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Blood Rain
Blood rain or red rain is a phenomenon in which blood is perceived to fall from the sky in the form of rain. Cases have been recorded since Homer's ''Iliad'', composed approximately 8th century BC, and are widespread. Before the 17th century it was generally believed that the rain was actually blood. Literature mirrors cult practice, in which the appearance of blood rain was considered a bad omen. It was used as a tool foreshadowing events, but while some of these may be literary devices, some occurrences are historic. There is now a scientific consensus that the blood rain phenomenon is caused by aerial spores of green microalgae ''Trentepohlia annulata''. Recorded instances of blood rain usually cover small areas. The duration can vary, sometimes lasting only a short time, others several days. By the 17th century, explanations for the phenomenon had moved away from the supernatural and attempted to provide natural reasons. In the 19th century, blood rains were scientifically ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homer
Homer (; , ; possibly born ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Despite doubts about his authorship, Homer is considered one of the most revered and influential authors in history. The ''Iliad'' centers on a quarrel between King Agamemnon and the warrior Achilles during the last year of the Trojan War. The ''Odyssey'' chronicles the ten-year journey of Odysseus, king of Homer's Ithaca, Ithaca, back to his home after the fall of Troy. The epics depict man's struggle, the ''Odyssey'' especially so, as Odysseus perseveres through the punishment of the gods. The poems are in Homeric Greek, also known as Epic Greek, a literary language that shows a mixture of features of the Ionic Greek, Ionic and Aeolic Greek, Aeolic dialects from different centuries; the predominant influence is Eastern Ionic. Most researchers believe that the poems w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralised authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Book Of Leinster
The Book of Leinster ( , LL) is a medieval Irish manuscript compiled and now kept in Trinity College Dublin. It was formerly known as the ''Lebor na Nuachongbála'' ("Book of Nuachongbáil"), a monastic site known today as Oughaval. In 2023, Trinity College started an extensive restoration project to make the manuscript available for public viewing. Fragments of the book, such as the ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', are in the collection of University College Dublin. Date and provenance The manuscript is a composite work and more than one hand appears to have been responsible for its production. The principal compiler and scribe was probably Áed Ua Crimthainn,Hellmuth, "''Lebor Laignech''", pp. 1125-6. who was abbot of the monastery of Tír-Dá-Glas on the Shannon, now Terryglass (County Tipperary), and the last abbot of that house for whom we have any record. Internal evidence from the manuscript itself bears witness to Áed's involvement. His signature can be read on f. 32 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Viking
Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9–22. They also voyaged as far as the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East, Greenland, and Vinland (present-day Newfoundland in Canada, North America). In their countries of origin, and some of the countries they raided and settled in, this period is popularly known as the Viking Age, and the term "Viking" also commonly includes the inhabitants of the Scandinavian homelands as a whole. The Vikings had a profound impact on the Early Middle Ages, early medieval history of Northern Europe, northern and Eastern Europe, including the political and social development of England (and the English language) and parts of France, and established the embryo of Russia in Kievan Rus'. Expert sailors and navigators of their cha ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ralph Higden
Ranulf Higden or Higdon (–1363 or 1364) was an English chronicler and a Benedictine monk who wrote the ''Polychronicon'', a Late Medieval magnum opus. Higden resided at the monastery of St. Werburgh in Chester after taking his monastic vow at Benedictine Abbey in Chester in 1299. Later in life he travelled to visit and counsel with King Edward III. Higden's remains are buried in Chester Cathedral. Higden wrote many works, including the ''Polychronicon, Ars componendi sermones,'' and ''Speculum curatorum.'' Higden began compiling the ''Polychronicon,'' a seven-book series about world history written in Latin'','' during the reign of Edward III. He is sometimes associated with the Chester Plays, but there is also doubt surrounding this association. ''Ars componendi sermones'' and ''Speculum curatorum'' address religious topics. Biography Ranulf Higden was born in about 1280 and is believed to have been born in the West of England. He joined St. Werburgh abbey in Chester, En ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Layamon's Brut
Layamon's ''Brut'' (), also known as ''The Chronicle of Britain'', is a Middle English alliterative verse poem compiled and recast by the English priest Layamon. Layamon's ''Brut'' is 16,096 lines long and narrates a fictionalized version of the history of Britain up to the Early Middle Ages. It was the first work of history written in English since the ''Anglo-Saxon Chronicle''. Named for Britain's mythical founder, Brutus of Troy, the poem is largely based on the Anglo-Norman French '' Roman de Brut'' by Wace, which is in turn a version of Geoffrey of Monmouth's Latin ''Historia Regum Britanniae''. Layamon's poem, however, is longer than both and includes an enlarged section on the life and exploits of King Arthur. It is written in the alliterative verse style commonly used in Middle English poetry by rhyming chroniclers, the two halves of the alliterative lines being often linked by rhyme as well as by alliteration. Like the earlier Latin works, it is now regarded as val ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Layamon
Layamon or Laghamon (, ; ) – spelled Laȝamon or Laȝamonn in his time, occasionally written Lawman – was an English poet of the late 12th/early 13th century and author of the ''Brut'', a notable work that was the first to present the legends of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in English poetry (the first Arthurian poems were by Frenchman Chrétien de Troyes). J. R. R. Tolkien valued him as a transmitter of early English legends in a fashion comparable to the role played with respect to Icelandic legend by Snorri Sturluson. Life and influence Layamon describes himself in his poem as a priest living at Areley Kings in Worcestershire. His poem had a significant impact on medieval history writing in England and the development of Arthurian literature and subsequently provided inspiration for numerous later writers, including Sir Thomas Malory and Jorge Luis Borges. Brut '' Brut'' (ca. 1190) is a Middle English poem compiled and recast by Layamon. It is named after ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rivallo
Rivallo () was a legendary king of the Britons as accounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He came to power in 817BC. He was the son of King Cunedagius Cunedagius ( Latinized form; ) was a legendary king of the Britons, as recounted by Geoffrey of Monmouth. He came to power in 850BC. He was the son of Henwin, Duke of Cornwall, and Regan, the daughter of King Leir. Cunedagius, grandson of Le ... and was noted as a young king who reigned with moderation. Geoffrey describes him as a "peaceful and fortunate youth, who ruled the kingdom well".Geoffrey of Monmouth: The History of the Kings of Britain : an Edition and Translation of De Gestis Britonum (Historia Regum Britanniae), Boydell & Brewer, 1 Jan 2007, p.44. His reign was troubled by natural disasters: a rain of blood that lasted three days, a devastating plague, and a great swarm of flies. He was succeeded by his son Gurgustius. References {{Geoffrey of Monmouth Legendary British kings ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
King Arthur
According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Great Britain, Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Wales, Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the Sub-Roman Britain, post-Roman Britons in battles against the Anglo-Saxons in the late-5th and early-6th centuries. He first appears in two early medieval historical sources, the ''Annales Cambriae'' and the ''Historia Brittonum'', but these date to 300 years after he is supposed to have lived, and most historians who study the period Historicity of King Arthur, do not consider him a historical figure.Tom Shippey, "So Much Smoke", ''review'' of , ''London Review of Books'', 40:24:23 (20 December 2018) His name also occurs in early Welsh-language literature, Welsh poetic sources, such as ''Y Gododdin''. The character developed through Welsh mythology, appearing either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geoffrey Of Monmouth
Geoffrey of Monmouth (; ; ) was a Catholic 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'' ( 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. Life and career 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 as (Geoffrey of Monmouth), which indicates a significant connection to Monmouth, Wales, and may refer to his birthplace. His works attest to some acquaintance with the place-names of the region. Geoffrey was known to his contemporaries as or variants thereof. The "Arthur" in these vers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gregory Of Tours
Gregory of Tours (born ; 30 November – 17 November 594 AD) was a Gallo-Roman historian and Bishop of Tours during the Merovingian period and is known as the "father of French history". He was a prelate in the Merovingian kingdom, encompassing Gaul's historic region. Gregory's most notable work is the ('Ten Books of Histories'), also known as the ('History of the Franks'). is considered a primary source for the study of Merovingian history and chronicles the accounts of the Franks during the period. Gregory is also known for documenting accounts of religious figures, notably that of Martin of Tours. Biography Gregory was born in Clermont, in the Auvergne region of central Gaul. He was born into the upper stratum of Gallo-Roman society as the son of Florentius, Senator of Clermont, by his wife Armentaria II, niece of Bishop Nicetius of Lyon and granddaughter of both Florentinus, Senator of Geneva, and Saint Gregory of Langres. Relatives of Gregory held the Bishopr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
