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Courtenay Compendium
The Courtenay Compendium (now Copenhagen, Royal Danish Library, Acc. 2011/5) is a medieval English manuscript containing a miscellany of historical texts. It contains three blocks of texts. The first concerns British and English history. The second has an oriental focus and contains accounts of Europeans in China, the Crusades, Islam and the rise of the Mongols. The third contains prophecies. Provenance The manuscript is of the late 14th century. It was probably created at Breamore Priory in Hampshire. It was acquired by the Earls of Devon of the House of Courtenay, whence its name. It was rediscovered in the archives of Powderham Castle in Devon during the time of the 18th earl, Hugh Courtenay. On 3 December 2008, it was auctioned by Sotheby's to a private dealer, who sold it at auction to the Royal Danish Library in March 2010. Physical description The compendium consists of 230 parchment leaves bound as a codex and measuring . Its contents are written entirely in the same ha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtenay Gildas
Courtenay may refer to: Places Australia * Courtenay, Western Australia Canada * Courtenay, British Columbia, a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island * Courtenay River, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia France * Courtenay, Isère, a ''commune'' in the Isère ''département'' * Courtenay, Loiret, a ''commune'' in the Loiret ''département'' New Zealand * Courtenay, New Zealand, a locality in the Selwyn District * Courtenay (New Zealand electorate), a former electorate in Canterbury, based on the locality of the same name * Courtenay River, the short-lived European name of the Waimakariri River United States * Courtenay, North Dakota, a city in Stutsman County * Courtenay, Florida, an unincorporated community in Brevard County People * Courtenay (surname) Given name Courtenay is a given name variant of Courtney. Notable people with the name include: Male * Courtenay Bartholomew (born 1931), Irish physician and scientist * Courtenay Bennett (1855–1973), British dipl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Court Hand
Court hand (also common law hand, Anglicana, cursiva antiquior, charter hand) was a style of handwriting used in medieval English law courts, and later by professionals such as lawyers and clerks. "It is noticeably upright and packed together with exaggeratedly long ascenders and descenders, the latter often and the former occasionally brought round in sweeping crescent shaped curves". The hand took its name from the fact that it was particularly associated with formal records of the courts of Common Pleas and King's (or Queen's) Bench, although its use was not confined to them. In the 17th and 18th centuries the writing became increasingly stylised, to the point that it was virtually illegible to any reader unfamiliar with its conventions. The hand was banned from English law courts in 1731 by the Proceedings in Courts of Justice Act (4 Geo. II, c. 26), which required that, with effect from 25 March 1733, court proceedings "shall be written in such a common legible Hand and Cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marco Polo
Marco Polo (, , ; 8 January 1324) was a Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known as ''Book of the Marvels of the World '' and ''Il Milione'', ), a book that described to Europeans the then mysterious culture and inner workings of the Eastern world, including the wealth and great size of the Mongol Empire and China in the Yuan Dynasty, giving their first comprehensive look into China, Persia, India, Japan and other Asian cities and countries. Born in Venice, Marco learned the mercantile trade from his father and his uncle, Niccolò and Maffeo, who travelled through Asia and met Kublai Khan. In 1269, they returned to Venice to meet Marco for the first time. The three of them embarked on an epic journey to Asia, exploring many places along the Silk Road until they reached Cathay (China). They were received by the royal court of Kublai Khan, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Explicit (text)
The explicit (from Latin ''explicitus est'', "it is unrolled", as applied to scrolls) of a text or document is either a final note indicating the end of the text and often including information about its place, date and authorship or else the final few words of the text itself. In the first case, it is similar to a colophon but always appearing at the end of the text. In the second case, it corresponds to the incipit The incipit () of a text is the first few words of the text, employed as an identifying label. In a musical composition, an incipit is an initial sequence of notes, having the same purpose. The word ''incipit'' comes from Latin and means "it beg ..., the first few words of a text. References Latin literary phrases {{lit-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Encomium Emmae Reginae
''Encomium Emmae Reginae'' or ''Gesta Cnutonis Regis'' is an 11th-century Latin encomium in honour of the English queen Emma of Normandy. It was written in 1041 or 1042, probably by a monk of Saint-Omer, Normandy. Manuscripts Until 2008, it was believed that there was just a single manuscript surviving from that time. Kept in the British Library, it is lavishly illustrated, and believed to be the copy sent to Queen Emma or a close reproduction of that copy. One leaf has been lost from the manuscript in modern times, but its text survives in late paper copies. Then a new manuscript, the Courtenay Compendium, was found in the papers of the 18th Earl of Devon at the Devon Record Office. This version, however, is believed to have been compiled in 1043, around two years after the other surviving text. It adds detail to the content, showing the rise and succession of Edward the Confessor in a very positive light. The first manuscript offers him just a fleeting mention. The new m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
De Excidio Britanniae
''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'' ( la, On the Ruin and Conquest of Britain, sometimes just ''On the Ruin of Britain'') is a work written in Latin by the 6th-century AD British cleric St Gildas. It is a sermon in three parts condemning the acts of Gildas' contemporaries, both secular and religious, whom he blames for the dire state of affairs in sub-Roman Britain. It is one of the most important sources for the history of Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, as it is the only significant source for the period written by a near contemporary of the people and events described. Part I contains a narrative of British history from the Roman conquest to Gildas' time; it includes references to Ambrosius Aurelianus and the Britons' victory against the Saxons at the Battle of Mons Badonicus. Part II is a condemnation of five kings for their various sins, including both obscure figures and relatively well-documented ones such as Maelgwn Gwynedd. Part III is a similar attack upon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gildas
Gildas (Breton: ''Gweltaz''; c. 450/500 – c. 570) — also known as Gildas the Wise or ''Gildas Sapiens'' — was a 6th-century British monk best known for his scathing religious polemic ''De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae'', which recounts the history of the Britons before and during the coming of the Saxons. He is one of the best-documented figures of the Christian church in the British Isles during the sub-Roman period, and was renowned for his Biblical knowledge and literary style. In his later life, he emigrated to Brittany where he founded a monastery known as St Gildas de Rhuys. Hagiography Differing versions of the ''Life of Saint Gildas'' exist, but both agree that he was born in what is now Scotland on the banks of the River Clyde, and that he was the son of a royal family. These works were written in the eleventh and twelfth centuries and are regarded by scholars as unhistorical. He is now thought to have his origins farther south. In his own work, he claims to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Historia Regum Britanniae
''Historia regum Britanniae'' (''The History of the Kings of Britain''), originally called ''De gestis Britonum'' (''On the Deeds of the Britons''), is a pseudohistorical account of British history, written around 1136 by Geoffrey of Monmouth. It chronicles the lives of the kings of the Britons over the course of two thousand years, beginning with the Trojans founding the British nation and continuing until the Anglo-Saxons assumed control of much of Britain around the 7th century. It is one of the central pieces of the Matter of Britain. Although taken as historical well into the 16th century, it is now considered to have no value as history. When events described, such as Julius Caesar's invasions of Britain, can be corroborated from contemporary histories, Geoffrey's account can be seen to be wildly inaccurate. It remains, however, a valuable piece of medieval literature, which contains the earliest known version of the story of King Lear and his three daughters, and helped ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth ( la, Galfridus Monemutensis, Galfridus Arturus, cy, Gruffudd ap Arthur, Sieffre o Fynwy; 1095 – 1155) was a British cleric from Monmouth, Wales and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. He is best known for his chronicle ''The History of the Kings of Britain'' ( la, De gestis Britonum or ') which was widely popular in its day, being translated into other languages from its original Latin. It was given historical credence well into the 16th century, but is now considered historically unreliable. Biography Geoffrey was born between about 1090 and 1100, in Wales or the Welsh Marches. He had reached the age of majority by 1129 when he is recorded as witnessing a charter. Geoffrey refers to himself in his ''Historia'' as ''Galfridus Monemutensis'' (Geoffrey of Monmouth), which indicates a significant connection to Monmouth, Wales, and may refer to his birthplace. His works atte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cornelius Nepos
Cornelius Nepos (; c. 110 BC – c. 25 BC) was a Roman biographer. He was born at Hostilia, a village in Cisalpine Gaul not far from Verona. Biography Nepos's Cisalpine birth is attested by Ausonius, and Pliny the Elder calls him ''Padi accola'' ("a dweller on the River Po", ''Naturalis historia'' III.127). He was a friend of Catullus, who dedicates his poems to him (I.3), Cicero and Titus Pomponius Atticus. Eusebius places him in the fourth year of the reign of Augustus, which is supposed to be when he began to attract critical acclaim by his writing. Pliny the Elder notes he died in the reign of Augustus (''Natural History'' IX.39, X.23). Works ''De viris illustribus'' Nepos' ''De viris illustribus'' consisted of parallel lives of distinguished Romans and foreigners, in sixteen books. It originally included "descriptions of foreign and Roman kings, generals, lawyers, orators, poets, historians, and philosophers". However, the sole surviving book (which is thought to be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daretis Phrygii De Excidio Troiae Historia
Dares Phrygius ( grc, Δάρης), according to Homer, was a Trojan priest of Hephaestus. He was supposed to have been the author of an account of the destruction of Troy, and to have lived before Homer. A work in Latin, purporting to be a translation of this, and entitled ''Daretis Phrygii de excidio Troiae historia'', was much read in the Middle Ages, and was then ascribed to Cornelius Nepos, who is made to dedicate it to Sallust; but the language better fits a period much later than the time of Nepos (probably the 5th century AD). It is doubtful whether the existing work is an abridgment of a larger Latin work or an adaptation of a Greek original. Together with the similar work of Dictys Cretensis (with which it is generally printed), the ''De excidio'' forms the chief source for the numerous medieval accounts of the Trojan legend, the so-called Matter of Troy. Dares has claimed 866,000 Greeks and 676,000 Trojans were killed in this war, but archaeology has uncovered nothing th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter Of Troy
According to the medieval poet Jean Bodel, the Matter of Rome is the literary cycle of Greek and Roman mythology, together with episodes from the history of classical antiquity, focusing on military heroes like Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar. Bodel’s division of literary cycles also included the Matter of France and the Matter of Britain (although "non-cyclical" romance also existed). The Matter of Rome includes the Matter of Troy, consisting of romances and other texts based on the Trojan War and its legacy, including the adventures of Aeneas. Subject matter Classical topics were the subjects of a good deal of Old French literature, which in the case of Trojan subject matter ultimately deriving from Homer was built on scant sources; since the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'' were unknown, medieval Western poets had to make due with two short prose narratives based on Homer, ascribed to Dictys Cretensis and Dares Phrygius. The paucity of original text did not prevent the 1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
