This volume continues the major project of creating a reliable means of identifying British medieval coats of arms, which began in 1940; it will be of interest not only to heralds, but also to aid historians, archaeologists, genealogists, and antiquaries. This book continues the Dictionary of British Medieval Arms, a major work which is designed to enable those with a working knowledge of heraldry to identify medieval British coats of arms. The Dictionary is the result of a bequest to the Society of Antiquaries in 1926 for the production of a new edition of Papworth's Ordinary which has remained, since its publication in 1874, the principal tool for the identification of British coats of arms. An Ordinary, in this context, is a collection of arms arranged alphabetically according to their designs, as opposed to an armory which is arranged alphabetically by surname. The indices of the four volumes act as an armory. The Dictionary covers the period before the beginning of the heraldic visitations in 1530. Its publication will mean that the wide range of people interested in medieval arms - historians, antiquaries, archaeologists, genealogist and those dealing in and collecting medieval objects - will be able to identify accurately the arms that occur in a medieval context. Even those without a knowledge of the subject will be able, by means of the index, todiscover the blazon of arms recorded under particular surnames in the Middle Ages.

With the Almanach de Gotha's return in 1998, after a hiatus of more than 50 years, Sir Stephen Runciman wrote in the Spectator "In this present age, which we are often told sees the twilight of royalty, it is comforting to be able to welcome the reappearance of the most distinguished of genealogical almanacs." The 250th Anniversary 2013 edition follows the successful format of previous editions with family listings including births, marriages and deaths of all living members. Volume II lists the non-sovereign Princely and Ducal Houses of Europe and has been fully updated to include additional families and to note those houses that are now extinct. A number of houses are included for the first time. This is the official and authorised publication. The most comprehensive listing of its kind, with an impeccable pedigree, the book remains an essential reference for genealogists, libraries and scholars. There is and never has been a comparable source, a book once described as "the second most important ever published."

The Times Literary Supplement praised the Almanach de Gotha for a "punctilious itemization of titles, lineage and heraldry (aiming) for scholarship rather than sensation." Sir Stephen Runciman wrote in the Spectator "In this present age, which we are often told sees the twilight of royalty, it is comforting to be able to welcome the reappearance of the most distinguished of genealogical almanacs." The 250th Anniversary 2013 edition follows the successful format of previous editions with families listed by rank in their corresponding parts. Births, marriages and deaths of all members of the Gotha have been updated and it remains the only publication to list all the members of all the imperial, royal, princely and ducal houses and the courts of the Holy Roman Empire. Even family disputes are handled by the careful noting of competing claims. This new edition also sees a full list of the households of the courts of Europe, diplomatic listings and a full entry for the Holy See. This is the official and authorised publication. The most comprehensive listing of its kind, with an impeccable pedigree, the book remains an essential reference for genealogists, libraries and scholars. There is and never has been a comparable source, a book once described as "the second most important ever published."

A study of Matilda of Scotland (wife to Henry I) and the political acumen and personal skills she brought to the role of queen. Matilda of Scotland was the daughter of Malcolm II of Scotland and his Anglo-Saxon queen Margaret. Her marriage to Henry I of England in 1100 thus brought to Henry, descendant of the conquering Normans, a direct and politically desirable link to Matilda's ancestor Alfred the Great. Her life makes clear that Matilda had outstanding talents. She was educated in the exclusive convents of Romsey and Wilton, a grounding which enabled her to further the literate court culture of the twelfth century, and under her control was a substantial demesne that allowed her to exercise both lay and ecclesiastical patronage. In the matter of ruling, she was an active partner in administering Henry's cross-channel realm, served as a member of his curia regis, and on occasion acted with what amounted to vice-regal authority in England while Henry was in Normandy. Chroniclers of the twelfth and thirteenth centuriesoften refer to her as Mathilda bona regina, or Matildis beatae memoriae, and for a time she was popularly regarded as a saint. Huneycutt's study shows how Matilda achieved such acclaim, both because the political structures of her day allowed her the opportunity to do so and because she herself was skilled at manipulating those structures. This study will be valuable to those interested in not only English political history, but also to historians of women, the medieval church, and medieval culture. LOIS HUNEYCUTT is professor of history at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Images and image cycles with genealogical content were everywhere in the high and later Middle Ages. They represent families related by blood as well as successive office holders and appear as family trees and lineages of single figures in manuscripts, on walls and in stained glass, and in sculpture and metalwork. Yet art historians have hardly remarked on the frequency of these images. Considering the physical contexts and functions of these works alongside the goals of their patrons, this volume examines groups of figural genealogies ranging across northern Europe and dating from the mid-twelfth to the mid-fourteenth century. Joan A. Holladay considers how they were used to legitimize rulers and support their political and territorial goals, to reinforce archbishops' rights to crown kings, to cement relationships between families of founders and their monastic foundations, and to commemorate the dead. The flexibility and legibility of this genre was key to its widespread use.

The quest for roots has been an enduring American preoccupation. Over the centuries, generations have sketched coats of arms, embroidered family trees, established local genealogical societies, and carefully filled in the blanks in their bibles, all in pursuit of self-knowledge and status through kinship ties. This long and varied history of Americans' search for identity illuminates the story of America itself, according to Francois Weil, as fixations with social standing, racial purity, and national belonging gave way in the twentieth century to an embrace of diverse ethnicity and heritage. Seeking out one's ancestors was a genteel pursuit in the colonial era, when an aristocratic pedigree secured a place in the British Atlantic empire. Genealogy developed into a middle-class diversion in the young republic. But over the next century, knowledge of one's family background came to represent a quasi-scientific defense of elite "Anglo-Saxons" in a nation transformed by immigration and the emancipation of slaves. By the mid-twentieth century, when a new enthusiasm for cultural diversity took hold, the practice of tracing one's family tree had become thoroughly democratized and commercialized. Today, Ancestry.com attracts over two million members with census records and ship manifests, while popular television shows depict celebrities exploring archives and submitting to DNA testing to learn the stories of their forebears. Further advances in genetics promise new insights as Americans continue their restless pursuit of past and place in an ever-changing world.

Andersfield, Cannington, and North Pether-ton hundreds together occupy the Lower Par-rett valley stretching from the Quantock ridge in the west to King's Sedgemoor in the east, and from the Bristol Channel in the north to the river Tone in the south. By the late 11th century the settlement pattern was dense, especially between the Quantocks and the Par-rett, an area crossed by the Saxon 'herpath' in the north and including the 10th-century strongholds of Athelney and Lyng in the south and the Domesday royal manors of Can-nington, North Petherton, and Creech St. Michael. The origin of the medieval royal park at North Petherton can be traced to a pre--Conquest royal forest on the Quantocks, and North Petherton was an extensive minster parish. Bridgwater, a chartered borough from 1200, is the only significant town. By the later Middle Ages its port served central, south, and west Somerset, and until the 19th century heavy goods continued to be transported along the Parrett, the Tone, and the Bridgwater and Taunton canal into Dorset and Devon. The pattern of settlement is varied, with a few nucleated villages, roadside villages, and many dispersed hamlets. Interlocking parish boundaries indicate complex economic units and late parochial formation. Arable farming predominated until the 16th century, partly in open arable fields. In the 17th century there was an emphasis on stock rearing and an increase in dairying and orchards, large-ly the result of improved drainage. Cheese was an important product of the area in the 18th century, and in the 19th baskets from locally grown willow. Woollen cloth production con-tinued into the 17th century. From the late 17th century the alluvial clays of the Parrett valley provided material for the bricks and tiles for which Bridgwater became well known in the 19th century. Substantial estates whose houses wholly or partially survive include Fairfield, Gothelney, Gurney Street, West Bower, and Sydenham. Halswell House was from the later 17th century the grandest mansion in the area, and Enmore Castle was built in the later 18th century.

Hierdie bekende kultuurhistorikus se heldeboek bevat gunstelingverhale oor onder andere bekende helde soos Racheltjie de Beer, Shaka, Dirkie Uys, Wolraad Woltemade en Klara Majola. Dit is ’n hele paar jaar dat Grobbelaar al skrywende met die mense van sy land die heldepad loop – al die mense van sy land, omdat hy met opset nie net die heldedade van sy volk beskryf nie. Hy het helde en heldedade op verskillende maniere benader: soms van buite, soms van binne, soms deur die oe van ’n buitestander.

This fully revised paperback edition of the complete chronological record of VC holders is an essential work of reference for every student of military history. All the British and Commonwealth servicemen who have been awarded the highest honour for exceptional acts of bravery and self-sacrifice are commemorated here. The first VCs awarded for the Crimean War and in the nineteenth-century colonial wars are described, as are the VCs awarded in the world wars of the twentieth century and the most recent VCs awarded during present-day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. The extraordinary exploits recounted in this fascinating book make unforgettable reading. 'A fascinating new book, by historian Kevin Brazier, lays out the best evidence to date. The Complete Victoria Cross lists for the first time in chronological order every VC, with an account of the action(s) for which it was won, the location of every medal where known, and likewise the last resting place of the VC holder.' ...The Times 'A wealth of information, all of which makes this a valuable reference source. Everyone, whether they have an interest or not in military history, would find this book thoroughly absorbing.'...Britain at War 'The chronological arrangement of this book is very effective, weaving together the individual VC stories to produce a picture of the changing nature of warfare since 1956 and the unchanging nature of bravery. ' ...History of War 'This book is a must for anyone interested in the Victoria Cross, whether they have a recent interest in the VC or have been interested in the long term.'...Victoria Cross Forum

This is the second volume by David Dobson to identify vessels that traveled from Ireland to North America before 1850 and were known to, or were likely to, carry passengers. Based on research in contemporary sources--particularly newspapers on both sides of the Atlantic--this work identifies an additional 1,500 ships that were involved in transporting immigrants to the U.S. or Canada.

This book provides a political narrative of the rise and fall of the Tudor monarchy - key to understanding the history of the years 1450 to 1660.

The theme is the relationship between the Crown and the aristocracy and how a partnership was created partly by the actions of the Crown and partly by the changing composition and attitudes of the political nation. It begins with the chaos of factional quarrels which was the political life of England under Henry VI in the 1450s and then examines the rebuilding of the strength of royal government under Edward IV, Henry VII and Henry VIII. That government was tested in various ways under Edward VI and Mary, reached its peak under Elizabeth, and declined under James I. The partnership finally broke down in the civil war of the 1640s and the Tudor monarchy collapsed.

This is the life cycle of a political system created out of necessity and fashioned by a mixture of vision and circumstance. After its collapse the Republic failed to create a viable alternative, but the resurrection of the old system after 1660 was more apparent than real.

A survey in 1776 recorded almost 2,000 parish workhouses operating in England, while the number in Wales was just nineteen. The New Poor Law of 1834 proved equally unattractive in much of Wales - some parts of the country resisted providing a workhouse until the 1870s, with Rhayader in Radnorshire being the last area in the whole of England and Wales to do so. Our image of these institutions has often been coloured by the work of authors such as Charles Dickens, but what was the reality? Where exactly were these workhouses located - and what happened to them? People are often surprised to discover that a familiar building was once a workhouse. Revealing locations steeped in social history, Workhouses of Wales and the Welsh Borders is a comprehensive and copiously illustrated guide to the workhouses that were set up across Wales and the border counties of Cheshire, Shropshire, Herefordshire and Gloucestershire. It provides an insight into the contemporary attitudes towards such institutions as well as their construction and administration, what life was like for the inmates, and where to find their records today.

Few institutions are as well suited as the monarchy to provide a window on postwar Japan. The monarchy, which is also a family, has been significant both as a political and as a cultural institution. This comprehensive study analyzes numerous issues, including the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the manner in which the emperor's constitutional position as symbol has been interpreted, the emperor's intersection with politics through ministerial briefings, memories of Hirohito's wartime role, nationalistic movements in support of Foundation Day and the reign-name system, and the remaking of the once sacrosanct throne into a "monarchy of the masses" embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. The author stresses the monarchy's "postwarness," rather than its traditionality.

History of Eastern Kentucky's Union Regiments during the Civil War

A multi-disciplinary approach to two of the most important legal institutions of the Middle Ages. The wars waged by the English in France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries led to the need for judicial agencies which could deal with disputes that arose on land and sea, beyond the reach of indigenous laws. This led to the jurisdictional development of the Courts of Chivalry and Admiralty, presiding over respectively heraldic and maritime disputes. They were thus of considerable importance in the Middle Ages; but they have attracted comparatively little scholarly attention. The essays here examine their officers, proceedings and the wider cultural and political context in which they had jurisdiction and operated in later medieval Western Europe. They reveal similarities in personnel, institutions and outlook, as well as in the issues confronting rulers in territories across Europe. They also demonstrate how assertions of sovereignty and challenges to judicial competence were inextricably linked to complex political agendas; and that both military and maritime law were international in reach because they were underpinned by trans-national customs and the principles and procedures of Continental civil law. Combininglaw with military and maritime history, and discussing the art and material culture of chivalric disputes as well as their associated heraldry, the volume provides fresh new insights into an important area of medieval life and culture. ANTHONY MUSSON is Head of Research at Historic Royal Palaces; NIGEL RAMSAY is Honorary Senior Research Associate in the Department of History at University College London. Contributors: Andrew Ayton, Richard Barber, John Ford, Laurent Hablot, Thomas K. Heeboll-Holm, Julian Luxford, Ralph Moffat, Philip Morgan, Bertrand Schnerb, Anne F. Sutton, Lorenzo Tanzini.