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Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate context of history;
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
No virtuous act is quite a virtuous from the standpoint of our friend or foe as from our own;
Therefore, we are saved by the final form of love which is forgiveness.
Reinhold Niebuhr
Lovely little pub in the village of Trellech in south Wales that offers visitors an alternative to the waters from the nearby Virtuous Well that are said to have curative properties.
“On life's journey faith is nourishment,
virtuous deeds are a shelter,
wisdom is the light by day
and right mindfulness is the protection by night.
If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.”
~ Buddha ~
“Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them.”
~ Rabindranath Tagore ~
“It is in the shelter of each other that the people live.”
~ Irish Proverb ~
Appreciation of Beauty and Excellence involves noticing and appreciating these attributes in various domains, from nature to art, to mathematics, to science, to everyday experiences. Appreciation of beauty and excellence refers to the ability to find, recognize, and take pleasure in the existence of goodness in the physical and social worlds. People high in this strength frequently feel awe and related emotions, including admiration and wonder, while walking in the woods or in a city, while reading novels, while learning about people’s lives, and while watching sports or movies. They are responsive to all forms of beauty and are able to see beauty where many people overlook it. Another type of beauty that this strength engenders is moral beauty; when goodness displayed as kindness, compassion, forgiveness, etc. is observed, this character strength leads to the transcendent emotion of elevation in which the person feels struck by the goodness he or she has witnessed and experiences a motivation to act virtuously and good because of it.
“The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away.”
- Pablo Picasso
Don't sell yourself short, maximise your presence in life by making use of your top strengths. But first, you need to know what they are. To take the only free scientifically backed personality test available today visit www.revisedperception.com/
David Luddy
Revised Perception
Ice cream! These are vegan, from Virtuous Pie, and delicious! Mine is lavender & Meyer lemon, and Jeff's (which I am holding so he could take the photo) was banana charcoal.
After work I poked around Gastown a little, and just as I was about to head home Jeff texted to say he was finishing work early, so we decided to meet up for dinner. We went to Torafuku in Chinatown, and had steamed buns, seared Brussels sprouts & broccoli, and a couple of maki rolls. Instead of getting dessert we went across the street to Virtuous Pie for vegan ice cream, which turned out to be some of the best ice cream of my life, vegan or not! After that it was still pretty early, so we went to the Boxcar for one more drink. Someone I knew from high school, who I used to see every so often at concerts, was working at the bar. We drove home with the windows down, and came home & cracked another beer and watched some Brooklyn Nine Nine. 230/365.
Built in 1902, Sacred Heart Catholic Church overlooks the township of Yea from its uppermost point along one of Yea’s premier boulevards; The Parade.
Sacred Heart Catholic Church is a fine classical example of a Victorian Academic Gothic church. Gothic architecture was perceived by the pious Victorians as an expression of religious, and therefore, moral values. Its revival was thus seen as virtuous and equated with moral revival. For this reason an ecclesiastical character was predominant. As befits such architecture, Sacred Heart is a smart red brick church with elegant lines which demonstrates the excellent stone masonry of the builders. It was built for the princely sum of £2,369.00, a considerable amount more than the £600.00 it cost to build its neighbor, St Luke’s Anglican Church. The current red brick Sacred Heart Church replaced the original 1890 timber church building. It was built by the Reverend Patrick O’Reilly and was blessed an opened by the Most Reverent Thomas Joseph Carr (1839-1917) on the 26th of October 1902. It features a steeply pitched roof of slate tiles and plainly fashioned walls that are decorated with stone detailing. It features common qualities of Victorian Academic Gothic architecture including a parapeted gable, wall buttresses with stone capping marking structural bays, and lancet stained glass windows with elegant tracery around them.
Yea is a small country town located 109 kilometres (68 miles) north-east of Melbourne in rural Victoria. The first settlers in the district were overlanders from New South Wales, who arrived in 1837. By 1839, settlements and farms dotted the area along the Goulburn River. The town was surveyed and laid out in 1855 and named after Colonel Lacy Walter Yea (1808 – 1855); a British Army colonel killed that year in the Crimean War. Town lots went on sale at Kilmore the following year. Settlement followed and the Post Office opened on 15 January 1858. The town site was initially known to pioneer settlers as the Muddy Creek settlement for the Yea River, called Muddy Creek until 1878. When gold was discovered in the area in 1859 a number of smaller mining settlements came into existence, including Molesworth. Yea expanded into a township under the influx of hopeful prospectors, with the addition of several housing areas, an Anglican church (erected in 1869) and a population of 250 when it formally became a shire in 1873. Yea was promoted as something of a tourist centre in the 1890s with trout being released into King Parrot Creek to attract recreational anglers. A post office was built in 1890, followed by a grandstand and a butter factory (now cheese factory) in 1891. There was a proposal in 1908 to submerge the town under the Trawool Water Scheme but it never went ahead. Today Yea is a popular stopping point for tourists on their way from Melbourne to the Victorian snow fields and Lake Eildon, and is very popular with cyclists who traverse the old railway line, which has since been converted into a cycling trail.
Heraldry detail: Alabaster & marble wall monument which has not fared well over time:
"Here lies buried the most virtuous Lady Catherine Graham wife of Sir Richard Graham of Netherby in the county of Cumberland, knight and Bart, daughter of Thomas Musgrove of Cumcach Esq and Susanna his wife. Well beloved in her country as being a very hospitable and charitable matron, she died March 1649 in the 48th year of her age leaving behind her 2 sons and 4 daughters namely George, Richard, Mary, Elizabeth, Susanna and Henrietta Maria."
Richard, bc.1583 was the 2nd son of Fergus Graham 1625 of Plump, Kirkandrews-upon-Esk and Sybil daughter of William Bell of Scotsbrig, Middlebie, Dumfries & Brockethouse by Elizabeth Bowmont
He was knighted on 9th January 1629 and created a baronet on 29th March 1629
He was groom to George, 1st Marquess (later Duke) of Buckingham by 1617, gentleman of the horse 1619-28;8 joint. clerk of customs bills 1619-21;9 equerry, King’s Stables 1629-?44; master of the harriers 1644- Member, Council in the North 1629-41 .......
Sir Richard came from one of the more obscure branches of a border clan, notorious for its participation in violent raiding, that settled at Plump by the middle of the sixteenth century His elder brother was deported to the Low Countries after a particularly audacious week of pillage in 1603, and his ‘debatable lands’ were granted to George Clifford, 3rd earl of Cumberland. Sir Richard himself ‘came on foot to London and got entertained into ... Buckingham’s service, having some spark of wit, and skill in moss-trooping and horse-coursing’. Despite a temporary loss of office in 1620 after a duel with his employer’s kinsman, a younger son of Basil Feilding*, he was able to lay out £3,955 on the purchase of property in Lincolnshire in 1621-2. As a part-time resident in Cumberland, he endeavoured to reform vice there by building a church and educating the young Appointed customer of Carlisle in 1623, he was granted permission to execute the office by deputy on account of his attendance at Court. In the same year, with Sir Francis Cottington* and Endymion Porter†, he accompanied Buckingham and Prince Charles on their ill-fated journey to Spain to woo the Infanta.
In 1624 the year of his marriage, Richard bought Norton Conyers from his wife’s father (whose own father had purchased it from the Crown in 1593 ) with 'all messuages, granges, mills, lands, tenements, tithes, waters, warrens, leet lawdays, views of frankpledge' and other liberties for £6,500.28 During the autumn he fought a duel with another follower of Buckingham, Sackville Crowe*, but again escaped serious consequences Graham took the credit for persuading Lord Robartes to buy a peerage for £3,000 in 1625, and Edward Clarke* heard that he had been rewarded with a suit valued at £500 a year.
He m 1624 Catherine daughter of Thomas Musgrove 1600 of 1600 of Cumcatch Manor, Brampton, Cumberland & Susanna Thwaites
Children
1. George 2nd Bart c1624-58 married Mary daughter of James Johnstone 1st Earl of Hartfell and 1st wife Margaret daughter of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry & Isabel Kerr
2. Richard 1635 - 1711 was made a baronet in 1662 for services to the royal cause in the Civil War . He m Elizabeth daughter of Chichester Fortescue & Elizabeth Slingsby
Elizabeth was the grand-daughter of William Slingsby www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/6123004013/ and had a son Reginald 1728 who married Frances Bellingham
3. Mary m Edward 1st baron Musgrave 1673 of Hayton Castle, Cumberland
4. Elizabeth m (1st wife) Sir Cuthbert Heron of Chipchase Castle
5. Susanna
6. Henrietta Maria
Sir Richard was first elected MP for Carlisle, ten miles from his Cumbrian estate, in 1626, during the mayoralty of his kinsman Edward Aglionby*, who acted as returning officer. He left no trace on the records of the second Caroline Parliament, though he may have heard his transaction with Robartes mentioned in Sir John Eliot’s* report on 24 Mar. 1626 of the charges of corruption levelled against Buckingham. Graham attended his master on the expedition to the Ile de Ré in 1627, and with John Ashburnham* helped to rally a faltering regiment at the landing He was re-elected in 1628, but again went unnoticed in the parliamentary records. On 8 July he re-purchased Nicholl Forest and other ‘debatable lands’ formerly confiscated from his family, from the Cliffords at the favourable price of £7,050.33 After his Buckingham’s assassination he was granted a market and fair on his Cumberland estate, and rebuilt Kirkandrews church in 1637, though in a thoroughly shoddy manner.
Richard was created a baronet in 1629.
He fought on the side of Charles I at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, where he was severely wounded and lived in the York garrison until 1 July when the city was relieved by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. However Rupert and Newcastle were defeated the next day at the decisive Battle of Marston Moor, where Richard suffered 26 wounds returning home on horseback more dead than alive .
Later taken prisoner while on his way from Oxford to Newark in November 1645, he promptly submitted to Parliament and was thus able to compound for his delinquency at a favourable rate, paying £2,385 on an estate of just under £1,250 a year.
Sir Richard made his will on 26 March 1653, leaving a portion of £1,500 for his only unmarried daughter , named after the queen, Henrietta Maria, and an annuity of £20 for a cousin at whose house in Newmarket he died on 28th January 1654 and was buried here at Wath.
His Cumberland property had been settled on his elder son George who died before the 1660 Restoration of King Charles ll , however his grandson Sir Richard Grahame reeped the rewards for their loyalty to the Crown, and was given a Scottish peerage and represented the county under James II.
His younger son Richard founded another branch of the family at Norton Conyers where they still live . He was created 1st Baronet Graham of Norton Conyers for his loyal services in the Civil War,
(The descendants of George & William seem to have intermarried in the 17c & 18c www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/88Rn92 )
Monument repaired by Sir Bellingham Graham Bart 1783 "
A brass inscription placed on the wall underneath, is said by Longstaffe to refer to Katherine - "..Enobled virtue lyes within this tombe, whose life & death inferiour was to none. Her soules in heaven, this tombe is but a tent. Her endless worth is her owne monument" www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/877569
www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1604-1629/member/graham-richard... www.geni.com/people/Sir-Richard-Graham-of-Esk-1st-Baronet...
- Church of St Mary, Wath, Yorkshire
Alabaster & marble wall monument which has not fared well over time:
"Here lies buried the most virtuous Lady Catherine Graham wife of Sir Richard Graham of Netherby in the county of Cumberland, knight and Bart, daughter of Thomas Musgrove of Cumcach Esq and Susanna his wife. Well beloved in her country as being a very hospitable and charitable matron, she died March 1649 in the 48th year of her age leaving behind her 2 sons and 4 daughters namely George, Richard, Mary, Elizabeth, Susanna and Henrietta Maria."
Richard, bc.1583 was the 2nd son of Fergus Graham 1625 of Plump, Kirkandrews-upon-Esk and Sybil daughter of William Bell of Scotsbrig, Middlebie, Dumfries & Brockethouse by Elizabeth Bowmont
He was knighted on 9th January 1629 and created a baronet on 29th March 1629
He was groom to George, 1st Marquess (later Duke) of Buckingham by 1617, gentleman of the horse 1619-28;8 joint. clerk of customs bills 1619-21;9 equerry, King’s Stables 1629-?44; master of the harriers 1644- Member, Council in the North 1629-41 .......
Sir Richard came from one of the more obscure branches of a border clan, notorious for its participation in violent raiding, that settled at Plump by the middle of the sixteenth century His elder brother was deported to the Low Countries after a particularly audacious week of pillage in 1603, and his ‘debatable lands’ were granted to George Clifford, 3rd earl of Cumberland. Sir Richard himself ‘came on foot to London and got entertained into ... Buckingham’s service, having some spark of wit, and skill in moss-trooping and horse-coursing’. Despite a temporary loss of office in 1620 after a duel with his employer’s kinsman, a younger son of Basil Feilding*, he was able to lay out £3,955 on the purchase of property in Lincolnshire in 1621-2. As a part-time resident in Cumberland, he endeavoured to reform vice there by building a church and educating the young Appointed customer of Carlisle in 1623, he was granted permission to execute the office by deputy on account of his attendance at Court. In the same year, with Sir Francis Cottington* and Endymion Porter†, he accompanied Buckingham and Prince Charles on their ill-fated journey to Spain to woo the Infanta.
In 1624 the year of his marriage, Richard bought Norton Conyers from his wife’s father (whose own father had purchased it from the Crown in 1593 ) with 'all messuages, granges, mills, lands, tenements, tithes, waters, warrens, leet lawdays, views of frankpledge' and other liberties for £6,500.28 During the autumn he fought a duel with another follower of Buckingham, Sackville Crowe*, but again escaped serious consequences Graham took the credit for persuading Lord Robartes to buy a peerage for £3,000 in 1625, and Edward Clarke* heard that he had been rewarded with a suit valued at £500 a year.
He m 1624 Catherine daughter of Thomas Musgrove 1600 of 1600 of Cumcatch Manor, Brampton, Cumberland & Susanna Thwaites
Children
1. George 2nd Bart c1624-58 married Mary daughter of James Johnstone 1st Earl of Hartfell and 1st wife Margaret daughter of William Douglas, 1st Earl of Queensberry & Isabel Kerr
2. Richard 1635 - 1711 was made a baronet in 1662 for services to the royal cause in the Civil War . He m Elizabeth daughter of Chichester Fortescue & Elizabeth Slingsby
Elizabeth was the grand-daughter of William Slingsby www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/6123004013/ and had a son Reginald 1728 who married Frances Bellingham
3. Mary m Edward 1st baron Musgrave 1673 of Hayton Castle, Cumberland
4. Elizabeth m (1st wife) Sir Cuthbert Heron of Chipchase Castle
5. Susanna
6. Henrietta Maria
Sir Richard was first elected MP for Carlisle, ten miles from his Cumbrian estate, in 1626, during the mayoralty of his kinsman Edward Aglionby*, who acted as returning officer. He left no trace on the records of the second Caroline Parliament, though he may have heard his transaction with Robartes mentioned in Sir John Eliot’s* report on 24 Mar. 1626 of the charges of corruption levelled against Buckingham. Graham attended his master on the expedition to the Ile de Ré in 1627, and with John Ashburnham* helped to rally a faltering regiment at the landing He was re-elected in 1628, but again went unnoticed in the parliamentary records. On 8 July he re-purchased Nicholl Forest and other ‘debatable lands’ formerly confiscated from his family, from the Cliffords at the favourable price of £7,050.33 After his Buckingham’s assassination he was granted a market and fair on his Cumberland estate, and rebuilt Kirkandrews church in 1637, though in a thoroughly shoddy manner.
Richard was created a baronet in 1629.
He fought on the side of Charles I at the Battle of Edgehill in 1642, where he was severely wounded and lived in the York garrison until 1 July when the city was relieved by Prince Rupert of the Rhine. However Rupert and Newcastle were defeated the next day at the decisive Battle of Marston Moor, where Richard suffered 26 wounds returning home on horseback more dead than alive .
Later taken prisoner while on his way from Oxford to Newark in November 1645, he promptly submitted to Parliament and was thus able to compound for his delinquency at a favourable rate, paying £2,385 on an estate of just under £1,250 a year.
Sir Richard made his will on 26 March 1653, leaving a portion of £1,500 for his only unmarried daughter , named after the queen, Henrietta Maria, and an annuity of £20 for a cousin at whose house in Newmarket he died on 28th January 1654 and was buried here at Wath.
His Cumberland property had been settled on his elder son George who died before the 1660 Restoration of King Charles ll , however his grandson Sir Richard Grahame reeped the rewards for their loyalty to the Crown, and was given a Scottish peerage and represented the county under James II.
His younger son Richard founded another branch of the family at Norton Conyers where they still live . He was created 1st Baronet Graham of Norton Conyers for his loyal services in the Civil War,
(The descendants of George & William seem to have intermarried in the 17c & 18c www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/88Rn92 )
Monument repaired by Sir Bellingham Graham bart 1783, their hands are much too big !!
A brass inscription placed on the wall underneath, is said by Longstaffe to refer to Katherine - "..Enobled virtue lyes within this tombe, whose life & death inferiour was to none. Her soules in heaven, this tombe is but a tent. Her endless worth is her owne monument" www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/877569
- Church of St Mary, Wath, Yorkshire
www.histparl.ac.uk/volume/1604-1629/member/graham-richard... www.geni.com/people/Sir-Richard-Graham-of-Esk-1st-Baronet...
- Church of St Mary, Wath, Yorkshire
In 1868, four Irish Christian brothers, P.A. Treacy, D.F. Bodkin, J.B. Lynch and P.J. Nolan, arrived in Melbourne to open a new Christian school in the booming, and somewhat wild, city at the behest of Bishop Gould. They began teaching in 1869 in a small rented primary school behind St. Francis’ Church in Lonsdale Street. However, they really wanted something more permanent than the rented school they had, and they also wished to have a monastery in which to reside, rather than the rented rooms in Fitzroy that they had taken as a temporary measure.
With help from the Irish Catholic Church, they acquired a parcel of land along the wide boulevard of Victoria Parade in East Melbourne. In 1871 their dreams were realised when a new bluestone college was blessed by Bishop Gould in the presence of the venerable Archbishop of Sydney, the Archbishop Polding. They called their new school Parade College, after the name of the street it was built on, and dedicated it to Mary Immaculate.
The building is an imposing three storey bluestone structure that was built to the designs of Melbourne architect William Wilkinson Wardell (1823 – 1899), who also designed the nearby St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The building has been designed in the popular Victorian Gothic style, a mostly ecclesiastical architectural style. It features gothic style windows on the Victoria Parade facade, and a double storey verandah of cast iron on the rear of the building, which when it was built, would have taken in beautiful views of the nearby Fitzroy Gardens and the burgeoning city beyond it. The building also included a beautiful chapel on the third floor, accessed via a stairwell that was also designed in the Gothic style. The chapel is small; however it makes up in beauty what it lacks in size, with a vaulted pressed metal ceiling and beautiful stained glass windows.
On the school’s first day, more than one hundred boys were enrolled and the number increased steadily as accommodation became available. As time went on, more Brothers arrived at Parade College from Ireland, and so the number of boys attending the school could increase. In 1902 the school building was extended yet again and finally completed William Wardell’s original designs. It is this building that we see today. This building was affectionately known as the "Old Bluestone Pile" and the school’s song takes its name from this building.
Gothic architecture was perceived by the pious Victorians as an expression of religious, and therefore, moral values, and this may be the reason why architects preferred to build schools in this style throughout the Nineteenth Century. Its revival was seen as virtuous and equated with moral revival; the perfect environment in which to educate young minds. For this reason an ecclesiastical character was predominant even on buildings that were not necessarily religious.
In 1999 after being located in Clayton for 25 years, the Catholic Theological College moved into the former Parade College building (which had been sold in 1994) alongside which it built a new modern building designed by Gregory Burgess.
William Wilkinson Wardell was a civil engineer and architect born in England. He studied under Gothic architect Augustus Pugin, who became his friend as well as his mentor. Between 1846 and 1858 he designed over thirty churches in England, which was a very prodigious output, and he had a flourishing business. Some of the churches he designed include: St Birinus, Bridge End, Dorchester-on-Thames which was worked on between 1846 and 1849, and Greenwich’s Our Lady Star of the Sea which was worked on between 1846 and 1851. By 1858, Mr. Wardell’s health was suffering and his doctors felt that the warmer climate afforded by Australia might be more beneficial to his health. Therefore he, his wife Lucy, his two sons and daughter migrated after Mr. Wardell obtained the position of "Government Architect" to the city of Melbourne. In Melbourne he is known for designing the first St Mary’s Church in East St Kilda in 1859 and the second in 1897, Government House Melbourne in 1876, the ANZ Gothic bank in Collins Street in 1877, and St Patrick’s Cathedral which was completed in 1897 but was still being modified by Mr. Wardell at the time of his death. He is also known in Sydney for designing, the ASN Co. Building in 1884, St John’s College at the University of Sydney, which was completed after a breakdown in relations between the architect and the Sydney City Council, and St Mary’s Cathedral which was not completed until after his death. Mr. Wardell died at his home, “Upton Grange” in North Sydney in November 1899 of heart failure and pleurisy, but left behind a rich legacy in Australia, not only of the commercial and ecclesiastical buildings that he created, but for the numerous private houses and mansions that he designed.
"Nazareth House" was founded in the provincial Victorian city of Ballarat in 1888 by Bishop Moore as an orphanage and a home for the impoverished elderly under the supervision of the Sisters of Nazareth, who also used "Nazareth House" as a convent.
In response to a commission, in 1889 architects Tappin, Gilbert and Dennehy produced plans for a splendid red brick "Nazareth House" building to replace the order's existing quarters. Constructed in 1891, "Nazareth House" is a three-storey Victorian Academic Gothic edifice of red brick with stone detailing punctuated by two towers and a central gable marking the entrance. The building is flanked by two wings ending in gables that match the central section. The ground floor arched windows are arranged regularly in the upper two levels. Above the roof line the towers have paired occuli below a cornice line. Above the cornice is a pair of elongated openings with pointed arch heads below another cornice line that corbels out to the steep slate roof capped with a cast iron finial. In 1902, Reed, Smart and Tappin designed a brick chapel for "Nazareth House", built sympathetically in Academic Gothic style.
Gothic architecture was perceived by the pious Victorians as an expression of religious, and therefore, moral values. Its revival was thus seen as virtuous and equated with moral revival. For this reason an ecclesiastical character was predominant. Therefore, Victorian Academic Gothic style would have been the only style suitable for "Nazareth House" to be built in.
The Sisters of Nazareth is a Catholic religious order of nuns. The Sisters of Nazareth began in 1851, when Victoire Larmenier, a young sister in Rennes, France was sent to England. In October six years later, she founded the first Nazareth House, in Hammersmith, London. Since then the Sisters of Nazareth congregation has grown and expanded throughout the world. Originally caring for poor and infirm children, the Sisters of Nazareth turned their efforts to include the impoverished elderly. Today there are thirty-seven "Nazareth Houses" worldwide, and they continue to care for orphans and the elderly.
Robert Sutton 2nd Baron Lexington 1662-1723 of Kelham Hall en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sutton,_2nd_Baron_Lexinton#/... sits back to back with wife Margaret Hungerford 1703 who holds a ring symbolising eternity. (in 1797 Thoroton said "they are not, I think, in the happiest position; a resting posture is not the best conceived for one of an active life, like that of lord Lexington's. Nor do I think their being placed back to back is agreeable with a life of mutual affection")
Robert was the son of Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexington 1668 flic.kr/p/NLigbu and 3rd wife Mary daughter of Sir Anthony Mayney of Linton
He was the grandson of Sir William Sutton 1611 of Averham and Susan Cony / Caney flic.kr/p/bjBiR1
He was the owner of Averham and Kelham manors
He m 1691 Margaret heiress of Sir Giles Hungerford of Colston / Coulston Wilts by Margaret daughter of Sir Thomas Hampson
Children
1. Willilam George 1697-1713 (his body brought back here for burial concealed in a bale of cloth).
2. Cornelia Leonora Margaretta 1695-1715
3. Bridget 1699-1734 m 1717 John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland d1779 eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke & Catherine Russell : Great grandson of John Manners 8th Earle of Rutland 1679 flic.kr/p/JpwnWy & Baptist Noel, Lord Viscount Campden 1683 flic.kr/p/Kvkvnp
His heir was his grandson Lord Robert Manners-Sutton 1722–1762 who added the name of Sutton when he inherited his grandfather's estates, However he died unmarried and the estates passed to his next brother Lord George Manners 1723-1783 who also adopted the name Manners-Sutton and m Diana Chaplin d1767 only daughter of Thomas Chaplin of Blankney, by whom he had 9 children
monument in marble by William Palmer, dated 1726
"The family of the Suttons has flourished in this county from immemorial. In the year 1251 Roland Sutton married Alicia one of the sisters and coheirs of Robert Lord Lexington. From this marriage issued in the 14th degree in direct line, Robert Sutton who in regard to his descent on the paternal side from the house of Sutton, which had given earles to Warwick and Leicester, and lords to the baronly of Dudley, and the maternal side from one of the coheirs of Robert Lord Lexington, and like wise in consideration of his steady loyality to his prince was created Lord Lexington of Averham in the 21st of King Charles the lst, upon his death which fell out October 135h 1668. He was succeeded in honour and estate by his only son Robert Lord Lexington, here interred who dying without issue male left his estate to his only daughter Bridget, Duchess of Rutland for life, afterwards to he second son the Lord Robert Manners, on condition that he take the arms and name of Sutton.
Here lyeth the body of Robert Sutton, Lord Lexington. The worthy descendant of great and illustrious ancestors. Gracefull in person, polite in behaviour, of conversation amiable. Prompted youthfull ardor he betook himself to arms, and served with reputation. In his riper years his superior genius shone out in clearest judgement united with candor and good nature, he understood and apply'd himself to business.
His whole conduct uncorrupt not adulterated by pride, hence recommended himself to 2 succeeding princes, and under different administration. King William brought him near his own person by constituting him one of the Lords of his bedchambers, then called him into his most important counsels, and sent him in quality of his envoy extraordinary to the courts of Vienna, Hanover and Zell, in a very nice conjuncture of affairs.
Her late majesty Queen Anne equally convinced of his great ability's, in the 1711 sent him embassador to Spain, where he occupied his commission with his usual skill and success and had this happiness in the discharge of public character that he was in the highest esteem at the courts where he resided at the same time that he possessed the fullest confidence of the princes whom he served. By his negotiations, King Philip was prevail'd upon to renounce all claim to the succession of ye crown of France and treatys of peace and commerce were happily concluded between the british and Spanish monarchy's. During his residence at Madrid he had ye misfortune to lose he dear only son, a youth of greatest hopes and this together with an ill state of health determined him to retire to private life. But the serenity he here expected was interrupted by the death of his eldest daughter which had been irreparable to him. Had he not enjoyed the signal felicity of seeing his other surviving daughter married to John Duke of Rutland, and observing in her all the accomplishments a tender parent could, with joyn'd to the prospect of a numerous issue from this union. To preserve the names of Manners and Sutton, and perpetuate the virtues of those noble family's he departed September 19th 1723 and such was the captivating and rare sweetness of his manners and conversation that he lived without enemy's, he died regretted by all that know him, particularly by his daughter Bridget who in filial gratitude to the most indulgent and best father, hath erected this monument.
Within this vault is deposited the body of Margaret, Lady Lexington, the virtuous and only wife of Robert Lord Lexington. She was daughter and heir to Sir Giles Hungerford of Colston in the county of Wilts, a family illustrious in the times of the saxon government and therefore suteably united to the ancient house of Sutton. Such were the beautyes of her mind and person that as she lived esteemed and reverenc'd, her memory will continue ever dear to posterity. She dyed April 1703. William George Sutton born at Vienna September 25th 1697 died at Madrid August 15th 1712, Cornelia Leonora Margaretta Sutton born at Vienna November 4th 1695 dyed October 18th 1715. Children of Robert and Margaret, Lord and Lady Lexington are likewise here interred"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sutton,_2nd_Baron_Lexinton- Church of St. Wilfrid, Kelham Nottinghamshire
Berthe Morisot, Bourges 1841 - Paris 1895
Mädchen zwischen Tulpen - Peasant girl among tulips (1890)
Dixon Galleries and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
In 1890, Morisot, her ailing husband, and their twelve-year-old daughter, Julie, spent half the year in Mézy, a village in the French countryside, where they hoped the fresh air would help restore Eugène’s health. Morisot painted Peasant Girl among Tulips that spring, seeing in the sturdy features of a French peasant girl the fragile beauty of a tulip. Morisot consciously rhymed the swirling brushwork in the girl’s unadorned dress with the swirling forms of the tulip leaves. The wisps of hair curling away from her face are like spent tulip petals about to fall to the ground. Even the girl’s delightful oval face is shaped like a tulip blossom. Her hands, stained brown from working in fields, connect her to the rural French countryside, a virtuous place capable of producing lovely flowers and lovely young girls.
Source: Google Arts & Culture
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with Fast Company Contributor E.B. "Liza" Boyd about Internet policy - during a swing through Silicon Valley - during the Virtuous Circle Conference on October 10, 2016, at the Rosewood Sandhill Hotel in Menlo Park, California. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry chats with Fast Company Contributor E.B. "Liza" Boyd about Internet policy - during a swing through Silicon Valley - during the Virtuous Circle Conference on October 10, 2016, at the Rosewood Sandhill Hotel in Menlo Park, California. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]
be sure to view the comparison chart on Full Screen
OK. At first glimpse, this comparison might sound unfair. The D300, featuring a 12 MP sensor was released in 2007, while the D7100, featuring a 24 MP sensor was released almost 6 years later in 2013. Six years. That is a long time in the digital world.
PREFACE
But let's start from the beginning. I am, or at least was most of the time very happy with my D300 for more than 5 years now. The camera travelled from the darkest basements to far asian cities and islands. And I never considered it an option to give away my cam as it never failed, never let me in the dark, never disappointed me. After having the D40 for a year before going to the D300 I was learning to appreciate the straight and clean layout of the control elements on the D300. It is truly straightforward. Shooting modes (P,M,S,A), ISO, WB, Exposure, Aperture and many more important settings can be very easily accessed without ever going into the menu. Hold the specific settings button while clicking the exposure dial thru the option value range. Release the button and it is set. Thats it. This straight UX approach was another strong reason I was soo happy with that camera. Also with the quality of the camera, especially its built quality – full metal (magnesium alloy) body - and the haptic feeling I was always more than satisfied over those years. For the image quality I was also quite pleased. Except, that sometimes I felt a bit more resolution for cropping could have been in those situations where you once again had to hurry snapping a shot without fine adjusting of the frame. On other occasions I was feeling like wanting more High ISO with less noise to shoot in the dark by hand. But as both of those requests seemed like only having one answer, namely going to full-frame (FX-Format) I dismissed the idea of upgrading . I was more than often on a holiday in a situation were I was tired to carry around my bulky and heavy bag. Going to full frame would not have meant to spend much more money on lenses but also to carry around an even bulkier and more heavier bag than the one I am sick of right now. So on holiday you will see me often just with the camera hanging from my shoulder, having the 35mm f/1.8 on and thats it. I highly appreciate the ability to move virtuously. Without moving, there is not much different scenes you are going to take in a day. And if you don't have a car with you or someone who is happy to carry your equipment (tripod, bag, umbrellas … what else do you need?) you really don’t feel like moving that much while taking all that material with you.
I remember also one of my close friends wanting me to convert to Canon, but this was also never an option for me. Not only having to switch a whole system of lenses, flashes and accessories, but I was and I am appreciating the nature of Nikon products in all ways a lot. Canon cameras often come out with newer features (Full-Frame-Sensors, Video, ...) or higher image quality more soon than Nikon ones. But to me they never felt that solid holding them in my hands as the Nikon cameras. I had Canon Cameras in my hand which cost more than double of the D300, but they always feel like cheap plastic to me. They never feel that solid as I would spend that much money on them. I also have some recent models of premium cars in my mind where manufacturers really failed in interior materials for +100k USD cars. I never would going to buy those – even I had the money - as they have cheap plastic buttons on the command panel, despite of being highly awarded by the so called independent specialized press.
COMMON FEATURES
OK. Lets first take a look, not at the differences of those both cameras. Let's take a look of what they have in common. Both are Nikon F-Mount DSLRs with a DX-Sensor (crop factor 1.3x). Both have the four basic important shooting modes – P, M, S, A. Both have an HDMI output on the left and a LCD on top. And the D7100 has at least a body which is partially made of magnesium alloy. Both have a 100 % viewfinder (0.94x). Both can shoot 14-bit NEF's, and both are featuring a 51-point AF sensor and an AF-motor, so non AF-S lenses will have AF function on both cams as well. Both can be equipped with a battery grip, and if you take a look at the menus you'll also find both cameras having extensive settings options which is almost the same huge feature list once more. And interestingly the D300s (the video enabled succeeder of the D300) is available at almost the same price right now as the D7100 is.
VIDEO
Let's just assume for a second that the only feature I am missing on my D300 is the video. Especially on holiday there is always something funny happening you want to take a video of, but often that is not in ideal light conditions. Smartphones just miss up taking videos in dim light and they don't have any optical zoom. So for taking just a little bit serious video it might be a good feature to have on the camera. But for buying a new camera with new money the step from to the D300s is just not far enough for me. It does not feature 1080p or 30fps video recording. And compared to the D300 there is just not more in the box finally than the video.
When spending money on a new camera you want to have more than just one feature. I never thought before that I am going to leave this super straight and solid prosumer Nikon line – not in favour for a less-pro product line. But as it turns out, the D7100 has much more image detail and quality offering in a package which is even lighter and more easy to carry than my old D300 and it is giving me 1080p video, while spending even a little less than for the D300s without missing all those detailed menu settings and major features. That's it. Said like this, it sounds very simple.
DIFFERENCES
Finally, I want to point out, which features you might be missing in case you are going for that same “upgrade” as me, or which features you might gain.
D300 havs, D7100 don't havs - flash sync plug (the old round one) - round 10 pin cable socket for remote cable shutter release and the older style GPS modules - display cover (protects your display from scratches) - straightforward controls - CF card slot (big cards, easy to grab, but be careful with the pins) - manual pop up flash (it never fires unless you release it first, no matter which program – that makes you look more smart than those people who are taking photos in the night of far objects (like skylines) or shooting thru windows with accidently firing the flash ;) - more solid body - bigger top LCD - bigger body more easy to grab (but also more heavy) - high shooting rate of up to 6/8 shots per second (8 only with battery grip or sw tweak***) - big buffer space (will enable you continues shooting of up to 18 RAWs (12-bit) at 6 FPS with fast cards) - LCD screen features more realistic tones and colors - in camera preview is of higher quality
D7100 havs, D300 don't havs - 24 MP sensor - Video recording - SD cards (hell are these small!) - DUAL SD card slots (second one can be set to JPG, backup or overflow) - IR sensor (for triggering the shutter) - many shooting scene modes (your friends who are not into photography might be able to take photos as well) - flash pop up is controlled by software now (to disable the flash, be sure to choose the right settings first) - shooting rate at 6 shots per second also for 14-bit NEFs (3 on the D300), but as of the - limited buffer space the burst rate drops dramatically (under 3 fps depending on your card) after 5 or 6 takes. - support for newer style GPS receivers and the Wifi-Adapter - LCD screen features adjustable backlight - HDMI-C socket (HDMI-A-Cables need an adapter)
That is not a comprehensive list, but the biggest differences I have encountered so far.
LOW PASS FILTER
Finally one last stop at the so called “low-pass-filter”. I have read on many sources on the web that there is “no significant difference” in picture detail by removing the low-pass-filter. I can confirm now while comparing both cameras that this is not true. The D7100 100% crops show definitely higher sharpness on the pixel level than the shots from my D300. Sure, that effect can only be observed while having a lens which is able to deliver that high detail. Just look at the photos I took here. Despite that DX prime lens' super low price tag, its able to deliver this. And there are probably more pricy prime lenses available which can even surpass this performance.
DISPLAY
The back display of both cams are different, but I cannot see any benefit in case of the D7100 LCDs in having another W-subpixel. If you place the cameras side by side you will easily notice that the colors and tones on the display of the D300 are much more natural. The D7100 has an adjustable backlight now and a little bit more true black. That is both a plus. But the photos on the D7100 seem oversharped on playback. But luckily this effects can only be observed on the screen. The photos itself on your memory card are of highest quality on both cams.
Image playback on the D7100 over HDMI shows black bars on left and right side - even if you zoom in into the photo - this is something nobody likes to see, especially as the D300 was able to do that better back then in 2007 already. But despite Nikon knowing from customer complains about this problem they never went to fix it and so this sticks out as a deliberate attempt to cancel this as a pro-camera and keep a distance to the higher priced 3-digit and one-digit product line.
VERDICT
As for the overall picture quality there is not much big difference between both cams. They perform almost equal in terms of dynamic range and white balance. But when you have the right lens mounted, the D7100 is the clear winner in resolution and detail. Also in Low-Light situations the D7100 tends to preserve more details than the D300.
I read on many sites on the web that people recommend the D300(s) as a more solid working body for professional photographers who take their 3000 images a week, but finally I believe that professional photographers can afford more recent and more pricey equipment as the D4 for example. So we are really not talking about professional photography here I guess.
I really liked the super solid body and the straightforward controls on the D300. But at the same time I don't want to miss that resolution and detail plus on the D7100 anymore. If you are used to the controls on any prosumer Nikon it might need a little time to get used to the layout of the controls on the D7100, but that is nothing to worry about if you have that time. Also the smaller image buffer on the D7100 might be something to consider, as the burst rate just drops much more early than on the D300. As a fashion show photographer this drop in burst rate, is unacceptable. The D300 image buffer allowed taking 3 times the number of RAW pictures slowing down, as long as you agree on the fact that 12 bit raw is enough and you wont need 14 bit.
Finally, I believe, that if you don't care about using CF or SD cards, and if you don't care about having a camera body fully made of metal alloy or half synthetics, the D7100 will give you much more than just more image detail. It will give you a more advanced focussing system, a lighter body, a second memory card slot and of course Video. And all that for a very decent price tag. So for me it is really an option while not going to FX (more weight, more pricey lenses) but still having major image detail improvement and a few relevant features.
And as my friend Ivo says. It is a new toy to play with as well for sure. :)
Gerard van Honthorst (Pseudonyme Gerrit van Honthorst, Gherardo Fiammingo, Gherardo della Notte, Gherardo delle Notti, Gerardo van Hermansz), Utrecht 1590 - 1656
Das Konzert/Diebstahl des Amuletts - The Concert /Theft of the amulet - Concerto/Il furto dell'amuletto (ca. 1623 - 26)
This representation of a concert of music by the Flemish artist who was known in Italy as Gherardo delle Notti, has a moralizing message. Music, in fact, is a high and virtuous art, but also a fleeting one, leading to its association with vanity, symbolized by the old woman who, indicating her now toothless mouth, admonishes the young couple, singing to the accompaniment of a bass violn. There are further nuances to the significance of the image, if the work is to be identified with the painting entitled The Theft of the Amulet, owned by the painter's family and then sold by auction in Amsterdam in 1770 before entering the Borghese collection. In this case the subject should be recognized as a deception of the young man who, intent on his singing, does not realize that the girl is stealing his earring with the complicity of the old woman, ready to slip it into her bag, and of the musician in the foreground.
Source: Web Gallery of Arts
Robert Sutton 2nd Baron Lexington 1662-1723 of Kelham Hall en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sutton,_2nd_Baron_Lexinton#/... sits back to back with wife Margaret Hungerford 1703 (in 1797 Thoroton said "they are not, I think, in the happiest position; a resting posture is not the best conceived for one of an active life, like that of lord Lexington's. Nor do I think their being placed back to back is agreeable with a life of mutual affection")
Robert was the son of Robert Sutton, 1st Baron Lexington 1668 flic.kr/p/NLigbu and 3rd wife Mary daughter of Sir Anthony Mayney of Linton
He was the grandson of Sir William Sutton 1611 of Averham and Susan Cony / Caney flic.kr/p/bjBiR1
He was the owner of Averham and Kelham manors
He m 1691 Margaret heiress of Sir Giles Hungerford of Colston / Coulston Wilts by Margaret daughter of Sir Thomas Hampson
Children
1. Willilam George 1697-1713 (his body brought back here for burial concealed in a bale of cloth).
2. Cornelia Leonora Margaretta 1695-1715
3. Bridget 1699-1734 m 1717 John Manners, 3rd Duke of Rutland d1779 eldest son of John Manners, 2nd Duke & Catherine Russell : Great grandson of John Manners 8th Earle of Rutland 1679 flic.kr/p/JpwnWy & Baptist Noel, Lord Viscount Campden 1683 flic.kr/p/Kvkvnp
His heir was his grandson Lord Robert Manners-Sutton 1722–1762 who added the name of Sutton when he inherited his grandfather's estates, However he died unmarried and the estates passed to his next brother Lord George Manners 1723-1783 who also adopted the name Manners-Sutton and m Diana Chaplin d1767 only daughter of Thomas Chaplin of Blankney, by whom he had 9 children
monument in marble by William Palmer, dated 1726
"The family of the Suttons has flourished in this county from immemorial. In the year 1251 Roland Sutton married Alicia one of the sisters and coheirs of Robert Lord Lexington. From this marriage issued in the 14th degree in direct line, Robert Sutton who in regard to his descent on the paternal side from the house of Sutton, which had given earles to Warwick and Leicester, and lords to the baronly of Dudley, and the maternal side from one of the coheirs of Robert Lord Lexington, and like wise in consideration of his steady loyality to his prince was created Lord Lexington of Averham in the 21st of King Charles the lst, upon his death which fell out October 135h 1668. He was succeeded in honour and estate by his only son Robert Lord Lexington, here interred who dying without issue male left his estate to his only daughter Bridget, Duchess of Rutland for life, afterwards to he second son the Lord Robert Manners, on condition that he take the arms and name of Sutton.
Here lyeth the body of Robert Sutton, Lord Lexington. The worthy descendant of great and illustrious ancestors. Gracefull in person, polite in behaviour, of conversation amiable. Prompted youthfull ardor he betook himself to arms, and served with reputation. In his riper years his superior genius shone out in clearest judgement united with candor and good nature, he understood and apply'd himself to business.
His whole conduct uncorrupt not adulterated by pride, hence recommended himself to 2 succeeding princes, and under different administration. King William brought him near his own person by constituting him one of the Lords of his bedchambers, then called him into his most important counsels, and sent him in quality of his envoy extraordinary to the courts of Vienna, Hanover and Zell, in a very nice conjuncture of affairs.
Her late majesty Queen Anne equally convinced of his great ability's, in the 1711 sent him embassador to Spain, where he occupied his commission with his usual skill and success and had this happiness in the discharge of public character that he was in the highest esteem at the courts where he resided at the same time that he possessed the fullest confidence of the princes whom he served. By his negotiations, King Philip was prevail'd upon to renounce all claim to the succession of ye crown of France and treatys of peace and commerce were happily concluded between the british and Spanish monarchy's. During his residence at Madrid he had ye misfortune to lose he dear only son, a youth of greatest hopes and this together with an ill state of health determined him to retire to private life. But the serenity he here expected was interrupted by the death of his eldest daughter which had been irreparable to him. Had he not enjoyed the signal felicity of seeing his other surviving daughter married to John Duke of Rutland, and observing in her all the accomplishments a tender parent could, with joyn'd to the prospect of a numerous issue from this union. To preserve the names of Manners and Sutton, and perpetuate the virtues of those noble family's he departed September 19th 1723 and such was the captivating and rare sweetness of his manners and conversation that he lived without enemy's, he died regretted by all that know him, particularly by his daughter Bridget who in filial gratitude to the most indulgent and best father, hath erected this monument.
Within this vault is deposited the body of Margaret, Lady Lexington, the virtuous and only wife of Robert Lord Lexington. She was daughter and heir to Sir Giles Hungerford of Colston in the county of Wilts, a family illustrious in the times of the saxon government and therefore suteably united to the ancient house of Sutton. Such were the beautyes of her mind and person that as she lived esteemed and reverenc'd, her memory will continue ever dear to posterity. She dyed April 1703. William George Sutton born at Vienna September 25th 1697 died at Madrid August 15th 1712, Cornelia Leonora Margaretta Sutton born at Vienna November 4th 1695 dyed October 18th 1715. Children of Robert and Margaret, Lord and Lady Lexington are likewise here interred"
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Sutton,_2nd_Baron_Lexinton- Church of St. Wilfrid, Kelham Nottinghamshire
A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.
Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.
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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds
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LEEDS
IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.
THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.
LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.
Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.
Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.
The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.
On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.
After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.
Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.
His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)
His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.
The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.
After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.
After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:
In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.
In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.
King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.
Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.
In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.
But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.
His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.
Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.
Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.
Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.
After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.
The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.
Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)
He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.
A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.
"The child of God thus hopes in God’s mercy, which means, that he prays for the grace of conversion, and trusts that God will save him now from the folly of sin. Thus, he hopes that the Holy Spirit will convict him of his sins, and move him to sorrow for sin so that he can truly experience the joy of the Gospel; the joy of being forgiven and saved by the merciful Redeemer. Anything less than this, namely, to remain unrepentant and stuck in one’s sin, unable to change, is to experience God’s wrath, to be abandoned by God, as we heard from St Paul yesterday (cf Rom 1:24)."
The rest of my sermon for today can be read here.
Detail from a medieval altarpiece in the Lille Museum of Fine Art.
The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower fore neck has a pale yellowish patch. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the nonbreeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre-tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray.
The brown pelican mainly feeds on fish, but occasionally eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. It nests in colonies in secluded areas, often on islands, vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and mangroves. Females lay two or three oval, chalky white eggs. Incubation takes 28 to 30 days with both sexes sharing duties. The newly hatched chicks are pink, turning gray or black within 4 to 14 days. About 63 days are needed for chicks to fledge. Six to 9 weeks after hatching, the juveniles leave the nest, and gather into small groups known as pods.
The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana, appearing on the flag, seal, or coat of arms of each. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009, as pesticides such as dieldrin and DDT threatened its future in the Southeastern United States and California. In 1972, the use of DDT was banned in Florida, followed by the rest of the United States. Since then, the brown pelican's population has increased. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge, Florida's Pelican Island, to protect the species from hunters.
Taxonomy
The brown pelican was described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the 1766 12th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Pelecanus occidentalis. It belongs to the New World clade of the genus Pelecanus.
Five subspecies of the brown pelican are recognized. At least some of these subspecies are genetically distinct despite similar phenotypes. The subspecies differ from one another in size, coloration of the throat pouch (among other bare parts) in breeding condition, and/or certain breeding plumage details, as well as geographic range.
The brown pelican is part of a clade that includes the Peruvian pelican (P. thagus) and American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos); brown and Peruvian pelicans are sister taxa, with American white pelican a more distant relative. The Peruvian pelican was previously considered a subspecies of the brown pelican, but is now considered a separate species on the basis of its much greater size (around double the weight of the brown pelican), differences in bill color and plumage, and a lack of evidence of hybridization between the forms where their ranges approach and overlap. (In captivity, the brown pelican is known to have hybridized with both the American white pelican and the more distantly related great white pelican.)
In 1932, James L. Peters divided Pelecanus into three subgenera, placing brown pelican (including Peruvian pelican) in a monospecific Leptopelicanus, American white pelican in a monospecific Cyrtopelicanus, and all the rest in the subgenus Pelecanus, a treatment which was also followed by Jean Dorst and Raoul J. Mougin in 1979. Andrew Elliott in 1992, and Joseph B. Nelson in 2005, considered the deepest division among pelicans to lie between brown (plus Peruvian) pelican on the one hand, and the white-plumaged pelicans on the other (among which the large ground-nesting American white, Australian, great white, and Dalmatian pelicans were thought to form a clade, and the smaller tree-nesting pink-backed and spot-billed pelicans were likewise considered sister taxa). In 1993, Paul Johnsgard hypothesized that the Americas were colonized relatively late in pelican evolution, with the family originating in Africa or South Asia; however, he later supported the prevailing view that brown (with Peruvian) was the most divergent pelican (and considered American white and great white pelicans to be close relatives, implying two independent dispersals of pelicans into the Americas, with that of the ancestor of brown and Peruvian pelicans occurring early on). Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridization studies and UPGMA tree published in 1990 supported brown pelican as sister to a clade comprising all the white-plumaged pelicans analyzed, including American white pelican (although the relationships among the latter group differed).
With better genetic data and more modern methods, a new phylogenetic hypothesis of pelican relationships has arisen, which contrasts with the traditional view of brown and Peruvian being the most divergent pelicans based on their distinctive plumage and behavior (and early molecular data). Rather than the brown-plumaged pelicans and white-plumaged pelicans forming two reciprocally monophyletic groups, the American white pelican is sister to brown and Peruvian pelicans, the three together forming an exclusively New World pelican clade. (Among the other pelicans, pink-backed, Dalmatian, and spot-billed pelicans are close relatives, together sister to Australian pelican. Great white pelican has no particularly close relatives; while it may be sister to the previous four, this relationship had low statistical support.)
The brown pelican is the smallest of the eight extant pelican species, but is often one of the larger seabirds in their range nonetheless. It measures 1 to 1.52 m (3 ft 3 in to 5 ft 0 in) in length and has a wingspan of 2.03 to 2.28 m (6 ft 8 in to 7 ft 6 in). The weight of adults can range from 2 to 5 kg (4.4 to 11.0 lb), about half the weight of the other pelicans found in the Americas, the Peruvian and American white pelicans. The average weight in Florida of 47 females was 3.17 kg (7.0 lb), while that of 56 males was 3.7 kg (8.2 lb). Like all pelicans, it has a very long bill, measuring 280 to 348 mm (11.0 to 13.7 in) in length.
The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower foreneck has a pale yellowish patch. The feathers at the center of the nape are elongated, forming short, deep chestnut crest feathers. It has a silvery gray mantle, scapulars, and upperwing coverts (feathers on the upper side of the wings), with a brownish tinge. The lesser coverts have dark bases, which gives the leading edge of the wing a streaky appearance. The uppertail coverts (feathers above the tail) are silvery white at the center, forming pale streaks. The median (between the greater and the lesser coverts), primary (connected to the distal forelimb), secondary (connected to the ulna), and greater coverts (feathers of the outermost, largest, row of upperwing coverts) are blackish, with the primaries having white shafts and the secondaries having variable silver-gray fringes. The tertials (feathers arising in the brachial region) are silver-gray with a brownish tinge. The underwing has grayish-brown remiges with white shafts to the outer primary feathers. The axillaries and covert feathers are dark, with a broad, silver–gray central area. The tail is dark gray with a variable silvery cast. The lower mandible is blackish, with a greenish-black gular pouch at the bottom for draining water when it scoops out prey. The breast and belly are dark, and the legs and feet black. It has a grayish white bill tinged with brown and intermixed with pale carmine spots. The crest is short and pale reddish-brown in color. The back, rump, and tail are streaked with gray and dark brown, sometimes with a rusty hue. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. It is exceptionally buoyant due to the internal air sacks beneath its skin and in its bones. It is as graceful in the air as it is clumsy on land.
The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck, and the pre-breeding adult has a creamy yellow head. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the non-breeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray. It has pale blue to yellowish white irides which become brown during the breeding season. During courtship, the bill becomes pinkish red to pale orange, redder at the tip, and the pouch is blackish. Later in the breeding season the bill becomes pale ash-gray over most of the upper jaw and the basal third of the mandible.
The juvenile is similar, but is grayish-brown overall and has paler underparts. The head, neck, and thighs are dusky-brown, and the abdomen is dull white. The plumage of the male is similar to a fully adult female, although the male's head feathers are rather rigid. The tail and flight feathers are browner than those of the adult. It has short, brown upperwing coverts, which are often darker on greater coverts, and dull brownish-gray underwing coverts with a whitish band at the center. The irides are dark brown and the facial skin is bluish. It has a gray bill which is horn-yellow to orange near the tip, with a dark gray to pinkish-gray pouch. It acquires adult plumage at over 3 years of age, when the feathers on the neck become paler, the upperparts become striped, the greater upperwing and median coverts become grayer, and the belly acquires dark spots.
The brown pelican is readily distinguished from the American white pelican by its nonwhite plumage, smaller size, and habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to co-operative fishing from the surface. It and the Peruvian pelican are the only true marine pelican species.
The brown pelican produces a wide variety of harsh, grunting sounds, such as a low-pitched hrrraa-hrra, during displays. The adult also rarely emits a low croak, while young frequently squeal.
The brown pelican lives on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts in the Americas. On the Atlantic Coast, it is found from the New Jersey coast to the mouth of the Amazon River. Along the Pacific Coast, it is found from British Columbia to northern Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter. In the non-breeding season, it is found as far north as Canada. It is a rare and irregular visitor south of Piura in Peru, where generally it is replaced by the Peruvian pelican, and can occur as a non-breeding visitor south at least to Ica during El Niño years. Small numbers of brown pelicans have been recorded from Arica in far northern Chile. It is fairly common along the coast of California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, the West Indies, and many Caribbean islands as far south as Guyana. Along the Gulf Coast, it inhabits Alabama, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Mexico.
The brown pelican is a strictly marine species, primarily inhabiting marine subtidal, warm estuarine, and marine pelagic waters. It is also found in mangrove swamps, and prefers shallow waters, especially near salty bays and beaches. It avoids the open sea, seldom venturing more than 20 miles from the coast. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. Its range may also overlap with the Peruvian pelican in some areas along the Pacific coast of South America. It roosts on rocks, water, rocky cliffs, piers, jetties, sand beaches, and mudflats.
Most brown pelican populations are resident (nonmigratory) and dispersive (species moving from its birth site to its breeding site, or its breeding site to another breeding site). Some migration is observed, especially in the northern parts of the species's range, but these movements are often erratic, depending on local conditions.
While usually restricted to coastal regions, brown pelicans occasionally wander inland, and there are records of vagrant individuals across much of the interior of North America. The species also occasionally wanders along the coasts of the Americas outside its normal range, with vagrants reported as far north as Southeast Alaska and Newfoundland, as far south as central Chile (well into the range of the closely related Peruvian pelican), and as far east in South America as Alagoas. Rare inland vagrants, generally caused by hurricanes or El Niño phenomena, have been reported from the Colombian Andes. They were first recorded in July 2009 in the Interandean Valley, where they remained for at least 161 days. There are four records far inland in Amazônia Legal, along the Amazon River and its tributaries.
The brown pelican is a very gregarious bird; it lives in flocks of both sexes throughout the year. In level flight, brown pelicans fly in groups, with their heads held back on their shoulders and their bills resting on their folded necks. They may fly in a V formation, but usually in regular lines or single file, often low over the water's surface. To exclude water from the nasal passage, they have narrower internal regions of the nostrils.
The brown pelican is a piscivore, primarily feeding on fish. Menhaden may account for 90% of its diet, and the anchovy supply is particularly important to the brown pelican's nesting success. Other fish preyed on with some regularity includes pigfish, pinfish, herring, sheepshead, silversides, mullets, sardines, minnows, and topminnows. Brown pelicans residing in Southern California rely especially heavily on pacific sardine as a major food source which can compose up to 26% of their diet, making them one of the top three predators of sardines in the area. Non-fish prey includes crustaceans, especially prawns, and it occasionally feeds on amphibians and the eggs and nestlings of birds (egrets, common murres and its own species).
As the brown pelican flies at a maximum height of 18 to 21 m (60 to 70 ft) above the ocean, it can spot schools of fish while flying. When foraging, it dives bill-first like a kingfisher, often submerging completely below the surface momentarily as it snaps up prey. Besides its sister species, the Peruvian pelican, this is the only pelican to primarily forage via diving, all other extant pelican merely float on the waters' surface when foraging. Upon surfacing, it spills the water from its throat pouch before swallowing its catch. Only the Peruvian pelican shares this active foraging style (although that species never dives from such a great height), while other pelicans forage more inactively by scooping up corralled fish while swimming on the water surface. It is an occasional target of kleptoparasitism by other fish-eating birds such as gulls, skuas, and frigatebirds. They are capable of drinking saline water due to the high capacity of their salt glands to excrete salt.
The brown pelican is a monogamous breeder within a breeding season, but does not pair for life. Nesting season peaks during March and April. The male chooses a nesting site and performs a display of head movements to attract a female. At the proposed nest site, major courtship displays such as head swaying, bowing, turning, and upright (standing on its legs without any support) are performed by both the sexes. They may also be accompanied by low raaa calls.
Once a pair forms a bond, overt communication between them is minimal. It is a colonial species, with some colonies maintained for many years. Probably owing to disturbance, tick infestation, or alteration in food supply, colonies frequently shift. It nests in secluded area, often on islands, vegetated spots among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and in mangroves, although sometimes on cliffs, and less often in bushes or small trees. Nesting territories are clumped, as individual territories may be at a distance of just 1 m (3.3 ft) from each other. They are usually built by the female from reeds, leaves, pebbles, and sticks, and consist of feather-lined impressions protected with a 10 to 25 cm (3.9 to 9.8 in) rim of soil and debris. They are usually found 0.9 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) above the ground. Renesting may occur if eggs are lost from the nest early in the breeding season.
There are usually two to three, or sometimes even four, oval eggs in a clutch, and only one brood is raised per year. The egg is chalky white, and can measure about 76 mm (3.0 in) in length and 51 mm (2.0 in) in width. Incubation takes 28 to 30 days with both sexes sharing duties, keeping the eggs warm by holding them on or under their webbed feet. It takes 28 to 30 days for the eggs to hatch, and about 63 days to fledge. After that, the juvenile leave the nest and gather into small groups known as pods. The newly hatched chicks are pink and weigh about 60 g (0.13 lb). Within 4 to 14 days, they turn gray or black. After that, they develop a coat of white, black or grayish down. Fledging success may be as high as 100% for the first hatched chick, 60% for the second chick, and just 6% for the third chick.
The parents regurgitate predigested food for the young to feed upon until they reach their fledging stage. After about 35 days, the young venture out of the nest by walking. The young start flying about 71 to 88 days after hatching. The adults remain with them until some time afterwards and continue to feed them. In the 8- to 10-month period during which they are cared for, the nestling pelicans are fed by regurgitated, partially digested food of around 70 kg (150 lb) of fish. The young reach sexual maturity (and full adult plumage) at anywhere from three to five years of age. A brown pelican has been recorded to have lived for over 31 years in captivity.
Predation is occasional at colonies, and predators of eggs and young (usually small nestlings are threatened but also occasionally up to fledgling size depending on the size of the predator) can include gulls, raptors (especially bald eagles), spiny-tailed iguanas, alligators, vultures, feral cats, feral dogs, raccoons, fish crows, and corvids. Predation is likely reduced if the colony is on an island. Although it is rare, bobcats have been documented eating both the offspring and injured adults. Predation on adult brown pelicans is rarely reported, but cases where they have fallen prey to bald eagles have been reported. Also, South American sea lions and unidentified large sharks have been observed to prey on adult brown pelicans by seizing them from beneath while the birds are sitting on ocean waters. The invasive red imported fire ant is known to prey on hatchlings. Like all pelicans, brown pelicans are highly sensitive to disturbances by humans (including tourists or fishermen) at their nests, and may even abandon their nests. Due to their size, non-nesting adults are rarely predated. Brown pelicans have several parasitic worms such as Petagiger, Echinochasmus, Phagicola longus, Mesostephanus appendiculatoides, Contracaecum multipapillatum, and Contracaecum bioccai, from its prey diet of black mullets, white mullets, and other fish species.
The brown pelican is now a staple of crowded coastal regions and is at some risk by fishermen (monofilament fishing line and hooks) and boaters. In the early twentieth century, hunting was a major cause of its death, and people still hunt adults for their feathers and collect eggs on the Caribbean coasts, in Latin America, and occasionally in the United States, even though it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Distribution
The brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a bird of the pelican family, Pelecanidae, one of three species found in the Americas and one of two that feed by diving into water. It is found on the Atlantic Coast from New Jersey to the mouth of the Amazon River, and along the Pacific Coast from British Columbia to Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower fore neck has a pale yellowish patch. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the nonbreeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre-tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray.
The brown pelican mainly feeds on fish, but occasionally eats amphibians, crustaceans, and the eggs and nestlings of birds. It nests in colonies in secluded areas, often on islands, vegetated land among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and mangroves. Females lay two or three oval, chalky white eggs. Incubation takes 28 to 30 days with both sexes sharing duties. The newly hatched chicks are pink, turning gray or black within 4 to 14 days. About 63 days are needed for chicks to fledge. Six to 9 weeks after hatching, the juveniles leave the nest, and gather into small groups known as pods.
The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the official state bird of Louisiana, appearing on the flag, seal, or coat of arms of each. It has been rated as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. It was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009, as pesticides such as dieldrin and DDT threatened its future in the Southeastern United States and California. In 1972, the use of DDT was banned in Florida, followed by the rest of the United States. Since then, the brown pelican's population has increased. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside the first National Wildlife Refuge, Florida's Pelican Island, to protect the species from hunters.
Taxonomy
The brown pelican was described by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in the 1766 12th edition of his Systema Naturae, where it was given the binomial name of Pelecanus occidentalis. It belongs to the New World clade of the genus Pelecanus.
Five subspecies of the brown pelican are recognized. At least some of these subspecies are genetically distinct despite similar phenotypes. The subspecies differ from one another in size, coloration of the throat pouch (among other bare parts) in breeding condition, and/or certain breeding plumage details, as well as geographic range.
ImageSubspeciesDistribution
P. o. californicus (Ridgway, 1884)This subspecies breeds on the Pacific coast of California and Baja California, and south to Jalisco. Its non-breeding range extends north along the Pacific coast to British Columbia, and south to Guatemala. It is rarely found in El Salvador.
P. o. carolinensis (Gmelin, 1789)This subspecies breeds in the eastern United States from Maryland south along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean coasts and south to Honduras and its Pacific coasts, Costa Rica, and Panama. Its non-breeding range is from southern New York to Venezuela.
P. o. occidentalis (Linnaeus, 1766)This subspecies breeds in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, the Bahamas, and along the Caribbean coast of the West Indies, Colombia, and Venezuela, up to Trinidad and Tobago.
P. o. murphyi (Wetmore, 1945)This subspecies is found from western Colombia to Ecuador, and is a non-breeding visitor to northern Peru.
P. o. urinator (Wetmore, 1945)This subspecies is found on the Galapagos Islands.
The brown pelican is part of a clade that includes the Peruvian pelican (P. thagus) and American white pelican (P. erythrorhynchos); brown and Peruvian pelicans are sister taxa, with American white pelican a more distant relative. The Peruvian pelican was previously considered a subspecies of the brown pelican, but is now considered a separate species on the basis of its much greater size (around double the weight of the brown pelican), differences in bill color and plumage, and a lack of evidence of hybridization between the forms where their ranges approach and overlap. (In captivity, the brown pelican is known to have hybridized with both the American white pelican and the more distantly related great white pelican.)
In 1932, James L. Peters divided Pelecanus into three subgenera, placing brown pelican (including Peruvian pelican) in a monospecific Leptopelicanus, American white pelican in a monospecific Cyrtopelicanus, and all the rest in the subgenus Pelecanus, a treatment which was also followed by Jean Dorst and Raoul J. Mougin in 1979. Andrew Elliott in 1992, and Joseph B. Nelson in 2005, considered the deepest division among pelicans to lie between brown (plus Peruvian) pelican on the one hand, and the white-plumaged pelicans on the other (among which the large ground-nesting American white, Australian, great white, and Dalmatian pelicans were thought to form a clade, and the smaller tree-nesting pink-backed and spot-billed pelicans were likewise considered sister taxa). In 1993, Paul Johnsgard hypothesized that the Americas were colonized relatively late in pelican evolution, with the family originating in Africa or South Asia; however, he later supported the prevailing view that brown (with Peruvian) was the most divergent pelican (and considered American white and great white pelicans to be close relatives, implying two independent dispersals of pelicans into the Americas, with that of the ancestor of brown and Peruvian pelicans occurring early on). Sibley and Ahlquist's DNA-DNA hybridization studies and UPGMA tree published in 1990 supported brown pelican as sister to a clade comprising all the white-plumaged pelicans analyzed, including American white pelican (although the relationships among the latter group differed).
With better genetic data and more modern methods, a new phylogenetic hypothesis of pelican relationships has arisen, which contrasts with the traditional view of brown and Peruvian being the most divergent pelicans based on their distinctive plumage and behavior (and early molecular data). Rather than the brown-plumaged pelicans and white-plumaged pelicans forming two reciprocally monophyletic groups, the American white pelican is sister to brown and Peruvian pelicans, the three together forming an exclusively New World pelican clade. (Among the other pelicans, pink-backed, Dalmatian, and spot-billed pelicans are close relatives, together sister to Australian pelican. Great white pelican has no particularly close relatives; while it may be sister to the previous four, this relationship had low statistical support.)
Description
The brown pelican is the smallest of the eight extant pelican species, but is often one of the larger seabirds in their range nonetheless. It measures 1 to 1.52 m (3 ft 3 in to 5 ft 0 in) in length and has a wingspan of 2.03 to 2.28 m (6 ft 8 in to 7 ft 6 in). The weight of adults can range from 2 to 5 kg (4.4 to 11.0 lb), about half the weight of the other pelicans found in the Americas, the Peruvian and American white pelicans. The average weight in Florida of 47 females was 3.17 kg (7.0 lb), while that of 56 males was 3.7 kg (8.2 lb). Like all pelicans, it has a very long bill, measuring 280 to 348 mm (11.0 to 13.7 in) in length.
The nominate subspecies in its breeding plumage has a white head with a yellowish wash on the crown. The nape and neck are dark maroon–brown. The upper sides of the neck have white lines along the base of the gular pouch, and the lower foreneck has a pale yellowish patch. The feathers at the center of the nape are elongated, forming short, deep chestnut crest feathers. It has a silvery gray mantle, scapulars, and upperwing coverts (feathers on the upper side of the wings), with a brownish tinge. The lesser coverts have dark bases, which gives the leading edge of the wing a streaky appearance. The uppertail coverts (feathers above the tail) are silvery white at the center, forming pale streaks. The median (between the greater and the lesser coverts), primary (connected to the distal forelimb), secondary (connected to the ulna), and greater coverts (feathers of the outermost, largest, row of upperwing coverts) are blackish, with the primaries having white shafts and the secondaries having variable silver-gray fringes. The tertials (feathers arising in the brachial region) are silver-gray with a brownish tinge. The underwing has grayish-brown remiges with white shafts to the outer primary feathers. The axillaries and covert feathers are dark, with a broad, silver–gray central area. The tail is dark gray with a variable silvery cast. The lower mandible is blackish, with a greenish-black gular pouch at the bottom for draining water when it scoops out prey. The breast and belly are dark, and the legs and feet black. It has a grayish white bill tinged with brown and intermixed with pale carmine spots. The crest is short and pale reddish-brown in color. The back, rump, and tail are streaked with gray and dark brown, sometimes with a rusty hue. The male and female are similar, but the female is slightly smaller. It is exceptionally buoyant due to the internal air sacks beneath its skin and in its bones. It is as graceful in the air as it is clumsy on land.
The nonbreeding adult has a white head and neck, and the pre-breeding adult has a creamy yellow head. The pink skin around the eyes becomes dull and gray in the non-breeding season. It lacks any red hue, and the pouch is strongly olivaceous ochre tinged and the legs are olivaceous gray to blackish-gray. It has pale blue to yellowish white irides which become brown during the breeding season. During courtship, the bill becomes pinkish red to pale orange, redder at the tip, and the pouch is blackish. Later in the breeding season the bill becomes pale ash-gray over most of the upper jaw and the basal third of the mandible.
The juvenile is similar, but is grayish-brown overall and has paler underparts. The head, neck, and thighs are dusky-brown, and the abdomen is dull white. The plumage of the male is similar to a fully adult female, although the male's head feathers are rather rigid. The tail and flight feathers are browner than those of the adult. It has short, brown upperwing coverts, which are often darker on greater coverts, and dull brownish-gray underwing coverts with a whitish band at the center. The irides are dark brown and the facial skin is bluish. It has a gray bill which is horn-yellow to orange near the tip, with a dark gray to pinkish-gray pouch. It acquires adult plumage at over 3 years of age, when the feathers on the neck become paler, the upperparts become striped, the greater upperwing and median coverts become grayer, and the belly acquires dark spots.
The brown pelican is readily distinguished from the American white pelican by its nonwhite plumage, smaller size, and habit of diving for fish from the air, as opposed to co-operative fishing from the surface. It and the Peruvian pelican are the only true marine pelican species.
The brown pelican produces a wide variety of harsh, grunting sounds, such as a low-pitched hrrraa-hrra, during displays. The adult also rarely emits a low croak, while young frequently squeal.
Distribution and habitat
The brown pelican lives on the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific Coasts in the Americas. On the Atlantic Coast, it is found from the New Jersey coast to the mouth of the Amazon River. Along the Pacific Coast, it is found from British Columbia to northern Peru, including the Galapagos Islands. After nesting, North American birds move in flocks further north along the coasts, returning to warmer waters for winter. In the non-breeding season, it is found as far north as Canada. It is a rare and irregular visitor south of Piura in Peru, where generally it is replaced by the Peruvian pelican, and can occur as a non-breeding visitor south at least to Ica during El Niño years. Small numbers of brown pelicans have been recorded from Arica in far northern Chile. It is fairly common along the coast of California, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, the West Indies, and many Caribbean islands as far south as Guyana. Along the Gulf Coast, it inhabits Alabama, Texas, Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Mexico.
The brown pelican is a strictly marine species, primarily inhabiting marine subtidal, warm estuarine, and marine pelagic waters. It is also found in mangrove swamps, and prefers shallow waters, especially near salty bays and beaches. It avoids the open sea, seldom venturing more than 20 miles from the coast. Some immature birds may stray to inland freshwater lakes. Its range may also overlap with the Peruvian pelican in some areas along the Pacific coast of South America. It roosts on rocks, water, rocky cliffs, piers, jetties, sand beaches, and mudflats.
Migration
Most brown pelican populations are resident (nonmigratory) and dispersive (species moving from its birth site to its breeding site, or its breeding site to another breeding site). Some migration is observed, especially in the northern parts of the species's range, but these movements are often erratic, depending on local conditions.
While usually restricted to coastal regions, brown pelicans occasionally wander inland, and there are records of vagrant individuals across much of the interior of North America. The species also occasionally wanders along the coasts of the Americas outside its normal range, with vagrants reported as far north as Southeast Alaska and Newfoundland, as far south as central Chile (well into the range of the closely related Peruvian pelican), and as far east in South America as Alagoas. Rare inland vagrants, generally caused by hurricanes or El Niño phenomena, have been reported from the Colombian Andes. They were first recorded in July 2009 in the Interandean Valley, where they remained for at least 161 days. There are four records far inland in Amazônia Legal, along the Amazon River and its tributaries.
Behavior
The brown pelican is a very gregarious bird; it lives in flocks of both sexes throughout the year. In level flight, brown pelicans fly in groups, with their heads held back on their shoulders and their bills resting on their folded necks. They may fly in a V formation, but usually in regular lines or single file, often low over the water's surface. To exclude water from the nasal passage, they have narrower internal regions of the nostrils.
Feeding
The brown pelican is a piscivore, primarily feeding on fish. Menhaden may account for 90% of its diet, and the anchovy supply is particularly important to the brown pelican's nesting success. Other fish preyed on with some regularity includes pigfish, pinfish, herring, sheepshead, silversides, mullets, sardines, minnows, and topminnows. Brown pelicans residing in Southern California rely especially heavily on pacific sardine as a major food source which can compose up to 26% of their diet, making them one of the top three predators of sardines in the area. Non-fish prey includes crustaceans, especially prawns, and it occasionally feeds on amphibians and the eggs and nestlings of birds (egrets, common murres and its own species).
As the brown pelican flies at a maximum height of 18 to 21 m (60 to 70 ft) above the ocean, it can spot schools of fish while flying. When foraging, it dives bill-first like a kingfisher, often submerging completely below the surface momentarily as it snaps up prey. Besides its sister species, the Peruvian pelican, this is the only pelican to primarily forage via diving, all other extant pelican merely float on the waters' surface when foraging. Upon surfacing, it spills the water from its throat pouch before swallowing its catch. Only the Peruvian pelican shares this active foraging style (although that species never dives from such a great height), while other pelicans forage more inactively by scooping up corralled fish while swimming on the water surface. It is an occasional target of kleptoparasitism by other fish-eating birds such as gulls, skuas, and frigatebirds. They are capable of drinking saline water due to the high capacity of their salt glands to excrete salt.
Breeding
The brown pelican is a monogamous breeder within a breeding season, but does not pair for life. Nesting season peaks during March and April. The male chooses a nesting site and performs a display of head movements to attract a female. At the proposed nest site, major courtship displays such as head swaying, bowing, turning, and upright (standing on its legs without any support) are performed by both the sexes. They may also be accompanied by low raaa calls.
Once a pair forms a bond, overt communication between them is minimal. It is a colonial species, with some colonies maintained for many years. Probably owing to disturbance, tick infestation, or alteration in food supply, colonies frequently shift. It nests in secluded area, often on islands, vegetated spots among sand dunes, thickets of shrubs and trees, and in mangroves, although sometimes on cliffs, and less often in bushes or small trees. Nesting territories are clumped, as individual territories may be at a distance of just 1 m (3.3 ft) from each other. They are usually built by the female from reeds, leaves, pebbles, and sticks, and consist of feather-lined impressions protected with a 10 to 25 cm (3.9 to 9.8 in) rim of soil and debris. They are usually found 0.9 to 3 m (3 to 10 ft) above the ground. Renesting may occur if eggs are lost from the nest early in the breeding season.
There are usually two to three, or sometimes even four, oval eggs in a clutch, and only one brood is raised per year. The egg is chalky white, and can measure about 76 mm (3.0 in) in length and 51 mm (2.0 in) in width. Incubation takes 28 to 30 days with both sexes sharing duties, keeping the eggs warm by holding them on or under their webbed feet. It takes 28 to 30 days for the eggs to hatch, and about 63 days to fledge. After that, the juvenile leave the nest and gather into small groups known as pods. The newly hatched chicks are pink and weigh about 60 g (0.13 lb). Within 4 to 14 days, they turn gray or black. After that, they develop a coat of white, black or grayish down. Fledging success may be as high as 100% for the first hatched chick, 60% for the second chick, and just 6% for the third chick.
The parents regurgitate predigested food for the young to feed upon until they reach their fledging stage. After about 35 days, the young venture out of the nest by walking. The young start flying about 71 to 88 days after hatching. The adults remain with them until some time afterwards and continue to feed them. In the 8- to 10-month period during which they are cared for, the nestling pelicans are fed by regurgitated, partially digested food of around 70 kg (150 lb) of fish. The young reach sexual maturity (and full adult plumage) at anywhere from three to five years of age. A brown pelican has been recorded to have lived for over 31 years in captivity.
Predation is occasional at colonies, and predators of eggs and young (usually small nestlings are threatened but also occasionally up to fledgling size depending on the size of the predator) can include gulls, raptors (especially bald eagles), spiny-tailed iguanas, alligators, vultures, feral cats, feral dogs, raccoons, fish crows, and corvids. Predation is likely reduced if the colony is on an island. Although it is rare, bobcats have been documented eating both the offspring and injured adults. Predation on adult brown pelicans is rarely reported, but cases where they have fallen prey to bald eagles have been reported. Also, South American sea lions and unidentified large sharks have been observed to prey on adult brown pelicans by seizing them from beneath while the birds are sitting on ocean waters. The invasive red imported fire ant is known to prey on hatchlings. Like all pelicans, brown pelicans are highly sensitive to disturbances by humans (including tourists or fishermen) at their nests, and may even abandon their nests. Due to their size, non-nesting adults are rarely predated. Brown pelicans have several parasitic worms such as Petagiger, Echinochasmus, Phagicola longus, Mesostephanus appendiculatoides, Contracaecum multipapillatum, and Contracaecum bioccai, from its prey diet of black mullets, white mullets, and other fish species.
Relationship with humans
The brown pelican is now a staple of crowded coastal regions and is at some risk by fishermen (monofilament fishing line and hooks) and boaters. In the early twentieth century, hunting was a major cause of its death, and people still hunt adults for their feathers and collect eggs on the Caribbean coasts, in Latin America, and occasionally in the United States, even though it is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.
Depictions in culture
The brown pelican is the national bird of Saint Martin, Barbados, Saint Kitts and Nevis, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. In 1902, it was made a part of the official Louisiana seal and, in 1912, a pelican and her young became part of the Flag of Louisiana as well. One of Louisiana's state nicknames is "The Pelican State", and the brown pelican is the official state bird of Louisiana. It is one of the mascots of Tulane University, present on its seal, and is also present on the crest of the University of the West Indies. The National Basketball Association (NBA)'s New Orleans Pelicans are named in the honor of the brown pelican.
In the 1993 film The Pelican Brief, based on the novel of the same name by John Grisham, a legal brief speculates that the assassins of two supreme court justices were motivated by a desire to drill for oil on a Louisiana marshland that was a habitat of the endangered brown pelican. In the same year, Jurassic Park showed a pod of brown pelicans at the end of the film. In 1998, American conductor David Woodard performed a requiem for a California brown pelican on the seaward limit of the berm of a beach where the animal had fallen: 152–153 In the 2003 Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo, a brown pelican (voiced by Geoffrey Rush in an Australian accent) was illustrated as a friendly, virtuous talking character named Nigel.
Since 1988, the brown pelican has been rated as least concern on the IUCN Red List of Endangered species based on its large range—greater than 20,000 km2 (7700 mi2)—and an increasing population trend. The population size is also well beyond the threshold for vulnerable species. The nominate race population is thought to number at least 290,000 in the West Indies, and 650,000 globally. In 1903, Theodore Roosevelt set aside Pelican Island, now known as Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, to solely protect the brown pelican from hunters.
Starting in the 1940s with the invention and extensive use of pesticides such as DDT, the brown pelican population had drastically declined due to a lack of breeding success. By the 1960s, it had almost disappeared along the Gulf Coast and, in southern California, it had suffered almost total reproductive failure, due to DDT usage in the United States. The brown pelican was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act from 1970 to 2009. A research group from the University of Tampa, headed by Ralph Schreiber, conducted research in Tampa Bay, and found that DDT caused the pelican eggshells to be too thin to support the embryo to maturity. In 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) banned DDT usage in the United States and limited the use of other pesticides. There has been a decline in chemical contaminant levels in brown pelican eggs since then, and a corresponding increase in its nesting success. It became extinct in 1963 in Louisiana. Between 1968 and 1980, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries' reintroduction program re-established the brown pelican, and its population numbers in California and Texas were restored due to improved reproduction and natural recolonization of the species. By 1985, its population in the eastern United States, including Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and northward along the Atlantic Coast, had recovered and the species was removed from the Endangered Species List. Its population has grown by about 68% per decade over a period of 40 years in North America, and this trend appears to be continuing. It is still listed as endangered in the Pacific Coast region of its range and in the southern and central United States. Although the United States Gulf Coast populations in Louisiana and Texas are still listed as endangered, they were recently estimated in 2009 about 12,000 breeding pairs. Since that time the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has adversely affected populations, and current population figures are not available.
The brown pelican abundance has steadily recovered from the drastic population decreases in the 1940s, however bottom up control threatens the Southern California populations as food sources become diminished. It is common for forage fish populations to experience regular fluctuations, however there has been a consistent decrease in the Pacific sardine population beginning as early as 2014. In 2019 these declines were found to have reached levels which were a mere 10% of the highest reported abundances. Fluctuations in sardine populations have largely been attributed to bottom-up control, primarily including climate variability and ocean temperature. The significant decrease in pacific sardine population can be linked to the levels of nitrogen within their habitat, a limiting factor in plankton production. Pacific sardines in the California current system rely on wind driven upwelling to push cooler, nitrogen rich waters towards the surface, maintaining a sustainable, nutrient abundant environment. Continued environmental disruptions, such as El Niño, rising ocean temperatures, and increased commercial fishing, have drastic effects on nutrient cycling within the California current system, leading to lasting impacts on Pacific sardine productivity and reproductive success.
The brown pelican has been predicted to have high vulnerability to declining sardine populations . At the lowest levels of sardine abundance, the brown pelican population has been predicted to decline up to 50%. Even with a more moderate decline in sardine abundance (50% relative abundance), brown pelicans have been predicted to decrease by up to 27%. A recent decline in brown pelican breeding success coincides with the population decline of the Pacific sardine. Between 2014 and 2016, brown pelicans experienced a continuous breeding failure. These breeding failures have been characterized by decreased numbers of pelicans arriving at nesting colonies, large scale abandonment and early migration due to an inability to feed hatchlings, and sub-optimal breeding by those who do attempt to breed. Breeding success is greatly reduced by oceanic anomalies, specifically warm-phase anomalies that increase the intensity of upwellings. Increased upwellings disrupt marine productivity and forage fish availability. These trends have important implications for the health and conservation of brown pelicans, as well as other seabirds.
Seabirds have become increasingly important as an indicator species. They are often used in order to indirectly track changes in fish stocks, ecosystem health, and climate change. Environmental changes tend to have fast acting impacts on marine bird populations due to the simplicity of their trophic cascade, allowing for complex, long term trends in ecosystem health and resources to be easily realized and tracked. Brown pelicans have proven to be a useful indicator in determining the effects of the well-established fishing industry in Southern California. Sardine fishery in the Gulf of California has been showing signs of overfishing since the early 1990s. Sardine population and abundance, however, is difficult to monitor and obtain indicators for. Since lacking food availability has negative implications for breeding success in seabirds, seabird diet, and breeding success have been used to indirectly measure the population status of the fish they feed on. This model has been shown to work using brown pelicans as an indicator species. As the proportion of sardines in the brown pelican's diet decreases, the success of fisheries declines to a lesser extent. When eventually the sardine abundance has declined enough for brown pelicans to move away and begin feeding on other forage fish, commercial fishing still would be fishing in significant numbers. This indicates that even when fisheries are not seeing signs of declining sardine abundance, brown pelicans may have already been affected to the point of locating other food sources. This availability of sardines may decline even further during El Niño anomalies, when thermoclines prevent brown pelicans from reaching their prey. Brown pelican diet will mostly indicate declines in sardine abundance for fisheries during the same season, as brown pelicans feed mostly on the same adult fish that are commercially fished. Although brown pelicans serve as an important indicator species for fisheries, declining sardine abundance due to both climate changes and overfishing have huge implications on overall ecosystem health, within or outside the individual trophic cascade.
"The Right Honorable & noble Lord John Earle of Rutland, Lord Rosse of Hamelac Trusbott & Belvoir lieth here buried. Hee succeeded his brother Edward in this said erledome and baronies and therein lived until Saturday the 24 day of February the next following in the same year 1588 on which day he deceased at Nottingham from whence his corps was hither brought & buried on the 2 day of Aprill following 1588.
Hee was made Liuetenant of ye countie of Nottingham 1587 . Hee had issue by his most honorable and virtuous ladie Elizabeth Charleton, daughter of Fraunces Charleton esquire, five sonnes to witte
Edward who died at his age of ...........
Roger now Erle of Rutland, Lord Rosse of Hamlack Trusbott & Belvoir
Fraunces, George & Oliver & 4 daughters Briget, Elizabeth, Mary (deade in her infancy) & Frances borne after her fathers death"
John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland 1588 & wife Elizabeth Charlton
John was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, and Margaret www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/34U08g daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland.
He succeeded his elder brother Edward 3rd Earl in 1587
He m Elizabeth daughter of Francis Charlton of Apley Castle by Cicely Fitton of Gawsworth (her sister Margaret Chambre is at Myddle flic.kr/p/d3fZfE )
Children - 10 in all :
1. Edward - died young www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/a07k16
2. Roger 5th Earl of Rutland 1576 – 1612 m Elizabeth Sidney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/g6Gj76
3. Francis 6th Earl of Rutland 1578 – 1632 m1 Frances Knyvett m2 Cecily www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/e5Ky1e daughter of Sir John Tufton of Hothfield flic.kr/p/47d7Yt
4. George 7th Earl of Rutland 1580 –dsp1641 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/w1e736 m Frances Cary.
5. Sir Oliver 1582 – 1613
1. Bridget 1572-1604 m Robert Tyrwhitt flic.kr/p/pL5uLw.
2. Elizabeth d1653 m Emanuel Scrope Earl of Sunderland flic.kr/p/fuUDCR 1630 only child of Thomas, Lord Scroope of Bolton 1609 and Philadelphia www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/9509629009/ daughter of Henry Carey, 1st Lord Hunsdon (cousin of Elizabeth l) by Anne Morgan www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/henry-carey
3. Mary died an infant
4. Frances 1588 – 1643 m William 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham
Monument by Gerard Johanssen in 1591 making the children only aged 15 to 3 at the time - Church of St Mary the Virgin Bottesford Leicestershire
Arbella Stuart (or "Arabella" and/or "Stewart") (1575 - 27 September 1615) was an English Renaissance noblewoman who was for some time considered a possible successor to Queen Elizabeth I on the English throne.
Arbella Stuart was a direct descendant of King Henry VII of England. As the only child of Charles Stuart, Earl of Lennox and Elizabeth Cavendish, she was a grandchild of Matthew Stewart, 4th Earl of Lennox and Margaret Douglas, who was, in turn, the daughter of Margaret Tudor, widow of James IV of Scotland, mother of James V of Scotland, and daughter of England's Henry VII. Margaret Douglas was the product of Margaret Tudor's second marriage, to Archibald Douglas, 6th Earl of Angus.
Arbella's paternal grandparents, the 4th Earl of Lennox and Margaret Douglas, had two sons: Arbella's father Charles and his older brother, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who became the second husband of Mary I of Scotland, also called Mary, Queen of Scots, and the father of James I of Great Britain. Arbella's maternal grandparents were Sir William Cavendish and Bess of Hardwick.
In her final days, as a prisoner in the Tower of London, Lady Arabella Seymour (her married name), refusing to eat, fell ill, and died on 27 September 1615. She was buried in Westminster Abbey on 29 September 1615. She did not aspire to the English throne.
Arbella's father died in 1576 when she was still an infant. She was raised by her mother Elizabeth Cavendish until 1582.[2] The death of her mother left seven-year-old Arbella an orphan, whereupon she became the ward of William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley.
During most of her childhood she lived in the protective isolation of Hardwick Hall with her maternal grandmother, the redoubtable Bess of Hardwick, who had been married in 1568 to George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury. There were, apparently, periodic visits to the court of Elizabeth I of England and to London, including one that lasted for a few years, from September 1589 to July 1592. Historian David Durant has suggested that, during this period, "In effect Bess was moving the operational centre of her business empire from Derbyshire to London".[3]
An extant note in French, written to Lord Burghley in Arbella's Italic hand and addressed on the eve of the Spanish Armada battles, was dated 13 July 1588 and "postmarked" from the Talbots' Coleman Street Residence in London. It is certain proof of the London visits.[4]
About 1589, one "Morley" became Arbella's "attendant" and "reader," as reported in a dispatch from Bess of Hardwick to Lord Burghley, dated 21 September 1592.[5] Bess recounts "Morley's" service to Arbella over "the space of three years and a half." She also notes he requested a lifetime stipend from Arbella based on the fact he had "been much damnified by leaving the University"; this has led to speculation that 'Morley' was the poet Christopher Marlowe.
For some time before 1592, Arbella was considered one of the natural candidates for succession to the English crown, after her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I (Marshall, 601). However, between the end of 1592 and the spring of 1593, the influential Cecils, Elizabeth's Secretaries of State Lord Burghley and his son Sir Robert Cecil) turned their attention away from Arbella towards James VI of Scotland, regarding him as a preferable successor.[7] Burghley wrote "If my hand were free from pain I would not commit this much to any other man's hand".[citation needed]
In 1603, after James's ascension to the English throne, there was a plot (in which Sir Walter Raleigh was alleged to being involved) to overthrow him and put Arbella on the throne; but when she was invited to participate by agreeing in writing to Philip III of Spain, she reported the plan to James.
Owing to Arbella's status as a possible heir to the throne, there was discussion of an appropriate marriage for her throughout her childhood. It would have suited the Roman Catholic Church for her to marry a member of the House of Savoy and then take the English throne. A marriage was also mooted with Ranuccio, eldest son of Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma and Maria of Portugal. According to the Curiosities of Literature by Isaac D'Israeli, this scheme originated with the Pope, who eventually settled on his own brother, a cardinal, as a suitable husband for Arbella; the Pope defrocked his brother, freeing him to marry "Arbelle" (as the Italians spelled her name) and thus claim the Kingdom of England. Nothing came of this plan, and in fact there is no direct evidence that Arbella was either a believing Catholic or a Protestant.
In the closing months of Elizabeth's reign, Arbella fell into trouble via reports that she intended to marry Edward Seymour, a member of the prominent Seymour family.[citation needed] This was reported to the Queen by the supposed groom's grandfather, Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford. Arbella denied having any intention of marrying without the Queen's permission, which she would have required for any marriage to be legal.
In 1588, it was proposed to James VI of Scotland that Esmé Stuart, 2nd Duke of Lennox should be married to Arbella, but nothing seems to have come of this suggestion.[8] In 1604, Sigismund III Vasa, King of Poland sent an ambassador to England to ask for Arbella to be his queen. This offer was rejected.[citation needed]
There are some indications that Arbella tried to elope in about 1604 and that she fell out of favour with King James I as a result; she was certainly out of sight until 1608, when she was restored to the King's good graces
In 1610, Arbella, who was fourth in line to the English throne, was in trouble again for planning to marry William Seymour, sixth in line, grandson of Lady Catherine Grey, a younger sister of Lady Jane Grey and a granddaughter of Mary Tudor, younger sister of King Henry VIII and Arbella's ancestress, Margaret Tudor. Although the couple at first denied that any arrangement existed between them, they later married in secret on 22 June 1610 at Greenwich Palace. For marrying without his permission, King James imprisoned them: Arbella in Sir Thomas Perry's house in Lambeth and Seymour in the Tower of London. The couple had some liberty within those buildings, and some of Arbella's letters to Seymour and to the King during this period survive. When the King learned of her letters to Seymour, however, he ordered Arbella's transfer to the custody of William James, Bishop of Durham. Arbella claimed to be ill, so her departure for Durham was delayed.
The couple used that delay to plan their escape. Arbella dressed as a man and escaped to Lee (in Kent), but Seymour did not meet her there before their getaway ship was to sail for France. Sara Jayne Steen records that Imogen, the virtuous, cross-dressed heroine of William Shakespeare's play Cymbeline (1610-1611) has sometimes been read as a reference to Arbella.[9] Seymour did escape from the Tower, but by the time he reached Lee, Arbella was gone, so he caught the next ship to Flanders. Arbella's ship was overtaken by King James's men just before it reached Calais, France, and she was returned to England and imprisoned in the Tower of London. She never saw her husband again and starved herself to death in the Tower in 1615.
Girodet was a friend of the sitter, shown here in the height of fashion. Her hairstyle and costume are inspired by ancient Roman sculpture; her white dress implies a virtuous simplicity, while being simultaneously revealing. The artist contrasts the sitter’s smooth, carefully modelled flesh with the elegant folds of the drapery and the too crisply silhouetted leaves. The overall effect is of poise, perhaps artifice, both of the sitter and the painting. Girodet was among David’s most talented pupils, and the most willful, striking out on his own path. His work is refined even mannered - and sensual.
A long planned visit to Leeds to record the church.
Leeds is just off the M20, and nearby to Leeds Castle, which means the roads are often busy. St Nicholas is on the main road leading up the down, but before the road gets narrow as it winds between the timber framed houses. Thankfully there is good parking next door, so we were able to get off the main road and out of the traffic, as unbeknown to us, there was a classical music show on that night, and most of Kent were going and in the process of arriving.
St Nicholas is a grand church, the chancel and two side chapels are partially hidden behind a very fine Rood Screen, which at first didn't look original, but actually is.
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One of the largest twelfth-century towers in Kent. The arch between tower and nave is of three very plain orders with no hint of the usual zigzag moulding of the period, and is so large that a meeting room has recently been built into it. The nave has three bay aisles and short chapels to north and south of the chancel. The outstanding rood screen was partially reconstructed in 1892, and runs the full width of nave and aisles - with the staircase doorways in the south aisle. That the chancel was rebuilt in the sixteenth century may be seen by the plain sedilia through which is cut one of two hagioscopes from chapels to chancel. The north chapel contains some good seventeenth- and eighteenth-century tablets and monuments. The stained glass shows some excellent examples of the work of Heaton, Butler and Bayne (south aisle) whilst there is an uncharacteristically poor example of the work of C.E. Kempe & Co. Ltd. in the north aisle. The church has recently been reordered to provide a spacious, light and manageable interior with excellent lighting and a welcoming atmosphere without damaging the character of the building.
www.kentchurches.info/church.asp?p=Leeds
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LEEDS
IS the next parish southward from Hollingborne. Kilburne says, that one Ledian, a chief counsellor to king Ethelbert II. who began his reign in 978, raised a fortress here, which was called in Latin, from him, Ledani Castrum, and in process of time in English, LEEDS. This castle was afterwards demolished by the Danes, and continued in that situation till the time of the Norman conquest.
THE PRESENT CASTLE is situated at the southeast boundary of this parish, adjoining to Bromfield, which includes a part of the castle itself. It is situated in the midst of the park, an ample description of it the reader will find hereafter. The Lenham rivulet takes its course through the park, and having supplied the moat, in which the castle stands, and the several waters in the grounds there, and having received into it the several small streamlets from Hollingborne, and one from the opposite side, which comes from Leeds abbey, it flows on, and at a small distance from Caring street, in this parish, adjoining to Bersted, the principal estate of which name there belongs to the Drapers company, it turns a mill, and then goes on to Maidstone, where it joins the river Medway. The high road from Ashford and Lenham runs close by the outside of the pales of Leeds park, at the northern boundary of the parish next to Hollingborne, and thence goes on towards Bersted and Maidstone, from which the park is distant a little more than five miles; here the soil is a deep sand, but near the river it changes to a black moorish earth. Southward from the castle the ground rises, at about three quarters of a mile south-west from it is Leeds abbey, the front of which is a handsome well-looking building, of the time of queen Elizabeth. It is not unpleasantly situated on a gentle eminence, and is well watered by a small stream which rises just above it, and here turns a mill. It is well cloathed with wood at the back part of it, to which the ground still keeps rising; adjoining to the abbey grounds westward is Leeds-street, a long straggling row of houses, near a mile in length, having the church at the south end of it; here the soil becomes a red unfertile earth much mixed with slints, which continues till it joins to Langley and Otham.
LEEDS was part of those possessions given by William the Conqueror to his half-brother Odo, bishop of Baieux; accordingly it is thus entered, under the general title of that prelate's lands, in the survey of Domesday, taken in the year 1080.
Adelold holds of the bishop (of Baieux) Esiedes. It was taxed at three sulings. The arable land is twelve carucates. In demesne there are two carucates, and twenty-eight villeins, with eight borderers, having seven carucates. There is a church, and eighteen servants. There are two arpends of vineyard, and eight acres of meadow. Wood for the pannage of twenty bogs, and five mills of the villeins. In the time of king Edward the Confessor, it was worth sixteen pounds, the like when be received it, now twenty pounds, and yet it pays twentyfive pounds. Earl Leuuin held it.
Of this manor the abbot of St. Augustine has half a suling, which is worth ten shillings, in exchange of the park of the bishop of Baieux. The earl of Ewe has four denns of this manor, which are worth twenty shillings.
The mention of the two arpends of vineyard in the above survey, is another instance of there having been such in this county in early times, some further observations of which the reader will find in the description of the parish of Chart Sutton, not far distant, and he will likewise observe, that at the above time the bishop of Baieux had a park here, which he acquired by exchange with the abbot of St. Augustine, who must therefore have had possessions here before that time.
On the bishop of Baieux's disgrace, about four years after the taking of the above-mentioned survey, this estate, among the rest of his possessions, became consiscated to the crown.
After which it was granted by king William to the eminent family of Crevequer, called in antient charters Creveceur, and in Latin, De Crepito Corde, who at first made Chatham in this county their seat, or caput baroniæ, i. e. the principal manor of their barony, for some time, until they removed hither, being before frequently written Domini de Cetham.
Robert, son of Hamon de Crevequer, who had probably a grant of Leeds from the Conqueror, appears to have held it of the king, as of his castle of Dover, in capite by barony, their barony, which consisted of five knight's sees, being stiled Baronia de Crevequer . (fn. 1) He erected the castle here, to which he asterwards removed the capital seat of his barony. This castle being environed with water, was frequently mentioned in antient writings by the name of Le Mote. In the north-west part of it he built a chapel, in which he placed three canons, which on his foundation of the priory of Leeds, in the 19th year of king Henry I. he removed thither.
His descendant, Hamon de Crevequer, lived in the reign of king Henry III. in the 19th year of which, he was joined with Walterand Teutonicus, or Teys, in the wardenship of the five ports, and the next year had possession granted to him of the lands of William de Albrincis or Averenches, whose daughter and heir Maud he had married. He died in the 47th year of king Henry III. possessed of the manor of Ledes, held of the king in capite, as belonging to his barony of Chatham; upon which Robert, his grandson, viz. son of Hamon his son, who died in his life-time, succeeded him as his heir, and in the 52d year of that reign, exchanged the manor of Ledes, with its appurtenances, together with a moiety of all his fees, with Roger de Leyburne, for the manors of Trottesclyve and Flete. He lest William de Leyburne, his son and heir, who in the 2d year of king Edward I. had possession granted to him of the manor of Ledes, as well as of the rest of his inheritance, of which Eleanor, countess of Winchester, his father's widow, was not endowed. (fn. 2)
His son, William de Leyborne, observing that the king looked on the strength of this fortress with a jealous eye, in the beginning of king Edward Ist.'s reign reinstated the crown in the possession of both the manor and castle; and the king having, in his 27th year married Margaret, sister of Philip, king of France, he settled them, being then of the clear yearly value of 21l. 6s. 8d. among other premises, as part of her dower. She survived the king her husband, who died in 1307, and in the 5th year of the next reign of king Edward II. by the king's recommendation, appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, a nobleman of great power and eminence, and much in that prince's favor, governor of this castle. (fn. 3) She died possessed of them in the 10th year of that reign; on which they came once more into the hands of the crown, and in the beginning of the next year the king appointed Bartholomew de Badlesmere, above-mentioned, governor of this castle, as well as of that of Bristol. In the 11th year of that reign, the king granted to him in see, this manor and castle, and the advowson of the priory of Ledes, in exchange for the manor of Addresley, in Shropshire. Being possessed of great possessions, especially in this county, he was usually stiled, the rich lord Badlesmere of Ledes. Being pussed up through ambition and his great wealth, he forgot his allegiance, and associated himself with the earl of Lancaster, and the discontented barons; which the king being well informed of, resolved, if possible, to gain possession of this strong fortress of Ledes: to effect which, under pretence of the queen's going on a pilgrimage to Canterbury, she set forward for that city with a large train of attendants, and, with a secret intention of surprising this castle, sent her marshal with others of her servants, to prepare lodging for her and her suit in it. The lord Badlesmere's family, that is, his wife, son, and four daughters, were at that time in it, together with all his treasure, deposited there for safety, under the care of Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, who refused the queen's servants admittance, and on her coming up, peremptorily persisted in denying her or any one entrance, without letters from his lord. The queen, upon this, made some attempt to gain admittance by force, and a skirmish ensued, in which one or more of her attendants were slain, but being repulsed, she was obliged to relinquish her design, and to retire for a lodging elsewhere.
The king, chagrined at the failure of his scheme, and highly resenting the indignity offered to the queen, sent a force under the earls of Pembroke and Richmond, to besiege the castle; (fn. 4) and those within it finding no hopes of relief, for though the lord Badlesmere had induced the barons to endeavours to raise the siege, yet they never advanced nearer than Kingston, yielded it up. Upon which, the lady Badlesmere and her children were sent prisoners to the tower of London, Thomas Colepeper, the castellan, was hung up, and the king took possession of the castle, as well as of all the lord Badlesmere's goods and treasures in it. But by others, Thomas de Aldone is said to have been castellan at this time, and that the castle being taken, he, with the lord Badlesmere's wife, his only son Giles, his daughters, Sir Bartholomew de Burgershe, and his wife, were sent to the tower of London by the king's order; and that afterwards, he caused Walter Colepeper, bailiff of the Seven Hundreds, to be drawn in a pitiable manner at the tails of horses, and to be hung just by this castle; on which Thomas Colepeper, and others, who were with him in Tunbridge castle, hearing of the king's approach, sled to the barons.
After which the lord Badlesmere, being taken prisoner in Yorkshire, was sent to Canterbury, and there drawn and hanged at the gallows of Blean, and his head being cut off, was set on a pole on Burgate, in that city. Upon which the manor and castle of Leeds, became part of the royal revenue and the castle remained in a most ruinous condition till the year 1359, anno 34 Edward III. in which year that munisicent prelate, William of Wickham, was constituted by the king, chief warden and surveyor of his castle of Ledes, among others, (fn. 5) having power to appoint all workmen, to provide materials, and to order every thing with regard to building and repairs; and in those manors to hold leets and other courts of trespass and misdemeanors, and to enquire of the king's liberties and rights; and from his attention to the re-edisying and rebuilding the rest of them, there is little doubt but he restored this of Leeds to a very superior state to whatever it had been before, insomuch, that it induced king Richard to visit it several times, particularly in his 19th year, in which several of his instruments were dated at his castle of Ledes; and it appears to have been at that time accounted a fortress of some strength, for in the beginning of the next reign, that unfortunate prince was, by order of king Henry IV. sent prisoner to this castle; and that king himself resided here part of the month of April in his 2d year.
After which, archbishop Arundel, whose mind was by no means inferior to his high birth, procured a grant of this castle, where he frequently resided and kept his court, whilst the process against the lord Cobham was carrying forward, and some of his instruments were dated from his castle of Ledes in the year 1413, being the year in which he died. On his death it reverted again to the crown, and became accounted as one of the king's houses, many of the principal gentry of the county being instrusted with the custody of it:
In the 7th year of king Henry V. Joane of Navarre, the second queen of the late king Henry IV. being accused of conspiring against the life of the king, her son-in-law, was committed to Leeds-castle, there to remain during the king's pleasure; and being afterwards ordered into Sir John Pelham's custody, he removed her to the castle of Pevensey, in Sussex.
In the 18th year of king Henry VI. archbishop Chichele sat at the king's castle of Leeds, in the process against Eleanor, duchess of Gloucester, for forcery and witchcrast.
King Edward IV. in his 11th year, made Ralph St. Leger, esq. of Ulcomb, who had served the office of sheriff of this county three years before, constable of this castle for life, and annexed one of the parks as a farther emolument to that office. He died that year, and was buried with his ancestors at Ulcomb.
Sir Thomas Bourchier resided at Leeds castle in the 1st year of king Richard III. in which year he had commission, among others of the principal gentry of this county, to receive the oaths of allegiance to king Richard, of the inhabitants of the several parts of Kent therein mentioned; in which year, the king confirmed the liberties of Leeds priory, in recompence of twentyfour acres of land in Bromfield, granted for the enlargement of his park of Ledes.
In the 4th year of king Henry VIII. Henry Guildford, esq. had a grant of the office of constable of Leeds castle, and of the parkership of it; and in the 12th year of that reign, he had a grant of the custody of the manor of Leeds, with sundry perquisities, for forty years. He died in the 23d year of that reign, having re-edisied great part of the castle, at the king's no small charge.
But the fee simple of the manor and castle of Leeds remained in the hands of the crown, till Edward VI. in his 6th year, granted them, with their appurtenances in the parishes of Leeds, Langley, and Sutton, to Sir Anthony St. Leger, lord deputy of Ireland, to hold in capite by knight's service.
His son, Sir Warham St. Leger, succeeded him in this manor and castle, and was afterwards chief governor of Munster, in Ireland, in which province he was unfortunately slain in 1599, (fn. 6) but before his death he alienated this manor and castle to Sir Richard Smyth, fourth son of Thomas Smyth, esq. of Westenhanger, commonly called Customer Smyth.
Sir Richard Smyth resided at Leeds castle, of which he died possessed in 1628, and was buried in Ashford church, where there is a costly monument erected to his memory.
Sir John Smith, his only son, succeeded his father, and resided at Leeds castle, and dying s. p. in 1632, was buried in this church; upon which his two sisters, Alice, wife of Sir Timothy Thornhill, and Mary, of Maurice Barrow, esq. became his coheirs, and entitled their respective husbands to the property of this manor and castle, which they afterwards joined in the sale of to Sir T. Culpeper, of Hollingborne, who settled this estate, after his purchase of it, on his eldest son Cheney Culpeper, remainder to his two other sons, Francis and Thomas. Cheney Culpeper, esq. resided at Leedscastle for some time, till at length persuading his brother Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, (then his only surviving brother, Francis being dead. s. p.) to cut off the entail of this estate, he alienated it to his cousin Sir John Colepeper, lord Colepeper, only son of Sir John Culpeper, of Wigsell, in Sussex, whose younger brother Francis was of Greenway-court, in Hollingborne, and was father of Sir Thomas Culpeper, the purchaser of this estate as before-mentioned.
Sir John Colepeper represented this county in parliament in the 16th year of king Charles I. and being a person, who by his abilities had raised himself much in the king's favor, was made of his privy council, and chancellor of the exchequer, afterwards master of the rolls, and governor of the Isle of Wight. During the troubles of that monarch, he continued stedfast to the royal cause, and as a reward for his services, was in 1644 created lord Colepeper, baron of Thoresway, in Lincolnshire.
After the king's death he continued abroad with king Charles II. in his exile. During his absence, Leeds-castle seems to have been in the possession of the usurping powers, and to have been made use of by them, for the assembling of their committee men and sequestrators, and for a receptacle to imprison the ejected ministers, for in 1652, all his estates had been declared by parliament forfeited, for treason against the state. He died in 1660, a few weeks only after the restoration, and was buried at Hollingborne. He bore for his arms, Argent, a bend ingrailed gules, the antient bearing of this family; he left by his second wife Judith, daughter of Sir Thomas Culpeper, of Hollingborne, several children, of whom Thomas was his successor in title and estates, and died without male issue as will be mentioned hereafter, John succeeded his brother in the title, and died in 1719 s. p. and Cheney succeeded his brother in the title, and died at his residence of Hoston St. John, in 1725, s. p. likewise, by which the title became extinct; they all, with the rest of the branch of the family, lie buried at Hollingborne. Thomas, lord Colepeper, the eldest son, succeeded his father in title, and in this manor and castle, where he resided, and having married Margaret, daughter of Signior Jean de Hesse, of a noble family in Germany, he left by her a sole daughter and heir Catherine, who intitled her husband Thomas, lord Fairfax, of Cameron, in Scotland, to this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood.
The family of Fairfax appear by old evidences in the hands of the family to have been in possession of lands in Yorkshire near six hundred years ago. Richard Fairfax was possessed of lands in that county in the reign of king John, whose grandson William Fairfax in the time of king Henry III. purchased the manor of Walton, in the West Riding, where he and his successors resided for many generations afterwards, and from whom descended the Fairfax's, of Walton and Gilling, in Yorkshire; of whom, Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Gilling, was created viscount Fairfax, of the kingdom of Ireland, which title became extinct in 1772; and from a younger branch of them descended Sir Thomas Fairfax, of Denton, who lived in queen Elizabeth's reign, and changed the original field of his coat armour from argent to or, bearing for his arms, Or, 3 bars gemelles, gules, surmounted of a lion rampant, sable, crown'd, of the first, and was father of Sir. T. Fairfax, who was, for his services to James and Charles I. created in 1627 lord Fairfax, baron of Cameron, in Scotland. He died in 1640, having had ten sons and two daughters; of whom, Ferdinando was his successor; Henry was rector of Bolton Percy, and had two sons, Henry, who became lord Fairfax, and Bryan, who was ancestor of Bryan Fairfax, late commissioner of the customs; and colonel Charles Fairfax, of Menston, was the noted antiquary, whose issue settled there.
Ferdinando, the second lord Fairfax, in the civil wars of king Charles I. was made general of the parliamentary forces, and died at York in 1646. His son, Sir Thomas Fairfax, succeeded him as lord Fairfax, and in all his posts under the parliament, and was that famous general so noted in English history during the civil wars, being made commander in chief of all the parliamentary forces; but at last he grew so weary of the distress and confusion which his former actions had brought upon his unhappy country, that he heartily concurred in the restoration of king Charles II. After which he retired to his seat at Bilborough, in Yorkshire, where he died in 1671, and was buried there, leaving by Anne, daughter and coheir of Horatio, lord Vere of Tilbury, a truly loyal and virtuous lady, an only daughter; upon which the title devolved to Henry Fairfax, esq. of Oglesthorpe, in Yorkshire, his first cousin, eldest son of Henry, rector of Bolton Percy, the second son of Thomas, the first lord Fairfax. Henry, lord Fairfax, died in 1680, and was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, fifth lord Fairfax, who was bred to a military life, and rose to the rank of a brigadier-general. He represented Yorkshire in several parliaments and marrying Catherine, daughter and heir of Thomas, lord Colepeper, possessed, in her right this manor and castle, and other large possessions, as before-mentioned. (fn. 7)
He died possessed of them in 1710, leaving three sons and four daughters, Thomas, who succeeded him as lord Fairfax; Henry Culpeper, who died unmarried, in 1734; and Robert, of whom hereafter. Of the daughters, Margaret married David Wilkins, D. D. and prebendary of Canterbury, and Francis married Denny Martin, esq. Thomas, lord Fairfax, the son, resided at Leeds-castle till his quitting England, to reside on his great possessions in Virginia, where he continued to the time of his death. On his departure from England, he gave up the possession of this manor and castle, with his other estates in this neighbourhood, to his only surviving brother, the hon. Robert Fairfax, who afterwards resided at Leeds-castle, and on his brother's death unmarried, in 1782, succeeded to the title of lord Fairfax. He was at first bred to a military life, but becoming possessed of Leeds castle, he retired there, and afterwards twice served in parliament for the town of Maidstoue, as he did afterwards in two successive parliaments for this county. He was twice married; first to Marsha, daughter and coheir of Anthony Collins, esq. of Baddow, in Essex, by whom he had one son, who died an instant; and, secondly, to one of the daughters of Thomas Best, esq. of Chatham, who died s. p. in 1750. Lord Fairfax dying s. p. in 1793, this castle and manor, with the rest of his estates in this county, came to his nephew the Rev. Denny Martin, the eldest son of his sister Frances, by Denny Martin, esq. of Loose, who had before his uncle's death been created D. D. and had, with the royal licence, assumed the name and arms of Fairfax. Dr. Fairfax is the present possessor of this manor and castle, and resides here, being at present unmarried.
A court leet and court baron is held for the manor of Leeds, at which three borsholders are appointed. It is divided into six divisions, or yokes as they are called, viz. Church-yoke, Ferinland-yoke, Mill-yoke, Russerken-yoke, Stockwell-yoke, and Lees-yoke.
The Cathedral of Pisa , officially the Primate Cathedral of Santa Maria Assunta , in the center of the Piazza del Duomo, also known as Piazza dei Miracoli , is the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Pisa as well as the Primate church .
A masterpiece of the Romanesque , in particular of the Pisan Romanesque , it represents the tangible testimony of the prestige and wealth achieved by the maritime republic of Pisa at the moment of its apogee.
Its construction began in 1063 ( 1064 according to the Pisan calendar in force at the time) by the architect Buscheto , with the tenth part of the spoils of the Palermo campaign in Sicily against the Muslims ( 1063 ) led by Giovanni Orlandi belonging to the Orlandi family [ 1] . Different stylistic elements blend together: classical, Lombard-Emilian , Byzantine and in particular Islamic, proving the international presence of Pisan merchants in those times. In that same year the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Marco in Venice also began , so it may also be that there was a rivalry between the two maritime republics at the time to create the most beautiful and sumptuous place of worship.
The church was built in an area outside the early medieval city walls , to symbolize the power of Pisa which did not require protection. The chosen area was already used in the Lombard era as a necropolis and, already in the early 11th century , an unfinished church was built which was to be dedicated to Santa Maria. The new large church of Buscheto, in fact, was initially called Santa Maria Maggiore until it was finally named after Santa Maria Assunta.
In 1092 the church changed from a simple cathedral to being primatial, the title of primate having been conferred on Archbishop Daiberto by Pope Urban II , an honor which today is only formal. The cathedral was consecrated in 1118 by Pope Gelasius II , as recorded by the inscription placed internally on the counter-façade at the top left.
In the first half of the 12th century the cathedral was enlarged under the direction of the architect Rainaldo , who lengthened the naves by adding three bays in front of the old facade [2] according to the Buscheto style, widened the transept and designed a new facade, completed by the workers led by the sculptors Guglielmo and Biduino . The date of the start of the works is uncertain: immediately after Buscheto's death around the year 1120 , according to some, around the year 1140 according to others. The end of the works dates back to 1180 , as documented by the date affixed to the bronze doors by Bonanno Pisano on the main door.
The current appearance of the complex building is the result of repeated restoration campaigns that took place in different eras. The first radical interventions followed the disastrous fire on the night between 24 and 25 October 1595 [3] , which destroyed many decorative interventions and following which the roof was rebuilt and the three bronze doors of the facade were made, the work of sculptors from the workshop of Giambologna , including Gasparo Mola and Pietro Tacca . Starting from the eighteenth century, the progressive covering of the internal walls began with large paintings on canvas, the "quadroni" with Stories of Pisan blesseds and saints , executed by the main artists of the time thanks to the initiative of some citizens who financed themselves by creating a special business.
The Napoleonic spoliations of the Cathedral of Pisa and the Opera del Duomo were significant, many works converged on the Louvre where they are exhibited today, including The Triumph of Saint Thomas Aquinas among the Doctors of the Church by Benozzo Gozzoli , now in the Louvre, Death of San Bernardo dell'Orcagna and San Benedetto , the work of Andrea del Castagno .
Among the various noteworthy interventions, it is worth mentioning the dismantling of Giovanni Pisano's pulpit which was reassembled only in 1926 in a different position and with several parts missing, including the staircase, and the dismantling of the monument to Henry VII created by Lupo di Francesco which was located in front of the door of San Ranieri and subsequently replaced by a simplified and symbolic version.
The subsequent interventions took place during the nineteenth century and affected both the internal and external decorations, which in many cases, especially the sculptures on the facade, were replaced by copies (the originals are in the Museo dell'Opera del duomo ).
The building has a Latin cross shape with a large dome at the intersection of the arms. The longitudinal body, divided into five naves , extends over ten bays . This plan continues in the choir with two more bays and a final apse crowning the central nave alone. The transept has 4 bays on each side (or six if we include the two in common with the longitudinal body) and has three naves with apses ending on both sides. In the center four large pillars delimit the rectangular cross ending at the top with a large elliptical dome.
The building, like the bell tower, has sunk perceptibly into the ground, and some defects in the construction are clearly visible, such as the differences in level between Buscheto's nave and the extension by Rainaldo (the bays towards the west and the facade) .
The exterior of the cathedral is mainly in white and gray marble although the older stones placed at the lower levels of the longitudinal body are of other poorer material. There is no shortage of valuable materials, especially on the facade, where there are multicolored marble inlays, mosaics and also bronze objects from war booty, including the Griffin used on the top of the roof at the back (east side), perhaps taken from Palermo in 1061 ( today there is a copy on the roof, the original is in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo ).
The longitudinal body, transept and choir have a rich facing punctuated by three orders or floors. On the lower floor, long rows of pilasters supporting blind arches , in turn enclosing lozenges or windows, punctuate the space on all sides of the building with very few interruptions (only the apse of the right transept). The second floor still has pilasters but this time these do not support blind arches and are rather architraved , a motif interrupted only in the apse of the right transept (where blind arches appear again) and in the main apse where two orders of loggias are visible . In addition to the windows and lozenges, inlaid oculi also appear between the pilasters . The third floor has columns or semi-columns which again support blind arches (longitudinal body and choir) or an architrave (transept) with the usual alternation of windows, lozenges and inlaid oculi.
The raised round arches on the facade and in the main apse recall elements of Muslim art from Sicily . The blind arches with lozenges recall the similar structures of the churches of Armenia . Even the ellipsoidal dome rebuilt after the fire of 1595, surmounted by a lantern, recalls Islamic architecture.
The gray and white marble façade , decorated with colored marble inserts, was built by master Rainaldo in the 12th century and finished by 1180. On the lower floor, the seven blind arches which enclose lozenges, one every two, echo the same motif which spreads over the remaining three sides of the Cathedral. On the façade, however, the ornamentation becomes richer: semi-columns placed against semi-rectangular pillars replace the slender pilaster strips on the sides and are surmounted by Corinthian or figurative capitals. The arches are embellished with a rich texture of vegetal motifs and the lozenges are also larger and inlaid with multicolored marble. The empty spaces between the three portals have marble slabs forming square or rectangular motifs and are embellished with horizontal ornamental bands with plant motifs. The empty spaces between the arches are also filled with marble tablets inlaid with geometric or animal motifs. Noteworthy is the one at the top right of the main portal which depicts a Christian brandishing the cross between two beasts and the writing of Psalm 21 : Salva me ex ore leonis et a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam (Save me from the mouth of the lion Lord and my humility from the unicorn's horns), the original of which is preserved in the nearby Museo dell'Opera del Duomo .
Of the three portals , the central one has larger dimensions and is enclosed by two columns decorated with vegetal motifs which support, above the capitals, two lions to symbolize the two "faces" of Christ the Judge , the one who condemns on the left and the one who rewards and is merciful on the right (note the saved and protected lamb between the legs). All three portals have eighteenth-century mosaics by Giuseppe Modena da Lucca in their lunettes depicting the Assumption of the Virgin (centre), Santa Reparata (left) and Saint John the Baptist (right). The bronze doors were made by various artists of the caliber of Giambologna , after the fire of 1595, replacing the two wooden side doors and the bronze-covered wooden royal door by Bonanno Pisano which bore the date of 1180 (seen and described before the fire) to testify to the completion of the façade in that year. To the left of the north left portal, there is Buscheto's tomb.
The four upper floors are characterized by four orders of superimposed loggias, divided by finely sculpted frames, behind which there are single , double and triple lancet windows . Many of the friezes on the arches and frames were redone in the 17th century after the fire of 1595, while the polychrome marble inlays between the arches are original. Even higher up, to crown it, the Madonna and Child by Andrea Pisano and, in the corners, the four evangelists by Giovanni Pisano (early 14th century).
Contrary to what one might think, since ancient times the faithful have entered the Cathedral through the door of San Ranieri , located at the back in the transept of the same name, in front of the bell tower. This is because the nobles of the city went to the cathedral coming from via Santa Maria which leads to that transept. This door was cast around 1180 by Bonanno Pisano , and is the only door to escape the fire of 1595 which heavily damaged the church. The door is decorated with twenty-four panels depicting stories from the New Testament. This door is one of the first produced in Italy in the Middle Ages, after the importation of numerous examples from Constantinople , (in Amalfi , in Salerno , in Rome , in Montecassino , in Venice ...) and one admires an entirely Western sensitivity, which breaks away from the Byzantine tradition.
The original gràdule of the Duomo, designed by Giovanni Pisano and dating back to the end of the 13th century, were removed in 1865 and replaced by the current churchyard . These gràdule consisted of small walls, decorated with squares carved with figures of animals and heads, close to the external perimeter of the cathedral and served as a base for the numerous sarcophagi of the Roman era which, during the medieval era, were reused for the burials of nobles (among whom Beatrice of Canossa stands out ) and heroes. Currently some fragments are visible in the Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, while the sarcophagi were all moved within the enclosure of the monumental cemetery .
The lower register of the facade is not very rich in figurative sculptural decorations unlike other contemporary Romanesque cathedrals, but it still gives a rich meaning both to its unitary components and a complex allegory in its overall vision. To read the latter you need to start from the left where the outermost capital of the left side portal shows two ferocious lions devouring weak prey and two human figures further behind. The former represent the struggle between good and evil where evil dominates [6] , but behind them the figure of the old man stacking wood and the young man towering over a ram perhaps represent Abraham and Isaac and the sacrificial ram (or two peasants virtuous at work) which show preparation for God's plan of salvation. The arch that starts from the same capital shows a row of dragons that two virtuous human figures in the center are forced to face in the continuous struggle between good and evil. [6]
At the level of the central portal we enter the New Testament which concretizes the plan of salvation brought about by God starting from Abraham . It is the portal dedicated to the Virgin of the Assumption and her Son , whose divine judgment is represented by the two lions of justice, the one that condemns on the left and the one that protects and saves on the right with the little lamb protected between its legs, for Divine Mercy or Justice whatever it is. [6] The 42 stylized human figurines present on the decorated arch show the 42 generations that separate, according to the Gospel of Matthew , Abraham from Jesus Christ (the figurines are actually 43 but perhaps due to renovation needs or other reasons for filling the frieze ). This transition from the old to the new is strengthened by the two marble inlays in the intrados of the main arch where a ferocious dragon and a lion facing each other depicting the perennial struggle between the evil forces (left inlay) [6] become two equally ferocious unicorns but in the middle to whom a Christian appears brandishing a cross to defend himself from them (inlay on the right) and where we read in Latin:
de ore leonis libera me domine et a cornibus unicorni humilitatem mea ("Save me from the lion's mouth, Lord, and my humility from the unicorn's horns", psalm 21 ).
The last element of this complex narrative is the outermost capital of the right portal, which acts as a pendant to that of the left portal from which we started. We are well beyond the coming of Jesus where the evil lions, previously in the foreground, are relegated to a backward and out of the way position, always ready to strike as shown by the heads turned back and the tongue out, but in a contorted position due to the continuous escapes to which the Savior and the Church forces them to do. [6] In a prominent position there are now two naked human figurines, the souls of those saved by the Savior through the intercession of the Church , which are composed and serene figures with large eyes, well anchored with their arms to the garland of the capital and the feet resting well on the acanthus leaves, symbol of men of faith, victorious over sin and blessed by faith rather than merit.
The five- nave interior is covered in black and white marble, with monolithic columns of gray marble and capitals of the Corinthian order . The arches of the ten bays are round arches (those of the central nave) or raised arches in the Moorish style of the time (those of the side naves).
The central nave has a seventeenth-century gilded coffered ceiling, in gilded and painted wood, by the Florentines Domenico and Bartolomeo Atticciati ; it bears the Medici coat of arms in gold . Presumably the ancient ceiling had a structure with exposed wooden trusses. The four side naves have a cross-shaped plastered roof. The coffered roof is also present in the choir and in the central nave of the transept, while a plastered barrel roof is present in the side naves of the transept. The coverage of the lateral naves of the transept at the level of the two bays shared with the lateral naves of the longitudinal body is curious: these are cross-shaped (as in the lateral naves of the longitudinal body), but are higher (as in the lateral naves of the transept) . There is also a women's gallery of Byzantine origin that runs along the entire church, including the choir and transept and which has a coffered roof (central body) or wooden beams (transept). Even higher up, thin and deep windows allow the church to be lit.
The interior suggests a spatial effect that has some analogy with that of mosques , for the use of raised arches, for the alternation of white and green marble bands, for the unusual elliptical dome , of oriental inspiration, and for the presence of women's galleries with solid monolithic granite columns in the mullioned windows , a clear sign of Byzantine influence. The architect Buscheto had welcomed stimuli from the Islamic Levant and Armenia . [7]
Only part of the medieval decorative interventions survived the fire of 1595. Among these is the fresco with the Madonna and Child by the Pisan Master of San Torpè in the triumphal arch (late 13th-early 14th century), and below it the Cosmatesque flooring , of a certain rarity outside the borders of Lazio . It was made of marble inlays with geometric "opus alexandrinum" motifs (mid- 12th century ). Other late medieval fresco fragments have survived, among them Saint Jerome on one of the four central pillars and Saint John the Baptist , a Crucifix and Saint Cosimo and Damian on the pillar near the entrance door, partially hidden by the compass .
At the meeting point between the transept and the central body the dome rises, the decoration of which represented one of the last interventions carried out after the fire mentioned. Painted with the rare encaustic painting technique [8] (or wax on wall) [9] , the dome represents the Virgin in glory and saints ( 1627 - 1631 ), a masterpiece by the Pisan Orazio Riminaldi , completed after his death. which occurred in 1630 due to the plague, by his brother Girolamo . The decoration underwent a careful restoration which returned it to its original splendor in 2018.
The presbytery, ending in a curved apse, presents a great variety of ornaments. Above, in the basin, the large mosaic of Christ enthroned between the Virgin and Saint John is made famous by the face of Saint John, a work by Cimabue from 1302 which miraculously survived the fire of 1595. Precisely that Saint John the Evangelist was the The last work created by Cimabue before his death and the only one for which certified documentation exists. It evokes the mosaics of Byzantine churches and also Norman ones, such as Cefalù and Monreale , in Sicily . The mosaic, largely created by Francesco da Pisa, was finished by Vincino da Pistoia with the depiction of the Madonna on the left side ( 1320 ).
The main altar, from the beginning of the twentieth century, features six Angels contemporary with Ludovico Poliaghi , and in the center the bronze Crucifix by Giambologna , of which there are also the two candle-holder Angels at the end of the rich marble transenna, while the third Angel on the column to the left of the altar is by Stoldo Lorenzi .
Below, behind the main altar, there is the large decorative complex of the Tribune, composed of 27 paintings depicting episodes from the Old Testament and Christological stories. Begun before the fire with the works of Andrea del Sarto (three canvases, Saint Agnes , Saints Catherine and Margaret and Saints Peter and John the Baptist ) del Sodoma and Domenico Beccafumi ( Stories of Moses and the Evangelists ), it was completed after this calamity with the works of several Tuscan painters, including Orazio Riminaldi .
The pulpit , a masterpiece by Giovanni Pisano (1302-1310), survived the fire, but was dismantled during the restoration work and was not reassembled until 1926 . With its articulated architectural structure and complex sculptural decoration, the work is one of the largest narratives in fourteenth-century images that reflects the renewal and religious fervor of the era. The episodes from the Life of Christ are carved in an expressive language on the slightly curved panels . The structure is polygonal, as in the similar previous examples, in the baptistery of Pisa , in the cathedral of Siena and in the church of Sant'Andrea in Pistoia , but for the first time the panels are slightly curved, giving a new idea of circularity in its type. Equally original are: the presence of caryatids , sculpted figures in place of simple columns, which symbolize the Virtues ; the adoption of spiral brackets instead of arches to support the mezzanine floor; the sense of movement, given by the numerous figures that fill every empty space.
For these qualities combined with the skilful narrative art of the nine scenes it is generally considered Giovanni's masterpiece and more generally of Italian Gothic sculpture. The pulpit commissioned from Giovanni replaced a previous one , created by Guglielmo ( 1157 - 1162 ), which was sent to the cathedral of Cagliari . Since there is no documentation of what the pulpit looked like before its dismantling, it was rebuilt in a different position from the original one and, certainly, with the parts not in the same order and orientation as had been thought. It is not known whether or not he had a marble staircase.
The right transept is occupied by the Chapel of San Ranieri , patron saint of the city, whose relics are preserved in the magnificent shrine on the altar. Also in the chapel, on the left, is preserved part of the fragmentary tomb of Henry VII of Luxembourg , Holy Roman Emperor , who died in 1313 in Buonconvento while besieging Florence in vain . The tomb, also dismantled and reassembled, (it was sculpted by Tino di Camaino in 1313 - 1315 ) and was originally placed in the center of the apse, as a sign of the Ghibelline faith of the city. It was also a much more complex sculptural monument, featuring various statues. Moved several times for political reasons, it was also separated into several parts (some inside the church, some on the facade, some in the Campo Santo). Today we find the sarcophagus in the church with the deceased depicted lying on it, according to the fashion in vogue at that time, and the twelve apostles sculpted in bas-relief. The lunette painted with curtain-holding angels is instead a later addition from the workshop of Domenico Ghirlandaio (end of the 15th century ). The other remains of the monument have been reassembled in the nearby Museo dell'Opera del Duomo . The left transept is occupied by the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament, in the center of which is the large silver tabernacle designed by Giovan Battista Foggini (1678-86).
On the numerous side altars there are sixteenth-seventeenth century paintings. Among the paintings housed on the minor altars, we remember the Madonna delle Grazie with saints, by the Florentine mannerist Andrea del Sarto, and the Madonna enthroned with saints in the right transept, by Perin del Vaga , a pupil of Raphael , both finished by Giovanni Antonio Sogliani . The canvas with the Dispute of the Sacrament is in Baroque style, by the Sienese Francesco Vanni , and the Cross with saints by the Genoese Giovanni Battista Paggi . Particularly venerated is the image of the thirteenth-century Madonna and Child , known as the Madonna di sotto gli organi , attributed to the Volterra native Berlinghiero Berlinghieri .
Pisa is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the city contains more than twenty other historic churches, several medieval palaces, and bridges across the Arno. Much of the city's architecture was financed from its history as one of the Italian maritime republics.
The city is also home to the University of Pisa, which has a history going back to the 12th century, the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa, founded by Napoleon in 1810, and its offshoot, the Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies.
History
For a chronological guide, see Timeline of Pisa.
Ancient times
The most believed hypothesis is that the origin of the name Pisa comes from Etruscan and means 'mouth', as Pisa is at the mouth of the Arno river.
Although throughout history there have been several uncertainties about the origin of the city of Pisa, excavations made in the 1980s and 1990s found numerous archaeological remains, including the fifth century BC tomb of an Etruscan prince, proving the Etruscan origin of the city, and its role as a maritime city, showing that it also maintained trade relations with other Mediterranean civilizations.
Ancient Roman authors referred to Pisa as an old city. Virgil, in his Aeneid, states that Pisa was already a great center by the times described; and gives the epithet of Alphēae to the city because it was said to have been founded by colonists from Pisa in Elis, near which the Alpheius river flowed. The Virgilian commentator Servius wrote that the Teuti founded the town 13 centuries before the start of the common era.
The maritime role of Pisa should have been already prominent if the ancient authorities ascribed to it the invention of the naval ram. Pisa took advantage of being the only port along the western coast between Genoa (then a small village) and Ostia. Pisa served as a base for Roman naval expeditions against Ligurians and Gauls. In 180 BC, it became a Roman colony under Roman law, as Portus Pisanus. In 89 BC, Portus Pisanus became a municipium. Emperor Augustus fortified the colony into an important port and changed the name to Colonia Iulia obsequens.
Pisa supposedly was founded on the shore, but due to the alluvial sediments from the Arno and the Serchio, whose mouth lies about 11 km (7 mi) north of the Arno's, the shore moved west. Strabo states that the city was 4.0 km (2.5 mi) away from the coast. Currently, it is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the coast. However, it was a maritime city, with ships sailing up the Arno. In the 90s AD, a baths complex was built in the city.
Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages
During the last years of the Western Roman Empire, Pisa did not decline as much as the other cities of Italy, probably due to the complexity of its river system and its consequent ease of defence. In the seventh century, Pisa helped Pope Gregory I by supplying numerous ships in his military expedition against the Byzantines of Ravenna: Pisa was the sole Byzantine centre of Tuscia to fall peacefully in Lombard hands, through assimilation with the neighbouring region where their trading interests were prevalent. Pisa began in this way its rise to the role of main port of the Upper Tyrrhenian Sea and became the main trading centre between Tuscany and Corsica, Sardinia, and the southern coasts of France and Spain.
After Charlemagne had defeated the Lombards under the command of Desiderius in 774, Pisa went through a crisis, but soon recovered. Politically, it became part of the duchy of Lucca. In 860, Pisa was captured by vikings led by Björn Ironside. In 930, Pisa became the county centre (status it maintained until the arrival of Otto I) within the mark of Tuscia. Lucca was the capital but Pisa was the most important city, as in the middle of tenth century Liutprand of Cremona, bishop of Cremona, called Pisa Tusciae provinciae caput ("capital of the province of Tuscia"), and a century later, the marquis of Tuscia was commonly referred to as "marquis of Pisa". In 1003, Pisa was the protagonist of the first communal war in Italy, against Lucca. From the naval point of view, since the ninth century, the emergence of the Saracen pirates urged the city to expand its fleet; in the following years, this fleet gave the town an opportunity for more expansion. In 828, Pisan ships assaulted the coast of North Africa. In 871, they took part in the defence of Salerno from the Saracens. In 970, they gave also strong support to Otto I's expedition, defeating a Byzantine fleet in front of Calabrese coasts.
11th century
The power of Pisa as a maritime nation began to grow and reached its apex in the 11th century, when it acquired traditional fame as one of the four main historical maritime republics of Italy (Repubbliche Marinare).
At that time, the city was a very important commercial centre and controlled a significant Mediterranean merchant fleet and navy. It expanded its powers in 1005 through the sack of Reggio Calabria in the south of Italy. Pisa was in continuous conflict with some 'Saracens' - a medieval term to refer to Arab Muslims - who had their bases in Corsica, for control of the Mediterranean. In 1017, Sardinian Giudicati were militarily supported by Pisa, in alliance with Genoa, to defeat the Saracen King Mugahid, who had settled a logistic base in the north of Sardinia the year before. This victory gave Pisa supremacy in the Tyrrhenian Sea. When the Pisans subsequently ousted the Genoese from Sardinia, a new conflict and rivalry was born between these major marine republics. Between 1030 and 1035, Pisa went on to defeat several rival towns in Sicily and conquer Carthage in North Africa. In 1051–1052, the admiral Jacopo Ciurini conquered Corsica, provoking more resentment from the Genoese. In 1063, Admiral Giovanni Orlandi, coming to the aid of the Norman Roger I, took Palermo from the Saracen pirates. The gold treasure taken from the Saracens in Palermo allowed the Pisans to start the building of their cathedral and the other monuments which constitute the famous Piazza del Duomo.
In 1060, Pisa had to engage in their first battle with Genoa. The Pisan victory helped to consolidate its position in the Mediterranean. Pope Gregory VII recognised in 1077 the new "Laws and customs of the sea" instituted by the Pisans, and emperor Henry IV granted them the right to name their own consuls, advised by a council of elders. This was simply a confirmation of the present situation, because in those years, the marquis had already been excluded from power. In 1092, Pope Urban II awarded Pisa the supremacy over Corsica and Sardinia, and at the same time raising the town to the rank of archbishopric.
Pisa sacked the Tunisian city of Mahdia in 1088. Four years later, Pisan and Genoese ships helped Alfonso VI of Castilla to push El Cid out of Valencia. A Pisan fleet of 120 ships also took part in the First Crusade, and the Pisans were instrumental in the taking of Jerusalem in 1099. On their way to the Holy Land, the ships did not miss the occasion to sack some Byzantine islands; the Pisan crusaders were led by their archbishop Daibert, the future patriarch of Jerusalem. Pisa and the other Repubbliche Marinare took advantage of the crusade to establish trading posts and colonies in the Eastern coastal cities of the Levant. In particular, the Pisans founded colonies in Antiochia, Acre, Jaffa, Tripoli, Tyre, Latakia, and Accone. They also had other possessions in Jerusalem and Caesarea, plus smaller colonies (with lesser autonomy) in Cairo, Alexandria, and of course Constantinople, where the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus granted them special mooring and trading rights. In all these cities, the Pisans were granted privileges and immunity from taxation, but had to contribute to the defence in case of attack. In the 12th century, the Pisan quarter in the eastern part of Constantinople had grown to 1,000 people. For some years of that century, Pisa was the most prominent commercial and military ally of the Byzantine Empire, overcoming Venice itself.
12th century
In 1113, Pisa and Pope Paschal II set up, together with the count of Barcelona and other contingents from Provence and Italy (Genoese excluded), a war to free the Balearic Islands from the Moors; the queen and the king of Majorca were brought in chains to Tuscany. Though the Almoravides soon reconquered the island, the booty taken helped the Pisans in their magnificent programme of buildings, especially the cathedral, and Pisa gained a role of pre-eminence in the Western Mediterranean.
In the following years, the powerful Pisan fleet, led by archbishop Pietro Moriconi, drove away the Saracens after ferocious battles. Though short-lived, this Pisan success in Spain increased the rivalry with Genoa. Pisa's trade with Languedoc, Provence (Noli, Savona, Fréjus, and Montpellier) were an obstacle to Genoese interests in cities such as Hyères, Fos, Antibes, and Marseille.
The war began in 1119 when the Genoese attacked several galleys on their way home to the motherland, and lasted until 1133. The two cities fought each other on land and at sea, but hostilities were limited to raids and pirate-like assaults.
In June 1135, Bernard of Clairvaux took a leading part in the Council of Pisa, asserting the claims of Pope Innocent II against those of Pope Anacletus II, who had been elected pope in 1130 with Norman support, but was not recognised outside Rome. Innocent II resolved the conflict with Genoa, establishing Pisan and Genoese spheres of influence. Pisa could then, unhindered by Genoa, participate in the conflict of Innocent II against king Roger II of Sicily. Amalfi, one of the maritime republics (though already declining under Norman rule), was conquered on August 6, 1136; the Pisans destroyed the ships in the port, assaulted the castles in the surrounding areas, and drove back an army sent by Roger from Aversa. This victory brought Pisa to the peak of its power and to a standing equal to Venice. Two years later, its soldiers sacked Salerno.
New city walls, erected in 1156 by Consul Cocco Griffi
In the following years, Pisa was one of the staunchest supporters of the Ghibelline party. This was much appreciated by Frederick I. He issued in 1162 and 1165 two important documents, with these grants: Apart from the jurisdiction over the Pisan countryside, the Pisans were granted freedom of trade in the whole empire, the coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, a half of Palermo, Messina, Salerno and Naples, the whole of Gaeta, Mazara, and Trapani, and a street with houses for its merchants in every city of the Kingdom of Sicily. Some of these grants were later confirmed by Henry VI, Otto IV, and Frederick II. They marked the apex of Pisa's power, but also spurred the resentment of other cities such as Lucca, Massa, Volterra, and Florence, thwarting their aim to expand towards the sea. The clash with Lucca also concerned the possession of the castle of Montignoso and mainly the control of the Via Francigena, the main trade route between Rome and France. Last, but not least, such a sudden and large increase of power by Pisa could only lead to another war with Genoa.
Genoa had acquired a dominant position in the markets of southern France. The war began in 1165 on the Rhône, when an attack on a convoy, directed to some Pisan trade centres on the river, by the Genoese and their ally, the count of Toulouse, failed. Pisa, though, was allied to Provence. The war continued until 1175 without significant victories. Another point of attrition was Sicily, where both the cities had privileges granted by Henry VI. In 1192, Pisa managed to conquer Messina. This episode was followed by a series of battles culminating in the Genoese conquest of Syracuse in 1204. Later, the trading posts in Sicily were lost when the new Pope Innocent III, though removing the excommunication cast over Pisa by his predecessor Celestine III, allied himself with the Guelph League of Tuscany, led by Florence. Soon, he stipulated[clarification needed] a pact with Genoa, too, further weakening the Pisan presence in southern Italy.
To counter the Genoese predominance in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Pisa strengthened its relationship with its traditional Spanish and French bases (Marseille, Narbonne, Barcelona, etc.) and tried to defy the Venetian rule of the Adriatic Sea. In 1180, the two cities agreed to a nonaggression treaty in the Tyrrhenian and the Adriatic, but the death of Emperor Manuel Comnenus in Constantinople changed the situation. Soon, attacks on Venetian convoys were made. Pisa signed trade and political pacts with Ancona, Pula, Zara, Split, and Brindisi; in 1195, a Pisan fleet reached Pola to defend its independence from Venice, but the Serenissima soon reconquered the rebel sea town.
One year later, the two cities signed a peace treaty, which resulted in favourable conditions for Pisa, but in 1199, the Pisans violated it by blockading the port of Brindisi in Apulia. In the following naval battle, they were defeated by the Venetians. The war that followed ended in 1206 with a treaty in which Pisa gave up all its hopes to expand in the Adriatic, though it maintained the trading posts it had established in the area. From that point on, the two cities were united against the rising power of Genoa and sometimes collaborated to increase the trading benefits in Constantinople.
13th century
In 1209 in Lerici, two councils for a final resolution of the rivalry with Genoa were held. A 20-year peace treaty was signed, but when in 1220, the emperor Frederick II confirmed his supremacy over the Tyrrhenian coast from Civitavecchia to Portovenere, the Genoese and Tuscan resentment against Pisa grew again. In the following years, Pisa clashed with Lucca in Garfagnana and was defeated by the Florentines at Castel del Bosco. The strong Ghibelline position of Pisa brought this town diametrically against the Pope, who was in a dispute with the Holy Roman Empire, and indeed the pope tried to deprive Pisa of its dominions in northern Sardinia.
In 1238, Pope Gregory IX formed an alliance between Genoa and Venice against the empire, and consequently against Pisa, too. One year later, he excommunicated Frederick II and called for an anti-Empire council to be held in Rome in 1241. On May 3, 1241, a combined fleet of Pisan and Sicilian ships, led by the emperor's son Enzo, attacked a Genoese convoy carrying prelates from northern Italy and France, next to the isle of Giglio (Battle of Giglio), in front of Tuscany; the Genoese lost 25 ships, while about a thousand sailors, two cardinals, and one bishop were taken prisoner. After this major victory, the council in Rome failed, but Pisa was excommunicated. This extreme measure was only removed in 1257. Anyway, the Tuscan city tried to take advantage of the favourable situation to conquer the Corsican city of Aleria and even lay siege to Genoa itself in 1243.
The Ligurian republic of Genoa, however, recovered fast from this blow and won back Lerici, conquered by the Pisans some years earlier, in 1256.
The great expansion in the Mediterranean and the prominence of the merchant class urged a modification in the city's institutes. The system with consuls was abandoned, and in 1230, the new city rulers named a capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain") as civil and military leader. Despite these reforms, the conquered lands and the city itself were harassed by the rivalry between the two families of Della Gherardesca and Visconti. In 1237 the archbishop and the Emperor Frederick II intervened to reconcile the two rivals, but the strains continued. In 1254, the people rebelled and imposed 12 Anziani del Popolo ("People's Elders") as their political representatives in the commune. They also supplemented the legislative councils, formed of noblemen, with new People's Councils, composed by the main guilds and by the chiefs of the People's Companies. These had the power to ratify the laws of the Major General Council and the Senate.
Decline
The decline is said to have begun on August 6, 1284, when the numerically superior fleet of Pisa, under the command of Albertino Morosini, was defeated by the brilliant tactics of the Genoese fleet, under the command of Benedetto Zaccaria and Oberto Doria, in the dramatic naval Battle of Meloria. This defeat ended the maritime power of Pisa and the town never fully recovered; in 1290, the Genoese destroyed forever the Porto Pisano (Pisa's port), and covered the land with salt. The region around Pisa did not permit the city to recover from the loss of thousands of sailors from the Meloria, while Liguria guaranteed enough sailors to Genoa. Goods, however, continued to be traded, albeit in reduced quantity, but the end came when the Arno started to change course, preventing the galleys from reaching the city's port up the river. The nearby area also likely became infested with malaria. The true end came in 1324, when Sardinia was entirely lost to the Aragonese.
Always Ghibelline, Pisa tried to build up its power in the course of the 14th century, and even managed to defeat Florence in the Battle of Montecatini (1315), under the command of Uguccione della Faggiuola. Eventually, however, after a long siege, Pisa was occupied by Florentines in 1405.[9] Florentines corrupted the capitano del popolo ("people's chieftain"), Giovanni Gambacorta, who at night opened the city gate of San Marco. Pisa was never conquered by an army. In 1409, Pisa was the seat of a council trying to set the question of the Great Schism. In the 15th century, access to the sea became more difficult, as the port was silting up and was cut off from the sea. When in 1494, Charles VIII of France invaded the Italian states to claim the Kingdom of Naples, Pisa reclaimed its independence as the Second Pisan Republic.
The new freedom did not last long; 15 years of battles and sieges by the Florentine troops led by Antonio da Filicaja, Averardo Salviati and Niccolò Capponi were made, but they failed to conquer the city. Vitellozzo Vitelli with his brother Paolo were the only ones who actually managed to break the strong defences of Pisa and make a breach in the Stampace bastion in the southern west part of the walls, but he did not enter the city. For that, they were suspected of treachery and Paolo was put to death. However, the resources of Pisa were getting low, and at the end, the city was sold to the Visconti family from Milan and eventually to Florence again. Livorno took over the role of the main port of Tuscany. Pisa acquired a mainly cultural role spurred by the presence of the University of Pisa, created in 1343, and later reinforced by the Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa (1810) and Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies (1987).
Pisa was the birthplace of the important early physicist Galileo Galilei. It is still the seat of an archbishopric. Besides its educational institutions, it has become a light industrial centre and a railway hub. It suffered repeated destruction during World War II.
Since the early 1950s, the US Army has maintained Camp Darby just outside Pisa, which is used by many US military personnel as a base for vacations in the area.
Geography
Climate
Pisa has a borderline humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfa) and Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification: Csa). The city is characterized by cool to mild winters and hot summers. This transitional climate allows Pisa to have summers with moderate rainfall. Rainfall peaks in autumn. Snow is rare. The highest officially recorded temperature was 39.5 °C (103.1 °F) on 22 August 2011 and the lowest was −13.8 °C (7.2 °F) on 12 January 1985.
Culture
Gioco del Ponte
In Pisa there was a festival and game fr:Gioco del Ponte (Game of the Bridge) which was celebrated (in some form) in Pisa from perhaps the 1200s down to 1807. From the end of the 1400s the game took the form of a mock battle fought upon Pisa's central bridge (Ponte di Mezzo). The participants wore quilted armor and the only offensive weapon allowed was the targone, a shield-shaped, stout board with precisely specified dimensions. Hitting below the belt was not allowed. Two opposing teams started at opposite ends of the bridge. The object of the two opposing teams was to penetrate, drive back, and disperse the opponents' ranks and to thereby drive them backwards off the bridge. The struggle was limited to forty-five minutes. Victory or defeat was immensely important to the team players and their partisans, but sometimes the game was fought to a draw and both sides celebrated.
In 1677 the battle was witnessed by Dutch travelling artist Cornelis de Bruijn. He wrote:
"While I stayed in Livorno, I went to Pisa to witness the bridge fight there. The fighters arrived fully armored, wearing helmets, each carrying their banner, which was planted at both ends of the bridge, which is quite wide and long. The battle is fought with certain wooden implements made for this purpose, which they wear over their arms and are attached to them, with which they pummel each other so intensely that I saw several of them carried away with bloody and crushed heads. Victory consists of capturing the bridge, in the same way as the fistfights in Venice between the it:Castellani and the Nicolotti."
In 1927 the tradition was revived by college students as an elaborate costume parade. In 1935 Vittorio Emanuele III with the royal family witnessed the first revival of a modern version of the game, which has been pursued in the 20th and 21st centuries with some interruptions and varying degrees of enthusiasm by Pisans and their civic institutions.
Festivals and cultural events
Capodanno pisano (folklore, March 25)
Gioco del Ponte (folklore)
Luminara di San Ranieri (folklore, June 16)
Maritime republics regata (folklore)
Premio Nazionale Letterario Pisa
Pisa Book Festival
Metarock (rock music festival)
Internet Festival San Ranieri regata (folklore)
Turn Off Festival (house music festival)
Nessiáh (Jewish cultural Festival, November)
Main sights
The Leaning Tower of Pisa.
While the bell tower of the cathedral, known as "the leaning Tower of Pisa", is the most famous image of the city, it is one of many works of art and architecture in the city's Piazza del Duomo, also known, since the 20th century, as Piazza dei Miracoli (Square of Miracles), to the north of the old town center. The Piazza del Duomo also houses the Duomo (the Cathedral), the Baptistry and the Campo Santo (the monumental cemetery). The medieval complex includes the above-mentioned four sacred buildings, the hospital and few palaces. All the complex is kept by the Opera (fabrica ecclesiae) della Primaziale Pisana, an old non profit foundation that has operated since the building of the Cathedral in 1063 to maintain the sacred buildings. The area is framed by medieval walls kept by the municipal administration.
Other sights include:
Santo Stefano dei Cavalieri, church sited on Piazza dei Cavalieri, and also designed by Vasari. It had originally a single nave; two more were added in the 17th century. It houses a bust by Donatello, and paintings by Vasari, Jacopo Ligozzi, Alessandro Fei, and Pontormo. It also contains spoils from the many naval battles between the Cavalieri (Knights of St. Stephan) and the Turks between the 16th and 18th centuries, including the Turkish battle pennant hoisted from Ali Pacha's flagship at the 1571 Battle of Lepanto.
St. Sixtus. This small church, consecrated in 1133, is also close to the Piazza dei Cavalieri. It was used as a seat of the most important notarial deeds of the town, also hosting the Council of Elders. It is today one of the best preserved early Romanesque buildings in town.
St. Francis. The church of San Francesco may have been designed by Giovanni di Simone, built after 1276. In 1343 new chapels were added and the church was elevated. It has a single nave and a notable belfry, as well as a 15th-century cloister. It houses works by Jacopo da Empoli, Taddeo Gaddi and Santi di Tito. In the Gherardesca Chapel are buried Ugolino della Gherardesca and his sons.
San Frediano. This church, built by 1061, has a basilica interior with three aisles, with a crucifix from the 12th century. Paintings from the 16th century were added during a restoration, including works by Ventura Salimbeni, Domenico Passignano, Aurelio Lomi, and Rutilio Manetti.
San Nicola. This medieval church built by 1097, was enlarged between 1297 and 1313 by the Augustinians, perhaps by the design of Giovanni Pisano. The octagonal belfry is from the second half of the 13th century. The paintings include the Madonna with Child by Francesco Traini (14th century) and St. Nicholas Saving Pisa from the Plague (15th century). Noteworthy are also the wood sculptures by Giovanni and Nino Pisano, and the Annunciation by Francesco di Valdambrino.
Santa Maria della Spina. A small white marble church alongside the Arno, is attributed to Lupo di Francesco (1230), is another excellent Gothic building.
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno. The church was founded around 952 and enlarged in the mid-12th century along lines similar to those of the cathedral. It is annexed to the Romanesque Chapel of St. Agatha, with an unusual pyramidal cusp or peak.
San Pietro in Vinculis. Known as San Pierino, it is an 11th-century church with a crypt and a cosmatesque mosaic on the floor of the main nave.
Borgo Stretto. This medieval borgo or neighborhood contains strolling arcades and the Lungarno, the avenues along the river Arno. It includes the Gothic-Romanesque church of San Michele in Borgo (990). There are at least two other leaning towers in the city, one at the southern end of central Via Santa Maria, the other halfway through the Piagge riverside promenade.
Medici Palace. The palace was once a possession of the Appiano family, who ruled Pisa in 1392–1398. In 1400 the Medici acquired it, and Lorenzo de' Medici sojourned here.
Orto botanico di Pisa. The botanical garden of the University of Pisa is Europe's oldest university botanical garden.
Palazzo Reale. The ("Royal Palace"), once belonged to the Caetani patrician family. Here Galileo Galilei showed to Grand Duke of Tuscany the planets he had discovered with his telescope. The edifice was erected in 1559 by Baccio Bandinelli for Cosimo I de Medici, and was later enlarged including other palaces. The palace is now a museum.
Palazzo Gambacorti. This palace is a 14th-century Gothic building, and now houses the offices of the municipality. The interior shows frescoes boasting Pisa's sea victories.
Palazzo Agostini. The palace is a Gothic building also known as Palazzo dell'Ussero, with its 15th-century façade and remains of the ancient city walls dating back to before 1155. The name of the building comes from the coffee rooms of Caffè dell'Ussero, historic meeting place founded on September 1, 1775.
Mural Tuttomondo. A modern mural, the last public work by Keith Haring, on the rear wall of the convent of the Church of Sant'Antonio, painted in June 1989.
Museums
Museo dell'Opera del Duomo: exhibiting among others the original sculptures of Nicola Pisano and Giovanni Pisano, the Islamic Pisa Griffin, and the treasures of the cathedral.
Museo delle Sinopie: showing the sinopias from the camposanto, the monumental cemetery. These are red ocher underdrawings for frescoes, made with reddish, greenish or brownish earth colour with water.
Museo Nazionale di San Matteo: exhibiting sculptures and paintings from the 12th to 15th centuries, among them the masterworks of Giovanni and Andrea Pisano, the Master of San Martino, Simone Martini, Nino Pisano and Masaccio.
Museo Nazionale di Palazzo Reale: exhibiting the belongings of the families that lived in the palace: paintings, statues, armors, etc.
Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti per il Calcolo: exhibiting a collection of instruments used in science, between a pneumatic machine of Van Musschenbroek and a compass which probably belonged to Galileo Galilei.
Museo di storia naturale dell'Università di Pisa (Natural History Museum of the University of Pisa), located in the Certosa di Calci, outside the city. It houses one of the largest cetacean skeletons collection in Europe.
Palazzo Blu: temporary exhibitions and cultural activities center, located in the Lungarno, in the heart of the old town, the palace is easy recognizable because it is the only blue building.
Cantiere delle Navi di Pisa - The Pisa's Ancient Ships Archaeological Area: A museum of 10,650 square meters – 3,500 archaeological excavation, 1,700 laboratories and one restoration center – that visitors can visit with a guided tour.[19] The Museum opened in June 2019 and has been located inside to the 16th-century Medicean Arsenals in Lungarno Ranieri Simonelli, restored under the supervision of the Tuscany Soprintendenza. It hosts a remarkable collection of ceramics and amphoras dated back from the 8th century BCE to the 2nd century BC, and also 32 ships dated back from the second century BCE and the seventh century BC. Four of them are integrally preserved and the best one is the so-called Barca C, also named Alkedo (written in the ancient Greek characters). The first boat was accidentally discovered in 1998 near the Pisa San Rossore railway station and the archeological excavations were completed 20 years later.
Churches
St. Francis' Church
San Francesco
San Frediano
San Giorgio ai Tedeschi
San Michele in Borgo
San Nicola
San Paolo a Ripa d'Arno
San Paolo all'Orto
San Piero a Grado
San Pietro in Vinculis
San Sisto
San Tommaso delle Convertite
San Zeno
Santa Caterina
Santa Cristina
Santa Maria della Spina
Santo Sepolcro
Palaces, towers and villas
Palazzo della Carovana or dei Cavalieri.
Pisa by Oldypak lp photo
Pisa
Palazzo del Collegio Puteano
Palazzo della Carovana
Palazzo delle Vedove
Torre dei Gualandi
Villa di Corliano
Leaning Tower of Pisa
Sports
Football is the main sport in Pisa; the local team, A.C. Pisa, currently plays in the Serie B (the second highest football division in Italy), and has had a top flight history throughout the 1980s and the 1990s, featuring several world-class players such as Diego Simeone, Christian Vieri and Dunga during this time. The club play at the Arena Garibaldi – Stadio Romeo Anconetani, opened in 1919 and with a capacity of 25,000.
Notable people
For people born in Pisa, see People from the Province of Pisa; among notable non-natives long resident in the city:
Giuliano Amato (born 1938), politician, former Premier and Minister of Interior Affairs
Alessandro d'Ancona (1835–1914), critic and writer.
Silvano Arieti (1914–1981), psychiatrist
Gaetano Bardini (1926–2017), tenor
Andrea Bocelli (born 1958), tenor and multi-instrumentalist.
Giosuè Carducci (1835–1907), poet and 1906 Nobel Prize in Literature winner.
Massimo Carmassi (born 1943), architect
Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (1920–2016), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy
Maria Luisa Cicci (1760–1794), poet
Giovanni Carlo Maria Clari (1677–1754), a musical composer and maestro di cappella at Pistoia.
Alessio Corti (born 1965), mathematician
Rustichello da Pisa (born 13th century), writer
Giovanni Battista Donati (1826–1873), an Italian astronomer.
Leonardo Fibonacci (1170–1250), mathematician.
Galileo Galilei (1564–1642), physicist.
Giovanni Gentile (1875–1944), philosopher and politician
Orazio Gentileschi (1563–1639), painter.
Count Ugolino della Gherardesca (1214–1289), noble (see also Dante Alighieri).
Giovanni Gronchi (1887–1978), politician, former President of the Republic of Italy
Giacomo Leopardi [1798–1837), poet and philosopher.
Enrico Letta (born 1966), politician, former Prime Minister of Italy
Marco Malvaldi (born 1974), mystery novelist
Leonardo Ortolani (born 1967), comic writer
Antonio Pacinotti (1841–1912), physicist, inventor of the dynamo
Andrea Pisano (1290–1348), a sculptor and architect.
Afro Poli (1902–1988), an operatic baritone
Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993), nuclear physicist
Gillo Pontecorvo (1919–2006), filmmaker
Ippolito Rosellini (1800–1843), an Egyptologist.
Paolo Savi (1798–1871), geologist and ornithologist.
Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012), writer and academic
Sport
Jason Acuña (born 1973), Stunt performer
Sergio Bertoni (1915–1995), footballer
Giorgio Chiellini (born 1984), footballer
Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player
Proverbs 12:4
A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband ... (KJV)
#Ministry #Purpose #JesusChrist #GodIsGood
Vishnu (/ˈvɪʃnuː/; Sanskrit: Viṣṇu) is a popular Hindu deity, the Supreme God of Vaishnavism (one of the three principal denominations of Hinduism) and one of the three supreme deities (Trimurti) of Hinduism. He is also known as Lord Narayana and Lord Hari. As one of the five primary forms of God in the Smarta tradition, He is conceived as "the Preserver or the Protector" within the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the divinity.
In Hindu sacred texts, Vishnu is usually described as having dark complexion of water-filled clouds and as having four arms. He is depicted as a blue being, holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, the Kaumodaki gada (mace) in the lower right hand, the Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and the discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand.
Adherents of Hinduism believe Vishnu's eternal and supreme abode beyond the material universe is called Vaikuntha, which is also known as Paramdhama, the realm of eternal bliss and happiness and the final or highest place for liberated souls who have attained Moksha. Vaikuntha is situated beyond the material universe and hence, cannot be perceived or measured by material science or logic. Vishnu's other abode within the material universe is Ksheera Sagara (the ocean of milk), where he reclines and rests on Ananta Shesha, (the king of the serpent deities, commonly shown with a thousand heads). In almost all Hindu denominations, Vishnu is either worshipped directly or in the form of his ten avatars, the most famous of whom are Rama and Krishna.
The Puranabharati, an ancient text, describes these as the dashavatara, or the ten avatars of Vishnu. Among the ten described, nine have occurred in the past and one will take place in the future as Lord Kalki, at the end of Kali Yuga, (the fourth and final stage in the cycle of yugas that the world goes through). These incarnations take place in all Yugas in cosmic scales; the avatars and their stories show that gods are indeed unimaginable, unthinkable and inconceivable. The Bhagavad Gita mentions their purpose as being to rejuvenate Dharma, to vanquish those negative forces of evil that threaten dharma, and also to display His divine nature in front of all souls.
The Trimurti (three forms) is a concept in Hinduism "in which the cosmic functions of creation, maintenance, and destruction are personified by the forms of Brahma the creator, Vishnu the maintainer, preserver or protector and Shiva the destroyer or transformer." These three deities have also been called "the Hindu triad" or the "Great Trinity", all having the same meaning of three in One. They are the different forms or manifestation of One person the Supreme Being or Narayana/Svayam Bhagavan.
Vishnu is also venerated as Mukunda, which means God who is the giver of mukti or moksha (liberation from the cycle of rebirths) to his devotees or the worthy ones who deserve salvation from the material world.
ETYMOLOGY
The traditional explanation of the name Vishnu involves the root viś, meaning "to settle" (cognate with Latin vicus, English -wich "village," Slavic: vas -ves), or also (in the Rigveda) "to enter into, to pervade," glossing the name as "the All-Pervading One". Yaska, an early commentator on the Vedas, in his Nirukta, (etymological interpretation), defines Vishnu as viṣṇur viṣvater vā vyaśnoter vā, "one who enters everywhere". He also writes, atha yad viṣito bhavati tad viṣnurbhavati, "that which is free from fetters and bondages is Vishnu".
Adi Shankara in his commentary on the Sahasranama states derivation from viś, with a meaning "presence everywhere" ("As he pervades everything, vevesti, he is called Vishnu"). Adi Shankara states (regarding Vishnu Purana, 3.1.45): "The Power of the Supreme Being has entered within the universe. The root viś means 'enter into'." Swami Chinmayananda, in his translation of Vishnu Sahasranama further elaborates on that verse: "The root vis means to enter. The entire world of things and beings is pervaded by Him and the Upanishad emphatically insists in its mantra 'whatever that is there is the world of change.' Hence, it means that He is not limited by space, time or substance. Chinmayananda states that, that which pervades everything is Vishnu."
SACRET TEXTS - SHRUTI & SMRITI
Shruti is considered to be solely of divine origin. It is preserved as a whole, instead of verse by verse. It includes the four Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda) the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads with commentaries on them.
Smṛti refers to all the knowledge derived and inculcated after Shruti had been received. Smrti is not 'divine' in origin, but was 'remembered' by later Rishis (sages by insight, who were the scribes) by transcendental means and passed down through their followers. It includes the Bhagavata Purana and the Vishnu Purana which are Sattva Puranas. These both declare Vishnu as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe.
SHRUTI
VAISHNAVA CANON
The Vaishnava canon presents Vishnu as the supreme being, rather than another name for the Sun God, who also bore the name Suryanarayana and is considered only as a form of Vishnu.
VEDAS
In the Yajur Veda, Taittiriya Aranyaka (10-13-1), Narayana suktam, Lord Narayana is mentioned as the supreme being. The first verse of Narayana Suktam mentions the words "paramam padam", which literally mean "highest post" and may be understood as the "supreme abode for all souls". This is also known as Param Dhama, Paramapadam, or Vaikuntha. Rig Veda 1:22:20a also mentions the same "paramam padam". This special status is not given to any deity in the Vedas apart from Lord Vishnu/Narayana.[citation needed] Narayana is one of the thousand names of Vishnu as mentioned in the Vishnu Sahasranama. It describes Vishnu as the All-Pervading essence of all beings, the master of - and beyond - the past, present and future, one who supports, sustains and governs the Universe and originates and develops all elements within. This illustrates the omnipresent characteristic of Vishnu. Vishnu governs the aspect of preservation and sustenance of the universe, so he is called "Preserver of the universe".
Vishnu is the Supreme God who takes manifest forms or avatars across various ages or periods to save humanity from evil beings, demons or Asuras. According to the extant Hindu texts and traditions, Lord Vishnu is considered to be resident in the direction of the "Makara Rashi" (the "Shravana Nakshatra"), which is about coincident with the Capricorn constellation. In some of the extant Puranas, and Vaishnava traditions, Vishnu's eye is considered to be situated at the infinitely distant Southern Celestial Pole.
Following the defeat of Indra and his displacement as the Lord of Heaven or Swarga, Indra asks Lord Vishnu for help and thus Lord Vishnu takes his incarnations or avatars to Earth to save mankind, thus showing his position as Supreme God to all of creation.
In the Puranas, Indra frequently appears proud and haughty. These bad qualities are temporarily removed when Brahma and/or Shiva give boons to Asuras or Rakshasas such as Hiranyaksha, Hiranyakashipu and Ravana, who are then able to defeat Indra in wars between Devas and Asuras. The received boons often made Asuras virtually indestructible.
Indra has no option but to seek help from Vishnu. Indra prays before Vishnu for protection and the Supreme Lord obliges him by taking avatars and generating himself on Earth in various forms, first as a water-dweller (Matsya, fish), then as an amphibious creature (Kurma avatar or Tortoise), then as a half-man-half-animal (Varaha the pig-faced, human-bodied Lord, and Narasimha the Lord with lion's face and claws and a human body). Later, Vishnu appears as human beings (Vamana the short-heighted person), Parashurama, Rama, Krishna, Buddha and finally as Kalki for performing his task of protecting his devotees from demons and anti-religious entities.
Vishnu's supremacy is attested by his victories over those very powerful entities. It is further attested by the accepted iconography and sculptures of Vishnu in reclining position as producing Brahma emerging from his navel. Brahma the creator is thus created in turn by Vishnu out of his own person. Instead Vishnu takes various avatars to slay or defeat those demons. But it is to be noted that Vishnu also provided boons to Akupresura, a bear faced demon who was destroyed by Lord Shiva.
Vishnu's actions lowered Indra's ranking among Hindu deities and led to the ascendancy of Vishnu.
Few temples are dedicated to the Sun or Suryanarayana, nor indeed Indra, nor does Indra figure largely in the Hindu religion.
Indra is almost completely absent from the deities considered as the chief or most important deity.
RIGVEDA
In the Rigveda, Vishnu is mentioned 93 times. He is frequently invoked alongside other deities, especially Indra, whom he helps in killing Vritra and with whom he drinks Soma. His distinguishing characteristic in the Vedas is his association with light. Two Rigvedic hymns in Mandala 7 are dedicated to Vishnu. In 7.99, Vishnu is addressed as the god who separates heaven and earth, a characteristic he shares with Indra.
The Rig Veda describes Vishnu as younger brother to Indra as Vamana. In Vaishnava canon the 'Vishnu' who is younger brother to Indra is identified as Vamana, Avatar of Vishnu, hence referred to as Vishnu by Vaishnavites. Vishnu is the Supreme God who lives in the highest celestial region, contrasted against those who live in the atmospheric or terrestrial regions. Vishnu is content with mere prayer, unlike almost all of the other gods who receive sacrificial offerings such as Havis, which is given using clarified butter, or Soma. Later foreign translators have view that Vedas place Indra in a superior position to Vishnu's Avatar of Vamana but in fact Vamana helps Indra by restoring his Kingdom.
An alternate translation is provided by Wilson according to Sayana:
When Thy (younger brother) Viṣṇu (Vamana) by (his) strength stepped his three paces, then verily thy beloved horses bore thee. (Rigveda 8:12:27)
Wilson mentions Griffith's possible translation as a footnote. However the following verse from Rigveda renders the above translation by Wilson more probable.
Him whose three places that are filled with sweetness, imperishable, joy as it may list them, Who verily alone upholds the threefold, the earth, the heaven, and all living creatures. (Rig veda 1:154:4)
Wilson offers an alternate translation for Rigveda 10:113:2:
Viṣṇu offering the portion of Soma, glorifies by his own vigor that greatness of his. Indra, the lord of heaven, with the associated gods having slain Vritra, became deserving of honour. (Rigveda 10:113:2)
This verse sees Vishnu as one who is glorified by his own strength, while Indra became deserving of honor after having slain Vritra only in association with other gods.
However Vishnu's praise for other gods does not imply worship. Wilson translates:
Viṣṇu, the mighty giver of dwellings praises thee, and Mitra and Varuna; the company of Maruts imitates thee in exhilaration. (Rigveda 8:15:9) (page 280)
The following verses show categorically Vishnu as distinguished from other gods in Rigveda.
He who presents (offering) to Viṣṇu, the ancient, the creator, the recent, the self-born; he who celebrates the great birth of that mighty one; he verily possessed of abundance, attains (the station) that is to be sought (by all). (Rigveda 1:156:2) (page 98)
No being that is or that has been born, divine Viṣṇu, has attained the utmost limit of thy magnitude, by which thou hast upheld the vast and beautiful heaven, and sustained the eastern horizon of Earth.(Rigveda 7:99:2) (page 196)
The divine Viṣṇu, the best of the doers of good deeds, who came to the pious instituter of rite (Indra), to assist (at its celebration), knowing (the desires of the worshiper), and present at the three connected period (of worship), shows favor to the Arya, and admits the author of the ceremony to a share of the sacrifice. (Rigveda 1:156:5) (page 99)
Jan Gonda, the late Indologist, states that Vishnu, although remaining in the background of Indra's exploits, contributes by his presence, or is key to Indra's success. Vishnu is more than a mere companion, equal in rank or power to Indra, or sometime the one who made Indra's success possible.
Descriptions of Vishnu as younger to Indra are found in only the hymns to Indra, but in a kathenotheism religion like that of the Rigveda, each god, for a time, is supreme in the mind of the devotee.
In the Rig Vedic texts, the deity or god referred to as Vishnu is the Sun God, who also bears the name 'Suryanarayana'. By contrast, the 'Vishnu' referred to in 'Vishnu Purana', 'Vishnu Sahasranamam' and 'Purusha Sooktham' is Lord Narayana, the Consort of Lakshmi. Vaishnavites make a further distinction by extolling the qualities of Vishnu by highlighting his differences from other deities such as Shiva,[citation needed] Brahma or Surya.
THREE STEPS
Hymn 7.100 refers to the celebrated 'three steps' of Vishnu (as Trivikrama) by which he strode over the universe and in three places planted his step. The 'Vishnu Suktam' (RV 1.154) says that the first and second of Vishnu's strides (those encompassing the earth and air) are visible to men and the third is in the heights of heaven (sky). This last place is described as Vishnu's supreme abode in RV 1.22.20:
The princes evermore behold / that loftiest place where Vishnu is / Laid as it were an eye in heaven.(trans. Griffith)
Griffith's "princes" are the sūri, either "inciters" or lords of a sacrifice, or priests charged with pressing the Soma. The verse is quoted as expressing Vishnu's supremacy by Vaishnavites.
Though such solar aspects have been associated with Vishnu by tradition as well as modern-scholarship, he was not just the representation of the sun, as he moves both vertically and horizontally.
In hymns 1.22.17, 1.154.3, 1.154.4 he strides across the earth with three steps, in 6.49.13, 7.100.3 strides across the earth three times and in 1.154.1, 1.155.5,7.29.7 he strides vertically, with the final step in the heavens. The same Veda also says he strode wide and created space in the cosmos for Indra to fight Vritra. By his stride he made dwelling for men possible, the three forming a symbolic representation of the dwelling's all-encompassing nature. This nature and benevolence to men were Vishnu's enduring attributes. As the triple-strider he is known as Trivikrama and as Urukrama, for the strides were wide.
BRAHMANAS
The Brahmanas are commentaries on the Vedas and form part of the Shruti literature. They are concerned with the detail of the proper performance of rituals. In the Rigveda, Shakala Shakha: Aitareya Brahmana Verse 1 declares: agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus, tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā - Agni is the lowest or youngest god and Vishnu is the greatest and the highest God.
The Brahmanas assert the supremacy of Lord Vishnu, addressing him as "Gajapati", the one whom all sacrifices are meant to please. Lord Vishnu accepts all sacrifices to the demigods and allots the respective fruits to the performer In one incident, a demonic person performs a sacrifice by abducting the Rishis (sages), who meditate by constantly chanting God's name. The sacrifice is meant to destroy Indra. But the rishis, who worship Indra as a demigod, alter one pronunciation of the Veda Mantra, reversing the purpose of the sacrifice. When the fruit of the sacrifice is given and the demon is on the verge of dying, he calls to Vishnu, whom he addresses as Supreme Godhead and "the father of all living entities including himself".
Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 mentions Vishnu as the Supreme God. But in the Vaishnava canon, in different ages, with Vishnu in different avatars, his relationship with the asuras or demons, was always adversarial. The asuras always caused harm, while the sages and devas or celestial beings, did penance and called to Vishnu for protection. Vishnu always obliged by taking an avatar to vanquish the asuras. In the Vaishnava canon, Vishnu never gave or granted any boons to the asuras, distinguishing him from the gods Shiva and Brahma, who did. He is the only God called upon to save good beings by defeating or killing the asuras.
Sayana writes that in Aitareya Brahmana 1:1:1 the declaration agnir vai devānām ava mo viṣṇuḥ paramus,tadantareṇa sarvā anyā devatā does not indicate any hierarchy among gods. Even in Rigveda Samhita, avama and parama are not applied to denote rank and dignity, but only to mark place and locality.
In Rigveda 1:108:9,: yadindrāghnī avamasyāṃ pṛthivyāṃ madhyamasyāṃ paramasyāmuta sthaḥ | i.e., in the lowest place, the middle (place), and the highest (place). Agni, the fire, has, among the gods, the lowest place; for he resides with man on the earth; while the other gods are either in the air, or in the sky. Vishnu occupies the highest place. The words avama and parama are understood as 'First' and 'Last' respectively. To support this claim, Sayana adduces the mantra (1,4. As'val. Sr. S. 4, 2), agnir mukham prathamo devathanam samathanam uttamo vishnur asit, i.e., Agni was the first of the deities assembled, (and) Vishnu the last.
In the Kausitaki Brahmana (7.1) Agni is called Aaradhya (instead of avama), and Visnu parardha(instead of parama),i.e., belonging to the lower and higher halves (or forming the lower and higher halves). The Vishnu Purana gives tremendous importance to the worship of Vishnu and mentions that sacrifices are to begin only with both the lighting of fire or 'Agni', pouring of sacrificial offerings to Vishnu in 'Agni' so that those offerings reach and are accepted by Vishnu. Worship of Vishnu through Yajnas (or Homams) and other rituals, will not achieve the desired result if Agni's role is neglected.
Muller says "Although the gods are sometimes distinctly invoked as the great and the small, the young and the old (Rig veda 1:27:13), this is only an attempt to find the most comprehensive expression for the divine powers, and nowhere is any of the gods represented as the subordinate to others. It would be easy to find, in the numerous hymns of the Veda, passages in which almost every single god is represented as supreme and absolute."
However this notion is not completely correct as per the following verses, which shows Rigveda describe one or more gods as subject to other god(s).
Him whose high law not Varuna nor Indra, not Mitra, Aryaman, nor Rudra breaketh, Nor evil-hearted fiends, here for my welfare him I invoke, God Savitar, with worship. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
I invite to this place, with reverential salutations, for my good, that divine Savita, whose functions neither Indra, nor Varun.a, nor Mitra nor Aryaman nor Rudra nor the enemies (of the gods), impede. (Rigveda 2.038.09)
SMRITI
VISHNU SMRITI
The Vishnu Smṛti, is one of the later books of the Dharmashastra tradition of Hinduism and the only one that focuses on the bhakti tradition and the required daily puja to Vishnu, rather than the means of knowing dharma. It is also known for its handling of the controversial subject of the practice of sati (self-immolation of a widow on her husband's funeral pyre). The text was composed by an individual or group. The author(s) created a collection of the commonly known legal maxims that were attributed to Vishnu into one book, as Indian oral culture began to be recorded more formally.
BHAGAVATA PURANA
Vishnu is the only Bhagavan as declared in the Bhagavata 1:2:11 in the verse: vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvam yaj jnanam advayam brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate, translated as "Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth call this non-dual substance as Brahman, Paramātma and Bhagavan."
VISHNU PURANA
In the Vishnu Purana (6:5:79) the personality named Parashara Rishi defines six bhagas:
aiśvaryasya samagrasya vīryasya yaśasaḥ śriyaḥ
jñāna-vairāgyayoś caiva ṣannāḥ bhaga itīṇganā
Jiva Gosvami explains the verse in Gopala Champu (Pūrva 15:73) and Bhagavata Sandarbha 46:10:
jñāna-śakti-balaiśvarya-vīrya-tejām.sy aśeṣataḥ
bhagavac-chabda-vācyāni vinā heyair guṇādibhiḥ
"The substantives of the word bhagavat (bhagavat-śabda-vācyāni) are unlimited (aśeṣataḥ) knowledge (jñāna), energies (śakti), strength (bala), opulence (aiśvarya), heroism (vīrya), splendor (tejas), without (vinā) objectionable (heyair) qualities (guṇādibhiḥ)."
SANGAM LITERATURE
Tamil Sangam literature (300BCE to 500CE) mentions mAyOn, or the dark one, as the supreme deity who creates, sustains and destroys the universe. Paripadal 3 describes the glory of Thirumal in the most superlative terms.
Paripadal by kaduvan iLaveyinanAr:
"thIyinuL theRal nI poovinuL naaRRa nI kallinuL maNiyu nI sollinuL vaaymai aRaththinuL anbu nI maRaththinuL mainthu nI vEthaththu maRai nI boothaththu madhalu nI vencudar oLiyu nI thingaLuL aLiyu nI anaiththu nI anaiththinut poruLu nI"
The last line states that Lord Vishnu is the supreme deity who is the inner controller (Antaryamin) of the entire universe. This is one of the Lord's glories, which is first mentioned in Vedas and later propounded by Alwars in Prabhandams and Sri Vaishnavaite Acharyas in various commentaries
The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple and Vishnu, Lakshmi is mentioned in Tamil works of literature of the Sangam era, including the epic Silapadikaram (book 11, lines 35–40):
āyiram viritteḻu talaiyuṭai aruntiṟaṟ
pāyaṟ paḷḷip palartoḻu tētta viritiraik kāviri viyaṉperu turuttit tiruvamar mārpaṉ kiṭanta vaṇṇamum
On a magnificent cot having a thousand heads spread out, worshipped and praised by many, in an islet surrounded by Kaveri with bellowing waves, is the lying posture of the one who has Lakshmi sitting in his chest.
THEOLOGICAL ATTRIBUTES
The actual number of Vishnu's auspicious qualities is countless, although his six most-important "divine glories" are:
Jnana (Omniscience); defined as the power to know about all beings simultaneously;
Aishvarya (Sovereignty), derived from the word Ishvara which means unchallenged rule over all;
Shakti (Power or Energy), the capacity to make the impossible possible;
Bala (Strength), the capacity to support everything by will and without any fatigue;
Virya (Vigour), the power to retain immateriality as the Supreme Spirit or Being in spite of being the material cause of mutable creations;
Tejas (Splendor), which expresses self-sufficiency and the capacity to overpower everything by spiritual effulgence.
Other important qualities attributed to Vishnu are Gambhirya (inestimatable grandeur), Audarya (generosity), and Karunya (compassion). Natya Shastra lists Vishnu as the presiding deity of the Sṛngara rasa.
The Rigveda says: Vishnu can travel in three strides. The first stride is the Earth. The second stride is the visible sky. The third stride cannot be seen by men and is the heaven where the gods and the righteous dead live. (This feature of three strides also appears in the story of his avatar Vamana/Trivikrama.) The Sanskrit for "to stride" is the root kram; its reduplicated perfect is chakram (guņa grade) or chakra (zero-grade), and in the Rigveda he is called by epithets such as vi-chakra-māņas = "he who has made 3 strides". The Sanskrit word chakra also means "wheel". That may have suggested the idea of Vishnu carrying a chakra.
FIVE FORMS
In Shree Vaishnavism, another school dating from around the 10th century AD, Vishnu assumes five forms:
In the Para Form, Para is the highest form of Vishnu found only in Sri Vaikunta also called Moksha, along with his consort Lakshmi, (and Bhumi Devi and Nila devi, avatars of Lakshmi) and surrounded by liberated souls like Ananta, Garuda, and a host of Muktas (liberated souls).
In the Vyuha form, Vishnu assumes four forms, which exercise different cosmic functions and controls activities of living beings.
In the Vibhava form, Vishnu assumes various manifestations, called Vibhavas, more popularly known as Avataras from time to time, to protect the virtuous, punish evil-doers and re-establish righteousness.
In the Antaryami; "Dwelling within" or "Suksma Vasudeva" form, Vishnu exists within the souls of all living beings and in every substance.
In the Arcavatara or Image manifestation, Vishnu is visible and therefore easily approachable by devotees since Para, Vyuha, Vibhava and Antaryami forms can only be imagined or meditated upon because they are beyond our reach. Such images can be
Revealed by Vishnu, for example, a self-manifested (Swayambhu) icon (murti), e.g. The Mahavishnu Temple at Tirunelli, The Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple at Srirangam, The Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple, etc.; or
Installed by Devas or celestial beings such as such as Guruvayur Temple installed by Vayu; or
Installed by humans, and consecrated according to Vaishnava Agama shastras or scriptures such as Lord Jagannatha of Jagannath Temple (Puri) at Puri.
RELATIONS WITH OTHER DEITIES
SHIVA
The three gods of the Trimurti clan are inseparable and in harmony in view of their common vision and universal good. They are perfectly ideal in all respects.
Both Asuras and Devas played supportive roles in this story by keeping company with Vishnu in his incarnated forms. Hanuman is a vanara who is completely dedicated to Rama. He gives Vishnu company and obeys his command, while playing an important part in Rama's life. He is regarded in Vaishnava canon because it is through blessings that Hanuman is born. Thus, Hanuman, Vishnu's constant companion, with his idol appearing temples of Rama, Krishna and Narasimha, i.e. all of Vishnu's avatars, is considered by Vaishnavas.
Syncretic forces produced stories in which the two deities were shown in cooperative relationships and combined forms. Harihara is the name of a combined deity form of both Vishnu (Hari) and Shiva (Hara). This dual form, which is also called Harirudra, is mentioned in the Mahabharata.
LAKSHMI
Vishnu's consort is Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth (also known as Maya). The Samvit (the primary intelligence/dark matter) of the universe is Vishnu, while the other five attributes emerge from this samvit and hence Maya or dark energy of the universe is Lakshmee is his ahamata, activity, or Vishnu's Power. This power of God, Maya or Shakti, is personified and has multiple names: Shree, Lakshmi, Maya, Vishnumaya or Mahamaya. She is said to manifest as Kriyashakti, (Creative Activity) and Bhutishakti (Creation). This world requires Vishnu's creativity. He therefore needs Lakshmi to always be with Him. Her various avatars as Lord Vishnu's consorts are Varahavatar (Bhoodevi) or Bhoomi, Ramavatar Seeta, Krishnavatar Rukmini)
SARASWATI & GANGA
According to Brahma Vaivarta Purana, Lord Vishnu had three wives Lakshmi, Saraswati and Ganga. Due to their constant quarrelsome nature among them. Once Ganga tried to be close with Vishnu, this rebuked Saraswati but Lakshmi tried to pacify them but faced a curse rather. As per the curse, Lakshmi to appear as Tulasi. Sarawati cursed Ganga to run as a river in the world and Saraswati was cursed to run as a river in the netherworld. After this, Lord Vishnu transformed and became Brahma and Shiva to pacify Saraswati and Ganga.
GARUDA
Vishnu's mount (Vahana) is Garuda, the eagle. Vishnu is commonly depicted as riding on his shoulders.
ICONOGRAPHY
According to various Puranas, Vishnu is the ultimate omnipresent reality and is shapeless and omnipresent. However, a strict iconography governs his representation, whether in pictures, icons, or idols:
He has four arms and is male: The four arms indicate his all-powerful and all-pervasive nature. His physical existence is represented by the two arms in the front, while the two arms at the back represent his presence in the spiritual world. The Upanishad Gopal Uttartapani describes the four arms.
The Shreevatsa mark is on his chest, symbolizing his consort Lakshmi.
He wears the auspicious "Kaustubha" jewel around his neck and a garland of vaijayanti flowers (Vanamala). Lakshmi dwells in this jewel, on Vishnu's chest.
A crown adorns his head: The crown symbolizes his supreme authority. This crown sometimes includes a peacock feather, borrowing from his Krishna-avatar.
He wears two earrings: The earrings represent inherent opposites in creation — knowledge and ignorance; happiness and unhappiness; pleasure and pain.
He rests on Ananta, the immortal and infinite snake.
Vishnu is always to be depicted holding four attributes:
A conch shell or Shankha, named Panchajanya, is held by the upper left hand. It represents Vishnu's power to create and maintain the universe. Panchajanya represents the five elements or Panchabhoota – water, fire, air, earth and sky or space. It also represents the five airs or Pranas that are within the body and mind. The conch symbolizes that Vishnu is the primeval Divine sound of creation and continuity. It also represented as Om. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna avatara states that of sound vibrations, 'He is Om'.
The Chakra, a sharp, spinning, discus-like weapon, named "Sudarshana", is held by the upper right hand. It symbolizes the purified spiritualized mind. The name Sudarshana is derived from two words – Su, which means good, superior, and Darshana, which means vision or sight; together. The Chakra represents destruction of ego in the awakening and realization of the soul's original nature and god, burning away spiritual ignorance and illusion, and developing higher spiritual vision and insight to realize god.
A mace or Gada, named "Kaumodaki", is held by the lower right hand. It symbolizes that Vishnu's divine power is the source of all spiritual, mental and physical strength. It also signifies Vishnu's power to destroy materialistic or demonic tendencies (Anarthas) that prevent people from reaching god. Vishnu's mace is the power of the Divine within us to spiritually purify and uplift us from our materialistic bonds.
A lotus flower or Padma is held by the lower left hand. It represents spiritual liberation, Divine perfection, purity and the unfolding of Spiritual consciousness within the individual. The lotus opening its petals in the light of the Sun is indicative of the expansion and awakening of our long dormant, original spiritual consciousness in the light of god. The lotus symbolizes that god is the power and source from which the universe and the individual soul emerges. It also represents Divine Truth or Satya, the originator of the rules of conduct or Dharma, and Divine Vedic knowledge or Jnana. The lotus also symbolizes that Vishnu is the embodiment of spiritual perfection and purity and that He is the wellspring of these qualities and that the individual soul must seek to awaken these intrinsic Divine qualities from Vishnu by surrendering to and linking with Him.
To this may be added, conventionally, the vanamaala flower garland, Vishnu's bow (Shaarnga/Kodand) and his sword Nandaka. A verse of the Vishnu Sahasranama stotram states;vanamālī gadhī shārngī shanki chakri cha nandaki / shrīmān nārāyaņo vişņo vāsudevo abhirakşatu//; translation: Protect us Oh Lord Narayana who wears the forest garland,who has the mace, conch, sword and the wheel. And who is called Vishnu and the Vasudeva.
In general, Vishnu's body is depicted in one of the following three ways:
Standing on a lotus flower, often with Lakshmi, his consort, beside him on a similar pedestal.
Reclining on the coiled-up thousand-hooded Shesha Naga, with Lakshmi seated at his feet; the assemblage rests on the "Kshira Sagar" (ocean of milk). In this representation, Brahma is depicted as sitting on a lotus that grows out of Vishnu's navel.
Riding on the back of his eagle mount, known as Garuda. Another name for Garuda is "Veda atma"; Soul of the Vedas. The flapping of his wings symbolizes the power of the Divine Truth of Vedic wisdom. Also the eagle represents the soul. Garuda carrying Vishnu symbolizes the soul or jiva atma carrying the Super soul or Param atma within it.
AVATARS
Ten avatars (dashavatara) of Vishnu are the most prominent: Apart from the most prominent incarnations there are believed to more.
The most commonly believed incarnations of Vishnu are:
Matsya, the fish that kills Damanaka to save the vedas and also saves Manu from a great flood that submerges the entire Earth.
Kurma, the turtle that helps the Devas and Asuras churn the ocean for the nectar of immortality.
Varaha, the boar that rescues the Earth and kills Hiranyaksha.
Narasimha, the half-lion half human, who defeats the demon Hiranyakashipu.
Vamana, the dwarf that grows into a giant to save the world from King Bali.
Parashurama, "Rama of the battle axe", a sage who appeared in the Treta Yuga. He killed Kartavirya Arjuna's army and clan and then killed all the kshatriyas 21 times.
Rama, the prince and king of Ayodhya who killed the Demon King Raavan.
Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu, who takes part in the Mahabharata epic. Krishna is worshipped as the Supreme Avatar of Vishnu (Supreme Personality of Godhead) in Gaudiya-Vaishnava philosophy.
Buddha, the ninth avatar of Vishnu.
Kalki, the tenth Avatar of Vishnu and said to be the harbinger of the end Kali Yuga. This avatar of Vishnu is yet to come.
Some versions of the above list include Hayagreeva among the Dashavataras while some include Buddha as ninth avatar of Vishnu. Another 22 avatars are given in Chapter 3, Canto 1 of the Bhagavata Purana, although it states that "the incarnations of the Lord are innumerable, like rivulets flowing from inexhaustible sources of water".
BEYOND HINDUISM
SIKHISM
Guru Granth Sahib of Sikhism mentions Vishnu, one verse goes:
The true Vaishnaav, the devotee of Vishnu, is the one with whom God is thoroughly pleased. He dwells apart from Maya. Performing good deeds, he does not seek rewards. Spotlessly pure is the religion of such a Vaishnaav; he has no desire for the fruits of his labors. He is absorbed in devotional worship and the singing of Kirtan, the songs of the Lords Glory. Within his mind and body, he meditates in remembrance on the Lord of the Universe. He is kind to all creatures. He holds fast to the Naam, and inspires others to chant it. O Nanak, such a Vaishnaav obtains the supreme status.
BUDDHISM
While some Hindus consider Buddha as an incarnation of Vishnu, Buddhists in Sri Lanka venerate Vishnu as the custodian deity of Sri Lanka and protector of Buddhism. Lord Vishnu is also known as upulvan, or uthpala varna, meaning "Blue Lotus coloured". Some postulates that Uthpala varna was a local deity who later merged with Vishnu while another belief is that Uthpala Varna was an early form of Vishnu before he became a supreme deity in Puranic Hinduism. According to Chronicles "Mahawamsa", "Chulawamsa" and folklore in Sri Lanka, Buddha himself handed over the custodianship to Vishnu. Others believe that Buddha entrusted this task to Sakra(Indra) and Sakra delegated this task of custodianship to god Vishnu. In contrary to vedic Hinduism, in assimilation of Hindu god Vishnu into Sinhalese Buddhism, Vishnu becomes a mortal being and a Bodhisattva aspiring Buddhahood. Additionally, Vishnu is considered as the god of home and hearth representing mercy, goodness, order and stability. Many Buddhist and Hindu shrines are dedicated to Vishnu in Sri Lanka. In addition to specific Vishnu "Kovils" or "devalayas", all Buddhist temples necessarily house shrine rooms (Devalayas) closer to the main Buddhist shrine dedicated to Vishnu. John Holt in his groundbreaking study examines the assimilation, transformation, and subordination of the Hindu deity Vishnu within the contexts of Sri Lankan history and Sinhala Buddhist religious culture. He then explores the role and rationale of medieval Sinhala kings in assimilating Visnu into Sinhala Buddhism. According to Holt the veneration of Vishnu in Sri Lanka is evidence of a remarkable ability, over many centuries, to reiterate and reinvent culture as other ethnicities have been absorbed into their own. Though the Vishnu cult in Ceylon was formally endorsed by Kandyan kings in early 1700s, Holt states that vishnu images and shrines are among conspicuous ruins in the medieval capital Polonnaruwa. In Buddhist mythology, when Vishnu failed to traverse the universe in three steps, he was given the title "Ardha Vishnu (Half-Vishnu)" and when Vishnu banished demons from the Vaishali (Vishala)in India, he became "Mulu Vishnu or Whole Vishnu". The extreme significance of god Vishnu in Sinhala society is reflected in recitals of the traditional "Offerings to dwarfs and crossing the door frame (bahirwayanta dola pideem saha uluwahu peneema)" that starts with Sri Vishnu invocation.In the recitals,mentioning of the aspiring Buddhahood of Vishnu which is of prime importance to Buddhists and wishes for him to live five thousand and more years highlight the central role of Vishnu in the psyche of Sri Lankan Buddhists.
OTHERS
James Freeman Clarke, Richard Leviton, James Cowles Prichard, and others have noted the similarities between Vishnu and Ancient Egyptian God Horus.
During an excavation in an abandoned village of Russia in the Volga region, archaeologist Alexander Kozhevin excavated an ancient idol of Vishnu. The idol dates from between the 7th and 10th centuries. In the interview Kozhevin, stated that, "We may consider it incredible, but we have ground to assert that Middle-Volga region was the original land of Ancient Rus. This is a hypothesis, but a hypothesis, which requires thorough research"
THOUSAND NAMES OF VISHNU
Vishnu's many names and followers are collected in the Vishnu Sahasranama, (Vishnu's thousand names) from within the larger work Mahabharata. The character Bheeshma recites the names before Krishna on the battlefield of Kurukshetra, praising him (Vishnu) as the supreme god. These Sahasranama are regarded as the essence of all Vedas by followers of Vaishnavism, who believe sincere chanting of Vishnu Sahasranama results in spiritual well-being and a greater awareness of God.
The names are generally derived from the Anantakalyanagunas (meaning: infinite auspicious attributes).
According to the Siddhartha-samhita there are twenty-four forms of Lord Vishnu. The twenty-four forms are
Vasudeva
Sankarshana
Pradyumna
Anirudha
Keshava
Narayana
Madhava
Govinda
Vishnu
Madhusudana
Trivikrama
Vamana
Sridhara
Hrishikesha
Padmanabha
Damodara
Purushottama
Achyuta
Narasimha
Janardana
Hari
Krishna
Adhokshaja
Upulvan, Uthpala Varna - In Sri Lanka, Vishnu is also referred to as Upulvan ( Blue Lotus Coloured)
WIKIPEDIA
ON MY KNEES, I CAN SEE FOREVER
© ajpscs
On life's journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him.
Buddha
Nirvana as "the unconditioned" mind, a mind that has come to a point of perfect lucidity and clarity due to the absence of volitional formations.
This being is described by the Buddha as "deathlessness" and as the highest spiritual attainment, the natural result that accrues to one who lives a life of virtuous conduct and practise in accordance with the Noble Eightfold Path.
Such a life dissolves the causes for future becoming that otherwise keep beings forever wandering through the impermanent and suffering-generating realms of desire, form, and formlessness, collectively termed samsara.
While nirvana is "unconditioned", it is not "uncaused" or "independent."
The stance of the early scriptures is that attaining nibbana depends on effort and is not pre-determined.
This is a picture was shot under the Bodhi Tree which is at Bodh Gaya (बोधगया), in the Indian state of Bihar, the place of Gautama Buddha's attainment of nirvana (Enlightenment).
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Very few things about getting old are virtuous. But one is my Opal Card.
A long time ago, I was in George St. It was about 110⁰F, that's how long ago it was, and the stinking old diesel buses were grumbling and farting their way up and down the street — unpleasant. Before that there were trams. Before the trams, there were horses.
The buses weren't alone in their pong. Horses made a bit of a stink too. They had certain discharges and emissions, then every now and then, one would expire. Perhaps it's apocryphal: having to report on one such matter on Castlereagh Street, a constable had the poor beast dragged onto Park Street. He could spell "Park"…
Trams, with their ugly overhead wiring, screeching wheels, blah, blah, were missed by some. I mentioned how a lot of history in Sydney was built over; information and heritage lost. Consider this. The tram depot was on Bennelong Point — rusty tin sheds where now we have the Opera House. Before reticulated electricity became common, the trams had their own power source. Now it's the Powerhouse Museum.
Trams are back! Shhh, tram is so common, call it light rail. Make their ends pointy, paint them red…nah, they're still trams. Still trams, but air conditioned trams that run frequently, and use my Opal Card. No longer do I have to sweat up and down George Street when it's a stinker. On top of that, the internal combustion engine has been banned on this thoroughfare. This is interesting. I'm old enough to remember the inter-tram period when you could drive in George Street, even throw a U-turn when required because there was a parking spot on the other side of the street. The world has not ended with the exclusion of the car.
What's that got to do with Sydney Harbour? Handel doesn't get cranked up until this evening. There's time for some leisure and pleasure before we have to frock up for the Recital Hall. Incoming! That's a cat' returning from Manly to Circular Quay. The smaller ferry could be off to Taronga, somewhere else. Why should I care? I'm about as careless as those silver gulls on the pontoon…or the Big Coathanger. It doesn't care either. I could go to Manly. Yeah? Nah!
I got on one of those red trams at Haymarket, tapped on with my Opal Card, hopped off, tapped off, dropped my bag at the hotel, hopped back on, and headed down here to Circular Quay. It pays to remember that despite all its hills, Sydney is, and always has been, a maritime city. Whales and penguins come in through the Heads, and bull sharks use it as a reverse sushi train. Think about it. It'll come to you. A ferry ride will take you somewhere mundane, like home, or interesting, like Watson's Bay; which could also be home. What Watson's Bay is home to is stunning fish and chips. That'll fill the gap between now and this evening's culture.
Oh, yes, back to being old. Because I'm old, not up to walking this far, or rowing a boat down the harbour, I can jump on a ferry using my Opal Card, and with the smug satisfaction that if I want to ride around all day, the most it can cost is $2.50.
In the 13c north transept stands a tomb with two men kneeling, one in a gown, the other in armour with his helmet and gauntlet before him. On the dexter side, behind one of the men is his wife kneeling with 14 children. Behind the other his wife with 6 children;
The wife in question is Joan Tregarthin who died in 1583, the men are her 2 husbands John Kellaway 1513 & Sir John Wadham 1578
The memorial has suffered much neglect, and been whitewashed several times. Little colouring remains. The double appearance of Joan is thought to be unique in British memorial art of this period
"Here lieth intomb'd the body of a virtuous & antient gentlewoman descended of the antient house of the Plantagenets, sometime of Cornwall, namely JOAN one of the daughters & heirs unto John Tregarthin in the county of Cornwall, esq. She was first married unto John Kelleway esq who had by her much issue. After his death she was married to John Wadham of Meryfield in the county of Somerset esq, & by him had several children. She lived a virtuous & godly life & died in an honourable age September in the year of Chrsit 1583"
Joan was the daughter of John Tregarthin / Tregarthen & Jane daughter of John Trethurffe & Elizabeth Courtenay
She was the co-heiress of her grandfather Thomas Tregarthen and Margaret daughter of Richard Hendower and Katherine Chamberlayne
Her co-heiress was her sister Margaret wife of George Tanner of Cullompton
She m1 John Kellaway of Cullompton 1513
(Joan brought to the marriage lands of her inheritance from Thomas Tregarthen esquire: the manors of Brannell, Trejeam (Tregiam), and Trelyon (Treliam Viam) [all in St. Stephens in Brannell]; Trebvreck, Tawarne, Grampound (Grampot) Bossilian, Woles and Bossilian Wartha, [in Creed], Truro (Truruburgh), Thymargh (C.); manor of Portelmouth, Malborough (D.) Isle of Purbeck (Dorset.); Southampton; Hendwr (Hendon) (Middx): Cornwall, Devon, Corset, Southampton, Merioneth)
Children
1. George b 1507, the heir aged 6 at his father's death
1. Mary Kelloway m1 Thomas Codrington dc 1594 of Swallowcliffe Wilts ; m2 William Cooke of Thorne, Ottery St Mary, son of John Cooke and Margaret daughter of Stephen Daniel. (their grandson John Cooke 1632 of Thorne incorporates a similar heraldic escutcheon of 9 quarters, the 4th of which is Kelloway. flic.kr/p/Bnu41M
She m2 John Wadham of Edge, Branscombe and Merrifield, Ilton, Somerset. , son of Sir Nicholas I Wadham
Children
1. Nicholas b 1532 in Merrifield co-founder of Wadham College, Oxford. d1609 m Dorothy 1618 daughter of William Petre and Gertrude daughter of John Tyrrell and Ann Norreys
2. Johanna b1533 in Merrifield
3. Joan b 1536 in Bristol d 1603 m1 Giles 1562 son of Henry Strangways and Margaret daughter of George Manners & Anne St Leger; m2 John 1589 son of Hugh Yonge
4. Florence *** b1538 in Merrifield, d 1597 m John 1572 son of John Wyndham by Elizabeth Sydenham
5. Margaret bc1540 in Edge Branscombe d pre 1611 m Nicholas 1530 - 1596 son of Robert Martin and Elizabeth daughter of John Kelway of Rockbourne who m2 John Tregonwell of Milton Abbas ;
There are 3 coats of arms:
Centre being a lozenge and impaled with each of the others. Arms - a lozenge quarterly of six
1. two crosses in saltier;
2 A chevron between
3 escallops; 3 Semee of escallops, a lion rampant.;
4 A lion rampant within a bordure charged with bezants, a label of 3 points
5. On a bend 5 roundels;
6. On a chevron 3 fleurs de lis
Sinister (left) Wadham, of 9 quarters, impaling Tregarthin, of 6 quarters.
Wadham:
1st: Gules, a chevron between three roses argent (Wadham).
2nd: Or, on a chevron gules three martlets or
3rd: Argent on a chief gules two bucks' heads cabossed or (Popham).
4th: Gules, a chevron argent between nine bezants five in chief and four in base (Dene)
5th Sable six lioncels or (St Martin).
6th Per fesse indented, overall a bend
7th Barry of eight azure and argent an eagle displayed.
8th Per pale azure and gules a lion rampant ermine (Norwich)
9th Gules a bend fusilly/lozengy ermine (Read, Redege, Riedde etc., of Devon)
Tregarthin:
1st: Argent, two lobster's claws in saltire gules (Tregarthick)
2nd: Argent, a chevron between three escallops sable (Tregarthin)
3rd: Azure semée of escallops or, a lion rampant of the last (Hendower/Hender)
4th: Argent a lion rampant gules in chief a label azure of three points a bordure engrailed bezantee
5th: On a bend 5 (or six) roundels (Chamberlayne)
6th: On a chevron three fleurs-de-lys (Pever)
Dexter / right - quarterly of four
1 & 4 Two glaziers irons in saltier between 4 peas pendent within a bordure engrailed
2. A buck head caboched
3. A Chevron between 3 escallops impaling the coat on the lozenge
B; Shield on the sinister side quarterly of nine
1. a chevron between 3 roses
2. on a chevron three martletts
3. on sa chief 2 stags heads caboched
4. a chevron between 9 roundles
5. Si lioncels rampant or 3 2 1 6 per fess indented a bend
7. Barry of eight an eagles displayed
8. A lion rampant or
9. A bend lozengy each charged with an ermine spot
At the top is the crest of Wadham, a rose argent leaved vert seeded or
*** A story refers to Florence Wadham; just a year after her marriage to John Wyndham she was thought to have died. However, the sexton, on closing the vault, heard a noise from within the coffin. Florence, was removed from the coffin and soon after 'delivered of Sir John Wyndham' The date in this source is 1562 but her son was baptised in 1558. A 19c narrative poem written by Rev. Lewis Court, a later rector of the parish, embellishes the story. This tells that the sexton was tempted by her jewellery. Whilst trying to file a ring from the lady's finger, he drew blood causing Florence to come out of her 'trance'. She sat up and the sexton fled like a madman. On her return to the house her husband at first thought her to be a ghost (she was in a winding sheet) but the couple were joyfully reunited and had two sons to carry the family name
Picture with thanks - copyright Ian www.cornishchurches.com/Branscombe%20Church%20Devon%20-%2...
- Church of St Winifred, Branscombe Devon
www.wikitree.com/wiki/Tregarthen-12https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Martyn-557
Welcome to The Parnaroo Hall
The Parnaroo Hall, formerly the Wool Store of the Parnaroo Station Shearing Shed, was erected in 1875 and was part of Alexander McCulloch’s holdings.
The two acres on which the Hall stands was purchased from the Government in1904 by the residents of the Hundred of Parnaroo for £400. The Hall was used by the community for church services, weddings and receptions, recreation, polling booths, dances, welcome homes, farewells as well as everything else the community engaged in until 1975.
The Hundred of Parnaroo comprises 127 square miles and the families who lived there are recognised on the pavers in front of the Hall.
Appreciative thanks go posthumously to Roma Schulz, nee Mattey, whose extraordinary research published in ‘Deceptive Lands’ 1968, provided much of the information for this project.
Current Trustees of the Parnaroo Hall are the Peterborough History Group SA Inc. Ref: Plaque near front of the hall.
The launch of the engraved pavers laid in front of the Parnaroo Community Hall was held 27 May 2023, commemorating the hall and the People of the Hundred of Parnaroo.
Following is some History of Parnaroo Hall from where Ration Books were issued during World War Two :-
*Parnaroo March 6
The Parnaroo Hall, recently purchased from the Government, was on the 3rd inst formally opened by Mr E E Kernot, in the presence of about 200 people. The building, which is a splendid stone one, with stage fixings and dressing rooms, measuring 100 x 50 feet, was most tastefully decorated, for which Mr and Mrs O'Toole are mainly to be thanked.
After speeches had been made dancing was indulged in.
Mr T Donellan ably acted as MC. [Ref: Petersburg Times (SA) 7-3-1905]
*Wedding at Parnaroo
The usually quiet but picturesque locality on which stands the Parnaroo head station was en fete on Thursday, May 2nd, the occasion being the marriage of Miss Ellen O'Toole, daughter of Mr John O'Toole, of Parnaroo, to Mr Michael Lennon, of Broken Hill.
The Parnaroo Institute Hall, lately acquired by the residents from the Government, was the rendezvous of the invited guests and the parties immediately concerned. For the present occasion the interior was beautifully decorated with evergreens, imitation horseshoes (for luck) and colours of all lands interlaced, making it a veritable fairy bower.
At one end a temporary altar had been erected, at which the impressive Catholic marriage service was conducted by the Rev J H Norton, of Petersburg. The bride was dressed in rich white satin with silk trimmings, which, with the usual orange blossoms and veil, looked pretty indeed. The Misses Lizzie and Mary O'Toole were the bridesmaids, and both were dressed in cream figured lustre with cream trimmings. Messrs John and Thomas O'Toole were groomsmen.
The Rev J H Norton gave the toast of "The Bride and Bridegroom”, and in a neat and appropriate speech gave good and homely advice to the newly-married couple.
The presents received were varied, valuable and numerous: a gift from the manager, overseer and employees of Ucolta and McCoy's Well Station, was a gold bracelet, set with rubies and pearls, and silver dinner cruet, suitably inscribed.
The intervening time before dancing commenced was filled by games and an impromptu concert. Dancing then commenced, and was kept up till morning. [Ref: Quorn Mercury (SA)16-5-1905]
*Parnaroo July 26th
When it became known that Mr and Mrs J Faulkner were leaving the district the residents decided to tender them a farewell social, which duly took place on the 21st inst, in the Parnaroo Hall. The attendance was large, and included many visitors from Terowie, Oodla Wirra, Dawson, Nackara, Gumbowie and surrounding districts.
Mr T J Donnellan, who presided, expressed his regret at the departure of Mr and Mrs Faulkner, who during a long residence in the district had earned the respect and esteem of the residents generally: he had always found Mr Faulkner an upright, and honest gentleman, and his place would be hard to fill. Mr H W Rasmus on behalf of the residents of Parnaroo and district, presented Mr Faulkner with a handsome silver mounted pipe, and Mrs Faulkner with a pretty silver cake stand. In a neat and appropriate speech, Mr Rasmus referred to the many excellent qualities of Mr and Mrs Faulkner, whom he described as ideal residents, they would be greatly missed by the people of Parnaroo.
Dancing was indulged in and kept going with vigour till broad daylight, when the singing of Auld Lang Syne concluded one of the most successful and enjoyable social functions ever held in the Parnaroo Hall. [Ref: Petersburg Times (SA) 3-8-1909]
*Wedding Bells McInerney – O’Toole
A wedding in which all the residents of Parnaroo and a large number of Petersburg took the utmost interest took place on Tuesday, in the Parnaroo Hall, when Mr John McInerney, youngest son of the late J J McInerney Esq of Petersburg, and Miss M J O’Toole, third daughter of Mr J J O’Toole of Panaroo were made one.
The Rev Father O'Rourke performed the ceremony. The ceremony took place at 10 am in the District Hall. Early in the morning the guests began to arrive, and by the appointed hour the hall was crowded. The bride looked sweetly pretty in a dress of cream figured silk, trimmed with orange blossom.
After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was partaken of, at which Father O'Rourke proposed the health of the couple.
The bridal party were photographed by Mr H Drew in a pretty spot near the creek.
The whole party then gave themselves up to the enjoyment of games which were kept up, almost without intermission, throughout the whole day.
In the evening, after a little rest and a meal which will linger in the memory of the guests for many the company again proceeded to the hall, where dancing was indulged in and continued until daylight. The newly wedded couple, accompanied by many of the guests, then drove nine miles to catch the express for Adelaide [Ref: Petersburg Times (SA)13-1-1911]
*A very enjoyable dance was held in the Parnaroo Institute on June 6th. Mr H Leaney acted as MC and Mr L Kloss supplied the music. [Ref: Petersburg Times (SA) 26-6-1914]
*Patriotic Parnaroo
A successful concert and dance was held in the Parnaroo Hall on Saturday night in aid of the Wounded Soldiers' Fund, as a result of which the handsome sum of £16 16/ has been handed Mr Alex Jamieson (Mayor of Petersburg). The hall was tastefully decorated with flags of the Allies.
At the close of the programme all the school children sang "Britannia," saluted the flag, and finished with the National Anthem. Great credit is due to the local teacher (Miss McLaughlin) for the manner in which the children were trained. [Ref: Petersburg Times (SA) 27-8-1915]
*Parnaroo - A welcome home social convened by Messrs Saunders, Darrah, and Skeen was given in the local spacious hall on August 1 to Sgt T Evans, Sgt R Evans, and Pte Nash. Pte W Sanders, born at Parnaroo. but enlisted from Tasmania, was also welcomed.
Mr R A Bohme (President Peterborough Cheer Ups) was in the chair. Other speakers were Mr H Rasmus and Mr S Saunders, who presented a gold medal to each of the returned soldiers, on behalf of the Parnaroo residents. Sgt T Evans suitably responded on behalf of comrades and himself.
Dancing, under management of Mr Donellan, was indulged. Thanks are due to the Parnaroo ladies for the supper arrangements. It was unanimously agreed that the social was a huge success. [Ref: Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia (SA) 15-8-1919]
*Peterborough Country News
On Saturday evening last the band and a party travelled out to Parnaroo, where a dance was held in aid of the hospital funds. A most enjoyable evening was spent. The band supplied music for the dance, which was held in the old wool shed and comic recitations by Mr Clapp evoked considerable applause. The mayor and mayoress of Peterborough were present. Mrs O’Toole with other ladies, provided a supper. The takings were £37 10/. [Ref: Daily Herald (Adelaide SA) 26-7-1921]
*Parnaroo School Picnic
The annual school picnic was held at Parnaroo on Saturday, November 8. A euchre tournament and dance followed. The success of this picnic was due to Miss Giles, the sports committee, and the parents of the children.
The euchre tournament was won by J O'Dea. Supper was served by the ladies. [Ref: Chronicle (Adelaide SA) 22-11-1924]
*A dance was held in the Parnaroo Woolshed, on Saturday, December 19th, which proved to be an all round success. The most virtuous point was the select and sociable class who attended on that most auspicious occasion. It was totally free from undesirables and such like: even the only unwanted in the district, must have realised his position, as he made his presence felt by his absence.
The committee desire to thank those who patronised from Peterborough, Black Rock, Oodla Wirra, Yunta, Terowie, and Bendigo. They are determined to run their dances on clean, straight lines, free from larrikans and thieves. Our patrons will shortly find themselves dancing to piano music in this hall. Supper was provided by the ladies. Messrs O'Toole and Polomka supplied the music, while Mr Joe O'Toole made an efficient MC. Though the night was warm to hot, dancing continued until daybreak, when all returned to their homes perfectly satisfied. [Ref: Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia (SA) 25-12-1936]
*Saturday January 20
Farewell dance to Peterborough and Paratoo Troops at Parnaroo. Good music and supper. Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia (SA) 12-1-1940]
*Dance at Parnaroo
An enthusiastic and energetic committee is busily making final preparations for a dance to be held in the Parnaroo Hall on Saturday (tomorrow) June 5th.
There will be first class music and the usual delicious home made supper, assuring all patrons of a most enjoyable time. Proceeds of the function are for the Hall Fund. [Ref: Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia (SA) 4-6-1948]
*Parnaroo Sports
We have pleasure in publishing, a little late, the results of the very successful sports held at Parnaroo on January 3rd. It was estimated that over 1,000 people were present, and with the very enjoyable dance in the Parnaroo Hall that night, £130 was cleared for the hall funds. We have been asked to express the thanks of the Committee to the donors of trophies and prizemoney, and to all those who helped in any way to make the day such a success. Sincere regret is expressed at the accidents which happened to Messrs Reg Howard and Ken Richards. [Ref: Times and Northern Advertiser, Peterborough, South Australia (SA) 4-2-1949]
a quick shot because there were pretty trees and she was wearing a pretty dress.
Camera: Canon 700D
Location: Sanford Park, Cheltenham
Subject: Katrina Trinidad
Photographer: Katie Jones
Baptist Lord Hicks, Viscount Campden 1629 & wife Elizabeth May - surrounded by grand daughter in law Anne Fielding, grand daughter Penelope & daughter Juliana.
Baptist was a silk mercer / importer and made his fortune contracting business with the Court also supplying loans to many of the James l & the nobility . At his death he was rumoured to be the richest man in the kingdom. He was knighted in 1603, made a Baron in 1720 and became Viscount Campden in 1628.
He acquired the manor and lands of John Smith 1593 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/0846p2 and in
1612 he built a new manor house, next to the church at a cost of £44,000 in the very latest style and with superb gardens, including a canal, water gardens & terraces . This was destroyed by fir in 1645 during the Civil War by order of the Royalist commander, Prince Rupert, in order to prevent it falling into the hands of the Parliamentary forces. The Gatehouse and two Banqueting Houses or pavilions remain together with some ruins of the house.
It is said that his widowed daughter Juliana lived afterwards in the converted stables, now called the Court House, in Calf Lane.
He also built a town house in Kensington called Campden House as well as a Sessions House for the Middlesex Magistrates which they named Hicks Hall. He acquired land and interest all over the country and left bequests worth c£10,000 in his will.
He was the youngest of 6 sons of Juliana 1592 daughter of William Arthur & Robert Hicks a wealthy silk mercer & freeman of the Ironmongers’ Company, who lived at Cheapside, London, and grandson of John Hicks of Tortworth (his mother m2 Anthony Penne)
His brother entered the service of William Cecil, Lord Burghley
He m Elizabeth daughter of Richard May of goldsmith of London by Mary Hillersdon: and sister of Sir Humphrey May Alderman of London & Groom to the King’s Privy Chamber
Children - sons who died as infants & 2 heiress daughters with big dowries
1. Juliana m Edward Lord Noel, 2nd Viscount Campden www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/4U2P6k
2. Mary flic.kr/p/ZyAUBo m1 Sir Charles Morrison www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/19QgNc son of Sir Charles Morison the elder 1599 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/p4uWb1 of Cassiobury, Watford & Dorothy www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/1e29dn daughter of Nicholas Clark / Clerke, of North Weston and Elizabeth daughter of Thomas Ramsey & Susannah Isham: Dorothy was the widow of Henry Long of Shingay m2 Sir John Cooper, 1st Bart of Rockbourne 1630, only son of Sir John Cooper 1610 & Margaret / Martha daughter of Anthony Skutt, of Stanton Drew, Somerset. m3 Sir Edward Alford
"To the memorie of her deare & deceased husband, Baptist Lord Hicks, Viscount Campden, borne of a worthy family in the city of London who by the blessing of God on his ingenious endeavors arose to an ample estate & to the foresaid degrees of honour, & out of those blessings, disposed to charitable uses, in his lifetime, a large portion to the value of £10,000, who lived religiously, virtuously & generously to the age of 78 yeares & died October 18th 1629.
Elizabeth Viscountess Campden his deare consort, borne of the family of the Mays, lived his wife in all peace & contentment, the space of 45 yeares, leaving issue by her said lord & husband 2 daughters
Juliana married to Edward Lord Noel, now Viscount Campden and Maria married to Sir Charles Morison, knight and baronet,
She hath piously and carefully caused this monument to be erected as a testimonie of their mutuall love, where both their bodies may rest together in expectation of a joyfull resurrection".
" O fortunate Campden that you posess great riches and the body of your best patron, Who restored them a lord rich in lands, and who added from those lands new blossoms of honour, may you afford a tomb to this lord. He has embellished your land with many buildings and flourishing gardens; nor has he allowed the Church of God to be neglected but in his life his devout delight was to help the Poor to the utmost. In death grant that he may rest in peace; and here may you hold his modest wife, who was the companion of his life, cherish this body well worthy of resurrection, and protect it in your fostering bosom"
Baptist is credited with the continued prosperity of the town after the end of the wool staple which badly affected Winchecombe and Cirencester,
Just before his death in August 1629, the bailiffs and churchwardens had conveyed to him the south chapel as "a place of sepulchre for himself and his heirs forever"
Generous with his wealth, he had repaired the chancel at his own expense. He also built a wall round the churchyard, presented the communion plate, gave the decorations for the pulpit and a large brass eagle which still survives. He also endowed the vicarage with part of the great tythes of Winfrith and West Lulworth Dorset and built almshouses and the market hall in 1627
Heraldry on the canopy - 2 shields - Gu. a fess wavy between 3 fleur de lie az. (Hicks) & Gu. a fess between 8 billets (May).
Monument costing £1000 is thought to be by Nicholas Stone
who executed a monument of son in law Sir Charles Morison at Watford church.Herts
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baptist_Hicks,_1st_Viscount_Campden
chippingcampdenhistory.org.uk/page_id__77.aspx - Church of St James, Chipping Campden Gloucestershire
Bridget Manners daughter of John Manners kneels behind her parents 4th Earl of Rutland 1588 & Elizabeth Charlton www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/55857n kneels behind her parents on their tomb
"The Right Honorable & noble Lord John Earle of Rutland, Lord Rosse of Hamelac Trusbott & Belvoir lieth here buried. Hee succeeded his brother Edward in this said erledome and baronies and therein lived until Saturday the 24 day of February the next following in the same year 1588 on which day he deceased at Nottingham from whence his corps was hither brought & buried on the 2 day of Aprill following 1588.
Hee was made Liuetenant of ye countie of Nottingham 1587 . Hee had issue by his most honorable and virtuous ladie Elizabeth Charleton, daughter of Fraunces Charleton esquire, five sonnes to witte
Edward who died at his age of ...........
Roger now Erle of Rutland, Lord Rosse of Hamlack Trusbott & Belvoir
Fraunces, George & Oliver & 4 daughters Briget, Elizabeth, Mary (deade in her infancy) & Frances borne after her fathers death"
John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland 1588 & wife Elizabeth Charlton
John was the son of Henry Manners, 2nd Earl of Rutland, and Margaret www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/34U08g daughter of Ralph Neville, 4th Earl of Westmorland.
He succeeded his elder brother Edward 3rd Earl in 1587
He m Elizabeth daughter of Francis Charlton of Apley Castle by Cicely Fitton of Gawsworth (her sister Margaret Chambre is at Myddle flic.kr/p/d3fZfE )
Children - 10 in all :
1. Edward - died young www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/a07k16
2. Roger 5th Earl of Rutland 1576 – 1612 m Elizabeth Sidney www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/g6Gj76
3. Francis 6th Earl of Rutland 1578 – 1632 m1 Frances Knyvett m2 Cecily www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/e5Ky1e daughter of Sir John Tufton of Hothfield flic.kr/p/47d7Yt
4. George 7th Earl of Rutland 1580 –dsp1641 www.flickr.com/gp/52219527@N00/w1e736 m Frances Cary.
5. Sir Oliver 1582 – 1613
1. Bridget 1572-1604 m Robert Tyrwhitt flic.kr/p/pL5uLw.
2. Elizabeth d1653 m Emanuel Scrope Earl of Sunderland flic.kr/p/fuUDCR 1630 only child of Thomas, Lord Scroope of Bolton 1609 and Philadelphia www.flickr.com/photos/52219527@N00/9509629009/ daughter of Henry Carey, 1st Lord Hunsdon (cousin of Elizabeth l) by Anne Morgan www.westminster-abbey.org/our-history/people/henry-carey
3. Mary died an infant
4. Frances 1588 – 1643 m William 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham
Monument by Gerard Johanssen in 1591 - Church of St Mary the Virgin Bottesford Leicestershire
Art nouveau winter garden with sculptures in marble (artist : Piazza, It) : four virtuous women in the bible (Rachel, Sara, Rebecca, Ruth) - school of the Ursulines, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Waver, Flanders, Belgium.
He is an ancient god, traceable to the Vedic era. Archaeological evidence from 1st-century CE and earlier, where he is found with Hindu god Agni (fire), suggest that he was a significant deity in early Hinduism.[4] He is found in many medieval temples all over India, such as at the Ellora Caves and Elephanta Caves.[3]
His iconography varies significantly, reflecting the variation in his legends. He is typically represented as an ever-youthful man, riding or near a peacock, dressed with weapons sometimes near a rooster. Most icons show him with one head, but some show him with six heads reflecting the legend surrounding his birth where six mothers symbolizing the six stars of Pleiades cluster who took care of newly born baby Kartikeya.[4][6][5] He grows up quickly into a philosopher-warrior, destroys evil in the form of demon Taraka, teaches the pursuit of ethical life and the theology of Shaiva Siddhanta.[5][1] He has inspired many poet-sants, such as Arunagirinathar.[1][7]
Kartikeya, as Murugan or Subrahmanya, is found as a primary deity in temples wherever communities of the Tamil people live worldwide, particularly in Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and Réunion. Three of the six most richest and busiest temples in Tamil Nadu are dedicated to him.[1] The Kataragama temple dedicated to him in Sri Lanka attracts Tamils, Sinhalese people and the Vedda people.[8] He is also found in other parts of India, sometimes as Skanda, but in a secondary role along with Ganesha, Parvati and Shiva.[5]
Kartikeya is known by numerous names in ancient and medieval texts of the Indian culture. Most common among these are Murugan (Muruga), Kumaran (Kumara), Skanda, and Subrahmanyan (Subrahmanya). Others include Aaiyyan, Cheyon, Senthil, Vēlaṇ, Svaminatha ("ruler of the gods", from -natha king), Saravanan ("born amongst the reeds"), Arumugam or Shanmuga ("six-faced"),[9] Dandapani ("wielder of the mace", from -pani hand), Guhan or Guruguha ("cave-dweller"), Kadhirvelan, Kandhan, Vishakha and Mahasena.[10] In ancient coins where the inscription has survived along with his images, his names appear as Kumara, Brahmanya or Brahmanyadeva.[11] In ancient statues, he appears as Mahasena, Skanda and Vishakha.[12]
Skanda is derived from skanḍr-, which means to "spill, ooze, leap, attack".[13] This root is derived from the legend of his unusual birth. The legend, translates Lochtefeld, states "Shiva and Parvati are disturbed while making love, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground".[5] This semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges. The "spill" epithet leads to the name Skanda.[5][13]
Kartikeya means "of the Krittikas".[5] This epithet is also linked to his birth. After he appears on the banks of the River Ganges, he is seen by the six of the seven brightest stars cluster in the night sky called Krittikas in Hindu texts (called Pleiades in Greek texts). These six mothers all want to take care of him and nurse baby Kartikkeya. They argue. Baby Kartikkeya ends the argument by growing five more heads to have a total of six heads so he can look at all six moms, and let them each nurse one.[5][14]
Another legend explains his various names as the result of competition by many to seek and claim him. He loves everyone, and takes many names and forms to be with them. For example, Kumara spends time with goddess Ganga as her son, Skanda as the son of goddess Parvati, Karttikeya as son of Shiva, while Guha as the son of fire god Agni.[6]
There are ancient references which can be interpreted to be Kartikeya, Skanda, Kumara, or Murugan in the Vedic texts, in the works of Pāṇini (~500 BCE), in the Mahabhasya of Patanjali and in Kautilya's Arthashastra.[15] For example, the term Kumara appears in hymn 5,2 of the Rig Veda.[16][note 1] The Kumara of verse 5.2.1 can be interpreted as Skanda, or just any "boy". However, the rest of the verses depict the "boy" as bright-colored, hurling weapons and other motifs that later have been associated with Skanda. The difficulty with interpreting these to be Skanda is that Indra, Agni and Rudra are also depicted in similar terms and as warriors.[17]
Kartikeya with a Kushan devotee, 2nd century CE.
The Skanda-like motifs found in Rig Veda are found in other Vedic texts, such as section 6.1-3 of the Shatapatha Brahmana.[18] In these, the mythology is very different for Kumara, as Agni is described to be the Kumara whose mother is Ushas (goddess Dawn) and whose father is Purusha.[16] The section 10.1 of the Taittiriya Aranyaka mentions Sanmukha (six faced one), while the Baudhayana Dharmasutra mentions a householder's rite of passage that involves prayers to Skanda with his brother Ganapati (Ganesha) together.[19] The chapter 7 of the Chandogya Upanishad (~800–600 BCE) equates Sanat-Kumara (eternal son) and Skanda, as he teaches sage Narada to discover his own Atman (soul, self) as a means to the ultimate knowledge, true peace and liberation.[20][21][note 2]
According to Fred Clothey, the evidence suggests that Kartikeya mythology had become widespread sometime around 200 BCE or after in north India.[23] The first clear evidence of Kartikeya's importance emerges in the Hindu Epics such as the Ramayana and the Mahabharata where his story is recited. In addition to textual evidence, his importance is affirmed by the archeological, the epigraphical and the numismatic evidence of this period. For example, he is found in numismatic evidence linked to the Yaudheyas, a confederation of warriors in north India who are mentioned by ancient Pāṇini.[24] They ruled an area consisting of modern era Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (extending into Garhwal region, Uttarakhand).[24] They struck coins bearing the image of Skanda, and these coins are dated to be from before Kushan Empire era started.[24] During the Kushan dynasty era, that included much of northwest Indian subcontinent, more coins featuring Kartikeya were minted.[24]
The deity was venerated also by the Ikshvakus, an Andhra dynasty, and the Gupta Empire.[25] Kalidasa's epic poem the Kumārasambhava features Kartikeya.
The Tolkāppiyam, one of the most ancient texts of the Tamil literature, mentions cēyōṉ "the red one", who is identified with Murugan, whose name is literally Murukaṉ "the youth"; the three other gods referred to in the Tolkāppiyam are Māyōṉ "the dark one" (identified with Vishnu), Vēntaṉ "the sovereign" (identified with Indra) and Koṟṟavai "the victorious" (identified with Kali). Extant Sangam literature works, dated between the third century BCE and the fifth century CE glorified Murugan, "the red god seated on the blue peacock, who is ever young and resplendent," as "the favoured god of the Tamils."[27]
In the Tirumurukāṟtruuppaṭai, he is called Muruku and described as a god of beauty and youth, with phrases such as "his body glows like the sun rising from the emerald sea". It describes him with six faces each with a function, twelve arms, his victory of evil, and the temples dedicated to him in the hilly regions.[28]
Kartikeya is mentioned in Shaiva Puranas. Of these, the Skanda Purana is the largest Mahāpurāṇa, a genre of eighteen Hindu religious texts.[29] The text contains over 81,000 verses, and is part of Shaivite literature,[30] titled after Skanda, a son of Shiva and Parvati, who is also known as Kartikeya and Murugan.[31] While the text is named after Skanda, he does not feature either more or less prominently in this text than in other Shiva-related Puranas.[31] The text has been an important historical record and influence on the Hindu traditions related to war-god Skanda.[31][32] The earliest text titled Skanda Purana likely existed by the 6th-century CE,[33][34] but the Skanda Purana that has survived into the modern era exists in many versions.[35]
Ancient coins of the Yaudheyas, dated to 1st and 2nd century CE, show Kartikeya as a warrior with either one or six heads. Kushan coins show him with one head. In general, single head is far more common regardless of which dynasty minted them.[36] The earliest statues discovered in Punjab and Kashmir show him with either one or six heads. The oldest sculptures such as those found in Mathura show him with one head, while six head iconography is dated to post-Gupta Empire era.[37] All Kushan Empire era artwork show him with one head, even though there are Kushan deities such as a goddess who is shown with multiple heads.[14]
The Kushan Empire era statues of Kartikeya, dated to 1st and 2nd-century CE, have been found at various sites in the Indian subcontinent, particularly at Mathura and Gandhara. They show him as a warrior dressed in dhoti (sheet wrapped at waist, covering the legs), armour like a warrior, spear in his right hand and a bird (rooster) in his left.[38][39] There is some difference between his ancient iconography in Mathura and Gandhara artwork. The Gandhara arts show him in more a Scythian dress, likely reflecting the local dress culture prevalent in those times. Further, it is in the oldest Gandharan statues where he is shown with a bird that looks like a chicken or cock.[40] According to Richard Mann, the bird may symbolize Kartikeya's agility and maneuverability as a warrior god.[40]
Kartikeya iconography shows him as a youthful god, dressed as a warrior, carring the weapon called Vel. It is a divine spear, often called sakti. He is sometimes depicted with many weapons including: a sword, a javelin, a mace, a discus and a bow although more usually he is depicted wielding the sakti or spear. His vahana (vehicle, mount) is a peacock. He has either one head or six, depending on the region or artist.[41][42]
The Epic era literature of ancient India recite numerous legends of Kartikeya, often with his other names such as Skanda. For example, the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata dedicates chapters 223 to 232 to the legends of Skanda, but depicts him as the son of Agni and Svaha.[19] Similarly, Valmiki's Ramayana dedicates chapters 36 and 37 to Skanda, but describes him as the child of god Agni and goddess Ganges.[44]
The legends of Kartikeya vary significantly, sometimes within the same text. For example, while the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata describes Skanda as the son of Agni, the Shalya Parva and the Anushasana Parva of the same text presents Skanda's legend as the son of Maheshvara (Shiva) and Parvati.[19]
Granite Karttikeya seated on a peacock from 12th-century Andhra Pradesh.
In Vana Parva, the circumstances behind Kartikeya's birth legend do not involve Shiva and Parvati.[45] Rather it is deity Agni who goes to a hermitage of seven married Rishis (sages). He is sexually attracted to all seven, but none reciprocate. Svaha is present there and she is attracted to Agni, but Agni is not. According to the legend, Svaha takes the form of six of the wives, one by one, and sleeps with Agni.[45] She does not take the form of Arundhati, Vasistha's wife, because of Arundhati's extraordinary virtuous powers. Svaha deposits the semen of Agni into the reeds of River Ganges, where it develops and then is born as six headed Skanda.[45]
A totally different legend in the later books of the Mahabharata make Shiva and Parvati as the parents. They were having sex, but they are disturbed, and Shiva inadvertently spills his semen on the ground.[5] Shiva's semen incubates in River Ganges, preserved by the heat of god Agni, and this fetus is born as baby Kartikeya on the banks of Ganges.[5][13]
Some legend state that he was the elder son of Shiva, others make him the younger brother of Ganesha. This is implied by another legend connected to his birth. Devas have been beaten up by Asuras led by Taraka, because Taraka had a boon from ascetic celibate yogi Shiva that only Shiva's son can kill him. Devas learn about this boon, and plan how to get Shiva into a relationship. So they bring Parvati into the picture, have her seduce yogi Shiva, and wed Parvati so that Skanda can be born to kill Taraka.[46]
Many of the major events in Murugan's life take place during his youth, and legends surrounding his birth are popular in Tamil Nadu. This has encouraged the worship of Murugan as a child-God, very similar to the worship of the child Krishna in north India. He is married to two wives, Valli and Devasena. Kartikeya's youth, beauty and bravery was much celebrated in Sanskrit works like the Kathasaritsagara. Kalidasa made the birth of Kumara the subject of a lyrical epic, the Kumaarasambhavam.[44]
Theology[edit]
There is extensive Hindu symbolism and theology associated with Kartikeya. Regardless of the variance among the legends, his birth is in difficult circumstances, he is born through a surrogate abandoned near a river. He is raised not by his natural mother but a host of mothers. Kartikeya symbolizes a union of polarities.[47] He is handsome warrior and described as a celibate yogi. He uses his creative martial abilities to lead an army against Taraka and other demons, and described as a philosopher-warrior.[5][1] He is a uniter, championing the attributes of both Shaivism and Vaishnavism.[48]
His theology is most developed in the Tamil texts,[7] and in the Shaiva Siddhanta tradition.[5][1] He is described as teyvam (abstract neuter divinity, nirguna Brahman), as katavul (divinity in nature, in everything), as tevan (masculine deity), and as iraivativam (concrete manifestation of the sacred, saguna Brahman).[49]
According to Fred Clothey, as Murugan (also referred to as Murukan, Cheyyon), he embodies the "cultural and religious whole that comprises South Indian Shaivism".[47] He is the philosopher and exponent of Shaiva Siddhanta theology, as well as the patron deity of the Tamil language.[50][51]
Murugan is worshiped primarily in areas with Tamil influences. Subramanya is also a major deity among the Hindus of Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. Rituals like Nagaradhane are unique to Uttara Kannada region of Karnataka. Kataragama Sri Lanka temple is another important Murugan center.[citation needed]
In Sri Lanka and India, Murugan is popular with more elaborate accounts of his mythology in the Tamil language, culminating in the Tamil version of Skanda Purana, called Kandha Purānam. It was written by Kacchiappa Sivachariyar (1350–1420 AD.) of Kumara Kottam in the city of Kanchipuram. During His bachelorhood, Lord Murugan is also regarded as Kumaraswami (or Bachelor God), Kumara meaning a bachelor and Swami meaning God. Muruga rides a peacock and wields a bow in battle. The lance called Vel in Tamil is a weapon closely associated with him. The Vel was given to him by his mother, Parvati, and embodies her energy and power. His army's standard depicts a rooster. In the war, Surapadman was split into two, and each half was granted a boon by Murugan. The halves, thus turned into the peacock (his mount) and the rooster his flag, which also "refers to the sun".[citation needed]
Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has a famous temple of Lord Murugan.
Kartikeya is revered during the Kartik Puja festival, observed in November in eastern states of India.[52][note 3] During Durga Puja in Bengal, Kartikeya is featured as a son of Durga (Parvati) and Shiva, sitting along with his brother Ganesha.[54]
Kartikeya in Kartik Puja, Odisha.
Odisha[edit]
Kumara Purnima, which is celebrated by girls and newly married women on the full moon day after Vijayadashami. It is dedicated to Kartikeya in Odisha. The festivities bring girls together, they sing and dance, and play a game called Puchi. The prayers on the day are aimed with hopes of getting a husband similar to Kartikeya.[55] Kartikeya is worshipped during Durga Puja in Odisha as well as in various Shiva temples throughout the year. Kartik puja is celebrated in Cuttack along with various other parts of the state during the last phases of Hindu month of Kartik.
Himachal Pradesh[edit]
Kartikeya is the main deity at Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh. The temple of Kartikeya in Kugti village is visited every year by thousands of devotees when the trek is opened in the month of March–April.[citation needed]
Sri Lanka[edit]
Karthikeya is worshipped by Sri Lankan Tamils but also by the Sinhalese as Kataragama deviyo, a guardian deity of Sri Lanka. Numerous temples exist throughout the island. He is a favourite deity of the common folk everywhere and it is said he never hesitates to come to the aid of a devotee when called upon. In the deeply Sinhalese south of Sri Lanka, he is worshipped at the Kataragama temple, where he is known as Kathiravel or Kataragama deviyo. Local legend holds that Murugan alighted in Kataragama and was smitten by Valli, one of the local girls. After a courtship, they were married. This event is taken to signify that Murugan is accessible to all who worship and love him, regardless of their birth or heritage. The Nallur Kandaswamy temple, the Maviddapuram Kandaswamy Temple and the Sella Channithy Temple near Valvettiturai are the three foremost Murugan temples in Jaffna. The Chitravelayutha temple in Verukal on the border between Trincomalee and Batticaloa is also noteworthy as is the Mandur Kandaswamy temple in Batticaloa. The late medieval-era temple of the tooth in Kandy, dedicated to the tooth relic of the Buddha, has a Kataragama deiyo shrine adjacent to it dedicated to the veneration of Skanda in the Sinhalese tradition. Almost all Buddhist temples house a shrine room for Kataragama deviyo reflecting the significance of Murugan in Sinhala Buddhism.
The Tamil Hindu temple Nallur Kandasamy dedicated to Murugan (Kartikeya).
By the 16th century, the Kataragama temple had become synonymous with Skanda-Kumara who was a guardian deity of Sinhala Buddhism.[56] The town was popular as a place of pilgrimage for Hindus from India and Sri Lanka by the 15th century. The popularity of the deity at the Kataragama temple was also recorded by the Pali chronicles of Thailand such as Jinkalmali in the 16th century. There are number of legends both Buddhist and Hindu that attribute supernatural events to the very locality.[56] Scholars such as Paul Younger and Heinz Bechert speculate that rituals practiced by the native priests of Kataragama temple betray Vedda ideals of propitiation. Hence they believe the area was of Vedda veneration that was taken over by the Buddhist and Hindus in the medieval period.[57]
Malaysia[edit]
Murugan is one of the most important deities worshipped by the Tamil Hindus in Malaysia and other South-East Asian countries such as Singapore and Indonesia. Thaipusam is one of the important festivals celebrated. Sri Subramanyar Temple at Batu Caves temple complex in Malaysia is dedicated to Murugan. Batu Caves in short also referred as 10th Caves or Hill for Lord Muruga as there are 6 important holy shrines in India and 4 more in Malaysia. The 3 others in Malaysia are
Kallumalai Temple in Ipoh
Arulmigu Balathandayuthapani Temple, Penang
Sannasimalai Temple in Malacca
Other important shrines like Mayilam, Sikkal, Marudamalai, Kundrathur, Vadapalani, Kandakottam, Thiruporur, Vallakottai, Viralimalai, Vayalur, Thirumalaikoil, Chennimalai, Sivanmalai, Pachaimalai, Thindal malai (Near Erode) and Pavalamalai near Gobichettipalayam.
Goddess Skandamata with son Skanda or Kartikeya on her lap, is worshipped as fifth form of Navadurga.
There are many temples dedicated to Subramanya in Kerala. Amongst them are Atiyambur Sri Subramanya Temple in Kanhangad Kasaragod, Payyannur Subramanya Swamy temple in Payyanur, Panmana Subramanya Swamy temple in Panmana and the Subramanya temple in Haripad. There is a temple in Skandagiri, Secunderabad, one in Bikkavolu, East Godavari district and one in Mopidevi,Krishna district in the state of Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka there is the Kukke Subramanya Temple where Murugan is worshipped as the Lord of the serpents. Malai Mandir, a prominent and popular temple complex in Delhi, is one of the few dedicated to Murugan in all of North India apart from the Pehowa temple in Haryana.
Thaipusam festivities near the Batu Caves, Malaysia.
The key temples in Sri Lanka include the sylvan shrine in Kataragama / (Kadirgamam) or Kathirkamam in the deep south, the temple in Tirukovil in the east, the shrine in Embekke in the Kandyan region and the famed Nallur Kandaswamy temple in Jaffna. There are several temples dedicated to Murugan in Malaysia, the most famous being the Batu Caves near Kuala Lumpur. There is a 42.7-m-high statue of Murugan at the entrance to the Batu Caves, which is the largest Lord Murugan statue in the world. Sri Thandayuthapani Temple in Tank Road, Singapore is a major Hindu temple where each year the Thaipusam festival takes place with devotees of Lord Muruga carrying Kavadis seeking penance and blessings of the Lord.
In the USA, Shiva Murugan Temple[63] in Concord, Northern California and Murugan Temple of North America[64] in Maryland, Washington DC region are popular. Thaipusam walk for Shiva Murugan Temple in Concord, USA is very popular and attracting many devotees from all over America. In Toronto, Canada, Canada Kanthasamy Temple is known amongst many Hindus in Canada. In Val-Morin, a suburb of the city of Montreal in Canada, there is a monumental temple of Murugan.
In the United Kingdom, Highgate Hill Murugan temple is one of the oldest and most famous. In London, Sri Murugan Temple in Manor park is a well-known temple. In Midlands, Leicester Shri Siva Murugan Temple[65] is gaining popularity recently. Skanda Vale[66] in West Wales was founded by Guruji, a Tamil devotee of Subramaniam, and its primary deity is Murugan. In Australia, Sydney Murugan temple in Parramatta (Mays Hill), Perth Bala Muruguan temple in Mandogalup and Kundrathu Kumaran temple in Rockbank, Melbourne are major Hindu temples for all Australian Hindus and Murugan devotees. In New Zealand, there is a Thirumurugan Temple in Auckland and a Kurinji Kumaran Temple in Wellington, both dedicated to Murugan.
The Sri Sivasubramaniar Temple, located in the Sihl Valley in Adliswil, is the most famous and largest Hindu temple in Switzerland.[67]
-italiano-
Rosa Garibaldi
Pia forte virtuos
Morta Il 19 Marzo 1852
Gli Emigrati di varie nazioni
Ed I Nicesi
Onorando della madre
L'incliro niglio
----
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Esta memoria
Posero
_.Curanti B.Bunico G. Deidery A. Zanetti
it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi
-français- (traduction libre)
Hommage de Giuseppe Garibaldi à sa mère :
Rosa Garibaldi
Pieuse, forte, vertueuse
Morte le 19 mars 1852
Émigrée de plusieurs nations
Et de Nice
Honorant la mère
(ilisible)
Giuseppe Garibaldi
En ta mémoire
Repose ici
_.Curanti B.Bunico G. Deidery A. Zanetti
fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi
www.kronobase.org/chronologie-categorie-Giuseppe+Garibald...
-English- (liberal translation)
Homage of Giuseppe Garibaldi to his mother:
Rosa Garibaldi
Devout, strong, virtuous,
Died March 19, 1852
Emigrant of several nations
And from Nice
Honoring the mother
(illegible)
Giuseppe Garibaldi
In your memory
Rest here
_.Curanti B.Bunico G. Deidery A. Zanetti
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giuseppe_Garibaldi
View from above:
wikimapia.org/#lang=fr&lat=43.698112&lon=7.280706...
Another point of view:
MAY 30: Solemnity of Saint Ferdinand
Glorious Patron of the Archdiocese of San Fernando, Pampanga
King of Leon and Castile, member of the Third Order of St. Francis, born in 1198 near Salamanca; died at Seville, 30 May, 1252. He was the son of Alfonso IX, King of Leon, and of Berengeria, the daughter of Alfonso III, King of Castile, and sister of Blanche, the mother of St. Louis IX.
In 1217 Ferdinand became King of Castile, which crown his mother renounced in his favour, and in 1230 he succeeded to the crown of Leon, though not without civil strife, since many were opposed to the union of the two kingdoms. He took as his counsellors the wisest men in the State, saw to the strict administration of justice, and took the greatest care not to overburden his subjects with taxation, fearing, as he said, the curse of one poor woman more than a whole army of Saracens.
Following his mother's advice, Ferdinand, in 1219, married Beatrice, the daughter of Philip of Swabia, King of Germany, one of the most virtuous princesses of her time. God blessed this union with seven children: six princes and one princess. The highest aims of Ferdinand's life were the propagation of the Faith and the liberation of Spain from the Saracen yoke. Hence his continual wars against the Saracens. He took from them vast territories, Granada and Alicante alone remaining in their power at the time of his death. In the most important towns he founded bishoprics, reestablished Catholic worship everywhere, built churches, founded monasteries, and endowed hospitals.
The greatest joys of his life were the conquests of Cordova (1236) and Seville (1248). He turned the great mosques of these places into cathedrals, dedicating them to the Blessed Virgin. He watched over the conduct of his soldiers, confiding more in their virtue than in their valour, fasted strictly himself, wore a rough hairshirt, and often spent his nights in prayer, especially before battles. Amid the tumult of the camp he lived like a religious in the cloister. The glory of the Church and the happiness of his people were the two guiding motives of his life.
He founded the University of Salamanca, the Athens of Spain. Ferdinand was buried in the great cathedral of Seville before the image of the Blessed Virgin, clothed, at his own request, in the habit of the Third Order of St. Francis. His body, it is said, remains incorrupt. Many miracles took place at his tomb, and Clement X canonized him in 1671. His feast is kept by the Minorites on the 30th of May.
I am at the TTI/Vanguard Next conference (agenda), with a sophisticated audience of tech executives from around the world. Of the topics I covered, the Q&A interest focused on iterative algorithms that will create an AI that exceeds human intelligence, much like biological evolution. (video)
Here are some of the related bullets from my slides:
Reed's Law applies to combinations of ideas as well as self-forming groups. It's the combinatorial explosion in the mating pool of ideas that creates perpetually accelerating progress.
Evolutionary algorithms allow us to build complex systems that exceed human understanding (synthetic biology, AI, innovative organizations), but there are some limitations to this approach:
• Subsystem Inscrutability
- Black box defined by its interfaces
- No “reverse evolution” (You can't run that algorithm backwards)
• No simple shortcuts across the iterations
- Simulation ~ Reality
- Beauty from irreducibility
• Locus of Learning is Process, not Product
• Robust, within co-evolutionary islands
“The greatest achievement of our technology may well be the creation of tools that allow us to go beyond engineering – that allow us to create more than we can understand.” — Danny Hillis
“We actually think quantum machine learning may provide the most creative
problem-solving process under the known laws of physics.” — Google Blog
AI implications:
• Cut & Paste Portability?
• Locus of learning: Process, not Product
- Would we bother to reverse engineer?
- No hard take off?
•Co-evolutionary islands
- accustomed environment (differential immunity)
• Path dependence
- algorithm survival
- AI = Alien Intelligence defined by sensory I/O
Accelerating Technological Change
- Interdisciplinary Renaissance
- IT innervates $T markets
- More Black Swans
- Perpetual driver of disruption
==> Virtuous cycle for entrepreneurs
==> a great time for the new
Comments from others that followed:
“The majority of financial reports are now compiled by machines, not people.”
“A lot of the great data scientists are born in Russia, and they have the attributes of creativity, tenacity and an ability to code.”
“When we asked 1000 people on Mechanical Turk to flip a coin, we got 65% heads, 28% tails, and 7% typos. Many of them clearly did not actually flip a coin.”
“Imagine the sociological impact of crowdsourcing – what if you could create IBM for an afternoon and then disperse it? We might get cyber-Taylorism if we don’t think about doing it right.”
“Competition will be critical to the wisdom of crowds.”
Combinatorial Creativity: “Combinatorial search spaces are vast and the fastest supercomputers can not penetrate too deeply into them. Nevertheless, they may be able to penetrate several levels deeper than any person can, and thereby find superb creative acts that mankind did not or could not think of.”
Pointer to CHM video on the history of AI.
Photos by Ed Jay
The Balinese classify the masks of heroes, clowns, and low spirits according to their qualities. The dashing heroes (often incarnation of gods), beautiful queens, and virtuous kings are describe as halus, a Balinese word meaning “sweet,” “gentle,” and “refined.” Low spirits, animals, and brutish types, including antagonist kings, are referred to as keras, or “strong,” “rough,” and “forceful.” There are certain distinctions in between, which usually encompass the clowns and servants.
The Iron Academy sword was forged by David DelaGardelle for the Iron Academy school, a school based out of Raleigh North Carolina that was founded to help craft young men into honorable, virtuous, humble, and Godly leaders for future generations.
Crafted to be large, powerful, imposing, yet precisely balanced and swift moving in the hand of its wielder. The blade was forged and hand ground out of high carbon 1075 steel, with mild steel blued fittings and a walnut wood core grip wrapped with veggie tanned blood red leather.
The overall design is a hybrid blend of many late medieval Northern European swords, while still having its own distinctive bold voice in its design and aesthetics.
Crafted to inspire and empower its wielder with strength and responsibility, no matter how young or old the wielding warrior of the sword may be.
Down the length of the fullers the hand engraved phrases read:
"Live Pure, Speak True, Right Wrong, Follow The King."
And on the other side:
"Iron Academy - Because Biblical Manhood Is Never An Accident"
Stats:
OAL: 43"
Blade length: 32 1/2"
Blade Width: 2"
Grip Length: 8 1/2"
Balance point: 2 1/4" from the guard
Blade Steel: 1075 high carbon
Fittings: Blued Mild Steel
Grip: Wooden core with Veggie Tanned Leather Wrap
"The godless say to themselves, with their misguided reasoning:
...'Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us
and opposes our way of life,
reproaches us for our breaches of the law
and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing.
He claims to have knowledge of God,
and calls himself a son of the Lord.
Before us he stands, a reproof to our way of thinking,
the very sight of him weighs our spirits down;
his way of life is not like other men’s,
the paths he treads are unfamiliar.
In his opinion we are counterfeit;
he holds aloof from our doings as though from filth;
he proclaims the final end of the virtuous as happy
and boasts of having God for his father.
Let us see if what he says is true,
let us observe what kind of end he himself will have.
If the virtuous man is God’s son, God will take his part
and rescue him from the clutches of his enemies.
Let us test him with cruelty and with torture,
and thus explore this gentleness of his
and put his endurance to the proof.
Let us condemn him to a shameful death
since he will be looked after – we have his word for it.’"
– Wisdom 2:1. 13-20, which is part of today's 1st reading in Mass.
Stained glass detail from the east window, c.1540 of King's College Chapel, Cambridge. The window is thought to be by Gaylon Hone.
French postcard by Cinémagazine-Edition, Paris, no. 358. Photo: Evans, L.A.
Clean-cut, sensitive Lloyd Hughes (1897- 1958) was an American actor of both the silent and sound film eras. He appeared in such silent classics as Tess of the Storm Country (1921), The Sea Hawk (1924), and The Lost World (1925).
Lloyd Hughes was born in Bisbee, Arizona, in 1897. Hughes received his education at the Los Angeles Polytechnic School. He sought a career as an actor early in life, and one of his first film appearances was a bit part in the silent drama Old Wives for New (Cecil B. DeMille, 1918). His clean-cut appearance and acting ability soon gained him recognition. he had bigger roles in The Turn in the Road (King Cidor, 1919), The Haunted Bedroom (Fred Niblo, 1919), and The Virtuous Thief (Fred Niblo, 1919) with Enid Bennett. His first role as a leading man was in Dangerous Hours (Fred Niblo, 1919), which tells the story of an attempted Russian infiltration of the American industry. He had his breakthrough opposite Mary Pickford in the melodrama Tess of the Storm Country (John S. Robertson, 1921). Other roles included Love Never Dies (King Vidor, 1921) opposite Madge Bellamy, Mother o' Mine (Fred Niblo, 1921) with Betty Blythe, and Children of Dust (Frank Borzage, 1923). A huge success was the adventure film The Sea Hawk (Frank Lloyd, 1924) about an English noble (Milton Sills) sold into slavery who escapes and turns himself into a pirate king. In this screen adaptation of the 1915 Rafael Sabatini novel of the same name, Hughes played his malicious half brother. When the film was released, the New York Times critic called it: "far and away the best sea story that's yet been done up to that point". Another success was the silent fantasy The Lost World (Harry O. Hoyt, 1925) adapted from Arthur Conan Doyle's 1912 novel of the same name, and starring Wallace Beery as Professor Challenger. It featured pioneering stop motion special effects by Willis O'Brien, a forerunner of his work on the original King Kong. Hughes appeared opposite Mae Murray in the romance Valencia, (Dimitri Buchowetzki, 1926). The film was another box office hit and the title song, 'Valencia', was the top song in the U.S. for the year. Then followed a series of romantic comedies and dramas with Colleen Moore, Mary Astor, and Billie Dove.
Lloyd Hughes made the transition to sound and worked as an actor through the late 1930s. With Lionel Barrymore, he acted in the Science-Fiction film The Mysterious Island (Lucien Hubbard, 1929) based on Jules Verne's 1874 novel L'Île mystérieuse (The Mysterious Island). It was photographed largely in two-color Technicolor and released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as a part-talkie. Then he co-starred with John Barrymore in the film, Moby Dick (Lloyd Bacon, 1930), the first adaption film of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby Dick which includes a soundtrack. he had a supporting part in the pre-Code drama The Miracle Man (Norman Z. McLeod, 1932) starring Sylvia Sidney. His films soon became less prestigious. he appeared in B-films like Midnight Phantom (Bernard B. Ray, 1935) by Reliable Pictures and Kelly of the Secret Service (Robert F. Hill, 1936) by Victory Pictures. In Australia, he appeared in a couple of films including the drama The Broken Melody (Ken G. Hall, 1938). After a supporting part in the adventure film Romance of the Redwoods (Charles Vidor, 1939), his film career was over. Hughes had met his wife, Gloria Hope, on the set of Tess of the Storm Country. The couple had two children: a son, Donald Reid Hughes (1926), and a daughter, Isabel Francies Hughes (1932). Lloyd Hughes died in 1958 in San Gabriel, California. He was 60.
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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Gravestones with 3 small 17c stones in front
"Daniel Wragg late of Brackenfield, who departed this life November 5th 1878 aged 63 years . "
"Here lieth the body of Samuel Wragg who departed this life July the 20th 1752 aged 74 years"
"Here lieth the body of Anna Brigg wife of Matthew Brigg , who departed this life December the 11th 1762 aged 69 years"
"Sacred to the memory of Millicent the wife of Anthony Bown of Macclesfield, and youngest daughter of the late Samuel Wragg of Brackenfield . She departed this life August 8th 1825 aged 57 years. Also Anthony Bown died March 8th 1828 aged 57 years
A virtuous wife, a tender parent. and much esteemed by all that knew her
The dearest friends in life, they soon must part though so united both in soul and heart"
"Here lieth the body of Nathan Heald who departed this life December 2nd 1776 aged 41 years
Farewell dear wife, my life is past , My love to you so long did last
So pray no sorrow for me make, but love my children for my sake"
"In memory of John Heald who died March ....... aged 59 years" - Church of the Holy Cross, Morton Derbyshire
Fountains Abbey is one of the largest and best preserved ruined Cistercian monasteries in England. It is located approximately 3 miles (5 km) south-west of Ripon in North Yorkshire, near to the village of Aldfield. Founded in 1132, the abbey operated for 407 years, becoming one of the wealthiest monasteries in England until its dissolution, by order of Henry VIII, in 1539.
In 1983, Studley Royal Park including the ruins of Fountains Abbey was purchased by the National Trust. The abbey is maintained by English Heritage.
After a dispute and riot in 1132 at the Benedictine house of St Mary's Abbey in York, 13 monks were expelled, among them Saint Robert of Newminster. They were taken under the protection of Thurstan, Archbishop of York, who provided them with land in the valley of the River Skell, a tributary of the Ure. The enclosed valley had all the natural features needed for the creation of a monastery, providing shelter from the weather, stone and timber for building, and a supply of running water. The six springs that watered the site inspired the monks to give it the name of Fountains.
After enduring a harsh winter in 1133, the monks applied to join the Cistercian order, which since the end of the previous century had been a fast-growing reform movement and by the beginning of the 13th century had more than 500 houses. In 1135 Fountains became the second Cistercian house in northern England, after Rievaulx. The monks of Fountains became subject to Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy, which was under the rule of St Bernard. Under the guidance of Geoffrey of Ainai, a monk sent from Clairvaux, the group learned how to celebrate the seven Canonical Hours according to Cistercian usage and were shown how to construct wooden buildings in accordance with Cistercian practice.
According to archaeologist Glyn Coppack, after Henry Murdac was elected abbot in 1143 the small stone church and timber claustral buildings were replaced; the new church was similar in plan to the church at Vauclair Abbey that Murdac had previously commissioned. Within three years an aisled nave had been added to the stone church, and the first permanent claustral buildings, built in stone and roofed in tile, had been completed.
In 1146 an angry mob, annoyed at Murdac because of his role in opposing the election of William FitzHerbert as archbishop of York, attacked the abbey and burned down all but the church and some surrounding buildings. The community recovered swiftly from the attack and founded four daughter houses. Henry Murdac resigned as abbot in 1147 upon becoming archbishop of York. He was replaced first by Maurice, Abbot of Rievaulx (1147-8), then, on the resignation of Maurice, by Thorald (1148-50). Thorald was forced by the now archbishop, Henry Murdac, to resign after two years in office.
The next abbot, Richard, who held the post until his death in 1170, restored the abbey's stability and prosperity. During his 20 years as abbot he supervised an extensive building programme that involved completing repairs to the damaged church and building more accommodation for the increasing number of recruits. At his death, the chapter house was completed, and the new church almost finished. The work was continued by his successor, Robert of Pipewell. Pipewell was considered a benevolent and virtuous abbot by William Grainge, writing in the nineteenth century.
The next abbot was William of Newminster, a noted ascetic, who presided over the abbey from 1180 to 1190. He was succeeded by Ralph Haget, who had entered Fountains at the age of 30 as a novice after pursuing a military career. Prior to his abbacy at Fountains, from 1182 to 1190/1 he was abbot of Kirkstall Abbey. During the European famine of 1194 the abbey provided support for six months to local people in the form of food, shelter and spiritual care. Famine was joined by the spread of disease, and the abbey helped those who needed treatment. During the late thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries, the north of England was subject to increased taxation, Fountains Abbey included. According to William Grainge, writing in Annals of a Yorkshire Abbey: A Popular History of the Famous Monastery of Fountains, the taxation of temporal goods had reduced from £343 in 1292, to £243 in 1318. Grainge interprets this reduction as evidence for detriment to the estate of the abbey. By 1330s, the abbey was no longer working to surplus, but having to borrow money.
During the first half of the 13th century Fountains increased in reputation and prosperity under the next three abbots, John of York (1203–1211), John of Hessle (1211–1220) and John of Kent (1220–1247). These three abbots managed to complete another expansion of the abbey's buildings, which included enlarging the church and building an infirmary.
By the second half of the 13th century the abbey was in more straitened circumstances. It was presided over by eleven abbots, and became financially unstable largely due to forward selling its wool crop, and the abbey was criticised for its dire material and physical state when it was visited by Archbishop John le Romeyn in 1294. The run of disasters that befell the community continued into the early 14th century when northern England was invaded by the Scots and there were further demands for taxes. The culmination of these misfortunes was the Black Death of 1348–1349. The loss of manpower and income due to the ravages of the plague was almost ruinous.
A further complication arose as a result of the Papal Schism of 1378–1409. Fountains Abbey and other English Cistercian houses were told to break off contact with the mother house of Citeaux, which supported a rival pope. This resulted in the abbots forming their own chapter to rule the order in England. They became increasingly involved in internecine politics. In 1410, following the death of Abbot Burley of Fountains, the community was riven by several years of turmoil over the election of his successor. Contending candidates John Ripon - Abbot of Meaux and Roger Frank a monk of Fountains, were locked in conflict until 1416 when Ripon was finally appointed, ruling until his death in 1434.
Fountains regained some stability and prosperity under abbots John Greenwell (1442–1471), Thomas Swinton (1471–1478), and John Darnton (1478–1495), who undertook some much needed restoration of the fabric of the abbey, including notable work on the church. During Greenwell's abbacy, he reduced the debts of the abbey by 100 marks, and survived what was characterised as a poisoning attempt by a monk called William Downom. Swinton kept a detailed 'Memorandum Book', which provides exceptional detail on the life of the abbey during his abbacy. Marmaduke Huby (1495–1526) expanded the number of monks from twenty-two to fifty-two, and undertook a building programme which included a new tower at the north end of the transept and extending the infirmary. Known to visitors as Huby's Tower, it was decorated with the abbot's insignia, as well as religious texts.
At Abbot Huby's death he was succeeded by William Thirsk, who was accused by the royal commissioners of immorality and inadequacy, was dismissed as abbot, retired to Jervaulx Abbey, and was later hanged for his involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace. He was replaced by Marmaduke Bradley, a monk of the abbey who had reported Thirsk's supposed offences and testified against him. Furthermore Bradley paid 600 marks to essentially buy the abbacy for himself. In 1539 it was Bradley who surrendered the abbey when its seizure was ordered under Henry VIII at the dissolution of the monasteries.