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The Ravens Of The Tower Of London
The Ravens of the Tower of London are a group of at least six captive ravens resident at the Tower of London. Their presence is traditionally believed to protect the Crown and the Tower; a superstition holds that "if the Tower of London ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it." Some historians, including the Tower's official historian, believe the "Tower's raven mythology is likely to be a Victorian flight of fantasy". The earliest known reference to captive ravens at the Tower is an illustration from 1883. Historically, wild ravens were common throughout Britain, even in towns; the Tower was within their natural range. When they were exterminated from much of their traditional range, including London, they could only exist at the Tower in captivity and with official support. The Tower ravens are tended to, 365 days a year, by the Ravenmaster of the Yeomen Warders heading a team of Yeoman Warders known as Ravenmaster’s assistants. Local legend pu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jubilee And Munin, Ravens, Tower Of London 2016-04-30
A jubilee is a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term is often now used to denote the celebrations associated with the reign of a monarch after a milestone number of years have passed. Religious usage The Jubilee ( he, יובל ''yovel'') year (every 50th year) and the Sabbatical year (every seventh year) are Biblical commandments concerning ownership of land and slaves. The laws concerning the Sabbatical year are still observed by many religious Jews in the State of Israel, while the Jubilee has not been observed for many centuries. According to the Hebrew Bible, every seventh year, farmers in the land of Israel are commanded to let their land lie fallow, and slaves were freed. The celebration of the Jubilee is the fiftieth year, that is, the year after seven Sabbatical cycles. In Roman Catholic tradition, a Jubilee is a year of remission of sins and also the punishment due to sin. Terms for anniv ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Celtic Mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion, having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology. Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany). They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. The supernatural race called the Tuatha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antonio Bonfini
Antonio Bonfini (Latin variant: ''Antonius Bonfinius'') (1427‒1502) was an Italian humanist and poet who spent the last years of his career as a court historian in Hungary with King Matthias Corvinus Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several mi .... Bonfini was commissioned by Matthias Corvinus to produce a work chronicling the History of Hungary. The book was named ''Historia Pannonica: Sive Hungaricarum Rerum Decades IV''. References [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matthias Hunyadi
Matthias Corvinus, also called Matthias I ( hu, Hunyadi Mátyás, ro, Matia/Matei Corvin, hr, Matija/Matijaš Korvin, sk, Matej Korvín, cz, Matyáš Korvín; ), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490. After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and adopted the title Duke of Austria in 1487. He was the son of John Hunyadi, Regent of Hungary, who died in 1456. In 1457, Matthias was imprisoned along with his older brother, Ladislaus Hunyadi, on the orders of King Ladislaus the Posthumous. Ladislaus Hunyadi was executed, causing a rebellion that forced King Ladislaus to flee Hungary. After the King died unexpectedly, Matthias's uncle Michael Szilágyi persuaded the Estates to unanimously proclaim the 14-year-old Matthias as king on 24 January 1458. He began his rule under his uncle's guardianship, but he took effective control of government within two weeks. As king, Matthias waged wars against the Czech mercenaries who domina ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cognomen
A ''cognomen'' (; plural ''cognomina''; from ''con-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditary. Hereditary ''cognomina'' were used to augment the second name, the ''nomen gentilicium'' (the family name, or clan name), in order to identify a particular branch within a family or family within a clan. The term has also taken on other contemporary meanings. Roman names Because of the limited nature of the Latin '' praenomen'', the ''cognomen'' developed to distinguish branches of the family from one another, and occasionally, to highlight an individual's achievement, typically in warfare. One example of this is Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, whose cognomen ''Magnus'' was earned after his military victories under Sulla's dictatorship. The ''cognomen'' was a form of distinguishing people who accomplished important feats, and those who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roman Consul
A consul held the highest elected political office of the Roman Republic ( to 27 BC), and ancient Romans considered the consulship the second-highest level of the ''cursus honorum'' (an ascending sequence of public offices to which politicians aspired) after that of the censor. Each year, the Centuriate Assembly elected two consuls to serve jointly for a one-year term. The consuls alternated in holding '' fasces'' – taking turns leading – each month when both were in Rome and a consul's ''imperium'' extended over Rome and all its provinces. There were two consuls in order to create a check on the power of any individual citizen in accordance with the republican belief that the powers of the former kings of Rome should be spread out into multiple offices. To that end, each consul could veto the actions of the other consul. After the establishment of the Empire (27 BC), the consuls became mere symbolic representatives of Rome's republican heritage and held very little ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abruzzo
Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy with an area of 10,763 square km (4,156 sq mi) and a population of 1.3 million. It is divided into four provinces: Province of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Province of Teramo, Teramo, Province of Pescara, Pescara, and Province of Chieti, Chieti. Its western border lies east of Rome. Abruzzo borders the region of Marche to the north, Lazio to the west and north-west, Molise to the south and the Adriatic Sea to the east. Geographically, Abruzzo is divided into a mountainous area in the west, which includes the highest massifs of the Apennines, such as the Gran Sasso d'Italia and the Maiella, and a coastal area in the east with beaches on the Adriatic Sea. Abruzzo is considered a region of Southern Italy in terms of its culture, language, history, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auspicious
Auspicious is a Latin-derived word originally pertaining to the taking of 'auspices' by the augurs of ancient Rome. It may refer to: * Luck * Auspicious number in numerology * Eight auspicious symbols; see Ashtamangala * Auspicious wedding date * Auspicious train ticket * In English discourse on aspects of Chinese culture, the word "auspicious" is a significant concept in: ** Chinese New Year ** Numbers in Chinese culture ** Feng shui ** The Song to the Auspicious Cloud, an anthem of the Republic of China * In Tibetan Buddhism: ** Great Auspicious Beauty, one of the Seventeen Tantras of Menngagde * In Thai culture: ** The Ancient and Auspicious Order of the Nine Gems; see Order of the Nine Gems ** The Most Auspicious Order of the Rajamitrabhorn; see Order of the Rajamitrabhorn * The Auspicious Incident, an event in the history of the Ottoman Empire See also * Faust (Latin: ''faustus'', lit. 'favorable', 'fortunate' or 'auspicious'), the protagonist of a classic German legend base ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gauls
The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They spoke Gaulish, a continental Celtic language. The Gauls emerged around the 5th century BC as bearers of La Tène culture north and west of the Alps. By the 4th century BC, they were spread over much of what is now France, Belgium, Switzerland, Southern Germany, Austria, and the Czech Republic, by virtue of controlling the trade routes along the river systems of the Rhône, Seine, Rhine, and Danube. They reached the peak of their power in the 3rd century BC. During the 4th and 3rd centuries BC, the Gauls expanded into Northern Italy ( Cisalpine Gaul), leading to the Roman–Gallic wars, and into the Balkans, leading to war with the Greeks. These latter Gauls eventually settled in Anatolia, becoming known as Galatians. After the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gens Valeria
The gens Valeria was a patrician (ancient Rome), patrician family at ancient Rome, prominent from the very beginning of the Roman Republic, Republic to the latest period of the Roman Empire, Empire. Publius Valerius Poplicola was one of the Roman consul, consuls in 509 BC, the year that saw the overthrow of the King of Rome, Tarquins, and the members of his family were among the most celebrated statesmen and generals at the beginning of the Republic. Over the next ten centuries, few gens, gentes produced as many distinguished men, and at every period the name of ''Valerius'' was constantly to be found in the lists of annual Roman magistrate, magistrates, and held in the highest honour. Several of the Roman emperor, emperors claimed descent from the Valerii, whose name they bore as part of their official nomenclature.''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'', vol. III, pp. 1215, 1216 ("s:Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology/Valeria gens, Valeria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marcus Valerius Corvus
Marcus Valerius Corvus (c. 370–270 BC) was a military commander and politician from the early-to-middle period of the Roman Republic. During his career he was elected consul six times, first at the age of twenty-three. He was appointed dictator twice and led the armies of the Republic in the First Samnite War. He occupied the curule chair twenty-one times throughout his career. According to legend, he lived to the age of one hundred. Early career A member of the patrician ''gens Valeria'', Valerius first came to prominence in 349 BC when he served as a military tribune under the consul Lucius Furius Camillus, who was on campaign against the Gauls of northern Italy. According to tradition, prior to one battle a huge Gallic warrior challenged any Roman to single combat. Valerius, who asked for and gained the consul's permission, accepted. As the two approached each other, a raven settled on Valerius's helmet and distracted the enemy by flying at his face, allowing Valerius to kill ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titus Livius
Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding in 753 BC through the reign of Augustus in Livy's own lifetime. He was on familiar terms with members of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and a friend of Augustus, whose young grandnephew, the future emperor Claudius, he exhorted to take up the writing of history. Life Livy was born in Patavium in northern Italy, now modern Padua, probably in 59 BC. At the time of his birth, his home city of Patavium was the second wealthiest on the Italian peninsula, and the largest in the province of Cisalpine Gaul (northern Italy). Cisalpine Gaul was merged in Italy proper during his lifetime and its inhabitants were given Roman citizenship by Julius Caesar. In his works, Livy often expressed his deep affection and pride for Patavium, and the city was well kno ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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