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Lord Vetinari
Lord Havelock Vetinari, Lord Patrician (Primus inter pares) of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork, is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series, a series of forty-one books describing a parallel universe whose main world has reflections of our Earth. He is depicted as the ruler of the city-state of Ankh-Morpork. Vetinari has written an unpublished manuscript known as ''The Servant'', the Discworld version of ''The Prince'' by the Italian statesman and diplomat, Niccolò Machiavelli. Fictional biography Early years Lord Vetinari was born into the extremely powerful Vetinari family (a pun, or play on words, on the real-life family of the Medici and on the word "veterinary") and raised by his aunt, Lady Roberta Meserole. As a youth, he enrolled in the Assassins' Guild which, apart from teaching its students how to kill other people for money, also gives them an excellent academic education. Lord Vetinari was particularly interested in the classical arts a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Various researchers emphasize the role of critical thinking in order to distinguish education from indoctrination. Some theorists require that education results in an improvement of the student while others prefer a value-neutral definition of the term. In a slightly different sense, education may also refer, not to the process, but to the product of this process: the mental states and dispositions possessed by educated people. Education originated as the transmission of cultural heritage from one generation to the next. Today, educational goals increasingly encompass new ideas such as the liberation of learners, skills needed for modern society, empathy, and complex vocational skills. Types of education are commonly divided into formal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Unseen Academicals
''Unseen Academicals'' is the 37th novel in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. The novel satirises football, and features Mustrum Ridcully setting up an Unseen University football team, with the Librarian in goal."Tough at the Top", '' SFX Collection Special Edition'' #34, Future Publishing, June 2008 It includes new details about "below stairs" life at the university. The book introduces several new characters, including Trevor Likely, a street urchin with a wonderful talent for kicking a tin can; Glenda Sugarbean, a maker of "jolly good" pies; Juliet Stollop, a dim but beautiful young woman who might just turn out to be the greatest fashion model there has ever been; and the mysterious Mr Nutt, a cultured, enigmatic, idealistic savant. According to the publisher, Transworld, the "on sale" date for the hardback was 1 October 2009 although the official publication date is 8 October 2009. Bookshop chain Borders included a small set of exclusive Discworld football cards with e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vampire
A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century. Vampiric entities have been Vampire folklore by region, recorded in cultures around the world; the term ''vampire'' was popularized in Western Europe after reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria of a pre-existing folk belief in the Balkans and Eastern Europe that in some cases resulted in corpses being staked and people being accused of vampirism. Local variants in Eastern Europe were also known by different names, such as ''shtriga'' in Albanian mythology, Albania, ''vrykolakas'' in G ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tutor or family member) when they had come of age (about 21 years old). The custom—which flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transport in the 1840s and was associated with a standard itinerary—served as an educational rite of passage. Though it was primarily associated with the British nobility and wealthy landed gentry, similar trips were made by wealthy young men of other Protestant Northern European nations, and, from the second half of the 18th century, by some South and North Americans. By the mid-18th century, the Grand Tour had become a regular feature of aristocratic education in Central Europe as well, although it was restricted to the higher nobility. The tradition declined in Europe as enthusiasm fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discworld Geography
The Discworld is the fictional setting for all of Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' fantasy novels. It consists of a large disc (complete with edge-of-the-world drop-off and consequent waterfall) resting on the backs of four huge elephants which are in turn standing on the back of an enormous turtle, named Great A'Tuin (similar to Chukwa or Akupara from Hindu mythology) as it slowly swims through space. The Disc has been shown to be heavily influenced by magic and, while Pratchett gave it certain similarities to planet Earth, he also created his own system of physics for it. Pratchett first explored the idea of a disc-shaped world in the novel ''Strata'' (1981). Great A'Tuin Great A'Tuin is the Giant Star Turtle (of the fictional species ''Chelys galactica'') who travels through the Discworld universe's space, carrying four giant elephants (named Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen) who in turn carry the Discworld. The narration has described A'Tuin as "the only turtle ever ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Secret Police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of authoritarian and totalitarian regimes. They protect the political power of a dictator or regime and often operate outside the law to repress dissidents and weaken political opposition, frequently using violence. History Africa Uganda In Uganda, the State Research Bureau (SRB) was a secret police organisation for President Idi Amin. The Bureau tortured many Ugandans, operating on behalf of a regime responsible for more than five hundred thousand violent deaths. The SRB attempted to infiltrate every area of Ugandan life. Asia China In East Asia, the ''jinyiwei'' (Embroidered Uniform Guard) of the Ming Dynasty was founded in the 1360s by the Hongwu Emperor and served as the dynasty's secret police until the collapse of Ming ru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ankh-Morpork City Watch
The Ankh-Morpork City Watch is the police force of the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork in the ''Discworld'' series by the English writer Terry Pratchett. The Watch, its growth and development, and its inner workings are explored through a series of eight fantasy novels and one short story. These novels generally feature as the protagonist, the Watch Commander Sam Vimes, and take on the general shape of a crime novel, in which the Watch are called on to solve a mysterious crime. In order of publication, they are; ''Guards! Guards!'' (1989), "Theatre of Cruelty" (1993) (a short story), ''Men at Arms'' (1993), ''Feet of Clay'' (1996), '' Jingo'' (1997), ''The Fifth Elephant'' (1999), '' Night Watch'' (2002), ''Thud!'' (2005) and ''Snuff'' (2011). Besides these main stories, the Watch, and individual members thereof, appear in some form in many of the other Discworld novels, especially those set in Ankh-Morpork. The Watch is also the loose inspiration for the 2021 fantasy police pr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sam Vimes
His Grace, The Duke of Ankh, Commander Sir Samuel "Sam" Vimes is a fictional character in Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. Vimes is depicted in the novels as somewhere between an Inspector Morse-type 'old-school' British policeman, and a film noir-esque grizzled detective. His appearances throughout the Discworld sequence show him slowly and grudgingly rising through the ranks of both police force and society. As of his latest promotion, his full name and title is "''His Grace, His Excellency, The 1st Duke of Ankh; Commander Sir Samuel Vimes''". When serving as Ambassador for Ankh-Morpork, he is also referred to simply as "''His Excellency''", and is also nicknamed "''Blackboard Monitor Vimes''", "Vimes the Butcher/Butcher Vimes" and "'' Vetinari's Terrier''" (or his ''hammer'', depending upon the occasion). According to his wife, Sybil, Vimes is recognised by many as Lord Vetinari's right-hand man. He first appeared in the novel ''Guards! Guards!''. While no detailed ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sergeant-at-Arms
A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, serjeants-at-arms were armed men retained by English lords and monarchs, and the ceremonial maces which they are associated with were originally a type of weapon. Origins The term "sergeant" can be given two main definitions; the first being a military rank and the other a governmental role. Whereas technically the two roles were not mutually exclusive, they were very different in roles and duties. The soldier sergeant was a man of what would now be thought of as the 'middle class', fulfilling a junior role to the knight in the medieval hierarchy. Sergeants could fight either as heavy to light cavalry, or as well-trained professional infantry, either spearmen or crossbowmen. Most notable medieval mercenaries fell into the 'sergeant' class, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Discworld Characters
This article contains brief biographies for characters from Terry Pratchett's ''Discworld'' series. This list consists of human characters. For biographies of noted members of the Discworld's "ethnic minorities" (dwarfs, trolls, undead, etc.), see the articles for those races. Some character biographies are also listed in articles relating to the organisations they belong to. For further Discworld character biographies, see the table below. Characters are listed alphabetically by name. 71-Hour Ahmed Adora Belle Dearheart The daughter of Robert Dearheart, founder of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, Adora Belle Dearheart appears in ''Going Postal'', ''Making Money'' and '' Raising Steam'', she is a cynical, angry heavy smoker. Adora's family is conned out of the Grand Trunk by Reacher Gilt, forcing Adora to be employed at the Golem Trust. In ''Going Postal'', Adora begins a tentative relationship with Moist von Lipwig; by the time of ''Making Money'' they have become engag ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Night Watch (Discworld)
''Night Watch'' is a fantasy novel by British writer Terry Pratchett, the 29th book in his ''Discworld'' series, and the sixth starring the City Watch, published in 2002. The protagonist of the novel is Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. A five-part radio adaptation of the novel was broadcast on BBC Radio 4. ''Night Watch'' placed second in the annual Locus Poll for best fantasy novel. Plot summary On the morning of the 30th anniversary of the Glorious Revolution of the Twenty-Fifth of May (and as such the anniversary of the death of John Keel, Vimes' hero and former mentor), Sam Vimes — whose wife is in labour with their first child — is caught in a storm while pursuing Carcer, a notorious criminal who has murdered several watchmen, to the roof of the Unseen University's Library. He awakens to find that he has somehow been sent back in time. Vimes's first idea is to ask the wizards at the Unseen University to send him home, but before he can ac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
