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Brother Cadfael
Brother Cadfael is the main fictional character in a series of historical murder mysteries written between 1977 and 1994 by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter under the name "Ellis Peters". The character of Cadfael himself is a Welsh Benedictine monk living at the Abbey Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, in Shrewsbury, western England, in the first half of the 12th century. The stories are set between about 1135 and about 1145, during "The Anarchy", the destructive contest for the crown of England between King Stephen and Empress Maud. As a character, Cadfael "combines the curious mind of a scientist/pharmacist with a knight-errant". He entered monastic life in his forties after being both a soldier and a sailor; this worldly experience gives him an array of talents and skills useful in monastic life. He is a skilled observer of human nature, inquisitive by nature, energetic, a talented herbalist (work he learned in the Holy Lands), and has an innate, although modern, s ...
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The Cadfael Chronicles
''The Cadfael Chronicles'' is a series of historical murder mysteries written by the linguist-scholar Edith Pargeter (1913–1995) under the name "Ellis Peters". Set in the 12th century during the Anarchy in England, the novels focus on a Benedictine monk, Cadfael, who aids the law by investigating and solving murders. In all, Pargeter wrote twenty Cadfael novels between 1977 and 1994. Each draws on the storyline, characters and developments of the previous books in the series. Pargeter apparently planned the 20th novel, '' Brother Cadfael's Penance'', as the final book of the series, and it brings together the loose story ends into a tidy conclusion. Pargeter herself died shortly after its publication, following a long illness. Many of the books have been adapted as both radio episodes, in which Ray Smith, Glyn Houston and subsequently Philip Madoc played the monk, and a television series starring Derek Jacobi as Cadfael. Pargeter's ''Cadfael Chronicles'' are sometimes cre ...
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Holy Land
The Holy Land; Arabic: or is an area roughly located between the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River, traditionally synonymous both with the biblical Land of Israel and with the region of Palestine. The term "Holy Land" usually refers to a territory roughly corresponding to the modern State of Israel and the modern State of Palestine. Jews, Christians, and Muslims regard it as holy. Part of the significance of the land stems from the religious significance of Jerusalem (the holiest city to Judaism, and the location of the First and Second Temples), as the historical region of Jesus' ministry, and as the site of the first Qibla of Islam, as well as the site of the Isra and Mi'raj event of 621 CE in Islam. The holiness of the land as a destination of Christian pilgrimage contributed to launching the Crusades, as European Christians sought to win back the Holy Land from Muslims, who had conquered it from the Christian Eastern Roman Empire in ...
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Henry I Of England
Henry I (c. 1068 – 1 December 1135), also known as Henry Beauclerc, was King of England from 1100 to his death in 1135. He was the fourth son of William the Conqueror and was educated in Latin and the liberal arts. On William's death in 1087, Henry's elder brothers Robert Curthose and William Rufus inherited Normandy and England, respectively, but Henry was left landless. He purchased the County of Cotentin in western Normandy from Robert, but his brothers deposed him in 1091. He gradually rebuilt his power base in the Cotentin and allied himself with William Rufus against Robert. Present at the place where his brother William died in a hunting accident in 1100, Henry seized the English throne, promising at his coronation to correct many of William's less popular policies. He married Matilda of Scotland and they had two surviving children, Empress Matilda and William Adelin; he also had many illegitimate children by his many mistresses. Robert, who invaded from Nor ...
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Man-at-arms
A man-at-arms was a soldier of the High Medieval to Renaissance periods who was typically well-versed in the use of arms and served as a fully-armoured heavy cavalryman. A man-at-arms could be a knight, or other nobleman, a member of a knight's or nobleman's retinue, or a mercenary in a company serving under a captain. Such men could serve for pay or through a feudal obligation. The terms ''knight'' and ''man-at-arms'' are often used interchangeably, but while all knights equipped for war were men-at-arms, not all men-at-arms were knights. Terminology Though in English the term man-at-arms is a fairly straightforward rendering of the French ''homme d'armes'', in the Middle Ages, there were numerous terms for this type of soldier, referring to the type of arms he would be expected to provide: In France, he might be known as a '' lance'' or ''glaive'', while in Germany, ''Spieß'', '' Helm'' or ''Gleve'', and in various places, a '' bascinet''. In Italy, the term '' b ...
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Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It is a unitary state, unitary republic that consists of Governorates of Syria, 14 governorates (subdivisions), and is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, the east and southeast, Jordan to Jordan–Syria border, the south, and Israel and Lebanon to Lebanon–Syria border, the southwest. Cyprus lies to the west across the Mediterranean Sea. A country of fertile plains, high mountains, and deserts, Syria is home to demographics of Syria, diverse ethnic and religious groups, including the majority Syrians, Syrian Arabs, Kurds in Syria, Kurds, Syrian Turkmen, Turkmens, Assyrians in Syria, Assyrians, Armenians in Syria, Armenians, Circa ...
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Robert II, Duke Of Normandy
Robert Curthose, or Robert II of Normandy ( 1051 – 3 February 1134, french: Robert Courteheuse / Robert II de Normandie), was the eldest son of William the Conqueror and succeeded his father as Duke of Normandy in 1087, reigning until 1106. Robert was also an unsuccessful claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of England. The epithet "Curthose" had its origins in the Norman French word ''courtheuse'' 'short stockings' and was apparently derived from a nickname given to Robert by his father; the chroniclers William of Malmesbury and Orderic Vitalis reported that William the Conqueror had derisively called Robert ''brevis-ocrea'' ("short boot"). Robert's reign as Duke is noted for the discord with his brothers William II and Henry I in England. Robert mortgaged his duchy to finance his participation in the First Crusade, where he was an important commander. Eventually, his disagreements with Henry I led to defeat in the Battle of Tinchebray in 1106, and lifelong captivity, ...
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First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic rule. While Jerusalem had been under Muslim rule for hundreds of years, by the 11th century the Seljuk takeover of the region threatened local Christian populations, pilgrimages from the West, and the Byzantine Empire itself. The earliest initiative for the First Crusade began in 1095 when Byzantine emperor Alexios I Komnenos requested military support from the Council of Piacenza in the empire's conflict with the Seljuk-led Turks. This was followed later in the year by the Council of Clermont, during which Pope Urban II supported the Byzantine request for military assistance and also urged faithful Christians to undertake an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem. This call was met with an enthusiastic popular response across all social classes ...
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Caernarvonshire
, HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caernarvonshire County Council'' , Code= CAE , CodeName= Chapman code , Government= Carnarvonshire County Council (1889 - 1926)Caernarvonshire County Council (1926-1974) , PopulationFirst= 66,448Vision of Britain 1831 Census/ref> , PopulationFirstYear= 1831 , AreaFirst= , AreaFirstYear= 1831 , DensityFirst= 0.2/acre , DensityFirstYear= 1831 , PopulationSecond= 125,043 , PopulationSecondYear= 1911 , AreaSecond= , AreaSecondYear= 1911 , DensitySecond= 0.3/acre , DensitySecondYear= 1911 , PopulationLast= 121,767 , PopulationLastYear= 1961 , AreaLast= , AreaLastYear= 1 ...
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Conway, Wales
Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy on the east bank. The town formerly lay in Gwynedd and prior to that in Caernarfonshire. The community, which also includes Deganwy and Llandudno Junction, had a population of 14,753 at the 2011 census. Although the community of Conwy straddles the River Conwy, for postal purposes the areas on the east bank form part of the post town of Llandudno Junction, with the Conwy post town being confined to west bank of the river. The ward on the west bank of the river had a population of 4,065 at the 2011 census. The resident population of the wider Conwy County Borough was estimated to be 116,200 in an ONS-estimate. The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''cyn'' (chief) and ''gwy'' (water), the river being originally called the 'Cynwy' ...
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Trefriw
Trefriw () is a village and community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It lies on the river Crafnant in North Wales, a few miles south of the site of the Roman Britain, Roman castra, fort of Canovium, sited at Caerhun. At the last three censuses the population of the community has been recorded as 842 in 1999, 915 in 2001, and 783 in 2011 (from a total of 368 households). Trefriw lies on the edge of Snowdonia, on the B5106 road to the north-west of Llanrwst, and about 4½ miles north of Betws-y-Coed by road. It is located on the western slopes of the glaciated Conwy valley, below the ridge of Cefn Cyfarwydd, the village having been largely built in a semicircle at the point where the river Crafnant flows from its hanging valley to join the river Conwy. The river Crafnant still provides power for the woollen mill, and in the past provided power for a number of other industries based along its banks, such as a forge which provided quarry tools. The community incl ...
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Patronymics
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, although their use has largely been replaced by or transformed into patronymic surnames. Examples of such transformations include common English surnames such as Johnson (son of John). Origins of terms The usual noun and adjective in English is ''patronymic'', but as a noun this exists in free variation alongside ''patronym''. The first part of the word ''patronym'' comes from Greek πατήρ ''patēr'' "father" (GEN πατρός ''patros'' whence the combining form πατρο- ''patro''-); the second part comes from Greek ὄνυμα ''onyma'', a variant form of ὄνομα ''onoma'' "name". In the form ''patronymic'', this stands with the addition of the suffix -ικός (''-ikos''), which was originally used to form adjectives with t ...
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Shropshire
Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to the north, Staffordshire to the east, Worcestershire to the southeast, and Herefordshire to the south. A unitary authority of the same name was created in 2009, taking over from the previous county council and five district councils, now governed by Shropshire Council. The borough of Telford and Wrekin has been a separate unitary authority since 1998, but remains part of the ceremonial county. The county's population and economy is centred on five towns: the county town of Shrewsbury, which is culturally and historically important and close to the centre of the county; Telford, which was founded as a new town in the east which was constructed around a number of older towns, most notably Wellington, Dawley and Madeley, which is ...
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