[Steppes] Period Week in Review 10-22-2006 through 10-28-2006

[Mike]

Heilsa,

October 22nd:
Modern Day
Welsh
Medieval Hall discovers in Barn
Experts are urging property owners in Wales to help them discover
buildings with historical value to preserve the nation's heritage.
The call came after a couple from Hengoed in Denbighshire
discovered one of their outbuildings was originally a 15th century
medieval hall house. Historians have dated the building using
dendrochronology - the analysis of tree rings in timbers - to 1447.
     Anthony and Helen Rose bought their 21-acre smallholding near
Ruthin in 2003. Mr. Rose said although they did not realise its true
significance, the building was one of the things that had attracted
them. "We were told it was the original farmhouse, but it wasn't listed
or anything... you could tell it was a substantial building, it was
quite dramatic," he said.
     The couple discovered the building's history when they had
become concerned about the leaning trusses and called in a
structural engineer, who had alerted a local architect.
     Mr. Rose said many original features of the hall house were still
evident, including the remains of a window. "The important part is
the woodwork, the five crucks are still there. What is impressive
are the size of crucks, they are very big, heavy substantial cruck
trusses (a roof truss composed of two curved or angled pieces
of timber).
     National Trust archaeologist Emma Plunkett-Dillon said the find
was "extremely rare" as hall houses were built by wealthy people,
and at the time, Wales was a relatively poor country. But she said it
was not uncommon to find examples of domestic dwellings which
were built slightly later in the 17th or early 18th Century.

October 23rd
Modern Day
Czech National Library to Digitize Rare Documents
A team of experts at the Czech National Library, housed in a
converted Baroque monastery, is working to produce digitized
copies of rare documents including medieval manuscripts.
The digitalization technique developed for the project was so
good that it has become the accepted standard for UNESCO.
    "We have two digital libraries," said Stepan Cernohorsky of AIP
the company which is responsible for the technical part of the
project. "One contains manuscripts, old printed books and maps
and the other one, called 'Kramerius' after the first newspaper
publisher in Prague, contains digitised periodicals. Of course,
there are some problems for the outside user to use some files
because in Kramerius we have a lot of documents that are under
copyright. So we must respect the copyright law. So in this way
some more recent works are accessible only in the library or in
libraries that hold the originals. The free works are accessible
everywhere. In the first digital library is called Manuscriptorium,
there we have some licensing policy that's now going to be
reshaped and it will be a bit more free for access."

To read the complete article click on the link below:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/73025


October 24th:
Portugal  1501 - 1600
On October 24th, 1503 - Isabella of Portugal, queen of Spain and
empress of Germany, wife of Charles I of Spain.
    Isabella of Portugal was a Portuguese Infanta who lived in the the
16th Century and a member of the House of Aviz. Upon her
marriage, Isabella also became an Empress of the Holy Roman
Empire and Queen of Spain.
    Isabella was the second child and eldest daughter of Manuel I of
Portugal and his second wife, Infanta Maria of Castile and Aragon.
She was named after her maternal grandmother, Isabella I of
Castile and her aunt Isabella, Princess of Asturias, who had been
her father's first wife. Through her father, she was a granddaughter of
Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu (the second son of king Edward of
Portugal and brother of Afonso V of Portugal) and Infanta Beatrice,
the daughter of John, Duke of Aveiro (brother of king Edward).
Through her mother she was a granddaughter of Isabella I of Castile
and Ferdinand II of Aragon.
     Isabella was second-in-line to the throne until the birth of her
brother Louis in 1505. However, as the oldest daughter of Manuel
I of Portugal, she was a rather attractive party. From young age
she was destined to marry her first cousin, Charles, the son of
Joan I of Spain and Philip of Habsburg, Duke of Burgundy and the
heir to the crowns of Spain, Burgundy and the Holy Roman Empire.
     In 1521 Isabella's father died and her brother succeded the throne
as king John III. The marriage negotiations between the Portuguese
and Spanish began almost immediately. It was agreed that the new
king would marry Catherine of Habsburg, Charles V's younger sister.
The union between Charles and Isabella only took place three years
later, by procuration in 1525. The Infanta travelled to Seville where
the wedding took place in March 1526. With Isabella also came a
huge dowry to the Spanish finances. Although it was a political union,
the marriage proved to be a love-match. Records say that during their
honeymoon "when [Charles and Isabella] are together, atough there
are many people around, they do not notice anyone else; they talk and
laugh, and nothing else distracts them."
    

October 25th:
Modern Day
England        Unesco warning on Tower of London
The Tower of London is on the verge of being placed on the United
Nation's Heritage in Danger List, Unesco has said.
    The UN's cultural organisation fears the 900-year-old Tower has
become overshadowed by skyscrapers which are threatening
its historical value. New developments "appear not to respect" the
tower's location, it said. Experts are visiting the UK to assess
threats to the tower and other sites like Liverpool's Waterfront.
They will also look at the Houses of Parliament and Westminster
Abbey.
     The Tower of London, built by William the Conqueror, is among
830 sites across the world which have been granted World
Heritage Site status by Unesco.
      World Heritage Committee member Kishore Rao told BBC
Radio 4's Today programme: "If you have modern buildings
coming up all around it and people - pedestrians - can't view a
certain historic building against the skyline or in relation to other
historic buildings in the vicinity, then it loses the value.
      "You don't only maintain the authenticity of the site - that means
that the structure itself is not damaged or modified - but also that it
is presented in its historical context."
       Neville Shulman, a member of the UK Culture Committee for
Unesco, said: "Once you lose the views, you start to lose the
intrinsic value of the buildings and suddenly people start to think
about demolishing, altering, changing in many different ways."
       The leader of Liverpool City Council, Warren Bradley, said he
had had positive discussions with the inspectors when they visited
the city this week.
       "Next July we'll get a full report back," he said.
       "I'm very confident that what they'll say is what we want to hear,
that is carry on Liverpool, carry on regenerating, carry on building
on the back of World Heritage site status and we'll see you in
the future."
       Unesco has asked the UK to submit a report of its efforts to
protect the Tower of London by February 2007. 

October 26th:
England  0801 - 0900
October 26th, 0899  - Alfred the Great died at age 50. Alfred was
king of the southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Wessex from 871 to
899. Alfred is famous for his defence of the kingdom against the
Danish Vikings, becoming the only English monarch awarded the
epithet 'the Great'. Alfred was also the first King of the West Saxons
to style himself 'King of the Anglo-Saxons'. Details of his life are
known from a work by the Welsh scholar, Asser.
     Alfred was born sometime between 847 and 849 at Wantage in
the present-day ceremonial county of Oxfordshire (though historically
speaking in the traditional county of Berkshire). He was the fourth
son, and fifth child, of King Ethelwulf of Wessex, by his first wife,
Osburga. A learned man, Alfred encouraged education and improved
the kingdom's law system.
     In 868, Alfred, fighting beside his brother Ethelred, unsuccessfully
attempted to keep the invading Danes out of the adjoining kingdom
of Mercia. For nearly two years, Wessex itself was spared attacks;
but, at the end of 870, the Danes arrived in his home land. The year
that followed has been called "Alfred's year of battles". Nine general
engagements were fought with varying fortunes, though the place
and date of two of them have not been recorded. In Berkshire, a
successful skirmish at the Battle of Englefield, on 31 December 870,
was followed by a severe defeat at the Siege and Battle of Reading,
on 4 January 871, and then, four days later, a brilliant victory at the
Battle of Ashdown on the Berkshire Downs, possibly near Compton
or Aldworth. Alfred is particularly credited with the success of this
latter conflict. However, later that month, on 22 January, the English
were again defeated at Basing and, on the following 22 March at
'Merton' (perhaps Marden in Wiltshire or Martin in Dorset). Two
unidentified battles may also have occurred in between.
     In April 871, King Ethelred died, probably from wounds received
at the Battle of Merton. Alfred succeeded to the throne of Wessex
and the burden of its defence, despite the fact that Ethelred left two
young sons. Although contemporary turmoil meant the accession
of Alfred - an adult with military experience and patronage
resources -- over his nephews went unchallenged, he remained
obliged to secure their property rights. While he was busy with the
burial and ceremonies for his brother, the Danes defeated the
English in his absence at an unnamed spot, and then again in his
presence at Wilton in the May. After this, peace was made and,
for the next five years, the Danes were occupied in other parts of
England. However, in 876, under their new leader, Guthrum, the
enemy slipped past the English army and attacked Wareham in
Dorset. From there, early in 877, and under the pretext of talks,
they moved westwards and took Exeter in Devon. There, Alfred
blockaded them and, a relieving fleet having been scattered by a
storm, the Danes were forced to submit. They withdrew to Mercia,
but, in January 878, made a sudden attack on Chippenham, a royal
stronghold in which Alfred had been staying over Christmas, "and
most of the people they reduced, except the King Alfred, and he
with a little band made his way by wood and swamp, and after
Easter he made a fort at Athelney, and from that fort kept fighting
against the foe."
     This supposedly led to the Battle of Edington, near Westbury in
Wiltshire. The result was a decisive victory for Alfred. The Danes
submitted and, according to Asser, Guthrum, and twenty-nine of
his chief men, received baptism when they signed the Treaty of
Wedmore. As a result, England became split in two: the
south-western half kept by the Saxons and the north-eastern half
including London, thence known as the Danelaw, by the Vikings.
By the following year (879), not only Wessex, but also Mercia,
west of Watling Street, was cleared of the invaders.
      The tide had turned. For the next few years there was peace,
the Danes being kept busy in Europe. A landing in Kent in 884 or
885 close to Plucks Gutter, though successfully repelled,
encouraged the East Anglian Danes to rise up. The measures taken
by Alfred to repress this uprising culminated in the taking of London
in 885 or 886, and an agreement was reached between Alfred and
Guthrum, known as the Treaty of Alfred and Guthrum. Once more,
for a time, there was a lull, but in the autumn of 892 or 893, the
Danes attacked again. Finding their position in Europe somewhat
precarious, they crossed to England in 330 ships in two divisions.
They entrenched themselves, the larger body at Appledore, Kent,
and the lesser, under Haesten, at Milton also in Kent. The invaders
brought their wives and children with them, indicating a meaningful
attempt at conquest and colonization.
     Alfred had been on his way to relieve his son at Thorney when he
heard that the Northumbrian and East Anglian Danes were besieging
Exeter and an unnamed stronghold on the North Devon shore. Alfred
at once hurried westward and raised the Siege of Exeter. The fate of
the other place is not recorded. Meanwhile the force under Haesten
set out to march up the Thames Valley, possibly with the idea of
assisting their friends in the west. But they were met by a large force
under the three great ealdormen of Mercia, Wiltshire and Somerset,
and made to head off to the north-west, being finally overtaken and
blockaded at Buttington. Some identify with Buttington Tump at the
mouth of the Wye River, others with Buttington near Welshpool. An
attempt to break through the English lines was defeated. Those
who escaped retreated to Shoebury. Then after collecting
reinforcements they made a sudden dash across England and
occupied the ruined Roman walls of Chester. The English did not
attempt a winter blockade, but contented themselves with destroying
all the supplies in the neighbourhood. Early in 894 (or 895), want of
food obliged the Danes to retire once more to Essex. At the end of
this year and early in 895 (or 896), the Danes drew their ships up the
Thames and Lea and fortified themselves twenty miles above
London. A direct attack on the Danish lines failed, but later in the
year, Alfred saw a means of obstructing the river so as to prevent
the egress of the Danish ships. The Danes realised that they were
out-maneuvred. They struck off north-westwards and wintered at
Bridgenorth. The next year, 896 (or 897), they gave up the struggle.
Some retired to Northumbria, some to East Anglia. Those who had
no connections in England withdrew to the Continent. The long
campaign was over.
     In 868, Alfred married Ealhswith, daughter of Aethelred Mucill,
who is called Ealdorman of the Gaini, the people from the
Gainsborough region of Lincolnshire. She appears to have been the
maternal granddaughter of a King of Mercia. They had five or six
children together, including Edward the Elder who succeeded his
father and Ethelfleda, who would become Queen of Mercia in her own right.
    How he died is unknown. He was originally buried temporarily in the
Old Minster in Winchester, then moved to the New Minster (perhaps
built especially to receive his body). When the New Minster moved to
Hyde, a little north of the city, in 1110, the monks transferred to
Hyde Abbey along with Alfred's body.
    
October 27th:
Netherlands  1401 -1500
On October 27th, 1466 - Erasmus, Dutch humanist and theologian,
born.
     Desiderius Erasmus Roterodamus (also Desiderius Erasmus
of Rotterdam) was a Dutch humanist and theologian. Erasmus was
a classical scholar who wrote in a "pure" Latin style. Although
Erasmus remained a Roman Catholic throughout his lifetime, he
harshly criticised what he considered excesses of the Roman
Catholic Church and even turned down a Cardinalship when it was
offered to him.
     Erasmus was born with the name Gerrit Gerritszoon (Dutch for
Gerhard Gerhardson) in or about 1466, probably in Rotterdam,
although recent discoveries suggest he was actually born in Gouda,
the Netherlands[citation needed]. Although associated closely with
this city, he lived there for only four years, never to return. Information
on his family and early life comes mainly from vague references in
his writings. He was almost certainly illegitimate. His father later
became a priest named Roger Gerard. Little is known of his
mother other than the fact that her name was Margaret and she was
the daughter of a physician. Despite being illegitimate, Erasmus was
cared for by his parents until their early deaths from the plague in
1483, and then given the best education available to a young man o
f his day in a series of monastic or semi-monastic schools.
In 1487 Erasmus became deeply attached to a young man,
Servatius Rogerus, whom he called "half my soul", writing
"I have wooed you both unhappily and relentlessly."

October 28th:
Western Roman Empire  0301 - 0400
On October 28th, 0 312 - Roman Emperor Constantine the Great
defeated Maxentius in the Battle of Milvian Bridge, ending the
Tetrarchy. According to legends, he credited his victory to the god of
the Christians.
     The underlying cause of the battle was the five-year-long dispute
between Constantine and Maxentius over control of the Western
Roman Empire. Although Constantine was the son of the western
emperor Constantius Chlorus, the system in place at the time, the
tetrarchy, did not necessarily provide for hereditary succession.
When Constantius died on July 25, 306, his father's troops
proclaimed Constantine as Augustus. In Rome, the favorite was
Maxentius, the son of Constantius' predecessor Maximian, who
was made emperor on October 28 of the same year.
      In the spring of 312, Constantine gathered his forces and
decided to settle the dispute by force. He easily overran northern
Italy, and reached Rome at the end of October 312 on the Via
Flaminia. He camped at the location of Malborghetto near Prima
Porta, where remains of a Constantinian monument in honour of
the occasion are still extant.
      The next day, the two armies clashed, and Constantine emerged
victorious. Already known as a skillful general, Constantine began to
push Maxentius' army back toward the Tiber, and Maxentius
decided to retreat and make another stand at Rome itself. But there
was only one escape route, via the bridge, and Constantine's men
inflicted heavy losses on the retreating army. Finally, the provisional
bridge set up alongside the Milvian Bridge, over which many of the
troops were escaping, collapsed, and those men stranded on the
north bank of the Tiber were either taken prisoner or killed.
Maxentius was among the dead, having drowned in the river while
trying to swim across it in a desperate bid to escape. His body
was found and his head paraded through the city during
Constantine's entry into Rome as proof of his death.
     It is commonly stated that on the evening of October 27, with the
armies preparing for battle, Constantine had a vision which lead
him to fight under the protection of the Christian God. The
details of that vision, however, differ between the sources
reporting it.
     Constantine entered Rome the next day and was acclaimed as
sole Western Roman Augustus. He disbanded the 300-year-old
Praetorian Guard. In 313, Constantine and Licinius joined forces
against Maximinus. Their alliance would lead to the Edict of Milan,
which legalized all religions within the Empire. Many still
erroneously believe today that this decree established Christianity
as the sole faith of Rome, a change which didn't take place until
the early 390s, under Theodosius I. Instead, the Edict abandoned
the persecution of Christians and restituted their property.

YIS,
Lord Michael Kettering