedition led by the Norman noble Jean de Bethencourt and the Poitevine Gadifer de la Salle conquered the Canarian islands of Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and El Hierro off the Atlantic coast of Africa. Their troops were gathered in Normandy, Gascony and were later reinforced by Castilian colonists.
Bethencourt took the title of King of the Canary Islands, as vassal to Henry III of Castile. In 1418, Jean's nephew Maciot de Bethencourt sold the rights to the islands to Enrique Pérez de Guzmán, 2nd Count de Niebla.
Culture.
Norman law.
The customary law of Normandy was developed between the 10th and 13th centuries and survives today through the legal systems of Jersey and Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Norman customary law was transcribed in two customaries in Latin by two judges for use by them and their colleagues: These are the "Très ancien coutumier" ("Very ancient customary"), authored between 1200 and 1245; and the "Grand coutumier de Normandie" ("Great customary of Normandy", originally "Summa de legibus Normanniae in curia laïcali"), authored between 1235 and 1245.
Architecture.
Norman architecture typically stands out as a new stage in the architectural history of the regions they subdued. They spread a unique Romanesque idiom to England, Italy and Ireland, and the encastellation of these regions with keeps in their north French style fundamentally altered the military landscape. Their style was characterised by rounded arches, particularly over windows and doorways, and massive proportions.
In England, the period of Norman architecture immediately succeeds that of the Anglo-Saxon and precedes the Early Gothic. In southern Italy, the Normans incorporated elements of Islamic, Lombard, and Byzantine building techniques into their own, initiating a unique style known as Norman-Arab architecture within the Kingdom of Sicily.
Visual arts.
In the visual arts, the Normans did not have the rich and distinctive traditions of the cultures they conquered. However, in the early 11th century, the dukes began a programme of church reform, encouraging the Cluniac reform of monasteries and patronising intellectual pursuits, especially the proliferation of scriptoria and the reconstitution of a compilation of lost illuminated manuscripts. The church was utilised by the dukes as a unifying force for their disparate duchy. The chief monasteries taking part in this "renaissance" of Norman art and scholarship were Mont-Saint-Michel, Fécamp, Jumièges, Bec, Saint-Ouen, Saint-Evroul, and Saint-Wandrille. These centres were in contact with the so-called "Winchester school", which channeled a pure Carolingian artistic tradition to Normandy. In the final decade of the 11th and first of the 12th century, Normandy experienced a golden age of illustrated manuscripts, but it was brief and the major scriptoria of Normandy ceased to function after the midpoint of the century.
The French Wars of Religion in the 16th century and the French Revolution in the 18th successively destroyed much of what existed in the way of the architectural and artistic remnant of this Norman creativity. The former, with their violence, caused the wanton destruction of many Norman edifices; the latter, with its assault on religion, caused the purposeful destruction of religious objects of any type, and its destabilisation of society resulted in rampant pillaging.
By far the most famous work of Norman art is the Bayeux Tapestry, which is not a tapestry but a work of embroidery. It was commissioned by Odo, the Bishop of Bayeux and first Earl of Kent, employing natives from Kent who were learned in the Nordic traditions imported in the previous half century by the Danish Vikings.
In Britain, Norman art primarily survives as stonework or metalwork, such as capitals and baptismal fonts. In southern Italy, however, Norman artwork survives plentifully in forms strongly influenced by its Greek, Lombard, and Arab forebears. Of the royal regalia preserved in Palermo, the crown is Byzantine in style and the coronation cloak is of Arab craftsmanship with Arabic inscriptions. Many churches preserve sculptured fonts, capitals, and more importantly mosaics, which were common in Norman Italy and drew heavily on the Greek heritage. Lombard Salerno was a centre of ivorywork in the 11th century and this continued under Norman domination. French Crusaders traveling to the Holy Land brought with them French artefacts with which to gift the churches at which they stopped in southern Italy amongst their Norman cousins. For this reason many south Italian churches preserve works from France alongside their native pieces.
Music.
Normandy was the site of several important developments in the history of classical music in the 11th century. Fécamp Abbey and Saint-Evroul Abbey were centres of musical production and education. At Fécamp, under two Italian abbots, William of Volpiano and John of Ravenna, the system of denoting notes by letters was developed and taught. It is still the most common form of pitch representation in English- and German-speaking countries today. Also at Fécamp, the staff, around which neumes were oriented, was first developed and taught in the 11th century. Under the German abbot Isembard, La Trinité-du-Mont became a centre of musical composition.
At Saint Evroul, a tradition of singing had developed and the choir achieved fame in Normandy. Under the Norman abbot Robert de Grantmesnil, several monks of Saint-Evroul fled to southern Italy, where they were patronised by Robert Guiscard and established a Latin monastery at Sant'Eufemia Lamezia. There they continued the tradition of singing.


Paul Klee Notebooks

Paul Klee Notebooks is a two-volume work by the Swiss-born artist Paul Klee that collects his lectures at the Bauhaus schools in 1920s Germany and his other main essays on modern art. These works are considered so important for understanding modern art that they are compared to the importance that Leonardo's "A Treatise on Painting" had for Renaissance. Herbert Read called the collection "the most complete presentation of the principles of design ever made by a modern artist – it constitutes the Principia Aesthetica of a new era of art, in which Klee occupies a position comparable to Newton's in the realm of physics."
The final work was edited by Swiss artist Jürg Spiller and Marcel Franciscono criticized Spiller's collection of Klee's notes as "extensive but drastically rearranged", and added that the lectures "are interspersed with later notes and in part rearranged. Despite Spiller's notation of their sources in Klee's manuscripts, it is not always possible to determine from his arrangement where a lecture leaves off and an interpolation begins."
In an earlier 1925 shorter book, "Pädagogisches Skizzenbuch" ('Pedagogical Sketchbook'), Klee published a condensation of his lectures at the Weimar Bauhaus.
Translations.
The original title is "Schriften zur Form und Gestaltungslehre" ('Writings on form and design theory'), and the two volumes are titled "Band I: Das bildnerische Denken" ('Volume I: the creative thinking') and "Band 2: Unendliche Naturgeschichte" ('Volume 2: Infinite Natural History'); they were edited by Jürg Spiller and first published in Switzerland (Basel) and Germany (Stuttgart) by publishing house Benno Schwab, in 1956 and 1964 respectively.
The subtitles of the two volumes were rendered, for the English translation, 'The thinking eye' and 'The Nature of Nature'. The Italian translation is called "Teoria della forma e della figurazione", and the two volumes are subtitled "Il pensiero immaginabile" and "Storia naturale infinita". The French edition is called "Contributions à la théorie de la forme picturale".
Online edition.
In 2016, the Zentrum Paul Klee museum in Bern, Switzerland, published digital versions of Klee's notebooks on their website.


Fools and Their Money

Fools and Their Money is a lost 1919 silent film comedy directed by Herbert Blaché and starring Emmy Wehlen. Maxwell Karger produced and it was released through Metro Pictures.


Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya

Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (C.G.H.) is the highest award in Kenya. The award is mostly given to the holders of the office of the President of Kenya. However, several prominent figures have also received the medal despite not being Kenyan sitting presidents. They include Yoweri Museveni, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Aga Khan IV. There are eight categories of Presidential awards which are conferred to individuals in recognition of their service to the nation. Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya is the highest category which is further divided into three classes: Chief of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (C.G.H.), Elder of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (E.G.H.) and Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart of Kenya (M.G.H.)


French heraldry

French heraldry is the use of heraldic symbols in France. Although it had a considerable history, existing from the 11th century, such formality has largely died out in France, as far as regulated personal heraldry is concerned. Civic heraldry on the other hand remains a visible part of daily life.
The role of the herald ("héraut") in France declined in the 17th century. Today the law recognises both assumed and inherited arms, considering them under law to be equivalent to a visual representation of a name, and given the same protections. However, there is no central registry of arms; in case of dispute, the individual who can prove the longest right to the blazon must be decided in court.
Many of the terms in international heraldry come from French.
Characteristics.
Like the British system of heraldry, the French follow the "Rule of Tinctures". This states that there are two types of Tinctures (heraldic colors): the colors "Sable" (black), "Gueules" (red), "Sinople" (green) and "Azur" (blue) and metals "Or" (gold or yellow) and "Argent" (silver or white). For sake of visibility (the whole point of the system), no Charges of a color can be used on a field of a color and no Charges of a metal can be used on a field of a metal, nor can the divisions of the field be color-on-color or metal-on-metal. Arms that do not follow the Rule of Tinctures are referred to as "Armes pour enquérir" (a "Coat of Arms to be investigated").
French heraldry has a set system of crown and coronets. Supporters are not linked with any rank or title, unlike the coronets, and are far less common than in other forms of European heraldry, such as English heraldry. Even the Royal Arms' angelic supporters are not shown in most depictions. Crests are rare in modern depictions, again in contrast to England.
Napoleonic heraldry.
Along with a new system of titles of nobility, the First French Empire also introduced a new system of heraldry.
Napoleonic heraldry was based on traditional heraldry but was characterised by a stronger sense of hierarchy. It employed a rigid system of additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions. Another notable difference from traditional heraldry was the toques, which replaced coronets. The toques were surmounted by ostrich feathers: dukes had 7, counts had 5, barons had 3, and knights had 1. The number of lambrequins was also regulated: 3, 2, 1 and none respectively. As many grantees were self-made men, and the arms often alluded to their life or specific actions, many new or unusual charges were also introduced.
The most characteristic mark of Napoleonic heraldry was the additional marks in the shield to indicate official functions and positions. These came in the form of quarters in various colours, and would be differenced further by marks of the specific rank or function. In this system, the arms of knights had an ordinary gules, charged with the emblem of the Legion of Honour; Barons a quarter gules in chief sinister, charged with marks of the specific rank or function; counts a quarter azure in chief dexter, charged with marks of the specific rank or function; and dukes had a chief gules "semé" of stars argent.
The said 'marks of the specific rank or function' as used by Barons and Counts depended on the rank or function held by the individual. Military barons and counts had a sword on their quarter, members of the Conseil d'Etat had a chequy, ministers had a lion's head, prefects had a wall beneath an oak branch, mayors had a wall, landowners had a wheat stalk, judges had a balance, members of Academies had a palm, etc.
A decree of 3 March 1810 states: "The name, arms and livery shall pass from the father to all sons" although the distinctive marks of title could only pass to the son who inherited it. This provision applied only to the bearers of Napoleonic titles.
The Napoleonic system of heraldry did not outlast the First French Empire. The Second French Empire (1852–1870) made no effort to revive it, although the official arms of France were again those of Napoleon I.
Legal status.
The "Commission nationale d'héraldique", an advisory body under the French Ministry of Culture, advises both public bodies and (since 2015) private individuals on heraldic issues.
National Emblem of France.
The current emblem of France has been a symbol of France since 1953, although it does not have any legal status as an official coat of arms. It appears on the cover of French passports and was originally adopted by the French Foreign Ministry as a symbol for use by diplomatic and consular missions in 1912 using a design drawn up by the sculptor Jules-Clément Chaplain.
In 1953, France received a request from the United Nations for a copy of the national coat of arms to be displayed alongside the coats of arms of other member states in its assembly chamber. An interministerial commission requested Robert Louis (1902–1965), heraldic artist, to produce a version of the Chaplain design. This did not, however, constitute an adoption of an official coat of arms by the Republic.
Technically speaking, it is an emblem rather than a coat of arms, since it does not respect heraldic rules—heraldry being seen as an aristocratic art, and therefore associated with the Ancien Régime. The emblem consists of:
Fleur-de-lys.
The fleur-de-lys (or fleur-de-lis, plural: fleurs-de-lis; , in Quebec French), translated from French as "lily flower") is a stylized design of either an iris or a lily that is now used purely decoratively as well as symbolically, or it may be "at one and the same time political, dynastic, artistic, emblematic and symbolic", especially in heraldry.
While the fleur-de-lis has appeared on countless European coats of arms and flags over the centuries, it is particularly associated with the French monarchy on a historical context, and nowadays with the Spanish monarchy and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg as the only remaining monarchs of the House of Bourbon.
It is an enduring symbol of France that appears on French postage stamps but has not been adopted officially by any of the French republics.
Arms of major cities.
All cities within France have coats of arms; these are often intertwined with local traditions over history.
Paris.
The coat of arms of the city of Paris, in its current form, dates back to 1358, when King Charles V officially installed it. On the coat of arms, the represented vessel is the symbol of the powerful corporate body of the "Marchands de l'eau", dating back to the Middle Ages. The city motto, "Fluctuat nec mergitur" ("It is beaten by the waves without being submerged") is equally a reference to this boat.
Marseille.
The arms of Marseilles, passed in 1930, may be emblazoned as: "Argent a cross azur". The motto of Marseille is:
De grands fachs resplend la cioutat de Marseilles (Occitan), appears for the first time in 1257; La Ville de Marseille resplendit par ses hauts faits (French); Actibus immensis urbs fulget Massiliensis (Latin, used since 1691) or 'The City of Marseille shines by its deeds'.
Lyon.
The arms of Lyon date back to the Middle Ages, when they were those of the Counts of Lyon. They constituted of a rampant (ready to pounce) argent (silver) lion on a red field, with a clearly identifiable tongue. It is around 1320 that the "chief azure three fleurs de lys d'or", the upper band still present on the arms, was added to the lion symbolizing royal protection. In 1819, a sword was granted by the king in recognition of services to the king during the events of 1793. The July Monarchy of 1830 rejected the fleurs de lys and replaced them with stars that were intended to be neutral. In the early 20th century, the municipality decided to take the lion coat of arms without sword, with three fleurs de lys, the emblem of the city for six centuries. The shield reads not as a symbol, but as a riddle: the argent lion is canted: it is a pun on the city's name, "Lyon".
Strasbourg.
Strasbourg's arms are the colours of the shield of the Bishop of Strasbourg (a band of red on a white field, also considered an inversion of the arms of the diocese) at the end of a revolt of the burghers during the Middle Ages who took their independence from the teachings of the Bishop. It retains its power over the surrounding area.
Nice.
The arms of Nice first appear in 1430. The Nice is symbolized by a red eagle on white background, on top of three mountains. The arms has undergone only minor changes: the eagle become more and more stylised, a crown of a count has been added, which symbolises his dominion over the County of Nice, and the three mountains on which is based is now surrounded by a stylised sea.
The presence of the eagle, imperial emblem, shows that these arms are linked to savoyard power. Throughout their symbolic structure, the arms of Nice are a sign of allegiance and fidelity to the House of Savoy. The combination of white and red (argent and gules) is a resumption of the Cross of Savoy. The three mountains symbolise a territorial honour, without concern for geographic realism.
Grenoble.
The coat of arms of the city of Grenoble dates back to the 14th century. The three roses are symbolic representation of the three authorities who governed the city in the Middle Ages.
Grenoble was placed under the authority of two rival powers, that of the bishop and of the Dauphin. In the 14th century appears a third authority, consuls, elected by the people and defenders of freedoms and exemptions granted by the two co-lords.
Former Regions of France.
Each region of France has its own coat of arms, although usage varies:
Départments.
Few départments have official arms. There may be substantial disagreements with this table.


Farandole

The Farandole is an open-chain community dance popular in Provence, France. The Farandole bears similarities to the gavotte, jig, and tarantella. The carmagnole of the French Revolution is a derivative.
Traditional dance.
The Farandole was first described in detail by the English folklorist Violet Alford in 1932. The following description is from the county of Nice:"Traditionally led by the "abbat-mage" holding a ribboned halberd, the dancers hold hands and skip at every beat; strong beats on one foot, alternating left and right, with the other foot in the air, and weak beats with both feet together. In the village of Belvédère, on the occasion of the festival honouring patron Saint Blaise, the most recently married couple leads the dance."Musically, the dance is in time, with a with a strongly accentuated rhythm, moderate to fast tempo, and played by a flute and drum. Another description of this dance comes from Grove's dictionary,"The Farandole consists of a long string of young men and women, sometimes as many as a hundred in number, holding one another by the hands, or by ribbons or handkerchiefs. The leader is always a bachelor, and he is preceded by one or more musicians playing the "galoubet," i.e. a small wooden flûte-à-bec, and the "tambourin." With his left hand the leader holds the hand of his partner, in his right he waves a flag, handkerchief, or ribbon, which serves as a signal for his followers. As the Faraudole proceeds through the streets of the town the string of dancers is constantly recruited by fresh additions. The leader (to quote the poet Mistral) 'makes it come and go, turn backwards and forwards ... sometimes he forms it into a ring, sometimes winds it in a spiral, then he breaks off from his followers and dances in front, then he joins on again, and makes it pass rapidly under the uplifted arms of the last couple.'"The Farandoleis usually danced at all the great feasts in the towns of Provence, such as the feast of Corpus Domini, or the 'Coursos do la Tarasquo,' which were founded by King René on April 14, 1474, and take place at Tarascon annually on July 29. In the latter the Farandole is preceded by the huge effigy of a legendary monster—the Tarasque—borne by several men and attended by the gaily dressed 'chevaliers de la Tarasque.'
Historical context.
Folklorists of the early 20th century (e.g. Alford 1932) interpreted most folk dances as being very ancient, and postulated even for the Farandole an ancestry traceable to ancient Greece, remaining more or less unchanged "during its two or three thousands years of life".
No satisfactory derivation has been given of the name. Diez ("Etymologisches Wörterbuch der Romanischen Sprachen") connects it with the Spanish Farandula, a company of strolling players, which he derives from the German "fahrende". A still more unlikely derivation has been suggested from the Greek "Φάλαγξ" and "δούλος," because the dancers in the Farandole are linked together in a long chain. The dance is very probably of Greek origin, and seems to be a direct descendant of the Cranes’ Dance, the invention of which was acribed to Theseus, who instituted it to celebrate his escape from the Labyrinth. This dance is alluded to at the end of the hymn to Delos of Callimachus: it is still danced in Greece and the islands of the Ægean, and may well have been introduced into the South of France from Marseilles.
Many recent websites, older encyclopedias, and some music history books claim that the Farandole is a medieval dance, but never provide an actual medieval quote mentioning the Farandole. While there exist Renaissance descriptions of chain and circle dances, and medieval and renaissance iconography showing people dancing in chains and circles, there is no connection between these early dances and the recent folk Farandole: Arbeau, the most well-known source for renaissance chain and circle dances such as the branle, does not contain any dance with Farandole-specific steps and figures. The term "Farandole" is not found in dictionaries of Old French or of Old Occitan "farandoulo", and the earliest appearance in the French form "farandoule" (as being derived from Occitan) is in 1776. Its earliest appearance in English is even younger, 1876. Consequently, the medieval dance researcher Robert Mullally concludes that there is no evidence that the modern folk Farandole resembles any kind of medieval dance.
The Farandole has occasionally been used for less innocent purposes than that of a mere dance: in 1815 General Jean-Pierre Ramel (the younger) was murdered at Toulouse by the infuriated populace, who made use of their national dance to surround and butcher him.
In classical music.
Charles Gounod used a Farandole, set in front of the Arles Amphitheatre, to open the second act of his opera "Mireille" (1864). Georges Bizet features the Farandole as the fourth and concluding movement of his second "L'Arlésienne" suite (1872). However, the dance is not suited for the purposes of the ballet. In Tchaikovsky's "The Sleeping Beauty" ballet (1890), the dames propose a Farandole in the fourth scene of the second act. There is a Farandole in Camille Saint-Saëns' opera "Les Barbares" (1901), and a Farandole is present in the classical saxophone piece "Tableaux de Provence" (1958) by Paule Maurice, the first movement of five.
In popular culture.
In the 1940 Abbott and Costello film, "A Night in the Tropics," the movie ends with the singing and dancing of "The Farandola."
In 1969, a band by the name of "Love Sculpture" had an album entitled "Forms & Feelings". One of the songs was "Farandole" by Georges Bizet.
Bob James on his album "Two" performed Bizet's Farandole in a jazz funk style. Released in 1975, the album charted at number two on the Jazz Album Charts.
During his time as a member of the 1980s metal band Talas, Billy Sheehan performed another rock cover of Bizet's "The Farandole", which was subsequently covered, in a similar manner by Dream Theater.
In Madeleine L'Engle's "A Wind in the Door", the Farandolae are fictional organelles of mitochondria, which have a similar endosymbiotic relationship with mitochondria, as mitochondria have with eukaryotic cells. Over the course of the novel, characters physically journey inside a mitochondrion and encounter the farandolae as sentient creatures that do circular "dances" around their "trees of origin" that drain the elder fara of energy.
Within the Society for Creative Anachronism and other associations who attempt to recreate dances of the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the Farandole is sometimes danced due to its assumed medieval origin (but see the historical concerns above). Examples can be found on YouTube.


Ades Synagogue

The Ades Synagogue, (), also known as the Great Synagogue Ades of the Glorious Aleppo Community, located in Jerusalem's Nachlaot neighborhood, was established by Syrian immigrants in 1901. It is considered to be the center of Syrian Hazzanut in Israel.
Origins.
At turn of the 20th century, many of Syria's Jewish community had emigrated to escape the economic downturn which arrived with the decline of the Ottoman Empire. While many settled in England, the United States or Latin America, some families moved to the Holy Land. Most community members were laborers, shopkeepers or merchants.
After some time, the synagogue was officially established in 1901 by a community of Jews from Aleppo, Syria. It is named after two cousins who financed the building: Ovadiah Josiah Ades and Yosef Isaac Ades. Yosef Ades was a wealthy man with connections in the Ottoman administration and a member of the City Council of Jerusalem. The new synagogue was designed as a neighborhood institution, and at the time, was considered one of the most beautiful synagogues in Jerusalem. Although solidly constructed, the synagogue suffered damage in World War I and the 1947–1949 Palestine war. Today the synagogue is attended not only by Aleppian Jews, but by many different types of Sephardic Jews (e.g. Kurdish); nevertheless, the liturgy of the congregation remains Aleppian in its purest form.
Architecture.
The traditional Middle Eastern-style interior is elaborate and well-kept, with a high ceiling, chandeliers, wooden benches facing a central dais, a small balcony for the women's section and a Holy Ark covering the entire eastern wall. The large ark, made of walnut and covered with intricate geometric designs inlaid with mother-of-pearl, was extensively repaired in 2001 in honor of the synagogue's centennial.
A mural depicting stylized representations of the Twelve Tribes of Israel, visible along the upper part of the walls, was painted around 1911-12 by Ya'acov Stark, a teacher at newly formed Bezalel Academy of Art and Design. Stark was part of a group of secular artists and intellectuals of the Second Aliya who sought to create a new, vibrant culture in Jerusalem. Over time, the mural was partially overpainted and the paint has discolored.
Center for Syrian hazzanut.
Ades attracts many visitors from Israel and abroad, in part because of its unique liturgical style. Ades has two daily morning services (including Shabbat and holidays), and a combined afternoon and evening service that begins just before sundown.
Renowned as a center for Syrian hazzanut (Middle Eastern-style Jewish liturgical singing), Ades is one of only two synagogues in Jerusalem (and perhaps the world) that maintains the ancient tradition of baqashot, a set cycle of kabbalistic poetry sung in the early hours of Shabbat morning during the winter months. Baqashot sessions typically begin at 3 a.m. and are usually densely packed.
The cantors of Ades Synagogue are considered to be Syrian Jewry's most well-learned and talented. In many cases, cantors specifically go to this synagogue to learn maqamot and hazzanut. Throughout the last century, many famous cantors have emerged from Ades.
The prayer services at the Ades synagogue differ only slightly from the services conducted in other Syrian synagogues throughout the world (the Weekly Maqam choices may differ from week to week).
In recent years, Ades has received extensive attention due to a combination of its 100th anniversary, marked in 2001, its unique status and the trend toward an increased interest in pizmonim or religious song. The synagogue is a regular stop for walking tours in Nachlaot as well as the location where many Syrian Jews from around the world go to when visiting Israel for such occasions like a Bar Mitzvah, wedding, or just to attend the Baqashot session. The community preserves the links to its rich history and tradition from generation to generation.
The synagogue has produced DVDs and CDs of the baqashot and other religious music.


South Levantine Arabic

South Levantine (), a subdivision of Levantine Arabic, is spoken predominantly in Palestine, as well as in the western area of Jordan (in the ‘Ajlun, Al Balqa’, Al Karak, Al Mafraq, ‘Amman, Irbid, Jarash, and Madaba governorates).


Marcus Hyman Bresslau

Marcus Hyman Bresslau (1807/8 – 14 May 1864) was a Prussian-born English Hebraist, editor, author, and journalist.
Biography.
He was born to Gutel and Ḥayyim Bresslau in Breslau, Germany, and moved to London as a youth. He received a traditional Jewish education, and at some point became influenced by the ideas of the Haskalah. For a time he taught Hebrew at the Westminster Jews' Free School, and worked as "baal keriah" at the Western Synagogue, at which he occasionally delivered sermons.
He then became connected with the "Hebrew Review", which ran under the editorship of Morris J. Raphall from 1834 to 1836. He became editor of the "Jewish Chronicle" in October 1844, when the periodical was revived by Joseph Mitchell. As editor, he advocated for popular education, for a more effective system of Jewish communal poor relief, and for certain changes to Orthodox liturgy and ritual. He resigned in October 1850 after disputes with Mitchell, but on the latter's suicide in June 1854, he re-asssumed the editorship and became sole proprietor, though he sold it a few months afterward. Some years later he tried to revive the "Hebrew Review", but failed, and he then retired from active work.
Bresslau was the author of a Hebrew grammar and dictionary. From the German he translated devotional exercises for women, and copied various Hebrew manuscripts in the collection at Oxford. He helped to translate into English the two volumes of "Miscellanea" from the Bodleian, edited by Hirsch Edelmann. Bresslau also publicly criticised the London Society for Promoting Christianity Among the Jews, and wrote of the denial of Jews' rights in England.
Bresslau declined numerous offers of employment within the Jewish community, and he lived his later years dependent on charity. A public subscription and testimonial were presented him during this time, in recognition of a thirty-year literary activity.


MacGorman

MacGorman (Irish: Mac Gormáin), also known as McGorman, Gorman, or O'Gorman (Irish: Ó Gormáin), is an Irish Gaelic clan based most prominently in what is today County Clare. The paternal ancestors of the clan are of the Laigin and emerged in what is today County Waterford. As leaders of the Uí Bairrche, they competed with the Uí Cheinnselaig in the 5th century for the Kingship of Leinster, ultimately losing out in that specific arena, but holding on to significant lands in the Leinster area.
Through influence over the Sletty monastery founded by Fiacha mac Breccáin, the family played a role in early Christianity in Ireland. The "Life of St. Patrick" from the Book of Armagh was authored on the request of Áed of Sletty. As well as this, the mother of Columba of Iona came from this dynasty. After working to fight off the Vikings in Dublin and Waterford, the MacGormans eventually lost out to the Normans in the 12th century. The family relocated to Thomond upon being invited by the Ó Briain. From this point on they were Lords of Uí Bhreacáin until losing influence when Thomond's sovereignty came to an end.
Etymology.
There are multiple origins for the surname "Gorman". The Irish name is an Anglicised form of the Gaelic "Mac Gormáin" and "Ó Gormáin", meaning "son of "Gormán"" and "descendant of "Gormán"". The personal name "Gormán" is derived from the diminutive of "gorm", meaning "dark blue", "noble". One English origin of the name is from the Middle English personal name "Gormund" (Old English "Garmund"). This name is made up of the elements "gar" "spear" + "mund" "protection". The English surname "Gorman" can also be a topographic name for someone who lived near a triangular piece of land. The German surname ("Görmann") is sometimes a variant of "Gehrmann". German Gorman can also be of Slavic origin, from an occupational name, derived from the Slavic "góra" meaning "mountain".
One of the earliest mentions of the name "Gorman" can be found in a reference by Geoffrey of Monmouth to a Danish king named "Gormandus" who raided parts of Britain around 593 AD and settled near South Wexford.
Early bearers of the surname are William "Gorman" in 1296 and Adam "Garman" in 1327. The John "atte Gore" recorded in 1296 within the "Sussex Subsidy Rolls" is identical with the John "Gorman" recorded in 1332.
Irish "Mac Gormáin" family.
Most of the following is taken from a family history composed by Allan O'Gorman of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, in 1966, based largely on notes obtained from Father John Robert O'Gorman of Renfrew, Ontario, Canada, who conducted family research at Dublin Castle in 1903. A copy of Allan O'Gorman's document was presented to Naoise Cleary and Ger Kennedy of the Clare Cultural Centre in Corofin, Co. Clare, in July, 1989, by Brendan Vincent Justin O'Gorman of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, a great-nephew of Father John Robert O'Gorman.
According to Keating, the "Mac Gormáin" family descended from the chieftains of the Uí Bairrche. The family lived in Leinster and held the lands of Slievemargy in present-day Co Laois and lands near Carlow. The family was forced from the lands with the arrival of the Normans and moved into Monaghan. According to James Frost, the family was likely driven from the lands by the Norman lord Walter de Riddlesford, who became the master of Carlow at around this time. A poem, written by Maoelin Oge MacBrody (the MacBrodys were the ollaves of the Uí Bairrche), states that after the Mac Gormáin family was driven from its lands a group of them made for Ulster and another made westwards towards Daire Seanleath in Uaithne Cliach ("Uaithne Cliach" is the modern barony of Owney, in Co Limerick). The family then settled in lands controlled by the O'Briens, settling in the area of Ibrackan. The "Mac Gormáin" family of Ibrickan were known in the 15th century for their wealth, hospitality and their patronage of the Gaelic poets. The first of the family to settle in Munster was Murtagh, son of Donogh. The chiefs of the family held parts of the lands of Moyarta and Ibrackan in Co Clare. A branch of the family were hereditary marshalls to the O'Briens and held lands in Clare. The family is listed as one of the septs of Thomond in 1317.
Today the members of the family bear Anglicised names such as "Gorman", "MacGorman", "McGorman", and "O'Gorman". Most members of the family bear the names "Gorman" or "O'Gorman" despite the original Gaelic names was "Mac Gormáin". According to MacLysaght, this is because at the time of the Gaelic revival in Ireland, the majority of bearers of the name had dropped all prefixes from their name. Though with the revival many Gormans mistaking added the historically incorrect prefix ("O"') because they did not know any better. MacLysaght thought that the man who was chiefly responsible for the choice in the prefix was the Frenchman Chevalier Thomas O'Gorman (1725–1808), who constructed Irish pedigrees after being ruined in the French Revolution. Within the 1669 Census of Ireland, the surnames "Gormon" and "Gorman" are listed as principal names for two baronies within Co Clare: 9 "Gormons" are recorded in the Islands barony which consisted of 1651 people; and 6 "Gormans" are recorded in the barony of Moyferta, which consisted of 1024 people. In the 17th century "O'Gorman" was a principal name of Armagh; and "McGorman" was a principal name of Monaghan and Louth. In 1890 most "O'Gormans" are found in Clare.
History.
Descent from Cathair Mór, High King.
The Uí Bairrche kindred of the Laigin took their name from Dairé Barrach, a son of Cathair Mór, who lived during the 2nd century AD. It is possible that they are mentioned in Ptolemy’s "Geographia" as the Brigantes; it is unknown what connection, if any, they have to similarly named groups in Britain or Europe. Ptolemy may have simply used the term because of its phonetic similarity. In any case, Dairé lived at Dún Ailinne, one of the ancient Gaelic royal sites of Ireland and capital of the Laigin, located in what is now County Kildare. From here he gained a pupil in Mug Nuadat, ancestor of the Eóganachta, whom he supported in becoming King of Munster in conflict with Conn of the Hundred Battles. Dáire himself may have been High King of Ireland for a “difficult month” if the 7th century AD poem about the early Kings of Tara named "Baile Chuinn Chétchathaig" is to be believed.
Kings of Leinster and the Uí Bairrche.
The Uí Bairrche are thought to have originally held lands around what is today County Wexford in the area named after them; Bargy (Uí Bairrche). At this time they were very powerful, as one of the sons of Dáire Barrach named Muiredach Mo Sníthech is listed by the 5th century poet Laidcenn mac Bairchid, as a King of Leinster and may have possibly even ruled at the Hill of Tara. The kingship of the Uí Bairrche descended through another son of Dáire named Fiacha. What is known from this time is that the Uí Bairrche lost out in a power struggle with their cousins the Uí Cheinnselaig, who as a consequence pushed them out of their lands and allowed the Déisi Muman to settle there instead, according to the tales in the "Expulsion of the Déisi". Indeed, they only returned when Eochaidh Guinech of the Uí Bairrche killed his maternal grandfather Crimthann mac Énnai, King of Leinster in 483. Eochaidh “took the oak with its root” (made total war) with the Déisi and subsequently drove part of them into Ossory.
The Uí Bairrche had an important role in the early days of the Christian Church in Ireland. A member of the family, Fiacha mac Breccáin was said to have been converted to Christianity by Patrick himself. Fiacha was a bard and his uncle Dubthach maccu Lugair was the Chief Ollamh of Ireland; the conversion of the two helped to reconcile elements of native Gaelic tradition with Christianity. Fiacha founded a monastery at Sleaty and is considered a saint by Christians. His brother Ailill Mór mac Breccáin moved north during the political turmoil in Leinster and his grandson Sinnell mac Manach was Abbot of Cleenish ("Cluan Innish") and later considered a saint; it is here, under Sinnell, that Columbanus began his studies. The mother of "Colm Cille" (Columba of Iona) named Eithne also descended from Ailill Mór mac Breccáin. Later on, in the 7th century, Aodh, the Abbot of Sleaty was the man who requested the writing of the "Vita sancti Patricii" (Life of St. Patrick), contained in the "Book of Armagh".
When the Uí Bairrche had returned to Leinster, they moved to "Slíabh Mairge" (Slievemargy), in what is today the south-east corner of County Laois, as well as parts of County Carlow and County Kilkenny. The kindred still had a prominent position; the mother of Diarmait mac Cerbaill (died 565), the last High King of Ireland inaugurated according to the traditional Gaelic pagan rites, was Corbach, daughter of Maine, a member of the Uí Bairrche. A notable king of the age was Cormac mac Diarmata, whom many Christian hagiographies associated with their rivals the Uí Cheinnselaig or the Osaraighe; such as that of Abbán and Cainnech of Aghaboe; paint him as pillaging monasteries and the like. Cormac and his brother Crimthann are also described as being in conflict with Finnian of Clonard. Cormac was closely associated with Comgall and gave him some lands, before retiring to become a monk at Bangor.
"Gormandus" invades post-Roman Britain.
One of the more unusual stories is that of Gormáin mac Diarmata, another brother of Cormac. He is mentioned in various sources, including the "Annals of Ireland" written by Friar John Clyn and Thady Dowling, the "Topography of Ireland" by Gerald of Wales, the "History of the Kings of Britain" by Geoffrey of Monmouth and even the "Annales" of William Camden. What these sources say is that around 593 AD, Gormáin invaded Britain, fought several battles and sacked a number of monasteries. He is said to have sacked the Llanbadarn Fawr monastery, Ceredigion and Camden claims the Amesbury monastery containing three hundred monks was destroyed by him. His name is sometimes stylised differently such as Gormandus, Gordmundus or Gurmundus. In the account of Geoffrey of Monmouth he is bizarrely transformed into a king of Africa. Most of the native Annals in Ireland which are untouched by the Normans and Arthurian literature are quiet on the matter.
Uí Bairrche interaction with the Vikings.
In the 7th century, Suibhne mac Domhnall; grandson of Cormac mac Diarmata; came into conflict with Fintán of Taghmon (died 635), also known as Munnu. After allegedly being insulted by Suibhne, this abbot made a prophecy which envisaged that Subhne would have his head cut off by his own brother and that his severed head would be thrown in the River Barrow. Suibhne's brother Failbe eventually married Eithne, daughter of Crundmael mac Rónáin, King of the Uí Cheinnselaig. Various branches of the Uí Bairrche are mentioned in the "Annals of the Four Masters" with the advent of the Viking Age in Ireland. This includes Conn mac Cinaedh (died 866) of the Uí Bairrche Tire, who we are told died while “demolishing the fortress of the foreigners”, most likely the settlement at Dublin on the River Liffey. Around the area of Uí Bairrche and the Laigin more generally, we know that the Vikings pillaged Dún Másc in 842 and established a settlement at Loch Garman (later known as Wexford), close to Bargy.
Mac Gormáin in Airgíalla as clerics.
Just prior to the Norman invasion of Ireland, a number of Mac Gormáin are found to have been in prominent clerical roles as writers and teachers. Some of the most significant of these were invited to Airgíalla by Donnchadh Ó Cearbhaill. A religious reformer and a prominent political player, Donnchadh had just conquered territory from the Conaille Muirtheimne (what is today County Louth) and established Arrouaisian Order religious foundations at Louth, Knockabbey and Termonfeckin there. From the Mac Gormáin family, Máel Caoimhghin Mac Gormáin was put in place as the master of Louth and abbot of Termonfeckin and Máel Muire Mac Gormáin as the abbot of Knockabbey. Máel Muire (Marianus) is the man who authored the "Martyrology of Gorman" in 1166.
There were other prominent Mac Gormáín clerics in the north around this time; Fionn Mac Gormáin, Bishop of Kildare and abbot of Newry (also founded by Donnchadh Ó Cearbhaill, on the encouragement of Maelmhaedhoc Ó Morgair), who helped to author the "Book of Leinster" with Áed mac Crimthainn and finally Flann Mac Gormáin (1099–1174), the chief lector of the School of Armagh and all Ireland. The latter spent twenty-one years at universities in Paris and Oxford before working on the development of a similar institution at Armagh. This had been established by Ruairí Ó Conchubhair, High King of Ireland and was dedicated to Patrick. This school was never allowed to develop to its full potential as it was soon destroyed by the Normans.
It is likely that the latter-day Gormans and McGormans of County Monaghan and County Antrim originate from this population movement. Mac Gormáin heritage in the north is remembered in several place names referencing them. The majority of these are in County Monaghan; "Feartach Ghormáin" (Fartagorman) in Magheross, "Coill Uí Ghormáin" (Killygorman) in Killeevan, and "Lios Gormáin" (Lisdungorman) in Clontibret. Aside from this, there is also a "Ráth Gormáin" (Rathgorman) in County Down.
Mac Gormáin pushed out to Thomond.
Murchadh mac Eachthighearn was driven from his territories of Uí Bairrche by the Norman invaders Walter de Riddlesford, John de Clahull and Hugh de Lacy during the 1170s. Riddlesford, who took over as a master at Carlow, had married the daughter of a bastard son of a king Henry I of England which left him in a prominent position among his own people. At first Murchadh settled at Daire Seanleath in Uaithne Cliach (what is today Owney, County Limerick), but his son Cumeth mac Murchadh was invited by Donnchadh Cairprech Ó Briain, King of Thomond to settle in Uí Bhreacáin (what is known as Ibrickan, County Clare). In fact the Mac Gormáin had built a good relationship with the Ó Briain prior to the Norman invasion, as early as 1168, as Scanlan mac Gormáin supported Domhnall Mór Ó Briain, by witnessing for him a charter to the Holy Cross Abbey, Thurles.
One of the most notable members of the family was a female, who became Queen of Thomond. Éadaoin Nic Ghormáin (1321–1367) married Muirchertach Ó Briain (1289–1343), King of Thomond and they included among their children, two further kings; Mathghamhain Maonmhaighe Ó Briain (died 1369) and Toirdelbach Maol Ó Briain (died 1398). Their descendants include the rest of the Kings of Thomond. The context in which this marriage came about, is to be taken from the famous 14th century literary work "Caithréim Thoirdhealbhaigh" ("The Triumphs of Turlough"), which mentions that the Mac Gormáin family had become Standard Bearers of the Clann Tadhg branch of the Ó Briain, stating that Cuebha Mac Gormáin was for Muirchertach's father Toirdelbach mac Tadhg Ó Briain his "close door of protection while he slept and, on the battlefield, the shield that covered him."
The Wars of Thomond, as the events of these times were called, were essentially a civil war between two rival branches of the Ó Briain; the conflicting branches were known as Clann Tadhg and Clann Brian Ruadh. There was also the added factor of Norman divide and rule intrigue. Briain Ruadh Ó Briain and his nephew Toirdelbach mac Tadhg Ó Briain came into conflict over the kingship of Thomond. As part of a plan to win back the kingdom, Briain Ruadh went to Thomas de Clare (a Norman), close friend of king Edward I of England and attempted to enlist his support in return for land to colonise. A seven-year civil war ensued with Toirdelbach emerging victorious, with help from the Mac Con Mara, Ó Deághaidh and of course, the Mac Gormáin clans. Evidently, having been driven West by the Normans in the first place, the Mac Gormáin were not willing to be turned out again.
Throughout the rest of the period of Gaelic rule in Thomond, the Mac Gormáin continued to hold a significant position in society. Indeed, Domhnall Mac Gormáin (died 1484) was described as the wealthiest man in all of Ireland in terms of the livestock in his possession. The king during this period would have been Conchobhar na Srona Ó Briain. It must be remembered that, during Domhnall's life, cattle was the main element of the pastoral economy; the Gaelic kingdoms did not mint their own coinage. So to be wealthy in terms of livestock was the main measure of wealth in Gaelic Ireland. The Mac Gormáin were known having open houses, nourishing the poor and being patrons of a bardic poet, especially the Mac Bruaideadha family. Indeed, Tadhg mac Dáire Mhic Bhruaideadha authored a poem about them.
Mac Gormáin in Tudor and Stuart Ireland.
In the year 1543, Thomond joined the Kingdom of Ireland under the Tudor dynasty of the king Henry VIII of England. The formerly sovereign King of Thomond, Murchadh Carrach Ó Briain became the Earl of Thomond in the peerage of Ireland. His nephew, Donnchadh Ó Briain, who had long since joined the English service, became Baron Ibrackan (named for the territory associated with the Mac Gormáin).
During the reign of the Stuart dynasty king James I of England, the Mac Gormáin held lands from Tadhg Caech Mac Mathghamha, Lord of West Corcavaskin, specifically named lands in their hands include; Clooncullin, Kilmacduane, Ballynagur, Moyarta, Knockerra, Clohanbeg, Clohamore and Cahermurphy.
During the reign of Charles I of England, Máel Sechlainn Mac Gormáin (died 1 May 1605) held lands at "Drom Oilche" (Dromelihy) and passed them onto his son Diarmuid Mac Gormáin. At "Drom Díogais" (Drumdigus) we find lands held by Tadhg Mac Gormáin (died 1630) also the owner of "Tulach an Chrainn" (Tullycrine) and known for his wife's association with a certain "holy well” at Kilmihil. There was also a Scannláin Mac Gormáin who owned the castle at Cathair Murchadha (Cahermurphy) in the early 1620s.
1641 Rebellion and Civil War in Clare.
The 1640s were a particularly troublesome period, with the Rising of 1641 and all of the events which followed it, including the Irish Confederate Wars and finally the landing of Oliver Cromwell in 1649;
The Mac Gormáin of Cahermurphy actually took part in one of the most significant and controversial events in Thomond of the Rebellion of 1641 and that was the Siege of Tromra Castle. The castle had been taken over by English Protestant settlers, the family of Peter Ward, protected by Sir Domhnall Ó Briain. An ambitious raid on the castle, looking to take livestock, was led by Edmond O’Flaherty from the Aran Islands, joined by men from Connemara (what used to be Iar Connacht). Some of the local clans of Thomond also joined in. Three members of the Ward family died but the rest made it out to safety, fleeing to Dublin.
In 1641, Dromelihy was under the ownership of Domhnall Mac Gormáin, Cathair Mac Gormáin and Sir Domhnall Ó Briain. After the victory of the Cromwellian side during the conflict, certain Catholics in other parts of Ireland were “transplanted” to Connacht (which then included County Thomond), to make way for the Protestant English incomers on better lands. This included the Norman-descended Catholics, Annie and Martha Eustace who were; according to the "Act of Settlement 1662"; transplanted into the lands of what was Mac Gormáin territory in Dromelihy. Ó Briain himself still remained a land owner in the area and was raised to Viscount Clare in 1662. After the overthrow of James II of England in the Revolution of 1688 and the failure of the Jacobites during the Williamite War in Ireland, these lands were going to be "given" to the Dutchman, Arnold van Keppel, Earl of Albemarle but as he had no interest in them they were instead “given” over to Francis Burton, Nicholas Westby and James MacDonnell in 1698.
According to John Robert O'Gorman, a Catholic priest from Canada; he found information at the Records Office in Dublin about the fate of the Tullycrine estate and found that Máel Sechlainn Mac Gormáin's property was confirmed by Charles II in 1679 to have passed to one Captain William Hamilton. Family tradition; especially among the diaspora in North America where some descendants ended up; states the land was confiscated during Cromwellian times and this may have simply been a confirmation of an earlier fact. They are later found around their former estates as simply tenant farmers at Tarmon. A significant number of Gormans moved out of County Clare into County Tipperary.
Ascendancy Ireland, Penal Laws and decline.
During the Penal Laws, Catholics were persecuted and blocks put in their way to stop them from owning significant tracts of land and generally building themselves up in society. It is this social situation which would eventually lead to the Great Hunger in the 1840s. Although the majority of the Gormans remained Catholic, a number converted to the Anglican Church of Ireland for pragmatic reasons. These are listed by James Frost as Sylvester Gorman of Drumellihy in 1750, James Gorman of Killilahane in 1758 and finally Thady Gorman of Sheeaun in 1766. The last two are described as gentlemen. Chevalier Thomas O’Gorman also lived during this time period. He was a Jacobite from near Tullycrine and served with the Irish Brigade of the French Army. He married into the French aristocracy but lost out during the French Revolution. He was a noted genealogist, owning for some time the "Book of Ballymote".
Emancipation and Irish nationalism.
A number of members of the family, under the name O'Gorman, played a prominent role in Irish national politics. Nicholas Purcell O’Gorman (1778–1857) was a barrister who worked with Daniel O'Connell, "the Liberator" towards the goal of Catholic Emancipation in Ireland; indeed O'Gorman was the Secretary of the Catholic Association. One of his sons, Major Purcell O'Gorman (1818–1888) was a Member of Parliament for Waterford City as a member of the Home Rule League and a supporter of Parnell. His older brother, Nicholas Smith O'Gorman, was a High Sheriff of Clare.
A nationalist figure, the O'Gorman Mahon, also carried the family name, but this was from his mother Barbara O'Gorman. On the more radical republican end of the political spectrum, Richard O’Gorman (1820–1895) was a member of the Young Ireland movement which rose in the Young Irelander Rebellion of 1848. Indeed, along with William Smith O'Brien and Thomas Francis Meagher, he visited the newly formed Second French Republic in 1840 and returned with the Irish Tricolour which later became the national flag after 1922.
Symbols.
The coat of arms of O'Gorman ("pictured") are blazoned "azure a lion passant between three swords erect argent"; the crest "an arm embowed in armour, grasping in the hard a sword, blade wavy, all proper."; and the mottoes "TUS AGUS DEIREADH AN CATHA" (Irish) and "INITIUM FINEMQUE BELLO" (Latin). The Irish motto translates as "The beginning and end of battle", a reference to their role as hereditary marshals of the O'Briens of Thomond, the standard bearers and lifeguards who would accompany the (O'Brien) king as the first ones on and last ones off the field of battle. The Latin motto translates as "first and last in war". In 1763, the arms were allowed by the Ulster King of Arms to Thomas O'Gorman (fourth in descent from Mahon O'Gorman) and to Thomas O'Gorman (fourth in descent from Denis O'Gorman, brother of Cahir O'Gorman).
Related surnames.
Surnames that are variants of, or that share a similar etymology to "Gorman" are:


Yakir (name)

Yakir is a Hebrew name. Notable people with the name include:


Ida Maze

Ida Maze (, "Ayda Mazeh") (9 July 1893 – 13 June 1962), also known as Ida Maza and Ida Massey, was a Canadian Yiddish-language poet. Her home in Montreal became a literary salon and she became a maternal figure to Canadian Yiddish language authors.
Biography.
Early life.
Maze was born Ida Zhukovsky in Ugli (or Ogli), a village south of Minsk in Tsarist Belorussia, one of seven children of Shimon Zukofsky, an innkeeper, and Musha Govezniansky. She was also related to Yiddish author Mendele Mocher Sforim. She had about a year of cheder education but was otherwise self-taught. At the age of fourteen, she, her parents, and one sister emigrated to New York and settled in Montreal the following year. In 1912, she married Alexander Massey (born Ellie-Gershon Maze, c. 1893–1961), a travelling salesman of men’s clothing accessories and relative of Zionist leader Jacob Maze. They had three sons, Bernard (c. 1913–1923), Israel (1918–1962) and Irving Massey (b. 1924).
Career.
She began to write in 1928 in reaction to the death of her eldest son Bernard and these poems made up her first collection, "A Mame" (, 'A Mother', 1931). Most of her work would be about or for children. She went on to publish "Lider far kinder" (, 'Songs for Children', 1936), "Naye lider" (, 'New Songs', 1941), and "Vakhsn mayne kinderlech" (, 'My Children Grow', 1954). A novel based on her childhood memories, "Dineh: Autobiografishe dertseylung" (, 'Dina: An Autobiographical Story', 1970), was published posthumously. She published poems in a number of journals and anthologies, including "Yidish amerike" ('Yiddish America', edited by Noah Steinberg, 1929) and "The Golden Peacock" (edited by Joseph Leftwich, 1939). She also co-edited the journal "Heftn" from 1935 to 1937.
Maze became the leader of a literary salon where Yiddish writers, poets and artists would gather and share their work: including writers N. Y. Gottlib, A. Sh. Shkolnikov, Shabse Perl, Moyshe Shaffir, Mirl Erdberg-Shatan, Esther Segal, J. I. Segal, Yudika, and Kadia Molodowsky, the painter Louis Muhlstock, and, in the 1940s and beyond, Melech Ravitch, Rokhl Korn and other refugees and survivors from Nazi Europe.
Maze was at the center of Montreal's Yiddish language artistic community, both through the salon at her home and through reading groups and other programs she ran at the Jewish Public Library. She assisted others in the Jewish community with their literary work, finding employment, or arranging visas and permits. One of those writers she assisted was a teenage Miriam Waddington, who later recalled, "She gave herself entirely and attentively to the poem; she fed the spiritual hunger and yearning of these oddly assorted Yiddish writers whenever they needed her."
References.
Massey, Irving. Identity and Community: Reflections on English, Yiddish, and French Literature in Canada. (Detroit: Wayne State U.P., 1994).


Oda of Canterbury

Oda (or Odo; died 958), called the Good or the Severe, was a 10th-century Archbishop of Canterbury in England. The son of a Danish invader, Oda became Bishop of Ramsbury before 928. A number of stories were told about his actions both prior to becoming and while a bishop, but few of these incidents are recorded in contemporary accounts. After being named to Canterbury in 941, Oda was instrumental in crafting royal legislation as well as involved in providing rules for his clergy. Oda was also involved in the efforts to reform religious life in England. He died in 958 and legendary tales afterwards were ascribed to him. Later he came to be regarded as a saint, and a hagiography was written in the late 11th or early 12th century.
Early career.
Oda's parents were Danish, and he may have been born in East Anglia. His father was said to have been a Dane who came to England in 865, together with the Viking army of Ubba and Ivar, and presumably settled in East Anglia. Oda's nephew Oswald of Worcester later became Archbishop of York. It is possible that Oswald's relatives Oscytel, afterwards Archbishop of York, and Thurcytel, an abbot, were also relatives of Oda, but this is not known for sure.
In Byrhtferth of Ramsey's "Life of Saint Oswald", Oda is said to have joined the household of a pious nobleman called Æthelhelm, whom he accompanied to Rome on pilgrimage. While on pilgrimage, Oda healed the nobleman's illness. Other stories, such as those by the 12th-century writer William of Malmesbury, describe Oda as fighting under Edward the Elder and then becoming a priest, but these statements are unlikely. Other statements in the "Life" have Oda being named "Bishop of Wilton" by the king, who is stated to have been Æthelhelm's brother. The chronicler may be referring, slightly inaccurately, to Aethelhelm cousin of the king. This benefactor has also been associated with bishop Athelm, who reportedly sponsored Oda in his ecclesiastical career. Some sources state that Oda became a monk at Fleury-sur-Loire in France.
Bishop of Ramsbury.
Oda was consecrated Bishop of Ramsbury sometime between 909 and 927, not to Wilton as stated by both William of Malmesbury and the "Life". The appointment was most likely made by King Æthelstan, and the first securely attested mention in documents of the new bishop occurs in 928, when he is a witness to royal charters as bishop. According to the late tenth-century chronicler, Richer of Rheims, in 936 Æthelstan sent Oda to France to arrange the return to the throne of France of King Louis IV. Louis was Æthelstan's nephew and had been in exile in England for a number of years. However, this story is not related in any contemporary records. Oda was said to have accompanied King Æthelstan at the Battle of Brunanburh in 937. It was at this battle that Oda is said to have miraculously provided a sword to the king when the king's own sword slipped out of its scabbard. A Ramsey chronicle records that in the 1170s, the sword was still preserved in the royal treasury, although the chronicler carefully states the story "as is said" rather than as fact. There are no contemporary records of Oda's appearance at the battle. In 940, Oda arranged a truce between Olaf III Guthfrithson, king of Dublin and York, and Edmund I, king of England.
Archbishop of Canterbury.
Oda was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury following Wulfhelm's death on 12 February 941. It is not known whether he went to Rome to receive his pallium or when he received it, but it was before he issued his "Constitutions". During his time as archbishop, he helped King Edmund with the new royal law-code, which had a number of laws concerned with ecclesiastical affairs. The archbishop was present, along with Archbishop Wulfstan of York, at council that proclaimed the first of these law codes and which was held by Edmund at London, over Easter around 945 or 946. Oda also settled a dispute over the Five Boroughs with Wulfstan.
Oda also issued "Constitutions", or rules, for his clergy. His "Constitutions of Oda" are the first surviving constitutions of a 10th-century English ecclesiastical reformer. Oda reworked some statutes from 786 to form his updated code, and one item that was dropped were any clauses dealing with paganism. Other items covered were relations between laymen and the clergy, the duties of bishops, the need for the laity to make canonical marriages, how to observe fasts, and the need for tithes to be given by the laity. The work is extant in just one surviving manuscript, British Museum Cotton Vespasian A XIV, folios 175v to 177v. This is an 11th-century copy done for Wulfstan II, Archbishop of York.
At the death of King Eadred of England in 955, Oda was one of the recipients of a bequest from the king, in his case a large amount of gold. He was probably behind the reestablishment of a bishopric at Elmham, as the line of bishops in that see starts with Eadwulf of Elmham in 956. Oda crowned King Eadwig in 956, but in late 957 the archbishop joined Eadwig's rival and brother Edgar who had been proclaimed king of the Mercians in 957, while Eadwig continued to rule Wessex. The exact cause of the rupture between the two brothers that led to the division of the previously united kingdom is unknown, but may have resulted from Eadwig's efforts to promote close kinsmen and his wife. The division was peaceful, and Eadwig continued to call himself "King of the English" in contrast to Edgar's title of "King of the Mercians". In early 958 Oda annulled the marriage of Eadwig and his wife Ælfgifu, who were too closely related. This act was likely a political move connected to the division between Eadwig and Edgar, as it is unlikely that the close kinship between Eadwig and Ælfgifu had not been known before their marriage.
Oda was a supporter of Dunstan's monastic reforms, and was a reforming agent in the church along with Cenwald the Bishop of Worcester and Ælfheah the Bishop of Winchester. He also built extensively, and re-roofed Canterbury Cathedral after raising the walls higher. In 948, Oda took Saint Wilfrid's relics from Ripon. Frithegod's verse "Life of Wilfrid" has a preface that was written by Oda, in which the archbishop claimed that he rescued the relics from Ripon, which he described as "decayed" and "thorn-covered". He also acquired the relics of St Ouen, and Frithegod also wrote, at Oda's behest, a verse life of that saint, which has been lost. He was also an active in reorganizing the diocesan structure of his province, as the sees of Elmham and Lindsey were reformed during his archbishopric.
The archbishop died on 2 June 958 and is regarded as a saint, with a feast day of 4 July. Other dates were also commemorated, including 2 June or 29 May. After his death, legendary tales ascribed miracles to him, including one where the Eucharist dripped with blood. Another was the miraculous repair of a sword. There is no contemporary evidence for veneration being made to Oda, with the first indication of cult coming in the hagiography written by Byrhtferth about Oswald, but no hagiography specifically about Oda was written until Eadmer wrote the "Vita sancti Odonis" sometime between 1093 and 1125. Oda was known by contemporaries as "The Good" and also became known as "Severus" "The Severe".