Benelux

The Benelux Union (; ; ), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name "Benelux" is a portmanteau formed from joining the first few letters of each country's name—Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg—and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union (signed in 1944). It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.
The Benelux is an economically dynamic and densely populated region, with 5.6% of the European population (29.2 million residents) and 7.9% of the joint EU GDP (€36,000/resident) on no more than 1.7% of the whole surface of the EU.
Some examples of results of Benelux cooperation: automatic level recognition of all diplomas and degrees within the Benelux, a new Benelux Treaty on Police cooperation, common road inspections and a Benelux pilot with digital consignment notes.
The main institutions of the Union are the Committee of Ministers, the Council of the Union, the General Secretariat, the Interparliamentary Consultative Council and the Benelux Court of Justice while the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property cover the same land but are not part of the Benelux Union.
The Benelux General Secretariat is located in Brussels. It is the central platform of the Benelux Union cooperation. It handles the secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Benelux Union and the sundry committees and working parties. The General Secretariat provides day-to-day support for the Benelux cooperation on the substantive, procedural, diplomatic and logistical levels. The Secretary-General is Alain de Muyser from Luxembourg and there are two deputies: Deputy Secretary-General Frank Weekers from the Netherlands and Deputy Secretary-General Rudolf Huygelen from Belgium.
The presidency of the Benelux is held in turn by the three countries for a period of one year. Belgium holds the presidency for 2021.
Overview.
Cooperation among the governments of Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg has been a firmly established practice since the introduction of a customs union in 1944 which became operative in 1948 as the Benelux Customs Union. The initial form of economic cooperation expanded steadily over time, leading in 1958 to the signing of the treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union. Initially, the purpose of cooperation among the three partners was to put an end to customs barriers at their borders and ensure free movement of persons, goods and services among the three countries. It was the first example of international economic integration in Europe since the Second World War. The three countries therefore foreshadowed and provided the model for future European integration, such as the European Coal and Steel Community, the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European Community–European Union (EC–EU). The three partners continue to play this pioneering role. They also launched the Schengen process, which came into operation in 1985, promoting it from the outset. Benelux cooperation has been constantly adapted and now goes much further than mere economic cooperation, extending to new and topical policy areas connected with security, sustainable development, and the economy. Benelux models its cooperation on that of the European Union and is able to take up and pursue original ideas. The Benelux countries also work together in the so-called Pentalateral Energy Forum, a regional cooperation group formed of five members—the Benelux states, France, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Formed ten years the ministers for energy from the various countries represent a total of 200 million residents and 40% of the European electricity network. As of November 2019, the Benelux Union has a population of more than 29.55 million.
On 17 June 2008, Belgium (in all its component parts), the Netherlands, and Luxembourg signed a new Benelux treaty in The Hague. The purpose of the Benelux Union is to deepen and expand cooperation among the three countries so that it can continue its role as precursor within the European Union and strengthen and improve cross-border cooperation at every level. Through better cooperation between the countries the Benelux strives to promote the prosperity and welfare of the citizens of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Benelux works together on the basis of an annual plan embedded in a four-year joint work programme.
Benelux seeks region-to-region cooperation, be it with France and Germany (North Rhine-Westphalia) or beyond with the Baltic States, the Nordic Council, the Visegrad countries, or even further. In 2018 a renewed political declaration was adopted between Benelux and North Rhine-Westphalia to give cooperation a further impetus.
Some examples of recent results of Benelux cooperation: automatic level recognition of all diplomas and degrees within the Benelux, a new Benelux Treaty on Police cooperation, common road inspections and a Benelux pilot with digital consignment notes. The Benelux is also committed to working together on adaptation to climate change. On 5 June 2018 the Benelux Treaty celebrated its 60 years of existence. In 2018, a Benelux Youth Parliament was created.
In addition to cooperation based on a Treaty, there is also political cooperation in the Benelux context, including summits of the Benelux government leaders. In 2019 a Benelux summit was held in Luxembourg. In 2020 a virtual Benelux Summit was held under Dutch Presidency on 7 October between the prime ministers.
Politics.
A Benelux Parliament (officially referred to as an "Interparliamentary Consultative Council") was created in 1955. This parliamentary assembly is composed of 21 members of the Dutch parliament, 21 members of the Belgian national and regional parliaments, and 7 members of the Luxembourg parliament. On 20 January 2015, the governments of the three countries, including, as far as Belgium is concerned, the community and regional governments, signed in Brussels the Treaty of the Benelux Interparliamentary Assembly. This treaty entered into force on 1 August 2019. This made the 1955 Convention on the Consultative Interparliamentary Council for the Benelux to expire. Moreover, the current official name has been largely obsolete in daily practice for a number of years: both internally in the Benelux and in external references, the name Benelux Parliament has been used "de facto" for a number of years now.
In 1944, exiled representatives of the three countries signed the London Customs Convention, the treaty that established the Benelux Customs Union. Ratified in 1947, the treaty was in force from 1948 until it was superseded by the Benelux Economic Union. The treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union ("Benelux Economische Unie", "Union Économique Benelux") was signed on 3 February 1958 in The Hague and came into force on 1 November 1960 to promote the free movement of capital, services, and goods in the region. Under the Treaty the Union implies the co-operation of economic, financial and social policies.
Cooperation with other Geopolitic-regions.
In 2017 the members of the Benelux, the Baltic Assembly, three members of the Nordic Council (Sweden, Denmark and Finland), and all the other countries EU member states, sought to increase cooperation in the Digital Single Market, as well as discussing social matters, the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union, the European migrant crisis and defence cooperation. Relations with Russia, Turkey and the United Kingdom were also on the agenda.
Since 2008 the Benelux Union works together with the German Land (state) North Rhine-Westphalia.
In 2018 Benelux Union signed a declaration with France to strengthen cross-border cooperation.
Benelux legal instruments.
The Benelux Union involves intergovernmental cooperation.
The Treaty establishing the Benelux Union explicitly provides that the Benelux Committee of Ministers can resort to four legal instruments (art. 6, paragraph 2, under a), f), g) and h)):
1. Decisions
Decisions are legally binding regulations for implementing the Treaty establishing the Benelux Union or other Benelux treaties.
Their legally binding force concerns the Benelux states (and their sub-state entities), which have to implement them. However, they have no direct effect towards individual citizens or companies (notwithstanding any indirect protection of their rights based on such decisions as a source of international law). Only national provisions implementing a decision can directly create rights and obligations for citizens or companies.
2. Agreements
The Committee of Ministers can draw up agreements, which are then submitted to the Benelux states (and/or their sub-state entities) for signature and subsequent parliamentary ratification. These agreements can deal with any subject matter, also in policy areas that are not yet covered by cooperation in the framework of the Benelux Union.
These are in fact traditional treaties, with the same direct legally binding force towards both authorities and citizens or companies. The negotiations do however take place in the established context of the Benelux working groups and institutions, rather than on an ad hoc basis.
3. Recommendations
Recommendations are non-binding orientations, adopted at ministerial level, which underpin the functioning of the Benelux Union. These (policy) orientations may not be legally binding, but given their adoption at the highest political level and their legal basis vested directly in the Treaty, they do entail a strong moral obligation for any authority concerned in the Benelux countries.
4. Directives
Directives of the Committee of Ministers are mere inter-institutional instructions towards the Benelux Council and/or the Secretariat-General, for which they are binding. This instrument has so far only been used occasionally, basically in order to organise certain activities within a Benelux working group or to give them impetus.
All four instruments require the unanimous approval of the members of the Committee of Ministers (and, in the case of agreements, subsequent signature and ratification at national level).
In 1965, the treaty establishing a Benelux Court of Justice was signed. It entered into force in 1974. The Court, composed of judges from the highest courts of the three States, has to guarantee the uniform interpretation of common legal rules. This international judicial institution is located in Luxembourg.
The Benelux is particularly active in the field of intellectual property. The three countries established a Benelux Trademarks Office and a Benelux Designs Office, both situated in The Hague. In 2005, they concluded a treaty establishing a "Benelux Organisation for Intellectual Property" which replaced both offices upon its entry into force on 1 September 2006. This Organisation is the official body for the registration of trademarks and designs in the Benelux. In addition, it offers the possibility to formally record the existence of ideas, concepts, designs, prototypes and the like.
All higher education degrees recognised throughout Benelux.
In 2018 the education ministers from Belgium's three communities as well as those from the Netherlands and Luxembourg signed an agreement to recognise the level of all higher education diplomas between the three countries, a unique development in the EU. To continue studies or get a job in another country, applicants must have their locally earned degree recognised by the other country, which entails a lot of paperwork, fees and sometimes a months-long wait. In 2015, the Benelux countries agreed to recognise each other's bachelor's and master's diplomas without such hindrances. Now, recognition is extended to PhDs and to so-called graduate degrees, which are earned from adult educational institutions. This means that a graduate of any of the three countries can continue their education or seek a job in the other countries without having to have their degree officially recognised.
New Benelux Treaty on police cooperation.
The Belgian Minister of Security and Home Affairs, Jan Jambon, the Belgian Minister of Justice, Koen Geens, the Dutch Minister of Justice and Security, Ferdinand Grapperhaus, the Luxembourg Minister of Homeland Security, Etienne Schneider and the Luxembourg Minister of Justice, Félix Braz, signed in 2018 a new Benelux police treaty, which will improve the exchange of information, create more opportunities for cross-border action and facilitate police investigations in the neighbouring country. In 2004, a Treaty on cross-border cooperation between the Benelux police forces was concluded. This has been completely revised and expanded. The Benelux countries are at the forefront of the European Union in this respect.
This new Treaty will allow direct access to each other's police databases on the basis of hit/no hit. In addition, direct consultation of police databases will be possible during joint operations and in common police stations. It will also be possible to consult population registers within the limits of national legislation. In the future, ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) camera data, which play an increasingly important role in the fight against crime, can be exchanged between the Benelux countries in accordance with their own applicable law. Police and judicial authorities will also work more closely with local authorities to exchange information on organised crime in a more targeted way (administrative approach) in accordance with national law.
The Treaty makes cross-border pursuit a lot easier and broadens the investigative powers of Benelux police officers. For example, it will be possible to continue a lawful hot pursuit in one's own country across the border, without the thresholds for criminal offences that characterise the current regulation. Another new feature of the Treaty is that a police officer can, under certain conditions, carry out cross-border investigations.
The existing intensive cooperation in the field of police liaison officers, joint patrols and checks as well as the provision of assistance at major events will be maintained. In addition, the possibilities for cross-border escort and surveillance missions and for operating on international trains will be considerably extended.
In the event of a crisis situation, special police units will now be able to act across borders; this can also be used to support important events with a high security risk, such as a NATO Summit.
After approval by the parliaments, and the elaboration of implementation agreements, the new Benelux Police Treaty will enter into force.
Benelux Treaty of Liège: joint Benelux road transport inspections.
The Treaty of Liège entered into force in 2017. As a result, Dutch, Belgian and Luxembourg inspectors may carry out joint inspections of trucks and buses in the three countries. This treaty was signed in 2014 in Liège (Belgium) by the three countries. In the meantime, on the basis of a transitional regime and pending the entry into force of the Treaty, several major Benelux road transport inspections have taken place. Under this transition regime, inspectors from neighbouring countries could only act as observers. Now they can exercise all of their skills.
Co-operation on the basis of this Benelux Treaty leads to a more uniform control of road transport, cost reductions, more honest competition between transport companies and better working conditions for drivers. In addition, this cooperation strengthens general road safety in the three countries.
The Benelux Treaty seeks to intensify cooperation by improving the existing situation through intensive harmonisation of controls, exchange of equipment and training of personnel in order to reduce costs and by allowing inspectors of a country to participate in Inspections in another Benelux country by exercising all their powers, which in particular enables the expertise of the specialists in each country to be obtained. In so doing, they are fully committed to road safety for citizens and create a level playing field, so that entrepreneurs inside and outside the Benelux must comply with the same rules of control.
The application of the Treaty of Liège allows the three Benelux countries to play the role of forerunners in Europe. In addition, the treaty expressly provides for the possibility of accession of other countries.
By June 2019 already a total of 922 vehicles were subject to common Benelux inspections.
Benelux pilot project with digital consignment notes.
A Benelux-wide pilot project was launched in 2017 to enable the use of digital consignment notes (e-CMR) for national and intra-Benelux transport. The switch to e-CMR in the Benelux offers possible savings of €4.50 per consignment. With an annual figure of around 65 million consignment notes used, this represents overall savings of close to €300 million per year. With this operation, the Benelux countries are testing the operation of the digital consignment note ( from a control perspective). They will share findings with the European Union.
Benelux enhances cross-border mobility.
Currently 37% of the total number of EU frontier workers work in the Benelux and surrounding areas. 35,000 Belgian citizens work in Luxembourg, while 37,000 Belgian citizens cross the border to work in the Netherlands each day. In addition, 12,000 Dutch and close to a thousand Luxembourg residents work in Belgium. As regards cross-border professional mobility the Benelux is undoubtedly a hot spot in Europe.
The Benelux countries aim at making the labour and services market 'border neutral' so as to help towards smoother searches for suitable jobs in a neighbouring country. The Benelux cooperation seeks to achieve this through improved access to information about social rights and fiscal issues for employees and employers on either side of the borders.
Benelux countries take the lead in stimulating European cycling policy.
In a joint political declaration (July 2020), the mobility ministers of the Benelux countries called on the European Commission to prioritise cycling in European climate policy and Sustainable Transport strategies. They call on the commission to co-finance the construction of cycling infrastructure and to provide funds to stimulate cycling policy as part of the European Green Deal.
The COVID-19 crisis has had a massive impact on the state of mobility in Europe. During the lockdown period, cycle use increased in almost every European country. The (increased) use of this sustainable form of transport is not just essential if the EU is to achieve its climate objectives by 2050, but also has a positive impact on public health and the economy in the EU. Cycling in Europe brings €150 billion in benefits, of which €90 billion are linked to the environment, health and the mobility system. The cycle industry already provides hundreds of thousands of jobs and annual revenue from cycle tourism in the EU is estimated at €44 billion.
In their statement the ministers stress that the provision of safe, high quality cycling infrastructure and secureycle parking is essential to further stimulate cycle use. Further European research is also needed to map out the potential for cycling post COVID-19.
With this declaration, the mobility ministers of the Benelux are also calling on other EU Member States to provide the European Commission with up-to-date data on active mobility, which is not currently collected at EU level. They also call on them to make adequate funding available for cycling projects in their COVID-19 recovery plans and to take cycling into account in tourism and road policy. They ask regional and local authorities to expand networks of cyclepaths, to promote cycling campaigns and to arrange cycle sharing schemes during the summer months.
Renewal of the agreement.
The Treaty between the Benelux countries establishing the Benelux Economic Union was limited to a period of 50 years. During the following years, and even more so after the creation of the European Union, the Benelux cooperation focused on developing other fields of activity within a constantly changing international context.
At the end of the 50 years, the governments of the three Benelux countries decided to renew the agreement, taking into account the new aspects of the Benelux-cooperation – such as security – and the new federal government structure of Belgium. The original establishing treaty, set to expire in 2010, was replaced by a new legal framework (called the Treaty revising the Treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union), which was signed on 17 June 2008.
The new treaty has no set time limit and the name of the "Benelux Economic Union" changed to "Benelux Union" to reflect the broad scope on the union. The main objectives of the treaty are the continuation and enlargement of the cooperation between the three member states within a larger European context. The renewed treaty explicitly foresees the possibility that the Benelux countries will cooperate with other European member States or with regional cooperation structures. The new Benelux cooperation focuses on three main topics: internal market and economic union, sustainability, justice and internal affairs. The number of structures in the renewed Treaty has been reduced and thus simplified. Five Benelux institutions remain: the Benelux Committee of Ministers, the Benelux Council, the Benelux Parliament, the Benelux Court of Justice, the Benelux Secretariat General. Beside these five institutions, the Benelux Organisation for Intellectual Property is also present in this Treaty as an independent organisation.
Benelux Committee of Ministers:
The Committee of Ministers is the supreme decision-making body of the Benelux. It includes at least one representative at ministerial level from the three countries. Its composition varies according to its agenda. The ministers determine the orientations and priorities of Benelux cooperation. The presidency of the Committee rotates between the three countries on an annual basis.
Benelux Council:
The council is composed of senior officials from the relevant ministries. Its composition varies according to its agenda. The council's main task is to prepare the dossiers for the ministers.
Benelux InterParliamentary Consultative Council:
The Benelux Parliament comprises 49 representatives from the parliaments of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Its members inform and advise their respective governments on all Benelux matters.
Benelux Court of Justice:
The Benelux Court of Justice is an international court. Its mission is to promote uniformity in the application of Benelux legislation. When faced with difficulty interpreting a common Benelux legal rule, national courts must seek an interpretive ruling from the Benelux Court, which subsequently renders a binding decision. The members of the Court are appointed from among the judges of the 'Cour de cassation' of Belgium, the 'Hoge Raad of the Netherlands' and the 'Cour de cassation' of Luxembourg.
Benelux General Secretariat:
The General Secretariat, which is based in Brussels, forms the cooperation platform of the Benelux Union. It acts as the secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, the council and various commissions and working groups. Because the General Secretariat operates under strict neutrality, it is perfectly placed to build bridges between the various partners and stakeholders. The General Secretariat has years of expertise in the area of Benelux cooperation and is familiar with the policy agreements and differences between the three countries. Building on what already been achieved, the General Secretariat puts its knowledge, network and experience at the service of partners and stakeholders who endorse its mission. It initiates, supports and monitors cooperation results in the areas of economy, sustainability and security. In a greatly enlarged European Union, Benelux cooperation is a source of inspiration for Europe.


Philip Jenkins

Philip Jenkins (born April 3, 1952) is a professor of history at Baylor University in the United States, and co-director for Baylor's Program on Historical Studies of Religion in the Institute for Studies of Religion. He is also the Edwin Erle Sparks Professor of Humanities Emeritus at Pennsylvania State University (PSU). He was professor (from 1993) and a distinguished professor (from 1997) of history and religious studies at the same institution; and also assistant, associate and then full professor of criminal justice and American studies at PSU, 1980–93.
Jenkins is a contributing editor for "The American Conservative" and writes a monthly column for "The Christian Century". He has also written articles for "Christianity Today", "First Things", and "The Atlantic".
Early life and work.
Jenkins was born in Port Talbot, Wales, in 1952 and studied at Clare College at the University of Cambridge, taking double first–class honours in both History and Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic Studies. Jenkins then studied for his PhD under the supervision of Sir John Plumb among others. Between 1977 and 1980, Jenkins worked as a researcher for Sir Leon Radzinowicz, the pioneer of criminology studies at Cambridge.
In 1979, Jenkins won the BBC quiz show "Mastermind".
Academic career.
In 1980, Jenkins was appointed Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Pennsylvania State University, which marked a change in his research focus. Jenkins has forged a reputation based on his work on global Christianity as well as on emerging religious movements. Other research interests include post-1970 American history and crime.
He conducted a study of the Quran and the Bible in the light of the September 11 attacks and accusations that the Quran incites violence. However, he found that "the Bible contains far more verses praising or urging bloodshed than does the Quran." (See also The Bible and violence).
Public intellectual.
In 2002 Jenkins, a Catholic-turned-Episcopalian, discussed the Catholic sex abuse cases by asserting that his "research of cases over the past 20 years indicates no evidence whatever that Catholic or other celibate clergy are any more likely to be involved in misconduct or abuse than clergy of any other denomination—or indeed, than non-clergy. However determined news media may be to see this affair as a crisis of celibacy, the charge is just unsupported."
In a 2010 interview with National Public Radio, Jenkins stated that he believes that "the Islamic scriptures in the Quran were actually far less bloody and less violent than those in the Bible" and cites explicit instructions in the Old Testament calling for genocide while the Quran calls for primarily defensive war. Jenkins went on to state that Christianity, Islam, and Judaism had undergone a process that he refers to as "holy amnesia" in which violence in sacred texts became symbolic action against one's sins. Islam had until recently also undergone the same process in which jihad became an internal struggle rather than war.


Manfredi Chiaramonte

Manfredi III Chiaramonte (died November 1391) was a Sicilian nobleman.
Of French origins, he was given the County of Modica, then one of the most powerful fiefs in the Kingdom of Sicily, in 1377. He was also made lord of Trapani, Agrigento, Bivona, Licata, Castronovo, Lentini, Palma di Montechiaro and Mussomeli, where he built a castle which still bears his name. Manfredi was governor of Messina and, after having liberated the island of Jerba from Arab pirates, he was made also lord of it. He held court in the Palazzo Chiaramonte of Palermo.
Despite having obtained his lands by the Aragonese Kings of Sicily, he usually sided for the Angevines who held the rival Kingdom of Naples. In 1354 Manfredi was besieged in Lentini by the Aragonese troops of Artale I Alagona; the latter was able to capture it by treason only in 1360. Manfredi was captured and imprisoned in Catania; however he later escaped and regained his possessions.
His daughter Costanza (born 1377) married the future King Ladislaus of Naples in Gaeta in 1389. At the death of king Frederick III, Manfredi became one of four viceroys, ruling the kingdom for Maria, Queen of Sicily. Maria was kidnapped by the Aragonese and forced to marry Martin I the Younger. Manfredi fought against Aragonese power.
Manfredi Chiaramonte died in Palermo in 1391. His son, Andrea Chiaramonte, governor of Palermo, was beheaded in 1392 by Martin I of Aragon (Martin the Elder) after the fall of Palermo. With the fall of the family from power, his daughter Costanza was divorced by the King Ladislaus and forced to marry a local Neapolitan Noble.


Ivan Rabljanin

Ivan Krstitelj Rabljanin () (1470–1540) was a famous cannon and bell founder in bronze; born in Rab, most of his works are in Dubrovnik.
He made cannons for Italy, Spain and Republic of Dubrovnik. In 1506 he forged a bell that still hangs today, in Dubrovnik Bell Tower. His most beautiful cannon was built in 1537 named 'lizzard', on the tower Lovrijenac.


Theoktiste of Lesbos

Theoktiste of Lesbos () is a saint of the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church.
Life.
According to her hagiography, she was born in Methymna on the island of Lesbos, probably in the first quarter of the 9th century. Orphaned as a child, her relations brought her to a monastery where she was raised. On Easter in her 18th year (perhaps the year 837), she went to visit her sister in her village, but was captured along with her sister and other local villagers by Saracen raiders. At the island of Paros, she was able to escape her captors, and lived in solitude there for 35 years, until she was found by a hunter (sometime in the 870s). Theoktiste died soon after, in early autumn, and the hunter buried her. He also cut off her hand as a relic, but after that strong winds prevented him leaving the island until he returned the hand to the grave, after which the corpse disappeared. The tale of Theoktiste's life was told by the hunter thirty years later to another hermit called Symeon, who in turn retold the story to the author of the hagiography, Niketas Magistros. Her feast day is on 9 November.
Hagiography and iconography.
Niketas Magistros composed the "Life of Theoktiste" ca. 920, modelled on the life of Mary of Egypt, but altered to suit the events and environment of 9th-century Byzantium, particularly the ever-present Saracen pirate menace following the establishment of the Emirate of Crete in the 820s. Due to her association with Mary of Egypt, she is depicted in a similar manner in icons: "a thin woman with white hair, who is barefoot and wears a ragged cloak that covers barely half her body." The "Life" was later reworked slightly by Symeon Metaphrastes, who put her feast day on 10 November.


Henry Stanley Bennett

Henry Stanley Bennett, FBA (1889-1972) was an English literary historian. Known as Stanley Bennett and publishing as H. S. Bennett, he was an authority on medieval England. He wrote "Life on the English Manor" (1937), and subsequently wrote extensively on literature of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.
Education and Family.
Bennett was educated initially at St Mark's College in Chelsea, and upon graduation became a schoolmaster at a London elementary school. After being invalided during the final stages of the Great War, he returned to England and gained admission to study at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.
In 1920 Bennett married the literary critic Joan Frankau. Their son, Christopher S. Bennett, was a contemporary of the writer Simon Raven at King's College, Cambridge; he went into the Treasury, and disappeared (possibly intentionally, given a work dispute and his hosting of several parties prior to his departure) in September 1966 whilst on a walking tour of the Savoy Alps. Their daughter Margaret (born 1924) married in 1948 the librarian Philip Gaskell.
Bibliography.
For a full bibliography see


Frederick the Simple

Frederick III (or IV) (1 September 1341 – Messina 27 July 1377), called the Simple, was King of Sicily from 1355 to 1377. He was the second son of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. He succeeded his brother Louis. The documents of his era call him the "infante Frederick, ruler of the kingdom of Sicily", without any regnal number.
"Frederick the Simple" is often confused with an earlier Sicilian monarch, his grandfather Frederick II, who chose to call himself "Frederick III" even though he was actually only the second King Frederick to occupy the Sicilian throne; his self-appellation was retained by later generations of genealogists and historians. The first King Frederick on the Sicilian throne was the latter's great-grandfather, King Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
Frederick III was born in Catania and succeeded to his brother Louis in 1355 under the regency of his sister, Euphemia of Sicily. In his youth the reign was under the control of powerful Sicilian barons, in particular of Artale I Alagona. The beginning of Frederick III's reign was also plagued by intermittent wars with the Kingdom of Naples (see War of the Sicilian Vespers) and also by the Black Death, to which his elder brother and predecessor had succumbed. On 25 December 1369, Frederick ordered all Jews to wear a badge indicating their heritage. The badge consisted of a piece of red material, not smaller than the largest royal seal; men were required to wear it under the chin, and women on the chest. In 1372 he was able to come to peace terms with Naples and Pope Gregory XI, obtaining the title of tributary King of "Trinacria".
After the death of his mother's cousin, Margaret of Tyrol in 1269, Frederick remained the sole descendant of the House of Gorizia-Tyrol which had ruled a vast territory in the Eastern Alps, comprising Tyrol, Carinthia and Carniola. However, due to his problems at home, he is not known to have ever raised any claims to those territories which thus passed to the Habsburgs.
Marriages.
On 11 April 1361, Frederick married firstly Constance of Aragon, daughter of King Peter IV of Aragon. They had only one daughter, Maria.
On 17 January 1372, Frederick married secondly Antonia of Baux. This marriage was designed to seal the Treaty of Villeneuve of 1372, by which Frederick's right to rule Sicily was recognised by Naples and the Papacy. There were no children from this marriage. Frederick was betrothed again to Antonia Visconti, but he died before the wedding and was succeeded by his only child, Queen Maria.


Camaldolese Slovak

Camaldolese Slovak ("Kamaldulská slovenčina") is a variant of cultural Slovak language (its Western variant) and can be called first attempt at creating standardized Slovak language. It is named after order of Camaldolese, which are credited as creators of at least two known books in this language:
In older literature, the authorship of both of these works are credited to Romauld Hadbavý, who was at the time abbot of the kamaldul order, or the monks from Červený kláštor. This is not considered certain however, as the type of language used in these works seems more akin to that of the kamaldul monks from Zobor monastery in Nitra (which lies in western Slovakia, as opposed to the eastern part).
It is expected, that much more works and translations has been made by the monks.


Battle of Flushing

The Battle of Flushing was a naval battle of the Eighty Years' War, fought on April 17, 1573 near the city of Flushing, Netherlands. The Spanish fleet was led by Sancho d'Avila, the Dutch fleet by Lieven Keersmaker.
The Dutch fleet initially left Flushing, but returned when the Spanish fleet was hit by the city's cannons. Five Spanish ships were seized, but the remainder managed to reach the cities of Middelburg and Arnemuiden.


Timeline of the Republic of Venice

This article presents a detailed timeline of the history of the Republic of Venice from its legendary foundation to its collapse under the efforts of Napoleon.
7th century.
This same year the newly erected Basilica of Santa Maria Assunta on the island of Torcello is consecrated.
Further reading.
[[Category:Italian history timelines]]
[[Category:Republic of Venice|Timeline]]
[[Category:Republic of Venice-related lists]]


Constantiana Daphne

Daphne was a Byzantine fortification inaugurated, most probably in 327, on the left bank of the Danube, across Transmarisca, in the delta of the Arges river. In 367, emperor Valens crossed the Danube at Daphne using a pontoon bridge.
It was mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus and Procopius of Caesarea.
The most probable position is at Grădiștea at south west of Ulmeni. Still some historians believe that the Daphne was the new name of the Sucidava- Celei.


Agius

Agius is a surname of Maltese origin. People with this surname include:


Henry II of Augsburg

Henry II (origin and ancestry unknown; died 3 September 1063) was Bishop of Augsburg from 1047 to 1063.
Prior to his episcopal tenure Henry II was a member of the "Hofkapelle" of Emperor Henry III and, from 1046 to 1047, the head of the Italian chancellery, in which documents that concerned the Italian lands of the Empire were prepared. His career is thus typical of the Ottonian-Salian imperial church. As Bishop of Augsburg, Henry was responsible for the expansion of Augsburg Cathedral and the episcopal palace.


Johann Felsko

Johann Daniel Felsko (also Felskau; ; — ) was a Baltic German architect, urban planner and the chief architect of Riga for 35 years in the period 1844—79. The most significant accomplishment of his creative work is the development of the center of Riga.
Early life.
Johann Felsko was born 30 October 1813 in Riga as son of mason Johan Jakob Felskau (1779—1858), who 1805 emigrated from Königsberg, East Prussia, to settle in Riga. Johann's mother was Therese Luise Heydemann (died 1868) from Schönberg in Courland. Johann Felsko married Georgine Wilhelmine Groos from Copenhagen, Denmark in 1842; they had three children, two of them being architect Karl Johann (1844—1918) and painter Oskar Eduard Daniel (born 1848).
Education.
Johann Felsko learned the building profession by being an apprentice to architect of Riga and master of the craft Johann Daniel Gottfriedt, until Gottfriedt died 1831. His education continued into the arts of technical drawing with Johann Adolf Spazier until 1832, which then led his travels as an apprentice via Königsberg, East Prussia, to work on fortifications with Captain Gersohn in Warsaw, on whose recommendations he went to Copenhagen, Denmark, then later to Posen, and then back to Denmark, in Hillerød. Felsko studied architecture at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1835—40. With a scholarship from the Riga City Council, his studies continued at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, where he 1851 was awarded the degree of Free Artist.
Creator of modern Riga.
One of the first large projects by Felsko was the reconstruction of the Riga City Hall in 1848. He constructed a third storey on top of the almost 100-year-old monument of the Classicism style, while still preserving its harmonic scale and the overall historic character of the building. In 1849 Felsko renovated the Neo-Gothic spire of St. John's Church, which remains in place to this day. In 1856 Tsar Alexander II of Russia approved the demolition of the city fortifications, and Felsko together with his colleague Otto Dietze began the development of a plan for the reconstruction of the city without delay. In the fall of that year, the work was done. In the following year, the Tsar approved this plan, and the same fall, the residents of Riga began digging up the old fortifications. The initial project underwent several alterations in order to decrease the costs, significantly however, Felsko's basic ideas were preserved and gradually were implemented in the construction of the semicircle of Riga's boulevards. The result is a superb urban ensemble with a canal — formed from the moat of the fortifications — becoming the central axis of the composition, which in turn, borders with free-standing public buildings, green spaces and separate blocks of apartment buildings. In the 1870s, the citadel fortress was also torn down, and the esplanade territory of the fortress was re-designed following the guidelines advanced in the designs of Felsko and Dietze.
Favourite Neo-Gothic style.
This master is also the author of several schools: the municipal grammar school, which now houses the Riga State Gymnasium No.1 at 8, Raiņa Boulevard (1874), another grammar school, now the Riga State Gymnasium No.2 at 1, Krišjāņa Valdemāra Street (1876—79), and the Craftsmen's Association School at 34, Aspāzijas Boulevard (1876). He also designed the Sadovnikow home for the poor at 20, Sadovņikova Street (1873), various apartment buildings at 49, Elizabetes Street (1870), 2, Antonijas Street (1879), 71, Brīvības Street (1879), 11, Šķūņu Street (1854) and a few others. Felsko utilised a rather wide spectrum of the formal elements of Eclecticism style in his buildings, elements of the Renaissance and of the Rundbogenstil can be found; however; his favourite was Neo-Gothic. This style appears in completely different forms and tones from building to building. Felsko, in his reconstruction project for Riga's center envisioned the riverbank development of the Daugava in a Neo-Gothic style as well; however; this particular dream of his remained unfulfilled. He applied the same vision to the municipal gas works at 1, Basteja Boulevard (1861), which, however; no longer possesses the imposing gas tanks that once stood there.
Perhaps one of the most effective of Felsko buildings is the Small Guild at 3/5 Amatu Street (1864—66) in Riga Old Town. This building's architecture is in harmony with that of its slightly older neighbour - the Large Guild. Felsko arranged a small square in front of the very bulky Medieval-like construction that already stood there. This feature was evaluated very positively by his contemporaries. The interior is very grand and ornate. Many of the windows are decorated with stained glass from Hanover. In the windows of the rooms now used by actors, the portraits of the author of the paintings, as well as that of Felsko can be seen.
A whole array of churches were also fathered by the design of Felsko: St. Martin's Church (1851), St. Gertrude Old Church (1863—68), the St. Saviour's Anglican Church (1859), Holy Trinity Church in the suburb of Sarkandaugava (1876—78), the St. Ann (1857—59) and St. Nicolai Church (1873—74), both on the lands of the Piņķi Mansion. All of them are Neo-Gothic in style with colourful and eloquent architectural touches.


Gonsalvo Monroy

Gonsalvo Monroy was a nobleman that served as Count of Malta between 1421 and 1427.
Monroy served as a feudal lord of Malta, and was unpopular due to various heavy taxes being introduced. This may have been one of the causes for the Maltese population living in poverty during this period. The population of Gozo revolted in 1425, with the peak being reached in 1426, when the Maltese ransacked Monroy's residence in Mdina, and blocked the Castrum Maris in Birgu (where Monroy's wife, Donna Costanza, was). The Maltese people were ready to buy out the land from Monroy, and a deal was struck between Gonsalvo Monroy's administration and a Maltese nobleman, Antonio Inguanez, who offered his two sons in exchange of Lady Constance of Monroy. The sum to be paid was 30,000 florins, which however was still a hefty sum. The local population never managed to settle their debt, and Monroy relieved the debt in his will.


Dai Smith (academic)

David Burton "Dai" Smith (born 1945) is a Welsh academic, cultural historian, author, and former BBC programme editor and broadcaster. He was chair of the Arts Council of Wales between 2007 and 2016.
Smith was born in the Rhondda. He was educated at Porth County and Barry Grammar School, before studying history and literature at Balliol College, Oxford, and later undertook further studies at Columbia University, New York, and the University of Wales, Swansea. Between 1969 and 1993, he was a lecturer in history in the universities of Lancaster, Swansea, and Cardiff. He was appointed as Professor in the History of Wales at the University of Wales in Cardiff in 1985, holding the post until 1992. He has also held visiting lectureships at universities in Denmark, England, France, Germany, Holland, Ireland and Spain.
In 1993, he joined the BBC as editor of Radio Wales, and in 1994 was appointed as Head of Broadcast (English Language). He was responsible for commissioning programmes on the arts and in drama, and has also presented award-winning documentaries on the people and culture of south Wales.
In 2000, Smith was appointed Pro-Vice-Chancellor at the University of Glamorgan, where he was responsible for developing the university's contributions to the community. He left the post in 2005 to become the Raymond Williams Chair in the Cultural History of Wales at Swansea University. In 2007, he was appointed Chair of the Arts Council of Wales, a post to which he was reappointed twice and held until 2016.
His publications have included "The Fed" (1980), a history of South Wales miners written with Hywel Francis; "Fields of Praise" (1986), a history of rugby union in Wales co-authored with Gareth Williams; "Wales: A Question for History" (1988); "Aneurin Bevan and the World of South Wales" (1993); the authorised biography "Raymond Williams: A Warrior’s Tale" (2008); and "In the Frame: Memory in Society 1910-2010" (2010). He has also edited the Welsh Assembly Government’s Library of Wales for classic works written in English from or about Wales.
His son is Owen Smith, MP.
Smith was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2017 New Year Honours for services to culture and the arts in Wales.


Battle of Rieti

The Battle of Rieti was fought on 7 March 1821 between Austria and Neapolitan rebels. The Austrians were victorious. The rebel Neapolitan general Guglielmo Pepe commanded a force numbering 10,000 soldiers, whilst Johann Frimont of the Austrian army commanded an army of around 14,500 soldiers.
Aftermath.
On 24 March the victorious Austrian army entered Naples and restored Ferdinand I to the throne. Johann Frimont reward from King Ferdinand of Naples was the title of the Prince of Antrodoco and a handsome sum of money, and from his own King promotion to the rank of General of the Cavalry. After this he commanded Austrian forces in North Italy, and was called upon to deal with many outbreaks of rebellion from Italian patriots. He became president of the Aulic council in 1831, but would die only a few months later in Vienna.


Elections in Guernsey

Elections in Guernsey gives information on election and election results in Guernsey with additional information of Sark and Alderney elections.
Guernsey.
Guernsey elects a legislature at the national level. The Guernsey States of Deliberation consists of 38 elected members (known as Deputies) and two representatives of Alderney, with the Bailiff (or his Deputy) acting as Presiding Officer with neither a casting nor original vote. In addition the Law Officers of the Crown are members of the States of Deliberation but they may not vote and by convention only address the assembly when answering questions or offering legal advice on matters under debate. Guernsey is a state in which political parties have not historically played an important role.
Islanders also vote for their Parish officials.
Voters are eligible to be inscribed on the electoral roll of Guernsey if they are:
Guernsey States of Deliberation elections.
Held every 4 years. The Guernsey States of Deliberation consists of 38 elected members (known as Deputies) and two representatives of Alderney, with the Bailiff (or his Deputy) acting as Presiding Officer with neither a casting nor original vote. Prior to 2016, the number of elected members was 45+2.
In 2020 voting moved to an island-wide system, "prior to that there were seven election districts from 2004.
Deputies are elected from a single island-wide constituency by plurality-at-large voting, with voters being able to cast up to 38 votes.
Political Parties.
A free association of persons wishing to support or endorse a candidate for election must register their party with the Guernsey Greffier.
Guernsey political parties include:
Administrative divisions - Parishes.
Each parish in Guernsey is administered by a Douzaine. Douzeniers are elected for a six-year mandate, two Douzeniers being elected by parishioners at a Parish Meeting in November each year. The senior Douzenier is known as the Doyen.
Two elected Constables carry out the decisions of the Douzaine, serving for between one and three years. The longest serving Constable is known as the Senior Constable and his or her colleague as the Junior Constable.
Each Douzaine nominates between one and nine of their number (depending upon the population in the parish) (34 in total) to represent their parish in the States of Election for a new Jurat.
Alderney.
Alderney elects its own parliament, as well as two representatives to the bailiwick assembly. States Members hold office for four years and in alternate years there is an "Ordinary Election" at which five of the sitting members may offer themselves for re-election. The President of the States of Alderney is elected for a four-year term of office.
Sark.
Sark elects its own parliament.
Voters are eligible to be inscribed on the electoral roll of Sark if they are:


Georg Friedrich, Margrave of Baden-Durlach

George Frederick of Baden-Durlach (30 January 1573 – 24 September 1638) was Margrave of Baden-Durlach from 1604 until his abdication in 1622. He also ruled Baden-Baden.
He was the third son of margrave Charles II of Baden-Durlach and his second wife, Anna of Veldenz. He was the youngest of eight children and was only four years old when his father died.
He succeeded his brother Ernest Frederick as margrave in 1604. He also continued his brother's occupation of Baden-Baden. George Frederick was a prominent member of the Protestant Union.
He raised an army of 12,000 men at the beginning of the Thirty Years' War in 1618. When Catholic League forces under General Tilly approached Baden in 1622 (Palatinate campaign), he marched against them, but came too late for the Battle of Mingolsheim. Setting off to pursue the retreating Catholics, he was defeated at the Battle of Wimpfen, and his army was destroyed, a few days later.
In 1627 he joined the Danish army.
He died at Strasbourg in 1638.
Life.
Early life.
George Frederick was born in Baden to Charles II, Margrave of Baden-Durlach and Anna of Veldenz.
The guardianship governments 1577-1595.
George Frederick was only four years old when he inherited the Margraviate of Baden-Sausenberg, necessating a regency. The regents were his mother Anna, Elector Palatine Louis VI (until 1583), Count Palatine Philip Louis of Neuburg and Duke Louis III "the Pious" of Württemberg.
Early rule.
In 1584, his elder brothers Ernest Frederick and James (d. 1590) and his mother (d. 1586) took over the guardianship. In 1595, George Frederick was declared an adult, and he took up government himself.
Education.
George Frederick learned the Latin, French and Italian languages and received his higher education in Strasbourg, where his brother James had studied earlier.
Travel.
He went on a Grand Tour to Besançon, Dole, Basel and Siena.
Division of the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach.
His elder brothers were declared adults in 1584. Ernest Frederick and James wanted to divide the inheritance, although their father's testament forbade this. However, the testament had not been properly signed and sealed, and the remaining guardians held that this meant that they could allow the brothers to divide the Margraviate. Ernest Frederick received Lower Baden, including the main towns Durlach and Pforzheim. James received the Margraviate of Baden-Hachberg.
George Frederick retained the southern parts of Baden-Durlach, the Lordships of Rötteln and Badenweiler and the County of Sausenburg. Thus, the Margraviate was fragmented further, after the earlier split into Baden-Baden and Baden-Durlach.
Reuniting Baden-Durlach.
When George Frederick's elder brother James died in 1590, Baden-Hachberg fell back to his eldest brother Ernest Frederick, who gave it to George Frederick in 1595. When Ernest Frederick died in 1604, Baden-Durlach was reunited under George Frederick who then became the Margrave of Baden-Durlach.
Ruler of Upper Baden 1595–1604.
Upon reaching adulthood, George Frederick became the ruler of Upper Baden. At first, he ruled from Rötteln Castle. In 1599 he moved his residence and the entire National Administration to Sulzburg). After the conversion of his brothers Ernest Frederick to strict Calvinism and James to Catholicism, George Frederick remained a Lutheran and founded his own Latin school in his small residence Sulzburg, so he would not have to depend on the Calvinist school in Durlach for the education of pastors in his territory. He constructed several buildings in Sulzburg, among them a real tennis hall. Between 1600 and 1610, he built the Castle Church in Sulzburg. Hence, the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach remained Lutheran since he survived the longest among his brothers.
Opening new regulations.
In 1603, he issued a forestry regulation for the Margraviate of Sausenberg and the Lordship of Rötteln.
The preacher on the throne.
Shortly after he took office in Upper Baden, George Frederick introduced Johann Weininger as the new General Superintendent at the Synod of Rötteln. On this occasion he held a speech that resembled a sermon.
Interests in the Bible.
He life was marked by an ascetic life-style. From the hand-written notes in his personal Bible, one can deduce that he has fully read through it at least 58 times. In 1601, he promised the citizens of Pforzheim, who resisted the appointment of Reformed clergy by his brother Ernest Frederick, that he would support them when the case came before the Reichskammergericht.
Religious issues.
If 1613, he had a religious dispute with Duke Francis II of Lorraine. He intended to argue the issue himself. This failed, however, when Francis, against an earlier agreement, sent Jesuits to argue the Catholic side of the dispute.
Legislative and administrative reform.
George Frederick laid the foundations for a sound administration. He established the Privy Council, which he presided himself. He created a high court and introduced a Church Order.
Opening the civil code in Baden.
He initiated the codification of the civil code of Baden. The resulting statute has been describe as "the most thorough of any of the German territorial states". It was published in 1622, but due to the Thirty Years' War, it could not be brought into force until 1654, under his son and successor Frederick V. It remained in force until 1809.
Interests in hunting.
George Frederick had big interests in hunting going out several times a week and hunting for big creatures.
The banker and political economist.
As early as 1603 George Frederick founded, in cooperation with the Estates of Upper Baden an exchange bank, which also managed orphan's pensions and later developed into a deposit bank. This bank was also meant to organize the trade in wine and grain and eliminate Jewist merchants. It also helped the margraviate to overcome the market crisis of the "Kipper und Wipper" period.
Making coins and other forms of currency.
George Frederick made many coins and other kinds of currency during his reign.
The military theorist.
George Frederick saw the deteriorating situation in the empire, and in his own principality in particular, and studied not only theologyl, but also military themes. He was informed the Knight academy that Count John VI of Nassau-Dillenburg had founded in Siegen in 1616. Between 1614 and 1617, George Frederick wrote a treatise on modern warfare for his sons Frederick, Charles and Christopher; this treatise was never published in print.
George Frederick and the parliament.
George Frederick was aware that he could achieve his goal of a united Lutheran margraviate of Baden only with the support of the people. In return for approval of taxes to finance his defense policies, he conceded to the Estates the right to have a say in religious questions.
Early years of the Thirty Years War.
Under Catholic influence, the ongoing court case before the Reichskammergericht about the ongoing occupation of Upper Baden threatened against George Frederick in 1622. He reacted with an armed intervention in the Bohemian Revolt, a conflict that formed the initial phase of the Thirty Years' War.
Before the Battle of Wimpfen.
In 1608, George Frederick joined the Protestant Union. He was appointed as a general of the Union, until it was dissolved in May 1621.
Forming alliances with certain districts.
On 19 August 1612, George Frederick concluded a defensive alliance with the Protestant cities of Bern and Zurich, with which he wanted to protect Upper Baden, as it was enclosed by territories belonging to Further Austria. When the war broke out, his allies failed to provide military assistance. However, the alliance did enable George Frederick to recruit mercenaries in Switzerland in 1621 and 1622.
The bishop of Speyer, Philipp Christoph von Sötern, felt threatened by the surrounding Protestant powers and in 1615, he began expanding his residence in Udenheim into a fortress. He changed the name Udenheim into Philippsburg and began constructing Philipsburg Fortress, despite protests by the imperial city of Speyer, the Electorate of the Palatinate and the Margraviate of Baden. In 1618, Elector Palatine Frederick V, George Frederick and the city of Speyer decided to raze the fortress. It was nevertheless completed in 1623.
Blocking paths.
From March to June 1620 George Frederick blocked the road from Breisach to Freiburg by order of the Protestant Union, operating from a fortified camp at Ihringen. The goal was to prevent the passage of mercenary troops of Bavaria and the Catholic League from the Alsace to their assembly points at Lauingen and Dillingen on the Danube. Nevertheless, after Emperor Ferdinand II gave assurances that certain troops had been recruited for himself and not for Bavarian/Catholic League army, George Frederick allowed the three regiments to pass and had to put up with being called naïve when these regiments joined the army of Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria.
Recruiting troops.
In 1621, George Frederick began recruiting troops to campaign against the Catholic forces, which had begun a successful advance in 1620. In order not to lose his Margraviate to an imperial ban for waging war on the emperor, he abdicated in 1622, in favour of his son, Frederick V.
Starting campaigns.
In the spring of 1622, after the Estates granted him a special war tax for three years, he had between and mercenaries at his disposal, with a relatively large amount of artillery, in addition to the regiment that would remain behind to defend Baden. On 24/25 April 1622, he began a campaign against the Emperor and his Catholic allies. However, he arrived too late to participate in the Battle of Mingolsheim on 27 April, where the Palatinate commander Count Ernst von Mansfeld crushingly defeated Lieutenant General Tilly of the Catholic League.
The Battle of Wimpfen.
On 27 April, George Frederick declared war on the Habsburgs and combined his forces with those of Mansfeld, so as to fight the Catholic League together. When they were inexplicably separated a few days later, George Frederick came under attack from Tilly, who was assisted by Spanish troops under Córdoba.
Defeat, injuries, escape and abdication.
George Frederick was defeated in the Battle of Wimpfen on 6 May 1622. He was injured in the face and narrowly escaped to Stuttgart, where he abdicated in favour of his eldest son.
After the Battle of Wimpfen.
Already on 13 May 1622 George Frederick had returned to Durlach and tried in vain to raise a new army. A Catholic army of about troops invaded Baden and devastated it thoroughly. George Frederick initially fled to a stronghold at Emmendingen he had heavily fortified in the beginning of the century. On 26 August 1622, the Emperor invested William, the son of Edward Fortunatus, with Baden-Baden. This meant that Baden was once again split into a Catholic Baden-Baden and a Protestand Baden-Durlach. This split would last until Baden was reunited in 1771 under Margrave Charles Frederick.
Retreat to Geneva.
In 1625, George Frederick retreated to Geneva, where he soon came into conflict with the Calvinist government, because he held Lutheran church services in his apartment. So in 1626 he moved to Thônes, where Duke Charles Emmanuel of Savoy allowed to hold Lutheran church services.
Later appointments.
In the summer of 1627 he was appointed lieutenant general of the Danish army by King Christian IV of Denmark, who was involved in the Danish-Lower Saxon War and tasked George Frederick with stopping the advance of Wallenstein into northern Germany. When Wallenstein approached, George Frederick withdrew to the island of Poel and then to Heiligenhafen in Holstein.
March to Oldenburg, near wipeout and surrender.
His troops from there marched to Oldenburg in Holstein, where he was almost completely wiped out in the Battle at the Oldenburg Gulley by an imperial army under Heinrich Schlik and had to surrender on 24 September 1627.
Resignation.
In October, George Frederick resigned from the Danish service, after a dispute with the Danish king, who wanted to bring the issue before a court martial.
Retirement.
George Frederick retired to his home in Strasbourg and devoted himself mainly to the study of religious literature. He was, however, still in contact with France and Sweden, trying to realise his dream of a Lutheran Greater Baden.
Death.
He died on 24 September 1638 in Strasbourg.
Burial.
His body was probably transferred to the princely crypt in the S. Michael Church in Pforzheim in 1650.
Marriages and issue.
First marriage – Juliane Ursula of Salm-Neufville.
In his first marriage Margrave George Frederick of Baden married on 2 July 1592 Juliane Ursula of Salm-Neufville (born 29 September 1572; died 30 April 1614), daughter of the Wild- and Rhinegrave Frederick of Salm-Neufville. This marriage produced 15 children:
Second marriage – Agathe of Erbach.
George Frederick of Baden married his second wife, on 23 October 1614. He married Agathe (born 16 May 1581; died 30 April 1621), the daughter of the Count George III of Erbach. This marriage the produced three children:
Third marriage – Elizabeth Stolz (which was actually a morganatic marriage).
George Frederick of Baden's third marriage was morganatic. On 29 July 1621, he married Elisabeth Stolz the daughter of his secretary, Johann Thomas Stolz. This marriage remained childless.